The concepts for our projects are most often presented as two-dimensional art. These drawings convey the feeling and theme of our signs and features. On acceptance by the client, our work has just begun. The next step is to decide what the structure inside will look like, how the pieces will fasten together, and how the feature will be moved around the shop and transported to its final home. Railing heights and other safety features need to be incorporated into the structure. All of these things are closely related and critical for the build. Then we have to translate the two-dimensional concept into a three-dimensional sculpture. Since most of our projects are built using fibreglass-reinforced-concrete over a welded steel armature, once the structural steel is in place, we then form and weld up a pencil rod frame. Like a quick preliminary sketch on paper, we use a 1/4” round pencil rod to roughly outline the shapes. This lightweight steel is easy to bend and tack into place. We step back frequently and use this minimal framework to eyeball the final shape. Adjustments are made, and then more rods are shaped and tacked into place. This process is relatively quick but not much to look at by the untrained eye. With this 3D sketch in place, our experienced and imaginative crew can easily visualize the finished piece. If we are happy, we then stabilize this basic frame by triangulating it back to the structure. Then we can add a grid of pencil rods to form a sturdy, complete armature to which we will tie the diamond lath. This shape will then be covered with a generous coating of fibreglass-reinforced-concrete and sculpted to become the giant rock skull we first imagined. Stay tuned to see it come to life…