Carousel of Happiness, Nederland Co

May 4 2013

Scott — Sun, 05 May 2013 00:29:37 +0000

I am crazy with the glue these days putting together the polar bear. This will all work and look like a polar bear someday. I so hope that is true.

first here is a sketch

Here is a look at the shop today:

One paw is underneath the right leg and the left paw is being glued up and will go . . . wait, there is not a left leg yet. Tomorrow.

April 15 2013

Scott — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:43:40 +0000

Just installed the brown pelican in the building. I am satisfied with it and have already been talking with George about the next one, a polar bear. More on that later.

Will have to wait until October to plaster the wall. I wish it looked better for the coming summer season!

14 inches of snow today and it hasnt stopped yet. April 15th? I would rather have the sun.

april 9 2013

Scott — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:06:27 +0000

Here are a few more photos of the brown pelican I am carving. I am looking forward to painting this one, but I am still making some adjustments to his wings. Soon.

I have finally admitted to myself, and thus to you, that I will not have this wall ready for plastering before the summer so I am looking forward to getting a nicer looking curtain for the summer and then by October I will have carved the rest of the animals and will plaster and finish the whole project. .

March 24 2013

Scott — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 02:54:26 +0000

Here are a couple of new pics of the Pelican. A few days ago I added the boards which will be wings. Remembering that this bird will be flying into the building and half way through the wall, you will see that the legs, body/head, and wings are not attached to each other but to a mock-up of the wall studs.

Here are the wings roughly shaped from this weekend:

Lots more to do but he is getting there!

march 15 2013

Scott — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 01:45:45 +0000

Here are a few picks of the progress on the pelican. I am shaping and carving the head, body and feet first then the wings; better to get the proportion right for those once I get the rest first.

I hope to spend most of tomorrow on it although I might help someone move. As you look at the photos remember that you wont see, for example, much of his legs once installed, the 6 inch wall comes out from where I have the legs and body starting. I may have one or two fish tail fins sticking out of his pouch since it does look like he has just caught something.

Hope you are about to have a great weekend! -Scott

March 11 2013

Scott — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 01:16:07 +0000

It is time for the pelican! On the original sketch George and I included a mallard flying into the building. Nothing against mallards, but we decided a pelican would be more fun. George has sketched a pelican halfway through the wall coming in for a landing. I always say, when people ask me, what is my favorite animal, that it is whatever I am carving at the time. And sure enough, it is true again. I have already cut out the feet, legs, body, head and neck of this guy. Not much to see except glued up blocks, so I am also including George’s sketches and my measurements and notes on one of them.

Today and for the next two days, along with the other members of our volunteer Maintenance Monkeys group, I am doing a major maintenance upgrade to the carousel mechanism so will get back to the pelican Wednesday afternoon I hope.

Until next time . . .

February 25 2013 post

Scott — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 02:02:22 +0000

Today I collected 8 guys and we installed the giraffe on the Somewhere Else wall. Then later I put up the dog. They both will look alot better when the wall is plastered but here they are! Hope you like them.

That is Ellen posing with the giraffe.

Next is a pelican!

February 19 2013 post

Scott — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 01:56:05 +0000

Finally, with spots, this giraffe looks like a giraffe. Here are some pictures of how she looks today. I am planning to finish painting the inside of her ears and a few other details in the next few days. Then next week, after putting some additional supporting material in her area of the wall, I will gather some friends and put her up. I am also installing the dog, Oberon, the same time.

Then, with my shop space free I will be working on an upgrade to a wooden ring which holds some important metal bearings on the carousel mechanism. This will take a few days and then, with new basswood which I have yet to purchase, I will start on the next animal, a pelican, which will look like he is busting through the portal to land inside the carousel house.

But first of course, I will post a few photos of the giraffe and dog once installed.

I have turned this photo sideways so you can get a better impression of how she will look when attached to the wall.

Blog entry February 11, 2013

Scott — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 01:50:02 +0000

It has been a while since I have posted: it took longer than I thought it would take to turn lots of straight 2 inch thick boards into a long curved giraffe neck. But now I am doing finish sanding and, although these photos don’t show it, have started carving the hairs on the giraffe’s mane. That is a bit tedious but I will send another post showing that in a few days. Meanwhile, here are some photos to show you where I am right now.

This one shows the tops of the legs and chest which will be leaning through the wall when it goes up. Incorporated into that section is wood which will go around and then attach to two wall studs with long threaded stock. If all goes well, it will hang from the wall without pulling it down; it is pretty heavy. I hope to finish with this stage by the end of this week and put on a primer coat this weekend. Once that is dry, I will need to go over the whole thing again with some fine sand paper before painting it. This is the fun part.

January 18, 2013 post

Scott — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 23:41:19 +0000

Here is a look at the carving shop from an hour ago. I have carved the basic shape of the front portion of the giraffe’s legs and chest. Now I am gluing up her neck one or two boards at a time. I am not the most intuitive of sculptors and especially with this animal where it is so important to get the neck right so that it goes around a corner and leans down a certain amount, I have to get it just right. So I end up putting on more wood than I normally would and then taking it off as I need to. But I am being patient, and as you can see from the griaffe’s head, she seems to be patiently waiting as well.

On the subject of patience and the manner that I carve, I have had folks comment on the fact that my carving shop is in a constant state of disarray and that my bar clamps (used to glue up the boards) are too beat up and have old glue on them, and even that my carving tools are not so well taken care of. If you could see the shop up close you would agree with me that these are all valid points. My inadequate defense, but a defense all the same, is that my inclination, once I have started an animal, is to want to finish it as soon as possible. The more detail the animal gets, the more I feel it is my duty to get it finished so that it can begin its life. Once an animal is finished, I try to clean the shop up but just as often my enthusiasm for beginning another one get the best of me and I dive into another project. So it is. -Scott