Almost every day, I bike ride just over twenty kilometres along the river trails. The trails go through a lush rainforest with a wide variety of flora and fauna along the way. Riding along the paths is relaxing and inspiring and has become my happy place. This year, I’ve been stopping often and taking tons of pictures. Those pictures were used as a reference as I sculpted the twisted maple tree that is part of my Lyrical Toad entry for the Sign Invitational. Of special interest was the moss that grows in the dense, shaded forest near the river trail. I enjoyed sculpting it, and today I finished painting it. This was accomplished by painting the moss a dark green, applying a dark brown/purple glaze and then gently drybrushing some bright mossy green highlights. In real life, it is pretty convincing, and I was delighted with the result. Now it is time to move on to painting the toad. Stay tuned…
Soap-box racing
Having two businesses and two homes on adjoining properties affords us the luxury of having a very large yard, a little more than two acres in all. That means there is a whole lot of room for all kinds of fun! Last year, the kids inherited two homemade soap-box racers from my uncle Bob. It was fun to push them around for a while and coast down the small hill in the backyard. But the need for speed quickly became apparent, and Grampa’s electric lawnmower proved to be just the ticket for a fast ride - especially on a somewhat bumpy lawn. This is the new favourite thing to do - until we think of something new and exciting.
Poop deck ready for wire
Yesterday went sideways, and there was zero time left for welding. Today I had the whole day to finish off the welding on the poop deck. The first order of business was to use our trusty Fastcut CNC Plasma to cut the skeleton pieces and centre for the ship’s wheel. It took a while to weld up the large rivet heads as end caps on the spoke handles, but once that task was finished, the wheel went together quickly. Matt attached the lath to the wheel before we welded it into place. By day’s end, I had formed and welded the balance of the pencil rod to complete the armature. Next week, the crew will tie on the lath to prepare it for the concrete skin. Just before the crew went home, Cap’n Matt manned the wheel for a pic.
