Projects?

It occurs to me that I haven't spoken about my personal work in a while. I did get several pairs of earrings ready for final assembly on Wednesday. I need to redrill the holes, drill a couple of other holes, attach Swarovski crystals (because flash is absolutely necessary) and put on the earwires. I'm trying out a new style of earwire and have been figuring out the exact configuration, weight of the wire, and whether or not I need to use a different metal. I think I'll probably go with copper or silver for the metal, although I also have some aluminum that might work well. That's the final step, so I'll finish these off next week.

Pathways are always worth the journey.
Take that first step and don't look back.

I have BronzClay for my pagoda drying. I'm not sure it will come through firing well, and I have other pieces that I need to cut to fit and assemble, so this one is still in process before it can hit the kiln.

I finished the painting for my skulls and got the banana plugs attached to my cable. On Wednesday I will fire up the rectifier and start electroforming on the skulls. I really hope that this works - the guy at Home Depot who helped me with the electronics thought that electroforming skulls was simply the kewlest thing he had heard of in a long time. It made my day that he was so chuffed over my little project :-)

And I did the basting over 3/4 of my cape with the other 1/4 to be tackled one evening this coming week. I am still fighting the neckline so that the cape closes properly and has a good neckline to attach the hood to. I do have some patterns that I can also check to see how they deal with it. But I'm really winging this one on my own.

Lately my head is full of enamel, so I'll probably put my clay aside for a little time to get some holiday gifts made up with my enamel instead. And there are still the two series that I want to make with enamel and Lord of the Rings for myself. There simply is never enough time.

Only positive thoughts are allowed into my life for our first snowy day :-))

Opera Anyone?

I was raised in an artistic home. My mother, who I spoke about earlier in this blog, was very artistic. My father was into music and theatre. His true love was opera. Although he was a Wagner and Mozart fanatic, I think he would have enjoyed the latest marketing campaign from the Deutsche Opera Berlin promoting their 2008-2009 season. Using the basic premise of making opera exciting for the "common" man, they hired German supermodel Nadja Auermann to pose for the central characters in the four operas of the season. Here's what they came up with.

Carmen - I remember my aunt telling me about Carmen when I was quite young. She went through the death of Carmen and taught me about how the prop knife folded the blade into the handle so that it appeared to disappear into her body. Such are the things that eight-year-olds remember - LOL.

Helen - The title character of Helen of Troy in the opera The Egyptian Helen. I haven't heard this opera, but it's been performed for quite a while so it should be a nice draw. I'm not sure about the helmet, but I adore the vessels at her feet and her gown.

Venus - Well, although Tannhauser wasn't one of Dad's favorite Wagner operas (he was a fan of the Ring cycle and the Flying Dutchman), he still had the album and the libretto and listened to it on occasion. And who wouldn't want to with someone that attractive hiding among the vegetation?

Turandot - Puccini is one of the quintessinal operatic composers and Turandot is quite well known. It seems to me, looking over the list, that the Berlin Opera has a nice line-up for the 2008-09 season. Wish I was closer (and had a bit more money). I'd try and get some tickets. Unfortunately, I suspect that the actual singers won't look as good as Nadja :-))

Never Enough Time!

Well, I didn't get enough accomplished on my studio day, but it was wonderful having a day off. I did get Denatured Alcohol for my alcohol lamp on my workbench, oil to help me sharpen my gravers, and some banana plugs for the plug-in end of my rectifier. I painted the other part of my skulls for my electroforming project next week. When I told the hardware store dude that I was electroforming skulls, he thought it was awesome. I must admit - it is a bit beyond the norm :-)

And one thing that lightened my heart is the news that the Pope is installing a large solar system for supplementary energy production at the Vatican. Go Green! Go Pope! (My friend - who actually happens to be Catholic - calls this Pope the "German Shepherd". I love it!)

Yes, We Did It!!

So, we have a new President-Elect - Barak Obama. I'm very pleased, my DH is a little hesitant. But I guess we'll find out what the future holds. We needed a serious change of policy and direction and I have been an admirer of Obama for many years. I am delighted.

The state amendment - the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Act passed. I worked to get this one passed because it will increase, by up to 1/3, the amount of dollars available for the arts in Minnesota. I think that the arts is important to everyone - art can be a channel for expressing feelings and emotions that can push anger into beauty. Art is always a positive and it can be as simple as selected art for a cityscape, or as complex as a staged exhibit in a gallery. I'm very happy with this election result.

Our Senate battle is still too close to call, as of 4:45 am. I voted for Coleman (photo on the left). My friend "The Chickie" voted for Franken (photo on the right). I've watched the voting record of all of my Representatives and Congresspeople very carefully over the past few years, and Coleman has become a very middle-of-the-road voter - voting much more for the people than for the platform. He earned my vote. But it's pretty evident that it's too close to call with 99% of the votes in and counted. Chickie and I have had some interesting political discussions lately :-)))

Total Reporting:99%

NameVotesPct.
Norm Coleman (R) 1,209,391 42%
Al Franken (DFL) 1,207,086 42%
Dean Barkley (IP) 436,491 15%
Charles Aldrich (L) 13,879 0%
James Niemackl (C) 8,876 0%
LAST UPDATE: Nov-05-2008, 05:10 AM Central Standard Time

Today is a studio day, although I have to do some work for Beading For A Cure also. I am no longer in the position of Treasurer, and need to send the documentation, old paperwork, etc to to new Treasurer. I only have a limited amount of time to get boxes packed and things sent out, so I need to get going on that. One good thing - it will clear up some needed space in my computer room. Then I need to get going on ordering the beads for the coming 2009 BFAC kit. Those will be put on sale for previous participants in early February, and for new participants in mid-February. If you are interested in receiving a kit (and there will only be 80 kits available), write to the Secretary and ask to be notified when they are put on sale to new participants. If you participated in the 2008 fund raising effort and sent in a completed project, you will be notified when the kits are available for you. The colors for 2009 will be "nummy" and I think it may be one of my most popular colorways ever :-))

Altered Art, Altered Future - VOTE!!

OK - Today is election day. I have to start this out by telling everyone who is eligible to vote to get out to their polling stations and cast their vote. Especially any women who are reading this. Frankly, after the sacrifices that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers went through to allow females to vote in this country and in Europe, every single woman should be at the polling doors when they unlock this morning. I expect that I'll be in line 1-2 hours, even though I'll be at my polling place more than an hour before the polls open. I won't regret it at all. I not only cast my vote for my convictions, I honor my ancestors through the action. Make sure that you also honor yours by exercising your hard-fought right to be considered a person rather than a piece of property or a rubber stamp of the opinions of your husband, father, or brother.

How that my tirade is through for the morning (LOL), I also wanted to quickly touch on altered art. Altered art is artwork made from a conglomeration of items - rather like collage, but in many different types of art, not just wall art. I've seen a lot of altered art through the years, and I suppose I should amend that to state that I've seen a lot of really ugly altered art through the years. There is something really nice and really green about reusing "trash", but if trash is creating more trash, is it really an improvement? Although there is some good and innovative altered art out there, the vast majority is very ho-hum, in other words...boring. I challenge those who are making this type of art to step back from what they are creating and take a second look at their work. Does it have an underlying theme? Are there certain techniques that are defining your work? What makes your work better than the original that you cut up to create your new item? Think about it, make revisions if needed, and make your work unique - not just one more offering in an overcrowded pallette.

Farewell Opus

I can't claim to be a massive "Opus" fan. In fact, many books and even musical compositions are more important to me. But my comics (both daily and Sunday) are a part of my daily experience and many of these I have grown up with. Opus is one of those long-term comics that sometimes left me wondering what pharmaceutical Berkeley Breathed took, and other times brought me to laughter or tears. Yesterday, the last panels of the 28-year journey, brought me to tears. If you want to see the final panels, they are available on the website: humanesociety.org/opus .

Sunday was the first of eight Sundays during which we are open from noon-4 pm at the shop. It is one more aspect of why I hate this time of the year. One less day to decompress. And the election ads are really getting to me also - it's like there are no products to sell in commercials anymore - only politicians. Last night it was campaign after campaign after campaign. I think I'll be quite happy to be in line at 6 am tomorrow morning if it will mean an end to this election madness after Tuesday night. Apparently our Senatorial election - Norm Coleman (incumbant) vs Al Franken is one of the nastiest battles in the nation. It doesn't surprise me. The candidates had their final debate last night and came close to actual physical blows. Although Norm is not necessarily one of my favorite people, he has been voting more and more liberal and more and more away from the Bush platform over the past four years. And I simply can't trust Al Franken. So I'll vote for Norm. But either way, I think I will be wishing I would have voted for the Independent party candidate because I will hate the outcome no matter who gets into Congress. POLITICS - ICKY!!!!!