so tired…
By Stef | August 11, 2008
I’m exhausted. We had a very busy weekend filled with fun activities and did not spend much time at home. We didn’t go to bed until 4:00 am on Saturday and we’re still recovering. Sometimes I forget that I’m not 20…and then I’m reminded the next day…
…and the next day…
I planned to take pictures of the results of the two (!) raku firings, as well as my latest PMC coated beads. I’m hoping to have time to do this later in the week. I’m also hoping to have some bead sets up for sale on Etsy within a week or two. I really like some of the combinations of PMC and raku beads. I can’t wait to get the glass torch up & running so that I can throw some glass beads into the mix…and some enameled beads…
My mother and I are planning a little enameling extravaganza this upcoming weekend. She just returned from watercolor/drawing classes at John C. Campbell Folk school, so I’m anxious to see what she’ll be able to do with the enamel paints and pencils.
Since I don’t yet have bead pictures to share, I’ll share these pictures of the cats lounging about. I’m sure this is probably what they did while we were gone this weekend. They looked pretty bored when we returned.
This is Scooby in the Kitty Pi (a felted kitty bed pattern from Wendy Knits). I knit this with some odd balls of wool yarn (this is before my serious stash reduction). I wasn’t sure how the yarn would react to the felting process, but this one turned out really well. Scooby seems to approve.
This is a picture of Buster and Sula sleeping in the sunroom. Note the legs emerging from underneath the slipcover…
Buster and Sula
It’s obviously incredibly difficult to be a cat. There’s sleeping to do, then napping, then sleeping….must be so taxing on the body. Makes me want to go home and take a nap.
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
trapped
By Stef | August 8, 2008
I had quite an adventure yesterday, which involved being confined in a small box with several of my coworkers. Yep, you guessed it. I got trapped in an elevator. It was very exciting.
I’m not really sure how long we were trapped because any time spent in a tiny, hot space jammed full of people seems much longer than it actually is. What I do know is that one of my coworkers was jabbering away nervously about how she was beginning to panic…which, in turn, made me become more anxious. Another of my coworkers melted to the floor and stopped talking to us, focusing instead on texting someone (at least I think that was what he was doing…probably made for an interesting conversation).
I tried very hard to put my recurring nightmare about elevator collapse out of my mind. It was difficult for me to keep this to myself, but I did manage to do it (probably for the best considering the circumstances). For me, it wasn’t so much that we were trapped, it was the knowledge that this box crammed full of people had stopped working…and once I realized that it wasn’t working properly, my mind kept creeping back to the thought that the (obviously fatigued) cables might snap at any moment, elevator plunging to the ground.
Turns out that people in the building pretty much ignore that elevator alarm. We had to open the box with the (real?!) emergency button in order to communicate with someone. When the call first connected, we received a recording. This made us laugh nervously. hahaha. (?) We finally connected with a human being, who called the firemen on our behalf.
After more time (don’t know how long), the doors started shaking violently. Again, nervous laughter. hahaha? The doors were then thrust open by several burly men in uniform, who guided us up & out of the elevator (we were about six inches shy of reaching our destination). We were very, very thankful that they had arrived to help us.
We descended to the ground floor via the stairs. Note to self: Use the stairs if at all possible.
—
I was bracing for more excitement yesterday when I looked out the rear view mirror and saw a black sky. I snapped a couple of pictures when we arrived home.
view from the front window
view from front lawn
The storm passed over us without too much excitement. To be honest, my primary worry was that our satellite would be out and render me unable to watch the latest episode of Project Runway (I almost always record television shows so that I can avoid spending my time watching commercials).
Topics: Life at Home | 3 Comments »
warp rep (sort of)
By Stef | August 4, 2008
Once again, we had a weekend filled with activities. Where does the time go?
I’ve been busy raku firing beads (I’ll post pictures this week!), experimenting with a new toy (it’s a very fun secret), and organizing our ceramic studio so that I can set up the torch. I spent a fair amount of time this weekend cleaning and organizing things, but the studio is still in disarray. In fact, it looks worse than when I started the reorganization project. I almost wonder whether we have gremlins living out there… If so, I wish they’d concentrate on doing something constructive - maybe they’ll set up the torch if I leave the box out there?
At any rate, before I was consumed by the wonder of raku firing, I began winding the warp for my next weaving project. The goal of this project is to use some of the hand-dyed yarn that I have on hand. I’m planning to thread the loom in blocks for a false warp rep project. I put 11 yards on the reel, so I’m thinking I’ll make some placemats and something to put on my wall at work. The end result will depend on what I feel like making while I’m weaving.
Does anyone else out there weave like this? That is, do you put the yarn on the loom and then decide what it will be after you’ve woven for a little bit? That’s what happened with this. I was initially intending for this to be a colorful runner for our hallway, but it turned out to be a wall piece instead.
Here’s a picture of them on the wall after Keith built frames for them:
——
At any rate, back to the project at hand. As I was saying, it will be a block weave/rep piece. It’s actually “false rep” because I’m going to sett the warp at 24 epi, rather than the really close sett of traditional rep. I want the weft to be visible in the finished piece. I also want to be able to treadle my loom with ease.
The weft will probably depend on what I’ve got on hand and what I decide to weave once it’s on the loom. I dyed some beautiful thick mercerized cotton yarn to use in a knitting project before I realized that (a) cotton is heavy, (b) cotton doesn’t retain its shape well, and (c) it’s too bulky to use for any sweater I’d want to wear. I learned (a), (b), and (c) through personal experience (not fun).
So…this big cotton will be used as the weft. I’ve also got some rag strips that I processed long ago - these might find their way into the project as well. I’m hoping this project will be a stash reduction bonanza!
This is a picture of the hand-dyed unmercerized cotton that I’ll use for some of the warp blocks:
Here’s a picture of the warp on the reel. The color is off due to the basement lighting, but I still like this picture. The warp seems so well behaved here.
And another picture of the chained warp relaxing on the dining room table.
As I mentioned above, I’ve been distracted by the beads and haven’t had a chance to wind the remainder of the warp. I was initially thinking about using unmercerized cotton for some of the blocks, but I may decide to use bright red tencel instead. It will be a completely different effect.
I really need to finish winding the warp soon because I caught Scooby biting at my measuring thread this weekend (it’s still on the reel, patiently waiting for me to stop firing the raku beads). Scooby is always looking for something to do.
Here he is lounging on his toy in the sunroom, just waiting for someone to play with him.
Topics: Life at Home, Weaving | 2 Comments »
A Beautiful Gift
By Stef | August 1, 2008
Last year I had the good fortune to take Sally Jean Alexander’s Soldering for Virgins class. I thought I had posted an entry about this class, but now I can’t find it. Hmmm…
After the workshop, I decided that this technique didn’t really appeal to me and that I probably wouldn’t pursue this any further. (I know - what a surprise!) But that’s not why I’m writing this post.
I’m writing this because I was fortunate to share a table at the workshop with three fabulous women. Two of them, R & A, contacted me this year when they were in town for another of Sally’s workshops so that we could meet for dinner. We had a great time at dinner and we’re discussing the possibility of going to a workshop or conference together at some point in the future. I just know we’d have a good time, so I hope we can work something out.
R. & A. are both extremely talented people (I wish they had blogs so that I could share their work with you - maybe soon!). R. is a lampworker with many, many other talents (you should have seen the silver bracelet she was wearing at dinner - it was an amazing creation with silver, resin and imagery - wow!).*
After dinner, R. presented me with a surprise gift of lovely handcrafted earrings (she made the lampworked beads in her studio):
I just love the colors and the glass beads are incredibly lovely in person (the photo really doesn’t do them justice). Thank you so much!
*R. also has the most amazing Southern accent. Keith was actually quite rude to R. when she called to arrange dinner. She just sounded so sweet that he thought she was trying to sell us something…that is, until he realized that I was expecting the call. Oops!
Warning: If you call our house and sound too nice, you may experience Keith at his snippiest (that is, if he answers the phone).
Topics: Glass Beads, Life at Home | No Comments »
Exposaroonie - Urban Architecture
By Stef | July 31, 2008
This week’s Exposaroonie challenge theme is Urban Architecture. I walked around snapping pictures of buildings yesterday during lunch and, for the most part, did not feel too conspicuous. I tried to pretend that I was on some sort of very important assignment.
I did realize after the fact that it might not have been a good idea to walk around the courthouse taking pictures, what with post-9/11 security and all. I half expected to be confronted by one of the sheriffs (though I know most of the sheriffs assigned to the courthouse, so this probably wouldn’t have been a problem). I did notice that the bank security person across the street seemed to be paying particular attention to me. Maybe she was just wondering what breed of crazy person takes pictures of the corners of buildings…
Me, of course!
Here’s my favorite picture from yesterday’s excursion. I realize that I’d have more shots to choose from if I went out again today at lunch, but it’s way too hot for that nonsense.
To vote for your favorite picture next week, visit the Exposaroonie Urban Architecture Challenge here.
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Nordhouse Dunes
By Stef | July 29, 2008
Nordhouse Dunes is as beautiful as we imagined it would be. We’ve been meaning to go camping there for about 12 years and had very high expectations. We were not disappointed.
I already want to go back.
Topics: Life at Home | 2 Comments »
July ABS - Summer Vacation
By Stef | July 28, 2008
We’ve returned from our adventure at Nordhouse Dunes and I’m at home enjoying the remainder of the long weekend (just about to descend into the basement for some ceramic bead experimentation).
I’ll post more later about my new weaving project (!), the Nordhouse trip, and the bead experimentation. In the meantime, I’ve decided to submit my first entry to the folks at Art Bead Scene. This month’s theme is Summer Vacation.
This necklace is a combination of new (well, new-to-me) techniques. Fused fine silver, lampworked links and beads and handmade jump rings.* I’ve got a lot to learn about fusing and lampworking, but I really like the effect of this necklace. It’s extremely lightweight and it reminds me of the feeling I get when I’m on vacation, away from work and all of the projects I’ve got going at home.
I can’t wait to make more of these necklaces after I get the new torch set up. I think it will be much easier to make the links when I’ve got more heat… now I’ve just got to convince Keith that he’s got the time to rearrange the ceramic studio to accommodate the torch.
*The inspiration for this necklace comes from several sources. The first is a Multiple Circles Necklace by Randi Chervitz. The second inspirational source is the lovely glass links made by Cindy Gimbrone. The third is the fabulous recycled glass jewelry of Kathleen Plate. …and I’m sure there are a billion other people out there who do creative things with fused silver and/or glass links…let me know if you’ve got a favorite artist!
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
craig’s list
By Stef | July 23, 2008
I’m addicted to Craig’s List. I admit it. I check it every morning when I begin my day. The good news is that I’m also not a big fan of clutter, so I’ll be finished with this obsession once I find the remaining items I need for my house. (I can already hear Keith laughing - he’s skeptical of this claim, to put it mildly.)
The most recent find was fabulous - a whole set of vintage steel chairs. I believe they were manufactured in the 1950’s (if you can tell how old they actually are, please let me know). I’ve been envying C & A’s chairs for quite some time now and was thrilled to find some of my very own.
I purchased an entire herd of them for a reasonable price. Here’s a picture of the most dominant one (you can tell by her proud stance):
Steel Chair
I have big plans for these beauties.
Topics: Life at Home | 2 Comments »
resins and imagery and bezels, oh my!
By Stef | July 16, 2008
Part III of the “4th of July Weekend Craft Extravaganza” involved resins, imagery and my previously-soldered bezels. Here are some pictures of the results. Some of the bezels have been oxidized using Liver of Sulphur. I’ll probably oxidize all of the pieces eventually because I’m not a fan of bright and shiny copper.
This is a small reversible pendant (bird image on one side and tree on the other).
Side One
Side Two
This one’s an oxidized copper ring with a sterling tube soldered to the top. I’ve burnished the tube so that the silver is shiny against the matte surface of the oxidized bezel. The image is a spiral staircase I found on a stock photography site and modified heavily in Photoshop.
This bezel is another spiral staircase image that has been heavily manipulated in Photoshop. It reverses to the spiral staircase image above.
Yet another bezel with a bird image…
The side of the bezel is etched with lyrics from Paul McCartney’s Blackbird. I realize that the imagery in the bezel is rather literal, but the song itself has a blackbird overdub, so I don’t feel so bad.
I really enjoy etching copper, but this side-of-a-copper-pipe business was pretty difficult. It took about six tries for me to get the toner to transfer properly. Flat surfaces are much, much easier to etch.
I think that’s about all I’ve got to share right now. The Ann Arbor Art Fair started today and it’s got me thinking about art vs. the business of art, copyright infringement vs. inspiration, and the caloric content of an elephant ear*, among other things.
*If you know this, please keep it to yourself. I’m not sure I want to know.
Topics: Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
enameled bead!
By Stef | July 10, 2008
Really. Seriously.* It’s either time for me to revise my blog or stop experimenting with so many crafts. I have way too many topics in the sidebar.
Valerie commented that it sounds like I spent the weekend pretending I was at Penland. Valerie, I actually spend most of my days pretending I’m at Penland. Ahhh….Penland….. but I digress.
Part II of the “4th of July Weekend Craft Extravaganza” involved enamels. Enamels on copper, to be exact. This is a picture of an enameled disc with a blue swirl.
I made these discs early in my craft extravaganza weekend and spent the 4th of July showing them to people. It went something like this:
Have you seen my enameled discs? Aren’t they cool?
Hey!
Did I show you these things? I made them myself. Aren’t they cool?
Let me show you again!
You get the idea.
—
It’s becoming abundantly clear that even my most crafty and distracted friends think I’m a bit crazy. Maybe they’ll name a new DSM diagnosis after me - “Penland Brain” may be appropriate.
Here’s a picture of my first enameled bead. I anticipate that there will be many of these in the future.
This particular bead was hand-fabricated, using a saw, doming block, solder and a torch (whew!). I just love the way the multiple coats of enamel interact with one another.
Please see this post for “before” pictures of the copper bead. It’s amazing how naked the beads look without the enamel. I may have to purchase some naked copper beads because it can be quite time consuming to make each bead by hand.
P.S. Jane, I started this whole experimentation phase with the idea that I’d incorporate some of these things in my fiberart pieces. I’m not planning to abandon weaving & felting - in fact, just this morning I had an idea about handwoven shawls with enameled pin closures. Fiberarts courses just aren’t offered in my Penland Brain right now. :-)
*For Keith, with love.
Topics: Other Distractions | No Comments »