a pretty pic for you all

On a Roll Trying to Finish Carvings

An old pic from OARDC in Wooster but still love it 

     Don’t know what it is that has made me make carving a priority for now. Part of it is the weather. It is much more enjoyable carving in cool weather as opposed to hot sticky weather especially if what sticks to you is the sawdust. I have had people say to me where is that pine scent coming from? Not realizing it was the real thing as it was sawdust from a real pine tree and it was stuck to me. I felt like one of those trees you see hanging from a mirror in your car at times. Well I imagine I do as long as you don’t get too close. It is a lot of work and one does sweat at times.

    Today was spent working on sanding down the Santa and I did trim his feet so he will stand better and I also signed the bottom of the carving. Had some more glue work to do on the carving as well I finished sanded a lot on the carving. Today is a little more of the same and then I will begin painting it as well as the Indian head with derby. That is what it kind of reminds me of,and is the direction I am going with that carving.

Indian w/ derby and fungus growing. 

   I did get a chance to get back to painting on the eagle and have some more paint on it and it is looking better also. Looking forward to finishing these up soon, maybe by Saturday if the weather holds out and if it doesn’t will move to garage and finish painting there.

     Had a pretty good year raising snap dragons. I sold a lot and still had a bunch that I finally planted in a flower bed close to the house along with some impatiens I had left over. I am in awe of the soft pastel colors of these delicate flowers yet still are able  to with stand frosts and are holding up well here close to the first of November in Ohio. These are definitely going to be on my list of flowers to have for sale in the spring.

    One reason I am trying to carve a bunch is because I am trying to buy a larger wood heater capable of heating the greenhouse sufficiently. I lost quite a few plants last year and don’t intend to go there this year. Also I will be raising a lot from seed this year and need to have the greenhouse toasty in February when I need to start the seed. I have been getting some new exotic plants and I am pleased to announce a new leaf on the elephant ear plant and will try and get a time sequence of it opening. This should be interesting to view as the leaves are quite large and really don’t come out that often, or at least that is what I am told. It is fun seeing some of the exotics and just using the greenhouse for something other than trying to make a buck.

Looks like a four legged shit bomb just waiting to blow doesn't he? Mom's new dog Buddy

living the dream

Living The Dream 

My Old Time Santa

      Anyhow we have a local person who i admire much as he is a real go-getter and the one who told me that phrase above one day  He is crippled and works as a hardware clerk . He knows his job and knows me  as i really don't claim to be a good plumber or an electrician and usually know enough to be dangerous at best but i am inclined to still do the work myself . I will walk through the door of the hardware and if he is there he will always say 'Hi',and then it seems as if he has to drag himself to the aisle ,always refusing to go the easy route and just telling you where the part is, yet instead he has to show you as he grimaces with pain and begins a conversation with you as he walks along. A variety of movements always accompany him and make me shudder to think how painful his life must be but I always enjoy talking to him and though i may know where the part  is that  I should look for instead i just tell him to enjoy his company for a moment.  

     Just when you think you have it tough, just look around and you can always find someone having it a bit tougher. This is the guy in the hardware i am telling you about . I have a bad back but he has been crippled a long time. Can't say when it happened and won't ask anyone because the last thing i want to do is embarrass him . I am embarrassed, as in a good day, i still don't work half as hard as he does and yet he always does look like he is living a dream . He is content, He understands his limitations and is happy with them. I envy him for his peace of mind,  but instead appreciate what i have at the same time. understanding that the life we live is always a gamble when fate is in question. Sometimes it is just a matter of time and all things shall be equal .  

My Echo 16 inch Chainsaw- stock model 345

     He is something you wont find at Lowes . This guy knows everyone that walks through the door, or just acts like he does. If he is acting then he should get an Oscar.  He is the only reason i really patronize the place. They are overpriced but still they are local , half an hour i am back in the house installing what i need or ready to run back to the hardware to get another part, and have him kid me as again we head down the aisles. My hat is off to him.

     Above is my old fashioned Santa . He was carved out with just my regular chainsaw so far. and actually i a quite pleased with the results. Although he kinda looks more like a Santa Gnome than anything. I used the same techniques I use with  my carving saw that i used with  my regular chainsaw and cut everything you see here. It is possible to carve a good carving with a regular chainsaw. you just  need to have a smaller sprocket on the end of the bar and using  a hard nosed bar  would be better. You should always be safe idle down and hold the saw firmly. Sometimes its a light touch on the throttle and sometimes it is high revving. it just depends on what you need .

     In the end you just have to remember you can always take it off but it is another to put it back on . Also how many toothpicks does a man really need ? Do it long enough to have fun at it, and you will be hooked.

     Tomorrow I will be starting to finish this and a few other carvings like the eagle and the guy in the background of the other pics and i will be finishing and  painting them . Also have some repair on the statue i did today.

 

finally finished with fish

Yesterday I Finished

     

       Yesterday I finished the fish I was working on after refinishing and repainting and sealing, my guess it is at least 7 years old and is probably good for another 10 or more depending where I keep it. I used my new paint sprayer to apply the sealer giving it several coats, especially in the areas where cracking will occur. The tail appears to be firmly attached and all is well with the carving. I will place a before and after pic as well as a newly carved pic to show the process well.

7-11-2008 pic with Zoey 

      I was also able to finish 2 bears I have been working on also and they are cute. In fact after being newly sealed, the little cute bear decided to take a roll in the gravel and dirt. He is no worse for the wear and in fact still has a smile on his face. A little clean up and he is good as new, and he is  ready to go to a new home for Christmas if anyone is interested.

    I have been working on a Santa Claus or at least trying to do an old fashioned one with long robe, etc.. This is still a work in progress, and so far I have been able to cut most of it with a regular chainsaw. Saving the more intricate work for my carving chainsaw, and If nothing else he will make a cute wizard. Doing this with a regular chainsaw with a regular tip, shows what can be accomplished with just your average chainsaw giving yourself time to be accustomed to what the chainsaw is capable of before buying into a more expensive setup with a smaller bar, new sprocket and chain. This will add an additional 100 dollars to the cost of your regular chainsaw. The whole secret is to try and find a smaller tip if you can, hardnosed or sprocket doesn’t matter to much. You are more interested in finding a smaller tip to carve reasonably well. Always be safe, and if nothing else come visit me for some pointers or lessons if you are truly interested in carving. 

another day in pair a dice. going fishin.

Another Day, Another Paint Job.

     Well today I finished painting but was worried about time it would take to dry the carving and since the paint was wet, decided to take another day and finish the sealing of the carving for tomorrow. I added more green and then some more yellow then added shading around areas of the sculpture as needed with the new airbrush. It is simple in design and is functional in the painting of the sculptures. You will also notice I added some black to the bear holding the fish as I like to work on two or three pieces at a time when I can.

      It takes longer to get set up than it does to actually paint. You have to mix your paints and test spray, so that the color you want is there. I try to hold true to the colors out of the tube as I use artist oil paints and then mix thin with thinner till I am able to spray with the airbrush. The air brush is new to me and hope soon to get a better understanding of it as I want to do a lot more than just my carved animals. Maybe a mural or two on the side of my office trailer would be nice.

     People often ask what kind of a fish is it. And I tell them that it is like the fish that exist in nature so wide ranging a species with so many interesting shapes it doesn’t matter what kind of fish I carve, I am sure it represents something that exists in nature as they are always finding new fish we never knew about. I recently saw a picture of a boxfish. Yes he looks like a boxfish as the name suggests and will include a pic in my blog for you to view. But not only does he look like a box but he is yellow and has black polka dots all over him. If people saw me carving something like that they would surely think I went abstract, not me but Mother Nature has.

       Look at all the variations of butterflies and moths there are. There are so many pretty ones out there to admire, yet in some species it seems strict rules apply. Actually if humans were as diverse as some species we might see a more spectacular race war than we already have. Some of this variation in species is due to environmental influence as a species digs in and adapts itself to a particular purpose in life’s food chain. A lot of the biological diversity has been due to the gathering of food or the blending in or camouflage of the surroundings to avoid detection. If that was the case in humans and since we evolved so quickly, then one could assume that we may appear as a box of cereal so that we could shoplift more easily and avoid detection as we go on about our hunting gathering expeditions to the super market. Or perhaps one would appear as a freezer case. I think I have seen a few of these walking through the aisles of the local store.

        So we’re lucky that although we may have color differences we still have the same amount of appendages, and are able to communicate with each other to a degree. Unless it is male and female then we have problems, even if there are none. Just kidding folks. And it seems when I carve one of my faces as I have at times seen people that looked like them no matter how exaggerated they get. One time I carved this face and took it to Hartville Flea market and this guy appeared and stared at the statue as if he as looking in a mirror. He had the biggest grin on his face as if he had seen that face before and he probably had many times in his life or at least every time he looked in a mirror. He stood there smiling and at times I wish I could have just given him the statue , and I probably should have but times being what they are I need to sell also. All aside though, it was the greatest feeling knowing that I touched this guy’s life and made him smile , that is what carving is all about. It is about having fun at what I do, and seeing people’s reaction when they view my work. There are a lot of worse things in life to do. Anyhow until tomorrow – later folks. 

         These are both pics of a butterfly above i took and a moth with a wingspan of over seven inches as proof by the tape measure in the very bottom of the pic. 

         

yes another day working on this sculpture maybe one or two more.

Another Day Painting on Fish

   So by now I have over 6 hrs. in this carving and I am still another day way from finishing it.  Spent a couple of hours repairing, 2 hrs. finishing, and about 2 hrs. doing other stuff , like mixing paints etc. if I was going to charge would have to charge at least 15 per hour and more for pickup and delivery . Also more for not being my sculpture about 10 might do it, maybe 20 if I really like you. So it would be 6 hrs. at 15 , plus pickup and delivery charge. That should cost 10 for each direction up to 10 miles away, and 10 for return trip or 20 total , and this is one of my carvings so I will not charge you my fee for buying from other carvers. Or it would cost a total of 90 dollars total labor at 15 /per hour for 6 hrs. and 20 pickup and delivery charge. This is what I would have to charge for this type of work. When working on other sculptors pieces as far as finishing, would try and respect the original artist’s work as best I can determine from original piece.

     I will be doing more extensive work on a repair of a monkey where the repairs will have to match a hard piece of wood to find, color wise. Also it is a different type of carving with a somewhat checkered past. Oh the stories to tell when I think back to a carving’s creation. I was in a different place and time.

       This carving I think I originally done here soon after moving back to the farm about 6 years ago. Guess I will have to think all that through before telling you the stories. Anyhow the monkey will be my next project. I grabbed a hold of this monkey’s ear to set him up and snapped off a piece of wood. He was never finished and I refused to sell him although I had many offers. Just a one of a kind for me, and I am looking forward to fixing the damage on this carving.

     I was able to paint the sides of the fish with a forest green base and started to highlight the fins with a yellow tint to showcase the action of the sculpture.  I will need to add more layers of paint to gradually bring up the contrast needed to make this sculpture work. Another reaction to finishing this is that the sealer I use which is marine grade spar urethane by helmsman in the satin finish will tend to darken the colors and provide a kind of antique look to the sculpture making the colors stand out to some degree. The satin finish will block reflecting light normally creating white spots when viewed in daylight or artificial light on the surface of the carving. When first applied appears shiny but after it dries completely reflected light diminishes gradually over next couple of days and true colors begin to emerge.

     Plan on building in more color a little too opaque now and want to find a happy medium of the carving representing both wood and painted sculpture and not look like Ronald Mc Donald sitting at your local Bell store. Also want to highlight and then shade giving some depth to the carving. Hopefully creating a 3d effect, making him look more real.

       Considered carving scales into the fish as he didn’t have them before and I guess everyone knew what he was including young kids. So I felt since it was not in my original sculpture then I shouldn’t mess with anything more than I have to. It worked back then and should work now. The paint I had no choice but to strip as I was going to have bare grinding spots anyhow. By redoing the total paint job, it will be easier to match the colors making repairs almost invisible to the naked eye.

       Maybe tomorrow depending on temperature I will get around to sealing the fish sculpture and will be able to show you some finished pics. By that time will have 7 hrs . labor and about 135 total invested in a carving I would ask 150 for. But this is also a one of a kind sculpture as the fish’s mouth is actually the center of a burl on the side of a tree. Once I saw the piece I knew it was a fish. Now I guess I have the confidence I need to make things work when carving a sculpture and can usually at a glance work a bad spot or a flaw right into the essence of the sculpture. Will catch you all tomorrow. 

continuing with the refinishing of the fish

After The Glue Sets Again 

   Again I am waiting for the glue to set as again I am filling cracks, some old some new. Some just a smear of glue will do until you have a smooth finish. It is possible to eliminate most cracks on a sculpture but it is time consuming, and will not guarantee that when you invest all this time into something like this you are determined to make it last.

      So at this point you decide to change where it sits or treat it special,  by the meaning of  keeping it in a dry place or changing its environment. Care must be taken to not drastically change that environment by bringing a carving inside. This may make it crack more. Instead try to modify its original placement. The carving I am working on has been around 7 +years I have been carving. That is a long time and will last longer since I am in the process of refinishing. This carving may well last many years more. I gave this carving to mom for some reason her birthday whatever, as I tend to forget. Anyhow sometimes it is because she makes a fuss over it and then I couldn’t sell it if i wanted to.

        If you look in the pics I am showing you, you will see the cracks being filled again and also a pic of the base. I am using my new air brush from Harbor Freight. It is ok but may end up going with my double action air brush. I started painting the blue on the base indicating the water. I found the new air brush to be hard to get the right mix of paint and thinnner to get a consistent covering. And some places I want it thin as in a wash to let the grain show through and other places heavy. Multiple coats will do the same thing. The trouble is I am always in a hurry to get something like a carving done just want it over with after I finish carving. But the finish is half the sale of the carving, as it completely changes the look of a bare carving. Finish is important as you want it to last for a time. I would like to think it is a legacy of ones work, and would like to think I do quality work. At the same time I am not afraid to stack my work up against others and feel proud for my unique vision. I’m not the best but hopefully representative of my fellow carvers. I also give to the people information on how to do the work I am doing as I never had the benefit of any training in what I do.

       So in the process of learning how to care for a carving you are also learning how to carve. You are learning how to fix your mistakes. The old adage of you can take it off but you can’t put it back on is in reality hogwash. Some will tell you a lot of things but in the end it is hard to find a piece of wood large enough to carve an elephant out of if you wanted to but you can glue enough pieces together and carve a large full size elephant if you wanted to. Knowing how to fix your mistakes is important. You will make many if you plan to chainsaw carve very long.

        But in the end you can realize that the information I am offering can be used for a lot of other purposes. As wood is all around us in our lives,in the cabinet doors that can be fixed and reused like new, saving a tree somewhere.  Wood can be forgiving. Re-sanded and smoothed it can make the high end floors we admire so much. There is a big market in tearing down century old barns and salvaging the wood to make flooring and siding for one’s home. This process of stripping the land of old barns is forever changing our landscape as barns once ruled the rural area as farmer’s took pride in their barns . It is great to see the wood reused if the barn is down, but in some cases these barns could have been salvaged.

      Anyhow recycled wood is always better. And preserving your carving will only make it last longer so it is in your interest to make it last. Will start painting on the fish itself today. Hope you enjoy the pics of Obama and his son Trouble.

time for a short road trip

The Next Day

     I am having a premature meltdown of some plastic I used to form the ends of my greenhouse. At first the cost of the plastic I used to form the ends of the greenhouse seemed good and they said it was UV.  Resistant, and in the end lasted a little over one year.  A little tear ended up a major rip in one end of the greenhouse, fortunately only on the outer layer.

     This forced some decisions the first is that I replace the window in the storm door. Not sure what took the window out, a falling meteor or a kid, either way it is gone. Maybe the increase in air pressure exerted due to broken window caused undue pressure on the inside of the greenhouse maybe causing the failure of the plastic . After getting up there and testing some, it ripped way too easy and surprisingly I have had few problems till now with it.

    The second choice involved what do I replace the rip with. If I use the same stuff I may have to replace it again too soon. So I decided to go with regular greenhouse plastic. I bought a piece large enough for the repair and a piece large enough to work on other end or roof if I have to. I know the greenhouse plastic is UV. Resistant and is flexible enough to with stand the constant buffeting of the wind. I think it has more to do with the sun though, and this end received more sun than other end. Hopefully though this will make repairs easier and last longer.

      Anyhow this necessitated a trip to just outside Mt. Hope at a greenhouse supply place and  I picked up the plastic I needed then Mom and I headed around Amish country driving the back roads through Holmesville and then back through MT . Hope and Apple Creek at times. I ate too many Troyer’s donuts and had dinner at Amish door restaurant in Wilmot, as we were headed home.

  

         I did work on the carving I was refinishing and just glued those cracks so carving will be ready to finish sand tomorrow. Next I will begin to recreate the iridescent paint job. Plan on using a new air brush set up I just bought. I have 2 air brush guns and hope this one is easier, but doubt as both need cleaned and it is a pain to change colors. I also did some grinding on the bears.

      And at some point, found time to cut some firewood and split a whole bucket full tonight as the sun set on a cold night coming of many more. I have to embrace the cold and appreciate its benefits if there are any. But after a few cold ones I find it hard to appreciate much.

     So I figured out what I did to bring this latest cold snap on and that was precipitated by a sale at the Magnolia Mill of some nice wool gloves for a dollar. They looked cool and I can’t remember the last time I got a deal at the mill so I bought into it. It was 70 degrees so I hauled them all over Pennsylvania as I listened to reports of cold weather and possible snow. No worry I was prepared as I had gloves with me. Imagine that an Ohioan with gloves when he didn’t need them. But then I returned home and the weather went south so to speak and this morning as I was getting ready to head off to Amish land, I began searching for those gloves that had already been on a tri-state adventure and never were used. I couldn’t find them as I searched high and low. I had begun to think that possibly I left them in a motel room along with the body wash I took along and forgot also. I remembered to grab all the free samples of shampoo and hand cream, but maybe I forgot the gloves there. Couldn’t imagine leaving them behind, but I did remember shoving them away in an inconspicuous spot in my luggage. I retraced my steps and finally found them in my coat pocket. Who would have thunk?  Oh well I was finally able to take advantage of my gloves and feel they are what brought all this early misery on us. Maybe if we didn’t buy gloves or umbrellas or rubber boots, maybe it would just be nice and beautiful and everyone will be smiling. Screw that this is Ohio and we are real if nothing else, snarling is as friendly a gesture as we can expect at times, along with a middle finger salute. Saying nothing but welcome to the real world in the land of gray, we are buckeyes. What did you expect from a nut?

      So this is what I did after the glue sets, I just keep on living and trying to be a little more than I was yesterday. Some days I win, some days I don’t care. And when I lose I still win, as I am alive, and always have tomorrow.

after the glue sets

After The Glue Sets

        So what I am going to do today is to grind off the excess glue around where I glued the joint. The tail appears to be firmly attached and seems to be aligned pretty well, despite how I put it together. In fact I would say it is better than original and not very apt to break at the same spot again. I began grinding off the old paint and taking everything I could get to back to the original wood. It is amazing how well this piece was preserved and this latest work will perpetuate it well into the future.

       Even the base is in pretty good shape. This has set directly on the wet ground for quite a few years. And I am guessing but somewhere around 7 or 8 years now.

     Next up is refilling and smoothing out the major cracks and then some minor ones , then I will finish sanding before reapplying finish. This is all done in real time, this requires me daily to keep moving on the project, and you are seeing it as I finish daily.

      I also had time to work on a couple of other bears applying a burn finish and wire brushing the ash residue to even out the burn effect and to create hair elusion. I just use a regular wire brush to do this. Below is a look at the tools of the trade for today. Most sanding is done with the 4 inch grinder with a sanding flap disk sander attachment. This can be bought at Harbor Freight complete with flapsand discs for 30 dollars max. Second is a triangular sander with triangular quick attaching pads for around 2o dollars. Third is a mini sculptor for round 80 dollars, and is used hardly at all but does give me better reach into some places. Fourth is the drill with a wire brush attachment that allows me to get into even smaller places. Most of the time the grinder does most of what I have to do. If you are planning on doing your own carving remember that finishing a carving is sixty percent of how well a carving looks. But you really don’t need to spin a fortune to get good results.  A lot of it is technique that makes your work stand out from others and it does show when you sit two carvings side by side. It is in some ways like the old adage, you get what you pay for. If you want a cheap bear, there are plenty of them out there, but you had better be prepared to watch it go to pieces quickly because there is usually very little done to them except carve them. At least now prepared with the information I am providing you, you can now apply a great finish to your new cheap carving and begin to keep it looking like a million bucks.

    Some additional pics from today. 

caring for your carvings

Reconstruction of Fish Sculpture

     Today I am going to go over reconstruction of a fish sculpture I had previously been exhibiting at home till the tail piece fell off. This was one of my earliest works and in this case I took advantage of a natural feature which is the knot or burl on the side of a tree.  I carved this after seeing the piece laying in the woods. All of my wood carving wood is usually reclaimed or salvaged wood. I really don’t like the idea of cutting a tree down to carve something out of it. If you already had plans to take the tree down for other purposes then it would be fair game. In this case mom and dad had timbered the area and this was one the pieces left by the logger.

      What made it unusual for me is that it had this huge burl or knot on the side of the log. And it looked just like a set of fish lips much like a carp or a koi. Anyhow I had to really look at the log to make sure I could carve the fish out of the log and soon I saw what I was looking for. I wanted to make it look like it was jumping out of the water. I also painted it a green with a yellow undertone then sealed it with a glossy finish. This high gloss finish gave the original piece a translucent effervescence that brought out the colors and made the fish appear wet. This is the finish I will try and achieve again.

    The first step in restoring the carving is trying to figure out how to reattach the tail to the fish. An overall look at the quality of the carving reveals that the wood for the most part is holding up well. The cracking that occurred when the tail was cracked off was the result of natural cracking procedure. Cutting the wood in a different direction or possibly leaving more material or a more upright tail leaving a straighter fish would result in  tail that may last longer but would not have aesthetic effect this tail does as this carving exhibits motion while standing still.

      This carving was a favorite of mom and I , and was eventually going to be restored. Having a blog and teaching people to properly care for their carving has led me to begin with this project first. So the wood for the most part is solid and in the area of the break is rather quite hard. I believe this is an ash carving and was a little on the hard side to carve when I originally carved it out. This carving was all carved out of one piece of wood the base is representative of the heart of the log and its optimal carving size. Meaning I would never have been able to make it any larger. Now I can carve it smaller if needed or glue and attach pieces if needed then recarve the piece. . None of this necessary but I will get into this with other pieces as I go along. Next I had to figure out how to strengthen the repair to prevent It from happening again and I do that with dowels as I drill and insert a round piece of stock dowel to approximately a straight through position in the thickest part of the tail sculpture. One dowel may be all that is needed but two will add even more strength to the original sculpture.

     At this point I would like to say there is an easy way to accomplish drilling and aligning the dowels but when the piece is odd shaped as it is clamping or drilling straight holes is hard to do and should be done by sighting along the length of the piece. Trial and error and a slight over boring of the drill holes by cocking the drill and wobbling out the hole may give you enough room to secure the two pieces in approximate position to begin gluing. Wet both pieces and apply the gorilla glue after the piece is thoroughly dampened. This is important. Gorilla glue is an excellent adhesive when used for exterior conditions, but must be applied to a dampened surface. After applying a stream of glue to thoroughly coat both surfaces and dowel holes then piece together and hold in place if clamping isn’t possible. After about ten minutes the glue will begin to set and eventually you will be able to let the piece stand on its own after about a half hour. Allow the glue to dry overnight to assure proper bonding. Some other prep work is being accomplished at the same time as I go along here , and will show you details and offer an explanation as I go along.

      Tomorrow I will be grinding down the excess glue bubbles, and doing some more prep work on the carving  prior to painting and sealing.

                                                                              

       Here are some other pics of carvings i took yesterday.

our recent trip

FALLING WATER

 I will get back to preservation of carvings after I talk about visiting Frank Lloyd’s Wright’s Falling water house.

    I just recently had the opportunity to visit the Falling Water house close to Donergal, Pennsylvania for my first time. I have read quite a bit about it and spent some time researching Frank Lloyd Wright, before ever getting to this point. This man left a legacy of work unsurpassed by others and yet still way ahead of his time making him a visionary that led architecture by his actions.

     Pictures from inside the house are forbidden so I guess you will have to rely on my explanation as I walk you through the house. The first place you start your visit at is outside the house and on the bridge leading up to the house. The house is constructed on a bunch of boulders at a point in the stream where the water cascades from springs further up the hill under the bridge the guide gives you a list of things you can do and not do when going through the house. Handicapped visitors are only allowed to view the main living room area.  There is a hundred steps a handicapped person has to be able to negotiate to fully see the house. Instead they allow you to see the main living room and fireplace and then take you by the shuttle you arrived in back to the visitor’s center where you can view the rest of the tour on dvd.

     Features on this floor include the view of the water running below you and a brief explanation of how Mr. Wright designed the house to be cantilevered over the falls area and at the same time blend in with the surroundings of the area. Also how each of the terraces are becoming thinner as you rise up in the floors to the top of the house. Another feature of the house is that is all reinforced concrete construction with no steel reinforcement in terms of columns or girders, but instead reinforcing rod and engineering that makes the house stand as it is. At one point there were over seventy workers under Mr. Wright’s tutelage and this is during the depression at a total cost of one hundred thirty five thousand dollars for the Kauffman’s of Pittsburg to use as a summer home. These were the same Kauffman’s who owned the Kaufman department stores.

      From there you progress on up through the levels of the house till you reach Edgar juniors rooms on the third floor of the house. The ceilings are low but Mr. Wright felt this was a feature of his design as it forced one to look outside and Mr. Wright was forever trying to crowd in window spaces where he could to take advantage of the beautiful forest scenes and the waterfalls just outside the living spaces within. Tales of Mr. Wright and the Kauffman’s as they went through the building process abound, but one in particular that seemed funny to me was over Mr. Wright refusing to make Edgar Seniors desk larger as it interfered with the window system. When Mr. Kauffman complained about the small size of the desk he made mention that he may need more space to write out the check for the work done by Mr. Wright, it was only them that Mr. Wright acquiesced and made the desk larger.

     When looking at the overall design, what appears to be the upper level to the house is actually the guest house which was built on later which included a servant quarters at the highest point of the complex. All rooms feature built-ins including bookshelves and the whole place is furnished with period furniture which you are not allowed to touch. Special instructions on what side of a staircase may be touched when ascending or descending is allowed to minimize the damage caused by tours.  Some priceless works of art are displayed. The house is supposedly in a state much the same as it was when the Kauffman’s last used it. it was under Edgar Junior’s rule that he donated the house to the foundation to perpetuate it into the future around 1962 to be used as an example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s awesome genius in designing. The house was once featured on the cover of Life magazine, around that same time.

       I would recommend this trip to anyone who likes modern architecture of any kind. Wright was definitely thinking outside the box at this time. His style of designing was under criticism at that time but has since been understood as a forerunner of modern house design since. His other houses all feature similar design components that were employed in the building of the Falling Water house but not to the extent which was used there. One to put on your bucket list. As well this area provides plenty of things to see and do including enjoying the beautiful vistas of fall foliage as it is in full peak now.