Heads and tails

The armature for Kraay’s giant tire horse armature is now fully welded, and Matt has been busy tying on the diamond lath when he wasn’t busy cutting steel for the. The horse's head and tail were fabricated as separate pieces and will be assembled on site. The horse’s mane is fashioned with some 2” three-strand synthetic rope. These rope sections are looped over a temporary frame to keep them out of the way while we work and for shipping. Our client will cut these ropes to the length they desire and unravel the strands to make a good-looking mane.

This coming week, we’ll trowel on the concrete and sculpt this giant horse. Stay tuned…

Day one at Skull Rock

It's always a good day when we can take a pile of fresh-cut pieces off the FastCut CNC plasma and more than 50 precision-cut lengths of square tube steel, and start building a new structure. Today’s task was the lower framework for Skull Rock. Matt was cutting the tube steel for me while I fit and welded everything into place. We made excellent progress! By the end of the day, the steel deck and lower spill pool were fitted and welded into position, and we were ready to begin on the upper framework. Next week, we’ll also start welding the pencil rod to make it resemble a giant rock skull. Stay tuned…

IBEX

Often, there are multiple layers of events going on in our shop, often unseen. We began construction of Skull Rock for Vala’s Pumpkin Patch today, starting with the plasma cutting of the base and joining plates. To create the cutting files, I am using a brand-new software called IBEX, which was created by our good friends in Colorado. The software is designed to run our CNC router and create our complex 3D files, but we also use it for our plasma cutter with great results. While I am figuring out how to build a complex 3D shape in structural steel and fibreglass reinforced concrete, I am also learning this new software, putting it through its paces. I am using the software as an artist in unconventional ways and trying my best to stretch the boundaries of what is possible. Whenever I bump up against the limits, I take a few notes and send them off to the code writers. I know they will make adjustments and additions to make it even better and more usable in the future. As capable as the software currently is, I know the sky is the limit when I work with people much more brilliant than I. This is going to be a extremely fun journey! Stay tuned…