LEGENDS PARK-fabrication 1

so after completing the model, the next step was to figure out how i would build this thing. i’ve never worked on this scale before. and more than the technical and physical difficulties, there were safety issues to think about.

in memphis there are quite a few options that offer a solution. there are several businesses that are metal fabricators that could handle the job. there are several amazing metalsmiths that i could call upon for help. and there’s also the national ornamental metal museum. all would be good options but there were a couple of things to consider. one being i have never made anything that i didn’t make make myself. i"m use to doing things start to finish, my hands on, myself. and the other, being a novice to such a large scale sculpture, i really needed someone who could be my guide in regards to structure and safety. after much interviewing, lamenting, deliberation and hopping around the city, i decided upon and negotiated a deal with mark nowell.

mark and i had gone to school together many years ago at memphis college of art but hadn’t seen each other in almost as many years. we actually saw each other for the first time in years at a public call to artists for this project and another.

in the beginning i think mark and i both were a bit nervous or apprehensive about the arrangement. artist are such funny people; with their “spaces” and such. and neither mark, nor i, were an exception to the rule for certain.

mark and i spent alot of time catching up and getting to know each other again. i had forgotten that he too was from mississippi. and soon discovered we had a great deal in common. we bonded over metal, and art, and social politics, and the fact that sometimes you've just got to build a fence.

this photograph is an example of just one reason i love mark and another thing we have in common. the fact that while cleaning up the courtyard he would make these stacks of "like' rocks. you never know when you may need that.

to learn more about mark nowell

http://www.marknowellart.com/