This project began as an effort between three artist classmates from the 1967 graduating class of Mansfield High School, PA, to accompany the gift of a bench to the school from our class at our 55th reunion.  The original thought was to join our three hands together to hold a poem written by Ted Hoffman and scripted into calligraphy by Pat Barrett Pape.

Hand position could  become a bit of a challenge

​Then everything changed.  Rear-ended at 63 mph while nearly stopped changed the course of my life and also the course of the tribute.  I could no longer carve for the hours it would take to create the hands.  By now Pat, Ted and I were in almost daily communication.

...so I began thinking about  the terrain around Mansfield and began to see it in various pieces of Maple burl.  Ted had finished writing the poem and Pat had finished the calligraphy, then found a way to reproduce her art in blue and black ink on transfer paper.

Fresh out of the mold.  Dimensions12" square x 2 3/4" thick.  Pat supplied the sun and the moon.  The sun side has blue print, the moon side has black print.  The print on both sides is floating between 1/8"- 1/4" in front of the color behind so casts a shadow when viewed from the oblique.   The round base to the right was replaced by maple burl.

I used acrylic resin to suspend our message into the scene.  After some experimentation with various shades of yellow resin on blue to test if the ink would run or remain steadfast in the resin. 

The block of resin had to be planed on both sides to make the burl and resin meet seamlessly.  Both
​sides and all edges would need to be polished to 5,000 grit to make the message crystal clear

The Tioga River is born.  And a pond.  You know the one.  Who hasn't been skinny-dipping in a farm pond?

              It's getting there.  One more coat of polish...

           One more little touch for these Mansfield Tigers