This is one of my favorite photos so far from the photoshoot the other day. I feel like this composition should be called “Sly Roundabout Way.” What do you think?

If your wealth is meant to last for generations, why not your art?

Progress continues… ⚒️🏃🏻‍♂️ So many little details in the face to get right still, but it’s coming along. Carving from photos rather than a physical model has been a challenge, particularly in relief where the subject is positioned at an angle like Hal is here. Getting the perspective right is key. For example, carving a nose is difficult. At least for me I fend them very difficult. But now imagine carving that same nose not 1:1 but angled and having to create the illusion of real depth. I feel like relief carving is almost like painting with stone in that sense. It’s both sculpture and two dimensional illusion all in one. I’ve done relief before but never something this complex. It’s definitely been a learning experience and I have a lot left to learn before I’m comfortable working in this style.

It’s out of my hands… Picked up for professional crating and then shipping off to its new home. Always a bittersweet moment.

I always underestimate how much resin I’ll need… just ordered some more on top of the order that’s already on the way… Once it all arrives I should have more than enough for what I’m planning to do. And the leak plugged itself when the first layer cured so now we’re all good. I just poured a translucent blue layer over the first layer of opaque blue. After this will be a whole lot more clear resin up to the top of the mold. Once everything cures I’ll sand down the top surface until everything is at the same level, including the blocks protruding over the top of the mold. At least that’s the plan for now.

One of a few pieces I’m excited to be auctioning off at @The Bitcoin Conference via @Scarce.City . “Reborn” is a self portrait of sorts, using my own hand as a model, and carved from a single block of Carrara marble. "Reborn" is inspired by my Bitcoin journey and the many other people whose lives have been changed by Bitcoin. I carved the hand in the “Gyan Mudra” or the “Mudra of Wisdom or Knowledge,” with an Opendime between thumb and index finger alluding to the pursuit of Bitcoin knowledge. The hand emerges from rough, choppy water, and I've set the hand against an archway, through which, the copper leaf hints at the bright orange future made possible by Bitcoin.

Oh no! It sprung a leak! Luckily it looks worse than it is. The resin is starting to harden and the leak is tiny. Once this layer cures I should be good. Following this layer will be a translucent blue followed by clear. Already feels like I’m swimming in the mempool…

Photoshoot ✅ This sculpture ships out to its new owner later this week, but I’ll be sharing more media in the coming days. Would anyone be interested in limited edition photo prints?

Back to work on the details.. The face looks a little eerie right now, but that will change as the work gets closer and closer to completion. One of the biggest things I’ll have to tackle towards the very end is texture. Slate is a dark stone, but the various “colors” you can achieve are numerous if you treat it right. For now though, I’m jumping around the parts of the face, working slowly. Going to tackle the hair again after the face is done, and then on to the feet…

Progress continues.. ⚒️

Taking a break from Hal’s face to work on some lettering. I decided to go with raised lettering rather than inscribing them. Should look really nice with the Ubuntu font, and this is a technique I’ve always wanted to try. Takes a bit more time, but it’ll be worth it.

Bitcoin is beautiful.

A few iterations later and … done. Need to clean up the print a bit but I think it turned out nicely.

Calcite cutoffs slotted into the mold.. For the rest of ₿ I’m still deciding how I’ll fill the space. I have a lot more smaller cutoff pieces that weren’t suitable to be trimmed like this so in may just clean them and dump them in more organically. I think it will be a nice contrast. And then resin to knit it all together…

I made Bitcoin art at $2k I made Bitcoin art at $10k I made Bitcoin art at $30k I made Bitcoin art at $50k I made Bitcoin art at $100k And I’ll make Bitcoin art at $1MM+

So far I’ve prepped about 1/3 of these stone cutoffs. It’s taken longer and been a lot more boring than I anticipated… But the work will pay off. The mold is ready to go, so once I finish this prep, I’ll be able to slot all these pieces in and get the epoxy flowing.. ₿

GM☀️

Prep work continues… I’ve got around 100 of these pieces trimmed, and now I need to sand the surfaces to 120 grit. I’m planning to pack these into a mold and fill the cracks with epoxy, so a light sanding will make sure the color of the stone is visible in the end result.

Tick tock, Auction Block View quoted note →

Ramping up prep work for the next sculpture.. This will be another ₿ but made from epoxy and all the cutoffs from my other sculpture. Not sure how it will turn out but it’s worth trying rather than throwing away all the leftover stone. But the epoxy has to wait a bit. First I have to trim and do some light sanding on all the cutoffs…