The Art of the Shape
When projects of this nature are delayed, he tries to let his clients know ahead of time.
“There are so many things that are going to occur when you use natural stone,” he says. “There could be a flaw in the stone, or a big machine will break down and the parts will have to come from Germany. If you take 100 small delays, they end up being one big one.”
Click image to enlarge
Occasionally, Galloway will be left on his own to pick out whatever stone he wants to use. He admits that, with limestone, some stones are softer and easier to carve into particular shapes than others.
“If it has to match in color, the architect really doesn’t want to hear that it’s harder to work,” he says. “They want the color to work, so I don’t have a lot of control over it.”
One advantage to projects of this nature, he adds, is that shipping is usually handled by the client, although occasionally where something is very fragile he’s called on for delivery and even installation.
“On any major jobsite, the stone masons by and large are just amazing with very fragile pieces and getting them installed,” he says. “There are things I know will be a nightmare and they don’t even blink.”
The Artist
While Galloway often works for clients, he’s also an artist. In 2013, he became involved in creating sculptures for the communities of the six Indiana artists and arts organizations recognized by the state’s governor.
“I was picked to do the awards and I said, ‘Okay, but let’s upscale this,’” he explains. “I made the smaller-sized awards, but I thought it would be a good way to get outdoor sculptures that would be strong and have a lot of visibility.”
Initially, he proposed creating larger versions of the award (the original plan was for each piece to measure 5’10”) at the same time.
The concept was attractive enough that he’s currently in the process of establishing a working agreement with the state and its arts commission.
“The lifetime agreement with the Indiana Arts Commission is to have a 10’ tall Governor’s Arts Awards sculpture on permanent display in each of the five newly designated Indiana Cultural Districts,” Galloway explains. “My recommendation was to switch those pieces out with new sculptures every two ton three years. so there’s always new public stone sculpture coming on display.”
Click image to enlarge
He adds that the commission’s director is looking into putting a monumental original award sculpture on the grounds of the state capitol in Indianapolis.
Regardless of the project and the client, there are a number of other dualities in Galloway’s life, right down to the fact that he works from two different facilities.
The smaller is a 30’ X 60’ space at his home in Nashville.
“My home is about an hour away from Bedford, which is on top of limestone,” he says. “In Nashville we’re on top of a red-brown sandstone.”
Bedford, of course, is in the heart of Indiana limestone country; there, Galloway’s space measures about 100’ X 70’, which allows him to do the really big pieces.
“It’s a full-sized mill, and I’ve got all the big tools, the huge saws and all that,” he says. “We can handle really full pieces of stone. Having the ability to turn the stone can make a lot of difference in terms of the hours a job can take. It’s all about hours, because when people are looking for budget cuts, sculpture is one of the first things under the knife.”
Despite those capabilities, Galloway says he remains unimpressed by what some of the mechanization brings to the table in terms of carving stone. He says it’s much like electronic music compared to a whole orchestra.
“There aren’t any machines yet that are sophisticated enough to duplicate the human mind,” Galloway says. “It’s fine if you’re very far away – like for a top-course mold – because you can’t tell the difference. But, if you’re close you can absolutely see the difference.”
Many of the tools he uses today are similar to what the Italian sculptor/painter Michelangelo used to shape marble centuries ago.
“We still use Italian rasps and files and Italian tools when I can get them,” he says. “They’re hand-forged and they’ll take a tiny tool to make these sharp cuts in the metal but it’s still the best thing we can use to do some of these processes.”
