Art directing from afar

While we work on the project for Trinidad in our studio there are also people working on the project half a world away. The three large rides are being manufactured in Italy. In the last months there have been many emails, sharing details of the rides, both what they can provide and what we want. The spinning coaster is to be customized the most of the three. The ride track has been extended on one of the loops to allow the tower ride to fit into the middle. The artists in Italy are also creating a custom car to better fit the ride into the theme of the park. A broken barrel best suited the overall stock shape of the cars which we can't alter.

I sketched up the idea and sent it off to Italy.

Now as they begin the build of the ride they must first build a prototype of the new car body. The barrel, outerportion will be built around a stock seat and frame mechanism. Once we OK the idea they then pull a mould and then produce the cars. This past week I recieved photos of the rough sculpt. It looks great!

The medallion which we sent over last week has now arrived and they will produce a mould of this as well and incorporate it into the sides of each car.

This kind of monumental project is definitely a team effort. Many who work on the project I will never meet or communicate with save for shared emails. Just the same everyone is adding to the magic we are creating and I appreciate their efforts.

-grampa dan

Horsing around

Another workday and much more creative magic happened in the shop. The biggest current piece, the horse and wagon recieved it's wheels and the last of it's colors today.

By the end of the day it was done. It will be allowed to cure through the weekend and then on Monday will gallop out of the shop to make room for more.

In the welding department the giant frame for the entrance was begun in earnest today. The gate is quite large but still has a people friendly scale. 

Contrary to public opinion we do know how to use tape measures, levels and squares and all are used to make sure the framework is perfect in order for the gates to operate smoothly and line up perfectly. 

Now that the framework is done we'll put the precision tools away and go back to having fun.

-grampa dan

Found treasure!

I'm convinced that we don't ever outgrow our desire to play in the dirt. It's fun! 

Today Peter and I finally got to sculpt a project we've been looking forward to for some time. DIRT! The challenge was to create a treasure chest half dug out of a dirt bank. Sounds easy but to make it believeable is a definite challenge which we've never tackled before.

Peter welded up the armature a few days ago and the wiring crew attached the lath. Today at last the special fiberglass reinforced concrete was mixed and then troweled on extra thick. Lumps and bumps were added in exact locations. These would become various sized stones in the dirt. It all had to look unplanned and haphazard. Then the whole mess was allowed to set to just the right hardness. Then the sculpting fun began. We used our usual tools but also tried a variety of new ones to create a dirt texture. The result looks like... a treasure chest dug out of the dirt!

Once cured, painted and delivered the piece will be put in place and then soil mounded up behind. Careful planting of the landscape materials will ensure it looks like it has been there forever.

The treasure and dirtbank will be placed by the thirteenth hole of the mini golf. Nearby, the guests riding the pirate train will get a glimpse of the unburied treasure as well. The golfing green will be a double pathed hole with a raised island portion in the center. In that island there will be a pile of dirt and rocks with the treasure hunter's shovel stuck in the middle. That too was sculpted today.

The treasure has been found!

-grampa dan