The giant skull rock armature is now fully welded, and this week the crew will begin wiring on the galvanized diamond lath mesh. This is a tough job that is not for the faint of heart, and it is much more difficult than it appears at first glance. The mesh is razor-sharp and tricky to handle, especially when tucking it into tight crevices. The more complex the armature, the tougher it is to wire and sculpt, but the payoff is huge when we are done. To help the crew work the mesh into the deep cracks, they have invented a tool dubbed the ‘meshete’. It is actually just a flat 2” wide piece of 10-gauge flat bar with a custom tape-wrapped handle, but it does the job perfectly. Stay tuned to watch this skull rock come together…
Character trees
In the evenings and on weekends, I often draw for fun. The drawings are done on my iPad, and they’ll be reproduced on the CNC laser, burned into wood panels, which I will then hand colour. I’m experimenting with many different subjects and having a lot of fun. The latest series I’m working on is character trees. As I ride my bike along the forest trails and observe the myriad of trees, especially the large, ancient ones, I can imagine faces peering back from the shadows. These imaginings inspire these creations.
Skinning the plane
Since it was Friday and Henry and Juniper were a little concerned about the quickly approaching Yarrow Days Parade, we decided to enlist some of the crew for a bit of the afternoon to help mix some batches of sculpting epoxy and apply it to the diamond lath skin of Henry’s plane. We made great progress! There are still some areas on the back side of the plane, but we are closing in on the finish of the first coat. Next week, we will finish the sculpt and start adding a little body filler to make a smooth skin. Henry is looking forward to beginning the paint scheme. Stay tuned…
