Building A Canoe: The Finishing and Floating

At the end of April it was finally warm enough to pull out the canoe and finish it. All that was needed was some final sanding and varnishing. I went over the inside and outside with my Festool sander using 120 and 180 grit pads then hand sanded with 150 and 220 grit before brushing the first coat of varnish on. I choose System Three spar varnish because it is what they had at WoodCraft and I didn't want to buy it on-line, pricey stuff though, I paid $38/quart. I choose the satin finish because I thought the canoe didn't need the extra glitz and because satin doesn't show scratches at much.

System Three Spar Vanish

I guessed that two quarts would be enough without doing any calculations and, luckily, I was right (Gil's book didn't provide any guidance). I was able to apply three coats, inside and outside, plus four coats on three paddles and used only 1.5 quarts. The label says 350 to 450 sq-ft/gallon but I seem to have gotten more than that (assume an average of 3 ft wide x 16 ft x 2 sides x 3 coats = 288 plus three coats on the seats, yoke, and paddles equals about 300 sq-ft for .375 gallons = 800 sq-ft/gallon). I did thin the stuff with paint thinner a couple of times but mostly because of evaporation during the application. In any case, two quarts seems to be the right amount for most canoes.

I used a 3" Purdy synthetic bristle paint brush and didn't notice any brush marks -- it dried smoothly. I didn't sand between the first two coats because I put them on within 12 hours but then sanded the with 220 and 320 grit sand paper (by hand) before the final coat.

Here is the finished piece. The final weight is 66.6 lbs (I lost 0.2 lbs in the final clean up, mostly in the decks as I had to get them to match the level of the shell). Given that Gil said this design would weigh in at approximately 65 lbs, I'm pretty happy since I used lumber that is much heavier than the cedar he uses. I'm sure I saved much of the weight in the seats.

side view

front view

Bow Deck

Stern Deck

Bow Seat

Stern Seat

Seat Spacers

Yoke

Stern

Over the winter I prepared three paddles, (58", 63", 68") out of my mountain of old barn flooring that I have stacked in my backyard. I wasn't sure it was a good choice but it was free and at the very least it was good practice material. It turned out to be a good choice  in terms of looks, weight (I got them all down to 2.6 lbs), and performance, but dealing with all the knots made it difficult to shape and probably doubled my working time. I wasn't sure how to make them but soon realized that it is just the same as any sculpture, remove material with finer and finer tools until you have the shape you want. The key was in copying the plans from an old paddle that I liked and using the shape, transferred to a board, to rough cut it the shape on a bandsaw. Then using a draw knife followed by a spoke shave to get an approximate shape. Unfortunately, the high number of knots in the lumber made those tools particularly difficult so I eventually started using a grinder to work through the knots and get the blade as thin as I needed (about 1/4" at the edge). Then my Festool sander working 40 grit to 180 along with a rasp to get the handle shape. The final step being hand sanding. 

The feature I'm most proud of is the thumb notch on the handle. I haven't seen it on other paddles but I found that it really make them much more comfortable to hold.

Note the thumb notches!

You can see that the blades on the right and left had nails, which were rusted by years of horse pee, that cause a black stain -- I really like the look. I filled the holes and knot gaps with black epoxy. 

Horse pee/rusty nail stained blades

I suspect all the lumber is old growth spruce but there is no doubt with the middle paddle. I tried to count the rings but had a hard time. My estimate is that, just on the handle, there are approximately 115 growth rings (plus or minus 5) within a 3" radius. I'll need to find someone with better eyes to get an exact count.

Approx. 115 growth rings  

So everything was ready for a test voyage on May 4. I took it out to Green River Reservoir, about 30 miles north of me. To be honest, I was a little nervous about whether it would float and how it would perform but it turned out to be great in every way. I'm very happy, not only in how it looks, but how it performs as well. One thing I learned pretty quickly though, is that when using it as a solo canoe, the bow and stern flip (since it is symmetrical this isn't a problem) because I need to sit closer to the center to keep the bow from tipping up too much. The paddle also worked great (I used the 68" one). I don't think I have ever used a paddle that was actually the right size for me, so it was a real revelation. I also found the large blade to provide much more power than I've ever found in a paddle before. I highly recommend making one's own paddles, in comparison to what you can buy, these are much better.   

As a final note, my wild life count for the first voyage was several mallard ducks, two loons (my first -- these are super cool birds to see and hear), a couple of kingfishers, and one beaver. Not bad for a three hour cruise.

Green River Reservoir, May 4, 2013

Vermont Governor's Office Show

My work will be featured in the Vermont Governor's Office (lobby) April 2 to June 28. I recently finished the piece below, Fractured Flag, and will display it for the first time in this show, titled, Hard Lines, Soft Colors. 

 Fractured Flag

shellac on maple and walnut

30.5" x  34" x 1"

March 2013

©Robert Hitzig

I'm not sure the title is perfect for all the pieces in the show, but I couldn't get it out of my head as I was working on this one. I love the contrast between the thin, clear, boundaries, and the amorphous, organically transforming colors.

Fractured Flag (close-up)

The opening reception will be Wednesday, April 17, from 3 to 5. The governor's office is on the fifth floor of the Pavilion Building on Governor Davis Avenue (which is just off State Street) in Montpelier. A photo ID is required to get a visitor's pass to the office. Unfortunately, but understandably, photographs aren't permitted in the lobby so I can't post any images from the show.

Jon Brooks' Open House

Last summer Jon Brooks held an open house for his home and studio so, being a big fan of his work, I made sure to schedule a trip. Though it has been over 30 years since I've read any of the hobbit books, and I haven't seen any of the movies, approaching Jon's home made me feel like I was entering Middle-earth, probably because the structure seems so mythical. It is a timeless design that can't be assigned to a particular architectural style. It seems to be more influenced by the forest that surrounds it more than any particular person or age. To me, it looks as if a giant mushroom sprouting out a forest floor.

Jon Brooks' Home

Here is a close-up of one of the chimneys, an irregularly-shaped polyp-like structure encrusted with ceramic shards.

Jon Brooks' Chimney (close-up)

These entrance stairs into Jon's home are fantastic and fantastically impractical. As if you are entering a tree house, you need to be sure footed to get to the "first" floor. It is so not ADA as to be laughable. His home makes a statement the minute you enter it, "live for the moment, future be damned," because, clearly, Jon hasn't built his home with worries about what he'll do later in life when his footing isn't so steady. Note the face carved into the floor joist -- not only is every part of this house hand-made, extra care has obviously been taken to turn every piece of construction into a work of art.

Entrance Stairs

Here is a downward view of the entrance. That first step, from the threshold to the stairs, is particularly precarious/funny -- but at least there is a hand rail.

Entrance Stairs (looking down)

Here is a view through the living room toward the top of the entrance stairs. I love the "stairs" going to the second level loft (that thin bone-line structure beyond the couch). Note, there is no hand rail, but at least there is a sculptural banister to keep guests from falling out of bed into the living room. Also note that the wall studs curve into ceiling joists. 

Living Room and Loft

Here is a view of the dining room. I have a good idea who designed and build the chairs and table (I've seen similar things in museums). Also note the spot where the two levels meet, this might be the only location in the house having a right angle .

Dining Room

One of Jon's many dog sculptures (titled Marcel). To emphasis the other-worldliness of Jon's work, this one has five legs. And to put an exclamation point on his impracticality, note that none of us living in this dimension would be able to "use" his chair (titled Apparition) -- the piece seems to be welcoming all beings into the home, regardless of their level of physicality (just because you can't been seen doesn't mean you don't need a seat).

Marcel (dog) with Apparition (chair)

Another wonderful canine playfully polka dotted.

Diminutive Canine Sculpture (unknown title)

Leaving Jon's home and heading to his studio one passes these dancing feminine-form spirals. They are unfinished and unprotected from the elements, but because of their shiny gray patina, I'm assuming they are made with white cedar. As such, they should maintain their timeless beauty for many years to come.

Spiral Scupltures (unknown title)

Here is a close-up. I love how they spring from the earth and appear to be natural growths in spite of the human intervention that was involved with their creation. Simple, elegant,  and skillfully made.

Jon's original studio tragically burnt down a couple of years ago due to an ice storm that broke a electric line running to the building. I believe the design was similar to his home, and having now seen that, I have a greater understanding of how much of a lose his studio was. I'm sure it was a very special place. Fortunately, he has been able to rebuild, and below is an image of the three buildings that now make up his studio.

Jon Brooks' Studio (circa 2012)

Here is an image of Jon, talking to visitors, in his primary studio space. For all the woodworkers of the world that lament the size, quality, or quantity of their equipment please note Jon's band saw, which most makers would consider less-than-professional grade. I also noted that I didn't see a table saw. His studio is a great example of how, with a little imagination, an artist can create museum quality work without top of the line equipment.

Below, Jon is talking with visitors about his then recently completed Ball Chair. He demonstrated how a dowel fits into the hole, I believe to help move it around. I like its very playful design, the natural form, and its simple, unassuming, presence.

Here is a commission Jon was working on at the time. I believe it was to be called Out Of The Closet and is to be used as a beautiful place for the client to hang cloths (so much more attractive and original than a boring closet).

Out Of The Closet (in progress)

And, finally, this is another piece in progress. In seeing his unpainted sculptures, I found it interesting to note how he pieces them together in a way that makes multiple branches look like a single form.

Work in Progress (unknown title)

I'm not sure how often Jon opens his home and studio, or whether he will do it again, but I highly recommend "Liking" his Facebook page in order to get announcements about future events. His home is a large scale museum quality work of art, and getting a chance to see so many of his finished pieces, in their natural habitat, is a wonderful experience -- so much more informative than seeing the work in a museum; and getting a chance to talk with Jon and see pieces under construction is a huge bonus as well.

Brian Bill Memorial Commission

I was recently asked to create a memorial sculpture for Brian Bill, a Navy Seal who was killed in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011. He was a Norwich University graduate and, to celebrate his life, the school organized a memorial race (the Brian Bill Memorial Challenge) that was held on February 16. As part of the event, the organizers wanted to present Brian's family with a sculpture that included a small Navy anchor. Below are a couple of images of what I came up with.

Brian Bill Memorial Sculpture

navy anchor, quilted maple, butternut

(french polish shellac finish)

approx. 20" x 35" x 9"

I was impressed with how beautiful the anchor is. I don't know its age or history but the officer I worked with in designing the piece, Captain David Castro, said it was a functioning anchor for a small boat and that he had it cleaned up for this project. I find it somehow reassuring that our military cared so much about the aesthetics of the object.

Brian Bill Memorial Sculpture (second view)

Below is an image of Captain Castro presenting the piece to Brian's stepfather, Michael Parry. David did a nice job of adding Brian's name in front of the anchor and the dog tags of participants along the side. Given the importance of piece, and the emotional impact for the family, I was nervous about their reaction but, thankfully, I've been told that "the family loved it" so I am relieved. 

Memorial Presentation

Ai Weiwei: According to What?

I don't like to leave readers hanging, subtly hinting about my feels of an exhibit, or waiting until the end to give a verdict. As a reader, I find that kind of writing annoying because the first thing I want to know about a show is whether I should waste my time reading about it. So, the first thing I want to say about Ai Weiwei's exhibit, According to What?, at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC (October 7, 2012 - February 24, 2013) is that I loved it. I love how the work is challenging -- emotionally, conceptually, and intellectually. It makes you think -- about the limits of human ingenuity, the preciousness of artifacts, and the role of contemporary art in modern society. I also found it particularly interesting in having seen it after a visit to the Renwick Gallery's 40 under 40: Craft Futures exhibit. That show demonstrated how craft and contemporary art can no longer be viewed as a dichotomy; this one reinforces that conclusion while also blurring the lines between hand-craft and technology-craft.

At the entrance of the exhibit (surrounded by images of the construction of the "bird's nest" stadium that Ai helped to design for the Beijing Olympics) are two spheres constructed out of octagons and hexagons (I believe, if I counted right, they are 34-sided). The title of the large sphere, Divina Proportione, refers a mathematics book written by Luca Pacioli in 1497 and illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci. One of the drawings in the book is a "sphere" made with squares and triangles but the series was actually inspired by a toy for Ai's cat.

Divina Proportione (left) and F Size (right)

Huali Wood

2006/2011

Collection of J. Chen/Courtesy of Ai Wei Wei Studio

That play between history and modernity is a constant theme of the show, but what I found truly remarkable about the work is the impeccably precise craftsmanship that went into its construction. In watching the Art 21 profile on Ai Weiwei, I learned that Ai hired traditional Chinese craftsmen to make the series and that they spent a year trying to figure out how to make this kind of work using traditional Chinese joinery.

From the image below you can see how the wood overlaps. Making something like this out of wood is much more difficult than other materials because there needs to be a surface area for glue at each joint. It would be interesting to know whether there is also a mortise and tenon joint inside each corner (I suspect there is). As wood sculpture, the work is mindbogglingly complex, I'm surprised it would only take a year to figure out.

Divina Proportione (closeup)

With F-Size, a bead was added to the edge, I suspect because the work had become just too easy.

F Size (closeup)

With China Log, Ai constructed a "log" made from posts of dismantled Qing Dynasty temples, with a map of China carved through the middle, end to end.

China Log

tieli wood (iron wood) from dismantled temples of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

2005

Private Collection

The posts used to make it, and the joinery for combining of the posts reference China's past, but how they were combined and the carving of the map of China within reference the present. The mystery is in thinking about where the hand-craft ends and the technology-craft begins; the magic is in thinking about how it could have been done. It seems to me to be an impossible object -- with or without modern technology.

China Log (closeup)

A similar theme is created with Grapes, a sphere-like structure made from precisely sculpted, overlapping, antique stools.

Grapes

40 antique stools from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

2010

Collection of Larry Warsh

I'm guessing something like this would have to be done by hand, by highly skilled craftsmen, but I'm not sure. It makes me wonder, in amazement, how craftsmen can be so precise, or, alternatively, how our technology has become so advanced that an object like this could be constructed with it. Additionally, I'm curious about whether some kind of reinforcing (blind) joinery was constructed between the connecting seats because of the tremendous weight that the joints need to hold, though, I guess an epoxy could also be strong enough to hold them together. I doubt that an average wood glue would work on its own.

Grapes (closeup)

With Cube in Ebony (mysteriously made with rosewood rather than ebony), Ai created a contemporary form, a minimalist cube, but had it intricately carved with the same pattern he found on a small wooden box belonging to his father (see below).

Cube in Ebony

rosewood

2009

I love how this piece again blurs the lines between past and present, contemporary art and traditional craft.

Small wooden box belonging to Ai's father

With Kippe, Ai again used wood from dismantled temples (with all the pieces in the show made with dismantled Qing Dynasty temples, it makes me wonder whether he destroyed them for art, whether they were being torn down anyway, or whether he salvaged the pieces that had long been dismantled, and, in general, what was the history of the artifacts -- thereby adding the the mystery of the work and making me -- and I suspect other viewers -- uneasy and unsure about it). I couldn't find a translation or implied meaning for the title, but it looks to me like a coffin that would be carried to the grave - perhaps implying the burial of history.

Kippe

tieli wood (ironwood) from dismantled Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) temples and iron parallel bars

2006

In this closeup you can see that the pieces are chopped small and fit nicely together, but not perfectly, as in some of the other pieces. Here they are a bit more haphazard internally but perfectly aligned on the outside, which I interpret as being meant as metaphor for China.

Kippe (closeup)

In Map of China, Ai's China can't be seen at eye level (even if you are 6'1"). You just see a block of wood intricately carved with vertical lines.

Map of China

tieli wood (ironwood) from dismantled Qing Dynasty (1694 - 1911) temples

2008

I struggled to get a top view by holding the camera over my head so that you can see how amazing the construction of this piece is. It is still hard to see, but each of the columns from the disassembled temples fit perfectly together, and then the whole block is carved into a map of China (no surprise there). The wall text says that it is made "using traditional Chinese joinery techniques," implying that it was made by hand and not machine. I'm not really sure how that would be done, and certainly the outside must have been carved with a CNC router, but, again, this is one of the great things about the piece, the mystery of where the ancient craftwork ends and modern technology begins.

I don't agree with the wall text in its assessment that this map of China "can be understood as symbolizing the political unity of a country made up of many different cultural and historical factors. The monumental scale of the work suggests the long history of the Chinese nation." Rather, I think the monumental scale shows the viewer how difficult it is to understand China. It is impenetrable and unknowable, a mystery from the outside view. In fact, you can't even know that you are looking at China. Only from a bird's-eye view do you have any understanding of what you are looking at and what you see is a complete (and still mysterious) amalgamation of the past and present.

Map of China (almost top view)

In this final piece, Ai again commissioned highly skill Chinese traditional craftsman to create eighty-one chests (seven on view) in which four holes are precisely placed so that the viewer can see every phase of the moon in them, though, how exactly to use them to do this I found a little confusing. 

Moon Chest

seven chests in huali wood (quince)

2008

Looking directly through the holes and trying to line up the chests does no good, you really can't see much of anything, and being that none of us are 8' tall to see though the top holes, in alignment, that can't be done either (and how you would look at the top hole depends on where you stand and your personal height).

Moon Chest (view 2)

I clearly need to learn more about the phases of the moon to understand where to stand or how to walk around them, but at the very least, you can see that the shapes of the white and black of the holes changes in moon-like shapes. Additionally, one of the confusing aspects is that (I think) light/black of the moon is inverted in looking at the cabinets versus the real thing. Regardless of exactly how you are supposed to see the moon in these, it is again a wonderful mixture of tradition and modernity, which I'm sure is again a metaphor for China.

Moon Chest (view 3)

(Looking at this last image, I'm not sure that one isn't supposed to look directly through the holes -- I'm confused.)

Moon Chest (view 4)

In reading Roberta Smith's New York Times review of this show, I learned that the title of the exhibit, According to What?, is a reference to a seminal Jasper Johns painting by the same name. Based on some other articles easily found on-line, I learned that this painting is an homage to Marcel Duchamp and references his painting Tu m'. Knowing this makes me think that Ai is claiming an elite artistic lineage, or at least taking this elite lineage and claiming it for China. It is a ballsy claim, but the show is very ballsy. It is very much in your face, challenging the viewer and making you think about the value of the past and its role in the present. Blurring lines forcing the viewer to ask questions and wonder -- something great art should do, and, as such, I feel that the ballsy title is backed up by the quality of the work. As you might have guessed by now, I loved this show.