I Spy. . .

Finished one project, now onto a new one.
The Steampunk Spy Glasses. . .one is done. Here is the finished Owl with the Snakes on the reverse side. I learned a lot about Polymer clay on this project.

Fresh is better. Blending is fun. And it is darn heavy so watch how much you build up with.

The second Spy Glass is in the oven as I write this, so there may be an addendum to this blog before tomorrow.

Just in case you are confused as to what these are. . . .Think Sherlock Holmes meets Tinkerbell, sorta. When you go hunting for fairies you can't look like a human.

Here's looking at you Kid

Latest project.
Steampunk Magnifying glass
Made from, vintage Ping Pong paddle with suede surface, two chipped and dull magnifying lenses, 2 gold bracelets from Claires, Gold & Brown Fimo polymer clay.

Still need to drill holes for the lenses so you can "Look Through" the eyes of the owl. Glue on the eyes & brows. Wood Burn feathers into the suede. AND the other side needs to be completed.

I have another paddle and grouping of lenses with a totally different design worked out.
Super cool.
What would I use them for???
Not only am I designing a new Steam Punk costume and character. But I will be going to the Fairy Festival in June and will be HUNTING FAIRIES. . .using my new magnifying glass.
More to come.

Xavier is all strung up

IT”S ALIVE!!!

Xavier has been hit with a bolt of electricity and has come alive!

Or. . .
Gepetto dreamed of a blue fairy and the block of wood became a little boy.

In My case that block of wood became a dirty ol’ man. LOL.

Remember where he started?




Well now he looks like this. And I must say, for my first attempt to carve ANYTHING let alone human figure, I think I did ok.







Yes I know his eyes are weird as well as his mouth. Can I say he is a stroke victim and explain away his lop-sided-ness? Nay. . .he is just as lopsided as his creator.




And the biggest thing I can say is that my teacher was the best. Patient, guiding and creative beyond belief. So talented and an awesome person to-boot. Thank you Geahk!

Xavier came out very close to what I drew and envisioned.
I’m happy.

For the Love of Books

4th grade was a turning point in my reading abilities.
You know I love to read. And it gets in the way of work and housework and many other things. At least in school you have a good excuse to read.
4th grade started in Santa Maria California and mid way through it we moved to Mission Hills, a subdivision of Lompoc, California. The civil town outside Vandenburg AFB.
I digress
Having to switch schools in mid year was soon to become the norm in my education timeline.
In 4th grade you begin to read hefty chapter books. Between the requirements of the 4th grade teacher and the leisure reading of my mother’s I went through these books in a very short period of time.

Charlotte’s Web
Stuart Little
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Mr Popper’s Penguins
The Enormous Egg
Black Beauty
Paddle to the Sea
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiller
Mary Poppins
As well as a scattered few Nancy Drew mysteries

Do any of these titles look familiar?
They should. All but two have been made into movies/TV series since I read them. And the two (Mary Poppins & Black Beauty) were made into movies BEFORE I read them.

In some cases they have been made TWICE!
The latest is Mr Popper’s Penguins which will be released in June, staring Jim Carey.


Does this make me feel old? No. . . .It is revisiting old friends. . .or it should be. My disappointment is that the children today will miss the richness of the characters that are built up in the book, and only rely on the actor/director’s interpretation which is not always the best.
But I should have faith that, like Harry Potter, the movie will spark the interest and the child will look for the book and have a better experience.

One can only hope.

I’m sure those grown kids that loved their comic books were eager to see their hero/villain explode on the screen. And yet they return to the printed page to continue their love affair with their heros.

Thus I will do shortly. . . . as soon as I finished the damn work report due by COB today.
Sigh!

On a similar note: yesterday Kentucky was helping Grandpa build a large picnic table for the summer. He then was handed the leaf blower to clean off the sawdust and dirt off the deck. When done he asked Grandpa "So how much do I get for this?" This made Grandpa laugh and say "I feed you". What he didn't know is that there is a book fair at school this week and Kentucky wanted $ to buy more books.
AWESOME!

Xavier in part. . .s

Xavier has developmental issues. I am one week away from the final class and there are many things that still need to be done before he can walk, talk and do the basics. And that doesn’t include having clothes.

You can see wood putty (yellow tinge) on his face and kneecaps. I had to do knee surgery on him, His kneecap got shredded. . . .might had had something to do with the Mafia and his not paying his bill at the Hofbrauhaus.

By looking at his feet we can see a definate problem with Bunions. . .. and I am sure he suffers from Gout. This will lead to some interesting dance steps as he tries to impress the ladies with the "turn of his leg",pun intended. Monkey Arms. . .at this time Xavier has one arm whitled but not sanded and no hand attached. The other arm does have a hand attached but is only in rough cut stage. Plenty to do here for my homework. The joint for the wrist is interesting. In theory I know how to do it. I watched Teacher Geack (pronounced Jack) do the completed one. Now. . . .can I do the same good job on the other hand. . .. a true test. The legs are attached in an interesting fashion. Since these will be under pants they don't have to have a formal joint. So they are attached with eyelets. Yes I did them myself. No teacher help here. The head is now attached to the upper torso. Again, I did do this myself. I liked the results. I want so badly to put the hair on him, but I have to wait till after he is sealed and painted. sigh. There is still plenty to do before next Saturday, last class. And at the last class we will string Xavier and make him walk. . . . ."It's Alive!!!!!!!" Dr. Frankenstein I am not. but I can try.

Jaci, Geack is going to hold another class in the fall, I hope you can do it. It is well worth the money and time. And his studio is a DREAM for people like you and me. This video is just a quick view of part of the studio. You get to see the puppets he already has done. A real bear that has been remade to work in a commercial and so much more. And of course tools and materials. Makes me laugh to see Jerry stand in awe during our visit to this studio. This is the CastIron Carousel Puppet studio.

Wood chips and gouges

Xavier still finding his way out of the block!




Body image problems, just like a girl.

Right Hand preparing to be the Snuff hand.




Gouging out the knee, glad the doctor doesn't do it this way.

The N Word

Navigate


Just for fun I am using a picture that our German friends took last week when we took them on a hike to Silver Creek Falls. More on that adventure on the other blog.

Though our first thought is nautical Navigate has a wide range of uses.

Read the map. . .use the GPS. . . can also be
Read the face. . . listen to the implied words.

We navigate life and some of us don’t stop to ask for directions.
I’m guilty. . . . .are you?

The M Word

Meditate
I feel strongly about Meditation.
I think we should all take time to do it.

Unfortunately Men as a group don’t know how and don’t want to learn how to do it. They would just rather fall asleep. That is their definition of Meditate.


I have favorite place I go for my meditation. In my head that is.

At the age of 13 my family lived on a remote piece of property. It was in the midst of a forest on an obscure river here in Oregon.

Trees were everywhere, in fact it was a piece of logging property.

Dad made a tree house in the middle of 5 sugar Maples. It was just a platform, not a covered house. But at the age of 13 it gave me a place to escape an 11 year old brother and an 8 year old sister. I did a lot on dreaming on that platform as I looked to the sky covered with a quilt made of large green maple leaves.

To this day I use that place to meditate in.

Find your place, go there and often.
Teach your children how to do this especially your sons.
Let them learn the advantages of meditation, they will appreciate it and you 10 years from now.

Playing with Knives

It has been many MANY months since I have put my art work on this blog. A dry spell had me in it’s chains.

In February I watched an Etsy video that introduced a puppet maker. Not your ordinary one by any means. The best part is that he was located in Portland. After exploring his website I saw he was conducting wood carving classes to learn to make a Marionette Puppet. WOW, and they were dark and eclectic puppets, just my style. So I signed up.

Now you will see my, hopefully, weekly progress.
Tools
An F clamp
A beginners wood carving knife
A Kevlar glove.
Pencil
A BIG eraser (in my case)



The Teacher is Geack, pronounced Jack sorta.
Here is his website.

WE began the first two lessons with creating and drawing a character.

I stared with Nelly. This is who I eventually would like to make. But soon decided that I wanted to learn to do old men first with their wrinkles and such. So I switched to Xavier.
He has a bit of a beer belly and lots of loose skin on his face. Bald with long grey hair to put in a pony tail. The character’s personality comes from someone I met in Germany over 10 years ago. But the physical look is going for my cousin Warren. No he doesn’t have a nose like Xavier. I am sure he will appreciate my attempts, if not I’ll just hit him with Xavier’s wooden leg.



Actually shaving off wood from a block is fun. Cutting out chunks is hard. I will have to strengthen my hands more. This takes a lot more Umpf than a needle and thread.
Here are my first cuts. Not so pretty. You have to get a 45degree angle to take out wedges. I seem to go shallow.


Then I practiced a bit more and got a better bite out of the wood. The eye is much better here.


Then on my own I tried a small face. Can you see him? He is very rough.



Today is lesson 3 and we should come home with the head to carve. This is getting exciting.

Xavier likes Snuff so he will have a nose that can appreciate snuff. Weird I know. But this guy really does exist in Germany. He likes Beer, Women and Snuff. And he is a lot older than me.

Ich Liebe Dich

Liebe
Did I put the criteria for the ABC’s to be in English?
Nope!
I have just spent 5 days with a bunch of German’s in my house. (thus the pause in my blog) Wonderful, funny Germans.
So the word Liebe comes to mind for my L word.
Translation – Love, sex, devotion, adoration.

Like English it can mean many things. When the British use it, it is an endearment of sorts. Hello Love, or Must be off, Love.

Add ling to Liebe and you have Liebling or Favorite, Darling.

Add the S and you have the adjective Liebes - Kind, Sweet, Cute, Welcomed

Adding a letter is like adding frosting to the cake. The cake is good by itself and the frosting just enhances it.

Love is good by itself and just as good in other forms.

It's a family affair

The Letter K

Kith & Kin

Due to my love of historical trivia this phrase, for it is not just one word, I find to be a fun and quirky saying I like to use.

Kin is an old word for family. Though old (1377) it is still used today.
Kith comes from the same period in time but has been lost along the way. It means to know the area or land.

This begs a moment of reflection.
The phrase “I know his Kith & Kin” really is a strong and personal statement. “I know his family and the area of which he comes from”, shows a personal connection. Not just “I know him”, but people that are connected to him and the area he grew up in or lives in. You understand his way of life and the influences that molded his personality.

This simple and old phrase says so much. It is eloquent and powerful.

Juxta Moment

The Letter J
Juxtapose

For the longest time I didn’t know what this word meant. I loved the sound of it. But then again I like the sound of Jabberwocky.
Once I found out what Juxtapose was and how it fit into my vocabulary I liked it even more.

Did you know it is a fairly new word. It was first used in 1855ish.

And now to use it in my daily life. . . .
Today I received my new work laptop. I had to send in my old Dell and have all the information migrated (transferred) to the new HP laptop.
Now I find myself juxtaposing the two and developing some harsh opinions.

Don't look behind the Curtain

The Letter I


Illusion

There are those who feel illusion is a falsehood, deceptive. Perhaps those who have this attitude are actually paranoid that they are somehow missing something or being deceived.


Does the Pea hen feel deceived when the Peacock with all his plumage is actually just a little grey bird like her?
Or does she laugh at the pretence and work the Peacock must go through to obtain and maintain his illusion.

I applaud illusion. It takes so little to be plain/normal, it takes a lot to create an illusion.

It’s the motivation that is the culprit of dissention.