NorCal looking beautiful

Red and green for Christmas.  Totally cheating in terms of making this a post of something "from my hand," but resist I did not. My brother took this shot on 22 December.

2012 Gingergirls, blotto gingerbread men

The little one began with careful placement -- two splinters in the gingergirls foot, then "an egg that she hatched that she put above her eye."  Sometimes it is best just to listen without asking too many questions.  Then I believe the decorating became "How much candy can I put on this?" in hopes that perhaps she could have a "treasure chest" (pun not intended, but...) to enjoy for later.  The 6 year old took the suggestion of not  covering with frosting, instead a dip and place.  Sprinkle need dictated some frosting areas develop.

Let's see if we can keep this decorating thing up for another 14 or so years. Gallery showing of how their decorating styles change over the years. This is year 3.

Below are some co-joined gingerbread men....fat and happy. 

My Pony -- Making Bronze Pony Necklace

Bronze Balls

Container for  bronze.

Pouring the bronze balls

Bronze pony emerging.

Thing that spins the melted metal into the "mold."  

Casting a small piece was a new experience...different than the sculpture process, yet same idea.

Shaped the pony in wax. Invested (surrounded by liquid compound). Burned out (wax pony figure melted), leaving negative space (where wax pony was).  Little bronze balls poured into a ceramic container, melted by torch (held in my hand).  Once it melts, the thing spins around, throwing the melted metal into mold. Dip it in water, the composition dissolves, leaving the bronze pony.

Saw off spurs, file, polish, voila. 

(Certainly would be nice if Picasa would let me line up the photos)

Silver Ring -- 2 layers

One layer with texture, the upper layer with holes.  Texture on the band layer came from getting the silver too hot while soldering the top layer....but ended up making it more interesting than doing it the "right way."

Stitched Card for Holiday 2012

 

Let it be re-affirmed that no two stars are alike. Stitched with machine on paper.

Pony -- wax

Used pink wax (thin sheet, pre-made) with x-acto knife to cut image outline out. Used microcrystalline wax for forming the pony on top of the basic pink wax outline. Will see how hair and tail make it through casting. Know it could be finer in some details, but for now, he rests until I can get my eyes with some natural light....so much rain and grey outside... artificial light a bit tricky, at least how I was using. Will remain a bit crude, nevertheless...combination of my skill set, patience, and aesthetic for this type of thing...bronze ponies are not gold ponies.

Croque en bouche -- Cream Puff Tree - with kids

Think we were working on this for 20 minutes or so....have to work fast with the hot sugar and chocolate.  This year, the kids helped...and I know it looks better to me because of the love behind those chocolate smudge chocolate "balls" and the "flowers" cut out by the 3 year old, and the wacky candle placement.  Let's not forget the licked gingerbread boys (extra chocolate...who could resist? (yes, they have the "wash hands" part down, but the licking part...not so much)) that gave themselves...hopefully before they got onto the tree..to this project.

Once again...Costco cream puffs.  Melted sugar (1/4 cup  water, 1 cup sugar...lots left unused). Melted chocolate. Decorations: (think these chocolate "balls" came from some Scandinavian country), Gingerboys, flowers (raining, so we used paper), and candles.

The sugar is way too hot for the kids to be near, so I dealt with that, and had the 6 year old place some (holding at top), but mainly had her use the spoon to put chocolate on the top of most.  The "balls" were "glued" with the hot sugar mix, with extra sticking support given by the chocolate which was tepid at this point, ok for little fingers. Since it was for a birthday, the candles. Oh..and the 6 year old took the picture....

Clothespin Dolls -- Acorn Hats, hand painted faces

Yes, it did take a long time to make these.  Each clothespin has hand painted face, legs/ shoes.  All have acorn top hat, old favorite corduroy scraps from dresses "way back," ribbons, and ties.  Made to resemble nieces...with the brunette painted with white face because the little one really likes snowmen. Oh, and I didn't make them, my sister did....but I am taking credit for standing them all up (they are Christmas tree ornaments)...including one troublemaker that did domino effect a few times....I was going to have her do a solo, or fall in the snow....but instead she took the picture a few times.

Copper Monster -- the Tale of Two

Oh... how I wanted to write "tail of two" as the title here, but the story doesn't relate to their tails, so I passed on it...but evident here, not really.   I had this stone that was an "odd" shape with a delightful vein of shiny sparky element in the form as what I saw as a mouth...of a monster.  My prong skills are non-existent, so I jumped in and tried something....well, it didn't look that great, and I didn't want to mess up my stone with poor prong display.

So I thought of plan B....wanted my monster to also be 3D...he had looked so skinny in prong form. I cut his shape (sans his back spikes...didn't think that would make it through the procedure to follow) out of plexi.

Then I layered the plexi, 24 guage copper sheet, and some rubber in the hydraulic press, and pressed him into pseudo 3D...he is a fat monster in one way, but slim side to side...only a little fatter than my plexi thickness (I  hammered his tummy  "fatter" (he ate some rocks b/c it is a little dent-y)).  Flipped my plexi direction, and got mirror image. Then cut the shape out, and soldered the two halves together.  My two halves aren't quite the same, so he can't drink without leaking.  I liked how he took to the torch while soldering, so I am leaving him "messed up" and not shiny.  Much better for camo in the wild. 

But, yes, the black stone still has no home.....only as a disguise for 3D monster....but not attached to anything yet....maybe like Bond....well, I guess he is attached to valor?!

Wire Giraffe...smashed

Wire giraffe....then I pounded him with hammer on anvil.  That was perhaps a bit much (I lost a wire in his belly...broke with the triple-metal pressure).  Anyhow, pounding him did seem to help stabilize his legs for standing...in soft dirt at least.

Copper Wire -- Boy with Kite

A friend and I were discussing peace that resides in one individually...inner peace in a way, but perhaps a little less deep than that...slightly more surface-y, but still a strong force within.  Well, we emailing about it...not back and forth like texting, as that wouldn't be too peaceful.   Anyhow, it wasn't a big ole discussion, but a sentence or two within the email.  In response to Judy, I related one of those life "oh" messages that came to me while in India. I forget what trip it was....but there was a lot of construction going on in Delhi (that doesn't boil it down, but wish I could remember....).

The driver had me by some big open plain....gravel/dirt....beige to grey.  Traffic was slow (surprise, surprise), so I had lots of time to look at the scene. A few dwellings.. lean-tos of cloth and cardboard.  A few people milling about, but really very few considering the vast flat space.  There was a kid fairly close by....he was running around in "classic" poor clothing....not the modern poor with "Nike" on it and nylon shorts...but beige/grey tones of tee and baggy shorts. I believe barefoot, but I could be drawing that in with my mind.

My "oh":  He was running, smiling, and laughing.....one arm up in the air holding something like a kite, but did not appear too loft worthy.  In the other hand he had a water jug.

While I don't want to conject that anyone likes living in a gravel surrounded lean-to collecting water from a communal tap in a plastic bottle....the fact that he was enjoying what he had....that kite-thing and the space before him....that was my "oh."

So last night I played with copper wire to shape him.  I think he needs some hair or head shape modification.
I made a small giraffe to test pressing the wire flat...will see how that works, and then wonder if my boy here will be pressed flat too (once he gets some hair).  Let's hope life doesn't press him flat. Hmmm..maybe I will keep him this way to help in a small way.

Peace getting a little caught up

Came across this while going up and down some valleys and hills ....very little building around, and nothing nearby this....the long road entrance to a peace institute. Lots of strings of peace flags along the miles of road....riot of color in the green.  Had been raining, and blustering about....I thought of the different forms of peace, and how it certainly doesn't always come/look/seem straightforward. That yellow one reaching in the other direction....that one in particular made me think.

Copper Ball

My first metal ball.*  This one made by hand...cut two discs (using hydraulic press), then hammered them into two half spheres (using hammer, rounded peg like things, and a metal block with half sphere indents). Then sanded the edges, fit it together, soldered.  Not  perfect, but happy to learn one more metal trick by hand.  I had added a texture to the surface, but all my half sphere pounding kind of "erased" the texture.


*Other than the one I swallowed as a kid. 

Copper Bracelet

Too thick and two heavy, but part of the experimenting that is part of learning. There are cut outs on the underneath too, but since I am not really fond of this, not bothering with more photos.  Just using this picture to remind myself.  Texture on the surface from pressing burlap onto the smooth surface. Wanted to break it up with organic shapes, but, like said, not so delightful.  Next!

Ladybugs galore

Borrowed idea from some kind person somewhere...tomatoes, tuna, chives antennae, crackers and parsley. Stuck on the cracker with cream cheese.

Was walking with Alexis prior, and we came upon a green lady-bug type bug....she wanted to show it to me,    but couldn't find it when we took a few steps back.  She explained it to me, and said  "It wasn't a pterodactyl."  She is three years old...so particularly cute to me.

Felted Knit in a Pistachio Tree

Gosh, what is it? Hmmm.  I started knitting this wool orange thing years ago....put it aside during a move, reconnected with it, knit some more on it, noticed it too had the strange shape  that my knitted items tend to get....I add stitches, and my knitted rectangles turn trapezoidal, and then trees, as I start to drop stitches in attempt to get back to the width with which I began.

I decided this was too far gone, so I washed it....knowing  that it was wool and that it would felt. I still liked the orange, but can't really figure out what to do with it. Wrapped it around another favorite color....this pink/orchid/magenta tube....and set it in the pistachio tree because it harmonized with the leaf change that is going on there....beyond fall, winterish.

Mount Tamalpais Ring -- Silver

Silver ring with outline of Mount Tam . My first "more designed" ring, second ring I've made. Two layers of 20 gauge silver...cut the mountain out of one sheet, solder it onto the other. Form the round ring, solder.  Dip in liver of sulfur to oxidize, polish as desired....in this case I polished the mountain for contrast.
Mount Tamalpais jewelry.

Stitched Card -- Tintin and Snowy

Ok, cheating because it is not my artwork.  Stitched around picture of Tintin and Snowy for a thank you card for a friend.  Felt that if I made their eyes and other face details I would mess up...so, they look a little "blank" on the side that has the stitching most prevalent.   Fixed omission on front, didn't put new picture of fix on back....can you tell the difference (quiz appropriate for 5 year old?)?

Used sewing machine, thread, and paper. 

My first bezel...

Practicing skill still.  Bezel not quite adhered to the stone, but is soldered in place, and next steps should be easy.   Still using copper since I am beginner here, but makes for a good experiment element.  

Steps:  a. sketch design, b. rubber cement to copper plate,  c. cut interior  (the interior of "petal" here)...first drill small hole so your blade can fit through, then cut as desired d. cut outside lines e. file edges...bevel as desired f. measure and cut bezel as desired g. solder bezel together h. solder bezel to piece i. pickle k. polish l. place stone m. bend bezel to conform with stone.   

Some of my polishing needs work near the bezel, so I didn't bend bezel so I could pop out the stone while I worked further.  I like that this is "3d" in that the petals bend...interior and exterior. Took the idea from a pin my Grandma used to wear...wasn't this shape, but the petals undulated. 

Plexiglass Cutting -- Invisible Man

Cut with fine tooth saw blade by hand.  Plexi glass. Lots of control with the blade because it is so fine --able to get detail.  The image is from a photograph of a doll I had from a kid....image I have used in a few things...simple with some detail.

Will see what I do with the this technique....I like being able to cut plexiglass by hand....also am drilling holes in it....so technically (pun intended) invisible man can hang or hold with a aperture in most suited place.

Bear Costume Drawing in Copper

Totally not my drawing...illustration grabbed off google search for a bear...illustrator is Sophie Blackall.   I am practicing, this is not for
commercial purposes....would be nice to be able to draw like she does when I want to....my people tend to be glorified stick figures.

Anyhow...this is still raw, not sanded, beveled, or polished...but, I like what it can lead to ---so lovely to be able to cut metal by hand. Using a bench pin, jewelers saw, and this illustration -- cut out the image in about 15 minutes. The finishing part will take longer -- will texture the bear part, heads, etc....but, to cut metal by hand relatively easily....yippee.  Will move to silver once I practice more.  Update: I textured it...including adding their faces.

Necklace -- Copper

Ok, still a rookie.  Used cuts and soldering. About 3" x 3" at widest parts.  Trying to make a bezel to wrap a stone for another project ....seems simple, but my edges aren't soldering right...so more practice.  Soldering does seem a lot more easy than welding....not good at either yet, but soldering is just melting really, dainty steps, yes, but not quite as much precision, and a lot less heat needed for soldering. 

Will move to all silver once I get skills a bit more polished.

Glass Butterfly for the SoCal Contingent

Glass pieces glued on plexi...still in the craft mode with this...just wait for the Rothko or whatever (cathedral windows?!)....the glue part of this operation is limiting b/c I can't sprinkle, have to hand place, and watch for glue trails.

Update: Cut out butterfly shape....gad, that was labor intensive. Cutting by hand worked very easily for the "man" figure I had experimented with, but for this, the blade breakage was crazy high. Helped to use masking tape and some blade glide oil, but still for the patient (or for those watching the Giants win  the World Series).