phl -> atl

Recently a good friend of mine departed the Philadelphia area to start life anew with his beautiful fiancé in Atlanta. As sad as I am when friends leave the area, it is always exciting knowing that they are literally embarking on a new phase of life. I always wanted the balls to pick up and move. I mean... I'm only an hour away from home home, but it's not like I moved to an area that's easier to get to by plane then by driving. How cool would it be one day to be like I'M SELLING EVERYTHING I HAVE AND MOVING TO A DAKOTA OR IDAHO BECAUSE WHY NOT.

Anywho, I wanted to give them a going away present. I failed miserably getting it to them on time. The thing was... I couldn't figure out what the f*** to do. He sent me some photos of things that they liked. Which I guess I pretty much ignored in the end. Sorry about that John.... just realized that.

I was like, if I were them, what would I want to remind me of home? That it's not too far away? So here's what I came up with: A painting that you could flip.

I started with blocks of color, which I haven't done in years. Truth is, my hands aren't as steady as they use to be, so some lines are wobbly. <--- that could be symbolic, like "just as these lines aren't straight, neither is the road in life... HA!

Then I decided to paint the skylines of Philadelphia and Atlanta. The area in between was a little harder. I originally wanted to put a couple walking hand-in-hand to both skylines, but there wasn't enough space. So I decided to paint a PHL-> and an ATL->. One day, if they're back in Philadelphia, they can always remember the home they made in a new city. I'm happy with the way it came out, and I'm hoping that it reminds my good friends that no matter how far, home isn't that far.

NOW I JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET IT TO THEM.

a little help from my friends (and major corporations)

So with the prospect of going back to school for Dental Hygiene, I ran into a little bit of what I'd call a 'mental roadblock'. While I know that I am perfectly capable and able to mentally and physically complete the program, I didn't want others (that being professors or classmates) to think that I physically wouldn't be able to because of my left hand. Nothing has ever really held me back (except ring around the rosie) and this won't either: I can sculpt, paint, type, sew, sign ASL and do most anything anyone else can do. Maybe a little better sometimes. I'm not bragging. This is just a fact. The only thing that I could foresee being a quote-unquote 'problem' was having the disposable Nitrile gloves not fit me properly. So naturally I did what any other person would do.

I started reaching out to every single Nitrile glove manufacturers and distributors I could find in the USA to see if they in any way could help me in my quest to find or make a custom fitted disposable Nitrile glove. So far, I've contacted 13 companies. Two companies emailed me back and said that they wouldn't be able to help. Which is totally fine, I'd rather have someone respond with an answer than not respond at all. One company representative called me to explain that they did not actually produce the gloves, but that she would forward my inquiry to companies that she knew of. (She also told me, good for you for following your dreams and not letting anything hold you back. TEAR!)

One company emailed me back to say "I hope that we can help you with your needs. I will consult with our team to see if there is a glove we can dip for you."

WAIT.
WHAT?
SOMEONE CAN HELP?

ER.
MAH.
GERD.

Thus begins my quest: To dig deep back into my mold making routes to make a perfect resin cast of my left hand to send to this generous company.

On Sunday, I made an alginate mold of my hand and a perfect plaster cast. From here, I will make a simple two-piece plater mold of the cast so I will be able to cast multiple hands in resin. I had forgotten how much fun it is to make a mold.. the materials, the preparation, the anticipation of cutting the alginate away to see how the cast came out. It's bliss.

Also, I need to get on my game and take some pictures. These pictureless posts are lame.

midnight surprise

Last night, after a grueling workout at the YMCA and a successful outdoors Christmas decorating session, I reclined on the couch and debated my options for the evening. I could either:

1. Fall asleep on the couch while watching Monday Night Football, be super cranky when Lou wakes me up to come to bed, stumble upstairs and probably forget to brush my teeth, lay awake in said bed because of course, I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep.

2. Go upstairs, take care of business (bunny visits, personal hygiene, put laundry away, all those fun things) go to bed and read a book. Fall asleep in bed and not wake up grumpy or cranky.

I tried to be adult-ish, and I went with option number 2. But about 20 minutes after I jumped into bed, I heard my phone brrrrrrnnng-a-lllllnngggggg from downstairs. DRAT. I forgot to turn down the phone volume. Again, I considered my options:

1. Ignore that I left the phone's volume on super high. Risk being woken up at 6am from the alarm on the phone that I forget to disable all the time. Also risk being woken up from any phone notification that may go off during the night.  DING-A-LING B**** YOU GOT MAIL! WAKE UP!

2. Get up and go downstairs. Check to see that the alarm isn't set. Turn phone to silent.

Since I was technically on a roll from my previous adult-ish decision, I went with option number 2. I checked my phone and saw that I had received a Google Talk message and two emails. Lou had messaged me "dork" about an hour earlier. Thanks buddy. But the emails were to my art account. One was entitled Etsy Order Confirmation and the other was Notification of Payment Received.

I stood there, blocking the television, staring at my phone. "OH MYYYYY GOD, Lou. I sold a purse on Etsy! I have a sale!" My heart swelled. A sale! Mind you, it was midnight by this point. I went from sleepy to wide-f***ing-awake really fast. After doing a tiny dance, I ran upstairs to my office and removed the purse from my bin of finished items... and meticulously went over it, making sure that all the stitches were proper, that there were no snags, no blemishes. Then I got really nervous. What if it's not good enough? What if she doesn't like it? I hope she does. But that is for time to tell. I packaged it up nicely with tissue paper, inserted a thank you note, taped up the box and said goodbye to it.

 

So, dear purchaser, if you are out there. Thank you. Not only for your purchase, but for restoring a little bit of my confidence. Thank you so much. 

fond memories

Yesterday I had the pleasure of running into my former sculpture professor while I was hanging up fliers for the Bike Art & Student show at the MRAC (<-- another story, for another time). I had just paid for my large iced coffee at the local DD, when I turned around and instantly recognized her. And I was so flattered that she recognized me as well. With our coffees in hand, and my bike in tow, we walked back to her home where we discussed our activities over the past seven years. I was surprised that she remembered my bark and latex figures. They were something that I've always loved to work on, and should do so more often, now that I think about it.

From the way I was explaining my so called 'art-goings-on' it honestly sounded like I was trying to convince not only her, but myself of my involvement in the art world, if you could call it that. I've done a good amount of work in the past couple years... but... I don't know. Nothing extraordinary, I guess. And no, I'm not being hard on myself. It's the simple truth. I'm an artist with professional training with a full time accounting job. I try to allot the time to work on pieces on my 'off-time', and sometimes I simply cannot. Sometimes I feel like I've failed already.

Seeing her again... It makes me yearn to begin new sculptures. It makes me want to finish the work that I have already begun. It makes me sad that I don't have a functional sculpture studio space to work in. Sure, I have my 'office' that doubles as my sewing room, where I can cut stained glass and paint... but a sculpture studio, it will never be. I'll either ruin the floor, muck up the walls, damage the stairway to and fro, this or that or so on. Sigh.

Will I ever work on sculpture ever again? HELL YES I WILL. I don't know when, but I have so many concepts that I want to explore. I wonder if other artists have gone through similar periods in their lifetime. First and foremost, I have to finish three projects that I've already started. None of which I'm keeping myself. Only one of which I'm being paid for. I have to stop doing that, too.

100.

Blogs are interesting things. It allows you (and by you I mean me. And you too, I guess) to go back and peruse the thoughts recorded in digital time, while contemplating how it relates to you in the future. And by the future, I mean now. I can already tell, this post is going to be complicated, so I'm getting another cup of coffee.

My goal of this blog was to "find the special little things in life that inspire me to create and contemplate, whist maintaining my "responsibilities" (like work, relationships, exercise, showering... )". It metastasized into something much different, very quickly: It became a chronicle of projects, detailing processes and outcomes instead of the feelings and inspiration behind it.

So after 100 posts, how do I feel? If I had to choose one word, it'd be confused. While the blog didn't exactly stick to the original plan, I kind of like the way it chronicles projects a little more. Do I wish I included more daily inspirations? Yes, and I'll try to work on that more in the future. Although sometimes when it comes to a project, it's create for the sake of creating.

There are so many things that I like to do, but it seems impossible to "choose a path" like some people have suggested. Is it going to be wine bags all the way? Will I try my hand at fine art and exhibiting more? Or am I more poised to be a home do-it-yourselfer? I don't think I'll ever have one solid path, to be honest. Maybe my natural path is an ebb-n-flow like the ocean tide instead of a straight one way road.

Here's to 100 posts, and a good journey so far. Self discovery is tough shit, but it really helps to put my thoughts down. And it doesn't hurt to add MS Paint, if you ask me. :D

framed! part duex

finished frame, sans stain

I now have two... TWO! paintings that are properly framed and ready to ... well... HANG for lack of better words! Over the weekend, I finished building the frame that I was working on by cutting pieces of 1"x2" and securing them to the back of the frame: It added much needed depth and sturdiness to the piece. Once the glue was dry and set, I ran the sander over the frame one last time to ensure that all the surfaces were smooth and even. A dark walnut stain was applied soon after, and once it was dry, I secured the three paintings inside and sat back to admire my work. To say I'm happy with the result is an understatement, since I'm famously HORRIBLE at woodwork. I always wanted to design a frame for those paintings that would become part of the piece, not just an accessory to it. The horizontal flow makes me swoon. Iz uber prowd.

On Monday, my super cool frame from PictureFrames.com came in, fully assembled and ready for Material Experiment #1! The painting fit in it perfectly and was secured with canvas clips: The ornate bright silver frame complimented it quite nicely.

The last step I needed to take with both frames was to finish them off with paper backing, wiring and labels... which I've never done. But, after watching about ten minutes of You Tube videos on the subject, I had brown paper, double sided tape, wire hanging supplies and spray adhesive in hand and ready to go. First I applied the double sided tape to the back edges of both frames. After cutting the paper to size, I pressed it onto the tape and went over it with a fid to make sure it really stuck. Then, I screwed in the hardware and twisted on the wiring. Finally, I sprayed the labels with a little adhesive, and stuck em' on.














So both paintings are ready to be displayed. Look at me, finally finishing something! With any luck, Sunset at the Beach will sell at the MRAC-RDC Silent Auction on Thursday, May 3rd: I'm donating it for the their fund raising effort. And hopefully, Material Experiment #1 will be selected to be displayed at MRAC's May show, which opens on May 6th. Maybe you'd like to come visit and see them in person...?

1,900 page views, say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!

THAT'S RIGHT. 1,900 page views! Now, I realize that it's slightly less traffic than Google or Regretsy, but damnit I'm proud. AND I didn't click on my blog 1,900 times either. That makes me more prouder. To celebrate, I went to Subway and got my most favorite treat of all times: A foot-long tuna on wheat with red onions and hot sauce. Gross, I know... BUT DELICIOUS.  The Subwayers missed me, too. Bread and meat guy said "I haven't seen you in awhile" while the topping lady said "It's been too long, yes?". Sigh. It's nice to be wanted. Apparently, with my 1,900 page hits I'm in high demand. Don't worry. There's enough Jill to go around.

Last night I made all eight straps for the cushions I'm reupholstering. I didn't think it would take too long, but it totally did. After cutting eight  2-1/2x11" strips, I sewed the long sides together, turned them inside out, finished off the edges and ironed on the fabric fusion Velcro. If the strips were a little thicker, I think it would have been easier. The more narrow it is, the harder it is to turn inside out. It's all good though. I'll be ready to sew the cushions together this weekend!

Thanks for reading and keeping up with my artsyness friends! I appreciate your time so very much!

package details.

I was so excited yesterday! You probably already saw that I had my first sale over at Etsy. HOLLA! After my euphoria settled into amazement, and the amazement settled into wonder, I began to think: How should I package my item?  It's not everyday that I send someone a package in the mail, and I don't want to just throw the bag in another bag, slap a stamp on it and ship it off. I want my recipient to feel like they're opening up a gift! I want them to feel special! So what to do?

Unfortunately, there's not much I can do with the flat rate box, but once she opens up the box she'll be greeted with this:

A colorful printed envelope, a thank you note, a receipt, a business card and colorful tissue paper round out the package. If I'm going to be serious about selling my crafts online, then I need to let the purchaser know how much I care, and how I truly appreciate their purchase. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be doing this.

celebration!

My lovely friend Kara just became my first customer on Etsy!  I'm bursting at the seams with love. She purchased one of my favorite wine bags, and I'm so glad that I can send it to her, all the way over in Germany!

bag #1 out of 10... SOLD!!