Infinity - Slab #7

We are here forever, in some form of being.
Slab is 36"x62".

New Figure on Papercrete Block Base

This is the new figure, the legs and torso are a natural tree branch; arms are a thick wire; all covered with wire mesh. I made a wooden form, filled it with wet papercrete, then set the legs of the sculpture. Now I won't have to deal with mounting it on a stand later! Yes, that's smart of me. Thank you.

I screwed a long screw into the top of the wood branch for a sturdy neck and the startings of a head. I'll build up the head with mesh next and then start applying the papercrete over the wire mesh.

This is exciting. I love the process.

Mosaic Slab #6

The Zia Sun and Triskele, both ancient symbols. The Triskele doesn't match my original layout because the concrete was setting up too fast and I had to scramble to get the tile pieces in place. Next time I am putting down a 1/2" layer of sand/portland cement mix as my top dressing on the concrete mix. Then I will have an easier time laying the mosaic pieces. The gravel in the mosaic mix makes it really difficult to quickly position the mosaic pieces.

Triskele and Zia Sun Mosaic for Slab #6

Triskele - an ancient symbol.

Zia Pueblo Sun symbol.

These will go side by side on slab #6 in our mosaic symbol walkway. I lay the tiles out on boards so I can quickly transfer them to the wet concrete.

The Walk

At last, they are taking their walk - on Friday or Saturday they'll go to the County Fair for judging.

Spiral - 36" Slab #5

An ancient symbol worldwide.

Papercrete Woman

She's 21" tall.

Her royal backside.

A beatific smile.

At rest, sunning her backside.

Numerous Credit Card Offers

The junk mail pudding for my papercrete. I manually smoosh it, twist it and break it down. After a few more hours "cooking" I'll add the concrete and lime. The finish coat will be plastic cement and sand in paper pulp. The next batch I'll use a paint/stucco stirrer in my power drill. That will produce a finer pulp.

First layer of papercrete on figure and dog

I coated the dog entirely and the front and sides of the woman figure. When completed she'll have a recycled dress (something conservative, to wear to the County Fair) and a leash for her Scotty dog (which I have yet to name). When the papercrete is hard, I'll flip her over and shape up the back side. I have only a week to get this dry, put on a thinner finish coat of papercrete, make a stand and deliver the pair to the County Fair - yikes - need some hot weather!!

Armature for Scotty Dog

I just had to make a dog for my papercrete woman. I suspect he will be quite a character!

I Painted the Town (Red) and Now I'm All Dried Up!

One of my entries for the County Fair. Painting the Town Red is slang for going out and celebrating. These are painting supplies that through laziness I allowed to dry out after completing a painting project. Since I am always saving things to make other things, I have plenty of materials to work with! Just takes some playing around and before you know it something comes together. Charlie suggested the title when he saw the sculpture. I emphasized it through the paint chips and additional paint on the can lid. He's a cute guy - love his hair!

Papercrete Figure

The wire form - note the two butane firestarter legs. I actually liked the sculpture at this stage. I wish I hadn't gone further. The proportions look more human than with the mummy wrapping. Something to note for future sculptures - make the form really thin. It's all an experiment, though. I have more materials and can make another wire figure.

The mummy - strips of cloth coated with joint compound over the form.

The back side - have yet to develop the "buns".

Next I'll do the scratch coat of papercrete and then the final coat. I have a feeling that this figure will be short and stocky by the time she is done! Think I'll work toward that, rounding her belly and boobs - might as well go for it.

I Ching Block

I had several trimmings from the Turkish slate floor tiles we used for my bathroom and our kitchen. At first I thought of doing 3 triangle spirals. And then we talked some about keeping the lines straight and I remembered the I Ching. How perfect to use these hexagrams for our spiritual symbol walkway! I chose hexagrams that are positive and supportive: Chen Li (Abounding), Ken Li (Adorning), and Tui Tui(Open/Expressing). Still a bit more scrubbing to do on the white tile. Overall it's very successful. A bit of puddling in the concrete, but that's fine. Creates tiny drinking pools for the orioles! Yesterday a juvenile oriole visited me and drank from the pools on the other steps.

I Ching : is taken from the ancient Chinese "Book of Changes" and it is a form of divinatory practice involving 64 hexagrams (patterns of 6 broken and unbroken lines), which are used in a divinatory way by the throwing of yarrow stalks or coins.

The I Ching

James Legge, tr.
Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16
[1899]

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Contents Start Reading

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The I Ching, or Book of Changes, is the most widely read of the five Chinese Classics. The book was traditionally written by the legendary Chinese Emperor Fu Hsi (2953-2838 B.C.). It is possible that the the I Ching originated from a prehistoric divination technique which dates back as far as 5000 B.C. Thus it may be the oldest text at this site. Further commentaries were added by King Wen and the Duke of Chou in the eleventh century B.C.

An I Ching interpretation is performed by making six binary decisions (a hexagram). This is called 'casting the I Ching'. These are written down as a stack of six solid or broken lines. This was traditionally done either by tossing yarrow stalks or coins, although there is no reason why the hexagrams can't be generated by some other means (such as a computer program).

There are actually four possible values for each of the lines; the two on/off values, and a line which changes from on to off or vice versa. Thus one cast of the I Ching can generate two different hexagrams, which adds depth to the interpretation. The sophistication of this method has not escaped modern interpretation, and the four-valued logic has been compared to the biochemistry of DNA amino acids. How a Neolithic shamans' divination technique presaged the basic logic of the human genome is one of the ageless mysteries.

http://www.paranormality.com/i_ching_hexagram_meanings.shtml

Sunwheel Block

Today we poured concrete and I did the mosaic on the 58"x32" step, our third mosaic step at the top of the stairs. We'll take the wood form off in a few days when the concrete has cured. I still have some minor cleanup to do on the tile pieces and black stones. This tile is all recycled from a huge project I did - two walls behind our woodstove - it took me 8 days to tile it and a few years later 8 days to remove it. I am happy to be reusing all the tile, including the marvelous fan-shape tile corners.

This is a pair of ancient symbols that date back to 2250 B.C.E. in Sweden. The cross within a circle is one of the many symbols of the sun, and one of the oldest spiritual symbols of the Germanic peoples. It is representative of the seasonal cycles of the year, the cycles of agricultural succes in the field and the cycles of human events within the year. It invokes the vital cosmic powers of life, fertility, peace and plenty from the fire of the heavens. The Earth is represented to this day by the sunwheel in scientific communities. It is the symbol of Terra Firma - our planet - the very center of all magical and other worldly culminations from all nine worlds. In ancient times small sunwheels made of wheat were set on fire and rolled down the fjords into the bay in Scandinavian rituals at Midsummer.

Newly Grouted Mosaic Tray

I just grouted the mosaic tray with tan grout. I had grouted it with white, but removed it - wrong color! This is just right for the beautiful glass tesserae!