Filling In the Blanks

It all started with a thrift store find.  I am not sure why I drifted into one of our local shops, but I remember being intrigued by what I could do with this tricycle.  The tag said $8.99.  I know that is not expensive but when it may sit on the shelf for an undetermined amount of time I have to decide which

purchases are worth the price.  If I didn't my house would be full of wonderful, sometimes useless, fascinating only to me, items for my craft. I walked away. I can't remember if anything else caught my eye that afternoon but I came home with the trike.

And there it sat, occasionally being pushed around, captivating me with the movement of the peddles.  Knowing this motion was going to be part of the art, I just had to be patient for the rest of the story to fall into place.

Now enters the bedraggled bride doll mentioned in the last post.  There was nothing pretty about her, dirty dress, hair askew, a little too tall, but she was rescued all the same.  As with the clown who came home with her, she was immediately stripped down to her porcelain.  While her proportions were off when dressed, she could now transform into her own.  After the agreeable meeting between Mrs. Bride and the tricycle, all fell into place.  My first objective was to get her shoes to move in a way that had her peddling.  As per my method, a lot of repetitive moving of the respective parts trying to come up with a solution.  In other words I pushed the trike around a lot, watching and figuring.  Springs were the answer, connecting them from the wheel upright to her shoe.  They work perfectly.

  

I'm not sure if there was ever a thought of her having a body but as the piece progressed I loved the openness, leaving the eye to fill the missing parts. Her head and balloons sway a bit when pushed, and with the addition of the peddling, this creates a small movement that flows throughout the piece. My heart sings when I play with it.

My 4yr old niece was inspecting, and moving Mrs. Trike around and in this little sweet voice...

Niece:  She doesn't have any arms

Me:      No

Niece:  She doesn't have any legs

Me:      No, I made her that way.  I like the way she moves without them

She gave it another good look over, smiled and said OK. 

I hope on some small level it will resonate with her that art can be whatever you want. 

Time has progressed since the start of this blog post, with a few firsts.  We walked the streets of New Orleans, purchased a wonderful painting from a street vendor; kayaked Nickajack lake and watched 50,000 bats fly from their cave to evening feed (it was nothing like the movie The Birds); moved our son's family into their first home.  We also had our granddaughter for a week.  Not a first but we were sure busy with Putt Putt golf, ceramics, cooking, all the fun stuff.

This year we had a wonderful spring, but summer has finally made its hot and sticky way to the South.  But with this comes the lightening bugs, the smell of chicken on the grill and the sounds of outdoor life.  May you enjoy the sweet sun season!

Hilari

 

Taunting

Let's get one thing straight, I do not like clowns.  I know, I know.  Inherently there is nothing wrong with them.  They have brought joy to millions, and up to a point I giggled at their antics but...  I remember the exact moment I lost the warm and fuzzies towards these vile creatures.  I blame it on Steven King and his character Pennywise.  His book "It" was great, enthralling, a real page turner.  The 1990 TV adaptation broke me.  It may have been my life situation overflowing onto the storyline or some latent deep seeded thing from my childhood but after that two-night event I was done with them.

Side note:  I do not take issue with people who enjoy being clowns.  I think it is admirable they want to spread happiness to others.  Do I have friends that are clowns, no, but that is just happenstance not choice.

On to the piece.  As it has been stated in the past, I enjoy a tromp through yard and estate sales. It's the thrill of the find. On this particular Saturday the Estate Sale sign called and I followed the arrows to a large house full of potential goodies.  I perused the driveway selections where a couple of children's chairs showed some potential, then into the heart of the house I entered, the garage.  This is where the odds and ends are places, and tools, ohhh, tools.  It was there I locked eyes with our central character. By his side were five or six porcelain headed dolls and while picking up a poorly dressed bride, considering it my find for the day, the clown said, "Oh, you'll be back". No, thank you all the same and into the rest of the house I went.

My creative juices found nothing else of interest so back to the beginning to ponder over the children's chairs. The only direct route was back through the garage where I was accosted once again by the clown.  He was like a predator with candy to a small child.  Come here little girl...no, I don't want to work with you...Oh, what fun we will have.  Look at my pretty colors, my porcelain skin.  We could do wonders together.  

I took the candy.

Returning home, with the children's chairs, dilapidated bride and clown in tow, I knew my first priority was to execute my authority and disassemble the clown. What remained was the head, hands, shoes and red striped pantaloons, all in pieces on my workbench. My momentary superiority was shattered when he whispered...What are you going to do with me now?.   

 Getting down to business I gathered my wire, tools and a gifted ceiling fan globe.  I elongated his neck area because the piece was not proportional when I simply stuck his head on the base.  Pleased with the look, I added movement using fishing weights connected to a wire dropped into the globe and when the crank is turned his head will slightly tilt/rotate in a creepy kind of way.  His pantaloons were used to cover attachment wires and to introduce a bit of softness compared to the rigidity of the glass and wire.  The mobile was attached simply because I liked it.  He worked up rather quickly, I assume he was trying to make his point.

He now resides in the living room taunting me daily.

Today is Saturday and I am off to see what project I want to delve into... jewelry, embroidery, laundry.  Hum, wonder which will win out.

Peace,

Hilari

 

The Chosen One

Enjoying The Breeze

I have come to realize that as the years pass I am much less inclined to create as winter sets in.  I still make just not with the zest of ideas flowing.  I crochet with gusto but it is usually with others' patterns or my fallback of Granny Square blankets which I donate to an organization called Project Linus.  If you are a blanket maker (crochet, quilter, knitter, fleece, etc...individual or group) in need of producing please check them out.  It seems I homestead in the colder months with the comfortable but this season I am branching out...all the way to embroidery.  I have been enjoying the process shown through online classes and have made 2 books with simple, quirky stitched covers.  At this point, which is very early in my journey, I have grand plans for 2023 Christmas presents.  I sure hope it sticks.

Even though my creative urge is snuggled up in a cozy blanket on the couch for the moment, the sunshine and warmth of the last summer had me going strong.  And with the smell of fresh cut grass this was created. 

This one knew exactly what it was going to be before it even got started.  While helping a friend load her firewood bin I picked up the next piece to be stacked and it said "Whoa, slow down, check me out".  Well, who can resist that.  I gave it a good once over, even noticing it had a nice flat bottom so no adjustment would be needed there.  I told it "Yes, you surely are a nice piece of wood".  Again it spoke, " Now that I have your attention here is what I want to be..." and within a week and a half it was complete.  

With the finished concept thrust at me I just had to jump right in and find my starting place. I sanded the front of the wood making sure I left the beautiful cut marks while leaving the back untouched to show off the textured bark. I gathered my chiseling tools and carved out the niche which set the size of the air dried clay figure.  Next I placed the crank at the bottom of the wood because, well, that was where I was told to put it.  When this is engaged the thin wire makes the body's legs kick around.  

Another creative end game was thrust upon me during the same time, making metal mobiles. More about that later, but with it came about the haze of clouds lazily floating over his head.  After all was completed as asked, or rather demanded, I added my own touch of the bright yellow flower.  With this I knew it was finished.

Each spring our city has a month-long Dogwood Arts Festival which, as it sounds, is a celebration of nature, both natural and gardens, and the arts.  I am happy to say that this piece was chosen out of 415 judged entries to be one of 45 displayed in the downtown gallery. It was very exciting to see it out in the wild being shared with others.

With being just past the middle of February we are well on our way to spring. Happy Early Pre-Spring to all.

Hilari

 

And Then There Was This One

 

Old School Selfie

Some ideas just flow beautifully like a serine creek in a quiet wood.  The idea comes whispering sweet nothings in your ear and the melody of the creative dance begins.  From start to finish it is a pleasure to manipulate the tools, found objects, and watch the seed of an idea grow.  You get the picture. 

Not this one.  Nope.  It came out spitting and hissing like a caged feral cat.  

                                           

Maybe it was because all of the parts had been sitting around in their respective places, not socializing with others.  I crafted the head out of air dried clay and left it unpainted, picking it up on occasion hoping to help it find its way.  The camera was passed from one, to another, then onto me so maybe it felt abandoned and therefore uncooperative.  

The application of the movement varied from moment to moment.  I started with an elaborate construction of a metal wire cage with gears.  No.  Next was a paired down version, removal of gears, addition of wire cam shaft. No.  Complete removal of wire cage, start over.  After a hard fought fight I ended up with a dowel connected to the viewfinder creating a tipping point, simple but somewhat effective at this point.   The crow awkwardly rocks back and forth with the use of a wire lead (seen in picture).  You just grab the wire and force her into submission.

The only highlight of this project, with the exception of when I finally called it complete, was making the wings.  Once, years ago I had some now forgotten brilliant idea to do something grand with those thick paper bar coasters touting which beer is the best.  Thanks to eBay I have a box of these packed in the deep recesses of my supplies.  With wire, the colorful coasters, and knowledge gained at an Arrowmont art class the crow is able to fly, so to speak.  Oh, and the eyelashes! It was with this glorious addition that I knew this drudgery of a piece was done.

Lastly, this project spent more time in a Time Out Bag than it did to actually complete it. The crow has no good side to photograph.  And to have the last laugh, I have run out of shelf room for bigger projects ( she is 16 inches high x 15 inches wide and 13 inches deep) so she sits on the dinning room table mocking me every breakfast. 

I'm sure I will come to revel in her awkwardness at some point.  Think positive!!

We are in the definite throws of summer with the heat keeping many inside.  Hopefully this finds you cool with a tall glass of sipping lemonade. you know the kind that makes you pucker with delight.

Peace,

Hilari

We Got Cows - Twister - 1996

 As time waned on my desire to communicate with others, both personal and online, waned as well.  Like an early spring breeze breathes life back into the world, seeing engagement of others has helped lift the gray of covid winter.  My hope is that it will quietly recede into the medical depths of normalcy but if not at least we are better adapted for what may come.

On to personal engagement...

New ideas have been in full flow with the reemergence of longer brighter days.  With the fleeting light of winter I hunker down with yarn and a cozy blanket but flower blooms and sunny warmth sends me outside where I work with other mediums.  This season has led me to creating hanging art mobiles.  It actually started in the winter gloom, creating a Twister movie themed one for my son.  This is one of his favorites, being way, way too young to watch and actually a bit traumatized until a close tornadic call in an open shelter at Boy Scout camp brought ideas of storm chasing into his forethought.  

My first completed mobile was made with a coke can, wire and string, experimenting with the process.  It flows as it should, easily in the breeze. I got this!  Now let's make one that does not follow traditional rules. Do I have this?? For those who have not seen this cinematic masterpiece ( I jest, there is no sitting on the fence with this one.  You either love it or hate it) there is a scene where cows are flying through the air.  This was my starting point.  I wanted the cows to look erratic, out of balance, as they should in the middle of a tornado, but after many unsuccessful drafts, continuing to prove to myself that drawing is not my strong suit, I ended up with very stoic, pasture grazing cows.  In the end I was just glad they looked like cows.  Next off to the wire wind vortices which came about with much more ease.  Again, taken from the movie was the addition of a car being swept away, as this was a pivotal scene.   Up into our small, full attic I go in search of one 4 x 6 inch box containing Micro Machines (there is a very small portable world full of cars and other transports vehicles which my son was gifted, bribed, when needed), finding one that was a perfect fit if not the right color.  A little spray paint and touch up with a sharpie, the hot pink hot rod was transformed.  Parts pre-assembled and looking great laying flat on the workspace, whooo, this is awesome.  Hum, huummmm, hum...having only made the one now I am in a quandary how to proceed.  I now needed to think through the weight counterbalance to make this work.  I left it on the worktable enjoying the awesomeness while being mocked by indecision until the solution of fishing weights woke me up one morning.  Having a stash of these I was able to adjust the length of wire and size of weight until the storm blew as I had thought it would.  

He loved it and all was right in the world.

I hope this season of sunshine and warmth finds you happy and healthy.

Peace,

Hilari

A Blinking Adornment

 

This little darlin' whispered to my psyche the she needed to be introduced in this world.  Having been working with metal lately, I had my supplies ready to make the eyes and mouth.  I patina-ed the eyes the same as if I was coloring copper earrings, using an ammonia fume.   Color was added to the mouth with heat and boiling water ( I have discussed the process in a past post).  After those steps were completed she unfortunately sat and patiently waited for inspiration to move me again.  I could see what I wanted but was not sure how to proceed.  This is a normal occurrence, at this moment I have a three ideas sitting in limbo, just waiting for their spark to light.  Again, she whispered, and it was non-stop until completion.  Her hair is made from batik fabric sewn into tubes and stuffed, then sewn onto the wire base. 

The coolest part is that she blinks!  There is a small lever on the right side of her face, and when rotated her eyelids open and close.  I used a wire wrap that I had seen in a jewelry application, where items could be caged then hung on a chain.  Instead of a full cage I only needed half for my purpose, leaving an opening for the eye to be seen.

This idea was driven by my sister-in-law, who sent information about wall art needed at a location she and her husband patron.  The problem is that I make shelf sitters not wall hangers.  Well, not anymore.  As I was thinking about construction I knew I wanted to be able to reproduce the idea, allowing for freedom of personality in each piece.  I believe I will have the ability to do this through manipulation of features, hair styles, and materials used.  I still have to work on how it hangs due to the fact that it has to come away from the wall to allow the eyelids to rotate.  Even though this one is stable, a bit of refinement is needed.  I have had a drawing of a man that chatters, his mouth opening and closing, for quite a while and this may be the perfect application to give him a voice, so to speak.

Today we say goodbye to football season with the playing of the Super Bowl, so I must be off to get settled in.  I do not have a dog in the hunt so I can just enjoy the action.  It will be a long wait until next season.

Peace,

Hilari

 

Ring Ring

 

I have been enjoying playing with wire as of late.  My hands have mostly been full of yarn, so working with a different kind of manipulation has been a nice change.  This piece was made for BFF's birthday.  Due to her new(ish) wedding and subsequent move to husband's town (mine as well, but because of covid we have not been able to spend time together) she had to give up her almost 40 year old phone number that she and her mother shared.  It was one of the last physical reminders of her mother, who passed shortly after our high school years, and to her it was very emotional.  I hope this will help fill that void. 

As for the piece itself, numbers 1 and 2 are able to be dialed and will return with the use of a spring. I had hoped for more spin but it was not going to happen with how the base was created.  I used my trusty typewriter to replicate their phone number, and glued it to the rusted bottle cap in the center of the dial. The handset can be lifted off to make it more interactive.  Usually my pieces are shelf sitters but this one hangs on the wall, and I like how it looks suspended.  

Tonight is more wire work, making a tiara for a hot pink crocheted pig head.  While the head was easy to work up, I am not sure the vibrant hot pink color was the correct choice.  It lends itself to be an angry pig,  I am hoping the tiara will soften its look.  Maybe the larger the tiara, the less angry the pig.  We will see...

With Fall upon us it is time to get the fireplace ready for its intended use.  During the warmer months, to combat the big gaping hole where a fire should be, I set logs in place and hide a rotating, lighted glass ball.  When plugged in it it gives a nice warm glow, throwing shadows about.  This year was a different set up, using geodes and crystals with the lighted ball.  It was a nice change and next spring, which will be here before you know it, we will see in which mood I am feeling, earthly or celestial.

Happy Monday to all,

Hilari

  

An Occupied Mind and Busy Hands

Summer in East Tennessee is like walking out your front door into a cup of soup.  Some days the 100% humidity just takes your breath away, literally.  But being raised here, it seems normal...dry heat, what is that?  But, oh, that first slightly cool breeze of Fall, what a glorious kiss on the cheek.  With that being said the Mimosa trees look like they are home to an abundance of fairies, all the lovely shades of green are in full view, the lightening bugs are still blinking their yellow glow, and the cicadas are singing their nightly song.  My front porch is a wonderful place to take it all in.

To keep my mind occupied and my hands busy I have been crocheting a menagerie of animals heads to hang on the wall.  It all started with a YouTube video, then moved to a couple of books ordered online.  First completed was an easy deer, then a mouse (more rat size due to yarn choice), a narwhal, then onto a blue rabbit. The ram was next.  He worked up to be 22 inches tall..after the hat was added.  He was in progress for over a week, with much of the time spent attaching the many, many...many...9 inch pieces of yarn for his coat.  After all was said and done he just looked mad for even being created so I gave him a party hat to really give him something to complain about.

I am not sure if others will whisper their need to exist so I have not hung my trophy heads on the wall as of yet.  I would hate to display them only to have a new member join in and upset the cart, as they say.  There is a bull's head that has caught my eye so....

Husband is gaming online so I have the evening to myself.  As always I have choices of unfinished projects to jump into.  All I need to do is weed out the chatter and see which ones speaks to me tonight.  No, NO!, I will not start the bulls head no matter how much I want to start something new.

Happy Thursday,

Hilari

The End of the Story

Here is the compilation of work made during the doll class at Arrowmont.  We all enjoyed watching the ideas come to life throughout the week, each person having their own, if not flexible, idea of what a doll is.

My last piece created was a flying pig.  I have wanted to make one of these for a while, but other ideas have had a stronger pull at the time.  Knowing I needed to start with the base, this determines the overall size, I was off to the tobacco shop to get a cigar box.  With limited choices, I chose a larger wooden box and headed back to campus.  Arrowmont's campus sets off of the main strip of a small tourist town nestled at the entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains.  So as I walked back, a couple of shops caught my eye for a quick wander.  In one of these, I found the perfect colorful box for the base on the sale table, score.  I will put the cigar box back for another adventure. ( I now own a metal Bigfoot lunchbox from the second store, yea)

After sizing the body to fit the box, I worked on sculpting the head.  Sculpting is not one of the techniques I have worked with previously, but with the two classes this year I am a tiny bit more comfortable.  As I worked, the critter did not look much like a pig, resembling more a snub nosed alligator.  It was not until I added the ears that he started to come into his own.  Using a dowel to attach the head to the body, and the stubby legs with small eye hooks, purple paint was added to make him joyful.  I had hoped to have more movement with the legs but alas they do not have much wiggle.  I attribute this to the fact that I made the pig fly opposite from everybody else.  Upon looking, after the fact, at how others fly, their internal mechanics make the pig moves up and down, where as with mine, the pig is stable and the wings flap.  Yep, mine is special.

Again it was another special week.  I so enjoy learning and being with others who may, but usually do not have the same insight, direction, vision, passion for a particular craft, history, etc as I.  This opens up the world in unexpectedly wonderful ways.

A side note:  This post was written months ago.  Due to the complications of the world at this moment in time, I have not had the mental ability to share my thoughts.  Being stressed and overwhelmed has had an impact but limiting news and finding my positive voice has been a healing path.  Oh, and crocheting.  Apparently this is my go to during a pandemic.  That yarn stash I have been working on all these years is what has kept me sane.

I hope this finds you both physically and mentally well.
Peace,
Hilari

Nalbinding and Needle Making

I love YouTube.  I watch it most nights before bed, falling down endless rabbit holes of arts/crafts, virtual museum tours, cat videos, and several live cam regulars.  I have a barn full of sheep who have put me to sleep several nights.  On one of my nightly romps through the world of yarn manipulation I found something called Nalbinding.  What is this you ask...It is Viking Knitting, a form of knot making, the precursor to modern crochet and knitting as we know it.  I could try to explain it, actually I did try but it was a convoluted mess, so you would be better off to Google it.  I am always up for a new challenge, artfully speaking, and knowing I had a wooden needle from my rug making moment, I was ready to give it a go.  After a couple of somewhat uneventful tries, I decided that my rug needle (which would never be used for a rug application again) was too wide for this purpose so off to the workshop I went for modification.  With a bit of sanding a better shape was produced, but I ended up using a plastic darning needle instead.  (I have since watch a video on how to make my own wooden needle and will try this if I continue with Nalbinding)  A few more attempts showed some improvement, so I went to my ends stash and grabbed some chunky weight yarn knowing this would cover a multitude of sins.  Having seen ALL the videos and the end products being round...mittens, cowls, slippers, purses, it never occurred to me that Nalbinding was not used for flat items and this was confirmed the more I looked into it. To go along with this, there are no real patterns because your actual thumb is the gauge and each thumb is different so you get only general directions.  With a bit of resilience and a some crochet know how, I was able to create a flat piece which wraps around the neck and is held together with a handmade copper clasp.  Now that we are into Spring, I will have a new beauty to wear in the Fall.

Art/Craft books are one of my addictions and I have been feeding it for many years.  Some I have used as reference but mostly I have just looked at the lovely photographs and dreamed of when I would take the time to actually study them, taking notes and applying the information. With our home business being client based, we travel to homes and businesses, we have quickly been affected by the current state of things.   Our city's major hospital, assisted livings and some small businesses have asked us to refrain from coming by at this crucial time.  Having this extra time available may just give me the opportunity to enjoy these in a more in depth manner.  Or I will clean the closets throughout the house.   We have lived in our home for 27 years and I am sure that at least one could benefit from a deep clean.

Last night on YouTube I came across Krokning,  Again, what is that!?!  It is the Swedish word for Tunisian Crochet, something I have never done.  Grabbing a yummy roll of thin yarn and a crochet hook, I was able to get the rhythm of the stitches even though the style of hook was incorrect.  For this kind of work you need a long straight needle, like ones used for knitting except with a hook on one end.  This I do not have, so I am going to take a shot at making one out of a dowel.  I may even have a book in my stash that could help with this.

I am off to continue reading Creative Illustration Workshop for Mixed Media Artist.  This one I bought just for the art work, I normally do not work in 2-d.  It is whimsical and has a freedom to it, and the text shares her creative process and techniques used.

Check in with those you love and be sure to give yourself some love too.
Hilari

The Story Continues

And the story continues...

This is the second piece I completed during doll class.  Because we did not have a specific direction,  ex: make a clown,  there were no requirements to fulfill.  After the initial introduction to the process it was up to us to create.  My starting off point was the metal box containing book pages.  BFF is always on the lookout for interesting items and the box came from her.  At one point I took a torch to it to see what would happen, with the end result being that the paint was removed and leaving it a nice gray color.  I worked the body of the bird around the box which determined the size.  Through slides and handouts the class was introduced to many makers in the doll maker realm and the idea of the bird was loosely adapted from this information.  Where the body base is newspaper, the head is solid clay.  Our class was stationed next to the pottery building so we had access to the heat box, which is a large wooden, shelved box with heaters enclosed.  Everyone in the class made many, many trips, waiting not so patiently for our pieces to dry.  Without access to the heat box we would not have had the ability to complete more than one piece.

The nesting material , dyed wool, used in the bird cage atop the head, was found in the grass near the fiber building.  It was something I did not know I needed but was ideal for this application.

Digging around in my stash I found what I thought was the perfect item for his leg.  It had a nice height and a flat base for the "foot".  Body completed, head attached, hole drilled for metal rod placement...dry run...and it quickly toppled over.  Weight distribution off.  No matter how I adjusted the head, it was not going to stand on its foot. ( Not to mention that the round disc had a pretty good amount of play seeing how it was a wheel in its former live...hum, we will deal with that later...) The base had to be wider.  I headed over to the wood shop to dig around in their trash pile but no luck.  I popped my head in the bowl turning class and was greeted with enthusiasm when I explained my dilemma.  There were 3 lovely gentlemen who discussed, drilled, stained, and glued the wheel tight to get my bird standing tall.  It was a joyful moment, people working together for no other reason than to create.  When I look at this piece I think of them and smile.

Our winter has been dreary, full of cloudy days and rain, but March is just around the corner and with it sun and warmth.  Both my body and creativity will welcome the positive shift.  Until then I will just settle into my nest with some yarn, staying cozy.

Peace,
Hilari

Marionette Mayhem

Hello New Year, it is nice to meet you.  As I mentioned in my last post, our lives got ramped up in October and went strong passed the New Year.  In that busyness there was a lot of family, a bit of sickness, a craft show (a bomb, but now have stock at the ready),  a trip to Arrowmont, parade watching, and a week entertaining our granddaughter over her Christmas break.  So yes, even though our time was well spent, welcome New Year and the peace you bring.

As I was leaving Arrowmont at the end of my class in the spring, Ms. Rebecca told me to be sure and apply for a Fall Scholarship.  Having just spent 2 weeks away from work and home, I was not so sure if that was a good idea but Husband just smiled and said that it was worth a shot.  Little did we know that I would receive a class, including full room and board.  What a wonderful surprise!!  My chosen class was doll making using air dry clay and found objects.  It was very similar to my earlier class but instead of carving the figure, you start with a base of newspaper sealed in masking tape and covered in clay, adding in the details.  Once again, having packed my supply cart to the hilt, I had plenty of items to choose from to create my "doll".  Knowing that movement makes me happy, I had, in my mind, a picture of a marionette playing with his marionette.  The above picture shows the outcome.  The smaller marionette jumps and bounces around when the arm on the larger figure is moved.  I used a bit of wire and a lever action to do this.  The figure is made with springs, a clamp thing holding a nail for his tie, and he sits on a bench created with a door handle and an old hinge gifted from my BFF.  If I had a desk job he would sit proudly next to my work space and I would play with him all the time.

I have been extremely lucky with the ability to stay with BFF or Mother-in-Law to make these trips affordable.  This was the first time I have had the opportunity to stay on campus and it was wonderful.  I had a room to myself and was able to decompress from the ways of the real world.  I cannot say enough about how grateful I am to Arrowmont for their generosity and to my husband for supporting my creative learning.

I have my next class picked out and with it I will be returning to the wood shop. It is called Sculptural Woodworking and Experimental Techniques.  Sounds fun, does it not?!  It is in May and I have made my reservations with Mother-in-Law.  Yippee!

I have loaded a short video of the piece to my Skinny Dipper Designs facebook page if you are interested in seeing how he works.

Time for supper of butter noodles and chicken, yum!
Peace,
Hilari

Come Out and Play

In a long ago post I mentioned a piece that had some technical issues which needed to be addressed.  Using a shelf mocker box with corresponding mocking ceramic head and arms, I worked this piece until the stumbling block of how to attach the hands to the wire mechanical movement came into play.  And there it sat...for months.  I knew I had to get past the blue painters tape, the arms were falling off by this point.  Having tried to drill a tiny hole through the arm, nope, then simply wrapping wire around the arm, again nope, it was time to try 2 part epoxy.  I felt this was the last resort because if I mess up the mixing process or attach the hands in the wrong position, or as in the past, have the piece shift while drying becoming non functional, having only one set of hands kept me from moving forward.  As you can see I had some reservations.  As it often happens, the piece spoke and I heard the lady in the box whisperer that it was time, she was ready to come out and play.  I dug the epoxy out of the bottom of my stash and made my plan.  The wire to attach the arms were sticking out of the appointed holes ready to be cut to length, the first commitment to make me sweat, next was filling, but not over filling the minute hole in the arm, and lastly finding a way to have the epoxy set in the correct position while hanging in open space, really sweating now.  Each step attended to, now to wait.  

With a large bit of trepidation I removed the stabilizers and gently spun the handle.  The arms stayed in place and they move as envisioned.  Whooo!  She is just the perfect mix of whimsy and weird.  Her arms swivel in and out with a bit of up and down making it gloriously creepy.   The arms "click" against the wood adding another layer of depth to the piece.   I hate that I waited so long to man up and use the epoxy.  I still think I will always sweat a bit when I use it though.

Yesterday was the wedding of my Godchild and his lovely wife.  The love shared was a great reminder to hold hands with the ones you love. This marks the beginning of our busy season sharing time with family and friends.  Hugging grandbabies, soccer games,  Arrowmont, holidays, I even entered us in a 1 day craft fair just to keep us on our toes.  The new year will be here before we know it.  Enjoy all that is brought your way.

Time for Sunday brunch and the news paper... yep, we are old school.

Peace,

Hilari

Things, They Are A Changin'

Having been an only child in our work shop, it has been quite the shock having to share the space with Husband recently.  He has found his voice in the art world with acrylic pouring.  The Saturday after my lengthy trip to Arrowmont I decided to skip my KBAG meeting, which I rarely do.   First, I was tired and second,  Mrs. Scharon was teaching the fundamentals of acrylic pouring and my body can no longer tolerate being around paint fumes of any kind.  Sometimes this is a blessing...Sorry, Dear, I can't help paint the living room...but mostly it keeps me very vigilant when I am creating with anything that generates an off gas: torching, painting, gluing, etc..  I have had to change course many times to complete a project due to this, but I digress.  In passing I let Husband know my plans, or lack of, and he said that he was interested in going.  Wow, ok.  I introduced pouring to him via YouTube a few weeks prior but had no idea that it piqued his interest.  So off we went and he has been going strong ever since.  He has even taken a one on one class with Mrs. Scharon so he could learn more.  He now has a nice stash of paints, pouring medium and canvases.  He is the first to look at the art store fliers in the Sunday paper.  He is making some beautiful and interesting work and I am always excited for the end result.  Since I cannot be in the shop while he is working I get to be surprised by what colors were chosen and how they mingled together.

Lately I have been working with copper and patina.  The cutting and manipulation of the metal is very satisfying but carefully opening up the ammonia container and being surprised with the outcome is where the joy comes in.  Much like with Husband's pours, I never know what that will be...very blue, some blue with copper accents or just dark and bland.  The blues are organic and beautiful, the dark and bland not so much, but they can be cleaned and reintroduced to the ammonia with hopefully a better result.

Next I would like to learn how to enamel on copper.  Arrowmont offers classes on this and I would love to participate but having had a reaction to a room full of people using torches, I know it is not possible.  Thank goodness for YouTube because I can see the process and go at my own pace.  Now I just have to pull the trigger and buy supplies for another project.  Maybe if I call it an addition to this metalworking project I can justify it.  

I must be off to put on my orange and gather my crochet so I can be ready root for my hometown college team.  Last week's loss was hard to watch but we have high hopes for this game.  Happy Saturday!

Hilari

A Circut Tent and A Car Rotor

Arrowmont 2019 class blog 2:

With an idea of the class direction expected, I made a prototype of a circus tent out of a box and wire using a door peep hole to peek through.  I knew with this in hand I would be better able to explain my vison.  I tolled the week prior, having the piece ready and in working order with a couple of days to spare.  With my new 3 tiered, wheeled tool bag ( thanks Husband!!!) loaded to the brim and packed in the car, off we went, sadly leaving my project idea behind.  It is very difficult to explain to someone not introduced to my work what my intentions are:  I am going to make a circus tent, which when a crank is turned a juggler and 2 acrobats will move independently of each other inside said tent.  All of this is seen through the lens of a door peep hole attached to the wire ceiling.  Yep, I got the usual blank stare as this was being processed.  I told the teacher that I had made one and it would work. He did not look so sure.

I carved the tent, added the wire and proceeded to rust the piece. While this was going on I tinted some muslin a light red and blue for the tent top. I worked this fabric to death trying to get the shape to convey what I wanted.  It fought me at every turn.  Come to find out it was not the fabric, it was the wrong choice of color.  Digging in my stash I found this orange and gold stripe and all fell into place.  I did have to wear down the brightness and nap by using sandpaper, adding its own kind of rusty feel.

An after the fact addition was a set of tiny lights that circle the perimeter base inside the tent.  It gives off a warm glow and really sets off the performers as they dazzle the crowd.  The star is the lady in the ring who comes dangerously close to the razor blade as she swings about many gasps are heard during her death defying feat.

Out teacher had been asking around if there was any place to find free junk in the area.  He was directed to an abandoned shed close by and off he and some of the classmates went to gather.  One of the cool pieces shared was a 4 inch prism.  I quickly discarded the door peep hole idea and put the prism in its place.  Wow, it could not be more perfect., giving the viewer a dreamy look into the tent.

Mr. Gorman feels that the base of the piece is very important to the overall feel and that we should take this into consideration while constructing the parts.  I was very lucky to be going home between the 2 week class because I was able to fish around in my stash.  I unearthed a car rotor that was the perfect size and could hide the battery pack for the lights.  With the addition of a lazy Susan mechanism (Husband's idea) it all came together.  I added a balloon holding, unicycle rider to the back so there would be a point of interest while the piece was being turned.

All in all it came out very close to the original idea but with many improvements. I have another piece for another post.  Two weeks is a wonderful amount of time to create.

A recent weekend was spent in the warm comfort of family.  Our annual reunion lost some of its steam when our matriarch, Aunt Margaret, passed away a few years ago.  She was the driving force behind our gatherings.  This year we shared laughs and love at her homestead, which has been wonderfully restored by her son and his wife.  It was so special to be back sharing old memories and making new ones with the new generations coming along.  Cousin has next year and Husband and I are on the list to host the year after.  Sounds like we are back on track.

Wishing all a happy Sunday!
Hilari

Taxidermy Foam and a Lesson

Another trip to Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts has left my mind moving in all directions.  The class was called Finding the Souls of Forgotten Things and was taught by Geoffery Gorman.  I was first introduced to his work in 2011 when he was featured in the magazine American Craft.  I was so enthralled that I cut out the article pictures and glued them into my Ideas and Really Cool Stuff book, with his artwork falling into the really cool category since I knew that there was no way I was going to get the opportunity to learn how he made his pieces.  As I perused this year's catalog I was immediately stopped by a picture of Mr. Gorman's work, with him teaching the class. Weeee!!... wait, it was a two week class.  Hum, how was I going to swing this?  Once again, I am blessed to have a husband who knows how important these classes are to me.  With his and Mother-in-law's (room and transportation) generosity I was able to enjoy another art filled time.

Classes start Sunday evening, usually with a quick introduction of class members and an overview of what is to be taught.  This allows us to be off and running on Monday morning.  This technique starts out with carving taxidermy foam into the desired shape.  Mr. Gorman's focus is animal shapes but we were free to choose our path.  Having never done carving previously, my first rabbit attempt looked like a very small dinosaur head.  It just kept getting worse the more I tried to fix it.  It finally somewhat resembled a piglet.  My second attempt was a success.  Next you cover the foam, wrap in wire, add adornments, then rust.  The 2 yellow beads, which I used in the eyes along with bottle caps and shinny black beads, just fell of my tool box when I was searching for something else. One of those serendipitous moments. The nose and ears were cut from a metal cigar box. To give Mr. Rabbit some life, I added a crank movement to a thrift store box so the head will bob and spin around.

The bat was my first project attempted.  I have been watching (almost addicted to) YouTube videos of rescued and rehabilitated fruit bats in Australia.  They are adorable.  These bats are not like the bats we are accustomed to here so I had to introduce the teacher to them so he could see where I was heading with my project.   His wing span is 16 inches with a body height of 14 inches including his legs.  I had hoped to have movement in his wings but it has not happen as of yet.  This is not from the lack of trying and I have the pulley positioned on the wooden stand for this reason.  It will happen at some point, he will let me know when he is ready.  I started with this because the shapes were not complicated and I could get the technique figured out.  It still took some time to get the body as I wanted, it was huge and needed to be correctly shaped but once that was done I knew what size to make the head.

He really came to life with the addition of the ears.  Both the ears and the nose are made from used bike inner tubes. I wish the shinny beads had been available for his eyes like with the rabbit. This is something I can do at a later date.  I love the depth they add to the face.

There are 2 more projects that were completed during class that I will share next time.  Well, one completed and one I would like to add more wire to and rust again.


Our family has grown in the last three weeks with the addition of out first grandson.  He had to be in the NICU for 5 days which was unnerving (apparently it is not as uncommon as one would think), but he is doing well.  Daughter-in-law has to go dairy free while she breastfeeds so she may be out of sorts for a while, she loves cheese.  We are hoping he will outgrow the problem.

So life has been a whirl wind: 2 week art class, busy work week playing catch up, grandson coming into the world, 3 trips to his hometown while in hospital(1.5 hrs away), another busy week playing catch up and now I have a cold. Husband has been taking good care of me making sure I am hydrated and fed.  Next weekend is a family reunion in North Georgia and the next is a visit to the grand kids, both of which I am excited about.  I am glad to have the cold now to get it out of the way.  That's how it works, isn't it?

Wishing you a peaceful Sunday!
Hilari


#arrowmont #craftexperience

A Pop Of Yellow

This all started with a trip to the beach and a thrift store (you know how I love thrift stores).  Even with all my art supplies and ideas waiting in the hotel room, I could not help picking up a smallish, silver plated tray with a cutout decorative edge.  And per usual, a book that I could disassemble, if the need arose. Our day of sightseeing having come to an end, I settled in to play with my new finds.  Having no clear plan, which is highly irregular for me, I ripped and attached paper using wire through the edge cutouts.  I knew from the beginning that it was not working, but with no mental direction I kept trudging down this unfulfilling path.  I kept right on until I had that whole tray filled with hand ripped paper.  Knowing it was a hot mess I showed it to BFF, hoping for a different perspective and maybe an "Oh Wow, That looks great!!"...no, she squinched her nose and said "Hum"...more of the reaction I was expecting. After the two days of manhandling this downtrodden piece I chucked it in my art bag and moved on to a project that was more to my liking.  This was the state it sat in for a year and a half.  Another shelf mocker.  As with the others mockers, I would pick it up now and again and move it around hoping for inspiration.  Not much hope for this one.

One afternoon I heard the forlorn piece calling that it was ready to come out and play.  Ok...lets see where you want to go.  The first thing was to lessen the amount of paper I had crammed onto the platter, so I removed an inch thickness from both the front and back letting the rest of the paper fall into place with a more open feel. Next I addressed the top of the pages by cutting them into a softer shape and highlighting them with blue chalk, taking away the previous rough square design.  That is when the piece shouted its plan and off we went.  Of course it needed to have some movement like the other completed shelf mockers.  I knew what I wanted to happen...to have both the ship and the crescent moon rock left and right independently at their own pace. To add more mental thought, they needed to be off center of each other so they were not in a straight line...boat in the middle as the central point and the moon off to the side to fill the visual space on the right.  A wire mechanism needed to somehow attach to the underside of the metal platter filled with paper, not your normal way to make automata.  

A bit of Devine intervention came into play with already having a stand that fit the platter perfectly.  Why I had this and where it came from I do not know, but I have been shifting it around the workshop for a few years.  The height gave me the starting point for making the mechanics.  As I said in the last post, all the parts are dependent on each other and where you start affects going forward.  So with my first parameter set I grabbed the drill and committed to to the placement the boat and the moon.  Ok, good, now how to get them to do what I want.  This is when time stopped.  An afternoon spent manipulating wire...boat sailing properly but moon going in circles, tweak, boat now sailing front to back, moon still going in circles, tweak,  moon good boat stuck, tweak… again all parts interdependent... but finally boat sailing pretty smoothly and moon cresting over the waves as desired.  All attached and moving but there was a dead space on the left side, no movement or color so I added the bright yellow star that swings freely.  This is exactly the pop it needed to finish it off.

With our proximity to the Smoky Mountains, our area is known for our lightening bugs, or fireflies, if you prefer.  Last fall Husband was thrilled when I brought home a 2 person metal swing in need of a home from a neighbor (something else to mow around) but I knew it would be wonderful for this, and it is.  For a short span of time, around 3 weeks, I love to spend the twilight watching these bursts of yellow pop and zip around.  After seeing some of the stunning professional pictures other have captured of the twinkling masses, I set off to see what I could do.  I mostly looked like a lunatic skittering around the front yard with cellphone in hand.  These little guys are apparently a bit camera shy and zoom away quite quickly when you set your sights on one or they stop blinking altogether if found resting on a blade of grass.  After many failed attempts, I captured one in mid blink and with that my job was complete.

Mr. Squirrel is sitting on the front window ledge staring in, letting me know his bird feeder is empty.  Sometimes he will share his bounty with the birds and a family of chipmunks but usually it is just he and his squirrel buddies feuding over who will gorge next.

Off to feed the masses.

Peace,

Hilari

[I have attempted to correct the weird font change and highlight to no avail.]