I drove across the NEW Tappan Zee bridge--just three days after it reopened--on the way to the foundry (& my studio) today. Not exactly the most aesthetically exhilarating experience, but still kind of exciting because I have enjoyed watching it rise S L O W L Y from the Hudson River since the project began.
Once at the foundry, I approved the weld-up for the two sections of Acrobat--making sure both pieces matched perfectly before sealing them together for eternity. It's a symmetrical piece, so sure, I took a few measurements, but mostly it's just done by eye. The "Boomerang" video below shows us preparing to assemble the sculpture using a forklift as a crane.
What's next? I'll grind out and polish the welds tomorrow, and after the holiday weekend I'll map out the final design for the base--then, patina time!
Spot-welding (Thanks, Bob!) some of the small imperfections that occur naturally during the casting process. Afterwards, I ground them down and polished the surface smooth.