for many weeks now i have been working on our new bathroom. at the same time i am working on the fishermanproject and two new projects: "tulips for rotterdam" and the "ducks". the bathroom has been a challenging experience. it is nice to work with your hands and concentrate on the feelings that kind of work generates. doing things almost with your eyes closed without thinkingg, almost automatically is very relaxing and good for your general physical condition.
working on the fisherman and the other projects is brain consuming and relaxing for your muscles. in general it is rewarding to see concrete results, to see what you have done and what you are working on. with the bathroom that is easy, everyday there is clearly visible progres. with the fisherman and the other projects that progress is hardly visible until the project is under construction. in both cases the work deals with pushung the limits. the fisherman was on purpose realised without money, just to remain independent from others, just to see how far you can get without the power of money and the power of that what money can buy. there was and still is no money and the work goes on. the bathroom is a different storey and deals with the impossiblity to visiualize three dimensional spaces, objects, corridors in a three dimensional way. of course you can build a kind of three dimensional construction in your mind which allows objects or elements to get a place and a shape. but building in a three dimensional way should be done by building in a three dimensional way. and that means full scale building with elements, tools and others, who come and go and react on what is happening. slowly in that way the bathroom comes into existence.
i am working mainly with plywood (60 x 120 cm), 2" x 3' wood, 5 x 50 mm, 5 x 70 mm and 5 x 100 mm screws, a hitachi powersaw and a hitachi screwdriver. i used dewalt tools but did not like them. with the materials you can easily built three dimensional structures and if necessary take them apart again and use the material in a different place and or order. as soon as the three structure is visible the next step in the proces can start and that means the surface material. the structure is quite raw and does not look good. it is only meant as the load bearing construction and the basic three dimensional shape. in or on this structure water, gas, heating and light can be installed. the main concentration is in this way of building on the three dimensional structure. once that is ok, a different story starts, what kind of material, structure' s & textures, etc are of interest. these can be easily appllied on the rough material. i found that working in this way offers lots of flexibility and opens doors to unexpected shapes and designs. of course drawings are necessary for the building applications. with professional drawing programs these drawings can be made afterwards. for the apllications and necessary calculations early contacts with the authorities is necessary. more late