Finally in the Studio!

I haven't touched any clay, but I am making great progress on studio organization!  Where did all this stuff come from???

I think the wooden table will be a great asset to the studio, but it does mean getting rid of other things.  Luckily, I bought most second hand so not much money loss!

I am waiting on a new computer and monitor to put in the studio.  I got a wireless mini keyboard with a cover. Come to find out, it is coming from China so it will not arrive stateside until mid May!  Go figure!!!

You can see the wooden table near the garage door.  Still lots of stuff for which to find a home!  And my work table in the foreground needs a good cleaning.  However, I am done for the day!!!

The White Garden

I am planting my white garden today.  The plants surround my "White Forest" sculpture.  I might add a couple white adirondack chairs in the future.

• 14 "edelweiss" white lavender
• 3 "white cloud" muhly grasses

I think other plantings will come at another time.  I am hoping to pick up some white Siberian iris at the local Iris Society plant sale May 2nd.  Most of the plants are rabbit and deer resistant.  However, they like the muhly grass and I will probably have to surround them with chicken wire until they are bigger.

lavender - summer bloom

muhly grass - fall bloom

In addition, I am considering a white flowering shade tree and installation of  ceramic white poppies...  The "White Garden" might be my first use of the ceramic poppies.

I just finished planting...  It is hard to see many of the very young lavender.  It will be fun to take another photo several months from now.

If I leave the bench in this garden, of course, I will paint it white!

Organizing the Studio Again!

I bought a brand new patio set, which hopefully will not blow away in the winds, so I am retiring my wooden table and chairs.  Most of the chairs were broken because they would blow over in the spring winds!  I planned to donate the table, but my friends convinced me to use it in my studio.  I did not think I had the room, but alas, I made it work and I do believe it will be useful and not just a place to store more stuff!

I also ordered a desktop computer for the studio.  I plan to mount the monitor on the wall and use a wireless keyboard and mouse.  I am hoping to create a spreadsheet to document my work especially glazes.  The computer will also be useful for searching internet images to inspire my creativity.  Oh and to watch a movie or two while doing the more mundane tasks in the studio...

Studio pictures coming soon!

Step Stools are Done

Three of us met yesterday for some wine and appetizers to celebrate the completion of our stools.  I turned them in this morning and the auction event will be on May 2nd.  I hope to attend...

Thanks Mary Kaye O'Neill and Linda Scott!!

When I turned the stools in this morning the two women accepting them loved them all.  One said she thought her 6 year old would love the dragonfly stool! 

More pics of my stool: "Dancing Dragonflies"

You can see the rough plywood surface in the close up photo, which made fine painting almost impossible.   Although I put more hours into the stool then I originally thought I would, it was fun and for a very good cause.   

Pressure to Post...

With my 2015 goal of posting every week, I am under pressure to get one out today!  But, it is a good thing...  It should get me into the studio!

Well, I never did get into the art studio today!  Instead I spent the day building a frame and sub-floor for my small resin shed.  I had to clear away some of the manzanita bushes.  Then leveling the ground, adding pea gravel and finally footers to set the frame on. Why does everything take longer then one first anticipates???!!!  Tomorrow I will attach the resin floor to the wooden frame and then assemble the resin shed!  Yeah!

I purchased the resin shed at Sears, on sale and with a $50 coupon! Yeah!  It is not that big, but I needed something I could handle alone.  My neighbor helped me remove it from my car as the box weighted nearly 100lbs...  I will have to be very space efficient with my gardening supplies! LOL

PS This shed replaces a wooden shipping crate Melinda & Walter gave me for my birthday.  They modified it so I could use it as a garden shed.  It held up quite well, but it was starting warp and was often difficult to close the door.  Thanks you guys...

Step Stool Project

Four of us got together on Monday and added the base coats to our step stools.  We each used different color paints, but oddly enough the colors all go together, hmmmmmm... In between coats we chatted, drank wine and nibbled on snacks.  Now that's what I call creative art-working!

I continued working on the my stool today and put in quite a few hours and I still have many more to go!!! Painting on plywood, not so much fun...  I am thinking I will give it an "antique" coating once the detailed painting is done.  The stool is titled "Dancing Dragonflies".

Field Trip

I am off on a field trip with my neighbor Linda this AM.  She is taking Printing I at Yavapai College this semester.  The class is visiting a local printer at his studio today.  I am not sure what to expect, but I always love to see other artist's studio.  I will take my camera and if he allows, I will take some pics and post later (updating this post) if they are at all interesting...

It rained last night and the pollen counts are a little lower today, so I plan to work in the landscape today and not in my studio.  Soooo much to do!  LOL

UPDATE:
The tour of Skyline Type Foundry was very interesting!  This guy, Scott, has acquired very old printing machines and refurbished them.  Although he has many printing presses, he mainly creates the metal font types.  Apparently there is a niche market for type set printing these days.  Everything retro...

This machine liquefies the metal and drives it into a "matrix" chamber to form the metal type. It is automatic once the operator sets up the spacing etc. which can be different for different letters and fonts.

I was very excited to see the all the old machines.  It brought back good memories of my career as a manufacturing designer and engineer!  I really did enjoy that work.  (Hmmmm, maybe that's why I enjoy the metal welding so much?!?)   In addition to enjoying the tour, I needed two photos for 16" X 20" prints on metal, only $9.99 Groupn from Print Pix!  I had purchased the Groupon in December and it was ready to run out in two days!  Below are the two pics I used.

 

PS Didn't work much in the landscape, by the time I got home and had lunch it was 2PM!  Shortly afterwards it began to rain again!

PSS Monday is our first session to paint the step stools, so look for a new post about that event...

Smaller Poppies

I made a few smaller poppies.  I like both sizes, so I think I will continue to do both sizes. In the picture the two on the left (they are a little lighter gray since they are drier) are the large flowers and the three on the right are the smaller flowers.  Actually you can't tell much difference in size from this photo.  LOL

I also created a wall figure that I had sketched at my recent workshop when I was bored...  It is my rabbit-raven combo.  Both animals are iconic in our area.  I am not sure what to call it.  I have several iterations of this figure I want to make.

I am using high temp wire on the raven 'beak mask"

First Poppies - Greenware - Completed

Yesterday I made 7 poppies.  I want them to be over sized from the real thing, but these may be too big.  Of course drying and firing will shrink them some.  However, I think I will make some smaller ones today to see which I like better...

I used my new hole punches for the first time and I love the size consistency I get!  I have one hole for the metal rod poppy stem which will be JB welded in place and a second hole for water drainage.

Speaking of poppies, the pollen counts are BAD!  On a scale of 0-12 below is the current and forecast.  I guess I will be spending more time in studio and less time in landscape!!!

My allergy testing showed that on a scale of 0-13 I am a 13 when it comes to juniper!  Ouch!