Some great photos taken during the installation of “Bike Cube”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sirstan/sets/72157605425896905/

Last Sunday I finally finished the Bike Cube. Giavanna organized and edited the words *(see below) and after they were on I assembled the whole thing out in the driveway under a pop-up.

We packed it into the U-Haul truck (no small feat), and we piled in and drove to Monpelier. When we got there, we called SculpCycle master mind Rob Hitzig from the 

Lazy Pear, he helped us unload and site the piece, then BOOM, there it was, in place . . . hard to believe.

*The words on the bike frames – one set on each side:

Bicycle: ˈbī-si-kəl noun Etymology: French, from bi +-cycle (as in tricycle) Date: 1863: a vehicle with two wheels tandem, handlebars for steering, a saddle seat, and pedals by which it is propelled; Bicycle: intransitive verb Date: 1869: to ride a bicycle.

At long last everyone can get a look at what’s been in my head all this time.

The assembly is going slowly but well – I’m right on track to be done by the deadline.

What you see in the picture is one side of the “cube” – five sides with an open bottom.

Gosh, I’ve been so busy working on my sculpture I haven’t found time to update the blog.

I’ve gotten a lot done – the frames are all prepped and painted and I’m about to start assembling!

I’ve been working on the project whenever I can, and I love getting really familiar with the individual elements of the sculpture before they all go together.

It’s a lot of work cleaning the grime and rust of ( sometimes) decades of use and abuse. The chainrings and cogs are fasinating in their uniqueness, and the chrome bits really come to life with a little elbow grease.

Just heard that Nick at Dirty Dog Mtb is coming through for me and sending some disk brake rotors that didn’t make the grade for them, but will look great on the bikecube. Photos and more when I get ‘em in my hands!

On Thursday I drove to Burlington to visit Queen City Steel, a metal recycler. They have been keeping a pile of bicycles for artists to pick through for their SculpCycle projects.  A few folks had been there before me, and taken what they needed, and many of the bikes were still frozen in ice, but I still managed to fill the truck with some usable bikes.  On the way home I stopped at the Old Spokes Home, right near by Queen City Steel, in the UVM neighborhood. A nice little bike shop specializing in reconditioned bikes at reasonable prices. Their second floor was packed with nice used bikes, some new ones and a sweet little museum display of some antique bikes. If the truck wasn’t already full I would have taken some home with me.   

   Now that I’ve got a pile of bikes, it’s time to start the process of turning them into art. I start by taking them apart, stripping the frame, taking off the tires and scrubbing everything down. As the picture shows, some take more effort than others. 

Folks have responded to my call for old bikes, I’ve been going out to get them. It’s been great going around meeting and talking to people who are willing to donate thier bikes to my SculptCycle project. Nice people all, with stories to tell about the bikes, and excitement to see them have a new life as art.