Hansie-my-kneg

Art is a funny thing.
Now that statement opens a whole bunch of doors of discussion, to the positive, to the negative,it could be considered ignorant and  adversarial but it also could be simple a statement of fact. For art is a funny thing for a scientist to understand. I cannot be so bold as to call myself a scientist and not fortunate enough to call myself an artist. I can however dabble enough in each realm to begin to appreciate the essence of both worlds. I love the certainty, the black and white of science. Perimeters are set, values are recorded and results are analyzed and interpreted. Art is amorphous and unpredictable and  is why I marvel  the creative process so.
It seems that for many artists there is a certain amount of inspiration that comes to them. Sometimes it is as fast and hot as a bullet fresh from the gun barrel, other times it's arrival is as slow as molasses in the dead of winter. So when Shawn had finally tucked away the last of his educational responsibilities and was eager to get to work on Fillmore, I was not the least bit surprised to see this scene.
I arrived home from work to find estragon fighting with his boot muttering "there is nothing to be done"

But slowly as the inspiration of the muse warmed him from the chill of the dreadful rain,

a plan was set into motion.

Fillmore's rear end needed....uhmmm....attention!

I had scabbed together a series of patches to fulfill the requirements for the inspection. But like many things, the rear desired solution was put on the back burner until such a time as it could be done properly. The left is a picture of what we had after we removed the bumper and the pieces of skirt and license plate that were tacked on. For safety and aesthetic reasons I wanted to close in the flywheel of Fillmore's power pack. Angie at 3 Fab was kind enough to get us some 1/8" sheet bent to Shawn's specks. It will be something to cover and conceal, but at the same time  provide the ladder support we are looking for.

Measure four times and then you don't have to cut, the building block we had made up was perfect.

So with inspiration firmly implanted in his heart, the artist was let loose....

While the beast was outside creating havoc, the beauty was inside documenting and gathering her own inspiration to set a plan for Fillmore's living space

I really wasn't that much of a slave driver, I made sure he was sufficiently fed and watered....and by water I mean plied with a steady supply of fresh coffee.

I am sure he thought I was hovering to make sure he kept working, but in reality I was wanting to watch and learn. Asking all sorts of questions on welding technique and hammer forming, how and why metal moves like it does-or does not, materials, factors influencing decisions.....so much more.
Even though he is the baby of the family he really is a Hansie-my-kneg. ( a little nod to my Afrikaans family)