Author Archives: Tom Harold

Indiana in the month of May…

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I forget that, outside of Indiana, you don’t generally start seeing race driver’s faces popping up on billboards when May rolls around. Regardless of my general feelings about all things mechanical, I do think it’s particularly fab that we have a tradition inherent to our state which is a national phenomenon. There’s a lot of corn around here, no doubt about it, but come the 5th month of the year, the asphalt in Speedway plays host to something truly amazing, and nowhere else on earth can claim that particular history.

Blooming

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I have a bunch of peony plants in my yard. Right now they are all starting to bloom, and I caught this one just about 24 hours away from opening fully. There are several that have already bloomed, but I love how this one looks like it’s on the verge of bursting. I think this is the point where a flower could be considered “yearning.” It’s petals look like they’re absolutely aching to lay wide to the sun and take it all in, inviting bees and ants to come and partake of its pollen.

Rolling through, and being okay with it

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Here you can see the roll out, the exit for the sculpture. It turned out nicely, but there was plenty of tweaking involved in the area immediately below the final spiral. I spent a good long time getting that to work properly. This was another one of those details that ended up absorbing far more hours than you’d think it would or should. This is exactly the sort of thing that keeps people from building these doohickeys. It’s the little stuff that’s most challenging for the simple fact that it’s nit-picky and slow. Fortunately, I thrive on that sort of attention to detail. The real challenge for me is to be okay with it not being 100% perfect, something which no human is capable of, but which I, for some reason, think I should be able to do. This thing is working well, and I’m going to be happy with that. Onward! Completion awaits!

Legs and stuff

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The main part of the run is all finished. Now it’s time to put the supporting structure in place. The big looping piece that’s describing an arc and being held in place with all sorts of clippy things, that’s what I’m attaching. The lower part that shoots out of the picture will be cut short once I decide the final shape. It will probably have a slight scroll to it. I think. Maybe. Lots of times I don’t know exactly how this stuff will turn out until it’s done. You probably don’t want me building a bridge for you, at least not one that, you know, has to carry anything important. Tacoma Narrows, here I come!

Jet Star

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Definitely not some of my best work, however, it reminds me of a shot that I did years ago in college. Not that this should matter to y’all, but there it is. I recall driving all over town looking for a halfway decent shot for class, and I took a shot of a bunch of assembled mail trucks lined up like these fuel rigs. I wish I could have gotten closer to these for a better composition. There are some possibilities here, but then you can only do so much while you’re gassing up at the Quick Stop in the middle of rush hour traffic.

Roll on, roll on!

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I’m still at work on this one. It’s looking good so far. I have most of the run done at this point. It needs the final exit section, and then it will be time to add the supports/legs. At this point I’m kind of wondering at my wisdom in creating the run before building the support structure, but, well, there we are. It’s just going to go the way it’s going to go at this point. No turning back now!

Angry sky

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Went up to see my folks in Noblesville today, and this imposing mass of clouds rolled in to greet me. I was certain at any moment that lightning was going to begin shooting down and a torrent of liquid sky would be unleashed upon me, but it simply glowered as I kept on my route. It was only later that they decided enough was enough and deluged the area with an impressive display of electricity, wind, and plenty of the wet stuff.