The BBQ pig sign looked enormous in the shop as we were creating it, and measured more than nine feet in length and four feet in diameter. It shrank a little as we moved it outside. Last week, he magically grew again as we gently stuffed him into the back of the semi trailer. Today, as the Vala crew lifted him onto the veranda roof of the new BBQ restaurant he instantly shrank once again. But he also looked perfect, framed by the gable roof end behind him. He is the ideal icon for the restaurant. The smaller version (five feet long) of the pig will be mounted over a giant outdoor fireplace (which is yet to be built) on the left corner of the building. Stay tuned for more pictures of Vala projects tomorrow…
Jade dragon head armature
On Friday I finished welding up the head armature for the Jade Dragon entrance. We used plasma cut sheet steel as the basic form to speed things up and make things easier to get the form symmetrical. Pencil rod was formed and welded to this basic shape to facilitate the fastening of the galvanized lath. The 3” x 3” steel post sticking oiut of the bottom of the head will slip into the bottom portion to mount it without fasteners. A lifting eyebolt is screwed into the top to make installation a snap.
It's a jade lion
We added the last details to the arch armature today. These included a ‘jade’ lion and the rest of the vine that ‘grows’ around and over the top of the structure. The arch, with the lion now measures eleven feet high! Matt is almost finished tying on the lath. We’ve decided to hold off the sculpting until next week as we continue to work on the armatures of the other features. I can hardly wait to see it all sculpted! Stay tuned…
