Building the Base
We’re wrapping up our first full week of December with solid progress on the installation's foundational structure. Rassera continued building the platform base, finishing the two main frame sections and the base structure for the two side perimeter pieces. He also acquired the hefty bolts and wing nuts that will help assure the artwork’s sections can be assembled and disassembled multiple times with relative ease.
Rassera for scale standing on part of the framing for the base. The base is being built in six sections for transport and assembly - two center sections like the one pictured here, two flanking sections - one for each side - as framed to the right, and two sections of steps for Burners to use as they approach, walk through, and depart from the South Gate.
Meanwhile, Sarai took care of sourcing and ordering the fiberglass and resin needed for the portal's underlying structure. She also ordered LED lights and a controller after consulting with local friend Hunter (a shoutout to Notorious LED in Huntsville) about the best components for this project within the budget.
Additionally, Sarai applied a coat of spar urethane to Rassera's cardboard segments. After some research, we decided this step would be beneficial to provide the underlying cardboard form with extra moisture and rot resistance. Even though the cardboard will eventually be encased in fiberglass, this treatement is not watertight. Considering its exposure to Florida's climate and potentially humid storage in Alabama, this extra layer of protection to deter and contain potential rot seemed prudent.
Next week, construction on the base will be completed, along with painting a layer of black paint, as we prepare to prep the portal for fiberglassing in mid-December.
Wet spar urtheane drying on the portal’s underlying cardboard sections. They don’t look like much now, but these cardboard sections will be used to as a form for applying fiberglass to the underlying structure of the ‘portal’ of the South Gate.
