Brown Bagging It

Brown Bag Book Swap

Each November our book club has a blind book swap and this is what I have created to put in my bag.  We had some trees trimmed earlier in the fall so I chose a smaller branch, about 3 inches across, from our wood pile and made sure it did not have a natural split to ensure that I could cut it in half.  I used the band saw for the cutting, chisels to carve the encasement for the book, a smidge of leftover well worn quilt for the book cover, and bit of leather and a stick for the closure.  In the book, which is about an inch tall, I drew outlines of leaves that are indigenous to our southern mountains.  On the next one I will try to attach the hinge so that the front of the casing will come to a better close.  I need to place the wood slabs face to face when screwing on the hinge instead of trying to fit the wood edge tightly together.  Other than that, this one worked up pretty much as I had hoped.

Today was shopping for Thanksgiving day. We have started the turkey thawing in the fridge and the ham is ready to cover in cloves, honey and cinnamon.  The chex mix ingredients are gathered for the weekend cooking, as well as makings for cookies and pumpkin pie.  I cook the sweet potato casserole, which is basically pie filling without the crust, but I classify it as a vegetable. Others bring what is important to their family traditions, so we have a nice array to choose from.  We have a possible head count of 18 this year but that is still very fluid at this point.  I greatly enjoy having a house full of friends and family laughing and sharing stories.  It makes for a table, or 2, of love.

Even on a Friday it is way past my bed time, so sweet dreams to all!

Hilari

Solitude and a Cigar

 I do not enjoy, nor am I proficient at making boxes to use with my automata, so I have found a way around this speed bump. I found a goldmine of wooden cigar boxes, and snatched up all that I could carry. While studying said boxes a voice whispered a tale of a nearsighted gentleman who loves to sneak off to smoke his stogie in the quiet company of his contented soul. 

Mr. Solitude's cigar lifts up 2 inches then drops abruptly, while his nose and mouth swing freely about. This is the first time I have used this type of movement so there was some trial and error in getting the cigar to have enough lift and drop to simulate smoking.  Not that there isn't always trial and error when I put a plan into motion...no pun intended. I am still very new to this artform and on short supply of how this all works. For me trying to figure out how to get A to move towards B is the best part.  Well, actually seeing A move towards B is the best part.  The mechanical thinking is the fun part...most of the time.  There are a few projects that have gone by the wayside due to lack of knowledge but I keep at it.  And sometimes that little voice will whisper to me in the middle of the night with instructions and before you know it A and B are moving right along.  I find that pretty awesome. 

I have a couple of ideas on the back burner but for now Husband has decided that it was time to redo the living room so we are up to our elbows in paint and flooring.  He is the honey do list maker in our family which is a good thing because if left up to me our list would consist of eating cookies and petting the cat.

Meow,

Hilari 

Colorful Camouflage

This was my first project made during art class and even though it is a simple design I learned a lot from it.  Major lesson: one cannot manipulate wood without knowing how to do so.

The "follower" which sits on the "cam" (sounds impressive,  doesn't it) was, at first, going to be the cam.  These are what make the girl bounce up and twirl. I wanted her to have a lot of movement and by designing the movement part to have many bumps and ridges she should have jumped all over the place.  My problem arose with the first follower I made, and revised multiple times.  It looked like the one in the book but was WAY to big and after adjustments it would get jammed on my poorly designed cam.  As time was ticking by and I knew where my mistakes were, I decided to readjust.  So with the addition of color to help cover the fact that she barely moves I am pleased with the end product, as well as with what I learned.

While at Arrowmont I usually stop by the cigar shop and pick up a few wooden boxes because they are a good size of the ideas I have floating around my head.  I do not like to make the boxes from scratch because no matter how I measure or how careful I am while cutting, the sides just never match up.  That is why, as you can see in the picture, the sides are usually off set from the top and bottom.  I am sure that with more practice it will come together but for now I have some very nice cigar boxes I can work with.

This weekend we have plans to build a murphy bed to put in our son's/ guest/ husband's workout room.  Our son took his bed and furniture when he moved so this will allow us to multi-use space in our smaller house.  Of course I could just give up my craft room but.......

Today was a short day for our business so Husband gave me the day off.  BFF had to come to the big city so she stopped by for a quick visit, a trip to the library and now off to the workshop.  What a lovely day!

Peace, 

Hilari

The Solution

The Solution

In February, I received the class catalog for Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. That is one of my favorite days for mail delivery.  I love to peruse all the offerings and imagine what I can learn.  This year's choice could not have been a more perfect fit.  The week was filled with learning how to add movement to your art.  Yep, right up my alley!  Our instructor was very knowledgeable and seemed to enjoy working with all the students. 

All was going great, enjoying shop time, meeting new people, lunch each day by the creek...until Thursday.  On Wednesday, we visited the lathe shop to see their work and while there those interested were given bowls that were destined for the trash. Of course I grabbed one and started planning.

I wanted my bowl to be the water and have the fisherman standing still while the fish swam around him.  Sounded pleasant and reasonably easy enough, or so I thought.  To make the bowl and man independent of each other meant that the mechanism had to be on the top of the box. Thursday morning the instructor and I discussed possible avenues to make this happen.  Without going into a vast array of details, the top picture shows the last desperate attempt at a solution to create the movement I saw in my mind.  I reverted back to what I manipulate best, my wire.  I used it as a catch for the cogs (which I have never made before and after a horribly failed attempt at gears) and low and behold the fish starting swimming. It was literally 6:00pm before I was able to get any type of consistent movement and even that was wonky at best, but I was thrilled and I believe the instructor was as well.  He had tried throughout the day to help but the piece was putting up a good fight.  After a full night of sleep (apparently, I was exhausted) and a bit of tinkering with the wire, Friday morning saw a fully functioning piece of art.  The piece will never have a smooth spin but I am proud that I stuck with it and am very happy with the results.

Once again I have to thank my BFF for putting me up and getting me to class on time.  It is wonderful to get to spend time with her as well as spend time at Arrowmont.  I can't wait for next year's catalog to come out!!

Peace,
Hilari

#arrowmont #craftexperience

Catching Up

Be Unapologetic, Commanding, and Incredibly Sure of Yourself

  

 I am now able to share a picture of the piece I wrote about earlier.  It was well received at the KBAG show last month.  I read these word somewhere and they stuck with me. They were perfect for this combination of hard and soft, and movement.  It stands 23 inches tall, so it made quite a statement compared to the other books which were a more "normal" size. The wooden block came from a deck post patiently waiting to used in some creation, the tatting was made by a grand-in-law, the bells were a wedding present, and the quilt has it's own story.  My maternal grandmother ALWAYS had her hands busy doing something, mostly crocheting but she also enjoyed quilting (Ceramics were important to her as well but that she did out of the house so I only saw the end result).  Anyway, the only quilt I have been given is a well worn 9 square that I treated with great care, only taking it out for special occasions.  When it got to the falling apart point, I knew I wanted to save as much as I could so I steeled my heart and took the scissors to it.  I made small curtains for my art room and have saved the rest for special projects.  I was so proud that I was able to reuse the quilt and showed my mother when she came to visit.  I wanted her to know how I taken care of it over the years and how I had put it to good use at the end of it's first life.  When she saw them she flatly stated that Granny did not make it.  WHAT??  My mother's family lived in a coal miner's town, a woman lost her husband in the mine and was asking for handouts. My grandmother gave her some of mother and Uncle John's clothes and said her she would pay her to make a quilt.  That is the quilt I have. It is still special but not exactly the story I had pictured, Granny carefully sewing the 9 squares.  I find it interesting that Mother remembers the story behind that particular quilt.  I wonder if it is because she lost her father in the minds when she was six and it resonates with her.

Here is the picture I mentioned in the last post.  My father's first (and possible only) fish!  The only problem is you can't see the fish.  He and Mother both say that it is there but....  I just love the vest layered with pockets full of all the stuff one could ever need to fly fish.

Here is Dad in all his hiking glory with his boots, shades, walking sticks, binoculars and more pockets full of useful items.  I could go on and on but as I said I am my father's daughter.  Just ask BFF about all the important stuff I bring on vacation with us.

The sun is shinning, the family is in, the day is beautiful!

Peace, 

Hilari

Tieing Flys

For my Dad 

I am very much my father's daughter.  If there was something new to learn or something looked like it would be fun to do (within reason...no marathon for either one of us) my father was all over it. Tennis, hiking, camping, trains, photography, violin, keyboard, painting, boating, woodworking, just to name a few.  His favorite part was to "acquire all the accoutrements" (his words) needed for said project.  He was a gatherer!  One of his later adventures was fly fishing.  He had the waders, different poles, the jacket with all the pockets to hold all his gear but what he really loved to do was tie flies.  And that allowed him to acquire even more with this one hobby, score!  After many outings he finally caught a fish!!!  He held it up proudly, Mother captured the historic moment and all was right with the world until the picture came out of the printer.  He is standing tall, arm up in the air, with a big grin, but the fish was so small and blended in with his jacket that it cannot be seen in the photo. It is framed and predominately displayed on the bookshelf...which my father built.  With this piece, when rocked the casting line comes to life and the fish wiggle about. The fly in my piece is one that he tied.  We lost him 6 years ago in April and I miss him dearly.

A note on camping:  To go camping once and only for one night you need 2 months preparation, 2 trips to campground with all stuff needed including but not limited to a HUGE tent, a hand built wooden kitchen area with electric hookup and running water ( he was extremely proud of this), cooking supplies and food to cook full meals, cots, chairs, lamps, leisure materials and firewood.  Not having much experience with fire building he put so much lighter fluid on the wood that a massive fireball flew up into the air and singed the tall pine trees hovering innocently above.  That was our only experience with camping.  Funny enough, I love camping... but not in a tent.

Today is clean the porch day and it is a beautiful day to do so.

Peace, 

Hilari

Really!!

 

Family

This piece has some great movement.  When you tip the side the girl swings back and forth as the parents rock from side to side.  Getting the girl to move the way I thought she should was a bit tricky.  I would get a good swinging motion but she would bump into the father or her foot would catch the mother's dress. I would then adjust the problem parent, which would in turn affect her arm placement so the girl would lose her wonderful swing.  A little bit of this and a little less of that, with a dash of patience, and it came into itself.  I really, really, really like when there is movement in my pieces...really.

This is my very, most favorite Christmas present I received this year. (Samantha, the long, warm socks are awesome too!).  It was made by my 4 year old niece, Emma.  I absolutely love all the colorful fingerprint dabs that cover the entire center of the bowl. I am an avid crocheter and it makes me smile whenever I use it.



Spring is just around the corner!
Peace,
Hilari

Spelling is Not My Forte

Our book making club has been invited to have a showing this month (through March 31st, not May 4th) along with a photography group from the area.  We are very excited to show our work because for all but one of us this is a hobby and for the one who "works" at it, it is a second career during retirement.  In other words, we do not have many opportunities to share what we love to do.  Also, my mother is so proud when she gets a postcard with my work being highlighted...top left corner and bottom middle.  It will make the rounds at church.

I met my partner in crime, Cheryl, last night to drop off my pieces for the show and was so excited to share with her the new piece that I mentioned I was starting in a previously post where I used  rebar, pulleys, a piece from a deck post, and an old quilt.  I swooped it out of the box and her face lit up then immediately sank.  The words on the piece read Be Unapopogetic, Commanding and Incredibly Sure of Yourself.  Yea...Unapopogetic.  I did not even have to look at the piece to know I had misspelled something.  The women in my family are not spellers.  Luck #1 , the quote was on cotton batting glued to a piece of paper which I had run through the printer (Surprise! It worked).  Luck #2,  I happened to have in my work supplies a razor blade that I could scrape off the curve of the P and make it a L to get... Unapologetic. I am very glad that was addressed before it was set out to show.  The whole world doesn't need to know can't spell.

 I neglected to get a picture of it before packing it up so I will have to share it at a later date.

The enticing smell of frozen pizza wafting from the kitchen and the sound of rain hitting the roof is telling me it is time to settle in for the evening.
Good night to all,
Hilari

A Bird In a Wire

Second Incarnation

This is one wild bird.  One little finger flick and off she goes, spasticly twirling back and forth and side to side.  My first vision was to have two wires attaching the perch to the cage but after much aggravation with connectivity, one seemed to be the answer.  And the answer was correct because she would have been much more subtle in her movements.  I love how much fun she is having!

The one thing I did learn with a second use of this idea was that I have to be more careful when cutting the curve in the book.  The first one has a smooth rhythm and sits straight.  Beginners luck.  This one lists to the left and is just a little bit wonky when rocking.  But with the bird swinging around as much as it does no one should really notice. At some point I hope to have a small table sander and this will allow me to get a smoother and more even curve. But that may take away some of the spontaneity of the pieces...or that is what I am going to say until I get said sander.

The piece I started this weekend is a bit unusual.  I started with 2 pulleys, a piece of 4x4 post from the back yard, some rebar, and pieces of a very worn out quilt.  So far I have the 4x4 wood block cut to size and sanded, the quilt pieces cut, and and idea in my head.  Husband and I bought 2 torches (one big and one  small) and a welder from Brother-in-law's father and with these I hope to cut and weld the rebar to the shape I want.  Husband has done a little welding so it is not totally out of "our" comfort zone.  The torches, on the other hand, look a bit scary.  My girly torch fits in my hand, these beasts hook up to propane tanks.  Due to the nature of the work involved, it will be be the weekend before we get to manly part of the project.


Time for dinner and pjs.
Peace,
Hilari

Snow Day

I love the smell of snow.  I never remember this until the first flakes begin to fall and then it hits me.  I forget how cold and wet everything will be and that slushing around will be a pain.  I just stop in my tracks and breath deeply enjoying the crispness of the air as it fills my lungs.  We were spared the Blizzard of 2016 due to our terrain -we are in the valley- but all around us got their fair share and ours as well.  

We did have some snow earlier in the week, which is all it takes to shut down our little city, so we took a snow day and I was able to enjoy the picture window view and creating.  I made the piece above out of a book from which I had already procured the covers.  I used the scroll saw to cut the curve and was reminded why one should always wear your safety glasses as the blade busted and spoinged across the workshop. I glued the curve closed to add stability, leaving a few pages free to soften the edge.  The wire flowers are made form left over book pages, dabbed with a bit of chalk for interest, and pushed into the spine. It's kind of odd but I really like the way it looks as it rocks back and forth.  This is one of the pieces I will be putting in our art show in March.

I signed up today for this year's art class at Arrowmont. I have my reservations made at BFF's house, so room and transportation are covered. I have been a very lucky girl and as long as Husband loves me enough to carry the work and house load without me for the week I hope to keep on being a lucky girl. In this class I will be learning how to use "simple mechanical motion"- gears, cams, pistons and pulleys-along with some carving and joinery.  I am excited!!!

It's time to walk the dog and call my mother.

Peace,

Hilari

Poor Formulation of Process

I love the fact that I can walk into my craft room and usually find what I need to make me happy.  I have a tenancy to get into a project with a full head of steam and then out of the blue, or poor formulation of process, I need something...a certain size of paper, the right color thread, a hammer, ect.  Because I have been blessed with craft store gift cards over the years, my wonderful family have greatly assisted me in setting up an art stash tailored to my tastes.  I am a very lucky girl.  This came into play last weekend.  Our book making club has been invited to have a show in March with nature as part of the theme.  With this moving around in the back of my mind I plucked a couple of magnolia leaves to play around with.

The pages are from a book from which I had already re-purposed the cover and ripped to follow the leaf shape. I used the coptic stitch to hold the signatures together and a simple stitch to attach the leaves.  As I worked through the process, the pages felt like they needed a little something, so I scurried to my stash and pulled out my box of soft chalks.  I used these to add a bit of pop to the text paper and edges.  It finished it up nicely and I like the way it lays open with out any effort.

Now for the poor formulation of process...Our show is not for weeks and weeks, so how am I going to keep the leaves looking fresh.  I have already noticed some degeneration so I feel it will be a lost cause. The pages are shaped to fit the leaves so I am in kind of a pickle.  I feel the way to handle it will be to take bi-weekly pictures to show the degeneration process and just pretend that was the plan all along.

As January rolls around and New Year's resolutions beg to be made, it is time to take stock of what is important.  My resolutions this year are simple...take time to taste chocolate not just gobble it down, look at the stars while taking the dog out for his evening constitutional, and really stop to look at the beauty in things be it a flower or a busted vase.  So far, so good. We all have enough worldly pressures so placing more on ourselves, especially in the sun deprived, dreary cold, seems very counter productive to me. So it is off to enjoy a chocolate chip cookie and a partly cloudy night sky.

Find what makes you happy and enjoy!
Hilari