ART!! -- looking to love

When this project started my heart was full of on with a very simple intent  -- Love is needed here.  My mind was caught in the mantra of "let's put the love back in".  Aging in place for Mom, me and others was being looked at as well as tracking down the history of people who had lived and loved here.

Four years later a myth is being created through this Project; history = check, big house becoming pink house = check, infill named octopus = check...  (first roofing party Feb 19th 2018 post = check).  Mom is the one who created the essence of the myth and the story grew when she called the infill an "Octopus".  In her mind Marianne had come up with a structure that she said "looks like an Octo-puss" and it just stuck.

On Friday we had a roofing party for the Octopus, which is the infill units in the back of the property.  Yeah, fun and celebration with a big thank you all in one place.  As I said at the party 3 simple guidelines to live by are 1) work hard, 2) give back and 3) thank people along the way.  Well that was our celebration:

Work hard

Give back

Thank people along the way!

The art of love comes through appreciation of the gems in life -- celebrating with others; good food, conversation and company... It also helps if your niece is a STAR at cake making!

Same same but different

PEOPLE -- it takes a village to go from this to that.

Last week's post introduced the people and work that has evolved on Project 851. This week is a short post giving you the visual comparison of 'before' and 'at the moment'.  With more to come it's a good time to take a quick peak.

It's worth taking the moment don't you think?

Off to prepare for the this weeks roofing party for the Octopus.

COMMUNITY -- a reflection on all the who's of the project...

Missing my daily trips to the site, since I'm away looking for old fishermen in Haida Gwaii, gives you time to meet all the people who have been involved (family, friends, trades, specialists, professionals, etc.).

From Orbs in the attic to hands on the old asphalt shingles.

Teams in place ,from friends/family who are related to those who lived in the house in the 1930's, to my family, to the construction and architectural groups, to taking the house to the bones and lifting it up to the sky.

Here we're going from researching what to put in wwwwwaaaaayyyy down the road.  As well as never getting enough house flying pictures and tossing in a little reality of infrastructure and excavation.

Next...

Those shots show how we had to open things up before we could start closing them up.  Beams were installed for structural reinforcement and the back deck closed in to become part of the main floor.  

Above and Below we have all hands and feet on deck working on the Octopus (and for some of us just looking with hands dangling and feet planted).

Wouldn't you just love to have a shot at that rock slingers job?  I know I'd be down for that.  The last one is the drone shot we got for the Blog showing the aerial view of the Octopus;  that was one yummy post!

Back to the Big House in the shots above.

Above we see Mom with a smile on her face 1) because she likes watching people work (maybe a little like Maynard the cat) and 2) because it means we get to take a break and celebrate (below).

Ok back to work!!

Top row:  from roof to sewer lines.  Middle row:  Big House art wall and Octopus roof (hey Eric!!)    Bottom row:  STAIRS an ongoing discussion (go Johnny go -- the Romanian, Hungarian, Italian Russian; yes, there's a story there)

I could go on to share some insulation, drywall and terrazzo work but then what would I have to share in the next Community post?

PROGRESS -- focusing on an evolution

We've come a long way baby!  Thinking about all the work, energy and love that is taking place on this project an idea popped into my head, "everyone loves before and after shots".  So here we're looking at before/after and during (hahaha) shots.  The focus is on the turret, which is a focal point of the Big House; let's take a look at how it's evolved both inside and out.

The next shots will show you the during.  The initial photo is of 1898 framing and windows of single pane glass that turned into melting liquid solids. We were able to pass them along to an artist residency project called the Blue Cabin;  if you pass by the public art fence you'll see a poster about that project.  It's nice our old windows were able to play a small part in the restoration of the Blue Cabin.   

The next images take us on an adventure from abatement, to keeping the bones of the house, to new double hung windows, insulation and arriving at dry wall: an adventure of same same but different.

Speaking of 'same same but different', a much overused phrase, let's continue on that vein with saying we're taking the turret back to the future! -- hahaha, I crack myself us.  It's my nieces that remind me  "ya right Teta M, you know you're the only one that finds that funny?". 

Well cheers to the turret and it's outside evolution!