The Gate
What do you do when you have two prey animals living under the same roof as a volatile life force? You keep them separated by multiple doors and rooms, never to meet.
The prey are my girlfriend's rabbits. The volatile life force, her cat. In an ideal world, the animals would be able to look but not touch, see but not eat... So, I built a gate.
And eventually, prey and life force "met." It was better than the moon landing (kidding, nothing is better than the moon landing). And then they were kind of over it, but I guess that was the point. Even when you can't visit the greener grass, it's enough to know what's on the other side.
Construction: wood, hardware, wire mesh, coffee, food coloring, shellac
1. The segregated housemates.
2. My very serious schematics and shopping lists. A special shout out to the woman at Lowe's who called me "sir" twice when I was shopping with my dad. Cue a feelgood father-son construction montage.
3. Top: These brackets were the one change my dad made to my initial design. I hate it when he's right. Middle: A hinge. Bottom: Can I show you what I'm proudest of? This liftable hinge that makes it possible to separate the five-panel gate into three- and two-panel gates for various doors, closets, and hallways. Even I can't believe it.
4. The connected gate just after the last screw was placed.
5. The gate in its two parts. Functional and edible, as seen here.
6. THE moment.
Some photos taken by Molly Savard