Stepping Stones

A Stumbling block to the Pessimist

is a Stepping Stone to the Optimist

-Eleanor Roosevelt-

I've run into so many obstacles in this process and have enjoyed every one! 

Made these cute little whale stepping stones with some left over concrete mix and tiled them with a friend on a sunny day! 

A Tale of Two Tails

"To be Human is to be Broken and Broken is it's own kind of Beautiful"

-R.M. Drake-

Delaine Hackney and I started breaking tiles on Jan 24th and created my first mosaic with her.  My love for whales was combined in this mosaic while using mostly free tiles I had found over the years.  Working with Delaine is so much fun!  Plus we had the most beautiful sunny weather anyone could have asked for!

Click here to check out Delaine's other amazing projects!

Three back breaking days later we completed this tail.  It still has to be grouted but that can wait for another day! :)

And then I started on the main sculptures tail!

I'm very excited with the progress.  It is all I want to do is create and finish this project I started over 6 years ago.

The Westport Whales Support Group!

The Westport Whale's "braces" have finally come off!  I cut the last supports out!  There were people that said I couldn't do it and look.. I really did it! I have officially completed a (structurally sound) Roadside Attraction!

Then I realized that this is also symbolic of part of my life.  I could have taken off the supports a year ago but I was afraid it wouldn't hold.  There was no reason for it to fail (as it was over constructed) but I still didn't have faith in myself.

I really want to encourage everyone to live your life without Fear.  Remember you already have that support structure inside your Heart! You really don't need anyone else.  You just have to work hard, stay focused and dedicate your time to what you Love and what Loves you back!  Have Courage!  Believe in yourself and follow your Dreams.. There is nothing in this World that could make you happier and allow you to love yourself more..

Coating the Whale with Love..

The first step to happiness is deciding what you want, the second step is doing whatever it takes to get it and the last step is enjoying every minute of it. - Nishan Panwar. 

I have finally found the right product to use to put the finishing touches on the whale.  It's called Darjit and was invented by Brent Sumner.  It's incredible and in 3 days I've completed almost 40% of the exterior.

It is so amazing to be where I am at with this sculpture.  I no longer have fear of not completing this.  I am nearly done with this part of the project and soon I will be able to pass on the mosaicing and glass work onto other people.

I'm so excited and have so many people to thank for your inspiration and support.

The Pour!

Life's problems wouldn't be called "hurdles" if there wasn't a way to get over them.

Author Unknown

I am so lucky to have started this incredible project years ago.   I have learned so much about myself through the process...

The sculpture did not turn out like I had hoped.  It's not a failure but a delayed success.  It needs a little more cement mix at a few spots.  But overall the whale is complete!

Double Visions...

Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination when awake?

Leonardo da Vinci

I welded the forms that will hold my blown glass eyeballs for the whale.  These one-of-a-kind forms were created by a pretty amazing blacksmither, Toby Hickman, who lives in Westport.  He is the coolest guy...

The cement trucks are hopefully going to be scheduled in 3 weeks.  It's amazing. It's scary.  It's everything words cannot express..

I have been known to tell Tall Tales.. and weld them too!

A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some such stories are exaggerations of actual events.

Welded and Meshed a diving whale in the backyard.

and a few days later it was covered in cement!

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder!

You use a glass mirror to see your Face.

You use works of Art to see your Soul.

- George Bernard Shaw -

Glass is the most Magical of all Materials and therefore it needed somehow to be part of this sculpture.  Luckily, I got Buster Dwyer from Glass Fire gallery to join me and add his artwork to the Westport Whale.  He will be blowing the eyes for the Whale!

Spouting out the Good News!

When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat.

Nelson Mandela

The water feature is in for the Roadside Attraction. Yes the Westport Whale has plumbing for the Blow Hole! I am getting so close to finishing it that I have to move pushing forward.. Full Stream Ahead!

This may Shock you...

What is a Soul?
It's like electricity.
We don't really know what it is... but it's a force that can light up a room.
-Ray Charles-

 The Westport Whale now has electricity!

Two light fixtures and 4 outlets.

Now I just need to figure out where the wet bar is gonna go???

Happy New Year from the W.W.

A Roadside Attraction is a feature along the side of the road.

I have new Inspirations in my life and the Whale will be completely cemented in this Summer. Look for me in the Book Roadside America very soon!

(this incredible photograph was taken by my amazing friend Holly Moskowitz)

Rent the Blacksmith Shop... Save the Whale!

The Westport Whale is for rent!

Click here for details

Happy 3 year anniversary Westport Whale!

"No dreamer is ever too small; no dream is ever too big." Anonymous

Whale Watching

"Fiction was invented the day Jonas came home and told his wife he was 3 days late because he had been swallowed by a whale." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Today I saw 64 Humbacks, 16 Blues and 1 Gray whale with the San Francisco Oceanic Society. One acrobatic humpback breached, lobtailed and flipper slapped over and over for 15 minutes. Demonstrated everything I had ever read. One of the greatest experiences in my life!

Westport is the BEST Port!

Even though you can't physically see a tree growing, doesn't mean it's not. Right?

Same with the World spinning?
So next time the masses are huddled at your feet, pining about dreams they claim are not coming true, you might remind them of this....

Everyday you get closer.

My long time gal pal Anne Maree has made these fantastic hand made cards!

Buy them here: Grizlee Adams

Promotion by the Ocean....

LOOK .... what washed up on the beach today!!!!

People know you for what you've done...

...not for what you plan to do.

- unknown -

Many thanks to those who continue to motivate me in pursuing the Dream.

Continuing Education.

And the man with a Dream toils til dusk. Dreams do come true my friends, if we only wish hard enough!

Don't wait for someone else to make your life Terrific...well because....That's your job!

I've had to work hard for everything I've ever really wanted my whole life. Nothing has come easy. But in the end it is all worth it for I have touched the hearts of others.

A Whale needs Water to live!

One man cannot hold another man down in the ditch without remaining down in the ditch with him.

Booker T. Washington

A Bump in the Road...

A bad day for the Whale.....

While making a little art studio behind the whale the building was red tagged. Then the county representative tagged the whale too. Five hours later after pictures, drawings and a short interview and the building permit department I was back in business! The Westport Whale is still Alive and Well!

Making New Connections...

I demolish my bridges behind me - then there is no choice but forward.

-Firdtjorf Nansen

-----

I liked this quote although I have not intention of blowing up this bridge.

but....

Sometimes in order to accomplish your dreams you need to make sure you cant turn around and run back. Be Fearless and enjoy the daily Challenges. Keep Going and Create the Magic this World is Missing!

Strength added to bridge.

5 inches of cement mix added.

Me mixin up some Crete while singing...

"I'll Tumble for Ya"

In about a week I will take off the form and walk the Plank!

Bridge over troubled water

Build Bridges instead of Walls and you will have Lots of Friends

-unknown-

After a few cuts with a circular saw and a whole bunch of screws the framework for the Path less Followed is created. Trying to stay on track for the big pour coming soon....

Where the Sidewalk ends....

Its Good to have Dreams.

Dreams get you through the hard times.

16,000 pounds of cement mix and the pathway to the sculpture is complete.

oh my aching back!

Pour Pour Me!“

"The happiest moments my heart knows are those in which it is pouring forth its affections to a few esteemed characters" Thomas Jefferson Eight beers and 5000 lbs of cement mix later a small part of the sidewalk leading to the sculpture is complete.

Sidewalk framed and formed

"And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt"

-Sylvia Plath-

Anyone who has ever attempted to create a huge project knows from time to time you may experience the fear of not being able to finish a project. That fear is there sometimes for me but I have never lost sight of the goal.

The entire sculpture has been poured over Rose Quartz. This stone has emotionally healing powers and all visitors will recieve this gift as they walk to the sculpture!

Sidewalk started

There are always two choices or two paths to take. One is Easy. And its only reward is that it's easy.

-unknown-

Started working on the sidewalk leading to the whale....!

Lighted whale

The Holiday is not just the Tinsel and Lights and Outward Show. The Secret lies in an Inner Glow. It's lighting a Fire inside the Heart. Good will and Joy a vital part. It's higher thought and a greater plan. It's glorious Dream in the Soul of Man.

-Wilfred A. Peterson-

Happy Holiday's from the Westport Whale!

Welding Complete!

To be of benefit, Goodness must be Constant, forever building, it must have strength!

- Captain Nemo -A Welded beauty!

The Dollar Dance!

You may see me only as a drunken, vice ridden gnome whose friends are just pimps and girls from the brothels. But I know about art and love, if only because I long for it with every fiber of my being.

-Toulouse-Lautrec (Moulin Rouge)-

Some Incredible Friends from Chicago help Fund a Dream!

Skeleton in my (Closet) Front Yard!

The freedom to fail is vital if you're going to succeed. Most Successful people fail from time to time, and it is a measure of their strength that failure merely propels them into some new attempt at Success!

-Michael Korda-

Welding continues..... Remember last year when I took a light weight concrete sculpture class? Well...I monogramed Westport in Mirrors on the Dwarf Sperm Whale and put it out on Hwy 1 while we sculpted.

Above you will find me Modeling a T-shirt designed by one of my Bitchin Friends! "Me vs Me" was created by the brilliant mind of Scott Rench. His ceramics are Sexy. Glazed in Passion. Fired with Honesty. His work can be found around the globe! He is a Genius and Super Cool!

I had some Unfounded Anxiety that I wouldn't accomplish this next step...??? Whatever! A few times the rebar had to be cut and re-welded. But no big deal...The frame is so close to completion. Its nearly 34 feet long and 10 feet high is some spots.

Stick & Stones Cant Break These Bones!

Swerve Me? The path to my fixed purpose is laid with Iron Rails, whereon my Soul is Grooved to run. Over unsounded gorges, through the rifled hearts of mountains, under torrents' bed, unerringly I rush!

- Captain Ahab -

Tom and I worked from sunrise to sunset!

Right now I want to weld myself a new spine! I hurt all over! Why couldn't I sculpt in Yarn or do Pencil Drawings?

...to be continued