King of pirates

In the midst of all the shop work I am also keeping my hands and mind busy designing the theme park for Trinidad. Each day I do a drawing or two, contact vendors for some of the attractions, and work on a host of details. The centerpiece for the courtyard will be the capitan of the pirate crew. At our Sign Magic Workshop I spent a little time doing a demo piece - a small scale maquette of the statue. It's a quick and dirty study model to give my client a better picture of the larger piece we will build. The figure is about six inches tall. The plaque underneath, fastened to the pedestal will tell the complete story for our guests.

It's going to be a fun project as well.

-grampa dan

Juggling jobs

Some days I feel like a juggler, keeping many diverse things up in the air, balancing (sort of) perfectly but always right on the edge of control. Today was such a day. Everyone was busy in the shop. Out in the yard we were doing new fencing for the horses. We were also stocking up on supplies needed for the Sculpture Magic Workshop that starts tomorrow. In between I worked at my design table and other various jobs.

Some of the tasks we were doing were not glamorous nor flashy, but still very necessary. One such item(s) was the first batch of fence posts, now ready for the application of concrete and then sculpting. 

The hard working crew has also finished almost a hundred rock forms, both welded and wired. These will be soon welded to the 'dirt bank' structures that forms the mountain before we apply the concrete in the coming weeks.

When I went to town for supplies I stopped in up at Cultus Lake to see progress on-site. The large crew up there has been very busy to say the least. The bumper boat pool bottom was poured today. Next week they will backfill the pool and begin work on the island which will support the raised deck for the giant swing ride. That will be our cue to begin our theme work on site.

Forms for the first floor (of three) are almost in place. By the end of the week those walls should be poured and then they begin work on the cast in place suspended slab. It won't be long until our work begins to build a giant mountain around the building. It's going to get to be more fun all the time as we really get into the job!

Tomorrow we clear the shop once more and do our preparations for the workshop. By mid afternoon the first of our eager guests should start rolling in. Another wonderful adventure is about to begin. Stay tuned...

-grampa dan

Framework for a lighthouse

It's our intent to squeeze in as much regular work as possible in the three working days between the Workshops. The giant structural framework for the front planter/lighthouse and sign was squeezed into the shop and the welding and wiring began. Just so you can sort of recognize what you are looking at here's the concept art. 

There are going to be a few changes, primarily on the sign but the giant structural framework we pushed into the shop on Sunday is beginning to look a lot like the drawing.

The giant piece will live in the shop one more day, being worked on in a frienzy. Thursday morning, right after first break it gets hooked up to the tractor and pulled to make room for the next workshop.

Out in the driveway the horse got it's last glaze.

The boys have also been busy, welding and wiring 85 rocks and 30 posts. Up at the worksite the crew there is busy putting in the forms for the walls of the buildings and pools. It won't be long until our crew begins theme work onsite. Stay tuned...

-grampa dan