I’m calling this the roller coaster. I made it this week as one of the many steps towards constructing my skeleton sculpture.

This sculpture, which is taking me ages, has 72 pieces that each have to be shaped on a bandsaw then shaped again with a belt sander. I then have to smooth and paint and fix together each component, one piece at a time. It will have a backbone which is where the rollercoaster comes in. I need to get a smooth curve on the spine, firstly like the keel of a boat and secondly like the sinuous curve of a fish swimming through water. The roller coaster gives me the exaggerated keel and I will follow a pencil line on the hardboard surface as I construct to achieve the fish movement. So its really a cradle to hold the sculpture until it is all glued and fixed together. I can burn it later.

So for the past 3 or 4 weeks I have been sawing 72 pieces of tulip wood. For a bit of light relief I made one of these.

Perhaps it will turn up in the final exhibition!