Alfred

Like many others, coronavirus has kept me in my home. I have the company however, of my friend Alfred, who has been confined to my home for many years. Years ago, my wife Ethyl took a class to learn to play the guitar. One day her teacher mentioned she had a friend who taught sculpture at Queens college. Would my wife and several of her friends be interested getting together with the sculptor who would teach them sculpturing? Ethyl asked around and four of her friends were interested, as was I. Arrangements were made for the group to meet in our basement for six weekly Thursday evenings. We were given the necessary material and instructions. The instructor’s father-in-law Alfred, was the model for us to make a clay bust. After six weeks the class ended and only my piece resembled the model Alfred. But of course since the class ended and was not being renewed, I never learned how to finish the piece. Never-the-less, I placed it on one of the chests in our living room. Ethyl felt otherwise and put it in the basement. I would retrieve it, but down to the basement it would go. The back and forth caused an ear to fall off and the nose to become disfigured. I finally gave up and the basement was its home.

Many years later my wife retired from her teaching job and took a ceramics class at Queensborough Community College in Bayside, Queens. After I retired my wife told me that in the class room next to where she did her ceramics, there was a sculpting class being taught by Phil Listengart. She thought he was a good teacher and suggested I take his class. I gave it some thought and when a new session was scheduled, I enrolled. Ethyl was right, He was an

excellent teacher. I learned how to finish a clay piece, have it cast and made to look like it was bronze.

Once I understood the above, I recalled my sculpture of Alfred sitting in the dark basement and decided to retrieve and attempt to finish him. Fortunately, the clay used was oil and not water clay. The latter would have caused the bust to fall apart, but that was not the case with oil clay. So up Alfred came. I replaced his missing ear and did plastic surgery on his nose and elsewhere, When I was satisfied, with my new found knowledge, I proceeded to turn the clay piece into a heavy plaster duplicate. I then made a mixture of bronze powder and clear shellac, applied them to the sculpture and rubbed over it with burnt umber. Subsequently I lightly rubbed off some of the mixture with a soft cloth so the darkness of the paint would remain in several sections. I followed all of this with a dark wax or shoe polish and rubbed it to give it a sheen.

When done Alfred looked like he was alive. Indeed when I sit on a chair in my living room, facing Alfred, I think he speaks to me. Our friendship has lasted for many years and will

continue to do so to my mortality. Alfred has the company of a variety of many other pieces of sculpture I have made over the years. Attached is a photograph of Alfred, and perhaps when you face him, you may believe he is saying hello to you.

Ben Haber

Apr 2020