Metal

I smell of metal or more accurately, I stink of Iron. And I now have a tiny insight to what it must be for aerialists to love their large, impractical geometric shapes. Moving them from gig to gig, no wonder they are so strong. Metal is heavy, perhaps I’m stating the obvious, I’m stating the obvious but I appreciate that mundane fact in a whole new way after the last 5 days.

I’ve been at Pangottic HQ, in their studio/workshop, helping build being a general dogsbody for Matt who is chief engineer on Project_Vee.

Project_Vee is a collaboration between CircusGeeks and Pangottic. It’s a chance for us to bring to life a prop/structure/apparatus that we have only seen on video and love, a chance to push our technical skill in a whole new direction (literally) and a chance for me for to try more outdoor work.

I’m in uncharted water but in safe hands, a dangerous sentance that overuses cliches but is also reflective of the situation. Matt knows building; his last couple of shows have been feats of engineering extravagance. But over the last few days we’ve both been scratching our heads. For me it’s when I don’t know which gloves I should wear; welding gloves or builder gloves? And for Matt, will the stress load at 38 degrees be ok for the 2786KG winch or not? Each learning in our own way.

Metal dust gets everywhere, in your clothes, in your hair, under your finger tips and on your water bottle. Projects like this bring take you to new places, places you never thought about, places you thought would have disappeared, unneeded in 21st century Britian. Worlds that you don’t belong to, fascinating to see over the counter of a shop or at the entrance to a yard.

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Project_Vee is the adaptation of a famous (at least to the juggling world) act, making it possible for us to perform this spectacle, out doors. Allowing new audiences to experience a juggling treat.

Metal takes effort to cut, energy and sharp blades. It’s noisy and punishes you if you’re not paying attention. It takes ages to clean up and is a pain to join. Welding scares me.

But now we’re halfway through the build and despite the graft I’m like an excited kid on Christmas Eve.

Back to building next week.

Project_Vee premiers June 2015, and we can’t wait!