Scaffolding taking down

On October 1st the contractors removed the scaffolding that has surrounded the Arch since construction started. For the first time, viewers could see the whole arch at once, and previously hidden elments such as the finial shown below.

The Mandarin language characters in the centre panel say Ottawa Chinatown. The removed scaffolding reveals the four mythical beasts -- two at the base of each column -- that guard the Arch. The beasts are a combination of lion and tiger and other ferocious animals. The two guardian lion sculptures have not yet been exposed, they are still covered with protective wood hoarding.

The electrical utility poles at the left are non-functional, ie they do not carry electricity. The electric service stops at the corner of Cambridge. These are left-over poles that haven't been removed because the city-owned utility wants too much money to remove them. Ottawa remains one of the more curious places in the world, in  that it finds overhead wiring inoffensive and indeed features it on otherwise totally rebuilt and landscaped streets.

Decorative painting closeups

There is a band of lacey filligree panels across the bottom of the arch spanning the street. In this picture the horizontal base is not yet painted, but if you see the Arch today, it being painted as beautifully as the other segments.

Phoenix, symbol of rebirth, fertility, the female.

The artisans painting the Arch must be finished by Friday, as they fly home to Beijing on Saturday. Next week, the last of the scaffolding will come down.

There is still a lot of prep work to do before the opening. There are the new-style Chinatown street lights, floodlights, uncrating the lions, etc.

Lions fighting

detail of the panel with two lights fighting (or playing ...) over a golden ball. Double click to enlarge.

The roof, up close

The Ottawa Chinatown Royal Arch is a royal arch because it has nine roofs, symbolizing eternal life and eternal reign of the emperor. The roofs are made of glazed roof tiles, as are the many figurative elements. These will not be visible in any detail from the ground, except with a telephoto lens.

It is now one month to official unveiling of the Arch, the long building process is drawing towards its culmination.

dragon motifs along the roof peak

the detailed story lines are intriguing, complex like the medieval cathedral stuatuary in Europe

The tiles are cemented together with red mortar. Double click to enlarge any picture to see more detail.

With a human in the picture, the scale of the pieces becomes more apparent

End of a "wooden" beam is capped with a glazed figure

Silhouetted against the sky, figures journey forever

Gold confetti

As the gold foil is applied to the arch, the carrier strip of plain paper is discarded. The little strip of paper flutters away in the breeze.

Most of them flutter to land on the scaffolding underfoot. But a goodly number blow away in the breeze, leaving the downwind area lightly scattered with little strips of paper and tiny bits of gold leaf. Also shown on the scaffolding are pots of paint, solvents, tea infusions, cheesecloth, etc.

All the time I was on the Arch, one worker spent his time sweeping up the little pieces with a short broom. By time he was three quarters of his way along one side of the Arch, a fresh blizzard of paper bits was already descending onto the scaffolding behind him.

The workers draped large sheets of plastic over the area they were working in if they were on the up-wind side of the Arch, to prevent their gold foil from blowing away. Those on the down-wind side stuffed bits of cardboard in the nearby openings through the Arch to deflect the wind that funnelled through the gaps and blew away their bits of foil.

Gold Leaf

Many of the elements of the Arch are decorated in real gold. The gold is applied in a foil format (not paint). The incredibly thin sheets of gold leaf come on carier sheets of heavier parchment. The artisan uses wooden tweezers to pick up 1" x 5" strips of gold. Each larger sheet is cut on site down to the smaller 1x5 size:

Artisan holds the sheet over the area to be foiled. He then rubs the backing to transfer the gold foil to the arch:

The carrier sheet flutters away in the breeze. Notice how the gold leaf covers too much area and is not yet the final shape:

Applying the gold foil to the scroll work on a piece of (concrete) bamboo:
                 

After pressing the foil into place, the excess bits are wiped off with a piece of cheesecloth. I caught some of the bits waffing in the air, and ate them. Gold leaf (presumably in small quantities) is supposedly good for you, I learned that from a Vegas chef at a cooking lesson where we applied bits of gold leaf to our Japanese icecream deserts:

The finished scroll work. It should stay bright for about 100 years. Rain will wash over it and keep it clean:

Gold leaf sheets are available at craft and art supply stores for those who want to try this at home.

Close-up pictures, painting the Arch

August 24, 2010

Painting is still in progress, and will be finished by the end of September. Here are some pictures of the painted sections "in progress". Some sections are still getting their first coats of paint, others are multicoloured with gold leaf.

Double click on any photo to enlarge it on your monitor screen.

gold leaf applied to upper panels but not yet trimmed

supporting decorative "woodwork" with its first coats of paint but not yet gold leafed

upper part has gold leaf but not trimmed, lower section has leaf that has been trimmed and outlined in white.





more pictures tomorrow !

Some colour appears on the Arch

Artisans have been in Ottawa for weeks now, preparing the Arch for the final decorative finishes.

Some bits of finish are now apparent, like the red and gray near the topmost roof section:

If you peer through the green netting that wraps the site, a bright yellow panel is visible on the north side:

Some paint on the eaves of the roof section. Double click to enlarge to see details: