CHOICES.....

Debra came by today and wondered if there was a way to connect the top of the car to the bottom, she wondered if the tires could connect to the top if there was a red-/gold-striping, or gold color? We decided to try it so we painted one of the hubcaps and kind-of reattached it.  You all decide...the gold hubcap or the B/W spiral?  

Saturday Session

A trial run of the eyeball and legs.
Laurel grinding a glass bead for the rearview mirror.
Kaitlin working on the back door, Laurel on the mirror, Pasqualle on the interior.
The new checker board on the passenger side.
Kaitlin adding a 'poly' bead in between the mirror parts.

Adam came in at 9:00 and almost finished the checkerboard on the passenger side; Nate finished it up later in the morning.  Kaitlin, Pasqualle, and Laurel were part of the session, as they usually are, and could have used more help with some of the tasks, but they seemed to have accomplished a lot.  The weather was friendly to us today and we were able to pull out into the parking lot for some sun and much appreciated light.  It was good to not be in the dark after working in a dimmed environment for the last few weeks.  We're all seeing the end of this phase for the IUSARTCAR, looking ahead to the on-campus unveiling on the 11th, but there's a lot of details to address.  The interior trim needs to be resolved and there's a pint of black 'interior' paint for that purpose; the carpet needs to be cut and installed; another coat of 'poly' on the back door would be good; installing the eyeball and the legs/arms; getting the taillights re-installed;  most of the interior and exterior needs to be clear coated .....etc....etc.... details....details....details.

Gobble, gobble.

Kristy adding some details to the interior in spite of her runny and stuffy nose.
The van all aglow in halogen illumination.
Julie, Sarrah, and Kristy detailing the Jules Vernes Acid Trip interior.
Steven, our photographer, caugth in a moment without his camera.

Tuesday, the day after classes ended for Thanksgiving break, and I was impressed with the crew that showed up today.  Pasqualle worked hard on the cockpit trying to get our prized cabinet embedded into the lower dash, but our final analysis after hack-sawing it down to a tiny wedge was, no, it's not going to work.  Now we'll see if we can mount one of the doors, the next best alternative.

Julie, Kristy, Sarah, Rebeccca continued working on the back interior, and Steve taped out the first phase of the passenger side for the checkerboard, it's now been sprayed blue. Laurel did cleanup on the back window, grouting the areas that were groutless, and continuing with the rear view mirrors.  Samantha also continued with the cockpit doing some interesting touches to the GPS and antiquing the space.  Debra even stopped by to check out the progress.

It was cold and it was dark - - we couldn't open the door because of the wind-shill factor - - but we forged ahead. We may have an unveiling date of December 11 on the circular lawn in front of the library, but we need to decide if noon or later in the day would be a good time. We have support from the Library and Physical Facilities, now we need to get that event planned. We are, of course, a work-in-progress, but the ideal is to have the van in a 'finished' appearance by the 11th.  That means everyone pulling together and getting the big jobs done and the details finished.  I'll put together a punch-list this weekend.  There's a group planning on a Saturday session, and Sunday is not out of the question.

Have  great Thanksgiving. 

Saturday - Return of the Chill

Laurel preparing the back window for some new pieces of glass.
Kate happy to be working on her tree.
Debra and her Heine Brother's coffee starting on the interior back door.
Pasqualle attaching typewriter keys to the ceiling.
Kaitlin addressing some detail.
Rob working on a print glad he's not in a cold garage.

There was a small group today, but the usuals.  Adam was there when I arrived, he was working on the checkerboard, but he must have been about ready to go and so he did.  I continued to work about 30 minutes when Kaitlin came in looking for something to do as it was too cold to seal the back door, so she started to deal with some of the trim detailing. Debra came by and ended up doing the interior back door by extending some of the side panel work and getting it jeweled.  Kate worked on her beautiful tree section. Pasqualle worked in the cockpit with her new toys, the typewriter keys. Laurel finished up the back window and will grout and seal the new stuff this week.  I sort of roamed around the car shivering, scraping tape off surfaces, working on the checkerboard, detailing, and shivering.

It's imperative that we get the interior finished so that the carpet can get laid....hmmmm.  I've got the mannequins at my house, along with the airship and the tail lights to get them finished before remounting. What's happening with those bumpers???????? When can we remount them?  It's time to rejoin the group!  Mannequin folks need to find another duty since it wasn't happening.  Maybe you can add on to the carpet group?

Thanks to everyone who came in today, it was productive.

GOOD FOLK FEST/SATURDAY WORK PARTY

The Good Folk Fest  (click) is this weekend at Mellwood, so there may be some pretty interesting and entertaining stuff to occupy our breaks from the iusartcar work party. There's lots of art, lots of music, art cars, interesting folks, good food.  Please plan on stopping in to the festivities while you're here.  It costs 5 bucks for the day and will continue on Sunday as well.

Thursday's Session

I didn't have my camera today, so no immediate images to post, but Steve got a bunch of shots that he'll soon have in his portfolio, so stay tuned.  Our progress was slower today since we had fewer workers on hand (hmmm), but I understand there will be another group work party on Saturday.

The back door is pulling together nicely and Amanda and Kaitlin gave that area more attention today, we may be ready to do some sealing on Saturday.  Lisa did some buffing on the stained glass to remove the grout film. Kristy made a big dent with the interior, and Amanda started doing some trim work with the flat black (the flat is for the interior and the gloss is for the exterior). Amanda also brought in a big bag of keys, so we'll definitely be able to find a place for them somewhere to further unlock imaginations.  Sarrah did more sanding on the mannequins to get them into a re-attachable place again after our Liquid Nails fiasco. Jamie stopped by with the luggage rack, maybe we'll be able to have a place for all those legs and arms once we get the rack attached, maybe painted, Jamie said he could do that.

That Blue tape was/is a real headache.  We pulled some off of areas that were not going to get any more spray paint, and it wouldn't come off.  It had become a semi-permanent part of the car.  I had to run to Home Depot to get some razor blades to scrape it off the glass.  I went ahead and took a bunch more off of areas that had been taped from some time.  If we have to re- tape areas that will be OK, at least we'll be able to get the fresher stuff off without it fighting back.  The black parts of the side windows, after they were uncovered,  are very...ummm...'van-like'. Something needs to happen in those areas.  What can we use on glass?  Are there 'special' markers that Rebecca could attack them with?  Also, I realized how important the eyeball and the mannequins are going to be in order to change the too-recognizable shape of the vehicle.  It needs some protrusions! The group decided that the areas between the roof and the back side panels would be a good piece of real estate to 'sign' the project.  The tail-lights will be a gold IU decaled symbol. Where are the bumpers?

There has been some back and forth discussion of the unveiling with several of you.  I am going to try to secure the round grassy area in front of the Library for that purpose, but I'm wondering if we should do it during finals week instead of December 4, given all that still has to be done to have a "finished" appearance.  Please discuss it and let me know your thoughts.  It was also discussed that NATE STORMER, because he has such a great name, should have some kind or role in that ceremony just so we can say: "NATE STORMER (snicker)!"  I'm open to any suggestions. Did I hear fog machine? Parade from Mellwood? A pre-unveiling at Mellwood?

Debra got a painting into the "NUDE" exhibition in Lexington and will need the van to make delivery of her work. I'm not sure of the dates yet, but will let you know.

So Saturday, what time?

Damn, It's Cold!

Kristy working on the interior...the warm interior.
Laurel and Brent applying grout to the stained glass.
Rebecca continuing with the eclectic interior.
Sarrah working with the mannequins to removed the Liquid Nails that did not set.
Kaitlin and Amanda working on the back door and the freshly grouted window.

After the past few work sessions when we were shivering in the dark, todays mid-30s was our biggest chill so far. Paints were kind of gelatinous, adhesives were not sticky, tape was useless, and Liquid Nails never became nails. Some progress was made though on the interior, the back door panel, and the stained glass window. Those who worked on the interior enjoyed the benefits of the car heater and the lamps, those working on the exterior made frequent trips to the coffee shop. The GPS was fixed and the spray foam has been cleaned off the dash.  The mannequins are disassembled and we'll need to rethink how that's going to work.  Apparently, Jamie found a luggage rack, and with that and some screws and more spray foam, we'll get it to work. There needs to be a little more forward progress on that checker board.

There are some warmer days on the way and by the end of the week we should be in a slightly better place, but it's advisable to dress warmly.  Also, anyone who goes over to work and uses the heaters, be sure to re-plug the extension cord that runs over to the other garage after you're finished. It's needed when we're not there for the other space.

Saturday's Work Party (brrrr, again)

The lights shining through the rear window was pretty cool.
Kate was very focused on the interior.
The new hood after the leaking ceiling washed away Thursdays clouds.
Thursday's clouds before we began removing them.
Debra inspecting the configuration of legs and arms before liquid nailing them together.  We'll also wire them.

We had a good crew in today, and an extra heater.  Nate and Adam were working on the lower panels; Kate was on the interior; Pasqualle was in several places; Debra was on the mannequins and the eyeball; Amanda was on the back door; Laurel was on the back door and side mirrors. 

When we arrived the rain water was coming in through the ceiling and onto the hood.  The clouds that Rebecca and Julie painted on Thursday were also running down the hood. Another lesson for us all about the antipathy of acrylic and enamel.  Pasqualle and I finished getting the remnants of the old clouds off and then Pasqualle repainted the hood with new enamel clouds. They look great, we also pulled the van back from under the dripping ceiling.

Kate worked quietly inside the van finishing up the tree area and visually connecting it to the rear window.  She emerged for a brief time when the pizzas arrived and then returned to adhere jewels to the tree; it also looks great.

Adam and Nate worked on the lower panels starting the multi layered checker-board pattern. That should look good once they're finished.  Those lower panels will last forever as they now have about inch-thick coat of paint.

Laurel worked with various glass sections, while her son and his friend 'spied' on us.  Amanda was also immersed in glass and brushes on the back door panel and I was glad to see that move so well today.

The airship is not cooperating and will not bend with heat, so we'll have to come up with an alternative solution to getting it onto the hood.  I foamed some of the empty spaces on the back and we may have to continue that and add some kind of cantilever to get it in place.

Debra got the mannequin parts 'nailed' together and then we've decided to wire them together and then mount them to the roof with the luggage rack attachment that Jamie thinks he can find.  If not, we'll find an alternative.

It was a pretty productive day and I was glad to see the turnout.  Everyone seemed to have a task to deal with and there were no idle hands.   Good work.

   

THE BFA CRITIQUE

A RESPONSE.

Thursday's Weather Reprieve

Sam brought her sweet puppy who watched and later danced at the good work that was being done.
Nate began to remask out areas for some additional painting on the infamous lower door panels.

Conditions were much more workable today with temps in the mid-50s.  I did some minor detailing around the windshield until the crew began showing around 10:30. Nate, bless his soul, brought us two space heaters.  He also began masking out the infamous lower door panels and there are plans to do some kind of checkerboard pattern in those areas. Sam and Nate are the go-to gal/guy with those plans.  Kaitlin and Amanda worked on the back door but they're having some adhesion issues, so we discussed some possibilities and may try some kind of 'plasticizing' to seal things down, but it'll require leaving the back door in the up/open position for the materials to set. Nate repainted the hood and Rebecca and Julie then followed with very painterly clouds.  The airship will be mounted on top of that, but we'll need to try to form it the hood contour with a heat gun.  Kate, Julie, and Rebecca continued working on the very elaborate back interior while Sam and Pasqualle continued the cockpit work.  We discussed the GPS mounting and that has been carved for a better fit onto the dash, we're going to try some drilled holes into the dash and expanding foam.  Steve did a lot of shooting so we'll see what he posts soon. He'll also pick up the typewriter for Saturday's work party. When I returned to campus I saw the front and back bumpers, now painted blue and red, and ready to have faces and hands mounted onto them. 

Wednesday...burrrr

Have you seen the Atomic Art Dog? Here's a detail of an artcar by some highschool kids, they ROCK! 

The day was pretty chilly so I didn't hear of anyone working today. I talked with Laurel who's going to do some glass beads or something like that on the 'jeweled' rear-view mirrors. Everyone seems to respond to the 'airship' and the hood seems to be a favorite spot, although there are some folks who have plans for the hood, so let's see how they respond, maybe we'll need to find an alternative space.

Apparently we need more brushes for the back door.  Has everyone brought in their old used brushes?

We also need heat and lights.  I've sent out a request to Scott and we'll see if he can help us out with those details.

Jamie has a lead on a luggage rack to mount the mannequins.

Is there a work party this weekend? Need a pizza delivery?

Tuesday's Big Chill

Today definitely felt like mid November, cold and drizzly, and the space at Mellwood wasn't any warmer.  I think if we closed the big door that would help, and Nate said he might be able to bring some space heaters over.  It was also chilly on other levels, and I've corresponded to some of the "IUSARTCAR Enthusiasts" about the origins of that chill, which I suppose has been building for some time.  It's like the straw on the floor that we've been using to cover the oil spills, except today, there was one too many. Ouch!!!! My back!!!

I have no progress images to post, but I'm sure that Steve got some shots that will be 'slideshowing' soon.  I saw him pointing at some interesting subjects and was glad that there was some passion in the chill; it helped a lot.

Pasqualle needs some help mounting the GPS since we've arrived at a "don't cut into the dash" kind of place.  If the GPS can be carved to fit the contour of the dash it would be easier to mount.  Also, we have to figure out how to do the music box, because if it gets mounted, we'll lose the option of the music since the key is on the back; it also needs a little WD40.  The mannequins need to be joined, painted, mounted, and then morphed into the rest of the aesthetic (Nate, Adam, Jamie, Lisa). Can the 'airship' I got this weekend at the Flea Market be used (anyone)? Are the brushes going to adhere to the back door (Amanda, Kaitlin)? Can the stained glass get caulked on Thursday (Brent, Laurel)? Is the interior shaping up (Pasqualle, Julie, Sam, Rebecca, Amanda, Kristy, Kaitlin, Kate, Ben, Sarrah, Annie)? Is the hood going to happen (Rebecca, Julie,and Samantha) or are we rethinking that as well?  Are the tail lights getting a positive shape or a negative shape for the IU logo (Kaitlin, all)?  Did anyone get bumper colors to Ben (Kristy, Jamie)? Is there a schedule for reinstalling the bumpers (Ben, Randy)? Lots of details, many I'm sure I've missed here, and lots of things to think about and resolve in a short span of time.

Let's get past this chill and make the collective passion warm things up.

The eye (in-progress) and new item

Debra has been working on an "eye" for the top front of the roof.  This is it in-progress, complete with solar light illuminating the way.  Pretty cool.

I also got an image today on my cell phone from Laurel, Rebecca, and Julie, but I don't know how to download from my phone to include with this post, so you'll have to take my word (as I do theirs) that they were getting into some of the various processes on the van.  Laurel has been working on the stained glass window and Rebecca and Julie on the interior.  I'll run by tomorrow to see their progress.

I also found this wall plaque at the Paradise Rose Flea Market in Fairdale, thought it might be good for something so I bought it.   

It's gonna be a little warmer in a few days.  Can we have a real work party? 

Debra's Saturday Visit

I went over today to recharge the battery and help out anyone who might have been there, but, alas, I was there by myself.  I jumped the battery and pulled the van out into the sun.  While I was letting the engine run for the recharge, I decided to go ahead and paint the stripes as per the Thursday gang's recommendation to tone down the florescent lower panels.  While I was there, Debra stopped by to fit the cyclops eye on the roof.  We both got a good laugh and decided that it needed more foaming and carving. Debra is also installing a solar light in the eye for night time illumination.  She's enjoying her contribution to the project, besides the van, and took the eye back to her studio for additional work.

It was pretty chilly and windy, and surprisingly it was warmer in the space than out in the sun, so that was a good sign for working indoors now that the weather is starting to feel like November. We should look at our schedules to plan a work party in the very near future, a good chunk of time devoted to making a big dent in this process.  It is supposed to be warmer next weekend and that may be a time when we can do it.  Also, don't forget, don't play the stereo in the van as it will drain the battery, and since our battery cables have disappeared, jumping would be difficult unless you have a set with you.  Any thoughts? 

Election Day!!!

I hope everyone had a good day voting for you favorite candidate, and I hope you voted correctly (snicker).  We had some very productive work today and I'm very glad the weather is being considerate of our tasks.  Working out in the sunshine helps with our moods and our vitamin D dosage.  I hope Steve got some good shots of all the activity.  Progress was made on the back window and door, front side panels, the interior made some big strides also. We got some good ideas from Jamie and Nate for some diagonals along the sides, alternating gold and red.  As I heard someone say, "It's very sexy!"  

Canadian Maple Leaf?

Was one of the suggestions for this cliched symbol that appeared on the side over the weekend. It took about an hour to sand it off and restore that part of the quarter panel. I was not a happy camper for a while.  In my ranting and raving I hope the point was not lost that we are working collaboratively on this project, like an organism, we are conducting our activities of creating this artvan by our separate functions yet we are mutually dependent on each other.  If you have a brainstorm of an idea, spread it around and get some feedback before you disrupt an area that has already been planned out.  Again, we don't want to spend what time we share on this back-tracking and correcting areas.  And, again, please prep before you spray!