From the very beginning it was decided that the statue was to be an outdoor sculpture. It was determined that being hollow was advantageous as it allowed for contraction and expansion in keeping with the elements. The material chosen was fiber glass reinforced resin, covered with a gel coat mixed with marble powder. With proper care, this approach would last for many years. The first step in the process of creating the finished monument, called ‘pointing up’, is a technique used for hundreds of years. This is where a series of measurements are taken of the small maquette, which are then transferred to the relatively gigantic size of the finish. This was done using Styrofoam that was carved out in layers. These layers were stacked like pancakes over a vertical, centrally placed armature pole. Their purpose was to quickly block out the basic proportions of the statue, albeit very, very crudely, while saving weight and clay. These are images of the process as used for a four foot tall version of the statue.

The next step is to completely cover the Styrofoam with a layer of clay about an inch or two thick. The basic forms of the sculpture are then carefully rendered until a desired finish is achieved. Following are several images of the sculpting process of the eight foot statue from beginning to end:

After three months of very intense sculpting, the full scale version of the statue was finally completed.