Wow! So much has happened so quickly and time has flown by! Let's begin with our de-molding day. Two days after the pour we were
ready to take off the mother mold and release the cast concrete
underneath. We were careful to keep the concrete moist and protected
from the elements so that there were no sudden changes in
humidity/temperature while we waited for the big day. The
Richmond News offered to come to help us document this exciting part of the process. You can find a link to their story at
http://www.richmond-news.com/Richmond+students+create+with+school+mind/8363275/story.html
Our students, Jasmine and a crew from our grounds and maintenance team worked tirelessly for hours to remove the molds and reveal the
cement underneath. The process involved first sliding the molds off of the sand and onto a wooden board. Then many hands worked to flip the heavy piece so that we could access the hard outer shell and begin the process of unbolting it. After all the hardware was removed, Jasmine used a chisel to separate the hard pieces and reveal the softer pink rubber mold underneath. Next Jasmine carefully peeled the inner mold off to reveal the detailed, now concrete, objects underneath. We then cleaned and reassembled the molds so that we could potentially make more benches. We quickly covered each piece with burlap sacks and
sprayed them with a hose to help further protect the concrete from
cracking.
Unfortunately, we discovered that there was cracking already. We were unsure of the extent and the reason for the damage, but as we continued to release each mold it was clear there was a problem with the concrete setting around the rebar suspension system. Looking at the images you can see fissures appear at the same spot on each bench which gave us our first clue. They each appear right above where the clamps, wooden pieces and wire were placed to keep the heavy rebar - commonly used in cement to add extra strength - from falling to the bottom of the mold (see previous post). It did not dampen the day for us as the cracks were not wide, the pieces seemed solid and we thought we could simply reinforce the benches to make them work at this point. There were some more minor issues with tiny air bubbles in the book
stacks and the pop can did not come out in one piece, but we felt we
could deal with these things. Just seeing each bench revealed was like magic. It still took our breath away to see how clear objects like the banana or the gum wrapper came out.
After the initial joy of the day passed, we had to reflect on what the reality of the cracking meant. The benches could not be counted on to stand up over time or function properly. With our cold winters it would mean that water could easily get into the cracks and freeze, turning our beautiful benches into rubble in no time. Jasmine was understandably not comfortable with delivering less than perfect pieces and after all the hard work and learning we all desperately wanted this project to end happily. So we were incredibly relieved when the City of Richmond Public Art Program said they would cover the cost of a second pour as our budget had run dry. It was a generous solution to a difficult situation. Jasmine launched a thorough review of the first process and consulted additional industry experts so they could pinpoint the reason for the cracks and how we could avoid them in the second pour. We really thought we had allowed for every possible variable through our first intensive consultation and planning process from the first pour, but as so often happens in art, something unexpected happens. We were so very lucky to have a second chance to get it right, and we were not going to waste it.
Wow! So much has happened so quickly and time has flown by! Let's begin with our de-molding day. Two days after the pour we were
ready to take off the mother mold and release the cast concrete
underneath. We were careful to keep the concrete moist and protected
from the elements so that there were no sudden changes in
humidity/temperature while we waited for the big day. The
Richmond News offered to come to help us document this exciting part of the process. You can find a link to their story at http://www.richmond-news.com/Richmond+students+create+with+school+mind/8363275/story.html
Our students, Jasmine and a crew from our grounds and maintenance team worked tirelessly for hours to remove the molds and reveal the
cement underneath. The process involved first sliding the molds off of the sand and onto a wooden board. Then many hands worked to flip the heavy piece so that we could access the hard outer shell and begin the process of unbolting it. After all the hardware was removed, Jasmine used a chisel to separate the hard pieces and reveal the softer pink rubber mold underneath. Next Jasmine carefully peeled the inner mold off to reveal the detailed, now concrete, objects underneath. We then cleaned and reassembled the molds so that we could potentially make more benches. We quickly covered each piece with burlap sacks and
sprayed them with a hose to help further protect the concrete from
cracking.
Unfortunately, we discovered that there was cracking already. We were unsure of the extent and the reason for the damage, but as we continued to release each mold it was clear there was a problem with the concrete setting around the rebar suspension system. Looking at the images you can see fissures appear at the same spot on each bench which gave us our first clue. They each appear right above where the clamps, wooden pieces and wire were placed to keep the heavy rebar - commonly used in cement to add extra strength - from falling to the bottom of the mold (see previous post). It did not dampen the day for us as the cracks were not wide, the pieces seemed solid and we thought we could simply reinforce the benches to make them work at this point. There were some more minor issues with tiny air bubbles in the book
stacks and the pop can did not come out in one piece, but we felt we
could deal with these things. Just seeing each bench revealed was like magic. It still took our breath away to see how clear objects like the banana or the gum wrapper came out. 
After the initial joy of the day passed, we had to reflect on what the reality of the cracking meant. The benches could not be counted on to stand up over time or function properly. With our cold winters it would mean that water could easily get into the cracks and freeze, turning our beautiful benches into rubble in no time. Jasmine was understandably not comfortable with delivering less than perfect pieces and after all the hard work and learning we all desperately wanted this project to end happily. So we were incredibly relieved when the City of Richmond Public Art Program said they would cover the cost of a second pour as our budget had run dry. It was a generous solution to a difficult situation. Jasmine launched a thorough review of the first process and consulted additional industry experts so they could pinpoint the reason for the cracks and how we could avoid them in the second pour. We really thought we had allowed for every possible variable through our first intensive consultation and planning process from the first pour, but as so often happens in art, something unexpected happens. We were so very lucky to have a second chance to get it right, and we were not going to waste it.
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