Knowing She Could Fly, She Tilted

Knowing she could fly

she tilted

This is one of those pieces that worked up just as I imagined it.  Well, not really but the idea is very close.  In my original idea she has feathers in each hand to help her fly, but once I dressed her the feathers lost their effect.  I love the way the tatting works for the dress and using a small gauge of wire to give the tatting stability and placement adds fullness.  The tatted pieces were created by a long lost family member and having learned to tat myself some years ago, it was nice to use, although I do not think Great Auntie would have ever thought of her beautiful hand work used in this way.  I also liked how the rusty bottle cap corset worked with the soft thread.  The next one will have a full wire dress, bottle cap corset (or leather maybe) and feathers in her hand to help her fly.

Things have been quiet on the home front lately.   I have had my first international sale on my ETSY site...with a special order thrown in.    The customer wanted a father and son holding the balloons sculpture and I was happy to do so.  The pieces are finding their new home in Alberta, Canada.

Husband and I have been riding our bikes after work for the past few weeks.  So off we go!

Peace,
Hilari

Only in the South

The companionship of others was 

to him

as necessary as air

What is cool about this piece is that you can make her swing around the pole by turning the wing nut on the top.  It is my first movement piece and even though I can see how rudimentary the movement is, I am pleased with it.  This piece was one of those that took a while to come to fruition.   It never really came to competition in my head so I kept having to plug away at it.  She has a purple top, skirt, and awesome boots.  The only thing she need is some sort of flowy boa which I have yet to devise.

Her ability to dance around the pole, besides her many hours of practice, comes through the wooden block screwed to the bottom of the wooden cigar box.  As you can see there were a few attempts to get the proper placement of the drilled hole.  The only drawback to using cigar boxes is that everyone wants to open them.  In this case, it causes a jam due to the pole going through the lid.  Husband and I have discussed other options for the bases to alleviate this desire.  I even had one lady open a box (with the artwork attached) and explain to me that the boxes need to be functional.

On the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month one of our local eateries has home cooked meals with a serving of local bluegrass.   We have only been able to enjoy this a couple of times this summer so we are still learning the menu.   Upon studying it this last Friday,  we came across something we just had to try...The Bomb.  It is an all beef hotdog wrapped in bacon, DEEP FAT FRIED, topped with chili and homemade jalapeno pimento cheese.  This just goes to show that southern folk will deep fat fry anything...and apparently eat it as well.  I have to say, it was pretty tasty.   I am just glad that Husband and I decided to share or we might have been in a world of hurt later in the night.  Oh, but the best thing was that peach cobbler was offered as a side item, right beside fried green tomatoes and fried okra.

While at the eatery Husband picked up some locally cured bacon and, boy, he is making the house smell great as he is cooking it off.  Some yummy bacon paired with french toast topped with bananas...it just doesn't get any better.

Peace,
Hilari

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The Same but Different

This is one of my first pieces and one of my favorites.  It lives with a good friend, along with many other of my pieces.  Ms. Cheryl is one of my biggest supporters.  The house stands about 3 inches high and was constructed from single hand ripped book pages individually glued together...whew!  The windows were hand carved and accented with spent train light bulbs.  I started to create another but have not been consistent with it.  Always a new project whispering in my ear.

Everything is the same ...but different.  With our only moving out recently our normal schedule is still normal but hints of him being gone are there.  I do not have to listen to make sure he has not stayed up too late and overslept his alarm.  I do not have to listen for his car around supper time to start divvying up the meal.  I do not have to do these things but I find myself doing them just the same.  I have held up much better that Husband or I expected.  We hope he remembers all that we tried to teach him and is able to enjoy his time away from home...but as far as I am concerned, he can fulfill his lease, move home, find and marry a wonderful girl (who loves us like her own), move into a house in our neighborhood and make beautiful babies.  I don't think that is too much to ask.

I was able to spend time with my bff this weekend.  We always try to find an interesting place to go and spend the day or weekend but this day trip was a bust.  We ended up in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal to help us with directions.  We stopped in at a gun store...in the middle of nowhere!...and got pointed in the right direction.  Our problem is that we have lived in the same area almost all our lives and we have done all the fun activities we can think of.  I guess we will just have to think outside of the box for our next adventure.

I am being told by my wonderful husband that supper is ready and to come and get it while it is hot.

Peace to all,
Hilari

Abandonment and Empty Nesting

Today is the day that I become an empty-nester. My only is moving into his (sharing with friends) own abode.  He tried this once before, and about the time I came to terms with his abandoning his mother, the free room came to an end, only lasting 3 weeks.  This time he has signed a 12 month lease so I will have to adjust to a more permanent state, plus this time he is taking all of his furniture.  He is only moving a few miles away and I told him I was allowed to text him whenever I want...which is what my father told me when he learned to text.  At first, I felt that I really did not need to know that Wheel of Fortune was on or that my parents ran out of milk, but I came to really enjoy sharing the small things.  I only hope my son gets to that point quickly.

I have been the lucky recipient of bottle caps from friends, now that they have seen my work with them.  I receive little baggies containing a few or many depending on how busy their weekend was.  I thought these would be a nice little thank you gift for the ladies who have contributed.  Maybe a bottle cap bow tie for the gents?!  I have had many ideas flowing through my head the last couple of weeks and this weekend is one of little plans, unlike the last few, so I plan to spend some time in the workshop playing.  I want to figure out how to make a piece spin like the Swings ride at the fair.  The little people will be sitting on ...yep, you guesses it,  bottle cap seats, and whorl around so they are flying through the air.  I do not have a mechanical mind.  I am a tinker so I usually end up coming up with a solution from the back side, never the simple way others would do it. I will be pleased if they only swing around gently but whorling would be so much better.

Today our schedule started little later that usual but time is catching up with me so I had better get ready for the day.  Hopefully, we will get the boy moved in quickly and I won't be too traumatized.  I have one of my favorites, Creature From the Black Lagoon, 1954, ready to sooth me when all is done.

Good day to all,
Hilari

All Lit Up With Peach Cobbler

                         

My version of a carbide light

Here is my version of the carbide light I was asked to make.  When the original was presented for me (pictured 5/7 post), I had to think about how I would go about creating one that was stable and not top heavy.  Lucky for me, I had a piece of metal that I could cut for the reflector.  I am sure it was purchased for another project, but what it was I have no idea (that is why I have multiple notebooks handy so I can keep track of fleeting ideas...apparently not all of them though).  I took the flat disk and beat it with a hammer over a rounded rock to give it some dimension.  I used 2 screws to represent the roller and flint.  I was told that the hanger on the back was important, so I dug through my rusty bits and found the perfect piece.  While digging, I found a well worn bottle top for the fluid lid which I was able to hinge into place.  I am very pleased with the way it turned out...really, I am just pleased that it does not fall over all the time.

We have had wonderful weather this week topped off with some very yummy peach cobbler.  On our way home from our reunion, we were lured off the interstate with signs stating that a vendor had Georgia peaches.  In Knoxville we are only offered South Carolina peaches but I think Georgia peaches are the best!  Now, don't get me wrong...South Carolina peaches are good and there may be great peaches in other parts, but I don't think you can beat a juicy, tart Georgia peach.  So it was a real treat to enjoy them in a warm cobbler topped with sugar and cinnamon.  It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  Yummy!

Easy Peach Cobbler

3 cups peaches, peeled and cut into chunks

1/2 cup butter

1 cup bisquick

1 cup milk

1 cup sugar, plus some to sprinkle on top before cooking

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1tablespoon cinnamon, plus some to sprinkle on top before cooking

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a 9x13 pan, place stick of butter and put in oven to melt.  While butter is melting, mix bisquick, milk, sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Once butter has melted, pour liquid mixture over the butter and place the chunks of peaches on top of the batter.  Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top and bake for 45 minutes

Let cool a little before trying because, if you are like me, you will want to dig into it right away. With fork ready, I always seem to forget how hot 350 degrees is. 

I'm off to watch the comedy The Invisible Woman from 1941, staring John Barrymore.  It should be a good before bed movie.

Sleep tight,
Hilari

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Whale Sharks and a Family Reunion

We have been riding the roller coaster of life for the past few months: loss of a family member, loss of pet, 3 sick cars, another sick pet, job woes.  This is the reason that my posts have not been as frequent as I would like.  I do not want this to be a place where I vent my problems.  Everybody had problems.  I want this to be a place where I can look back and enjoy the pictures and thoughts shared.  With that being said....

 Husband Actual Size

We are lucky to be one of those families that get together once a year for a weekend with as many of us that can show up.  This year it was in Atlanta, Georgia, which is about 3 hours from our home, so we left very early on Friday and spent the day at the Georgia Aquarium.  My husband and I own and are the only employees of a business cleaning aquariums for both residential and commercial customers, so this place is right up our alley.  Because we are very land locked in Tennessee, it was awesome to see these beautiful creatures in their spacious and well maintained homes.  Our time spent with family was enjoyable as well with great food and visiting. We even had craft day on Saturday for the ladies with beads and chalk paint.

Husband is hosting card night in the shop so the dog and I have the house to ourselves.  I have my wire supplies and a Harry Potter movie ready to go. I have many new ideas speeding around my head and hopefully I will be able to catch a few and get something made.  It has been a while.

Good night all,
Hilari

A Swirly Octopus and Steampunkers

I found this great wavy, swirly paper and knew what needed to be swimming it it's waters.  I dug through my collection of spent light bulbs and, lucky for me, I had the perfect size for the head.  Next was the washer container and, again...yea, the right size.  He is about 7 inches tall and 4 inches wide from tip to tip.  He seemed to fall into place pretty easily which was the only way anything was going to get done in the last two weeks.  

My wire work was accepted to an art show (sort of) and I had high hopes to finally find a crowd that would "get" my work.  It was a Steampunk Carnivale and I knew the mind set would be more open to a different kind of art.  While I did have people enjoy looking, there were not any buyers, which is a little disheartening.  With that said, I got to spend the day with my BBF, Vicki, people watching and being amazed at the beautiful costumes and creations, as well as the age range of the participants.  The steampunkers ranged from stroller to grannies.  That part was awesome.

 

I wish this picture was better. The light was fading but I thought it was the coolest ensemble...the coolest thing... at the event. The man, who looked just like Jon Snow from Game of Thrones, was stilted on all fours with leather, chains, fur, spikes, metal bits, and moved about the crowd in character. It took him over 20 minutes to get into costume.  He was a show stopper.

The last two weeks have been a challenge so hopefully the next two will seem like a breeze.  Off to have some pipping hot feel good food for supper.

Peace, 

Hilari

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