The painting crew finished off another large section of wall today which meant it was time to pull it out into the sunshine to make room for some more sculpting in the shop. The pieces look great in the shop but they shine out in the sun. It won’t be long until we are ready to make the giant shipment to NEB’s Fun World in Oshawa, Ontario. Stay tuned…
Since the beginning
Our family has worked together for decades since our kids were very young. Back in the early days, in the 80’s and 90’s we were doing historical murals across North America. We would pack up the travel trailer each summer and work across Canada and the USA. Before we transitioned into the theme park world we accomplished more than 120 very large murals. As we travelled between towns we saw the sights, and had a lot of fun. We still enjoy recounting those fun memories of our time together. One summer when Peter was fourteen the two of us did a two-month cross-Canada trip on our own. We fondly recall it as the summer of the go-kart racing series, as we stopped at every track we found along the way. Our driving competitions were fierce and it is still debated to this day who won the most races on our long journey. On that trip, we painted a couple of murals in St. Thomas, Ontario. As was often the case, the projects were covered extensively by the local news media. For one interview I let Peter take the lead. While the TV cameras focussed on him I went down the street to get us some Cokes and a treat. On my return, I asked him how it went and he stated with a sly grin, that everything was cool. That evening we were having our supper in a local diner and I noticed the segment featuring our mural was on. Our hosts kindly turned up the volume on the TV and I proudly listened to my son, the star. Peter did awesome, recounting in detail how we painted a mural. The reporter asked what happened if we ever made a mistake. Peter, with a straight face, explained that he personally, never made mistakes, but his dad did on occasion. When that happened Peter recounted that he would send me down the street to get some Cokes, and then quietly fix the boo-boo without me ever being the wiser.
Concrete magic
Each sculpting day we set an ambitious goal of how much we want to realistically accomplish. We want to complete as much as possible without having a panic situation as the concrete cures. Even though our special mix has retarders and extenders in it, fresh concrete carves very differently than concrete that is beginning to kick. Several factors play into our decision of how much we tackle. Typically, bricks take longer to sculpt than rock work and woodgrains take more skilled labour. How many experienced crew are on hand dictates how ambitious we get each day. Other factors such as temperature play into our calculations as the concrete sets up much quicker when it is warm and the humidity is low. We also use different grades of sand for different applications, depending on the final texture we desire. How many upside-down surfaces are also a consideration as they take longer to trowel on the mud and are trickier to sculpt. We like to start applying the concrete to the upper portions first thing in the morning and work our way down. We trowel on concrete for three or four hours at most. Then it is time for a quick lunch break and by that time the first concrete is beginning to kick and it is time to start carving in the detail. How many sculptors work at any given time is determined by the rate the concrete is setting up. We need to sculpt at close to the same pace as it was applied. Our most skilled sculptors do key areas and the highest details, with less experienced crew filling in behind. We also switch positions often because everyone has a personal style and the finished product must appear to be sculpted by one hand. We also need time at the end of the day to check everything over and clean the tools and work areas. Last Friday we accomplished an amazing amount of sculpted area, with three large detailed pieces made ready for paint. Tomorrow is sculpting day once again and you can bet the crew is up for another big day. Stay tuned…
