**a few highlights**

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.....a few highlights....
.........from years gone by....
..click words under pictures for detail photos of process etc..

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..click here to go to the Trinity U fireplace restoration..

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..click here to go to the Aztec balcony restoration..
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..click here to go to the Majestic Sweet Grapes restoration..
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..click here to go to the Crockett Street mask..
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..click here to go to the Linda Pace residence..
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..click here to go to the Lynn Ford Craftsman Award..
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..I have three blogs..
..the others are..
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.. http://moremud.blogspot.com/ ..
..people places and things..
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..and..
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.. http://hannibalpianta.blogspot.com/ ..

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..this blog is battlead.blogspot.. 
..things I make..

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Thomas Michael Battersby 

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.....life of a mudpuddle....
.........I turn mud into solid objects.....
..first a profile blade on a swinging arm..

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....CLICK any picture for a larger view....

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..mudpuddle follows - plaster, lime, and water....

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..beginning of a crown 
to top off the Sweet Grapes surround....
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..above is a clay dart..
..& below, a silicone mold and plaster darts..
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..continuing....

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..the crown installed is gold leafed 
and 16' above the floor 
at the Majestic Theatre in SATx..

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....CLICK any picture for a larger view....

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above is the Harriet Frishmuth bronze that she produced in 1927
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below is a photo taken before
the entire piece was removed
to make room for a concession stand
in the early 1950s.
then Harriet's Sweet Grapes
lived in a closet for 50 years....

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..on the left below is the photograph that I referred to in order
to produce this work in 2002-2004...

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..below is a piece from 2005
at the Aztec Theatre in SATx.
originals were removed in the 1970s
to add 2 screens in the balcony.

had to produce 2.
one at each side of the balcony.
all hand carved plaster
14' tall x 14' wide..

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my dad and I below in 1990
with the Lynn Ford Craftsman award
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..click here to go to the Lynn Ford Craftsman Award..
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above and below 
a rosette for an 1867 house
in San Antonio.
I made and installed five.
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adding a picture
of the mudGlide for Jolene
0202 2020 in the Texas Hill country
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..I have three blogs..
..the others are..
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.. http://moremud.blogspot.com/ ..
..people places and things..
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..and..
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.. http://hannibalpianta.blogspot.com/ ..

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..this blog is battlead.blogspot.. 
..things I make..

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**18 years ago**09 21 2001**part 1**

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.....Majestic Theatre 2001-03.... 
..................Downtown San Antonio Texas....
...............................here's Part One....
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..1st image - clay model from 18 years ago in my studio.. 
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......In 2001 I was commissioned to recreate the Sweet Grapes Surround..
.....10 feet wide 16 feet high and two years to produce and install....  

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....CLICK any picture for a larger view....

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...........above and below - this model progresses....

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...........below - final casting as installed - one of two caps....

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...........image below - install complete - June 24 2003....

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...........I produced the base last....

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.....installed in three phases - lower 2/3 - upper 1/3 - finally the base...
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...........it's all Gypsum - my favorite magic rock...
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.....taken from the ground exploded ground cooked just add water....

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...........next image - the photo copy that I worked from...

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...........photo was from the 1930s...

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.....surround was removed in the 50s to make room for a popcorn stand...

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...........next two images - components mocked up in my studio....

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...........next four images - producing the base in my studio....

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...........Harriet Frishmuth's Sweet Grapes bronze...

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...........removed in the 50s and lived in a closet for 50 years....

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...........below are a few images of the final decoration....

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..I have three blogs..
..the others are..
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.. http://moremud.blogspot.com/ ..
..people places and things..
..

..and..
..
.. hannibalpianta.blogspot.. 

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..this blog is battlead.blogspot.. 
..things I make..

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Thomas Michael Battersby

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