Finally - An Update on the Hinaki Sculpture!

The final couple of weeks in China were ABSOLUTELY CRAZY! The countdown was on to get the sculpture finished in time for the big opening ceremony....quite a task considering the scale of the sculpture. The moulders officially started work on the completed clay sculpture two weeks before the due date and although we were assured this was plenty of time, it soon became clear to everyone that the task at hand was far more intricate and lengthy than we thought. Check out the pics below to see how the process evolved....

The moulders prepare the clay form for the application of plaster of paris.

Applying the plaster of paris.

The plaster is set and now the labourious task of removing the clay and steel eels from within the plaster mould begins

The difficulty with the mould became one of fragility where one wrong move would turn whole sections of eels into dust. Climbing in and out of the sculpture was frought with danger!

As the team realised how much work lay ahead to get the sculpture finished it was all hands on deck. Janine and I jumped in to help the moulders where we could but the long days I was doing were nothing compared to what they did for us. These folks worked 24/7 in the final days to get the sculpture finished. We were absolutely and totally humbled by what they were prepared to do for us, which was way beyond the call of duty. These photos speak a thousand words.....thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!

And yes, we did some work too! Strutting our dusty selves at the end of a long morning...this photo was taken after a night with no sleep and an hour before we had to be at the official opening ceremony!