Out in the sunshine

Today, at last it was time to pull Dayna's tree out of the shop and into the sunshine. While we took great care to light the shop to mimic outside conditions things always look different in the real light of day. I was pleased to see the colours pop as it came out of the shop. the shadows deepened and the textures became more evident - as we knew it would. The tree will look even better when it gets to it's final home and the landscaping is tucked around it.

Dayna's family have ben eagerly following the project through our posts on this journal and a number of emails filled with pictures of our progress. They are busy getting the park ready and are eagerly awaiting it's arrival. We are just as eager to see it's arrival there. In a few days it will be on it's way! 

Looking back as I move forward

In the last few days I've been going through tons of old files in preparation for the arrival of a new hot rod computer. I picked the machine up today and then spent some time reloading and organizing the files as I put everything onto the new speedier computer. I always enjoy this task as it gives me the chance to look through a bunch of old projects. One of the signs I came across was a fun sculptured piece I did a bit more than six years ago for a restaurant in Washington state. 

Trip to the past

This past week Janis & I along with Phoebe took a trip to Victoria, British Columbia. It was our last adventure of the summer. Phoebe was in charge of the itinerary. We visited a number of attractions - the Bug Zoo, two museums, one aquarium and other points of interest over a period of three days. One of the places we visited was Butterfly Gardens. More than thirty-five years ago we were commissioned to do some work for the facility as they were constructing it. The scope of our work included two waterfalls, two bridges, some rock work and the stamping of the textured concrete though the 12,000 square foot show space. This was my first visit since then. I was curious to see how things had held up after more than three and a half decades. Amazingly, the features we built looked great. The jungle had certainly enveloped the pieces we built and the damp environment encouraged moss growth on the features but the lush landscape added to the look. Our work blended into the landscape as it should in a setting like that.

We've come a long ways since those early days and would do things a whole lot differently now. Even so I was pleasantly surprised and am still proud of our early theme work from that period. It was fun to take a little trip to the past!