We interrupt all this serious mobile making for a quick hula hoop break. (Using of a Furman Hall ring...)
Somebody call Mike Rowe, because this Furman Hall project could make a good Dirty Jobs episode. The mobile incorporates polished copper rings, and the process we're using requires us to polish aluminum, which will later be treated with a copper finish. Anyhow, the polishing process requires grinding away at aluminum, and it's been absolutely filthy.
As you can see below, Matt and Ben created a tent to try keeping the aluminum particles contained, but enough has escaped to layer aluminum dust across the entire shop. And Matt's poor shoes will never be the same.
But. At least the polished rings are looking lovely.
Earlier this year, we mentioned a modern mobile we're creating for a client in Germany. It's in production phase now, and we're making good progress. Here's a little peek at its current state:
Here are a few renderings of the mobile we're making for Oregon State University's Furman Hall:
Ben created these renderings by dropping images of the mobile onto actual photographs of the space he and Matt took at a recent site visit. We're so proud of Ben, our resident University of Oregon grad, for burying the University Rival hatchet for this project.
Here's what we'll be focused on for the next two months:
This mobile will hang in the newly renovated Furman Hall at Oregon State University. It will hang 36 feet tall and 7 feet wide, with 16 freely rotating polished copper rings. We're excited about the scope of this project—and that it's local!
We've mentioned a few times that we've been working on a cloud-inspired ceiling sculpture for the atrium of North Carolina hospital. We're happy to report that it's all installed. Matt and Ben travelled to the East Coast last week for the installation, and they worked through the night, completing the installation at about 4:30 a.m.
Matt woke up later that morning to this happy text from the client: "The mobile is amazing. I knew it was going to be special but it is beyond that. I am truly speechless. Thank you is not enough!"
Shucks. That kind of feedback makes mobile making totally worth the sleepless nights.
Matt and Ben completed their latest project last Thursday—a static sculpture that crawls from wall to ceiling in the lobby of a brand-new affordable housing development right here in Portland. The piece is made of reclaimed wood slabs, and it spans 10 feet wide by about 10 feet tall.
Here's a before shot of the space:
During:
And—ta da!—the final piece (completed, in true Ekko fashion, in the middle of the night):
This stack of wood and pile of metal cylinders may not look like much, but tomorrow it will all be transformed into this wall sculpture!
