This is "Heron Island"

My largest limited edition bronze to date. It stands 42 inches high, and the Heron measures 26 inches in a straight line from tip of the beak to the end of tail. The overall length is 32 inches and the overall width is 21 inches. The bronze itself weighs about 90 lbs. These are cast in silicon bronze. Heron Island is a numbered edition, limited to 45 pieces plus 5 Sculptor's Proofs.

The first shot was sent to me on CD by my customer in New Jersey, Bob Sidey. after he had installed it near the edge of his Koi pond. Two 1/2 inch stainless nuts were cast into the base to accept concrete anchors. Bob had told me how the installation was to take place: A slab of slate was cut and drilled. The bronze was mounted to the slate with the concrete anchors protruding thru the slate. Then the whole assembly was set in fresh concrete with the anchors plunged into the wet concrete, slate base floating and set level on the top of the concrete and the Heron bronze firmly mounted atop the slate base, just below the anticipated waterline. The pond was filled and rounded river pebbles was arranged around the base, creating a seamless transition with the rounded pebbles cast into the bronze. Placed in a natural setting like this with green water and aquatic plants, the Heron and it's snag or perch look absolutely real.

However, when I talked to Bob a couple weeks ago he told me that he actually ended up doing something a bit different and simpler; Instead of setting the thing in concrete, he went to his local bldg supply and bought a pre poured concrete pad for an air conditioning unit about 2' X 3'. Then, using a 1/2 inch masonry bit he drilled both the slate and the concrete pad and ran 6 inch stainless bolts thru pad, slate and into the receiving nuts into the bronze base. The idea was to give the base enough weight to counter balance the cantilever, just as I use the Green Marble for an inside placement. He knocked off the corners and straight edges on the AC pad so that it was mostly only slate showing. Then he placed that assembly on top of an assortment of pre positioned cinderblocks. He spread water worn pebbles around the perimeter of the bronze to further camoflage the edges and filled the pond! Small fluctuations in the water level is absorbed by the additional pebbles around the bronze base.

No doubt, each installation will be unique, and these are but two examples of how it might be done. The remaining images show more detail including two "Sliders" or Pond Turtles and a Bullfrog around the base also. There are photos below showing the standard Green Marble base as well. Add another 50 lbs for the Marble base. Overall length of the marble base is 29 inches, overall width is 17 inches. This is how it is presented if you're not going to do a custom pond installation. The green marble is 1 1/2 inches thick, actually two pieces of 3/4 inch laminated together. The "Broken Edge" obscures the horizontal line and makes the base stronger. Natural cracks in either piece don't run thru both pieces. Laminated together they reinforce each other.

Although bronze is very strong and the sculpture should not bend or break once installed, I have designed this piece so that the body is supported entirely by the legs. While it might be more stable, I did not want to use a cattail or branch or any additional device to come up and support the Heron under the tail or along the side. I wanted the Heron to be free standing and out there without artificial support.