Tuesday, April 18, 2017

The finished Sculpture

Mont Albert Primary School Centenary Sculpture







Construction of the Sculpture

Here are some shots of the construction

The sculpture has aconcrete footing which sits forty centimetres underground, and is a little wider than the seat.
there is also a slab just below ground level with a reo base inside it.
The petals have been made with a construction of heated and shaped star pickets with reinforcement mesh used to make the shapes. Steel rods were woven in, to strengthen the connection between the petals and the seat base. The petals were backed with shadecloth, and covered with wire mesh.
Then layers of cement fondue made of bondcrete, sand, cement and vermiculite (as the aggregate and for strength) were worked into the structure. A top coat was added of cement, sand and bondcrete.
Then the  ceramic artwork was added.
Artwork by the seven hundred children and the staff at the school.

Volunteers who assisted Debbie to construct the sculpture, were Beka Hannah, Judy and Michelle Haymes. Thankyou very much! The sculpture was constructed over the School holidays and I only had a few days off amongst the two and a half weeks. It brightened my day to have someone turn up to help.Some people got to know my little dog Lucy who accompanied me on most days.

 I also had many visits from the people who use the school grounds. It was lovely to see the community having access to the school grounds and using then so regularly. People walked through with their dogs, came with their children and grandchildren to play. Parents were teaching children how to play ball games, or ride bikes. Young people also used the grounds with bicycles whirring past, scooters and skateboards. In the late afternoons often people came to shoot hoops.