"Tow dat barge, lift dat bale, you gets a little drunk an...."

Ain't She sweet!

We've been a-liftin' and a-shovin' and a-heavin' of things as the shift of my pottery to the dark side of the building, and the moving of Laura's painting studio to the light side of the building continues.

Me constantly on the move!

Since the last post we cleared everything out of the room where my wheels will be, put vinyl down on the floor, and I have built a really large drying rack for new pots, and we have shifted my potter's wheels to their new place of residence.

A glimpse of a new drying rack in the far room and storage shelves near left.

Today we moved nearly half a tonne of clay, two large book cases, one set of plans draws, a pug mill, and a ten foot long wooden post office counter. This latter item is so heavy that we can't really push it far at all, but we managed to develop a technique where I shoved a crow bar under it at one end, whilst Laura hammered in a wide cold chisel near where the crow bar was. This shifted it in amounts of 2 to 6 inches at a time and was actually not too difficult once a rhythm was established. We moved it round a right angle bend, through a doorway and about 15 feet in total this way.

The rear end of the counter that has just been pushed through the doorway.

I also built a little shelf for the pug mill to sit on, and put up some storage shelving for my glazing materials. We also shifted lots of other bits and pieces, demolished my old drying rack, and did some cleaning up and removing of old lino. Quite a lot done, but still lots more to do.

The pug mill sitting on its new shelf, with a view through to where the wheels will be.

This coming weekend is our open studio, so lots of hard work still to do before then if we are able to have the place ship shape for the public, but we will do our best.

Comments

Judy Shreve said…
Your new space looks wonderful. I laughed reading your post - my husband & I have tackled some similar projects where I thought there was no way the two of us could move something -- but a little ingenuity goes a long way.
And you've really put the pressure on to finish with an open studio coming up! Good luck.
Anonymous said…
good luck with the rest of it... it's exciting to see a good space being set up. we call your method of moving the desk "the easter island method" and use it to describe how immovable things seem to get miraculously moved.
Linda Starr said…
By the end of the week you'll be drunk on work, but you have accomplished much and your new space is looking great. I envy you the pug mill. Great photo of Laura. Gary and I have put many an item on peeler cores, dollies, or car crawlers to get them moved, your technique sounds like a lot of tough work. Take her easy, have some New Zealand wine in the evening.
Peter said…
Hi Judy, lovely to hear from you. You have been having a few adventures lately and I was most impressed by that wonderful looking car that was on your blog about a week ago, it looks like a lot of fun going touring in it. I think we will really enjoy the new set up here when it is finished. I am amazed what has been accomplished in a few days, so... here's hoping that just a very few more will have it all looking nice for the weekend, but we certainly do need some luck!

Hi Jim, Thanks for your comment on my previous post, I should congratulate you for being the first to appreciate my lunge forward into the world of cutting edge abstract sculpture!! Glad that you enjoyed the hair cutting story that I put as a comment on your site. Nice to hear from you again. I like the "Easter Island Method" as a descriptive title for moving immovable objects, I will keep the vision of those enormous Easter Island heads in my mind when I try to move the counter to its final resting place today (It still has a little bit further to go unfortunately).

Hi Linda, nice to hear from you too! I'm fascinated by those wonderful names, "peeler cores, dollies, and car crawlers". It is fun how different occupations all have their language. Pug mills, slip, ware boards, wicket, bag wall, sagger, leather hard, greenware, kidney, rib, bicuit, bloating, batt, and blunge, all come to mind as potentially confusing for the non-potter. I haven't come across "peeler cores" before, but know dollies and car crawlers!
Pat - Arkansas said…
My gracious! You both deserve a "little drunk" after all that work! Looks great! I hope the new arrangement works out beautifully for both of you; I know a lot of planning went into making the move.
Peter said…
Hello Pat, not drunk yet, but I did manage to organise things enough with only minutes to spare to give 3 teenagers a glazing lesson yesterday afternoon. It was nice to start to use the place again. Today we will mostly be sorting stuff back into cupboards and probably shifting an etching press.
Best Wishes,
P.
Christine said…
Quite a move,it is really good to hear how other people manage. It's looking good though! We call it 'the domino effect' - you move something and ten other things need to be re housed. We're having the same stacking up of stuff problem here with our 24 year old lad moving home for a while.
Peter said…
Hi Christine,
24 year old lads and where to store it all...., Mmmm I do see the problem! Just had a look at the latest posting on your site, and hope you have lots of visitors, you have such wonderful work there.
Best Wishes, P.

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