Being lifted for the first time as a welded cross section.
The Tacoma Police Memorial Project: |
It was only possible to weld one side of the sculpture as it sat on the worktable, so there came a time when the entire piece had to be lifted. It was too cumbersome at this point to flip entirely and place it back on the table, so James got on the table and completed the welding as it stood. |
| With the cross section completed, it came time to cut the leg that would rest on the granite to size. This was complicated by the uneven, uphill surface of the stone. The angle of this 1,000 pound section was critical to the final form of the sculpture, and an incorrect cut would cause a major problem at this point in construction. After a 1/2-day of contemplating triangles and a lot of breath holding, the cut turned out to be spot on. |
 Test fitting the second leg that will mount to the granite. While hard to see in this photograph, the cross section of the sculpture is now resting on the granite. You can see the odd angle the foot of this new element has taken on in order to conform with the stone's natural shape. The next step will be to add "caps" to the top and bottom of the pieces, and then weld this remaining section to the whole. |
After calculating the correct placement, a diamond-tipped core drill was used to drill an 1 1/2" hole for one of the mounting bolts. In the photo, you see my studio assistant (and wife) using a shop vac to keep most of the water off the floor. In the end, the holes will be filled with epoxy and three huge, 3/4" stainless steel bolts will hold this sculpture down.
 The Primary sculpture basically DONE and setting on its base. At this point the main sculpture is 90% complete! If you look closely at the above photo, you can see James preparing to work on arguably the most IMPORTANT element of this project, the bronze sculpture that will hold the names and stories of the fallen Tacoma Police Department officers. It's very rare that I have a title for a piece when I first begin a project. I usually find that during the hours and weeks (and Months) with a sculpture a name will come. I am very proud to announce to those reading that this primary sculpture now has a title: "Memories of Blue". |
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