I am so excited to share this latest post with you. It is very fun and rather uncharacteristic of the work I get to do. Here is the story of The Unveiling…
I received a call from one of our brides whose wedding we photographed last year. She wanted to know if I was available to photograph an event that was happening at her mom’s place. I was available so I inquired about the event. Was it a birthday? A family reunion? What sort of event? Liz said, “No. Not exactly. It’s kind of a different kind of event.” Hmmmm. Well that sounds interesting. She begins to fill me in a bit on the background.
During a wind storm a branch fell off one of the trees at her mom’s place and caused some damage. It was determined that the tree was not very healthy and needed to be removed from the property. Liz’s mom had the idea of making something positive out of the whole experience and considered having a sculpture made of her husband out of the tree trunk. So, they began researching some local sculptors and found just the right person. His name is Billy Dillard or is otherwise known as Billy Bears. Billy works with a number of different mediums including wood, metal, fiberglass, and more. He was perfect for this fun project. Upon examining the tree trunk, Billy determined that it just would not work. It was not solid sculpting wood. So, the project took a new direction. In honor of the fallen tree, man-made materials were used to create a life-size sculpture of Liz’s stepdad Dick.
The sculpture is unlike any other. It’s likeness to Dick is uncanny. It comes complete with a Mac laptop, Dick’s famous hat, and a number of slugs. Liz’s mom does not like slugs and they seem to creep up everywhere throughout their beautiful property. Dick is in charge of getting rid of the slugs. So it was only fitting to incorporate them into the sculpture. It was one of the final requests sent to Billy Bears to complete the piece.
I had the opportunity to chat with Billy at The Unveiling. He commented on how excited he was with the piece and how fun it was to work on such a unique project. He captured multiple images of the progress of the sculpture being built. The images were set out on display for the event so everyone could see the incredible transformation. When guests arrived for the party, the sculpture was covered in a black cloth. It looked very ominous. I couldn’t wait to see what was underneath. Guests gathered around and Billy Bear’s sculpture was unveiled to the group. There was lots of laughter, lots of conversation, and lots of interest in having photos taken with the sculpture. The party was very festive, fun, and playful. I had a wonderful time and even had my photo taken with the sculpture.
Here are some of my favorites from the event:
