Building the frame for the canvas, along with the two supporting easels, began recently with my good college friend Matt Hauch. He was an early supporter of my ArtPrize concept and we’d made plans to get together at some point to work together on some part of the project. He drove up from his home is southwestern Michigan on a Saturday in early August and we spent some time going over my ideas on materials and the building process. Matt had some good input and I created a short shopping list of what we needed to get started.
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- Two of the concept images I created and marked up before Matt and I went to my local home improvement store.
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- We tied the two long 12′ 2′ x 4″ pieces to the top of my vehicle and the shorter 8′ boards went inside and extended between us.
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- The 8′ boards consisted of 2″ x 4″ ones for the canvas frame and 1″ x 4″ boards for the easels.
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- Using my father-in-laws workshop and saw really made the job much easier. He passed away in September ’22 and would have loved to have helped with the project.
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- The finished cut lumber arranged for the two easels.
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- My dog Molly proudly stands near the finished and semi-assembled pieces. Waiting to finish the full assembly until closer to the event.
My father-in-law Bob, who passed away in September of ’22, had an amazing workshop that he spent countless hours in. It seemed like he was either working on his snow mobile or lawn mower during most of those hours. He was one of those guys who was highly organized and “by-the-book” when it came to maintaining his workshop and tools. I got an up-close look at that when he built my son’s Pinewood Derby car when Adam was in Boy Scouts years ago. It was far better than anything I could have built.
The workshop was still like it was last September, so I checked in with my mother-in-law Katie about using it. Once Matt and I were at the store, we spent time (probably too much) looking at all the hardware and fastener options. After picking out the hinges, screws, bolts, and handles we needed, we headed to the paint area where we looked at swatches. From there we went to the lumber area to look at 2″ x 4″ and 1″ x 4″ lumber. I’d first planned on using 2″ x 4″ studs for everything, but the idea of lighter easels (which I’ll have to move each day in and out of the venue I’ll be at) sounded appealing. We picked and checked each piece to check for quality and straightness. After tying up the 12′ pieces to the top of my vehicle, and putting the rest inside, we headed south of Grand Rapids to my father-in-laws.
Measuring, cutting and drilling the pieces took longer than expected due to rechecking and a few mistakes, though Bob’s saw and drills made easy work of it. I don’t do much carpentry so I lack the confidence my father-in-law Bob would have had. We eventually finished the pieces and prepped them for future final assembly. It was a great day with Matt and a good start to the build!