I've finally faced the fact that mine may not be a house that is elephant friendly. I've listed this guy and a distant cousin in my Etsy shop to try to find adoptive families for them both. In the interim, maybe I should take a break from making elephants for a while until I learn why it is that they don't want to live here with us forever and ever.
14 February 2007
My First Elephant
I made this guy in January and have been living with him ever since. I am completely smitten with his soulful brown eyes and his wet-felted tusks. I'm not sure why, but it would appear that he's not really meant to live with us. It feels strange to say it. I love him. I want to keep him. But somehow he's just not settling in and making a place for himself. I think that he may know that there is someone out there who needs him, who will truly be His Person in a way that I cannot. He doesn't seem to be bonding with Sprout, either. In more than a month under the same roof, Sprout hasn't called this guy "Tony" even once.
I've finally faced the fact that mine may not be a house that is elephant friendly. I've listed this guy and a distant cousin in my Etsy shop to try to find adoptive families for them both. In the interim, maybe I should take a break from making elephants for a while until I learn why it is that they don't want to live here with us forever and ever.
I've finally faced the fact that mine may not be a house that is elephant friendly. I've listed this guy and a distant cousin in my Etsy shop to try to find adoptive families for them both. In the interim, maybe I should take a break from making elephants for a while until I learn why it is that they don't want to live here with us forever and ever.
12 February 2007
Why I'll Never Be A Seamstress
I'm actually shorter on patience today than I have been in quite some time. This is a very bad thing because Sprout is at her grandmother's for the day so that I could be free to talk with/wander in and out of the basement with the plumbers who were coming to tell us what we'd need to do to have a gas water heater installed in place of our electric water heater. In the end, the numbers ended up convincing us that in spite of our desire to switch from electric to gas, we can't justify the extra expense. (Sigh... The extra day or two waiting for the water heater to be installed wouldn't have been so tiresome had it actually served some purpose.)
I spent some time processing images to upload some of my vessels to my Etsy shop. Unfortunately, I'm suffering from writer's block. I know what I want to write but I just can't seem to make it work right.
I found the sewing machine maintenance kit that I bought and misplaced so I thought, "Ok, I'll work on my sewing project while I try to mentally process what I'm trying to write." So I pulled the old Kenmore machine out, oiled the spots that I'd been told needed oil, and discovered that the belt is slipping and brittle and really needs to be replaced. I was irritated but pretty sure that I'd survive.
I pulled out the little Singer Tiny Tailor which I had thought might be fun for Sprout to play with eventually... My thought was that one of my planned sewing projects was a pretty simple thing and maybe a small success would help me to make some forward progress. I was not to be so lucky. After an hour wasted trying to insert the bobbin/bobbin case, my mild irritation at the Kenmore blossomed into an almost nuclear anger at the Tiny Tailor which I'd been uncertain whether to keep or not. I eventually packed the whole thing back up in its battered box, walked out to the front porch, and pitched it toward the garage with as much force as I could muster. I feel mildly better now that the thing is out of the house. There just isn't room in my life for items that do not do the job for which they were intended.
Over the course of the last couple of weeks, I've been reminded (in multiple contexts) that setting my blog so that it doesn't accept comments from non-Blogger readers means that I'm making it more difficult to get feedback and input from the visitors to my blog. I set the blog up the way that I did because of concerns about comment spam... Worse comes to worse, there's always comment moderation... [edited to add: Apparently when I changed the settings, they didn't get saved or something so the blog still wasn't accepting comments. I've fixed that, as of 27 February 2007 so we'll see what happens.]
I spent some time processing images to upload some of my vessels to my Etsy shop. Unfortunately, I'm suffering from writer's block. I know what I want to write but I just can't seem to make it work right.
I found the sewing machine maintenance kit that I bought and misplaced so I thought, "Ok, I'll work on my sewing project while I try to mentally process what I'm trying to write." So I pulled the old Kenmore machine out, oiled the spots that I'd been told needed oil, and discovered that the belt is slipping and brittle and really needs to be replaced. I was irritated but pretty sure that I'd survive.
I pulled out the little Singer Tiny Tailor which I had thought might be fun for Sprout to play with eventually... My thought was that one of my planned sewing projects was a pretty simple thing and maybe a small success would help me to make some forward progress. I was not to be so lucky. After an hour wasted trying to insert the bobbin/bobbin case, my mild irritation at the Kenmore blossomed into an almost nuclear anger at the Tiny Tailor which I'd been uncertain whether to keep or not. I eventually packed the whole thing back up in its battered box, walked out to the front porch, and pitched it toward the garage with as much force as I could muster. I feel mildly better now that the thing is out of the house. There just isn't room in my life for items that do not do the job for which they were intended.
Over the course of the last couple of weeks, I've been reminded (in multiple contexts) that setting my blog so that it doesn't accept comments from non-Blogger readers means that I'm making it more difficult to get feedback and input from the visitors to my blog. I set the blog up the way that I did because of concerns about comment spam... Worse comes to worse, there's always comment moderation... [edited to add: Apparently when I changed the settings, they didn't get saved or something so the blog still wasn't accepting comments. I've fixed that, as of 27 February 2007 so we'll see what happens.]
10 February 2007
Waterskiing on Lake Fasimpaur
I had great plans to post something everyday this month... The flood in the basement, the expenses associated with having the water heater replaced, and the fact that we've decided (mutually, after much agonizing and shared distaste) to cancel our romantic Valentine's dinner reservations at The Winds have left me feeling a little at a loss about what to post.I could further engage everyone in a detailed soliloquy about the psychic damage caused by PCOS/body image issues and the discomfort associated with ingrown nipple whiskers. (But I'm saving that post for Mother Talkers because I want to spread the wealth of my toxic self-esteem.)
At the moment I have a nursling telling me how ready she is for bed. So I'll just apologize for disappearing for 2 days and promise a post tomorrow about the Dayton PrintMaker's Co-Op and an image of one of the motifs that I'm developing for a series of letterpress prints.
Until then, here's a goddess set from 2003 glazed in a beautiful matte glaze from Georgies that is a bluish/purplish periwinkle color with flecks of pink. I need to get more of these glazes... SOON!!!
07 February 2007
Hope springs
Things around here are not very well organized. A month or so ago, I brought home a sewing machine in need of some TLC. I purchased a sewing machine maintenance kit at the local craft store and brought it home. That is the last clear memory that I have of the kit (with sewing machine oil, extra needles, etc...). I have a small sewing project that I want to tackle so I've been trying to keep an eye out for the bag with the repair kit in it... I am suddenly aware of the number of plastic bags living in my house. That awareness has translated to an increasing awareness of the number of plastic bags in the wild. Once I've finished the sewing project, I'm going to spend some time trying to address the unwanted plastic bags around here. If I can get a handle on the plastic bags in my immediate environment, I can at least assure that none of them will escape into the outside world.
06 February 2007
Two padlocks and cobwebs
Sometimes the locks and obstacles that we put in place are imaginary. Other times they're very real. The thing is, if you go too long without testing them, you may forget which is which.
I was a freshman in high school when I discovered printmaking. I was in college when I finally faced the realization that the solvents and other chemicals involved in printmaking made me seriously ill. I spent a quarter doing monoprints and dry point etchings trying to minimize the contact and prolong the inevitable but in the end I had to admit that printmaking and I were not destined for happily ever after. I resigned myself to the idea that, although I'd always miss it, I'd have to pursue a different medium.
A couple years ago, I started hearing about some of the developments in water based and eco-friendly printing methods. Recently I've been investigating the possiblities that maybe I can return to my high school love...
Wouldn't it be funny, if I brushed away the cobwebs on those obstacles I've been allowing to stop me all these years, and discover that the padlocks were open all along?
I was a freshman in high school when I discovered printmaking. I was in college when I finally faced the realization that the solvents and other chemicals involved in printmaking made me seriously ill. I spent a quarter doing monoprints and dry point etchings trying to minimize the contact and prolong the inevitable but in the end I had to admit that printmaking and I were not destined for happily ever after. I resigned myself to the idea that, although I'd always miss it, I'd have to pursue a different medium.
A couple years ago, I started hearing about some of the developments in water based and eco-friendly printing methods. Recently I've been investigating the possiblities that maybe I can return to my high school love...
Wouldn't it be funny, if I brushed away the cobwebs on those obstacles I've been allowing to stop me all these years, and discover that the padlocks were open all along?
05 February 2007
2000 Bloggers
Yesterday's cold continues its unwelcome visit with our family. That along with temperatures that topped out at about -1 Fahrenheit kept us inside all day. Sprout's no longer just stuffy and coughing so I'm not sure what we'll be doing tomorrow or later in the week. Of course, tomorrow is supposed to bring snow along with temperatures in the negative single digits, so I'm not sure what I'd want to do anyway. I'm really looking forward to spring. I hope that groundhog was right.
I read about the 2000 bloggers project on another blog several weeks ago. When I started seeing referals from them, I couldn't help going and looking for my picture in the collection. It's amazing to me that I recognized anyone amongst hundreds of 50x60 pixel images. I didn't expect even to recognize myself. It's disorienting to scan so many faces looking for your own, knowing that the image chosen to represent you was outside of your control and could have been any photo on your site. Coming on the heels of a period of intense self-examination, it seems to have a little power to remind me that no one looking at me from the outside really gets much more than a glimpse of me anyway.
I read about the 2000 bloggers project on another blog several weeks ago. When I started seeing referals from them, I couldn't help going and looking for my picture in the collection. It's amazing to me that I recognized anyone amongst hundreds of 50x60 pixel images. I didn't expect even to recognize myself. It's disorienting to scan so many faces looking for your own, knowing that the image chosen to represent you was outside of your control and could have been any photo on your site. Coming on the heels of a period of intense self-examination, it seems to have a little power to remind me that no one looking at me from the outside really gets much more than a glimpse of me anyway.
04 February 2007
Exploring Self-Esteem
I have a cold. I always feel sorry for myself when I'm sick. Actually, the whole family is sick today. Sprout has been wonderfully energetic and playful all day. Her daddy even went to the grocery store to pick up much needed provisions... I, on the other hand, watched the puppy bowl until Sprout dozed off for a nap, and then cleared off 3 episodes of Law & Order off my DVR while she slept. (Oh, and browsed the internet doing research and finding images for the collage below.)
At the base of this collage is a photo of me, digitally altered to show what I'd look like with a beard. It's a long story, but suffice to say that PCOS (the condition which contributed to my difficulty conceiving and carrying a baby) can lead hirsutism. I lack the courage to stop obsessing about the whiskers on my chin and, more alarmingly, sprouting up around my nipples to tickle my daughter's nose while she nurses... I lack the courage, even, to post the self-portrait without layers of ephemera to obscure it, and hide my hideous secret.
At the base of this collage is a photo of me, digitally altered to show what I'd look like with a beard. It's a long story, but suffice to say that PCOS (the condition which contributed to my difficulty conceiving and carrying a baby) can lead hirsutism. I lack the courage to stop obsessing about the whiskers on my chin and, more alarmingly, sprouting up around my nipples to tickle my daughter's nose while she nurses... I lack the courage, even, to post the self-portrait without layers of ephemera to obscure it, and hide my hideous secret.
03 February 2007
The Creation Station
A short time ago, I responded to interview questions from fellow Etsy shop owner Andrea of Powderpuff Creations. Andrea has a blog called The Creation Station where she features the work of crafters who have caught her attention. Andrea has profiled some wonderful craftspeople and I feel honored to be in such great company. Feel free to hop on over and check out the interview. I hope that I didn't manage to come across as a complete goof... I am afraid that the Etsy shop is a little sparse at the moment I'll try to do something about that tomorrow while we watch The Puppy Bowl with Sprout.
When it rains, it pours
And when it pours, it collects in our basement. I have 3 or 4 of these twin chambered vessels bisqued and ready to be glazed when the temperatures improve. I also spent several hours making faces to use for more of my facing forward shawl pins. The faces are now bone dry and ready to be cleaned up (the holes need to be re-drilled) before being bisque fired. I can bisque them in the bench furnace in the garage that I use for raku firing. It'll be a lower bisque than I usually use but still perfectly acceptable.I can probably have a glaze load ready to go, as soon as Lake Fasimpaur recedes. Wish me luck.
01 February 2007
Habit Day 1
In keeping with my thoughts about creating habits, I want to post to this blog an update on my creative efforts every day. I currently have two spaces in my home that are designated as "Studio Space". The first was the space that enticed us to buy this house. The previous owner had run a hair salon from the attached room that was constructed to the side of the house. The constructed space has a separate entrance (which seemed like it would be a good thing if I ever wanted to teach out of my home studio) and is simultaneously apart from and a part of our living space. Since we knew that we wanted to have a child, this was an important consideration.
Over the last few years, that space has been rendered unusable by our use of it as catch-all storage for my art/craft supplies and projects in process. Last spring, I moved many of my tools to the attached screen porch at the back of our house. It was imagined as a temporary move, just to take advantage of the natural light, etc... I got used to using the "indoor" studio as a glorified storage closet and really grew to like the "outdoor" screened porch studio space. This was particularly true when I started working with the torch again. Unfortunately, with temperatures below freezing, an unheated and uninsulated studio is just not a comfortable place to be. We've been very fortunate that the winter has been so mild and that my access to the studio hasn't been much limited until now.
What I'm getting at is, although I really want to post the results of my creative efforts in the studio, I'm too much of a wimp to go out there. Instead, I decided to spend a little time looking at the forms that I make all the time in a different way and a different context. The digital collage above is the results of today's efforts.
Sprout wants me to make a puppet as a birthday present for the 2nd birthday of a family friend. If everything goes well, maybe I'll get it done in time to photograph it before we're on our way out the door. I'm not making any promises, my educated guess is that I'll be jabbing myself in the fingers with a felting needle as I try to finish the puppet in the car on the way to the birthday party on Saturday. Wish me luck.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
