Will Cavanaugh took this photo of me sitting on the Tractor Furnace that Steve Coles built for the performances. We did a test run of the furnace on Friday and then made alterations to it and ran it again on Sat. The addition of an extra 8-9 inches of stack made a significant difference in the performance of the furnace. The second run was with the generator, so we know that system works as well. Looks like this little rig is ready for tonight’s festivities. I spent yesterday morning trying, without success, to prepare molds for my performance. There were just too many people using the limited amt. of equipment to get anything done. I then went to Talsi to help Ojars with his installation and to epoxy the “Leipia Lightening” casting into the stone base. That sculpture, which I did during Karlis Alianis’s first Iron Symposium, is part of the exhibition in Talsi and will stay at the museum as part of the permanent collection. The afternoon was devoted entirely to the demonstration pours which were expertly managed by Christian Benefiel and Araan Schmidt. While the demo pours were taking place, I was touring the park with Ojars and the other performance artists to set the exact locations, schedule and procedures for tonight’s events. I hit the sack early but paid for it by waking up at 4 AM and then not getting any solid sleep after that. Not the best way to start a 24 hour day! I am sure glad to have the image to post on the blog as all text gets a little boring. Will try to post a few tweets today if I get time. Am concentrating on getting my performance wood molds done before the crowd gets back from the Talsi opening at noon. Lots to do and little time. More later.