A few small installations and other changes on the block

©2019 Fiona Dempster - One of Fiona's assemblages on the rust bench

Much work is being done on the block this January including: a huge amount of pruning; sorting and culling wood; sorting and culling rusty stuff; and creating a couple of sculpture terraces.

Sorting the rust bank lead us to creating a couple of frivolous bits to install on the terraces amongst the trees - things to discover as one walks along.

©2019 Fiona Dempster  - Trial assemblage by Fiona on the rust bench - made from industrial roller bearings and bicycle gears

©2019 Fiona Dempster  - Three little assemblages set on one of the terraces under the edge of a tree

©2019 Fiona Dempster  - Zigzag assemblage being bolted together  - made from unidentified bits picked up at a garage sale years ago

©2019 Fiona Dempster  - Zigzag installed between tree trunks on a lower terrace

Sorting the old timbers in the timber stack lead to the creation of a couple of 450mm cubes made up of 9 450mm lengths of 150mm square timber offcuts. We have installed one cube near the new wooden stepping stone rock-river crossing and a second one down near Graham's orchid house. Again another couple of interesting texture pieces to be discovered on one's walks.

©2019 Fiona Dempster  - Timber cut, ground and carried - ready for assembling

©2019 Fiona Dempster  - Cube under a young maple tree

©2019 Fiona Dempster  - Looking towards the Peace Book sculpture

©2019 Fiona Dempster  - Second slightly ratty cube near the orchid house shed

After removing our coffee plantation - decimated by killer weevils - and about 150 yucca plants we have almost finished creating our two gravel covered sculpture terraces . Each terrace is about 3m wide and 20m long. The dingo machine operator carted the 12 cubic meters of gravel while Fiona and I raked it into shape - fours hours non-stop - we hit a wall that day. We have installed turf at the end of the terraces to give them a soft contrasting finish. Now we need to finish the job by installing more coir logs and jute matting;  and fixing the gravel to the almost vertical sections of woven coir matting.

©2019 Fiona Dempster  - Earthworks replace the coffee plantation - turning four terraces into two

©2019 Fiona Dempster  - Gravelled terraces - still need to fix the gravel to the almost vertical sections

©2019 Fiona Dempster  - Laying buffalo grass turf around the end of the two terraces.

Fiona and I just love the fact that the block nurtures us; and through our creativity we nurture it.