We take a lot of pride in the detailed wood textures we sculpt, but as good as they look as raw concrete, the magic continues with our painting crew. A good example is the apple tree sign bound for Vala’s Pumpkin Patch and Apple Orchard in Gretna, Nebraska. The glazes highlight the nuances of the wood textures and age down the bright colours we use as a foundation. The result is hard to recognize as sculpted concrete that is layered over a welded steel frame.
Birds!
Taking a design from the drawing board to a full-sized sculpture is always fun! The concept is presented to the client as a drawing. Most often, the drawing presents only one view and few, if any, dimensions. Our task is to use this concept to create a full-sized three-dimensional version. The structural frame is the first, super strong and within the outline of the finished piece. Once the structural frame is welded, we form and weld the pencil rod armature together, still referring to the concept drawing. Then, we attach the lath and start the sculpting. The log will be sculpted of concrete, but first, I must tackle the three crows. The large wing and tailfeathers are of plasma-cut steel. The rest of the bird’s feathers are hand-sculpted with epoxy. One crow is now sculpted, with two more to come in the next week. Stay tuned…
One-of-a-kind chandelier
Last year, we were delighted to design a new exit/retail barn for our friends at the Kraay Family Farm in Lacombe, Alberta. Their team spent the winter building the beautiful new barn. The barn interior features a very tall vaulted ceiling. They reached out to us to design and fabricate a one-of-a-kind chandelier for the centrepiece. We dreamed up this driftwood oval with three oversized signature Kraay crows perched on the branches. As fun as it was to design this fixture, the build is even better! Stay tuned …
