Now all the structure is covered. The first coat of concrete receives a second and a third and maybe a fourth to get the surface where it needs to be. This is a new thing for me to do; showing you the various stages that go into a sculpture. I can imagine it will be good to know the history behind a set form. It too may be a surprise to see how many conscious decisions are attributed to an object that really has no direct reference to anything but it's viewers presents.
What a fresh beginning for you.

Often the internal structure of some of the forms I make are more interesting to people than what I want to ultimately see. So here is a look before it's covered. The brown lines are steel welded together as a framework to support the galvinized steel mesh that skins over the surface. This surface will have some pass through holes and some quartz will be cemented into some.

Eggplant

I selected two shiny, firm, dark purple Italian eggplant that were 2" in diameter and about 6" long. I'm writing this because I'm very happy with my technique of cooking it as follows.

Lay out left to right two dinner plates and one small flat bottomed bowl all right next to one another. Let two seasoned cast iron fry pans come to a medium heat dry and with no oil in them while you're working on the eggplant In the bowl add 2 tbls.each of olive oil and water, add two eggs. Whip it up with a fork.
Slice the eggplant with out peeling into disks about 1/4" thick. Dragging the tines of a fork down the length of them adds a place of purchase for the knife to dig through the sometimes bouncy resistance.

On the plate just to the left of the bowl add 3/4 c. of fine corn meal and a 1/4 c. whole wheat or white flour and mix together and spread out. . Add more later if need be.

Dip the slices in the egg mixture and wipe off excess on the side of the bowl. Lay on the bed of corn flour. When the plate is covered turn each of them over and pat the flour into the eggplant until they are dry enough to transfer to the empty plate on your left. Keep stacking them on top of one another till their all breaded . Lay them in the dry pan fairly close together.

They will kind of bake on the pan and the oil in the egg mixture as well as the flour is enough to keep them from sticking. keep watching but about 10 min. a side.

You'll notice that there is no salt in this recipe. I personally like the eggplant to be addressed from the outside by any salt or sauce; it's subtle integrity formally introduced at the plate.

Autum leaves in spring

This is what I found in the garden this morning. Male and female autumn leaves screwing in the lavender.

Kortney of the Quartz

Kortney was given to us by our neighbor Pete last year. For all her glory she stands only 18" tall. She could fill the Palace Royal in Paris. She serves the Quarts too.

Filtration

This is a water filtration "system" as it's called by the smart and confident people. I on the other hand wanted to filter out excess white material from the coffee machine water. It also had to be done with out spending any money. Here it is and it works beautifully. One gallon glass lined Thermos,circa 1920, porcelain Melita funnel,coffee filter and a home made spout. The perk is it tastes better too.

A diet of a peace after a peace after a peace.

I made this object on the right out of steel and quartz. It is called an Upping and there are going to be about 14 of them of various forms. They hang from architecture and are designed to sway back and forth in a breeze. They are being commissioned by a special client who likes living with them. They hang from a covered walk way open to the southern breeze. The bells ring, the birds sing and a resinous incense burns continuously. Sounds like a dream but it isn't. Or is it?