An Interesting Side Job....

So, Kevin gets a call the other day from a guy who owns a crane company....we had stopped in a talked with him quite a few times about the cranes we have, planning for art installs, etc.   Anyway, he asks Kevin if he would want to go do a pick: everyone else was going to be out of town & he needed someone to go do it...  Kevin says uhhhh, OK, I guess, why not.... 

So, I drive K over to the crane yard & watch as he gets a 10 minute run-down on the machine, and then the keys are handed over & Kevin drives the crane away---took it home for the evening to practice a bit: then be ready to head out early in the morning to the job site....

I rode along for company & to take pics :)  We arrived at the job site early--Lime, Oregon: over an hour drive from Nampa--and we had to go through the weigh-station; a first for us both--fortunately the crane co. had set us up with proper trip permits etc, so it was no problem.

We waited for the load to arrive: a trailer full of 50 ft. long pipes...and it arrived right on time...

And, here is K rigging up the first pick: looks like and expert, huh?  It took a bit of figuring to get everything set up; both trucks had to be parked right, there were power lines in the way, & the area where they wanted the pipes off loaded was really rocky & uneven.  But, after a few trys, it all worked out.

Yep, that's me back there on the tag-line; my job was to keep the load from rotating as the pipes were lifted off the trailer, and then to swing the load around to be dropped.

Big pipes... 

All in all, the job went well; a bit intimidating at first, but I don't think anyone caught on to the fact that this was out of the norm for us :) 

It was definitely good experience: someday we very well might end up doing side jobs like this with our own cranes...   This art/sculpture biz had definitely taken us on some interesting adventures...not so long ago I would have never imagined doing something like this...

Amber

Eggs!! (well one egg...tiny but cute)

The 1st egg!  Yay for little grey chicken-bird: a perfect, tiny, bit-size cream colored egg: she even used the nesting box :)

It's about 1/2 the size of a regular chicken egg: so cute!

She is looking rather pleased with herself :)  I can't wait till the other ones catch up: it will take a lot of these itty bitty eggs to make an omlet!

Too funny; these will make the cutest little pickled eggs...   

Wind Turbines!!

I'm super excited to announce that we are going forward with the wind turbines on the sculptures at Kleiner Park!

The idea was dropped from the plans a few months back -due to budget-, but then re-visited at the Ground-Breaking last week.... I hastily put together a new plan for a smaller version than originally proposed,  and everyone agreed that we need to make it happen--yay!  

The turbines will spin gracefully in the wind, adding to the sculptural elements, and will power the lighting for the sculptures.   These will be the 1st vertical axis turbines in the area (that we know of), and I think will add a whole new dimension to the sculptures and the park...there was even talk about adding light poles that have mini-versions of the turbines to the park plan :)

This is going to be quite the educational project for us; we are ordering in the turbines and equipment that goes with, and then will have to figure out how to make them work :)   I'll be doing a bit of re-design on the sculptures to accomodate the turbines and make everything fit together seamlessly.  I still can't quite believe that it's going to happen: I was really disappointed when we had to put the idea aside a few months back---adding green power to public art seems like such a win-win to me.  And these turbines are so sculptural to begin with, that using them as part of the design just makes sense to me :)

Stay tuned for more updates--the next few months will be full of re-design, tweaking, & hopefully ooohing & ahhhing when the turbines arrive :)   --See earlier posts on the project for the full story--  

For now, I'm off to Idaho City for quick gettaway with family :)

Amber

NY Wedding--Copper Bouquet Pics

I just got the nicest email from one of my Etsy clients who purchased a custom copper wedding bouquet & aluminum boutonnieres for her Brooklyn wedding :)  Photographs by: http://www.dibezi.net/

"hi amber! i am so excited and want to let you know that the copper bouquet was a HUGE hit at our wedding last month. i did have several people think i was nuts when i described it, but then when they saw it in person they fell in love with it. and everyone else loved it without reservation. most importantly, *i* loved it...it was the perfect weight in my hand and looked beautiful with my gown. our photographer had never seen anything like it and couldn't believe how cool it was."

yep, people think I'm nuts too when I tell them I make wedding bouquets out of metal... lol :)

Looks like it was a lovely wedding; it's so fun to see the pics---usually, I box & ship & never hear anything :) 

This was one of my all time fav bouquets; copper with pearls in white & champagne and crystals to match.  Love the copper...

I've shipped these bouquets all over the world--funny that a crazy accident has turned into this :) Playing with crystals & pretties is a nice break from the heavy steel work--the bouquets are a lot of fun to make :)  They are available on my Etsy shop; in both aluminum & copper: ready made or I can make them custom to match the wedding colors.

Amber

Kleiner Park Ground-Breaking-on the news :)

A very nice piece on the park; I'm still amazed that I'm a part of such an amazing project!


Amber

Kleiner Park: Officially Under Construction :)

This week was the official Groundbreaking for Julius Kleiner Park (for all the details, see earlier posts: here & here) Construction has already started; watch the progress at the corner of Eagle & Fairview--the big field across from the shopping center :)  The park is going to be over 60 acres, with lakes, walking paths, a Senior Center, & more... 

I am creating 3 huge sculptures to be placed in the park...quite the project!  As you can see in the photo above, things are just getting started: the park will open in Sept 2011.  I will be updating once a month with areal views of the park, it should be interesting to see how things change & progress...

There was a great turn out for the ceremony; the news crew was there & the Mayor; golden shovels officially opened the construction project with the first scoops of dirt :)   I'm rather amazed to be part of such a huge project: this is the first time I've been able to watch things progress from the ground up, & be involved in the design of other areas too, besides the sculptures.  The core group of professionals (and me) is an amazingly talented team & have all been so nice to work with--it's really been a lot of fun so far....

Speaking of: check out the entrance gateway; I got to have my hand in the design, as you can probably tell; husband had to laugh at the swirly curly q's: I just can't seem to keep them out of things....ah well.  Anyway, I think its going to look pretty cool when done; I tried to hint at some of the flowing lines from the sculptures in a subtle way; there will also be some other details that relate to the sculpture too.  I'm also going to get to add my touch to some of the buildings & perhaps a few hints in the signage too: I feel really privileged to be able to be involved like this & can't wait to see it all come together :)

I'll be updating as the project moves along; at least once a month; so stay tuned...right now, I'm anxiously awaiting to hear if the wind turbines are a go or not...will post as soon as I know; crossing my fingers!!

Amber

Onions...

Last fall, we bought a whole bunch of onions; to keep through the winter--they were a super deal: left-overs gleaned from after the harvest...so we got like 50 lbs.  By this spring, we had used maybe 1/2 of them: and I noticed they were starting to sprout green shoots out of the middle...hmmmm.  I decided to plant a few & see what happened...

Well, after planting just a few & seeing that they took off like weeds, I planted more; everywhere...in roses to help ward off the aphids, with the kale, in the planters, & everywhere else I could find a spot... 

They have now all grown; some are like 3 feet tall with puff-ball seed heads--I like 'em!  They're funny & add something different to the landscape; the kids that visit the pond out front all the time had to ask what they were: when I told them they're onions, they said "wow! those are like the coolest onions ever!"  lol

They don't smell nearly as much as I thought they might; I haven't even noticed any onion-ish odors...  As for bug control: not sure; it did seem to help where they were all intertwined with the roses, but it's kind of hard to tell.

Anyway, I will definitely be planting s'more next year; will have to try some purple & gold ones; most of these where white.  Thinking about trying to save some of the seeds...we'll see...

Show & Tell--ESGR Trophy

Trophy made from interesting parts from the military base; for a retiring general.

Helicopter parts, dummy rounds, tank parts, etc.

One of fav. trophies ever--I think it turned out pretty cool :)

Amber

The Chickens are Taking Over....

Taking over my back yard, my extra time, my lettuce supply...but I love it!  They are so much fun, I can't believe I waited so long to get them :)

They have changed things around here; there is no more sleeping in; at about 6:30 am, the ducks start skwacking (combination of squawk & quack) until I stagger outside & let them out.  I have learned to make a cup of coffee & take it with me: otherwise, when I go back in to make said cup of joe, the skwacking commences, louder then before, until I come back out...

This is the new chicken/duck house--in the morning, the ducks are at the door & run out as soon as I open it up; the chickens spend the night upstairs in their house with the little door closed.  When I open it up, they are all lined up, waiting to get out & hunt bugs :)

I used an old wood tool box, rescued from the burn-pile up in Crouch to make the nest boxes, & old game mallets for perches :)

Anyway, back to the morning routine: once everybody runs out of the house, they trot around & look for bugs, scratch the ground, & look at me like they know I have something good to eat for them... The ducks wander about & vacuum the grass & the cats watch the whole scene, usually from a distance.

At this point, I try to get the ducks through the gate to the front yard, without any chickens.  Sometimes, they just follow me, a lot of the time they get distracted & I end up herding them, & sometime I have to catch them & carry them--they don't like being picked up & wiggle with all their might...  Once we make it through the gate, I shut it quickly, & then the cats start to climb the fence: notice in the above pic; the cat on the fence on the right, & back towards the house--Skwishy Cat is looking over--he is sitting on top of the chicken house...

The ducks then resume vacuuming the grass--they suck up slugs, worms, & anything else they can get their bills on...  After wandering about for a bit, they usually find their way to the pond & climb in.  They swim around & eat & splash & dunk; talking the whole time; if they can't see me: more loud skwacking...

When they have had enough playing in the pond, they climb out, flap their wings & groom their feathers; at this point, I try to get them to go back through the gate (without any chickens escaping); usually more herding, skwacking, & wiggling...  Once they rejoin the flock, I can make my escape for another cup of coffee.  This whole affair takes about an hour, at least: it's alot of fun & I get my containers watered, weeds pulled, & everybody fed during this time too.

So far, everyone is getting along: Bootsy chases the little chickens every once in awhile, but the other cats just watch them & run if the if the birds come their way :)  They crack me up & I can spend hours just watching them do their chicken/duck thing.  I'm looking forward to eggs; don't have a clue as to when that might start...  No names yet, besides chicken-birds & puddle-duckies. 

I hear skwacking...gotta go :)

Amber

Father's Day at the Cabin

Spent Father's Day at the Cabin in Idaho City this year; check out the pics here: http://hortonhideout.blogspot.com/

Amber

Foothills Learning Center; Fire Node Proposal

Just dropped off my proposal for the Fire Node yesterday: turned it in a 4:00 (it was due at 5 :)  The three finalist proposals will be on display at City Hall for 2 weeks; so stop in check them out--they are open to public comment.   July 1st we will all make our presentations, and then the project will be awarded: so wish me luck! 

Sunset Storm

 The view this evening....

The clouds rolled in just before sunset; with a bit of thunder & lightning & just a sprinkle of rain...

Amber

Hobble Creek Park--Project Approved!

Yay!   My proposed giant weather vane for Hobble Creek Park is finally officially approved :)  It's taken a couple months to make it through the whole process--and now we can start making a plan...funding will be on the way, & then the real work begins! 

This one is going to be fun; I think its going to look amazing when its done & installed in the park: I cant wait to see it move with the wind :)   

Soon, we will begin transferring my sketches into CAD format to make the cut files for each element.  Drawing everything out like this is very time consuming, but it also aids in the engineering side; with the computer, we can put in the exact weight of every single element, including the plate steel, copper, etc & use this info to figure out exactly what is needed for foundation.   Just like a house, the sculpture will have to be anchored into a concrete foundation under the ground: once we have all the materials & design finalized, we take the numbers to my engineering consultant & he reviews everything & draws up the plans for the concrete & anchor system, and gives us the final stamp of approval on the structural integrity of the sculpture. 

 The steel, copper, & stainless will be cut either on a water-jet or by plasma-cam: have not decided which one yet: water-jet is more pricey, but we can have all the bolt-holes & everything precision cut to fit together like a puzzle.  With the plasma-cam; the pieces are still cut with the aid of the computer, but it's not quite as clean; there is more finish work to be done, & the smaller bolt holes will have to be drilled by hand...  I'm leaning towards the water jet, but we'll see...

Right now, all the little details have to be worked out to make sure we can have everything cut at the same time.  I will go on the hunt for materials--already have the base pole & the steel for the weather vane & have some nice big sheets of stainless located: still need to find some good copper sheet, & hopefully the hardware to attach everything...  Can't wait to get started!

Amber

More Truck Adventures....

Husband & I made the drive up to Crouch again to pick up a parts truck for the crane...yes, another truck--that doesn't even run....   We took the new boom truck up to tow it back down to Boise...   It's sooo pretty up there :)

So, the yellow thing is what we came to get; had to drag it out of the weeds & then do some fixing to get the tow-bar attached.

this is where I got bored & wandered off....there wasn't much I could help with anyway.....

Still fixing.....

More meadow flowers :)

And then I noticed that the shop was open: so I had to check it out---they have all sorts of stuff, from antiques to vintage clothing, camping stuff, jewelry, etc.  And, if you can read the little white board out front---it says chickens & ducks for sale.....

Yep; 2 little puddle ducks---sooooo cute!  Of course, I had to inquire about them, beings how they were only $4.50 each....    After finding out that they will look like a mallard, but bigger & they don't fly, I couldn't resist!!    They got boxed up & came home: all in all, I think they were a better deal than the parts truck; but that's a different story :)     They are now happily running around the back yard enjoying the little creek we have--omg, like little vacuum cleaners, they try to eat everything :)  And they follow me around like little puppy dogs; so cute...

Anyway, after hours of fixing, we finally got the trucks hooked up & on the road.  Made it back to Boise all in one piece, with the 2 duckies peeping the whole way :)    The old yellow truck will be scrapped out once Husband gets all the use-able parts off it & the ducks will be put to work eating bugs in the garden.  Such strange adventures we have....