Finally a few picture peeks of the finished sculptures at the Devil Woman Saloon for you to see. I will be frank. Once we stuffed these buggers into their allotted corners, they simply “died” in the dark. The post-placement moment was seriously and painfully anti-climatic and a far cry from the expected “TA DA!!!”

Yes my client was there. Brenda seemed happy and excited but then she is a super nice person (that’s an understatement) and could very well have been just being kind. I grabbed her teeny tiny long haired teacup chiwawa Cami and bolted to the ranch warehouse in search of some lights. With Cami tucked in the crook of my arm, I loaded up with clamp lights and extension cords, crossed the ranch to the Saloon and attempted to “show” the sculptures with a bit of hard harsh light illumination.

Better. At least Brenda could get a bit of an idea but the sculptures were far from “finished” and not worth applauding. The delivery day was a confusing gamut of emotions. Honestly I felt as if I had crossed valleys, climbed peaks, thrashed my way through thick jungles, inhaled buckets of sawdust and sat my tuckered scratched and famished body down eagerly to a deliciously prepared full five course dinner at a table set with white linen and one of those silver shiny cover thingees over my plate lifted with a polished flair by a decked-out butler and there…. Before my ravenous eyes and centered on my fine china plate….lay… (drum roll please) …a little smelly dog poo.

Ok. The sculptures are a far cry from dog poo. They might even be GRAND without upstaging their surroundings as planned but first they must be lit properly. The excessive emotions could simply be chalked up to: a) being a passionate artist b) being an emotional girl c) hormones d) the culmination of expectation after a rather challenging journey. I am guessing all of the above played into an unsettled feeling that left me cranky (poor Paul) and far from satisfied. We sat down in the saloon and shared a few shots in “celebration” but that was a bit like planting a flag before reaching the summit: anti-climatic. The next day Paul and I scampered to the nearest city in search of lights. We scoured lighting shops, landscape warehouses, Lowe’s and Home Depot in the hopes we would not have to return to the Devil Woman Saloon empty-handed but the specialized lighting we need is not something places keep in stock. We had to order the lights. I spent another day putting the final parts and pieces together (whip, crystals, trident, etc.) We screwed a few little $8.00 desk lights on top of the sculptures so I wouldn’t have to leave Texas with them totally in the dark. I felt better and we snapped a few photos.

The “Devil Woman Saloon” sculptures have been tangled up in a long road of unexpected twists and turns. We launched the project nearly 18 months ago believing I could whip these buggers out in a few months time but I blew the deadline by one year(a first for me) But then last year was full of challenging “firsts” and unexpected painful endings. I have taken more-than-one deep breath, calmed down, accepted the lighting delay and returned to Montana. The “Devil Woman Sculptures” are in place. The proper lighting and professional photos will happen next month. Thank goodness Brenda has such a big heart and faith in me.

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