Wednesday, April 17, 2013

sneak peek: kickstarter video






I've been having a lot of fun making these little animations. So far, I have taken photos for probably 10 clips out of a possible 20+. Some are long and required hundreds of photos, and others are like this one above: quick and easy. I hope to finish the video and launch the KickStarter in the first week of May. I backed two projects that are currently going on at the Arteles Residency and received a postcard from one artist and a letter (and photo) from the other this week...fun! I don't know either of them, but have enjoyed hearing about the snow, the art making, and a trip on a ferry to Tallinn.

This afternoon, I spent a good amount of time cutting out little paper objects (tiny undies, a tube of toothpaste, and an umbrella among them) and will photograph them for a "vessel" clip that I'm really excited about tomorrow. I also cut out leaves for a plant and spelled out the word "project" using sticky letters. I stopped cutting when I realized the sun had set and it was too dark to see in the room. Most people would have just turned on a light, but I took it as a cue to make cinnamon popcorn and write this blog entry. 

Scary...the middle finger on my right hand has actually gone tingly from overuse of scissors...and it's been two days since then. So now I'm using an x-acto knife to cut. It's great to be semi-ambidextrous at times like these. Scissors go in the right hand and most other tools in the left.

More announcements coming soon!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

lifelong learner: jewelry class

Around this time last year, I took a wheel throwing class at the Craft Alliance location near where I live. This year, I'm taking a jewelry/metals class. With something new, it's always a little frustrating the first few classes to be the bumbling newbie who barely knows a thing, but I'm very pleased with what I was able to do in only three hours:


It's a tiny copper cylinder with a matching domed lid that will be hinged (during next week's class). We're all making different iterations of the same thing. Some students are using brass, some made a square or petaled base, others are using combinations of copper and brass.  What they all have in common is...well...the woman sitting next to me asked, "Is it just me, or do they look like little...?" and then we both laughed. There's a reason I didn't perch the lid on the cylinder for this photo! I can't help but wonder if the instructor realized this when designing the project.

I have a project idea in the research stage that may require the kinds of skills and knowledge I'll be getting from this class...and, let's be honest, I just like making stuff. All kinds of new words for me: flux, the pickle, annealing, etc.


The location for this class requires a ~4 mile bike ride. I took my time on the way there, when the sun was shining and the birds were still singing. But at one point, someone in a car intentionally tried to scare me by speeding up and stopping just short of me, rather than waiting at their stop sign. They did it twice! Awful. The ride home was incredibly fast. I raced through dark alleys and got home in about 24 minutes. A nice bike ride or walk is great for thinking.

*Update*
5/9/13

My weird tube thing melted while I was trying to solder a few weeks ago! My teacher recommended I start working on a locket instead. Here it is so far.  Next week is the last class, so I'll use that time to clean up the solder mess and polish this little beaut.


I  need to cut and hammer the brass hinge pin as well as make a silver clasp to keep it closed.



Tuesday, April 2, 2013

winging it



Here's a peek at what I've been working on lately using those cardboard boxes. I managed to watch two films while making these parts: 1) The End of the Line (a documentary on over-fishing) and 2) The Flaw (a documentary on income inequality and the financial crash).

Now I'm off to get started on my KickStarter video! If you have any suggestions for great rewards for me to offer to backers for my project in Finland, feel free to leave a comment.

Until next time....