Saturday, May 31, 2008

A 'Finished' Work in Progress

Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "the Big Unit," is a left-handed, six-foot-ten starting pitcher who currently plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Johnson has been internationally recognized for having one of the most dominant fastballs in Major League Baseball. In his prime, the five-time Cy Young Award winner regularly approached (and even exceeded) 100 miles per hour with his signature pitch, a biting slider. Ironically, Arich isn't a big baseball fan. Though, like most American boys, he had baseball fever as a kid, and, having pitched in Little League, has experiential understanding. Arich sculpted this piece (which is only a rough-out, preliminary, or prototype) for McFarlane Design Group (MDG). At the time the piece was composed, it was part of MDG's proprietary process to first create a rough or prototype. Then, through a series of molds and casts, the piece would be enlarged and shrunk, with details added along the way. MDG's process is collaborative, so unfortunately, Arich didn't handle the final details you see on the marketed piece. But what a set-up! In the words of Dev Gilmore, Vice President of Product Development for Gentle Giant Studios, Arich's roughs are more dynamic than most peoples' finished work. So true a statement, so gracefully demonstrated in this piece, captured as a "work in progress."

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