Change of scenery

I had to do it.  I am now at my shop working again.  The foam mess was too much to deal with at the Figge.  In addition, my wimpy little canopy that I set up was ripped down Friday.  So I went back to my shop in order to get through the foam stage.

Tuesday last week.  This is the process.  Nothing fancy. 
 

Friday before I bailed.  Note the lack of a canopy. 

This is where I am as of Sunday.

 

Doing things in public places

Alright, we are live!  I am at the Figge and getting it going.  You really find out if you have any friends when you need someone to get up at the crack of dawn to help you get loaded.  Turns out, Greg is a friend.

 

 

Here is the setup I have in front.  Please note the sweet sign with sponsors on it.  They have been a big help in me being able to do this.  If you are local and want to support them, that would be great.

 

 

 

Starting to finally take shape.

 

 

 

 

After I cleaned up the site at the Figge, I went back to my shop and finished one of the wings.  This is the vertical wing and it is about 15'.

 

 





 

Starting to take shape

 

I think you can see that this is starting to look like the small study.  The wings are installed but not permanently.  They can be removed for travel.



 

All I have left to do is adding detail to the wings.  Once that is done, I will start to build out the sculpture with foam. 

"HE'S ALIVE!!!!" (said in Dr. Frankenstein's voice)

So I am finally starting to see the figure.  He may be missing a head and an arm, but that is no reason to discriminate.  And for those of you who are discerning souls, you may notice that he is outside now.  Alas, this is his new home because he is too tall and too heavy to get in and out of the shop.

Ok, so I underestimated the height...

of the piece by about 4 feet I think. 

I have finished the base and the wing stand. So I started on the wings and finished the"spine"of the wing. After calculating what I wanted for the height in the figure, I found that that same calculation took my wings to about 15 feet by themselves. So I'm looking at a finished sculpture that will be about 20+ feet tall. Maybe I need to rethink this.  

Here are the legs and they need to be very, very strong due to the tension that will be on them.  And welders that know what they are doing want to volunteer their expertise?
 

 

On your mark...

 

 

 

We're off to the races...

...now that we are mobile. And I knew this would happen:  as soon as I started on the welding I would want to work on the sculpture nonstop.  But alas, that is not to be.  I have a lot of work that I need to be doing.

My platform has wheels and it is ready for me to start building the figure but I was by myself tonight and couldn't lift that baby to turn it over without passing a kidney stone.  So I built the stand for the wings and started on them.

I think they will be really cool.  There is a lot more welding than I thought in order to get them curved.  And for those of you who KNOW how to weld, don't start.  It isn't pretty but I guarantee that they are strong and will hold.  More tomorrow.

Starting the burn

I finally started welding.

It's hot and dirty but somebody's got to do it (that's what she said).

 
So you want to be able to sculpt like me?  Please note the very appropriate welding attire.  OSHA flip flops are required while shorts are optional.  

And let's just say that every time I do the "Ooh, Ooh, the hot embers are burning me alive" dance, my wife gets really turned on.  That dance is second only to my sweet yoga moves.  As for the duct tape, mind your own business.


Anyway, I started welding the base.  It is almost done but my back is killing me. 

I am happy to finish the base because it is the part that I dreaded the most, due to it's boring quotient.  No one oohs and ahhs over the base.  Now, on to the figure.