Matchbox Studio
(09/02/16)
Back to the stone - I'm adding another element to this side to break up the boring flat plane and add definition to the contrasting surface...
The etched lines become a trench with delicate use of the point chisel...
I'm extending the cave metaphor by tunneling under the feature on the right so it'll float over that negative space...
Meanwhile the floor... Turns out the local hardware store had adhesive shelf liner on sale - vinyl, water resistant, cheap to maintain. I got a roll 18" x 24'. Cool...
(09/03/16)
I cut four lengths of vinyl at 5'6" each and used the grid on the back to line up and space the sections. The fourth piece was trimmed to size...
The paper bag backing is eyeballed in place, then rolled up and set aside as I slowly peeled the shelf paper off...
Once the backing is laid down straight it's peel roll and stick. This part took too damn long; when did my knees get tender?
The edges are sealed and taped. This side is now padding...
So now the studio holodeck has a wet/dry workshop floor for about $7. The store did have pre-cut 6' x 9' rollup vinyl flooring, for $30. My studio work is light industrial, so I can get by with my DIY...
An important feature is portability. It folds away with no stressed corners, which is good cause that's all the labor I'm doing this holiday weekend...
Now I'm done... The cube in operation actually gets hot and stuffy, ergo the skylight, one half of the ventilation system. Ok, back to the Cubs SF series...
(09/10/16)
Well, last week I was more sculptor than podcaster (no new episode), but the element is coming along on the stone. A minor tweak to the holodeck is completing the ventilation system. The first part uses the remaining shopping bag...
Folded lengthwise and with the overlapped seams duct taped inside and out, the duct perches on the window ledge just fine. The next part will be the non-inline exhaust fan modification...
Meanwhile, the upper cavern is now deep enough by hand to use the dremel to open up the negative space...
Some elements like this pop out when viewed from weird angles...
(09/11/16)
So the duct is modified for drafting, starting with an onramp...
The bottom half of a scoop with an angled opening is built up...
The top half of the scoop takes another whole bag....
Despite the chewing gum & chicken wire aesthetic, the draft exhaust duct at least moves air....
(09/21/16)
Well, the fall season is cranking up to crazy speed, in many directions at once, but I'm trying to tune out the noise and work, part of which is starting on the Chinese white marble. I have the finished design for the stone in my head, but this beginning part of cutting the squarish block for the chosen level of dynamic tension and off-balance is important; I want the stone's 'gangster lean' just right.
Anyway, this is where a mock-up comes in handy - the empty binder clip box. That scribbled line would be too much stone removed, even though I want to keep that corner whole...
In addition to the forward lean, I want a 5-10 degree rightward tilt...
The line on stone via lumber pencil (I repeat the rule of stone marking: use pencil or crayon, never a sharpie or anything that would soak into marble and many other stones)...
For the side cut, first I got the perpendicular line then angled off a little bit. The new foot of the stone won't be a solid flat base so it doesn't have to be perfectly level. I'll cut it with the carbide rod saw...
Meanwhile, the raspberry stone's excavated upper cavern is coming along...
The dynamic depth behind the narrow opening will hopefully make viewers want to peer in and look around...