My new studio… the day of the Big Pour! As we hear the loud rumbling of the cement truck coming down our country road, pulse quickening, heart beating a little faster. The moment has arrived. Soon my handiwork will be put to the test!

It’s early morning, August 2nd, 2012. My son, David, who has worked with forming has come from Edmonton to help. My partner, Shari, and fellow Denman Islander, John Isbister, complete our crew of 4. It’s the first time I’ve built forms myself having only previously observed the process. You want to be confident that you have everything shored up properly. Cement displaces 200 lbs. pressure per square foot so when you have walls 3 feet tall, you’re looking at an immense amount of weight and pressure. You don’t want anything getting away on you as you’ve ordered only a little more than you need – and in our case the truck comes by ferry from off-Island.

Creating something with cement seems so permanent, yet of course in the larger scheme of things it is, like everything else, non-permanent, fleeting. But it’s not that you get philosophical about it when the mass of heavy, wet, gritty goo is moving down the trough from the truck towards the forms that you’ve built! It is one of those times you just have to go with the flow. OK, ya that’s corny, but really, when the cement starts to flow, you have to work WITH it and be fully present. It’s an intense, challenging process.

As if in a time warp, little more than an hour has passed. And with everything straight, square and sound, you’re done! You listen to the empty truck as it chugs its way back up the road, again you hear the sounds of the birds in the forest. Now you can take some deep breaths. You sit back and enjoy the immense sense of accomplishment.