The granite base for the River’s Voice arrived at my shop yesterday, after several days waiting for a working crane truck to be available.

The base proper will sit on a shoe that allows it to be level — nature provides beautiful materials, but there can be a lot of engineering between what she provides and a finished sculpture.  In this case, attaching the shoe to the base will require two threaded rods, each with a diameter of about 1½ in (3.8 cm), and some high-tech adhesive.

My work often requires purpose-built tooling, so I regularly swap hats to become a toolsmith.  In the back of the photos below (click to enlarge), you can see the disks that will provide the sculpture’s voice.  The one in shadow is mounted on a custom lathe, that allows me to shape and tune each disk for the planned harmonious result.

In the second photo, you can see remnants of the drill holes, which held the wedges used to split the block from the outcrop in the quarry.  These won’t be visible in the finished piece — but next time you see granite curbs along a road, look for similar marks.  Although granite can be shaped with saws, grinders and water jets, splitting it the old fashioned way with drills, feathers & wedges is still the most efficient way to form a rough shape.

Getting the approvals and funding for this piece has been a long journey, with the support and involvement of Brunswick Public Art, their donors, and the Brunswick Town Council.  I greatly appreciate their commitment to and support of this multi-media project.

Realizing the vision in stone and metal is the part that is the most fun for me.  I look forward to delivering it to the Town Mall and watching the public interact with it.