Quarry Run

I haven't posted on this blog in a while because we've been really busy - more than usual.

On April 29, work resumed on the addition, when 4 guys with Gary Hicks Insulation showed up to blow in cellulose insulation.

April 30, we went to the Pollard's house near Westport, Kentucky. Their son, Tedd, was hosting a fund raiser for the bands with his company, Music Coming Back, or MCB records. You can download their mp3's at www.mcbmusic.com. The event was on the back deck, right next to the flooding Ohio River - it was a really cool scene!

They had set up a tent over the area for the bands. This is Lotus Blake, my personal favorite of the evening.

On May 5, I went to Bloomington to pick out some stone. Matt Weir, a fellow sculptor and good friend of ours, wanted to go, so I rode up with him. Orleans, Indiana was still experiencing flooding. This Amish is riding his horse down highway 37, while we had to take a detour.

I found this large, high-quality stone at what used to be called Victor Oolitic. They have merged with Indiana Limestone since I was here last. On the left, Duane Foster is calculating the weight of the block. Matt is in the background, about to take a picture.

There was a defective layer along one side that would have added too much weight for the semi. So, Duane called for a loader to pick up the rock...

...and take it to a diamond band saw, where they sliced off the unwanted layer.

Vessels Trucking of Rhodelia, Kentucky hauls our stones. We've worked with Charlie, the driver, before, on several jobs. It's great to have experienced people that you can count on.

This particular stone, at 30,000 lbs., was too big for our regular crane company to unload. We used Padgett Crane from New Albany, Indiana, who sent out a 50 ton crane. The operator's name is Barney - he knew his stuff. (and a pretty good sense of humor, which always helps).

Charlie is climbing down off the rock before we do the lift. That's one big rock! It has a particularly tight grain, and I can't wait to see what Meg will make out of it.

more flooding

This is a Georgia granite sculpture that shows two figures wrapping each other up. It is entitled "Comforting" and measures 19" high by 12" wide by 10" deep. I will 'frost' or give a bush texture to one of the figures to make the composition become more visually dynamic. Granite work is agonizingly slow and burns up diamond blades like crazy.

I'm very eager to move onto the next project, which is to make functional seating out of this 9' long, 15,000 lb. quarry block of Indiana Limestone.

More than a possibility. All this rain has turned the road past my Concordia property into a boat dock. (photo Meg White)

The extra rain has been good for mushrooms. Some neighborhood friends showed me these huge Morel mushrooms that they found.

Most were as big as a beer bottle.

...well...so it goes.

Once upon a time, there was a brave squirrel who walked down a wolf's nose. (This is a very short story...) (photo Don Lawler)

Finished Life-sized Limestone Sculpture

This is the original stone maquette that I made in 2006, and gave away as a wedding present.

This is the clay model that I made in January.

This is the finished life-sized version.

This is her front view...

...and this is her left side.

The weather was great today, so we went for a walk down by the Ohio River.

Taking nothing but a picture, and leaving nothing but ...footprints!?!

Check out this doodle by an insect. (photo Meg White)

...and speaking of insects...what's this? (photo Meg White)

The Flood of 2011

We are experiencing an unusually high flood level from the overflowing Ohio River. But first, I'm going to show the progress on my life-size limestone figure.

This was the side view from last Sunday.

This is the same view today.

This is the view from the other side, as it appeared last week.

...and this is the same view this week.

The back was mostly unconsidered - you could still see the original block.

It's starting to take shape. But, now progress is going to get slower.

...and...keeping up the pattern of before-and-after, Here's our lower field on last Nov. 5th, the day that contractors installed the new nest platform.

This is the same view, taken today from our canoe.

Ending today's post on a "Far Out" note...Is this a NASA photo of the moon Europa, as photographed in a recent fly-by? (or is it cobbler batter, sticking to the side of a bowl?) (photo Meg White).

Rocks for Bob Lockhart and friends

Earlier this month, we had a visit from Bob Lockhart, who used to head the art department at Bellarmine College. He wanted a large stone to carve for this year's Yew Dell Outdoor Sculpture show. He brought out Chris Mozier, one of his students, who wanted a large piece of stone, as well. Chris came out to the studio this Saturday to drill and split a 7,000 lb. piece into 3 parts - one for him, one for Bob, and one piece for Mike McCarthy.

Chris drilled the 2 series of holes where he wanted to split the larger piece.

This was one of the first warm days of the year, and I'd been making the dust fly. (That would account for the 'Geisha look').

He set the rest of the wedges, hammered them to bring up the pressure and...

...split the stone into 3 pieces.

The next day he came back with Mike McCarthy (on the left), who brought his truck. It would have been simple to load up the stones, if my own crane truck would run - but I couldn't get it to start. A neighbor, Mike Hutchison, helped me out by bringing over his tractor. His son, Tristan, is guiding Mike to set his forks.

Many hands make light work.

The tractor couldn't load the 3,000 lb. piece into the truck, but it could move it under my gantry crane. Where there's a will, there's a way.

That's Mike McCarthy setting the rigging under the stone. Check out his art and fine furniture on his website http://www.trinity-designs.net.

Up, up and....

...away. A 3,000 lb. piece of stone is on its way to Bob Lockhart's studio.

I'd been stuck inside a lot, doing computer work. It was good to get out and walk. Meg and I took a short hike to Big Cave Hollow in the Yellowbank Wildlife Management Area.

Confusing Turkey tracks. Is he coming or going? (all photos copyright Meg White).

Monte Cassino Winery

The highlight of this week was a visit to scope out the future site for my stone monk....but first, pictures of what I've made since the last posting.

There hasn't been a lot of days lately that have been above freezing. But, I managed to make this Limestone fountain "wrapped" bubbler. It measures approx. 12"H x 15"W x 8"D. It has a polished wrap, and a stippled bush texture on the inner seed form. It is priced at $350.00

I also finished this "Twisted" bubbler in Indiana Limestone. It measures approx. 22"H x 12"W x 5"D and will sell for $400.00.

During days when the temperatures are below freezing, I have been working in the clay studio. I made some improvements on the clay model of two lovers. They will be carved life-size from a block of Indiana Limestone.
This is the back view of the model. The base portion will have a spiralling pattern of chisel texture that fades into the smoothly polished figures.

This is a clay model for a design called "Testing the Water". I made a maquette-sized stone sculpture that was similar to this in 2007. I gave that piece away as a wedding gift. I'm trying to make improvements on that design, and carve it as a life-size version approximately 67"H x 30"W x 24"D.

Sunday, I drove to Covington, Kentucky to check out the site for my stone monk. The first thing that caught my attention was this stone cairn. It was constructed from small pieces of marble by Mark Schmidt, who is the property owner.

This is a picture of the original building that was a Benedictine Monastery and Winery from approximately 1863 through 1917. This was the first winery in the region, beginning its operation in the 1700's under private ownership before the monks bought it.

This is one of the bottles that came from this winery.

When Mark cleared off the overgrown vine terraces, he discovered a couple of large dry laid stone walls. On top of the wall is a table and chairs where he goes to enjoy the view...

...and what a view! This picture doesn't do it justice. This will be the first year that these new vines will be harvested. Let's hope 2011 is a good year.