Smoking Figure part 15

Back to work on the Smoking block today. I mentioned last time that I was leaning toward putting back the cornerstone that had been there since last summer. So yesterday, while on various errands, I documented a few area cornerstones. Downloaded the photos last night and sketched out letters, numbers, and text designs. Today I brought those sketches to the Studio. The base of the wall will now be concrete/marble, with the cornerstone as part of that. Using the original perspective lines as a guide, I put in the cornerstone engraving on the right side. For my design, I combined the layout of one from a local church with the font from one on a former Masonic temple. Needing the space to draw, I removed part of the masking tape I had along the right edge of the skirt, "erased" the old ink with sandpaper, and used a marker to indicate the new edge.

There is one potential issue, which I had forgotten about since I had drawn the previous numbers last summer. There is a weak spot in the block- a place where there is a gap in the plywood core and just a thin layer of the veneer over the top. (some of it came away with the masking tape) This area can be seen above, a slightly darker mark that goes from the edge of the skirt, through the lower left leg of the A, and ending near the top of the 1. If I'm careful, while cutting I can reinforce the A from underneath (sliding splinters and glue under the veneer) and retain the surface shape. Even if it's a little ragged, I can use it as a guide and fix the edges on the print itself. And worst case scenario, I remove the AD from the block and just leave the date. Next time I'll deal with the lettering in the window.