News
I just left town for a weee spell…he promised me there wouldn’t be any surprises…hah! I thought I have heard that before…through my phone one evening came the evidence…projects are always brewing whilst I am away…
…another pattern left behind by the foundry becomes perfect for a very important job.
..the dome was moulded into three sections so each could be removed from the pattern and repositioned and sealed together later.
…the trolley on wheels was extended to be at the perfect height, the final coat of insulation is scollaped to make you hungrier.
The fire is lit to create a beeeeeaaauuutiful bed of coals…and then the pizza slips in alongside…
…3 mins later the dough has risen and crispped, the delish topping has bubbled and melted and that fine ol pizza has the crispiest butt you ever crunched.
I’ve finally graduated to seed propogation…after all of these years I either didn’t have the confidence or was not organised enough to have the seeds germinating & ready to be transplanted when the a harvest was maturing…now I think I can say that there is a system and all bases are covered…such a beautiful ongoing cycle.
..carrots, spinach & radish…
…broad bean, cauliflower, leek & some pretty sunflowers…
…sunflowers, spinach, brocolli & radish…
…spinach, lettuce, radish & carrot…
…THE fijoa tree…surrounded by chilli, leek, radish, spinach…
…a grand overview.
Whilst the world was madly having a fantastic time away from home in wildernesses all over Victoria we stayed lobe-side to get some equipment projects on the go. We had prepared all materials including the 40 gal drum of tomato puree…took us a while to get through that…with a deadline of Easter many a spag bog was had by all.
tomato drum resting on a very strong frame…(the GH became perfect welding practice
.)
…we made formers for the burner blocks and cast a trough along the base for those unfortunate accidents…
…the insulative lining of the GH was a combination of fibrefrax and fibre board…held in place by ceramic plugs.
…once the fibrefrax lined the inside, we cast a retaining wall (rim) of castible using various formers.
…I welded the doors late one night…
…the doors are layed out ready for castible…patterns left behind from the previous foundry continue to be invaluable.
…accurately…welding the door supports in place.
da..da…DA!…GH is born.
March 6th…was Brunswick Music Festival street party day…I was ever so lucky to acquire a spot to debut my ‘Sustainable Stubby’s’. After a week of rain the sun came out in all of it’s glory, shining promise and prosperity upon the day. It was glorious! A sea of punters enjoyed the 6 stages showcasing local talents…yummy exotic treats from the street lined market stalls and of course art & craft…of which I was one.
Brunswick Music Festival
‘Roll up…Roll up…get your precious, unique, hand made Sustainable Stubby’s here.’
six pack coopers?
Peroni with hex head?
Grolsch perhaps?
…all of June 2011, Rose St Fitzroy…
There is a little bit of a schedule in regard to making the lounge room lovely and homely and have a few creature comforts. My mother & father are coming to stay…in less than 3 weeks. It’s like the show and tell of all time.
Josh made a fancy jig with our mate Dan, we then cut the cornices to length…it was a little crebrally challenging until we had the configurations locked into our heads.
Cornice goop was layed liberally along the lengths…that’s what makes it stick there so best have more rather than less.
Lucky we’re sculptors and the corners that didn’t meet could be interpreted creatively.
…because we gooped them so much there was a little cleaning up to do…check out our new wood fired heater…she’s called Nancy.
In between the two mainrooms there is a wooden (structural) beam that we didn’t quite know what to do with…then we thought we’d make our own Gaudi-esque cornine.
…a slap of
(…special foundry techniques came into play with a bit of a ‘smarm’, ‘flonk’ and ‘droodle’ here and a there…
…very smooth..another special technique…& I’m not telling…
…baby bottom smooth…now we need to wait for it to dry…
plaster on a python of chicken wire…)
I was called away from LOBE to do a little blowing & demonstarte at the Ausglass conference in Sydney, the whole trip was 5 days. Whilst I was gone the boyz went nuts on doing the jobs which had been pestering our eyes and spacial dance moves ever since we moved in.
Jess & Josh knocked down the wall blocking our light and smooth entrance into our abode.
A concern for the structural integrity of the building prompted an acroprob and reinforcing beam which was passed through a hole created in the roof tiles.
…ceiling as we will never see it again…
…it always helps to have the right tools for the job..the beginning of the plasterboard..
..hot summer dayz left sweaty hand prints and even footprints right up the wall…wnder what they were really up to.
insulation just in time…what a difference.
In peak holiday season we had planned to spend several days at Apollo Bay enjoying the sun, ocean, deck chairs & cocktails, the we had a chat and decided it would be much more fun putting in our splendid veggie garden.
stuff
beginning to move the stuff.
3.5 cubes of yummy soil, 1.5 cubes of scoria, 11 redgum sleepers 6 bales of pea strae later we decided we had enough ingredients to begin.
1st thescoria.
…then the dirt.
We decided that parts of our garden had been placed in the wrong position, fortunately we have very handy neighbours & Jimmy came to the rescue in his fancy forklift to take the lemon tree for a ride.
Jimmy with the forks doing a little re-arranging.
RRRRrrrrrrrrmmmmmmm.
The summer was blistering hot, we needed to keep rehydrating regularly.
Josh on heat.
So then we set about putting some sails up to give our new seedlings a chance. It was far more of a debarkle than the patch had beentaking us two full days to work out the maths, the configuration, the tension…one should never underestimate what it takes to put up some shade.
welding outside in 40 degrees by choice.
dadaaaaaaaaa…
Now that the furnaces were out we could set about working on our new indoor lap pool…oh…no…I mean…hidden storage…just like a cellar only warehouse style. We built a false floor in four sections, easy to remove and replace, and then filled the pit.
…I think it’s going to be strong enough…
…nice framework…
Foundry patterns in the pit.
One of my goals before the end of year was to blow some glass. We pushed to get the gear in order, purchase some LPG, Josh built a gorgeous yoke, dusted the bench, placed milk crates for a crack off table and we were away…No furnace and molten material but that was o.k, we had been drinking some exotic beers and collecting bottles for this very occasion.
In the kiln they went to be picked up by our punty and opened out into a cocktail glass for the annual Christmas Sale!!!…even made swizzle sticks to match…what an achievement.
doing it.
very special punty.
…little bit of jack work…
…and again…takes time to make a great piece of art.
…natural…
maestro.
…deemed unsaleable…all glasses go to our personal collection for the next grand event…yeah!
With the space virtually completely vacant we took the opportunity to once again wash the floor thoroughly and seal it with concrete sealant. Two coats and high as a kite we retired for some fresh air elsewhere.
washed & squeaky
polished
Then it was time to move in…our gear in the front had begun to perspire in the tropical days of heat storm heat storm…I was keen to cut the stuff loose from its plastic coat and allow it to breath.
Josh with the stuff before the mass exodus.
…filled up fast…
…fancy pants Josh built me a beautiful false wall to work with…
…first piece…
Symphony
Definately moved in.