When beginning to bring a work of sculptural art to fruition, especially any artwork with an historical context, I find that I need to do a fair amount of research on the subject. This helps me flesh out the ideas I have in mind for composition and emotions that I'm trying to convey through the piece. Much of the time I'll begin with rough sketches, trying to capture a feeling or characteristics of the subject. Sometimes I'll start working directly in clay creating a small-scale maquette in finding my way to sculptural form.

When working on a site-specific artwork there are many factors to consider. One factor with Robert Louis Stevenson was the connection to the community of Calistoga. It is purported that he and his new bride, Fanny Osbourne with their beloved setter/spainel mix dog ChuChu, spent their honeymoon in a bunkhouse of an abandoned mine on Mt. St. Helena. This has also given rise to my consideration that his wife should somehow be included in the final design and sculpture masterwork.

I find that in opening communications with the community by sharing ideas and the materials and the process to be implemented the community will coalesce and feel part of the project.

What I hope to eventually convey with this sculpture is the sense of Robert Louis Stevenson, the man, the happy wanderer, the poet and the master spinner of yarns and tales of adventure. His life, though short, was lived to the fullest and without reserve.

-Garr Ugalde