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Here are some shots of the final stages of the project. These are really just the highlights; for every photo here, there were hours of work trying to figure out engineering challenges we faced. We were so blessed with both inspiration and copious amounts of knowledge and assistance from many family members and friends. However, for all the talk of challenges faced, don't think this was drudgery. I loved every minute of this project, and I hope to do more large-scale public works in the future. It is time we started speaking about ideals again in a large way. And in a beautiful way. If all we give our children is cynicism and ugliness, how can we expect them to become anything better?
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The Final Stages There are three different stages of the project contained in the next little series of photos: 1) REPAINTING THE BARN. A much bigger project than I had expected (though in hindsight, I'm not sure how I could have expected anything else). A hydraulic lift and killer paint sprayer were key components. The gray paint is the primer. 2) THE MURAL LIFT. I had been wondering for a while how I was going to get the murals up there, and we finally decided on a exoskeleton of sorts that would cradle the mural panel inside and hook to the crane, allowing for a safe journey up to the top. A group of folks were waiting on top of the scaffolding to catch it and go from there. It's basically a big wooden envelope. The South Panel Installation photos are courtesy of Josh and Danielle Russel. 3) VARNISHING. After BYU, the murals were brought to a local greenhouse about a half-mile away. I then leveled out the existing plant beds of the greenhouse with 2x4's and fresh extira panels, attached some metal brackets to the back of the mural panels for good measure, and then put three thick layers of Liquitex Soluvar exterior varnish on. I mixed a matte and gloss finish to get a nice sheen. It's quite toxic stuff, hence the mask. |
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Getting Them Up The following are photos of the murals being put up into place. The first two photos are actually my wife and I painting the trim that would go up and cap in the murals once they were in place. Putting relatively flat and straight murals up onto a very not-straight building presented a variety of challenges that, once again, took significant time to address. There were some late nights on the scaffold, as you can imagine. The other photos are of things going up and such. Having built the frameworks in the barn when I painted the murals, I had a much better idea of where I was going at this point. But it had it's own challenges, many of which I simply couldn't have anticipated prior to arriving at that point. Antone Burbidge and his construction company were invaluable during this time. I literally couldn't have done it without him. I am now happy to report that the murals are now probably the strongest part of the barn (besides the foundation, perhaps). I will tell you this, though: A day or two after I put up the South panels, we had a rain storm, and I noticed that the biscuit joints had swollen! I was super-nervous, but you can bet that I was up there with the buffest silicone sealant I could find the next morning. All has been well since...
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