Ruswarp the Collie face in progress

You can see the left ear needs work done on the long hair that is so characteristic of Ruswarp and other collies.

JOEL says " I think I am going to have to take the left eye out again... you may not have noticed these are not the eyes that were sketched in ! It took about fifteen tries to get to this point!

Eyes are so important - it is always worth the trouble to have another go if you are not happy with them!"

The expression in Ruswarp's right eye is taking shape.


A taste of the details being added all over the sculpture

A little more help from friends

We have had some visitors to help with some of the details of Ruswarp Sculpture.
Here is Helen and Blue - Blue's short coat means JOEL can check the look and position of joints and tendons on the paws and legs.

After a break to let the clay settle and do some more work and study ...then we were onto the final changes and details...and making the coat castable!

Coat across one side of sculpture

The first toenails are sketched in and details to the hair of the front legs begun.

The tail is beginning to take shape

More coat added across the ribs, you can see a clear difference between the two sides.

More work has happened to Ruswarps face and to his ruff.

Ruswarp sculpture gets his coat

The Ruswarp Sculpture, now to start the addition of his long, plumey tail
next the hair on his back legs, and back

Its a good day for working outside....warm, slightly overcast - but good light

The Ruswarp Sculpture has more and more coat built up....across the chest, down the front legs...and later down the back legs.

Just to prove the Sculptress JOEL is at work !

Ruswarp sculpture head takes shape

At last ...the head starts to take shape, and the first sketch of eyes set in...what a difference this makes.

First sketch of Ruswarp ears

The first sketch of ears has been added and the outline/profile of the hair upon the neck and a quick sketch of the hair on the throat and chest.

Progress of Sculpture

The Sculpture of Ruswarp progresses. The form takes on the distinct shape of a dog....recognised by the neighbours dogs!

Study and progress

Close up of the developing back leg, more work to be done on the joint

The back leg bones and muscles studied and then gradual build up

The back muscles and down into the back leg developed

The Shoulder muscles have been studied

Making progress

How much better the sculpture looks as we see the steel covered with clay and start to have the shape and outline of the head take form. The throat has been built out towards the lower jaw, and more work is needed on the top of the Collies head. This is only the profile and the Sculptress has to fill out the ribs and shoulder and neck.
I am thinking about the work to come and the positioning of the legs, even as I am hands on the throat and back of the head

The armature for the head has been fixed securely and the steel rods trimmed to be within the sculpture.

The top line is extended up into the neck, and the breast bone up towards the lower neck. You can see the shoulders beginning to show development. Just visible are the mapping pins on the clay, which JOEL places in different points as key references ~ here for example top of front leg, point of shoulder and shoulder on back line, also one at the hip socket.

In the background on the right you can see some of the images of Ruswarp.

JOEL is working towards the head, and also adding to the thorax, soon it will be time for the back legs.

Building up to the topline and out to chest

Many hours have passed since the last photo record.
The profile has been built up towards the Collies top line and also much of the abdomen is in place, and the thorax out towards the keel of the chest.
Some fine tweaking has happened to the Shoulder and you can see a piece of wire resting in the place where the back leg will be.
A life sized print of a local collie helps inform this stage - a beautifully well behaved obedience trained dog...but he has more coat than Ruswarp so we shall have to find a dog closer in appearance.
JOEL is studying the video footage of Ruswarp and the skeletal structure of dogs, especially of the shoulders.

Building out the main core

Now comes a time of little by little addition to the central core - the main trunk of the seated Ruswarp. Lots of work and little shows. An alternative to building up like this is to form a frame of wire mesh to support a thinner skin of clay - this would be quicker, but the sculpture would have become more vulnerable to movement and cracks.

Another addition has been the wire to strengthen Ruswarps tail.

You can see the heel of one front foot and a hint of toes gives a feel for the positioning of future work on these places.

Note that the shoulders are not yet in their final positions and the wire is in place to hold the clay, not in the exact place of the shoulder bones.

Building out the central core

The first main addition of clay builds out the central core and means the central core is now properly balanced and in line. This is not quite in the same place as a real backbone, but the concept of support is the same.

Leg armature and clay base

The armature is progressing, with special box section sculptors wire being used to support the clay for the front legs, and the extension rod added that will hold the head and ears.





You can see the base of clay that has been added to the board - Ruswarp will sit on this - A local collie was obliging enough to allow the Sculptress JOEL to draw round him as he was sitting on a sheet of thick paper - and this gave the shape.

Seeking a Collie like Ruswarp

The Sculptress JOEL is looking for a Collie of the same build and coat type that she can study to help inform the sculpture.
It is so helpful to watch and study Collies move, turn and sit.... details of muscles help make the sculpture more lifelike. The old documentary is very helpful...but there are some close up areas I would like to study, says JOEL
If you can help with this aspect of the special project to make Ruswarp the Collie, please contact JOEL

The Armature Core

The central core of the armature that will support the weight of the clay of the sculpture has been fabricated from box section steel by Simon Askew of Rollenwood Services, Melton Mowbray.

There is an additional downward strut for added strength.

You can see the slight curve in the frame that will give the Ruswarp Sculpture that little turn of the head.

Simon can be seen making another drill hole for the steel rods that will form the support for the head.

Images of Ruswarp

Images of Ruswarp have been made to inform the Sculpture

Ruswarp His Story

The Story of the heroic Collie dog Ruswarp, his owner and the saving of a railway line....

In the 1980's Britain's most scenic railway line, the Settle to Carlisle, was under threat of almost certain closure. Among the people who formed the group that was to save the Settle - Carlisle railway line was Graham Nuttall a very modest Lancashire man who shared with a growing number of people a sense of outrage that the S&C seemed condemned.

He became the first Secretary of the Friends of the Settle - Carlisle Line.

Graham and his faithful Border Collie dog Ruswarp were inseparable. Ruswarp's paw print had the distinction of being the only canine signature of objection to the line's closure. He was deemed to be a 'fare paying passenger' about to suffer 'hardship' should the line close.

On 20th January 1990 Graham went missing. He and Ruswarp bought day return tickets from Burnley to Llandrindod Wells (in Wales), there to go walking in the Welsh Mountains. But Graham never returned. Neighbours raised the alarm. Searches by police and mountain rescue teams in the Elan Valley and Rhayader found nothing. Then on 7th April 1990, a lone walker found Graham's body, by a mountain stream. Nearby was Ruswarp, so weak that the 14 year old dog had to be carried off the mountain. He had stayed with his master's body for eleven winter weeks.

Ruswarp was cared for by a local vet--fees paid by the RSPCA, who quickly decided to award Ruswarp their Animal Medallion and collar for 'vigilance' and their Animal Plaque for 'intelligence and courage'. Ruswarp lived just long enough to attend Graham's funeral. An eye-witness at the funeral gives this account:

"The elderly couple who had Ruswarp in their care sat at the front and, as ever on public occasions, Ruswarp sat patiently and slilently throughout the service, but as the curtains closed on the coffin there was a long low muffled howl. It was uncanny, Ruswarp's farewell. I shall never forget this..."
(from The Westmorland Gazette, April 25, 2008, courtesy of Francis Pritchard, Hon. Treasurer, Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line)

Site Visit March 2008

The Sculptress JOEL visits the proposed site on a very wet and windy day in March.

Standing behind where Ruswarp will sit on his special plinth, JOEL indicates the height of the Collie's head.

Collie Friends

Thanks to all the Collie friends who have helped with the Sculpture of Ruswarp...here is a snap shot of just some of them

Who is that !

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