Reven Marie Swanson, Sculpture: Lamar Station Crossing II, Lakewood, CO

Progress 02/20/23

The installation has been completed. Here's some images of the final installation.

Progress 01/30/23

Done!

The 11 forms are completed with all the glass, lighting, periscopes and kaleidoscopes installed. I am working through the final clean and touch up details. Robert and I are looking into the future two weeks for a good weather window. We will be in contact to start coordinating the installation.

Progress 01/22/23

Yeah! The last of 11 steel forms is in the studio ready for glass installation. Nine of the 11 are complete. Once the last form is complete, the remainder of the work will be to do a final cleanup. We will be able to start coordinating the installation.

Progress 01/08/23

Welcome to 2023! Through the last four weeks, assembling the glass and interactive elements of light, periscope mirrors and kaleidoscopes has been progressing. I was hopeful that this process would proceed quicker than it has. The temperatures has greatly slowed the curing time of the silicon adhesive. Mother Nature seems to have a say in this progress.

I have changed the adhesive to an architectural grade that will cure easier in lower temperatures. Thus far, 7 of the 11 sculptural elements are completed and resting for their “full cure”. The next 2 our in the studio and getting the glass and light elements installed this week.

An estimated target is hopeful for mid-February.

Progress 12/12/22

The Foundation has been installed! Many thanks to Bren at Metro West Housing Solutions, Josh at Calcon Construction and George at George's Concrete Contractor. There were a host of other big helpers. So happy to see this project get past this hurdle.

Progress Report 12/05/22

Marking the foundation. Excavation starts Thursday. Cement poured Friday.

Progress Report 11/28/22

A major milestone has been reached for our project. The 3 benches have been built. All 8 upright forms are prepared for the glass installation. All 11 foundation steel forms are ready for the foundation piers to be installed.

We have a construction meeting on Tuesday, November 28, to coordinate all the logistics to install the foundation piers and concrete pads. We are anticipating a potential concrete contractor will join our meeting. I mention this because it’s been challenging getting a concrete contractor remotely interested in our project. It’s one of the challenges presented by a post-Covid marketplace.

More information and updates will be provided after our meeting today. By the way, it's only going to be 24-degrees as the high temperature during the meeting. Always exciting!

(the bench forms are upside-down for storage)

(the bench forms are upside-down for storage)

(11 steel foundation forms are ready to the cement installation)

Progress Report 11/10/22

Yeah! All eight upright forms are built. This is a great milestone in the project. They’re waiting for a final polish and glass installation.

All the glass components are ready for installation.

The kaleidoscope and periscope components are on order and will be received in the next two weeks. The interior mirrors will be cut this coming week. The mirror material is in the studio.

The foundation pipes have been cut. They are scheduled to have the rebar cages welded and assembled this Saturday.

The three bench forms have been cut. The assembly will begin today. It’s expected that those forms will be ready for installation in 10 days.

We have been working with the Metro Housing Solutions and their contractor, Calcon, to coordinate the installation of the foundations. The missing portion is identifying a concrete contractor. Three such contractors have our foundation plans and are preparing estimates. Tentatively we are going to have a foundation planning meeting next week, TBD.

The goal is install the foundations as soon as possible before the colder temperatures come. It’s possible to install the foundations well before the installation of the sculptural element because of the “slip-pole” design. The foundation piers will be capped and safe for public interaction.

Eight Upright Forms

Foundation Pier Pipes

Bench parts ready to move into the studio

Progress Report 10/29/22

The steel work continues to progress. Six of the 8 upright forms are assembled and waiting for final polish and glass installation. Number 7 is in the studio and will start with the plasma-cutter today.

All but a handful of the approximately 900 pieces of glass have been fused and slumped. The next fire will focus on the pieces and items that will be placed in the kaleidoscope and periscope elements.

Progress Report 10/11/22

The work has been progressing. Three of the 11 forms are assembled and ready for the glass installation. Forms 4 and 5 are in the studio. The final set of glass is being loaded into the kiln for its first fire.

"Foot Holes"

Two "jig" forms made to bend finishing rings.

On the rack.

Progress Report 09/28/22

The structural evaluation and foundation design has been completed. We can start digging!

The fabrication continues. Unfortunately, not much to photograph as parts and parts are being made for assembly. It's expected 3 upright skeletons will be welded and assembled this coming Saturday.

Progress Report 09/19/22

There has been much work in the studio. This part of the progress may look slow, but the fabrication is coming along. As time goes, it will pickup speed as the studio is setup and geared up for each step.

The glass windows have been fired and slumped for 6-1/2 out of the 8 color transitions.

Fabrication of the first skeleton is complete.

Foundation pipes are being cut and sized for their installation.

The structural design has been approved and should be coming this week with a stamped foundation drawing!

Parts Received from Majestic Metals, Progress report 09/07/22

There are 13 separate hardware components I designed especially for this project. Close to 1,000 parts have been laser-cut from stainless steel sheets. They do very accurate work which provides a more polished outcome for the sculpture.

Structural Evaluation

Kyle of Censpace Structural Engineering sent an estimated time to complete the final drawings and evaluations by next week. This will afford us the opportunity to install the foundation as soon as we are able to coordinate the efforts.

Fabrication Begins, Progress report 08/01/22

The poles were moved into the studio. First got trimmed to their finished lengths, then cut into sections. Next, each section will get marked for cut-outs using the plasma cutter. The plasma cutting will begin on Monday.

Progress with the glass

The 6th color set has been in its first fire. Five of the sets have been through the second fire to slump them into their final shape. The end pieces are where I can build in more creative elements.

The Stainless Poles Heading to the Studio, Progress report 08/23/22

The support pipes were sent to a fabrication shop where they were shaped using an English Wheel. If you notice, they’re not the “S” shape I had originally thought would be necessary. Working with the model and test shapes, I realized I could achieve the same result using a simpler less complicated form.

Of note: The recovery space module in the background is an actual remnant from an Apollo mission. It's located near 64th and Kendall Street.

First Glimpse of the Glass Insets, Progress report 08/23/22

A test sample of how the glass will transmit light through the stainless steel forms. This is very rough. The final installation will be far more clean and polished. These glass inserts vary in size and will be lighter (more translucent) at the top of the structure. As they come down the support pole, they will get darker and richer the lower they go. My goal is create a sense of liquid (or another world) is inside the sculpture.

These are samples of light transmission of natural light, where the sculpture will be in partial shade:

Here are samples with the solar light activated for the evening light:

Steel has arrived, Progress report 08/15/22

Last Thursday, the stainless steel arrived from Salt Lake City -- all 2,503 pounds. It was promptly sent to Roadrunner Fabrication and Majestic Metals for their work to laser cut parts and bend the pipes.

In the glass studio, four of the eight glass forms have been fired and slumped and are ready to install once the stainless forms are prepared. The fifth and sixth set is in the kiln ready to go to it's first fire.

Progress is happening!

811 Colorado Digs, Ground Clearances

The site has been cleared of all the utilities for a site dig. I did some modifications to the location of the grouping to accommodate the irrigation lines. Please see drawing (happy to send a higher resolution file upon request).

Fuse, fire, slump

The first set of 8 color transitions are finished in the kiln. You’ll also see an image of a “top section” of a support pole. This is a 6-foot sample cut.

Next week, Ryerson, will have the stainless steel order assembled. It’s being shipped from Salt Lake City, Utah — nearly 4500 pounds.

First signs of creation!

Fifty-four sheets of Bullseye COE 90 glass has been brought to the studio for the creation of glass windows. Each of the "Dancing Sticks" will contain up to 110 tiny windows. The idea is make the upright support appear to contain liquid inside it's form (another world). The images you see are the blank rounds being cut, the drop glass that will be used for "lace", forms for slumping and a loaded kiln shelf ready for fire.

Glass Blanks for Windows

Cut remains for Glass Lace

Slumping Forms

Kiln Shelves

The beginning...

...of a new project is always exciting. So many details to plan, design and work out. As the project gets underway, up-to-date images of the creation and fabrication will be included in this blog entry. Feel free to contact the artist at artist@chinacatsunflower.net for more details and information. Enjoy!

This project is a collaboration between Metro West Housing Solutions and 40 West Arts District, a Colorado-certified creative district. Metro West Housing Solutions is funding this project.