OK,OK, OK...I can take a hint. I'll finish this thing. Put it to bed. Give it a rest.
It's been right at one week since we laid our rollers down, and not quite a week since we've been home. Trust me - it's taken a bit to get re-acclimated. Got out of bed in the middle of the night and was truly disoriented. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
We got back to Franklin around 11pm Sunday night. A few brave souls stayed until Monday, but I believe that Kim and Loralei actually left around midnight! For a 16 hour drive! More power to 'em.
We did get a call from Kim a couple of days later. Seems that she had found a nice quiet place on a lake to just float and unwind. By herself. Just needed to decompress. Kinda took it personal. She didn't tell us exactly WHERE she was...
Poor JoHanna. Gave us a call on Tuesday. She was stuck in Meridian, Mississippi. Seems that she wanted to take a break on the way home and spent the night there. Woke up the next morning, started her truck, and sped out of the parking lot - at about 5 mph. Wouldn't go any faster. She got her truck to the local Toyota dealership, they put it up on the rack, and told her that she needed about $550 worth of parts. She asked them how in the world those two parts could go bad, when the truck was relatively new? Oh, they weren't bad, the mechanic said. They were GONE! Someone had gotten up under her truck and stolen them by removing only three bolts. Well, WHY, she asked, would someone steal those parts? The mechanic just kinda looked at her. Let me repeat, he said. You need to give me $550 for these two parts...
The walls really turned out well. Still waiting for the final inspection from TDOT, but from the folks we talked to, everyone seems happy. The parapets are spectacular (some people actually thought that we carved grout lines into the walls!) and the retaining walls look great. OK, there are some lap lines, but maybe those will disappear with the landscaping, or simply become part of the "look". I mean, actual rock formations have "lines" as well, so maybe it was just serendipitous that the color breaks happened the way they did. Makes it look more natural.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I have a confession: it takes a lot for me to work with other artists. Everyone that worked on the project was very talented. It's just that sometimes I get a little...well...look. I have certain ways I like things to be done. It's not necessarily the best way, but it is MY way. And most artists feel the same way. Now, put them together on the same project and...well...you can see the volatile mix. Keeping all of that in mind, as well as all of the myriad personalities on the project, and I'm truly surprised that the project came off as well as it did. We really only had one or two that "left early." I'm truly proud of the crew. You guys all deserve medals.
We've had some time to dissect the project. A whole lot of, "We should have done it this way," or, "We should have done it THAT way." Try to plan more and be more productive. Less people standing around. More assignments for everyone to do. See, this was a truly new experience for everyone. A real first. A lot of on-the-job-training. Learn as you go., seat of the pants kinda thing. Give me another of these projects. I think I've got it figured out.
I think that we had 35-40 people total who worked on this project. I can't begin to thank you all enough. From the initial crew who had to learn how to work with heavy equipment, fight with the weedeaters and pressure washers (and NO paint!) to the "primer" crew who had nothing but WHITE paint, to the final crew, who put on all of the finishing touches. To the catering crew, who fed us all like kings, to the massage therapists who worked out all of the kinks, to the condo folks who took care of our wall critters...and on and on. And especially to Mickie. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This project would not have happened if not for her. Artist recruitment, housing development, catering, finance, payroll, entertainment (anyone wanna go go-kart riding again?), organization, planning, productivity - and even painting! My God, the woman can do it all. She even had time to lend a shoulder to a few poor souls who were really having some relationship issues. Probably relationship with ME, but I digress.
I wish everyone well. I hope your Spring and Summer are full of fabulous projects. We might even see you at some venue in the near future, like the SDP convention here in Nashville, or SALI in Chicago, or The Faux Event in Boca Raton in October, or a mural or faux class, or...you get the picture. We're a pretty tight community, so I'm sure we'll run into most of you somewhere sometime.
I know, I know...if I ever get another project like this, I know who to call.
Someone else.
Mike
This is just one of the ideas that I came up with for the large retaining walls. It wasn't just going to be colors. I originally wanted all kinds of things, but TDOT was afraid to distact the drivers. Let me tell you: after working on those highways for a couple of months, I know exactly what they are talking about.
Here is an idea for the parapet walls, or even the large retaining walls. Tried to come up with things tht could be done with just rollers. OK, so it would take a little longer...
Like I said, colors weren't the only idea. Mickie thought of putting something like the Roadrunner tunnel on a wall, but that one didn't catch on real well. (I actually thought it was a cool idea, but those pesky copyright issues kept popping up.)
Remember what those walls USED to look like? Also, take a look at the date on the photo. I TOLD you that I had been working on this for a while!
Now doesn't this look a lot better?
One of the last ones to leave the camp, Kim is giving a heartfelt wave to everyone. My feelings exactly.
Now, go paint something!
It's been right at one week since we laid our rollers down, and not quite a week since we've been home. Trust me - it's taken a bit to get re-acclimated. Got out of bed in the middle of the night and was truly disoriented. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
We got back to Franklin around 11pm Sunday night. A few brave souls stayed until Monday, but I believe that Kim and Loralei actually left around midnight! For a 16 hour drive! More power to 'em.
We did get a call from Kim a couple of days later. Seems that she had found a nice quiet place on a lake to just float and unwind. By herself. Just needed to decompress. Kinda took it personal. She didn't tell us exactly WHERE she was...
Poor JoHanna. Gave us a call on Tuesday. She was stuck in Meridian, Mississippi. Seems that she wanted to take a break on the way home and spent the night there. Woke up the next morning, started her truck, and sped out of the parking lot - at about 5 mph. Wouldn't go any faster. She got her truck to the local Toyota dealership, they put it up on the rack, and told her that she needed about $550 worth of parts. She asked them how in the world those two parts could go bad, when the truck was relatively new? Oh, they weren't bad, the mechanic said. They were GONE! Someone had gotten up under her truck and stolen them by removing only three bolts. Well, WHY, she asked, would someone steal those parts? The mechanic just kinda looked at her. Let me repeat, he said. You need to give me $550 for these two parts...
The walls really turned out well. Still waiting for the final inspection from TDOT, but from the folks we talked to, everyone seems happy. The parapets are spectacular (some people actually thought that we carved grout lines into the walls!) and the retaining walls look great. OK, there are some lap lines, but maybe those will disappear with the landscaping, or simply become part of the "look". I mean, actual rock formations have "lines" as well, so maybe it was just serendipitous that the color breaks happened the way they did. Makes it look more natural.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I have a confession: it takes a lot for me to work with other artists. Everyone that worked on the project was very talented. It's just that sometimes I get a little...well...look. I have certain ways I like things to be done. It's not necessarily the best way, but it is MY way. And most artists feel the same way. Now, put them together on the same project and...well...you can see the volatile mix. Keeping all of that in mind, as well as all of the myriad personalities on the project, and I'm truly surprised that the project came off as well as it did. We really only had one or two that "left early." I'm truly proud of the crew. You guys all deserve medals.
We've had some time to dissect the project. A whole lot of, "We should have done it this way," or, "We should have done it THAT way." Try to plan more and be more productive. Less people standing around. More assignments for everyone to do. See, this was a truly new experience for everyone. A real first. A lot of on-the-job-training. Learn as you go., seat of the pants kinda thing. Give me another of these projects. I think I've got it figured out.
I think that we had 35-40 people total who worked on this project. I can't begin to thank you all enough. From the initial crew who had to learn how to work with heavy equipment, fight with the weedeaters and pressure washers (and NO paint!) to the "primer" crew who had nothing but WHITE paint, to the final crew, who put on all of the finishing touches. To the catering crew, who fed us all like kings, to the massage therapists who worked out all of the kinks, to the condo folks who took care of our wall critters...and on and on. And especially to Mickie. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This project would not have happened if not for her. Artist recruitment, housing development, catering, finance, payroll, entertainment (anyone wanna go go-kart riding again?), organization, planning, productivity - and even painting! My God, the woman can do it all. She even had time to lend a shoulder to a few poor souls who were really having some relationship issues. Probably relationship with ME, but I digress.
I wish everyone well. I hope your Spring and Summer are full of fabulous projects. We might even see you at some venue in the near future, like the SDP convention here in Nashville, or SALI in Chicago, or The Faux Event in Boca Raton in October, or a mural or faux class, or...you get the picture. We're a pretty tight community, so I'm sure we'll run into most of you somewhere sometime.
I know, I know...if I ever get another project like this, I know who to call.
Someone else.
Mike
This is just one of the ideas that I came up with for the large retaining walls. It wasn't just going to be colors. I originally wanted all kinds of things, but TDOT was afraid to distact the drivers. Let me tell you: after working on those highways for a couple of months, I know exactly what they are talking about.
Here is an idea for the parapet walls, or even the large retaining walls. Tried to come up with things tht could be done with just rollers. OK, so it would take a little longer...
Like I said, colors weren't the only idea. Mickie thought of putting something like the Roadrunner tunnel on a wall, but that one didn't catch on real well. (I actually thought it was a cool idea, but those pesky copyright issues kept popping up.)
Remember what those walls USED to look like? Also, take a look at the date on the photo. I TOLD you that I had been working on this for a while!
Now doesn't this look a lot better?
One of the last ones to leave the camp, Kim is giving a heartfelt wave to everyone. My feelings exactly.
Now, go paint something!
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