Friday, August 7, 2015

Last couple of days.... Finishes Sunday!

GAIA'S ROBE is up for display until August 9th. This may be her last public showing as she is very delicate.

Also on show are some other books, mixed media art and Jewellery by Michelle Larsen Bonner, Kris Eberhard and myself. It's a nice show if you are in the area please visit!

 

Sun Rays #1

We had our old (as in, how long we have known them for! Not, of course, their age!) and very good friends, Ali Hampshire and Ric Faulkner stay last week, and I commandeered them along with Steve, and Mary Jane and Bill Weyher help build the next 'animal shade' - SUN RAY #1- for the Weyher's pasture in Springdale, along with the larger immobile shelter - CLOUD COVER - built earlier this year. Here are some photos of the building and the final piece (above). More will follow soon!
The model....
Piecing together the fence posts
The spacing...
Ric with the saw-saw(?)...
On its way too the field...

 

 

Thanks for reading this blog and will see you soon!

 

 

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

New group show in Zion National Park

GAIA'S ROBE is up for display until August 9th. This may be her last public showing as she is very delicate.

Also on show are some other books, mixed media art and Jewellery by Michelle Larsen Bonner, Kris Eberhard and myself. It's a nice show if you are in the area please visit!

 

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Cloud Cover: the official cutting!

After Earth Day celebrations in Springdale I had a small gathering to cut the ribbon on CLOUD COVER, the sculpture that is in MaryJane and Bill Weyher's front pasture. Part Art - Part shade cover (see previous post).

Thank you MaryJane and Bill for allowing me to have this much fun, and to Brin & Ella Wrankle for the photgraphy! And I appreciate all who attended, and sorry to anyone I missed, it was a small impromptu affair!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Cloud Cover

 

Last spring I was discussing the need of art that would really be a sunshade and shelter, in the front pasture of the property of Mary Jane and Bill Weyher in Springdale. There was plenty of free materials on hand, but especially 10 feet long split rail fencing.

Experimenting with shapes and playing with planes I came up with a concept of turning the traditional fence on its side to create the shelter form, adding two wings either side with cut out 'cloud' shapes at the ends.
I love the way the form of the original fencing changes constantly with the time of day. Stark shadows can form and play against the weathered white wood, something like that I wanted to happen with the piece.
The project was put on hold, when in late May I then left Utah, for about 6 months, to participate in a clinical trial at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, and living with my brother and family in Takoma Park MD, returning in mid November. Followed by a new regime of neuro physical therapy that I found out about in the East and I have since found it here in St. George. It is called ACTIVITY BASED RESTORATIVE THERAPY and it has transformed my mobility tremendously. (Talk, email or message me if you would like to know more about ABRT).
Last week, before the winter restarted, Bill and Steve, (my two hardy and dedicated assistants) and I experimented with the life size materials to figure out the dynamics and engineering of the piece to make it be freestanding, be strong and safe when rubbed by large stock animals... Cows and sheep, mainly. We rapidly realised the need for committing the project into the ground and figure out more stuff as we went along.
Day 1 was digging the trench.... 10 feet x 2 feet x 18 inches deep... Beautifully dug by Bill and his mighty backhoe. Nailing together 2 posts at a time at a right angle, then placing over a support pipe on ladders to get the height of the central V... (Allowing large animals through... And some human beings...) and dropping into the trench one leg to be buried for the foundation. With a post spacer between each to give space for the 2 wings. Steve and Bill work hard ... I must say I like having assistants...

Day 2, a few days later, with more help from David Pettite and management from Eric Bonner, the wings were added.... The wings have been supported with a long metal strip, with the posts wired and screwed to that for support, along with tension wires strategically placed. We kept one large leaning post at the front to take the weight, and removed the pole and ladders, it stood! And we left it at that for the day... Almost self supporting...

 

Steve has gone back and made it completey free standing as it was intended... I need to get over there and take more pictures.

Thank you MaryJane and Bill for letting me do this project and to my other assistants Steve, David and Eric.