Synchronizing Art, Travel and Exchange.

Synchronizing Art, Travel and Exchange.

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chelsea.southard@gmail.com

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I call that my third hand. Making good use of it

I call that my third hand.

Making good use of it on the days when I don’t have the support of my crew, which is most days. Got all the lines tensioned for section B, there is some variation that was unavoidable but I was never trying to make laser lines.

A cable tensioner and a few carefully places ratchet straps did the job of pulling the lines into place with ease. Scroll over to third photo to see the difference between tensioned and slack lines. Also the last photo in this series gives you a little preview of how sick the shadows are going to be!

Unfortunately some of my concrete anchors are failing. Probably because the high strength sika adhesive I wanted to use didn’t work out due to the extreme hot weather we are having. I had to use some regular 5-min epoxy and I guess that’s not strong enough or because the heat from welding burned too much of the epoxy away.

I’ll be addressing that tonight before I tension the uprights so we can move onto section C. Going to try to put the Sika adhesive in the fridge to cool it down before using so it doesn’t cure so fast.

Lets hope it works!

#unusmundusproject
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#artfabrication #artinstallation #fablife #weldlife #womenwhoweld #bigart #largescaleart #artexhibition #metalworking #femalefabricators #linework #buildbig #bethlehempa #lehighvalley #bethlehemsteel #metalworker #pa @black.stallion.bsx

Hell of a team I have on my side! We got the first

Hell of a team I have on my side!
We got the first section up and welded in place this weekend for the largest piece in the exhibition.

This section worked well for learning and dialing in the methods we will use for the install of the rest of the sections. It was a fun process and a joy to tackle with such a killer crew!

Saturday was the first time really handling the steel with the intention of final install. Section B, is very different from the rest as it is a pair of planes. In some ways this set of planes is more complicated than the complex curves because they are not as forgiving in terms of tension accuracy and linearity. It's far easier to see an error in a plane than in a curve built from 24 lines. And this is the first thing everyone will see when they walk in so it is important!

This section also determined where the brazed copper couplers, which are used to connect each 20ft section of line, will fall. If the starting point or the bends in this section were off even by a small amount, that error would be multiplied as it travels down the 180ft of steel in both directions and the copper nodes would not line up. Which would drive me crazy.

But thankfully it all went up with relative ease and looks just as I had been imagining it would all these months. It truly is an incredible thing to watch your vision take form.

Couldn't have done it without these amazing people by my side. ❤️
Now time to prepare for section C.
The curves!

#unusmundusproject
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#metalworking #artfabrication #artinstallation #linework #fablife #largescaleart #buildbig #femalefabricators #womenwhoweld #metalfabrication #weldlife #artexhibition #bethlehempa #lehighvalley #lineworkart #geometricart #geometry #mixedmetals #steel #buildtogether #lines #process

Over these next months leading up to my art exhibi

Over these next months leading up to my art exhibition, between the build updates, I will do my best to translate my artistic process and philosophy. I am doing this because writing is a critical process I use to further define myself. Through language, I choose and align the words that most accurately represent my inner dialogue and in turn, I better understand who I am.

Language is incredible in that way. Over the years, especially while learning Spanish, the significance of speech and text have shifted much of my growth. Not being able to communicate thoroughly made what parts I could hold far greater value and through the better understanding of that value it created a new dynamic when given the opportunity to be completely understood.

And so I write again,
after a long period of silence.
And with each passage I complete,
the journey to a greater understanding of self is underfoot.

#unusmundusproject
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#guatemala #lagodeatitlan #selfdiscovery #artisticprocess #artfabrication #language #understanding #selflove #lifephilosophy #livedeep #travelingartist #mototraveler #femaleartists #bethlehempa #artexhibition #volcanos #balance

We’ll be doing lines all week! …and by that

We’ll be doing lines all week!

…and by that I mean cleaning steel rods of their rust and mill scale you naughty, naughty person! Lol ok I’ll try and not make that bad joke again…no promises.

The first batch of steel rods have been stewing in vinegar for a few days awaiting the arrival of my @sculptnouveau metal wax and cleaner. Today these two babes came out to help set up scaffolding to make treatment of the rods easier so they can all be worked in without bending over. We tested out the first rod and the rust and scale came of with a light spray of water so I’m super confident about the method I have chosen for the treatment of the steel.

The wax just arrived so this evening and tomorrow @nolan_madaus , a local metalworker who reached out to me on Instagram to help with the project, and I will be treating the first batch of rods and soldering up section B for install this Saturday.

Anyone else who wants to come out tomorrow to do some lines Friday July 23 I’ll be there all day…or for that matter ANYDAY THIS WEEK hit me up!

Link to location in bio!

Thanks so much for the help @saimabobaima @southardjeanne and @nolan_madaus ❤️!

#unusmundusproject
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#metalwork #metal #sculptnouveau #womenwhowork #artinstallation #bethlehempa #largescaleart #artfabrication #doinglines #femalefabricators

As many of you have heard there is a serious issue

As many of you have heard there is a serious issue these days with wood supply... that problem stretches into the metal world as well. And copper, glass... and well basically everything I need for the show.

Everyday I run into issues with acquiring materials or finding out what I need are 10x the price I normally pay. Like yesterday, when I went to order steel for the second largest piece in the show and the price somehow jumped to nearly twice what it was a week ago which was already high! Quotes only last from the moment they are given and so who knows what it would have been if I waited any longer since this problem won't be going away anytime soon.

With this all said, I have run into some material setbacks for the large linework piece. I need 250 copper couplers and some specialty metal wax which all won't arrive till Thursday. Friday, there will be a huge effort to get all the needed lines prepped for section B and C for installation on Saturday. I will get at least B up but hopefully part of C which is the most challenging section with the complex curves. Check the photo of the diagram to understand what sections I'm talking about.

In the meantime these past few days, as I wait for those parts to come in and for my overpriced metal to arrive for the second large work I have begun fabricating a few of the “movable” sculptures which will be installed onsite closer to the exhibition opening. Also I built a large vinegar bath to soak all my steel and remove the rust and mill scale easily for wax treatment and dialed in my tension control method for tensioning the steel lines.

Setbacks aren't really setbacks when you have so much to do… it's just a reconfiguration of priorities set by the availability of materials.

#unusmundusproject
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#metalwork #artistslife #femalefabricator #womenwhoweld #fablife #fabrication #artinstallation #artfabrication #dreamitbuildit #alwaysworking #beflexible #shoplife #sculpture #exhibition #bethlehempa #lehighvalley #allentownpa #steel

String template up! Now how will I turn those stri

Some of you may be wondering why I didn't start th

Some of you may be wondering why I didn't start the exhibition build earlier. The timeframe I am working with and what I have planned don't exactly fit together nicely. I intended to begin fabrication months ago but a call made by the local zoning officer back in April quickly put a haul to that.

Not only was my show in jeopardy but the officer was claiming that our use of the workshop space where I built my studio and where my dad runs his business did not fit within the intended use of the zone. This area is zoned Planned Industrial/Office or PIO, in April we were told that we had 14 days to vacate the space or meet the deadline for the application for a zoning board hearing which was only a few days away.

To make a long story short, it was crushing. The studio, the one thing holding me together and the thing I depended on for the exhibition, was put on the line.

That month between the application deadline, which we barely made, to the hearing was a true test of my devotion. I nearly gave up so many times. A voice in my head taunted me…leave this town behind, give up my show, the studio and accept the state of my broken foot. Accept that the worst had taken me and fighting was futile.

But a small voice told me that would be a mistake. That if I did that I would fall further into the darkness that surrounded me. To give into something that so deeply threatened my sense of self would be to hand over the keys of my own agency. It told me, quietly, that I needed to face it. So I stayed and I dished out the money for the expensive application fee and got a lawyer.

And I fought.
I stood up in front of the board and told them my story. I told them who I was, how important this exhibition was to me. Even when the words didn't seem to match the broken person I felt inside, I said them. I let the small voice speak for me.

And I won.

The zoning board agreed with us that our workshop fit within the PIO requirements and they supported the exhibition. They were even excited and said they would come to see it.

And the small voice grew.
So even with the pressure of a shortened timeline, I have come too far to let it stop me.

#unusmundusproject

Each piece I will build for my exhibition plays a

Each piece I will build for my exhibition plays a role in the story I am telling through 𝚫S.

I will introduce each piece, each character of this show, as I build them.
The main character, the largest piece, is the most challenging one to build as it is the most defining work in the show.

It is made up of 24 steel lines, one for each hour of the day.
Time is not linear even if we try to box it in as such.
Compression and rarefaction shift the moments of our day depending on the value which we place on each passing measurement. The form the hours take defines the structure of our lives. Without purpose or direction, without points and position, without definition the geometry of our existence cannot take shape. Each decade, each year, month, week, day, hour, second, moment we have the choice to decide where our lifelines go.

This piece is a representation of these choices and the finite amount of time that we have to make them.

This year I have felt without purpose for longer than I can remember.
Perhaps the building of this piece will help guide my points back into position and be a map for those also lost.

#unusmundusproject
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@thingsovertime #metalworking #artinstallation #artexibition #thingsovertime #linework #geometry #lehighvalley #bethlehempa #largescaleart #time #timekeeping #spacetime #physics #math #geometry #womenwhoweld #femalefabricators #womenartists #urbexart

Layout, drilling, anchors, jigs... measurements an

Layout, drilling, anchors, jigs... measurements and preparation takes longer than the execution for basically every piece I'm building for the exhibition. If I get my jigs right then the process of putting up all these 220 lines for the first piece will be rapid, organized and methodical. Sloppy execution will result in inaccurate geometry which will ruin the work.

Proper angles, line tension, weld alignments, node symmetry. It would be easier if it was just a fabrication challenge but this is art and so not only must it accomplish the technical aspects of the piece but its entirety has to look good while doing it.

After putting up the first line this weekend it was clear the method of execution I had planned would not be exact enough.

I guess I should introduce this first piece so you can better understand what the hell I’m talking about?!

You'll have to bear with me here as I get myself back up to speed with this posting thing. After so many months away I haven't found my rhythm yet.

Ok let me introduce the first piece….tomorrow.

#unusmundusproject
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#linework #fabrication #womenwhoweld #femalefabricators #bethlehempa #largescaleart #buildbig #metalworking #dreamitbuildit #artexhibition #lehighvalley

That bar of angle I'm holding marks the first piec

That bar of angle I'm holding marks the first piece fit and welded into exhibition space!

Today I will bend and weld the first steel rods onto that material which will be the start of a seriously long progression of linework that will move through space.
24 lines of 180 feet and 4,320 feet total to be exact.

This will be the largest piece of the exhibition so I best get it done first!
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#unusmundusproject #linework #metalworking #womenwhoweld #femalefabricators #largescaleart #fabrication #bigart #artexhibition #dreamitbuildit #lines #geometry #steel

Clean up and prep day at the site! My mom took the

Clean up and prep day at the site! My mom took the summer off from teaching to be part of the exhibition build. Maybe I’ll even get her welding! She’s excited as you can tell by the photo ❤️

Ordered a half ton of steel yesterday which will arrive tomorrow.
Acquired scaffolding, thanks Penn Perlite Corp!
Found generator, thanks @dynamic_metal_innovations @alumaflowers !
Got big compressor and 220 buzz box welder, thanks chuck!
Cleared site for the first giant sculpture, thanks @southardjeanne !

And what did I say the other day!?… this exhibition will only be possible with the support of the amazing community here in my hometown!
And a literal fuckton of hard work…technical term.

It’s gonna be one HELL of a summer y’all.
Buckle up!
Kickstands up!
…or whatever phase fits what your ride.

#unusmundusproject #artinstallation #artfabrication #metalworking #exhibition #bethlehempa #lehighvalley #bigart #largescale #dreamitdoit

Before I get deep into my exhibition build I will $Before I get deep into my exhibition build I will give you all an update on two important things many of you have asked me about. My eye and foot injuries and my plans to get back to my life and my DR650, The Phoenix, in Central America. Today I am going to see an eye surgeon about the damage to my right eye from a metalworking accident last year. It’s still damaged so he is going to see if I can get it corrected with a laser to return my vision. Perhaps I'll know more on that today. Now about my foot. Turns out I totally shattered my navicular bone in my right foot in last year's motorcycle accident. I still can't walk on it right and it still hurts… it's been 9 months. I have what is called a non-union fracture now. I can say it has greatly improved since I got my brace and started a new treatment I finally got approved for but it's a very difficult topic for me. If these new treatments, which need to be done daily for 3-6 months do not fix it, I will need surgery which means I will have to be off it completely for three months. I will know the progress of that healing or lack thereof… by the end of my exhibition in October. The disability and potential lifelong repercussions of this injury have scared the shit out of me to say the least. I would have left to go back to my travels and my bike in Guatemala months ago but the need to properly treat this foot, in hopes of complete healing, have taken first priority. Yes, I will be building my exhibition which I recognize is a risk considering the demanding nature of the work plus high scaffolding but I can only bend so much for so long. I cant have my life and passion on hold forever, some risk is worth it and I will take extra care during fabrication. A wise friend, @wheelcarver ❤️ noticed me yelling and cursing at my foot to heal at a period of time this winter where I was deeply broken and said to me, “No, no Chelsea. Be good to it, love it. Tell it how much you appreciate its work and value where it has taken you. Then it will heal with more power.” I love you foot! Thank you for all the wonderful adventures we have been on! Excited for the many more that await us. #unusmundusproject$

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Who am I?
ART
TRAVEL
EXCHANGE
Support the Project!
Connect

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