Welding: It Takes Forever…

So if you’ve been reading along with my quarterly project of welding, you know that I announced that my first project in the class would be a truck bed extender/kayak rack. It’s been a while since I’ve posted progress on this so here we go…

These pieces will end up creating something similar to the image below, minus the pivot point.

Tada! Yes… sadly this is as far as I’ve gotten in like two months of class. With only about a month left, it’s beginning to look like my first project will become my ONLY project. I’ve learned that there’s a lot that must be done before you can actually get around to welding pieces together. You have to plan and design, purchase metal from steel companies that are only open when you are at work (of course), measure measure and re-measure, cut all pieces to size, grind down cuts so they are nice and smooth and safe to handle, drill any holes or do sandblasting or any other thing you might need to do… and THEN… FINALLY… you can start welding shit together! Sheesh…

So this past Sunday I spent grinding and smoothing out a few remaining cut pieces, and then… I got to try my hand at the giant drill press!

Drill press… this thing was at least 6 ft tall. Machinery bigger than me = effin scary.

I was surprised that drilling holes into metal was nothing like I’d imagined (I had conjured up images of sparks and very loud, jarring metal-on-metal screeching and grinding sounds). The trick is to use lots of oil and drill slowly… (refraining from dirty joke here). To my surprise the process was really quiet and smooth… like butter folks, like butter. My fear instantly dissolved as I drilled holes where holes needed to go!

Next week I plan to finish drilling a few holes I didn’t have time to get to Sunday, and then at long last I can finally start welding the thing together! Man, I better not eff this up… over $70 and endless hours of time already put into it! Here’s hoping that in 1-2 weeks I will have a totally completed kayak rack… just in time for the paddling season!

Stuff To Do: The Adventure Project

The Art House Co-Op is always putting together some new and fun creative project that anyone anywhere can participate in. I’ve been following along for a few years now watching them grow. They’re latest endeavor is The Adventure Project, a fun (and free!) short video project. Here’s the details a snagged from their site:

Sign-Up Deadline: March 28th (hurry!)
Video Deadline: April 30th (uploaded to youtube)

“Can you capture an adventure in 30 seconds?
This week, we’re challenging ourselves to go on an adventure and document it in a video. It could be as simple as a walk around the neighborhood or as daring as you can imagine. The Adventure Project asks artists to shoot a 30-second video that captures an adventure, great or small. Upload your video to YouTube and send us the link (projects [at] arthousecoop [dot] com) — we’ll add each submission to our channel and exhibit the project online. Feeling adventurous? Then grab a camera and show us what you find.”

Since my boyfriend got an awesome GoPro camera recently that is great for shooting extreme sports and such, I’m excited to finally have something we can put it to use on! Perhaps a kayaking trip is in order soon… what sort of adventure would you film? I’m curious to see what sorts of things people come up with for this! I urge you to join in the fun and sign up to play! Don’t wait – signup ends on March 28th!

Two Weeks & Ten Little Heads

Two weeks into the project and I am on schedule with 10 felted heads completed! It’s been a lot of work and a lot of fun to see all these little critters coming together! I’ve felted all over the place – from a lunch table at work to my friend’s house… even on the road traveling down to San Antonio and back this past weekend. My wool and needles now go pretty much everywhere with me!

So for my first 10 large felties in the picture here, I will have a mix of foxes, cats, dogs, lions, and possibly some other random critters like moles, bears, or rabbits. Each head measures approx. 2 1/4″ in diameter. Foxes are my personal favorite, so I’m really excited to see how they come out!

I’ve started to figure out about how long it takes me to make each head now… The basic round heads are taking about an hour – maybe a little less if I really hustle. The ones with snouts and ears take around an hour and a half. The trick is actually being mindful of working fast. Since felting is actually pretty relaxing to do… it’s find myself slowing down a lot without realizing it!

This week I will be starting in on the bodies and adding color to the heads! *excitement!*

15 Creative, Clever, Inspiring Blogs!

So I just learned there is this wonderful little award floating around the blogosphere (first time I’ve used that word, yep, I feel nerdy)… it’s called The Versatile Blogger award and is a really lovely thing I happen to think. Basically, the rules are; Thank the person who nominated you and share their site, share 7 personal things about yourself, and nominate 15  other bloggers who will then repeat the process. I happen to think it’s a pretty cool way to help get attention for your own blog as well as share and support some great blogs out there that people might otherwise not find… blogs building upon blogs… everybody wins!

I’d Like to Thank…
So first I’d like to give a shout out Munchow and Brenda Stonehouse for nominating me for this award via their blogs. Munchow’s Creative Photo Blog is a great blog about creativity and photography and is – from just the little I have seen – a very talented professional photographer. Brenda has a wonderfully gutsy project called Pencils, Paint and Pixels in which she is doing some form of art every single day for a year! Very inspiring stuff… Thank you both!

15 Creative & Inspiring Blogs!
Here are 15 of my favorite bloggers doing some really awesome creative things!

1. Skeptycal — Random creativity, inspiration, and bits of widsom from my brother’s life! (by Michael Treanor)

2. Middle of Nowhere — Home of Gretel Parker, the creator of ‘Puddletown Tales’, children’s illustrator, needle felter and toymaker living in a tiny cottage in the Cotswolds countryside, England. She was the first to inspire me to take up needle felting – one of my current obsessions!

3. FabFiftyFive — The (Mis)Adventures of a Junior-Senior. Speed skating, rock climbing, circus school… Julie Wise is celebrating turning 55 in a totally fab way!

4. Blissbombed — Living a divinely-inspired, kick-ass life (that rocks the world), Stephanie writes about relationships, love, life, and spirit in a refreshingly balls-out way – (By Stephanie St. Claire)

5. MusicalChairs — Adventures of Katharina Hoehendinger, who recently quit her well-paying job to focus on all the creative things she’s always wanted to do (and moving to China while doing it!)

6. FromSonika – Lovely and genuine poetry, inspiration and tidbits of life from a wonderful writer. (By Sonika)

7. Daily Walks — This is where I go when I want to feel incredibly jealous of someone’s daily walks. Just go there, you will agree. Seriously gorgeous photography. (By Diane Varner)

8. 12 Books in 12 Months — …Need I say more? (By Ali George)

9. Miriam’s Well — Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond (by Miriam Sagan)

10. Talin Orfali – Wonderfully inspiring writer sharing her wisdom, positivity and perspective with the world! (By Talin Orfali)

11. Burrard-Lucas Photography Blog — Two brothers from the UK, doing some incredible wildlife photography, much of which helps to raise awareness for preserving endangered species. I am a big fan. (By Will & Matthew Burrard-Lucas)

12. The Shine Project — A very passionate and vibrant woman with a wonderful mission to spread joy and helps others to find theirs through charity projects, scholarships for children, etc. Wonderful! (By Ashley)

13. Lightstalking — Awesome photo blog & community with tutorials, tips, themed photo collections weekly, and more.

14. The Pioneer Woman — So help me, I can get lost for endless amounts of time on Ree Drummond’s site about a city girl who became a country girl and now blogs voraciously about recipes, photography, country living, homeschooling and more.

15. Looking At The West — Beautiful photography blog exploring the landscape and culture of the American West. (By Andrew McAllister)

7 things about me you didn’t know:

1. I don’t like shoes. And I don’t like winter because I am forced to have to wear shoes. I like my toes to be able to roam free!

2. My favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip. (my favorite anything really is mint + chocolate) I used to eat a bowl with my dad many nights as a little girl while we watched Disney’s Fantasia.

3. I have a skull collection I started back in early college.. sparked by digging up the skull of my childhood cat when we moved out of our old house. Yes… I’m aware this is creepy.

4. My favorite color was once described as “baby poo green” by my design professor in college.

5. Both of my parents have passed on, my mom 20+ years ago, and my dad just a few years ago. Although I’m a pretty together person, I still have those days where I just want to be able to call up my parents and fall apart a bit over it. You never stop missing them.

6. I went hot air ballooning, para-sailing, sky diving, firewalking and met the man in my life in 2009.. yeah it was an adventurous year!

7. “Part of Your World” from the Little Mermaid and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” are my shower songs. They are the only two songs I sing in the shower, and I never sing them outside of the shower.

Read more about the Versatile Blogger Award.

Operation Art Market: The BIG Plan

Completed five large felted heads last week.. here are 4 of them, Approx 2 in diameter (Dog, Fox, Cat, Lion)

So now that I know what I’m making and how much time I have, I’ve broken out a detailed plan for how to actually get all this done! This is where my 12 Month project from last year has become really helpful… I think I got pretty good at making detailed lists last year in order to make SURE that a project got done and got done on time. So below I’ve broken out a full schedule of all things to be done before the Market date:

Market Date: June 16^th, 2012  /  Total Work Time: 12 weeks
Items to Sell: Felties & Wire Critters

Critter Breakdown:
Large Felties – 10  /  Small Felties – 20
Large Wire Critters – 8  /  Small Wire Critters – 15

Types of Critters: (this took some brainstorming with friends to nail down, and still may change some)
Felties – Cat, Dog, Fox, Lion, Owl, Snail
Wire Critters – Frogs, Lizards, Snails, Turtles, Bugs

Schedule:
To keep things doable and interesting, I’m focusing on large felted critters and small wire critters first… and then switching to small felted critters and large wire critters. I don’t really have much rhyme or reason other than wanting to get the large felted ones done first, since they are the most time-consuming of all.

- week 1: 5 large felted heads
- week 2: 5 large felted heads, Make 3 small wire critters
- week 3: 5 large bodies, Make 3 small wire critters
- week 4: 5 large bodies, Make 3 small wire critters
- week 5: Finishing touches on 5 large felties, Make 3 small wire critters
- week 6: Finishing touches on 5 large felties, Make 3 small wire critters
- week 7: Make 5 small felties, Make 2 large wire critters
- week 8: Make 5 small felties, Make 2 large wire critters
- week 9: Make 5 small felties, Make 2 large wire critters
- week 10: Make 5 small felties, Make 2 large wire critters

- weeks 11 & 12: Make business cards, get booth design nailed down and buy all supplies, Make price tags for all critters, and other misc items to be ready for the market!

So thats it… my big dream for 2012 and my big plan for achieving it! I’m actually a week in already, and on schedule so far with 5 large heads done. I’m sure this is going to be a pretty tall order and I may not make my total goal… but at LEAST there’s a plan to stick to! Off we go to make this thing happen!

Turning 30 and Chasing Dreams

I’m turning 30 this fall.. and since last fall I’ve been wanting to do something BIG with this year. I’ve struggled with just what that thing would be for a many months now. I started with a year-long photo project shooting barns, which was fun, but not something I could work on daily. I guess i started to realize that I was really missing that daily creative project like I had going on last year. It became such a part of my life. So, while I still plan to continue shooting the barn series, I’ve moved it to the back burner for something new. And in the last week of February I found that something… the big thing! Thanks to a chat with a few fellow creative friends who inspired me to be brave, and the Nike-licious advice of my boyfriend to “just go do it!”- I now have a plan!

Operation Art Market!

Since I was a little girl, I have always had a dream of selling my art at a festival or market. For years and years I’ve replayed the same tired pattern. Going to art festivals each summer, flitting from one inspiring booth to the next in total glee… knowing in my heart of hearts that “I should be doing this.” And every year like clockwork, I talk myself out of it. “I don’t really have a cohesive body of work” or “I don’t even have a style” or “No one would probably even buy my stuff” and of course the ever popular “How would I ever have the time to make all this stuff?” Oh the powers of self-persuasion. Within a day of a festival I’d have already managed to cloud my vision and totally squelch the burning fire for this dream. Ah! No more! I will fulfill these dream before I am thirty years old!

Just Do It Anyway!

That’s it. My whole mantra and answer to each of the above self-defeating questions is “Just do it anyway! (dammit!)”. No more of this talking about it and overthinking it. I don’t have a cohesive body of work… that’s still true. But I’m going to do it anyway. How the heck else will I ever GET a cohesive body of work if I never get my stuff out there? (and do i even need one anyway? lol) I don’t have a style (at least not that I’m aware of!) and I really like to dabble in anything and everything from photography to crafts to sculpture to design. Too bad, we’re doing it anyway woman! Not getting out of it this time!

Picking A Date & Deciding with Simplicity

Ok, so now I’m doing this… no way out. Fortunately I’ve already known of (and daydreamed much about) a local art market here in Dallas for over a year now that is small, inexpensive to rent at and a great place for budding artists to start out. AND they have a market day once every month until December! In order to get all the work done, I’ve picked the market on June 16th, 2012 to start. This will be before the Texas summer gets too insanely hot – so I imagine a strong turnout if the weather is nice. This gives me 12 weeks of production time. Now to decide WHAT to make.

Going by the old Keep It Simple Stupid philosophy, I picked the first two things that my gut said to do. And the gut said to go with making needle felted art toys and small wire/metal sculptures. I started needle felting last January for one of my projects and have been in love with it ever since… making small art toys here and there in my spare time. I’ve been doing wire sculpture on and off since early college..in particular small frogs and lizards with found objects like spoons and old screws and bolts incorporated into them. They’re both things I love doing and I think the two could go well together.. I’m even looking to try mixing the two into some wire and felt combinations.

Barry the Cat (needle felted from hand-dyed wool roving, March 2011)

Wire lizard (Dark anodized steel wire, bolts, spoon)

My mind kept whispering on for about another week “are you SURE you don’t want to include some photography? And maybe some other things…” I am standing firm with the gut’s decision. “Nope, two things only. And the two we picked are doable in the time we have and we think very marketable. There will be time for the rest later.” Phew, what a relief it can be to just tell your mind that there will be time for it’s concerns later! Quieted right down. =)

So that’s the big plan! I cannot express how exciting it has been just this past week to be working on something that I have dreamed of doing for so so long… to be truly giving myself permission to chase this dream without worry of how successful I will be or if I make money off of it. It’s made my soul so happy to finally be allowing myself to be deserving of doing this, no matter the outcome.

I’d love to hear from anyone else out there about your dreams. What sort of big things have you accomplished and how did you get up the courage to commit to them? What dreams are you still waiting to give yourself permission to chase? And what is it that always seems to stop you from starting?

Resources:
Time Lapse Tutorial on Needle Felting – by Laurie Sharp
Needle Felting: Basic Shapes Tutorial – by FeltAlive
22 Secrets to Discovering Your Dream and Living It – by Leo Babauta on DumbLittleMan.com

Inspiration: Nurturing Creativity

My brother recently shared with me this wonderful TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert – author of bestselling novel Eat, Pray, Love. I loved her book and was so moved by this talk that I had to share.

This got my mind wandering on the topic of nurturing creativity and what sorts of things get in the way for me from time to time…

I cannot imagine the tremendous and daunting task of continuing to do work after having a bestselling novel out in the world. But I can certainly relate to the frustration of trying to figure out just what to do with that creative energy. I skip around from one thing to the next so often – one day its photography, the next it’s welding, or needle felting or wire art or design or illustration or cooking sumptuous new recipes. It’s very fun and satisfying, but for the past year I’ve been a bit haunted by the notion that I am just flitting about – touching the surfaces of many things but not really diving into any of them deeply. My logical self doesn’t see anything wrong with that. But there seems to be some old messages playing in me that tell me otherwise.

We are taught to go to school to become an expert at something and then do it until we can’t anymore. Sorry, but I don’t love any one thing that much. Sure I have a career as a graphic designer, and yes I am darn good at it and I do enjoy it. But it’s not my life’s work nor my greatest love by any means.

What if I just want to be an expert at experiencing many things?

So, I sometimes find myself building up this impossible ideal in my mind where I MUST succeed at ONE thing.. as an artist and creative person, because of some sort of talent I was born with. I’m sure anyone out there who’s had some kind of talent since they were a child has heard many a times the old line.. “when you’re famous I can say I knew you back when!” Although they mean well, for a child, that can create such an immense weight to be somebody. And such a pressure to find your niche and really dive into it and be an expert at it. I’m not sure how other creatives have dealt with that idea – some seem to embrace the idea of doing many things very openly. Others seem to find their niche and just pour themselves into it.. which is wonderful. But what if you are someone who doesn’t have a niche?

It’s true, I don’t love any one thing enough to totally commit my life to it. And I am slowly becoming more comfortable with that as I explore my creativity. What if – at least for the time being – I don’t want to pick ONE thing? What if the thing that I want to be an expert at is experiencing many things? Well, I’m deciding this is a wonderful thing. We need specialists just like we need generalist in the world, after all.

I think my Muse is a Bimbo

I like the old Greek/Roman philosophy Elizabeth is speaking of in this TED talk. I like it a lot. This idea that our creative spirit comes not from within us, but from some divine precious thing that stops by for tea from time to time. It sure takes the pressure off or trying to force it into existence or bottle it into one area of expertise. Perhaps my divine muse just gets bored quickly. Or maybe she’s a bit of a bimbo (that would explain a lot!) and just likes to flit about and play in many different pools of creativity… and just maybe, its not my job to try and stop her from doing that. Maybe it’s my job to always be open to whatever new creative adventure she would like to take me on. Maybe that is all we are ever really supposed do with that creative energy when it arrives – just open the door and invite it in for tea.

____________________________________________

How do you nurture your creativity?
What things get in your way of opening up to that creative spirit?
How did Elizabeth’s talk resonate with you? I am curious to know what you have to say.

Quickly! I must post this NOW because my ditsy creative muse just got distracted by a flower in Timbuktu and ran off and I can feel the self doubt about this post quietly tiptoeing back into my mind! lol – oh to be human! ;)

Resources:
Eat, Pray, Love (Elizabeth Gilbert)
Refuse to Choose: A Revolutionary Program for Doing Everything You Love (Barbara Sher)
Creative Generalist – What Exactly Do Generalists Do?

 

Quarterly Project: Welding & Malformed Metal Frogs

I haven’t posted in a few weeks about my adventures in learning how to weld. Since my last post, I’ve gotten to try out the plasma cutter and practiced just doing straight lines of welding beads to try and get the form and technique down. Plasma cutter is gloriously fun – mostly used for thin metal to do more finely detailed work. It was a ton of fun – like drawing in metal!

Finding My Niche
In my last class I also decided to mess around with the torch welder a bit. I grabbed some scrap re bar and started heating and bending it… my teacher showed me how to braid re bar, and off I went braiding away. Pretty sure I’m in love with bending and forming metal. My teacher said that I would probably really like blacksmithing because its more about bending and manipulating the metal form. Oh my.. looks like I will just have to take the blacksmithing class next!

Making Malformed Metal Frogs
This past weekend I started on an exciting project. Back in early college, I made these fun little wire frogs for my sculpture class. Over the course of a year, I sold about a dozen of them to various folks. Back then, I’d wanted to make larger versions of them, but the wire became too hard to bend at thicker gauges and I didn’t have any access to tools, so eventually I just filed the idea away. That was almost 10 years ago. And now I’m excited to get to dig this project back up and finally make the giant versions of these little guys I’ve dreamed of for nearly a decade!

Last Sunday I started on a test version just to see what size I want to make them, and to test the proportions of the limbs to the body and such. All I had to use was some pretty thick re bar scrap from the shop, so as you can see this little guy came out a bit malformed so far. Talk about some giant feet! I’m going to go buy some more metal in smaller diameters and try again next Sunday to hopefully get things closer. It’s going to take a lot of trial and error for sure. One of the trickier parts has been cutting all the ends on the arms so that the angle will match up to the body piece it needs to weld to. It’s a lot of “put piece in vice, cut it, take it out, check it, put back in vice, re-cut it, check it, grind it down, check it…” Definitely not anything as quick as just wrapping some thin wire together like the small versions! I’m excited about the challenge though, I think I can get there in maybe a month’s time.