Work Begins on "Water" Benches for Schaumburg Sculpture Park

These are the 2 quarry blocks.  I have drawn the designs onto the sides of the blocks.

Then it was time to get out "The Secret Weapon"!  

This is the diamond tipped chainsaw run by a hydraulic power unit.

The chainsaw is 18" long and the stones are 24" thick.  I can cut the ends all the way through.  But, I have to use wedges to split the stone that the saw couldn't reach.

Then, I used a pry bar to pull the pieces away from each other.  The whole piece was 10,000 lbs. so we're dealing with only half the weight already.

This picture shows how I start on corners to keep the saw cutting straight. The weight of the hoses can pull the saw sideways and lead to crooked cuts.  They're hard to correct if it starts going in the wrong direction.  The trick is to start it right and keep it right (if that makes sense...)

Voila! An 1,800 lb. end is cut off.  This will become a large sculpture one day.

A 21,000 lb. quarry block was cut in half at the quarry.  Then, the 2 halves became 5 pieces.  I also finished what will become the bottom surfaces of the 2 bench preforms, while they are laying on their sides.

Next, I called in a crane.  Dereck grabbed the first preformed bench block.  They are about 4,000 lb. each at this point.

We flipped it upright after moving it to the shady side of the studio.

We reached out and got the 2nd piece...

...and flipped it upright as well.

Both preforms are now sitting next to the finished piece, ready for carving.  In this picture, I've already started taking stone off one side to match the existing sculpture.  They are actually much further along, but I'm behind on posting pictures.   It's just about impossible to take pictures without one of the studio cats getting in there.  They scatter when I turn on the grinders... but they're back by dinner, you can be sure...

We had a visitor one day - Mike Ferguson from French Lick, IN rode his Harley out to check out our work.  Here's his bike parked next to mine.

 

2 Loads of Stone

I have been behind on posting pictures...

Here's a picture from Victor quarry when Meg and I went up to pick out stone blocks.

The 23 ton crane from JBB inc. came out to unload 2 trucks full of stone.

The first truck had 5 blocks with a combined weight of approximately 45,000 lbs.

Here's a plug for Rodney Matthews who I contracted to haul the loads.

The crane operator, Dereck Sheroan, is making a 2 part line for lifting the heavy blocks.

This is Ben Cullison who drove the other truck.  His wife has songs posted on YouTube. Search YouTube for Uarda Cullison "Can't stop the River".  Check it out.

In this picture, Ben is using a tool that Dereck made for us from rebar to slide rigging under big rocks or pallets.

This picture shows how we use short lengths of old fire hose as "softeners" to protect rigging from sharp edges.

Another trick is where I've added a short section of chain (in my right hand) to lengthen the "leg" of rigging for odd-shaped stones.  Without doing this, the load would lift uneven and could slip out of the slings.

Dereck brought out 5' lengths of channel iron to go under pallets.  We don't have a forklift - we use a crane.  When a crane lifts a pallet without these pieces of steel, it will try to fold the pallet and rip off boards.  It can chip corners of cut blocks when they are pushed together as the pallets bend.

Here's another tip: never put your body parts under a suspended load (like this guy is doing...)

After unloading 3 of the 5 big blocks from Victor Quarry, we unloaded the 2nd truck with 49 smaller cut blocks from Michael & sons stone mill near Bloomfield, Indiana.  These will likely be bases for garden-sized to monumental-sized sculptures.

We then re-positioned the crane and first truck to unload the last 2 big blocks.

They weighed about 10,500 lbs. each.

These 2 blocks will become the 2 functional sculptures that will go to Schaumburg Sculpture Park in early September.

 

Busy! Busy! Busy! ...and more to come...

I've had 3 existing sculptures acquired and 2 commissioned for the Schaumburg Sculpture Park in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Friday, June 15, We hired Dereck Sheroan to use a 23 ton crane truck to remove 4 major pieces that were on display at the University of Louisville Alumni Center.  The piece on the right is one of the existing pieces that was acquired.

Tuesday June 19, I picked up a diesel flatbed truck from Louisville and Dereck met me at the studio to load 2 pieces to go to Schaumburg.  This is "World Berries".

It weighs 4,200 lbs. and measures 6'H x 3' x 3'

This is "Heave Ho"

It weighs 2,600 lbs. and measures approx. 5'H x 6' x 2' 

 

The next day, I drove through Chicago and scoped out the sites.  I also checked up on this sculpture "Awaking Muse".

Meg White and I installed this piece over 20 years ago and it's holding up great.

These last 3 pictures are courtesy of Phillip Seifritz who works at the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts in the Village of Schaumburg.  Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 a.m., I met a 35 ton crane from Whitey's Crane Service.  I was VERY happy with the operator - smooth and intuitive!

First, we set the "World Berries" onto a concrete pedestal that had been provided.

Then, I set "Heave Ho" not far away.  

All I had left to do was drive back through Chicago traffic in a big truck and make it home before dark.  I get to do something very similar in less than 2 weeks to set a big piece of Meg's in nearby Mundelein.  Then, back to Schaumburg in late August with the last 3 pieces.  Driving through Chicago 3 times in 4 months to deliver and install 6 large stone sculptures... I'll be happy to get safely on the other side of all that.

 

Sculptures from fall 2025 to spring 2026

"Flying Monkey Gargoyle"

Indiana Limestone, 16" x 10" x 24"H, approx. 300 lbs.

Hummingbird  Water feature

Indiana Limestone, 20" x 28" x 27"H, approx. 300 lbs.

"Watcher of the Garden"

Indiana Limestone and red concrete pavers, 18" x 16" x 53"H, approx. 300 lbs.

"Phoenix Reborn"

Indiana Limestone and red concrete pavers, 18" x 16" x 44"H, approx. 300 lbs.

"Hidden Talent"

Indiana Limestone and red brick pavers, 19" x 16" x 50"H, approx. 300 lbs.

"Nature Notes"

Indiana Limestone and red concrete pavers, 20" x 16" x 46"H, approx. 300 lbs.

What's in a load of stone?

The last load of stone that I bought was 5 years ago - on my 59th birthday June 15, 2020.  I'm getting ready to order another load, so I asked myself, "What'd ya do with the last one?"

The block with 11.2 painted onto it weighs 11,200 lbs.

I cut it into 2 preforms: this one...

...and this rectangular piece from the top right of the block.

The main piece became "One Way or Another", which was sold to the City of Pfugerville, Texas.

The other piece became "Go With the Flow" which has been acquired by the Schaumburg Sculpture Park (in Illinois).

This 10,000 lb. block became...

"Thunder & Lightning"

and the top right corner of the block became this KY Ridgeback Dragon.

This 6,000 lb. block became...

"A New Dawn"

I had a quarry block cut into slabs.

The 16" slab and 3" slab made the base for "Hope" which was installed at a private estate in Oldham Co. KY.

A piece off the end of the 16" slab became the base for "Boost".

The two 8" slabs and scraps from the 3" slab became benches and bird baths.  

This is "Growing Together".

"Geyser"

"Mushrooms"

"Cloud 12" which is the only one that hasn't sold yet.

"Wild Rose" is the only bird bath that hasn't sold yet.  All the others found homes in the Louisville area.

"Quadrillium" 

"Carpe Diem"

There are various smaller corners that might have become smaller pieces or bases. Some are still laying out in the weeds waiting for their turn to be carved. But this accounts for the main bulk of the load.