Animal Cutouts

An opportunity arose. I was asked whilst at the Petone Carnival about the animal shapes we had suspended from our Fire Sculpture. Someone was inquiring how much it would cost to purchase similar shapes from me.

For me this is big. HUGE. As a designer interested in D.I.Y. being given a job where I can spend a few hours playing with tools and making things is a dream come true. After the exchanging of details I planned how it would be done.

The Four animals I would be creating were a Kiwi, a Tuatara, a Morepork, and a Pukeko; this would end up in a kindergarten so they shapes had to be easily recognizable and safe to touch (no sharp edges). The Pukeko is a shape I'd not yet created before, this was going to be a learning curve.

I had to find an image of a pukeko and edit the shape to make the outline as recognizable as possible. I had saved the silhouettes for each of the other shapes from when I created them for the sculpture.

Using the same technique, I projected the image using a computer projector onto ply wood and sketched around the outline of all four animals in pencil. Making the most of the plywood I have; with the leftovers I'll be able to create more shapes (Hopefully for another client).

The oultines of animal shapes on the ply, seen resting on sawhorses ready to be cut out.

Tuatara Outline

Morepork and Kiwi Outline

Then it was out to the garage to cut out each of the shapes using the jigsaw. The process is one of time and precision. I need to move my body around the large piece of ply wood to find the best angle for cutting at. 

When cutting with the jigsaw, eye and ear protection is a must.

Finished cutting out the Pukeko

When all four pieces are cut out I am left with a large off cut which I put aside. The four animals are then sanded by a piece of sandpaper held in my hand. This ensures that no heavy tools will damage the shapes. For any areas that need sanding a little firmer, I use the multi-tool which has a triangular shaped sanding head, but is not powerful enough to damage the wood. The edges on each of the shapes were smoothed out making them safe for children to touch.

Pukeko cutout.

Morepork cutout.

Four Animal Shapes: Tuatara, Morepork, Pukeko, Kiwi.

The four native animal shapes were sold. This was a fun project for me, D.I.Y., craft, and working with power tools is something I am passionate about. I enjoy the creation process and I love knowing that my effort is going somewhere where it will be appreciated, loved, used, and built upon; such as a kindergarten. To the best of my knowledge the next step involves the kindy children decorating the animal shapes however they see fit. Brilliant, we are growing our next generation of D.I.Y.ers.

Constructing a flaming piece of art

I awoke Saturday morning, the 1st of August, my birthday.
I slowly stretched myself awake and climbed out of bed, dressed, fed myself, and then thought. Alright lets get to it.

The car was packed to the roof. We headed out towards the Petone Waterfront and with the help of a few volunteers unloaded the car.

The work didn't start on Saturday; I had been hard at work, preparing various shapes for the sculpture any chance I had throughout the week. Using the silhouettes seen in last weeks post I was able to project onto MDF the image I wanted, draw it on, and then using my jigsaw, cut it out carefully. There were ten shapes of various sizes that I cut out with the jigsaw.

Prep for the first layer.

The organizers from the Hutt Valley Rotary club first put up the bottom section of the tower, the basis of the sculpture. This required digging post holes in the sand of more than a metre deep, and moving the base structure into place. We secured the structure to a bottom pellet, and filled the holes in with sand.

It was time for our construction to begin.
We required five round tiers with a 600mmX620mm square cut out of them so they could fit around the tower and onto a shelf we had made using decking timber.

4 Metres tall

When the first two shelves were up we could erect the top part of the tower, and the scaffolding that would allow us to work on it.
We were told it would be four Metres high, It looked a lot higher when it was standing there waiting to be worked on.

Showing off a jigsaw cut shape: the fleur de lis painted in Scouting colours, as well as a sign with my name on it.

The rain came in and made the day a little miserable, however, work pressed on. We cut out, and set in place the last three round tiers.
We had a friend and scout Hannah helping us to paint the shapes before they were hung up.
Holes were drilled throughout the sculpture that would later be widened with the jigsaw for ventilation, more holes were drilled through each tier to allow the stringing of ropes and the suspension of animals and other shapes.

Setting the Stag in place.

While Chris, Shellie, and Peter strung up the suspended shapes I climbed atop the scaffolding and mounted the Stag, Alan, atop the tower in a position of supreme power over the rest of the Petone Carnival.

Inspecting the teams rope work.

The rain was still coming down and the tide had come in right up to the sculpture, We had finished construction, but we still had to pack up our wet gear, and tidy the site. After the tidy up we admired the sculpture a while before heading to the pub for a quick beer. The planned time of 6.30 was when the sculptures were to be lit.

The finished sculpture in the gloom of dusk as the tide comes in.

 

A much deserved drink  before the big light.

Upon returning to the beach we once more donned our fluorescent vests and walked the beach. Shellie took charge of coating the sculpture in diesel. An important job in the rain to ensure a quick ignition.

Diesel woman Shellie

 

The first sculpture is lit further down the beach.

When the first two sculptures were well underway with burning I was given control of the flame thrower and the task of igniting the sculpture was put in my hands.
I felt powerful with the flame gun, and within about a minute the sculpture was roaring to life, the flames battled their way through smoke and cardboard stuffing that filled the centre of the tower.
The animals were aglow with the light coming from the centre of the sculpture. The stag was shrouded in smoke, and as the fire burnt it fought its way up through the cardboard and engulfed the stag in flame, as it escaped the chimney.

Man with a flame thrower.

The smoking stag.

The whole sculpture on fire.

Originally the crowds were supposed to clear the beach and watch from afar, but within minutes of the first fire being lit the beach was full of eager bodies. When our sculpture went up the crowd surrounding it was huge, and it seemed to stay that way for the next half hour. Our hard work through the ick of rain and sand all day had paid off and people were basking in the heat of it, enjoying it.

The crowds observe the burning sculpture.

The flames went up and ate the sculpture from the inside out, we stood around guessing which animal shape would be the first to fall, snapping from its rope; surprisingly they all held very well. As it burnt on we watched in anticipation as the main supports burnt, eager to see the tower fall and crumple into a pile of flaming rubble. When it finally gave way the stag fell and crashed to the ground, on closer inspection he had smashed all of his legs and antlers off and was just a body. The fire crew scraped the large pieces into a large pile and we crowded together as it burnt on.

The flaming Stag.

The other animals warm up.

To me the whole day screamed success. I can't think of a better way to have spent my birthday, working hard on a project of passion, that the public admired, with my friends and family.

Me, the birthday boy.

Buy from the producer - Market shopping

First of all. I'm sorry its late, this week has been a week of illness and stress and I am only beginning to put the rest of it in order.

Pressing on.

Wellington is a great place to live because on both Saturday and Sunday every week there are veggie markets. I often use the Victoria Street market on a Sunday which is run out of trucks in a car-park block. Another brilliant veggie market is the Hutt City Riverside Car-park market, held every Saturday, this market is similar, but also includes some fast food stalls and other junk stores, and some other types of goods.. Generally they are open all morning until the steady stream of customers dissolve in the early afternoon

http://www.huttvalleynz.com/Events/Riverbank-Market/

The best thing about shopping regularly at the veggie market is that it is cheaper. I won't start crunching numbers here, but your $20 on veggies will make you a lot more stir fry if you spend it at the market than at some super-brand-company that will sell you food that is sub-par for the price you pay. The best thing is saving money, but it isn't the only thing.

By shopping at the market you as a buyer are saying no to the overpriced veg, no to the imported veg, and no to the veg that has been frozen six months ago, only to be defrosted and put on shelves when it is no longer grown, that is given to you from supermarkets. There is no need to purchase fruit and vegetables that are individually wrapped in plastic. When you shop at the market you show your power as a buyer by negating the advertising and signposting of corporate super chains, and choosing for yourself instead, good locally produced food. Simple. You 'Take the power' and 'share the power'. Choosing your own destination for your hard earned coin.

                                      

 

https://www.change.org/p/countdown-supermarkets-progressive-enterprises-stop-wrapping-vegetables-and-fruit-in-plastic-wrap-and-styrofoam

By clicking on the above link and signing your name, you will be helping to rid supermarkets of excess plastic as seen in the image above.

 

Market shopping is good for the soul.
The setup is only present one morning per week and therefore a lot of people rush to one place to buy their vegetables. You will be pushing, squeezing, and excusing your way past many complete strangers, and that is good. You learn skills of interaction not only with them, but also with the tellers.
You are outside, rather than in a warehouse prison that the media has hypnotized you into spending much of your life in. You will experience the weather, you will breathe fresh clean air, and you will have to avoid mess on the ground that no one will cleanup. Market shopping will keep you active, and fill you with your daily dose of fresh air.

http://websta.me/p/671121070847395062_16532272

Market shopping at first can be an overwhelming experience, but when you have learnt to move with the crowds and handle your goods it becomes a fun experience. You will get to know your food better by moving around it and exploring good and less good qualities of food. You will have opportunities to eat and taste your food, One of the best marketplace snacks is vegetarian dumplings. Often times the market will have a busker or two, making music for the people to enjoy, some people love buskers and give them a few spare coins, others despise their attempts to screech out well known lyrics; regardless, buskers add to the environment of humanity found at the market. There are people. Lots of people, you might see a friend you know.

http://blandforddailyphoto.blogspot.co.nz/2014/06/2609-market-busker.html

Holding on to many bags of food as well as operate the mechanism of a wallet and the correct coins can be tricky, but in a fast paced market environment you will learn how to make a transaction fast. Some tips:
1. Take a friend. They can help you hold stuff, while you take on wallet responsibilities.
2. Prepare your money before approaching the teller, and move off to the side once the transaction is complete. This is an efficient way of market shopping that saves you time, and allows those waiting in line behind you to get on with their transaction.

http://peacechild.org/21-easy-ways-to-help-the-environment/

 

 

Market shopping works perfectly with re-useable bags, just weigh and pay for your produce and then put it in your own bag. A decent big bag will save on awkward carrying, and lessen the impact of your consumerism on the environment.
Recently I have even purchased free range eggs from the market, these are at similar prices to your normal Farmer Brown caged eggs from Countdown Eggs. Now that leaves your conscience feeling clean.

Clean your fruit and veg

 Speaking of clean, you must be vigilant at the market to choose produce that isn't spoiled. Check for clean fruit and veg before you buy. A cheaper price at the market means a product with less life, the cheapest bananas will be ripened black in a couple of days so you will have to use them quickly.  Clean your veg when you get home. Some people suggest cleaning produce before you eat it, I suggest cleaning it before you put it away; by doing this you ensure that the produce is not rotten, you can maximize spacial efficiency by cutting up certain produce and throwing out (composting) the waste;
Capsicums are a great example. Cheap to buy in bulk; when I get home with them I chop them up, chop the top, the bottom, cut out the seeds and core, and cut the stem off the top piece, you will be left with the top, the bottom, and a large round. Rinse these in water, shake off any excess water, and then put them in the  fridge in a container, ready to use when you need them.

A whole capsicum chopped, cleaned, and ready to eat.

By buying from the market and looking after your food before you eat it, you will be eating the best healthiest food there is on offer. If you run into me at the market, come and say hi!