The View From Our Window
Attaching the lath, sculpting and painting can get pretty tricky at times, especially in the tighter areas. Matt was wiring today and had to really squeeze to get at the hidden inside bits.
I teased him a little as he worked, but no fear for he will get the last laugh as I apply the concrete and carve these same tight areas. I'm looking forward to it... NOT.
-grampa dan
Matt was busy a good part of the day attaching the expanded lath to the welded frame I had done previously. Hand tying metal lath to an armature is hard work at the best of times. This piece with it's intricate workings was doubly so. It takes a great deal of practice and experience to become a good wirer. Lots of band-aids need to be kept handy too for the lath edges are sharp and cut like a razor if you aren't careful. Matt is doing a great job keeping up to me as I do the welding.
Pretty soon it will be time to mix up some more concrete and start sculpting this BIG piece and make it come alive in the process.! Stay tuned...
-grampa dan
The steam donkey feature is progressing nicely. The process first involves building up the structural pencil rod framework around which we will sculpt the detailed but 'cartoonized' heavy metal. I'm using some great historical photographs as reference but still taking some liberty to get the final image I desire.
The pencil rod weld is kind of like a wire frame computer model but done all freehand, slowly building up the pieces. It is fun and challenging work that requires me to visualize the finished product as I work. Everything I'm doing now will be tucked inside and hidden when we are done.
This is going to be a difficult piece to attach the wire lath to and then apply the fiberglass reinforced concrete. But as always, the tougher we seem the make this stage the cooler the detail when we are done.
This is going to be a fun piece to watch as it comes together.
-grampa dan
Custom Design & Construction
