Matt Toole - Explorer / Maker / Educator: March 2014

Monday 31 March 2014

Ladle and weight

This day was a long welding and grinding day devoted to the ladle and the counterweight that Mick is carving from Kilkenny grey limestone. Quite likely it will be the most beautiful component of the sculpture, along with the head pulley and counter ballast on the handle. I had the ladle mocked up in cardboard on Friday and today I was able to cut, prep, weld and finish it in metal. After "precisely" fitting the axle it is nearly ready for the tipping cable and refractory clay inside.

Mick and I strapped the stone to the lever arm to get an idea of its position and then he set out to modify the form to be more consistent with the sweeping curve of the arm. The weight will slide out from the fulcrum in order to help balance the arm when the ladle is full of molten iron. It slides back toward the fulcrum to balance it when empty.

Coring the counterweight

Graffiti on the blog

There's a lot of good street art in Cork City and I am finding new images daly. My battery was running low tonight on another nice one so it will be on a future post. Check back for the random graffiti images on new posts.

From the Factory floor...

Starting the project with a few found materials from Crawford College of Art and Design and a handful of scrap yards around Cork. Scrap metal is increasingly difficult to acquire due to Health and Safety regulations and handing measures that limit access to random, walk up, buyers. We found some places that would still allow people to walk onto the grounds, yet most of the materials were acquired and in place by my good friend James Hayes who is the big brain behind the Iron R project.

Once the work started, progress was swift and I have the piece standing at the end of the third day.

There is much more to construct, yet the lever arm is well underway the pivot structure is tacked together to allow light movement tests (lifting and pivoting).

Building the shank for the ladle requires a bit more patience to get the rings precisely aligned. Close enough!

Working with Donal and Dobbz who have friends who work for the City Council in parks management who are looking for old lamp post parts, bollards, and barriers that could be used for the base and pivot structure. Hoping to find some old Victorian cast iron post bases with intricate castings like the one below. It would be a great way to include an actual historical artifact from the city itself.

On Friday (which I thought was Thursday all day) I managed to mock up the proportions of the ladle and find the balance point. On monday (today) I will fabricate the ladle in steel and have it ready to be lined with high alumina refractory by the end of the week.

Mick Wilkins gives the lever some leverage

Actually, Mick has offered to modify one of his old stone carvings as the counterweight for the sculpture. As mentioned earlier, he is a master stone carver and has several stone commissions in the works for the coming months. Luckily for me he has time and has been very helpful with setting me up in the Factory. It is without question, one of the best attributes of being in the Factory. The artists and folks who run it (Donal, Dobbz, Fiona, Mary, Elma) have been very supportive for this project.

Friday 28 March 2014

My beard is white...

It has nothing to do with anything but seriously my beard is now white. Is that age related or stress related? Maybe it's stress related aging... or age related stressing? Not sure but, with a walk like this on the way to work at the NSF, it should be like a twenties-something hipster... seriously it should be.

North channel River Lee facing North West

North channel

South channel WNW

My hosts Mick and Irene are wonderful and have a beautiful home loaded with artwork. They offer good company, nice food, cozy digs and a great view of the North side facing West. Nice warm stove and several of Irene's beautiful small sculptures make up a composition in the main living room. They also own and run an artist space called the Guesthouse where creative people from around the world come to do performances, make installations, make art, dance, conduct sound art, share food, conversation, and the like. Go to: http://www.theguesthouse.ie for more information on this wonderful creative space.

Also hosted by Mr Masimoto... who likes to bite... like a hug with his mouth (teeth) ((fangs))

Thursday 27 March 2014

The Port of Cork...

Catching up with my friend Dobbz from the National Sculpture Factory to go rowing in a traditional boat known as a currach. They were used to take people, goods, and livestock from the western islands to the mainland and back. There are many styles from the west coast of Ireland and Dobbz races a Kerry style currach from the sea, up river to the port of Cork. The boat we're in is a 4 hander. You can see more about Naomhoga Chorcai here: http://www.naomhogachorcai.com/index.php?pageID=1

On the River Lee

Port of Cork

Time to get into the National Sculpture Factory where there are many artists working on commissions, awards, and studio practice. It is a place of great activity and is busy with many artists working away at a variety of projects. From monumental forms to intimate clay works, there is a wide range of creative work going on inside these walls. It is an amazing space and is well funded by various local, regional, and national arts councils. I'm honored to be working at the NSF. For more info: http://nationalsculpturefactory.com/

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Days 3 & 4... last of the numbered days!

On the day I left for Cork (3/19), I had the last few opportunities to check out some of the parks in Dublin. This one was next to the Castle Hotel just off O' Connell St.

Monument to Fallen Soldiers

I found another another Victorian styled street lamp, but I read that these are the more modern "Victorian Knockoffs", 1950's versions. I love the ornate clover arrangements and cast iron construction.

Hope to get one of these for the fulcrum base

On to Cork...

The days are rolling by with a quickened pace and now is the time that I have been waiting for months to be in the studio at the National Sculpture Factory. Leading up to the studio time involves a lot of planning and acquiring materials. People are coming out of the Factory to help in any way they can. Mick Wilkins, who I met in 2012, has been so kind to drive me to pick up scrap metal... for the past few days in and out. He has been great to talk with about his approach and to bounce ideas off . He's a great sculptor and stone carver who works out of the NSF (photos of Mick and his work to come).

These few days have been mostly about sorting out the performance site and the production site that is over at the old Ford Factory on Albert Quay just blocks from the NSF. The iron performance will be held on the river at the site.