The Muse gets her blanket of groundcover

This is the groundcover which will act as a blanket for the Muse.  It is Asiatic Jasmine.  It has been grown in flats and will be installed like grass sod.  I believe (I could be wrong) that these plants were grown in about 2 weeks. The plants are evergreen and will at some point, have tiny white flowers.  Julie Iooss procurred the plants for the project at-
Rode Groundcovers
13050 West Highway 318
Williston, Florida 32696
1(800)448-4974
info@rodegroundcover.com

Installation begins at the top of the Muse.  The sections are pinned to the earth.

It was a lot of work to put all the plants in place.  Some people (I helped)carried the trays from the truck to the berm, others put them in place, staggering them like a course of bricks.

The Muse was very patient as her blanket was applied.  I don't know if those pins hurt but she never said anything ;)

The blanket is getting there, but not quite finished.  We're waiting for another truckload of plants.

There is discussion as to how far down to bring the Jasmine.  The rest of the area will be grass sod.

Julie Iooss, Rondale Silcot and Rocky Lane  prepare the back of the Muse for Jasmine groundcover.




The groundcover is almost finished, just a couple of places in the back....

 

Grass sod was added around the Muse - the areas around the head and hands was kept in grass to make that area more inviting to people as the idea of the piece is to sit in her hand so she can whisper inspiration to you.

A closeup of the Muse.  The hands and side of her head appear darker because the sod and groundcover are irrigated regularly.  Stone becomes a bit darker when wet.

The Muse with kids...

People strolling by looking the "Lady by the Lake" as someone called her.

Earthwork for the Muse

It took a while to get the arms in proper relation to the head. I have to consider the hands position to the face as the Muse is to be looking at the person sitting in the hand.  The left arm needs to be in a correct position - I have to consider where the upper arm is and where the elbow should be so that the end result looks natural.

The knee is then put into place.  I walk all around the sculpture to make sure the knee is placed properly, coming out from the leg and hip which as yet, does not exist.

At last the limestone sections are in their proper relation. Next comes the earth.

Many truckloads of earth were brought in to create the body of the Muse.

An irrigation system is then added to the earthwork.  It will irrigate the groundcover and sod at regular intervals.

The soil is being compacted.



I am sitting next to the builders of the Muse (all the way over to the left). The Orlando Sentinel had a photo of me doing a little work scraping down some of the dirt and gave the impression I had done all the work of shaping the body.  Well, I want to correct that error.  These are the guys who created the body of the Muse.  They are from the left, next to me -Alvin Gilreath, Calvin Kuntz, Sharod Smith, Rocky Lane, Tim Johnson, James Bennett, Pat Coffin and Fred Walker. They had a very intuitive feel for creating her, I had to do little direction. They were a great to work with, many thanks!



Irrigation is added in front of the Muse....

and she gets a refreshing shower.  Next will come the groundcover.

This amazing Live Oak tree is located just north of downtown Orlando.