8.0. PRSR 04-08-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Project Approach The overall look and movement of my piece is reminiscent of the windmills used on farms to pump water. I have chosen the spoke patterns,shapes,colors,and accents for my proposed piece for very specific reasons.A pattern from a vintage coffee grinder, found in general stores just like those that would have been in the early town of Elk River while it was growing,plays nicely with the hardworking patterns drawn from early American agricultural and industrial designs.The governor with its steel balls, used by water mills and steam engines to govern and regulate their speed,gets a new life as artistic accent in my piece.The spherical weights will rise and fall,interacting with the wind as its speeds change. The shape of the curved pole that the whole piece sits atop is taken from the City of Elk River's logo and is representative of the waterpower that built the city and gave it its name.The lines are tipped vertically.The same curve of the pole's lines is echoed in the falling,diminishing size of the vertical gears in the piece.The tail of the piece has a vintage design,inspired by those found on old farm windmills. The gears in my piece are handmade,drafted from patterns found through years of documentation and research.They will be cut from sheets of self-weathering steel using a plasma torch before being layered and welded together in a method that mimics the casting process of period originals.The gears will be painted and then distressed to give them a vintage appearance before being arranged in the final composition. The colors of the piece are important:The large dark blue gears on either side of the piece represent the mighty Mississippi with the train of lighter blue gears representing the Elk River as it flows into the Mississippi.The red gear is representative of the city of Elk River on the banks at the confluence of both rivers.The last two gears ty g located on opposite sides of the sculpture represent the nature that the city was built on, around,through,and with.To one side there is a green cog,symbolizing the forest and lumber that helped build Elk River.To the other side,a rich yellow gear serves as a reminder that the city is not just water and woods,but also on the edge of the prairie that helped the area's agriculture to flourish,causing Elk River to further grow into the modern city it is today. Some more specifics on the piece that will give insight into my methods are as follows: The wind sculpture will be self-furling like those found on old farms,so that the piece will take itself out of strong winds,increasing the longevity of the piece. The piece will use standard replaceable off-the-shelf sealed stainless steel bearings,with all the shafting and bearing sleeves also being constructed from stainless steel to ensure that years from now,any future maintenance will be smooth and easy. A galvanized tail and wind veins will give the piece a vintage appearance,resist corrosion,and contrast with the other colors,textures,and metals in the sculpture. Made from self-weathering steel,the frame and base will take on a rusty vintage appearance but not deteriorate as normal steel would.All painted parts,such as the gears,will be painted with a durable automotive-type paint that is then coated with a UV resistant clear coat to negate any color fading that could occur otherwise.I make my work to last.