The wiring of the smaller ‘wood’ blocking forms at the bottom of the sculpture were the toughest. After some discussion we decided to bring in the forklift and raise the entire sculpture a couple of feet off of the ground to make it easier. The tricky wiring job is now complete and tomorrow we’ll start to trowel on the fibreglass-reinforced-concrete and then carve in the detail. We’ve decided to do the bottom pieces first this go around and then we can lower the giant creature back to the ground before he gets too heavy. Once he’s safely back on the ground we will move on to the bigger areas. Tomorrow is the first MUD DAY!
We've made a mesh of it!
As we carefully tie the many sheets of galvanized mesh to the welded steel armature the giant creature is quickly shaping up. It seems to get bigger every day! The bulk of the main undulating form is now finished and we’ve made a great start on the more finicky supporting timbers below. While we would have loved to do the difficult bits first it is best if you wire from the top of the armatures towards the bottom. Pretty soon we will be doing the hand sculpted concrete.
Welding complete!
After many person days of welding this phase of the project is now complete. There is well over a mile of steel in this feature! With the exception of the structural steel frame every piece of steel was hand formed to create the graceful curves of the beast. This large piece ,amazingly, will be shipped in one piece, save for the removable snorkel on the top forward section. It is going to be an amazing sight going down the road on the lowboy trailer we have hired for the task. For the next while the crew will stay busy, carefully forming and attaching the galvanized wire mesh over every square inch of the welded steel armature. Some areas are relatively easy but underneath there will be faux wood cribbing and bracing that is both hard to reach and complicated to form and tie. We are looking forward to beginning the sculpted concrete very soon and hope to start the painting before the Christmas break. Stay tuned…
