Recent Progress on the Magnificent Silpi Bronze Sculptures

For those new to the project, Gurudeva wanted to produce a bronze memorial to the temple builders of Iraivan. He loved to watch the silpis at work, sharpening their chisels, chipping away at the granite, fitting and moving the heavy stones. He observed that once this process is finished, visitors of the future would have no visual idea of the amazingly simple and effective traditional processes that created it and that we who are here were able to admire and learn from. Thus was born the Temple Builder's Memorial. For several years the work has continued, at the studio of the amazingly gifted and spiritually endowed Holly Young on the Big Island and in workshops of skilled metal artisans in Colorado.

We've recently received some images from both these teams. Currently the sculpture of the two silpis moving a large stone is being cast in Colorado. After an unfortunate set back involving a cast breaking (and yes, 2000-degree molten bronze spilling onto the floor) the team is now moving forward to recast and assemble the bronze pieces. Meanwhile in Hawaii, Holly is sculpting the image of the architect and another silpi working on a pillar.

Enjoy the progress.

In blue is the one at the foundry, in yellow is the one Holly is currently sculpting. The other five are completed and here at the monastery.

These are some sketches of the sculpture Holly is now working on.

The standing figure will be our own Selvanathan Sthapati, marking the pillar for the carvers who follow his artistic direction.

These are metal pieces from foundry, of the two silpis moving the stone. You can see that a single sculpture begins life as a full wax, morphs into many parts and then ends whole again, after hundreds of hours of skilled work.

Kathy Page in Loveland recreating the wax (dark panels) to recast using the bronze panels that successfully poured without cracking. This is the stone the silpis are moving in the final work, upside down on her table.

Two separate hoists are needed to get the two siplis together.

They are lifted onto welding table for further work

Master metal worker Bobby Page is welding the legs on. He reports: \"The shoulders have to be tack welded to get attitude correct. Then the bodies are cut apart for further welding and chasing.\"

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