My Other Child (I mean Mural)

I have been severely absent from any posts or activity here, but I want you all to know that it is all for good reason. Generally, the gaps fall around school requirements, which drain me of free time spent on this blog. Oh I can still find time to play some Mini Ninjas on the Wii, but writing is a bit far fetched when you have to create Pro Forma financials for your class.

One of projects taking my time has been this 18 months endeavor to create a mural for my office in the basement [read: mushroom factory]. I conceived (pun intended) this project in April of 2008 and began work that summer. Things progressed nicely while I was in Canada armed with tools, a Cranberry soda and the sun. But it slowed down in the winter months. I actually finished with the actual mural last summer, but didn't get the installation material lined up until Christmas this last year. But now this 18 month old kid is completed and installed in the basement where I get to enjoy it.

I offer you some photos of the project (I tried to keep some progress going, but you'll notice there are big jumps).

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The original design as sketched out on some paper (Grundfos paper none-the-less)

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A more formal draft and the key to my later work. My idea was a mural that offered flexability in installation so that I could move it when I do. So nothing permanent. I'll explain some of the items later. But I was looking for a mix of comic design and color to get my point across.

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I first taped out the concept on my wall to get an idea of thes scope of size. I then measured this out to get dimensions.

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Conceptually broke the parts up and added sizes so that I could transfer this to wood. I was actually able to fit all the pieces on a single piece of medium density fiberboard. I bought this up in Canada and hauled it out to the island on a boat. Transfered the cuts to the wood. And cut the pieces using a jig and band saw.

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Here you see the larger piece being finished-cut with the hand-jig. A bit of dusty work, but the cool island summer day made it easy work.

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A compiled shot of all the smaller pieces cut out.

Another one.

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Here's the light bulb in detail. I used some sanding tools to work in the corners and edges to get things smooth. The longer or flater pieces required an orbital sander. Dusty work. But I clean up nice.

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The finished layout of the cut pieces. Notice the barbies on the bench - the girls had a project too.

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This is an earlier transfer of design to wood. Although this is a staged photo (I even got the soda in) I spent a lot of time trying to get the proportions right.

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After a quick prime, I painted up the boards in deepening shades of blue (that gradually grow greener). The smaller pieces were treated much more with a shadow - light, comic-ink drawing technique

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Nice legs!! This is an inbetween piece. The large "paper" got a manuscript hue painted on, while a lot of the others stayed pure white. From here I painted bubbles (a lot of fun, but a lot of coats). Each arm has bubbles that mean different things based on that arm's theme. I then did a lot of free paint with a small brush to add detail and the diagrams on the large paper to the left. Finally I picked up some paint pens to add text and fine details. This painting and detailing piece took from about Sept 08 to Sept 09.

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The final work! It is even up. I used concrete screws in the blocks to anchor the arms. I then (after several tries) found a levelling angled anchor for the heavy paper part. That required several 2x4 offsets to keep it off the wall and above the arms. Thanks Reed for the help with install!

So a little description (although I will keep a lot to myself or for your discover). Each arm represents aspects of my life, history and major hobbies. In general terms the top is cooking, the 2nd is literature and discovery, the 3rd enlightenment and focuses on the science of my education and career, the bottom represents some hobbies, family and travel. The large paper stands for the working-progress of my life as I look to discover new things. There are some recognizable elements here for a lot of you.

All-in-all I am very proud of the work. I learned a lot about the execution, but the mix of woodwork, painting, design and construction was extremely fun! I already have my next project in mind!

HRP