For a year and a half, I'd intended to take an old, chipped, brown ceramic urn to the thrift store. It had been Left Behind, complete with fake pussy willows, in the entryway of the house when we moved in. In some kind of feat of selective blindness, we just left it to sit there for a year. I finally moved it out to the garage--to Thrift Store Pile #2 (#1 had, miraculously, made it to an actual thrift store).
Meanwhile, buried in a crowded back closet of my brain, I knew I wanted to try some mosaics to use up some of the scrap glass I accumulate as a by product of stained glass work. I'm not sure why or when, but the mosaic idea bumped into the discarded-urn brain cell and I went out to look at it again.
After some prep work, cutting the scrap glass into little pieces and putting them into old peanut-butter jars (usually in front of the TV during Masterpiece Theater, or some such) I was getting anxious to try it out. I painted the urn white to seal it, then set up my little side project in the living room, since it was kind of chilly out in the shop.
Then I began to play. With no design in mind, I just started. I worked a couple of hours at the end of most days, sticking little pieces of glass onto the urn with glue, changing the design daily as I went, depending on the colors I had available. Turns out, the thing has a much larger surface area than I'd anticipated. And I'd accumulated much more in the shades of blue and green, brown and gray, than in red, purple and orange.
Finally, I'd covered the whole surface. That's the third photo you see. Yesterday, I grouted it, and today, voila! I'm pretty happy with the result (photos 4 and 5) and that it had cost so little (um, well, except time). Now my beady little eyes are on the lookout for other hapless objects I might transform with little bits of glass. And don't stand still too long around here, or who knows what part of you might look different by the time you leave!
It was cathartic to clean up the mess in the living room. Like remodeling. So nice to see it tidier, again. But who knows for how long?
Dylan needed a few extra hands this last weekend and, well, we have four that were just flappin' around in the breeze, so we took them to his shop in SF to help out in a bit of a crunch.
Gradually, Dylan has been building up clients and connections and a reputation for wonderful furniture design and craftsmanship. It's a bit of a roller coaster, trying to work out materials/labor/costs issues, waiting for delayed payments, scheduling deadlines, and, the last couple of months, renovating a new, larger shop/office space into an efficient, highly-functional work environment. On top of that, their computer-controlled CNC Router machine, an older model, but a tool on which Dylan relies heavily, tries to throw in its own design ideas from time to time which requires lots of extra persuasive power (in time and materials) from Troy and Dylan to correct.
One of the ways Dylan has gotten attention from the furniture world has been to travel to conferences and show his work. He's been selling pieces from an online catalog, Artful Home, and will be placing some pieces in a few local furniture galleries as soon as he has the time to make them. One nearby outlet of a nation-wide chain of furniture galleries, DWR (Design Within Reach-http://www.dwr.com/) hosted a local design competition a couple of weeks ago. Out of ten winning pieces, Dylan had three and his will be the star features for an event Thursday evening. The catch was that he would need to have the actual physical pieces to show at the gallery. Plus, he had to ship another order ("Twist" shelves) last week and handle an array of other tasks, as well.
He was close to being able to manage it on his own (he outsources some of the finish work), but we offered some help for the weekend and he took us up on it. The last month or so, Tom has been learning new web-design skills with which to help Dylan build his own new site, which he wants to have ready by Thursday. So, that's how Tom spent most of the weekend. I was extra hands. We arrived at the shop Saturday morning, crashed at Dylan's Saturday night, and worked until about 11pm Sunday.
It was great to see how he works on these specific pieces. Each is quite different from the other and are designs I've posted here before, with the exception of the coffee table. The "Stink Tree" table was nearly ready for Piper-the-finisher when we arrived Sat morning and Tom and Dylan got it over to her shop. The "Cornered" coffee table was cut out and partly veneered, and the "Twist" shelves were cut, but still sitting on the CNC bed.
Over the course of the weekend, we got "Cornered" assembled, veneered and over to Piper for finishing. And by the time we left on Sunday night, "Twist" was nearly put together. In the photos, you see me sanding "Twist" segments as I pry them off the CNC (one of my main jobs during the weekend was to try to correct some unauthorized creativity on the part of the CNC). Then, there's Tom hard at work on the website. Next is a picture of Dylan trimming walnut veneer on "Cornered". All three of us worked on gluing the "Twist" pieces into boxes (they don't have backs, yet, in this photo), and, finally, in the clean-up phase, that's me and my friend, DAP Contact Cement (which is how the veneer is stuck to the surface of "Cornered").
We had fun. Dylan was kind enough to make us think we helped a bit (who raised that nice young man?). He still has quite a lot of work to do (much of it marketing stuff) these next three days, but it seems manageable. All sorts of industry folks and potential clients will be attending the event on Thursday. So will we. It will be the first stop in a five-day loop to SoCal for us (the details of which we're still working out).
We're proud of Dylan and his work. We think he has big potential in his chosen field. Stay tuned.
Perfect Sunday afternoon outside. But, here, in my studio, we're still lagging in the low sixties. Got my "Gold's Gym" sweatshirt on for comfort, though, so no worries...
We had a great, though all-too-short, visit with Diana on Thursday for dinner. She was in El Dorado Hills (southeast of Sacramento) for a conference, which we discovered was only an hour-and-twenty distant, a pleasant drive away. Lots of family stuff to catch up on. Her drive back and forth to Santa Barbara, though-8 hours each way--not so easy. Still, we're glad she wandered close enough that we could grab a little time together...I didn't get a photo, unfortunately. Thought I'd left the camera in the car, only to find out that it was in my purse the whole time. Typical.
Continuing on with the recent calligraphy pieces (from the last entry), I don't think I've posted this "winter" quote by Andrew Wyeth, yet. My sentiments exactly. Remember, you can click to see them larger. I used transparent watercolor for the background and gouache for the lettering.
"Be the change" is the simplest of statements. One must include a Ghandi quote somewhere, so this works for me. Looking for movement in the background to contrast with a spare treatment of the lettering. Acrylic and ink.
I love this Allen K. Chalmers quote. Found it on Tom Bodett's blog. He's a fave, too, by the by. Not as happy with the treatment of the quote, though, and think I'll try another approach. That's a colored-pencil background with gouache lettering.
Here is a piece that uses a lettering style that I'm playing with. I like white-on-black and this was the perfect quote for it. Kind of a fuzzy photo, though. This is white gouache.
The last one for today is from Lord Byron, of whose poetry I've read too little, I'm sure. I really prefer Billy Collins, truth be told. But I like this quote from Lord B about the power of the written word, even for me, a radio addict. It's all done in black ink.
I'll post a few more next time. Meanwhile, check this out--who knew pen-spinning was an "art form"? You can imagine how calligraphers can always use a bit of splash in their demos. Turns out it's kinda tricky. Next time I need to twirl a banana...
http://penpoints.com/2009/03/pen-spinning/
OK. So, while I've hoped to devote more and more of this goofy little blog to my day-to-day, or, at least, week-to-week progress along the ol' Art Trail, I've been lagging on the photography part lately and, therefore, perhaps it seems to the casual observer that all I do is knit and play in the garden all day. Got some catchin' up to do.
Calligraphy: I've been exploring different lettering styles, design techniques and media choices, almost as though I were in a program of sorts. I consider the pieces I'm producing to be studies. Sometimes, I have to work a few days to brush up on or develop better technique for certain kinds of lettering or painting techniques because it has been so long since I've employed them. Others come back faster. This is a continual process, but I'm working to move beyond "textbook" or "workshop" into my own look/direction. Nearly all my work prior to now has been commission- or task-based, so this is a relatively new way of thinking for me. A little disorienting, even.
I've posted a few pieces, already, but there are quite a few that I've made since, so I'll begin to catch up, here. Click on them if you need to see them larger. The first one is a piece I did for Rachel last month for her birthday. She's a cheese aficionado. We couldn't agree more with old G.K. I used gouache and colored pencil.
The next one is a quote from the recently-departed Studs Terkel, characteristically short and to the point (if not, strictly speaking, grammatically meticulous). This is done with ink (I think).
Number three is a statement made by John Glenn after he became the first American to orbit the earth in 1962 (!). Love the economy of the quote. Ink and white gouache. (Just in case, gouache is just opaque watercolor)
After that, we have a nice quote by Isadora Duncan. I tried to incorporate a sense of movement. I feel the same about art as she did about dance. Words can't capture it. Ink.
Last, for this entry, is a funny statement by Carl Sandburg. Love it! Somehow difficult to photograph (low contrast, maybe). Gouache.
I'll post a few more very soon. Meanwhile, I'm also working on a large mosaic urn, child's name puzzle (wooden), and two stained-glass pieces for the house (designed but not built). Lunchtime!
The day was so beautiful, the weather so close to perfection, that it sucked us right out the front door and over to the Buttermilk Bend trail along the Yuba River, about 30 minutes away. Not an isolated impulse, as it turned out. Nearly half the county must have been under the same spell, including a few people that we know (which works out to be a huge subset of ALL the folks we know around here).
The wildflowers are fabulous! Here are just a few shots. This trail is well-known for a gorgeous spring display. Yuba River State Park puts little signs on some of them to help us learn the names. I also nerdily brought my Wildflowers of Nevada and Placer Counties book to help out (Tom picked up on my strategic hints for Christmas). The flowers in these photos happen to be: chinese houses (duh), globe lily (white ones), and the ubiquitous combo of poppies and lupine. Too many of them to post all, but, trust me, there is a huge variety right now.
The river is raucous and beautiful! And cold, as we discovered where we decided to pop our feet in for a bit. Made our toes numb. Upstream, I spied a couple of people who must have suffered additional, uh, numbness having decided they'd happened on the "clothing optional" section of the river (we missed the signs, I guess).
A little B'n'R ice cream afterwards was just the right thing. Generally, when asked my favorite ice cream (which is like asking which of one's children one prefers--sheesh), I will answer with my standard "Cherry Garcia"--a Ben and Jerry's flavor, as if I have to tell you. I will always love Cherry Garcia. So it's an easy answer to a question with no meaningful answer. I hate those questions. Like what my favorite movie is, or a favorite song. No way can I choose (or even remember all the options). 
How can one compare Peanut Butter and Chocolate with Nutty Coconut? Like comparing Barber's Adagio for Strings with Marvin Gaye's version of Heard it Through the Grapevine! Impossible! But, yesterday, I went with a newer fave candidate--Love Potion #31. Corny name, I know. But such lovely ice cream! It's actually a corollary to Cherry Garcia, with white chocolate and raspberry ice creams swirled together with a raspberry ribbon and raspberry-filled chocolate hearts and chocolate chips mixed in. Unbelievable! I think it might be a leftover from February, when I tried it for the first time.
I get my ice cream, always, in a sugar cone. Tom likes a cup with a spoon. He also eats pizza with a fork. Anyway, Tom chose the solid PB'n'C with the little-more-unorthodox selection (for him) of Strawberries and Banana. Hard to go wrong, really. Except for ice cream with coffee flavors. Seriously. I would eat them only if they were the only ones available, like during a total world emergency, say nuclear war. In Nevada County.
There are wildflowers and ice cream where you are, too. So, get to it!
Whoa! For those keeping score at home, today is the two-year anniversary of the day we moved to Grass Valley! It was rainy and cold and our furniture wouldn't arrive until the following day, so we spent one chilly night on air mattresses wondering if a motel might not have been a little smarter.
Somehow, I didn't imagine then that by this point we'd still have a few piles of cardboard boxes here and there, which have become just a part of the decor. And maybe I thought I'd be a bit farther along in my plan to have the Nevada County art community completely blinded by calligraphic brilliance. So, what else is new?! We love it here, anyway!
Today, we hiked the property a bit, trekking down to Little Greenhorn Creek (sh! OK, so it's a bit outside of our actual property line), looking at wildflowers and noting that some trails would make it all a bit more accessible. We'll get right to that (right). I noodled around in the garden area for awhile, pleased at the progress, for a change, and looking forward a few weeks to the last frost date so that we can set out some seedlings. The daffs in front are still looking pretty good and all the little trees I've planted so far have made it through the winter. Check.
We love being closer to the kids and we do our best to keep in touch with other family and friends, though we'll never be as consistent about it as we should be, of course. We're so grateful for technology! The weather is wonderful and living in the trees makes us feel like we're at camp every day. Camp with a lot of chores and no Friday night faggot service.
Anyway, two years after a significant change in location, we think it's going pretty well. Come and check it out! Here are a few pics of Little Greenhorn Creek (which can be heard, if not always seen, from our back deck. And our house way up there. Oh, and that's us, too. More soon!
It's a bright chilly morning and, after three days of lovely rain, the sun feels good streaming through the windows. It's the perfect time to, a. Take a wildflower hike, b. Do some yard work, or, c. Ponder the wonders of Fresno, California. Ding ding ding!! Good guess! It's all about Fresno!! (but I think the title might have tipped you off). That's because I made one of my day trips to see mom and Terry on Thursday. 
You might not know that:
1. Fresno is the Spanish name for Ash tree.
2. Fresno county is THE #1 farming county in the US (well, you might suspect that one)
3. The raisin industry started in Fresno County (the "Raisin Capital of the World") when Frances Eisen accidentally let some of his grapes dry on the vine in 1875. About 1/2 of the WORLD'S raisin production comes from Fresno (!).
4. Fresno's average annual rainfall is 9.86 inches
5. William Saroyan, Academy- and Pullitzer Prize-winning author and playwright lived in and wrote about Fresno. It should be noted that he refused to accept the Pullitzer.
6. The average high temperature in fall-80; winter-54; spring-75; summer-175 (I'm pretty sure I was there on one of those days)
7. Fresno is the 6th largest city in California and the Fresno County is the 3rd most diverse county in California behind Los Angeles and Alameda
8. Fresno is the largest American City not served by a major interstate highway (Hwy 99 is a CA state route)
9. Reputed to be the most corrupt politician in Fresno history, vice-leader Joseph Spinney was mayor for only 10 minutes.
10. If all the trash/recycling "carts" (bins) were set side by side, they would reach to San Jose, 146 miles away (actual fact with accompanying illustrated map from official Fresno City site).
We love it when Terry can join us for lunch, wedged into her perpetual-motion schedule as she manages the residential care homes and the well-being of the kids in them. It's amazing to hear the stories! I've noticed that we're developing a pattern that puts us at the California Pizza Kitchen more often than not. No problem there, especially since the Pear/Gorgonzola is back! Mom is doing well and this time she and I needed to study further the mysteries of the Medicare Part D drug benefit. She has it, but it's about as straightforward as the Federal Tax Code.
By the by, the photo of the enormous irises is from the Enoch Cristofferson rest area (a favorite stop near Turlock). I couldn't believe the size of these babies!
So, there you have it! I'm thinking you might want to bookmark this one for educational value, alone...
The country mice skittered off to visit the city mice on Saturday. Tom and Dylan had some tax/business stuff to do so we drove to San Francisco for the day. Unfortunately, Rachel had been smacked upside the head with The Virus From Hell and so, on the way, we picked up some basic provisions for her. While Tom circled below, I delivered said items to a reasonable facsimile of our daughter who seems to be especially delicious to these kinds of head colds. As of last night (Sunday), however, she was starting to sound a bit more comfortable and had even been able to work a little.
From there, we made our way at a glacial pace through typical city traffic to Dylan's, where he and Emi were fixing up a wonderful brunch for us that we ate on the roof patio, as you can see. Awesome apple pancakes (Emi's creations) and eggs on a gorgeous day!! Very warm and clear. This time of year is often called "summer" in SF. It's the two weeks of amazing weather in the spring when shorts and sandals are in order. After that, the inland areas heat up, sucking fog and cold wind eastward over the peninsula, whilst East Bay and the rest of the northern hemisphere enjoy actual summer weather. And, hey, is that silly Tom clowning around in a pimp hat? Ha! You know better! Somehow (??) it was the only hat Dylan had on hand that could provide some sun protection for Dad's head. He'll throw a fit when he sees this, but I think it's worth it, don't you?
After that, we went over to the shop, which is progressing beautifully as a multi-use, two level workspace for a number of talented folks.
Dylan is just finishing a bed commission for a friend, the headboard of which you can barely see in the photo. It was sitting in front of a window, so the picture is not so great. It's a great design that he hopes to market to others, as well. He's showing Tom some hardware components he can order to make it more profitable. They eventually got all their subjects covered while I had an invigorating chat with Charlie and Karin, who happened to come by at the same time. Somehow, Tom and Dylan didn't seem to miss my input on the business discussion.
We dropped Dylan off at the Embarcadero, where he would meet Emi and others for an evening on Alcatraz. We've done the daytime thing, but this would be, uh, different, I guess. Darker, maybe. No report from Dylan as yet. We called to check with Rachel on our way out of town (still suffering, poor baby).
You knew there would be little food pleasures that we miss since our northward migration a couple of years ago. Nothing major. Rubio's is one. We can indulge when we go down the hill to Costco, where there's a store nearby. Another is Chipotle. Yes, the McDonald's-owned burrito place. We like it. So we stopped at one in Fairfield on the way home. Fairfield, by the by, is nestled in a sweet little valley along I-80 which is bright green this time of year, with wildflowers and oaks...so pretty! The main feature, for us, though, might be the Jelly Belly factory. I say "might" because we haven't yet taken the tour. But you know we will. And I'll let you know...
The cover crop is covered up. Took a couple of days, a shovel and a little Ibuprofen, but it's all dug in and doing it's little nitrogen magic in the soil, now. Tom caught some of the exciting action from his office.
Meanwhile, how long has it been since we've done a bit of blotter? A few recent tryouts for Clueless in Nevada County:
"12:26 a.m.--A caller from a business in the 300 block of Broad Street requested an officer come by to "get a visual on a punky kid". [Every cop's dream call...]
"4:26 p.m.--A man from the 19000 block of Highway 174 reported being drugged. The substance appeared to be moldy cheese." [A great way to get high AND fight an infection at the same time]
"9:55 a.m.--A caller from the 17000 block of Rockmar Lane reported he would be shooting mistletoe out of a tree at 10:30 a.m." [Good to know. And at what time will he be weeding his garden with dynamite?]
"1:54 a.m.--A woman from the 26000 block of Wampum Way reported she and her boyfriend were high on mushrooms and he was stating he was going to kill her. The boyfriend came to the telephone and said he did not intend to kill her, they were "exhanging feelings". [Just because I feel I want to kill you doesn't mean I really want to kill you, I mean, you know, hey, who are you...?]
"7:52 p.m.--A man from the 17000 block of Foxtail Drive reported a gold Dodge truck had shined a light into his house while driving past. He said the driver is a "goon" who is friends with a man who wants to harrass him. He said the man's "goon's" are intentionally driving recklessly past his house and behind his house. This is an ongoing issue with the man and his "goons". [Geniuses all around...]
"3:29 p.m.--A caller in the 14000 block of Normandy Lane reported that a male subject was on their property cutting wood. When the neighbor advised him to leave, the man pulled down his pants and exposed his rear end." [yeah, a full moon is always the way to go in a trespassing dispute...]
"11:14 a.m.--A caller from the county tax assessor's office reported a man was throwing items at the front counter." [Who hasn't been there...?]
For a year and a half, I'd intended to take an old, chipped, brown ceramic urn to the thrift store. It had been Left Behind, complete with fake pussy willows, in the entryway of the house when we moved in. In some kind of feat of selective blindness, we just left it to sit there for a year. I finally moved it out to the garage--to Thrift Store Pile #2 (#1 had, miraculously, made it to an actual thrift store).
