Art Across America

The Spinning Helix

Some Photos from Joy

More to come soon, in the meantime I thought I would share some photos. More soon on

Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/771089@N24/pool/

Monday

July 21, 2008
Just another day of spinning wheels, A key pipe will be delivered on Thursday morning.
Great news from the Director of Operations Jan War, due to liability issues Nelha will install our sculpture. This means we save a little on stress and time. We will still be there for the install but their talented staff can turn the wrenches. We were delayed in bending some tubing till tomorrow. We have nailed the designs and Bender created a full size drawing of the sculpture on the floor of the loft in the shop. Press contacts have been made and Kona News 2, Hawaii press, and a Colorado paper are interested in doing a story on us, any press is good press…

weekend Jamie

July 20, 2008
Took some time off from the writing. Lots of ups and downs, the project has taken a life of its own lots of cooks in this tropical kitchen. The art across America experiment is a true experiment. We have been lucky to find most the materials we need from the free gods of the island, what we could not find we trade beer for. Note to self, we need a beer sponsor, beer is currency. I am learning lessons every day here. Communication with directors of a state facility, local construction companies, suppliers, fabricators, and of course our wonderful crew I find that I need to balance patience with persistence.
Since I have written last we have finalized all designs which has taken 3 times longer than I expected, this only means that fabrication will take 3 times less. I did not know how much back and forth happens with the engineering when using reclaimed materials. I thoughts we’d find some pipe and say Yep looks thick enough “Weld it up!” Nope not this time. Our specs or getting submitted to the city of Kona tomorrow, two weeks too late for my comfort. I’m not worried at all that we can build this on time I am worried that we be allowed to install it before we leave. Great weekend on the fun side of things, Will Rolston (our contact at NELHA) took Bender, Web and I camping on a beautiful beach. At night Will and I snorkeled at night with lights and looked for lobster, no lobster, but I saw a HUGE crab. Next day I swam with turtles and saw my first octopus. During the day Alvin showed up with a bout he had rented and we all cruised down the coast to another beautiful beach that we had visited before called Makalawena. It is so beautiful!
Tomorrow starts another workweek. Wish us luck!

Ryon weighs in...

Monday morning. Started off the day eating some of Che's tasty frittata while watching some 20 dolphins frolic out in the ocean. The universe just keeps handing you unspeakable glory, natural majesty and unreal amazingness in heavy doses out here in Hawaii, one after another after another. Everything they say is true. This IS paradise. No really, it IS. The gods seemed to have dropped these islands down here as a challenge to humanity- you guys gonna take care of this? Can we trust you? Do we dare let you have this? Well they did and the outcome remains to be seen. Some of us (well, me) are "suffering" from awe and bliss fatigue. This crusty Oakland fabricator's tiny rusty punk rock mind has not been blown like this in 5 years or so. Spent some time around Hilo on the other side of the island this weekend, and watched the earth birthing itself in squalling storms of lava boiling out of a vent some 800 feet into the air right on the ocean under a nearly full moon. Deeply mesmerizing. Erin Rose and Steve's outrageously accomodating hospitality and great good cheer this weekend will stay with us forever.

The project continues apace- we're acquiring stainless steel, some rental equipment and hoping to twist up the helix at a small boatyard fabrication shop today. Other than that it appears the engineering drawings are finished (and quite sexy I might add, thanks Corbett!) and we're attempting to provide ourselves with another set of wheels to really get this thang going.

Aloha and Mahalo for all the donations and support!
Looks like we might actually be able to make this thing happen!

Alvin

Alvin July 18 2008
Aloha Alvin here its day 11 the project is going good finding all the material has been our mane focus this first week as we new it would be. Every body has shown up safely our group oozes the creative energy it takes to build such a sculpture. Every body gets along very well, living and shop conditions are awesome as well Jamie I think is pulling his hair out but that’s just part of it .he is doing a great job very prowed to be involved.oh and Hawaii is awesome moist and hot.…vog suck. Life is good mahlo

July 16 2008 Jamie

July 16 2008
Today was a bit more of the same as yesterday. Progress has slowed down and we are waiting on bending the pipe for the DNA strands and the center pipe. Corbett can’t move forward with our final engineering till we know the final wall thickness of the pipe we are going to use. We have to find this pipe soon! Sean and Cha flew in today at 3pm, we all reviewed the progress which does not feel like a lot, but I hope it will step up soon. We all had dinner together at Lu Lu’s and again ended at the sea wall by the house. Hope to update on building progress soon

crew

July 11th 2008 Jamie

July 15th 2008 Jamie

July 15 2008
Second day working. At last nights bbq I got a haircut all of it off, Kue shaved my head! Feels great. Scary to look in the mirror though. Today Alvin cleaned the stainless pipe, I ran around with Dan to find somebody with a pipe bender, we found them at the harbor Hot Shots metal shop. Struck up a deal with the yard manager at the marina to acquire some stainless steel pipe that they have had for a while to use in the DNA part of the sculpture. Bender and Ryon were in the shop most of the day working with Corbett and Kue figuring out the logistics of the scale of the sculpture. We got the pipe we need for the sculpture, but found out the wall thickness is not enough so we are back to sq 1 still looking for the right pipe for the center shaft.