Award! Traffic Control Box project

Got an email today that says "Congratulations on having your robot artwork chosen for one of the Neighborhood of the Arts traffic control boxes and iris artwork chosen one of the green Neighborhood of the Arts utility boxes. You have been chosen to do robot artwork and painting on the GleasonWorks traffic control box and yellow/red/ multicolor tropical flower artwork painting on the 1033 University utility box. "


Yeee Haa!

What a month! Next ... the Louvre! 

And ... now an update on the Kitchen Renovation.

Here is where we are after day one of Kitchen Cabinets going in.

Day One after 3 hours the uppers are in with trim work to be done

The pantry cabs are in and I was quick to get the new microwave back in action

Half Bath redone and working again

End of the second day the base cabs are in and now to wait till tomorrow

All in and semi back in use. Microwave in its spot and dishwasher pushed in out of the way

Different view.

Tom Otterness "Shot Tom Film"

Tom Otterness "Shot Tom Film"

So I finished my Kinetic Sculpture piece where you turn the crank and a dog stands up, raises a front leg with a gun it it, shoots a carved Tom Otterness with a bang. Then the Tom Otterness figure then collapses. As you continue to turn the crank it all goes back to the setup and then repeats.

BTW Please note the RED Dot... I SOLD IT! My first in a LONG time.

Here is a video of the mechanics of how the sculpture works.

I hand made the gears out of wood, the rest was not to hard but getting it all to work without binding etc. was hard. I also had to replace the lever that puts the tension on the strings that pulls the Tom O figure up with a longer one for more leverage. 

An then I added a turnbuckle to add more tension to the nylon string when it starts to stretch. Much learned on this one.

Part 3 - New Sculpture - Tom Otterness Automata piece

Well had a busy day today. Finished carving the Tom O figure and then drilled it and added all the string to make the animation possible.

Here is the string and carved bits with the glue drying.

Under all that string and junk is my Tom O.

Here is what the Tom O figure will be doing. Falling down and getting up, over and over. Lets hope that the string that I used holds up!

Base made, first hand cut gears made and ready to be installed. Now all the magic and swearing begins as we try and make all the mechanical stuff work as dreamed about.

Gears are in and working. Man that was a lot of fiddling around. I need a drill press!

Part 2 - New Sculpture - Tom Otterness Automata piece

Well I have been working on this one all day and here are some progress shots.

Puppy is put together but missing ears but all that will come after the mechanics are all done and working

3/4 view of the Puppy

Legs and arms carved and before sanding

Detail of hands 

Tom O's head and body carved. Hands are sore!

Part II -New Years Painting Marathon @ Shoe Factory Art Co-Op

Went for the last of the “A New Year’s Painting Marathon!” was held yesterday. Noon till 4pm. Here is a pic after an hour of futzing about.

More play with colour

Here is were I stopped to take it home to the studio. It still needs work and I will be working on it next week between all the other projects. More later!

Blog look change

Sorry that I had to change the design of the blog page back. I liked the new look but .... none of my tools worked (widgets) and it was very annoying. So until the Dynamic HTML5 design is ready for prime time I will stick with this template.

Thanks for understanding!

New Sculpture - Tom Otterness Automata piece

We have a new show at the Shoe Factory Art Co-op (http://www.shoefactoryarts.com/CallforArtists.html) with the title of "Unconditional Love: Cats and Dogs". Due to the Tom Otterness sculptures going up here in Rochester this show is a tribute to our feline and canine best friends!


"Otterness is being exposed as a killer. In 1977, he made a film in which he "rescued" a dog from a shelter, tied it up and, as the animal wagged its tail, shot it dead. The movie, which Otterness called "Shot Dog Film," repeatedly shows the brutal execution.

Otterness has been apologizing for his despicable act ever since it came to light a few years ago and began to threaten his lucrative public support. In 2008, he said, "Thirty years ago, when I was 25 years old, I made a film in which I shot a dog. It was an indefensible act that I am deeply sorry for. Many of us have experienced profound emotional turmoil and despair. Few have made the mistake I made. I hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me." By James Panero - Daily News

So I have decided to do a Kinetic Sculpture piece where you turn the crank and a dog stands up, raises a front leg with a gun it it, shoots a carved Tom Otterness with a bang. Then the Tom Otterness figure then collapses. As you continue to turn the crank it all goes back to the setup and then repeats. 

Should be fun! So I have working on my Tom Otterness Automata piece this week and after a day of thinking, I tinkered for a couple of hours and came up with this method to have the dog stand up point its leg at the Tom Otterness figure so that it can shoot him! Ouch!

New Years Painting Marathon @ Shoe Factory Art Co-Op Pictures

Well the Painting Marathon was a big success. Lots of people showed up, we all had a lot of laughs and met new people.

I was wore out at the end of the evening and could not wait to get home for a nice Vodka Gimlet.

Here are some pics!

Finished my 4.5 X 3 foot stretcher for my painting to be done on Friday. Now off to stretch the canvas and gesso baby gesso!

This is the flower I'm going to be painting tonight. 3 X 4.5 feet in three hours.. Got'a paint real fast!!!

The Start at 5:45 PM

6:30 PM

8:15 PM

9:15 PM
But... still not done!

Hard at work.

Yet another digression, if you don't mind.

Well I did the New Years Painting Marathon last night and pictures will follow but first you should know that I will be remodeling our laundry room, main floor hallway, ground floor half bath and.... (wait for it..) the KITCHEN.

So I will be quite busy for the next month, and will work in art projects on the fly when I have time. So here is the start of the Big Show as Ed would say.

Laundry room, closet and kitchen hallway to the garage floor all ripped out. Tile in hallway busted out and lino floor in closet and laundry room taken out and all substrate removed down to the sub-flooring. Ya! Only took all morning.

Now..... here is a pic of the new sub-strait going down with lots of screws! I had to redo the sub-flooring with screws also since it was only held down in 78 with regular old nails. Used new screws on the sub-floor and all the squeaks are now gone!

 

Cement board all down on floor, cheesy Closet maid wire shelf's all down and holes in wall filled with second coat of mud. Washer and Drier put back in and laundry day commenced and finished.

Redid the garage so that I could have more room for tools and stuff. Man it was cold out there.

Garage workshop

Starting to tile the hallway from kitchen to garage. Love laser guides for tiling.

Hallway Done

Starting laundry room

Laundry room done

Closet done.

And I bet you were wondering where the washer and drier went while all this was going on?
Not too far!

New Years Painting Marathon @ Shoe Factory Art Co-Op

Going to be painting live tonight with seven other local artists while we do a live, three hour painting demonstration! Visitors will be able to wander through the gallery and observe the painters at work as each artist creates an acrylic painting! Patrons will have the chance to bid on or purchase original artwork, learn about becoming a member of the gallery, and get to know the evening’s painting participants and their approach to creating art!

Should be fun!!

This is the flower I'm going to be painting tonight. on a 3 X 4.5 foot canvas in three hours.. Got'a paint real fast!!!

Starring Phil Bliss, Rina Miriam Drescher, Stephanie Cusenz Green, Susan Jenkins, Scott Lamont, Doug Steward, 

Colleen Virdi, and Mollie Wolf!

Home made Sauerkraut. Let me digress.

Sauerkraut ; Yiddish: זויערקרויט zoyerkroyt [ˈzɔjərˌkrɔjt]), French Choucroute, Polish Kiszona kapusta directly translated: "sour cabbage", is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria, including Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. It has a long shelf-life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid that forms when the bacteria ferment the sugars in the cabbage. It is therefore not to be confused with pickled cabbage or coleslaw, which receives its acidic taste from vinegar.

OK enough of the technical stuff. So how did this homemade kraut thing get going? 

Well my wife's grandfather used to own a corner store in Batavia NY, back during the depression. It seems that he made home made sauerkraut that he sold to his customers. Everyone talked about the fact that he could not make enough to satisfy everyone and he had to keep making more and more. Well years passed on and Grandpa Hap had to move in to the Vets hospital due to issues with his leg. So everyone showed up to help clean out his house and get it ready for sale. 

Long story, short version I ended up with the Sauerkraut ceramic crocks and the Cabbage slicers. 

So reading about how good real Sauerkraut is for you and being surrounded by fresh cabbages at the public market at the end of the season.... I started my Sauerkraut experiment.

Here is the Cabbage slicer on top of the Kraut pail ready for action

Then I followed the real simple recipes that I found on the web. 

http://boingboing.net/2009/01/12/making-sauerkraut-is.html

http://www.wildfermentation.com/resources.php?page=sauerkraut

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/sauerkraut-recipe/index.html

They are all pretty much the same: Cut the cabbage into thin slices, then break apart and put into bowl.  Sprinkle in some sea or kosher salt, stir it up and repeat. 

From Alton Brown: Pack cabbage mixture down into a large plastic food container. Top with a lid smaller than the opening of the container and place a glass jar filled with the quart of water on top of the lid. Place in cool area overnight (65 to 70 degrees F). In a day, the cabbage should have given up enough liquid to be completely submerged. The jar serves as a weight to keep the cabbage submerged and away from air.

Check cabbage every other day for approximately 2 weeks and skim the surface of scum, if necessary. Let stand for 4 weeks. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Here is my 4 week old kraut in its plastic crock after I removed the weight (3lb plastic Maxwell House Coffee container filled with water) skimmed the bloom (mold) and poured off the excess water.

Looks good don't it?

Home made Sauerkraut was a success! Its fresh and crunchy, little bit of salt and little bit sour. No vinegary taste at all. Very mild flavor and just right after 4 weeks of fermenting in the basement. So here are the results: 2 bags of regular Kraut, one bag with caraway seeds just added, and the last one is the red one with franks hot sauce and hot Hungarian Paprika power. Ready for eating!

Industrial accidents happen anywhere.

Its a good thing that I didn't sell any of my Spinning Rudolf the reds. Look what happened to someone that got one. They have some concerns about the potentially dangerous moving parts and sure enough, they found a warning on Judy Braiman Lipson's web site about being careful with industrial themed toys. There was a video about the very same toy! They sent this to me. I must do an instant recall on those that I gave away!

Had a very nice Xmas

I made 8 of these pull toy back in the 80's to give as gifts at Xmas. Most folks tucked them away and did not let their children play with them. At the family gathering this last week I let my niece's young boy play with mine. What a joy to see him run all over the house with it. All the kids played with it and had fun.

You pull the toy and the pig goes up and down thus making the boy hanging on the pig's tail rock back and forth.

Here is the video.

Traffic Control Box project

Update on the Public Commission to decorate Traffic control boxes on University Ave. here in the city of Rochester NY. Here is a redo of the one across from Gleason Works. 

Robot Box - Street side

Robot Box - Sidewalk side

Then the next big Traffic Control Box is in a tough spot - busy intersection and next to a bank. So here is what I presented.

Aquarium  Box - Street side

Aquarium Box - Sidewalk side

There are also two Cable TV boxes that they would like to have prettied up. Since these two boxes are in a residential setting I think that it would be best to give them a front yard garden look. 


So here are my ideas for them. 

Blue Iris Box - Sidewalk side

Blue Iris Box - Street side

Yellow Iris Box - Sidewalk side

Yellow Iris Box - Street side

Current Project

Working on a Public Commission to decorate Traffic control boxes on University Ave. here in the city. Here is my first idea for the one across from Gleason Works. Gleason Works is a Rochester institution started  in 1865, William Gleason began his own machine shop down town and as it grew he moved to to its current location. Gleason Works creates machines and tooling for bevel gears for all uses and needs.

So I have to have something mechanical and some what humorous to off set the classic design of the building and the beautiful bus stop that shows off the glass art that was designed by Nancy Gong.

Bus shelter with glass by Nancy Gong

This is what I'm thinking of so far.

Robot Traffic Controller Box