Last Day

We are to move out on Monday and have a van lined up for the job. So Saturday we take a well-deserved day off and loaf around the house and get ready for the final push to pack up and go home.

Monday arrives and it’s off to the races packing and moving and getting ready for home.

I arrange to extend my access pass for one more day so that I can hand out a few gifts to the people that have helped me out the most in my time here at Kohler. I’ve only got about an hour to spare today because of our move out deadline so it will have to be brief goodbyes and thanks for everyone. First stop is Brass Bob in the brass foundry. He’s been so patient with me and cheerfully accommodating my many brass pours. I’ve genuinely enjoyed hanging around with him. Next up, Robin and I are looking for Larry. It is bittersweet to say goodbye and thanks to Larry, he’s been such a help to me and it’s been a pleasure to make his acquaintance. Robin and I find him on his break in the downstairs lunchroom and chat with him for about 15 minutes before it’s time for us to go. I also drop off bells for Pete and Henry. They both have been gracious enough to let me horn in on their sand pours all this time making my small molds for the saw handles. There are a few other gifts for people that I’ve entrusted Gregory to see that they find their way to the right people.

What can I say about Gregory and Beth except that they have been absolutely great to work with. They are both artists, so they know how artists think and what their needs are. Gregory has really gone above and beyond the call of duty helping me out, especially concerning my saw project. He’s gone out of his way, even on his own personal time, to help me out. Beth has been a real advocate for the artists and I’ve always marveled at her good cheer. The Arts/Industry program is lucky to have them both. I now consider them friends and I hope our paths cross often.

We don’t actually pull out of Kohler until 5:00 so a few hours later than expected, but we miss Chicago rush hour traffic and are home by 8:00. It feels great to be home again. I missed our house and life here and it feels good to be here at this time of year too. Spring is a great time to arrive here and begin new projects, continue old ones and just slip into our old happy routines.

Many, many thanks to all the good people at the Kohler Company and to the staff at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center for their support in making this residency possible.

Photo Shoot

Today is Friday and time for the photo shoot which takes place at the Kohler Company’s photography studio in Sheboygan Falls. It’s in an industrial park setting so the area doesn’t look unique but when you walk into the facility it’s quite a different situation. All Kohler Company ads are shot here and the sets are amazing. The fabrication of kitchen and bath settings is truly impressive. They can make anything in the shop there and the end results are spectacular. Rich is the photographer and he immediately got us started unpacking and setting up the pieces. Gregory and I set up the saws first and after some tweaking, they look really cool on a white seamless background. Rich shot from different angles and we now have a nice variety of shots from which to choose from.

Next up are the brass pieces and one after another they look great. Since Rich uses the latest in digital photography, we can see the results immediately on his computer right next to the set. Amazing. Since Rich has extensive experience shooting shiny products for Kohler, my “antiqued” pieces pose no problems for him. We work through them all at a pretty good pace and after a break for lunch finish up with the back staff piece.

The only wrinkle is that after the shoot, our 1996 Jeep Cherokee won’t start. Gregory gamely tries a jump but with no results. It’s a brainteaser as it looks like we are getting no spark from the donor car. Just as we are about to give up, one more try does it and we are off. We decide to go to the Sears Auto center for a look-see and make sure we are good for the drive to Chicago. Long story short, after $300 and a new starter, solenoid and battery, we are back in business but late for farewell drinks with the other artists.

Final Look

Beth has arrived this morning and all is set up for her to see. Robin has done a great job of arranging the space with all my work laid out on the large carts with white paper on them with the pieces on top.

Yep, somehow it all got done and as a group I must say I’m pretty pleased. We set up one saw piece too so we know everything works and it is a stable piece of work.

Eye Of The Storm

Tonight is Easter Sunday… and this is my last week. I worked all weekend but I can only do so much until I pour metal on Monday and have access to the machine shop for either advice or help. Unfortunately, Good Friday put a bit of a crimp in my progress. Because the factory was closed that day, it pushed everything off my schedule and I have to work around my looming deadline for a March 28 departure. It’s just the way the schedule worked out, but it is a little inconvenient. I’m starting to feel a little scatter-brained again, like I felt the first week or so. There is a lot to tie up here at the end and there probably is no way to avoid a crunch. Robin is freed up from work and school and is gamely helping out with various tasks. She’s staining my Backstaff wood and added some details to it that make it better. She’s been a real champ throughout this whole three months. She cooked and cleaned, laundered, paid bills and picked up the slack on many fronts since I’ve been so preoccupied with this residency. I owe her a deep debt of gratitude.

Gregory and I have had trouble hooking up with the Kohler associate who could arrange the powder-coating of my saw handles. After we found out he has extended his vacation by a few days, we are in a bit of a panic because my time is now so short. One desperate call to the good people in the Power Generator plant and we have plans to drop off the handles for powder-coating first thing in the morning. Once again the people in this department of Kohler have come to my rescue and they treat us very well and with genuine interest and enthusiasm. I’m very lucky to have met them all. My handles were done a few days later and they look absolutely great. They fit perfectly on the saw blades too.

Time is getting shorter and shorter this last week. I have now poured my two brass sundials and gotten them back from Jack in the polishing department. I’ve been frantically trying to assemble all pieces that need attachments to them, but have had various successes.

The sundials look great. Jack did a wonderful job of polishing yet still leaving a patina that implies age in my pieces. Now it’s up to me to assemble the triangular part of the sundial (the gnomon) to the base on the brass as well as the cast iron versions. Gregory got me set up on the end mill tool. I’ve always wanted to use a milling machine. The one in the Arts/Industry studio is old and a little battered, but it will do the trick. If I had more time I could have done a more precise job of it, but as it is, they turned out pretty well. The bottoms of the gnomons are flat so that I can attach them to the base with machine screws. Metal is so much different that wood. You have to think more steps ahead when working in metal. Mistakes can be fatal to a project and not easily repaired, unless you have advanced skills.

Anyway, it was time to attach pieces to other pieces and away I went. I began to get faster at achieving this, but it took awhile and I have five sundials to assemble. They look pretty good. I like the brass ones especially and I think they are my current favorites of the residency.

Gregory stepped in and welded my nocturnal and sextant pieces together because the individual pieces are so thin that the drilling and tapping was too tricky for me. He has really helped me out on this and I owe him a lot.

Jack had to polish some welding discoloration off his previously polished pieces, but he is now occupied with Kohler Company work. So Robin is going to step in, and with Jack’s help, she can finish up this polishing task working alongside him. She spent all Wednesday morning and part of the afternoon polishing up my pieces and they look great. That freed me up to assemble the wood parts of the backstaff and fit them together. It’s a tricky business because if I make a mistake at this point, that’s pretty much it for the piece and there is no time left for even minor adjustments.

The backstaff ultimately came together and looks great. Gregory helped out by re-tapping a poor initial tap of mine, and now I feel more secure about it all hanging together.

Brian is a local artist who has helped in assisting the Arts/Industry artists in the past and I’ve recruited him to help me complete a few tasks. He built crates for my saws and today he is going to assemble a few of my gifts that I made up out of Kohler recyclables. Gregory and I took a walk through the Salvage department a couple of weeks ago and we spotted a barrel full of brass to be recycled. Among the pile were some brass knobs and some cone-shaped brass leftovers from Kohler’s hydro-forming faucet production. I’ve decided to connect the knobs to the cones and wire another knob on the inside in order to make little bells. They actually have a nice ring to them and I think they’ll make sweet little gifts for people. Anyway, Robin and Brian spent a few hours assembling them and they look pretty cool. Jack previously had polished the individual pieces for me with differing surface textures and now all assembled they look great.

The sundials are complete as well and have turned out really nice. I’ve made three for gifts and will keep the two brass ones for later.

Robin has done a wonderful job of packing and cleaning my space and I’m right on schedule as far as that goes. This has been critical in that it allows me to keep working on finishing up my pieces.

Robin and I have gotten very little sleep this week, just a few hours each night. We are wearing down. We have kept our good humor, but there was a serious amount of work to be done this week and if you begin to think about it too much instead of plowing through it, it’s just too grim to consider the challenge.

The Good Friday holiday really hurt my momentum, the factory is closed, what can you do? We are down to the last few days but beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The last two weeks have been a blur. I’ve ridden back and forth between departments using the Arts/Industry 3-wheeled bike so much that I could practically do it blind. Never forgetting to honk the bike’s horn so as not to run into anyone. This is the point where you have to be extra careful and mind your surroundings and stay alert. There is no room for error. There is just too much to do.

Everything has to be done by Thursday morning in order for Arts/Industry program coordinator Beth Lipman to come by for my exit interview and recommend to Ruth Kohler which two pieces will be gifted, one to the John Michael Kohler Art’s Center and the other to the Kohler Company.

Etc.

Friends are in town again from Chicago. Really fun to see them and hang out a little, I’ll be more present next time we see them. I can almost taste it now, being back home after three months. I miss my house and our life in Chicago. This has been a great experience and I’m so glad I did it during the winter. I guess we have almost broken a record for snowfall this winter in Wisconsin. I can feel it my shoulders and arms after all the shoveling. It just goes to figure that I have a snow-blower gathering dust in my garage back home.

I’ve now poured two brass nocturnal pieces and have gotten them back from Jack, all polished just the way I like them. I’m going for a surface that looks “antique” -not too polished and shiny, - as if the object has kicked around a few hundred years. I’ve also poured a few cast iron sundials and they look pretty cool. I like the idea, and it was nice to see this project through in a pretty quick fashion.

Sundial Project

I’ve started a new project. It is based on a historic sundial. Instead of numbers, there is text that says, “It’s later than you think.” Also ringing the outer edge it says, “Forget the time, concentrate on the temperature.” In addition to the text, the “gnomon,” the triangular part of the sundial that casts the shadow, is depicted in my piece as a cut and fallen pine tree. Yep, it’s a piece about global warming. I don’t know why this popped into my head, but… there it is. I like the idea and I hope it turns out well.

The pattern is now complete on the sundial piece and it’s time to make the flasks and molds. Things are starting to come much easier now that I’ve had more experience with all the processes. I haven’t challenged myself with very difficult molds, three parters and molds with cores, etc, but since this is my first real experience with casting, I’m pretty happy with how I’m working. Time is growing short on my stay here at Kohler and I have to think of what will produce the most successful pours. There is not a whole lot of room for error if I’m going to finish up what I’ve started by the end of March.

Friends From Chicago

Friends are in town so it was a modest day’s work and then off to a nice early dinner at the Horse and Plow for a very pleasant time.

I’m beginning to miss Chicago. I’ve not allowed myself the luxury of being homesick or anything like that, but now as my time here at Kohler is drawing to a close, I’m beginning to have mixed feelings about where I belong, and getting back to our “old life.” Having friends from Chicago visit makes me realize how much I miss the city.

Kohler Generator Part 2

The saws are done! Gregory and I went to the Power Generator plant and picked them up. They look absolutely fantastic and it was a real treat to see them all nice and tidy in all their black powder-coated glory. Bill, Barbara and Kevin have been so kind to help with this project, I can’t thank them enough.

Now it’s time to finish out the handles. Bruce from the Service Machine department can now finish up my handles. He had to wait until we had our finished, painted saw blades in order to use a micrometer to measure the exact thickness of the blades, including the thickness of the powder coating. He can now cut the slots for installation.

The Backstaff project is coming along just fine. The brass pours went great and after Larry ground off the runners and vents, I turned two sets of the arcs over to Jack in the Polishing department for him to work his magic.

My latest project is based on a 16^th century navigational device called a “nocturnal.” In my piece, instead of divining time according to the position of the stars, my version is intended as a device to orient the user/viewer towards determining their position in a swiftly-changing, technologically-driven, contemporary world.

Kohler Generator!

Larry stopped by earlier in the week and said that his son worked in the Kohler generator plant and that we might have access to their laser cutter. Today, Gregory and I went to the Kohler generator plant and met with Bill, Barbara and Kevin and… it was a great experience.

Up to this point, poor Gregory had been chasing down all kinds of options as to how I might get my saws fabricated. We had set a deadline of Friday to finally have a plan; we will get the saws cut out with a computer-generated torch, or I will have to cut them out by hand… all 24 of them.

Well… everyone at the generator plant was so enthusiastic about helping us out that it made me feel like this project was not only going to see the light of day, but that it is going to be done in the highest quality techniques and coatings available.

Catching Up

A week or so has passed since my last posting and I think that’s the way it’s going to go for the rest of my time here. Studio time is more precious now that I understand the processes better and can now realize finished work more swiftly.

I finished my backstaff patterns and molds and they are ready for a Monday brass pour.

I’ve started a new project based on a sixteenth century celestial navigational device called a nocturnal. This device uses the North Star and several constellations to determine time and therefore latitude. I’m still laying out the design this week and hope to make a finished pattern and mold by the end of next week.

M.J. is in her last week and she has gotten an incredible amount of work done. She makes me look like a slacker compared to all that she has produced. I’m very impressed with her work ethic and I’ll miss her when she’s gone. (She may have reason to come to the Chicago area and is welcome to stay with us.)

Most of my saw handles are poured. I have four more to pour on Monday and then that should be it. Bruce, from Service Machine stopped by the artist’s studios and asked us if we needed anything done. Of course, I need my handles to be drilled out for bolt holes and slotted for installation. I dropped them off and Bruce started on them that evening. I didn’t think this would happen for few more days, so I’m thrilled that the process is now underway.

Gregory and I are still trying to get a bead on a suitable outlet to have my saw pattern cut. As soon as we decide on a strategy, I can schedule my activities around getting them finished up.

Continued Progress

I’ve had a productive period since my last posting a week and a half ago. I continued making and pouring my saw handle molds and I’m now up to 18 poured handles. Larry kindly cut off all of the casting runners and gates from the raw poured handles. There is more to do once all 24 are poured. They will have to then be ground down and turned over to the guys in the Machine Service Department who will cut the slots for the saw blades and the bolt holes for installation.

I’ve also made another mold and had a successful brass pour on my third, and last, sextant piece.

I’ve had to dump the backstaff patterns I’d already started because they are just not precise enough. I finally broke down and ordered some “trammel points” also know as a “yardstick compass.” This is a simple device that attaches to a yardstick that enables the user to make large circles. It’s really dumb that I didn’t use one in the first place. I’ve been improvising for years on the rare occasion that I needed one, but my improvisations never worked that well. I’m happier now that I have the right tool for the job, but I did lose a few days having to start over. Oh well… it just goes to show you, use the right tool in the first place and you’ll be much happier with the end result! It’s my own fault trying to scrimp on an $8.00 tool, foolish.

Getting in Gear

I worked on my backstaff piece on Sunday and prepared another handle mold for pouring today. On Monday morning I went to pep-set and made my sixth handle mold, I’m getting pretty fast at making them now. I’m done with all six now, and after lunch I got the chance to have them all poured with engine iron. They all poured out great and broke up easily. I’ll modify the future molds because I had some leakage, but overall, I’m pretty happy with the results.

In my interview, coordinator Beth Lipman told me that it takes about a month before you feel that you know what you're doing. I would say that this is absolutely true!

One Very Long Day!

Robin has come in with me today and is taking pictures, so I’ll have some documentation of the day’s events.

Today was a very busy day. I spent the week getting all my revised sextant molds ready for a brass pour on Friday. Gregory and I push today’s large brass molds into the Arts/Industry kiln to heat them up for an hour prior to pouring which makes for a smoother pour. Everything is now ready after a final, hectic morning run with Gregory and Mary Jo to pep-set in order to make more molds before they shut down. With that accomplished, we all head over to the brass foundry to pour our big pieces.

Mary Jo, Robin, and I pushed our heavy pour carts over to the brass foundry where we met Bob who arranged for our individual pours.

All our pours seemed to go off without a hitch. It is always fascinating to watch a pour. It’s amazing seeing the molten metal go in the molds, it’s so incredibly bright, smooth and liquid as it goes in yet, it begins to set up almost instantly into a solid, yet still hot, form.

We gathered our clamps and other supplies and pushed our carts across the factory and on outside to the yard to cool. Larry was there to help with the breaking of the molds. It’s work, but kind of fun to break up the sand molds and finally get to see the end result of all the week’s work. I had much better results this time with my sextant after I went back into my pattern and brought out more of my design by making deeper cuts in my plastic pattern.

Larry ground down the vents and runners on our pieces and our pieces ready for buffing next week.

We all skipped lunch to get everything done today before the end of the first shift. By the time we were ready to leave to grab a bite to eat it was 3:30 pm -- and we were tired and hungry. We all headed over to the Horse and Plow for a bite to eat and gave ourselves a break after a very productive day.

Pep-set Mania

Pep-set this morning. Mary Jo, Gregory and I teamed up to put sand in our molds. All of us working together made the process go smoother. Pep-set is tricky to work with, but if you are prepared, things will go smoothly. I’m making saw handle molds every chance I can, so I can continuously pour my saw handles. I’ll need a total of 24, so I have to do them bit by bit as that is too many to prepare all at once and pour. My goal is to have all 24 poured by the end of February, so I can turn them over to the machine shop for the cutting of the slots and holes for mounting the handles on the saws.

Begin Backstaff Project

Continued work on my sextant pattern, but I also started engraving new text on the backstaff piece. The backstaff was an early precursor to the sextant.

More Pattern Work

I spent this weekend working on my pattern, engraving into the plastic pattern, and bringing out more detail.

First Results

My sextant is back from polishing. Jack did a beautiful job making it look great. I can tell he spent some time working with it and it shows. I was hoping for a less than brand new look, so Jack suggested using the Pewter Wheel to clean it up, but not take it down to perfectly smooth.

Overall, the design on the brass showed up better than I thought, but the piece needs revision on my part. I can now tell what parts need deeper engraving on the pattern.

First Brass Pour

More mold prep this morning. Gregory scheduled time to pour the brass with Bob in the brass foundry at 12:30 pm. After some final running around finishing up the spruing, gating, venting, and mold washing, we made it on time. We got into position with the mold cart placed under the big ladle full of molten brass. The brass was poured and everything went well. The brass went into the pour cup and came up all the vents just like it’s supposed to. Everything pointed to a “good pour.” We went on to another part of the foundry and Bob hand-poured my small mold, then Bob and another worker simultaneously hand-poured the last mold -- and it too came through great.

I hustled outside to the yard with a sledgehammer and crow bar to break up the mold (while the brass was still hot) to prevent the sand from burning into the brass. Gregory dropped off the pour cart by forklift and I started to whack into it. As I started to break it up, I could start to tell that more detail was emerging than I thought would, so I felt relieved that my technique might work after all. There are, however, some issues that a second pour would improve on. If I improved the venting and sprues on a few select areas, it would work out better. I had a few shrinkage issues.

While wheeling the cart back to the studio, we caught Larry the Grinder’s eye. A few words about Larry. He’s a big guy who grinds the edges of sinks down to the right production finish level. Larry has been with Kohler for over 38 years and has a lot of experience. He stops by the artist’s area on occasion to chat and give his thoughts on how to plan on the right way to execute a project. We all rely on Larry’s advice and really admire his skill and work ethic.

Anyway, Larry called us over to see how our pour went and offered to cut the sprues and gates off and grind the excess down. We all went over to the big band saw in the cull area where he cut off the excess. Then we went back to his workstation and he ground down the excess material. Larry accomplished in 20 minutes what would have taken me a couple of hours.

Overall, everything looks pretty good so far on this project. We’ll see how good the fidelity is on the brass when Gregory and I take them over to polishing.

Morning at the "Beach"

Pep-set today. Gregory and I brought our flasks over to pep-set to make the first drag parts of the molds. It’s a hectic process with a lot happening all at once and lots of little things to remember in order to do it right. After the drags set up, we brought them back to the pep-set machine again and poured the cope parts of the molds. I forgot to include the hoist lifting bars in the flask this time for the largest of my molds, which is too bad, but not a deal breaker. Monday afternoon is spent designing the spruing, venting, and gating with Gregory’s advice. I am initially worried that my engraving is too subtle because the design is barely discernable in the mold in some parts. It’s too late to turn back now, the hard work is done as far as preparing for pouring, I might as well finish it and learn from it. We’ll see what happens, hopefully I’ll pour brass on Tuesday. Today was a hectic, busy day and physical too. I’m tired and a little apprehensive about how this will all turn out.

Arghh... Bellows

I tried to work out some of the details on a new layout drawing of the bellows on my camera project, but I’m feeling pretty frustrated. Because the bellows are tapered, there has to be an adjustment to the angles of the folds, I’m having a horrible time trying to figure out how to draw them correctly. I have two sources as a guide, a reprint of an early 20th-century period book on constructing your own camera and an Internet source on making bellows. Although these two sources help, there seems to be critical information missing that frustrates me to no end. I’m afraid that I’m starting to think that this project is just too ambitious for my time here and I may have to bag it and move on to others. I could really use an engineer at times.

Sextant Flask

More work on the sextant piece, I attached the now fully-engraved pieces to wood “follow boards” and drafted the edges with plastiline clay. I cut, or found, plywood flasks for pep-setting the molds on Monday.

Saw Handles

In order to make more progress on my cross-saw project, I made an augmented copy of an existing saw handle on the pattern shop’s lathe. Jim, in the Pattern Department, got me started with an appropriate piece of round wood stock and made a template of my existing handle to get the curves just right.

I learned a lot just by watching Jim work with his tools and was impressed with his facility and experience. I picked up some valuable tips just watching him lay out the pattern and how to check the progress on attaining the right curve while turning the piece.

I used the shop’s lathe after Jim got me set up and it was a lot of fun. It is a good quality Craftsman’s industrial model from the 1970s -- very smooth and stable. I got a great result with a steady supply of sandpaper and advice from Jim, and ended up with exactly what I’d hoped for.

Gregory and I consulted with Tim in Service Machine and kicked around a few ideas on how to cut a slot into the saw handle in order to ease the installation.

Tweaking!

Gregory took me to meet with Bob in machine design and maintenance. We went over the computer-generated DXF CAD file and determined it needs some additional work to accommodate the plasma cutter’s kerf.

More engraving this week on my sextant, I’m embellishing the design with more detail and I hope that all the detail shows up in the casting.

Packers and Friends

Friends are in town for a visit, so I took Sunday off to hang out, relax, and unfortunately… watch the Green Bay Packers lose their Super Bowl bid by falling to the New York Giants. I anticipate much gloom around the factory on Monday, as the Packers are a big source of pride among the good people of Wisconsin.

Saturday

I began to carve a serpent design into one section of the sextant and I spent the day working on that detail.

More Work on the Sextant

Today I continued on my sextant project by tracing the outline of the plywood pattern onto thin 1/8” plastic sheet that I brought from home. (I used this Menard’s plastic for a basement project and I had plenty left over.) I carved lettering into this plastic for one of my initial casting tests, and it cast the best. I picked up some hardly-used linocut carving tools at a garage sale over the summer and this is what I’m using to dig through the plastic. It’s very smooth cutting with these tools and it makes nice organic-looking grooves. It has the appearance of carved wood, but is much easier to work. I laid out my Latin text on the outlined sextant shape and began to carve the letterforms. It will take a few days to complete the carving, so I think I will be able to pour this shape by the end of next week if all goes well.

Forklift training Part Two: I learned to drive a forklift today! There is a whole different set of concerns when driving a forklift instead of, say, a car. First off, when you steer, the turning wheels are in the back and not the front. This gives the forklift much more agility but it takes some getting used to. You also have to get the hang of the shifting centers of gravity, whenever you have a load or not. I’d have to say it’s pretty cool machine. I can see why industry relies on them so heavily, because they work so well.

The Sextant Project

Started my Sextant project. Forklift training Part 1. I was starting to feel like I was not getting anything done so I got some 3/16” plywood and started drawing, and then cutting out, my sextant shape. This took a few hours, but I immediately felt like I was making tangible progress on something and it improved my mood and outlook.

The Cross-Cut Saw Project

I started a technical drawing of my cross-cut saw with dimensions for the engineer to make a DXF computer file for fabrication out of iron and steel. I also worked on the bellows, ground down the sprues and pour cup on my type test.

Sunday--thinking, eating

Worked for a few hours, then had Gregory, Mary Jo and Denise over for potluck dinner and conversation, very fun indeed.

Bellows...!

More work on the bellows and consultation on the saw project. I think I’ll try and make a plaster or wax pattern for the bellows.

Working thru Issues

Met with Larry in Engineering and he made a few suggestions, but he too is stymied about the best way to make my bellows. I tried a quick stab at making a wood pattern, but decided quickly to abandon it because it’s too time-consuming.

I went about making a heavy paper bellows and learned a lot about what happens when the shape begins to taper. I still don’t know how to do it yet; it will take all day Friday to come up with the right solution. It’s worth it if it works.

Met with Bob, the safety coordinator, and he went over company policy. Bob stressed the dangerous aspects of the environment and impressed using common sense and not rushing to do a task and forgetting safety. In this environment, safety is paramount; I can see where bad things could happen in an instant.

The Camera Project

Today, I brought in my large format camera maquette to show Gregory and to discuss how I might go about fabricating it. Gregory thinks we can make it, but it will definitely bring new challenges to the both of us. When I made my model, I used straight-sided cardboard to indicate where the camera’s bellows are. This aspect of the project, the bellows, is going to be the trickiest part to fabricate or cast.

It’s going to take a lot of consideration and planning in order to pull this off. There are many ways to approach this particular issue. I need to make a pattern for the tapering angles of the bellows that will take into account the considerable shrinkage that will happen when cast in either brass or iron. It will be worth all the effort if the camera casting works. More on this as it develops.

Before lunch Gregory took me to tour the Brass Foundry, there I met Bob and he showed us around and explained the process and procedures in making Kohler brass product. We also toured the machining stations and I met Jack, in the polishing area.

Kohler retiree and tour guide Lowell stopped by the studio and he joined MJ, Gregory, and I for lunch at the Design Center. Lowell told us about his life growing up on a farm and how he still lives on that same property.

Later Gregory showed me the Service Department, where a lot of heavy-duty engineering -- and machining of just about anything that needs to be made -- is realized. We also got a look at the Pattern Department. I really wanted to see this department, because I think it probably is most like the kind of work I do in my art practice. These guys make all kinds of patterns in different materials. Glen showed me a resin that is used in putting a surface coating on patterns.

Each area of the Kohler factory has a different tone, and color, and even noise level to it. Some areas are louder than others and in just about all the areas that I’ve been in… ear protection is warranted. “The Melt” is gritty and dark; it is very dramatic with extremes in color and temperature. But I think I like the Pattern Department best so far, the atmosphere is lighter and more organic in material. The workbenches are wooden -- there is less metal and more wood overall. Everyone, in every department, has gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and take time out their busy workdays to talk to us and help me get orientated.

At the end of the day, I’d made some paper cutouts testing different widths for the bellows and considering different ways to approach their realization. I made a few notes for tomorrow morning when Gregory and I will talk to Larry in the Pattern Design Departmentt to get his thoughts on how to approach the bellows.

"The Melt"

Mary Jo and I took a tour of “The Melt” escorted by retired Kohler employee Daryl, who is the “go-to guy” around the factory. I’m told that Daryl really knows the ins and outs of the cast iron foundry. The atmosphere in the melt is simply unbelievable; it is the picture of industrial America. Smoke, heat, hot molten iron, men in hardhats driving forklifts holding molten iron ready to pour. The process is essentially the same as it has been throughout history, but the scale is truly immense. The space is five-stories tall with towers of melting iron waiting to be amended and parsed out to different parts of the factory for different products. Kevin, from the office, gave us a comprehensive tour and spent a lot of time generously answering all of our questions. We also got to see the Herman machine in action. This is a huge, self-contained behemoth that combines all of the processes in one room and makes large patterns into finished casts.

Today I did my first pour and it turned out pretty well. MJ and I pushed our cart of molds over to the Osborne machine in order to get a hand-ladled pour -- kindly done for us by Carl. Gregory helped us break apart our sand molds and I got just what I was looking for: an initial casting experience and a better idea on how to proceed on making my type patterns.

First Full Day

I’ve made my first pep-set mold. Today I met some of the men who work in and around the pep-set department: Pete, Hank, Russ, and Randy. Gregory helped me “ram” my first mold, first the bottom, the “drag” and then the top, the “cope.” Gregory and I watched Pete clean the pep-set machine, which takes about 45 minutes to an hour at the end of the working day. There is a lot of grinding and chipping away of dried bonded sand in order to get it ready for the next day’s work.

In the afternoon, I took a computer tutorial on proper forklift technique and in something called “lock out and tag out” procedure. Lock out and tag out procedure is the practice of disabling a machine in order to ensure a safe working environment during maintenance and repair. I’ll need practical forklift instruction and practice, but at least I have some of the concepts under my belt.

Week One

The first day started early with a meeting with Beth Lipman and two other Arts/Industry artists, Robert Karimi and Denise Pelletier. (Denise and Robert will be working in the Pottery while I’m in the Foundry… so I don’t think we’ll be running into each other all that often.)

We all watched a Kohler presentation video that gave a brief history of the company, followed by a second video that highlighted the importance of safety equipment and procedures. We then had a few papers to sign before it was off to the Design Center for permits to take photos and the Human Resources building for photo I.D. cards. Then we picked out our complimentary steel-toed boots and watch a video about correct hearing protection strategies. There is a lot to do before you start your work in earnest -- all kinds of little tasks are necessary to enter you into the system of this company.

Beth escorted us over to the Foundry building where Robin and I were introduced to the Foundry technician Gregory Brulla. Gregory, Robin, and I talked about different aspects of the workspace -- where I’ll be working, the tool crib, etc. There are more power tools in the studio space than I remembered seeing during the summer tour, so I should be able to make my patterns in our studio without having to work in other parts of the factory. Gregory and I have plans to mold a few of my test pieces as soon as possible tomorrow after we take the orientation factory tour Friday morning. We’ll try to have something in a flask with pep-set sand by 1pm Friday before they clean the sand machine. I’ve moved a few boxes into my workspace and I should be up and running soon enough after more orientation in the next few days.

I anticipated that I would feel a little overwhelmed with the details of being in a new environment and I’d have to say that I feel a little scatterbrained taking it all in and keeping everything straight. I hope I don’t make any mistakes because I feel distracted. I’m sure I’ll get the hang of being here soon enough.

The next two days are spent getting used to my new work and home environments -- and developing new routines. I’ve become more familiar with the Kohler factory and I’ve been able to have more detailed conversations with Gregory, the foundry technician, as well as with Robert and Denise. It just so happened that we all ran into each other at lunch and had a nice time talking about all sorts of things. I learn so much from talking to the other artists, picking up tid-bits during conversation on professional issues, as well as learning how people have come to be where they are now. These are some of the benefits of a “residency” in that there’s time to develop relationships with a community of peers who are in different stages of their careers. I feel like I’m back in grad school, but on a different level.

On Sunday I spent a few hours getting ready for next week by preparing some type samples for my first bonded sand mold and metal pour. By creating “draft” around some samples of carved type, I can get an idea of what will work when I incorporate type into some of my pieces. In the afternoon, I got a chance to talk a little more with Mary Jo Bole, aka MJ, and I think we’ll make great studio mates. She has a lot more experience than me in art making and she’s doing some very interesting work at Kohler

Getting Ready

There’s a lot to do in order to reconfigure your life around an upcoming three-month artist’s residency -- removed from your usual environment.

My wife Robin and I are self-employed and have no children, so we’re relatively free of entanglements to pursue our interests. All in all, it has been a lot to organize the transition from one household to another in Kohler, but all the strands are starting to come together and a plan has emerged.

Since Robin is coming up to Kohler with me and plans to occasionally assists me with projects, I’m not staying at the Artists’ House provided by the Kohler program. Luckily, we have found a house to rent, just a few minutes away from the factory and amazingly it’s even fully furnished. We got very lucky because we don’t have to move a minimal household up to Kohler in order to make a home. Without too much disruption, Robin can continue her work as a graphic designer and complete her writing projects for her Master’s degree in liberal arts from the University of Chicago. She graduates in the spring of 2008.

Since this is my first artist’s residency, I’m curious as to how the other artists handle their own domestic arrangements. I can’t imagine how people with young children or careers outside of art-making manage to make it work (my hats off to those that do it.)

When we found out last summer that I was in the running for receiving a residency, Robin and I decided to make a trip up to Kohler and take the factory tour prior to my face-to-face interview with Beth Lipman, the Arts/Industry Program Coordinator.

I highly recommend the factory tour if you can make the trip. It’s three hours long, but worth every minute. We had a great tour guide, Joe, a Kohler retiree who has an extensive history working at the factory. Taking the tour gives me a much better idea of what my experience at Kohler might be like. I came away impressed with the sheer physicality of the work at the factory. This is a heavy-duty industrial factory, the “real deal,” -- working there can be hot, dirty, and noisy. I’ve never been in a work environment like it. I have limited experience with industrial America but since the subject informs much of my work, it’s essential that I experience it firsthand. Much of my art practice concerns the “stuff” that makes modern life “go.” Working in the Kohler factory will give me a new and more informed perspective on just how it happens.

I’m reading two foundry technique books recommended by the program. They are: “The Metalcasters Bible” and “The Complete Handbook of Sand Casting,” both written by C.W. Ammen.

Frankly, since I’m a rank beginner in metal casting, I initially had a little trouble visualizing the techniques. However, it’s starting to gel a little more every day. I’m sure when I look back on it three months from now, I’ll wonder why I was ever having trouble seeing it. I think “The Complete Handbook of Sand Casting” is a better book to start with initially; it has better examples on specific situations. It’s also a little daunting trying to figure out which techniques or materials described in the book I’ll have to know and which ones aren’t applicable to my work at Kohler. Time will tell… I’ll let you know.

Preparing for Projects

I have a number of projects I want to fabricate. Since I’m not sure yet which of my current techniques will transfer directly to working in cast metal, I’m making a series of test patterns in order to test what happens.

I’ve also made a large cardboard model of one of my projects, a vintage boxed camera, so I can see how it needs to be sectioned in making the pattern in order to make the mold.

I’ve been in contact, in the weeks before I start, with Gregory Brull, the Kohler Brass and Iron Foundry Technician -- and an artist in his own right. I sent him a list of questions and followed up with a comprehensive phone call to sort out some general questions. He’s been very helpful and I look forward to meeting him in person and getting started.

Some of my projects may have size issues, and some have issues regarding placing imagery on the surface of the pattern -- more specifically on all of this as I get into it. I’ll try to include pictures and sketches here as I go along.

Statement of Purpose!

Hello,
My name is Michael Dinges, I am an artist who has been granted a three-month residency at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center's Arts/Industry Program at the Kohler Company in Kohler, Wisconsin.

My residency runs January 2nd through March 30th of 2008. I hope that by writing this blog, (my first ever), I can help to sort out the experience in my own mind, keep friends and family up to date, as well as possibly help other artists as they prepare for future residencies in the Arts/Industry Program. Some of my posts may be long, some may be very short, but I hope that, taken as a whole, they will give readers an idea of what this experience is like.

This is a truly great opportunity I've been granted. I know that with the guidance of the Kohler technical personnel, I will be making interesting work that I simply could not have fabricated without this residency. I also look forward to working alongside the other artists. I know we can all learn from each other's shared experience.

Many thanks to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center's Arts/Industry Program for their generous support.

Stay tuned as this three-month adventure begins January 2nd!