Old Transit Maps

If you like old maps...old transit maps...old New York City transit maps.....take a look at this site. It has all kinds of old maps of the transit system.

Countdown to Paris...

64 days to go. The apartment is booked. I can't wait to see this place. It has beams going through the living room and a ton of windows. It's up on the 5th floor so it overlooks the rooftops. At night you can see Notre Dame off in the distance.



We booked the flights tonight. Lou travels so much that he had enough frequent flyer miles for both of us to get free tickets. Woo-Hoo!!!

Gemstones

I played hooky from work this afternoon and went to the Rings and Things show. It was only in town for one day and ran from 12-4 so I had no choice but to take the afternoon off. I was looking for some small rondelles to use with the bronze. I picked up a few strands....garnet, labradorite, sodalite, and carnelian.



But my most favortie buy was a strand of jade Happy Buddha beads. There are about 20 of them in the strand and each one is a little bit different. There were only 2 strands and now I'm thinking I should have bought the other strand too....Oh Well.



There is another gem show in town this weekend at the county fairgrounds and since Lou is golfing Saturday morning I think I'll be heading to the show. This will be a bigger show with different vendors. I'm still looking for some amethyst and anything else that catches my eye...like the Happy Buddha's.

Crack....Thud.....Whoosh!!!!

That's the sound of a tree falling. And this is the second time it's happened this summer. Not the whole tree...but a very very very large branch. Extend your arms out in front of you in a circle.....that's about the size of it.

At 2AM this morning I awoke to that sound. Luckily the last sound was a whoosh...which means the tree didn't hit anything. The whoosh is the sound that the leaves make as they sort of whiplash on the ground after it hits. If the tree had hit something it would have been Crack....Thud....metal crunching, glass breaking, cats screaming.

It spanned across the entire front yard and down into the driveway in between our two cars. It missed the cars, missed the lampost, missed the fence, missed the house. It did take out a little 3' tall Japanese Maple. But we were extremely lucky there was no significant damage.

The tree dudes came out right away, cut it up, and chipped it. They also went up into the tree and took out some other questionable branches. We left work early to clean things up but they did a great job of taking everything. We hosed down the driveway and front porch to get rid of the saw dust but other than that...the dudes did it all.

I don't have any pictures because they were gone before we got home. As we cleaned up we did find a few mushrooms.....very, very, very large mushrooms. Those I made Lou hold up so I could take pics.

Can you believe the size of this? It's bigger than a wedding bouquet...with this mushroom I thee wed.



This one is smaller but it looks like it could talk....."Feed me Morris"

Maybe tonight I'll get some sleep. After the tree fell I didn't sleep at all.

From my bead stringing days.....

Back in 2005 I got the cover of Bead Style magazine. It was particularly significant because this was the necklace I made the night my Dad passed away. I couldn't sleep and my mind was numb so I put my hands to work and this is what I created.


Kalmbach has released a new book...Big & Bold. The necklace in one of the projects in the book....page 58.

New Pendants

Cleopatra has nothing on this chick. I would show the original picture that it came from but...I accidentally saved the tear-away image over the original picture.



This came from a stained glass window in the Cluny Museum...



This came from a picture of the Conciergerie. One of my favorite buildings. I like the turrets. This looks better in person. I was having a hard time photographing it.



The Eiffel tower glimpsed between trees.



I haven't decided if this will be part of a mixed media piece or a bracelet or...


I overlaid a picture of the Eiffel Tower over the French version of La Vie en Rose.

I struck a nerve.....

with the post on Monday. Sounds like I'm not the only person that gets suckered into repairing jewelry. But I will not do it again and I will not apologize for it.

So everyone ...say it with me....NO, I DO NOT REPAIR JEWELRY. NO, NO, NO, NO NO.

There now don't you feel better. I do.

I will never ever agree to do this again....

that is what I said to myself with each amethyst chip I strung tonight. Get ready because I'm going to rant even though I did this to myself.

I've had a number of people at work approach me to fix their jewlery. And a few years ago I used to do this and even design things with strands of beads they would bring me. But I haven't strung anything in a long time since my interests have moved on to metals. But they still continue to ask. And now that I think of it, the ones that have come to me have never purchased a piece of my jewelry....but they still ask if I can fix theirs. Most of it is cheap and they would be better off if they just threw it out. But for some reason they want it repaired. A while back I decided that I wasn't going to do this ever again. NO, NO, NO.

But I had a weak moment when a co-worker asked about a bracelet. I said OK but it had to be after my shows were finished this summer. On the day after my last summer show she followed me to my office to give me the bracelet....an amethyst bracelet strung on elastic that her daughter had broken. Much to my surprise she pulled out a bag of amythyst chips and proceded to tell me about the necklace she wanted me to string for her and the single strand bracelet now became 4 strands with silver pieces in it. I don't know why I didn't say NOOOOOOO at that point but I took everything home and it's been sitting here for 2 months.

I couldn't give it back to her at this point because it's been so long. So tonight I strung the necklace and with each chip I said..."I will never do this again". And it wasn't like they were spectacular chips and maybe I could have enjoyed the beauty of the gemstone. The chips are really low grade. So it was torture. I also strung the 4 strands for the bracelet but I don't have a clasp that will work from a design perspective. So I am taking everything back to her tomorrow. The necklace is finished and I am going to recommend someone else at work to finish the bracelet. I will not take on the task of looking for the right clasp.

At one point tonight Lou asked me if I was OK. He said I looked angry. I started laughing. I was angry. But I did it to myself.

I WILL NEVER EVER AGREE TO FIX JEWELRY THAT WASN'T MADE BY ME....EVER AGAIN.

Colors....

Pretty colors. I'm off to prep another load for the kiln. I could have made one big load but like a little kid...I couldn't wait. I wanted to get some of it fired. It's like opening a present when I pull the bronze out.

BibliOdyssey

If you like old book illustrations, you need to check out BibliOdyssey. I could spend days and days on this site. Pick an picture...any picture and use it for inspiration. There is also a list of recommended books in the BibliOdyssey Emporium that are worth taking a look at.

The Thunderbirds are here....

This weekend is the Cleveland Airshow...an annual Labor Day event. The Thunderbirds arrived today. I could see them practicing from my office window. It was hard to concentrate because I could hear the planes coming before I could see them so natuarally I kept looking up from my desk.

Then later when I got home I heard whinning engines overhead. I stepped outside to see the C-130 Hercules descending so it could land at Burke Lakefront Airport. It's a cargo transport plane and is massive.

Last year we got to see Fat Albert...that's the Blue Angels C-130 transport plane. It can perform jet-assisted take-0ffs. Imagine this big ass plane lumbering down the runway for a take-off. It's so big you can't believe that it will even get off the ground....but it does. At some point very soon after take-off they kick in the jets and this massive plane rockets into the sky. It's impressive.

Of course there will be protesters outside the airshow. They protest these "weapons of war".... "weapons of mass destruction". Lou tells me I'm a bleeding heart...I don't ever want to see people go to war. I grew up watching the Vietnam War on TV. That definetely had an impact on a 10 year old girl. These are weapons that can inflict massive destruction but I also think the sheer force of their existence can keep war at bay. Sane people will think twice before starting a conflict because of the consequences. It's the insane ones that don't care and start wars anyway....kinda like our past President (that's means you GW-yah).

OH but this is much too serious for my blog. I am taking tomorrow off so I have a 4-day weekend.....and we have no plans....and if I'm lucky we won't have any last minute invitations. I might actually get 4 days in the studio. WOO HOO!!!

Like a Stuck Record....

I'm stuck on making tear aways. I played around with pictures I took in Paris and I've been making tear aways for about a week. Sometimes I get stuck...I make something and then get lost in making different sizes and variations. Put down the pasta machine and walk away!!!!

I'm anxious to work with them. Here are two that I really want to see put to metal. The first was from a picture of a stained glass window in the Musee National du Moyen Age....Middle Ages museum. It's a little grainy but I'm hoping that adds to the piece.

The next is from a stone tablet in the Louvre. Same issue with it being grainy.

We'll have to see if they translate to metal. Sometimes something that looks good on paper doesn't easily make a good tear away or translate to metal well.

I'm going to do some work with these this weekend. I'm hoping to take Friday off as well as Monday. If that happens I should be able to get some concentrated time in the studio. Keep your fingers crossed that I don't have to be at work on Friday.

Whimsy...Hmmmm

Most of the people who know me wouldn't describe anything about me or the way I act as whimsical. So when I was given a project with the goal of finding a children's book to use as inspiration and make something whimsical....I was at a loss. But I went with mice....as in Three Blind Mice. But why is this a children's nursery rhyme...it's grusome.

Three blind mice. Three blind mice.
See how they run. See how they run.
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a sight in your life,
As three blind mice?

But mine are a bit "one off" in that they have eyes but no ears so they are more like Three Deaf Mice.

More Bronze Pieces

Been doing some experimenting altering pics with Photoshop's stamp feature ... stamperizing. Then making tear-aways. Below is a piece from the Louvre...he reminds me of Ollie from Kukla, Fran, and Ollie. This one may be too busy to make a good bronze piece or maybe I need to play with the image a bit to clean it up and emphasis specific lines.

This is a stained glass window in Saint Pierre de Montmarte in Paris.

I have a couple other pieces I haven't fired yet. I'll get to those later this week. I think I need to work with the original images, clean up the lines a bit and retry these.

Below is a piece for the workshop I'm doing. I took the lyrics to La Vie en Rose and printed them out using a really fun font and hung parts of the song from the bottom of the pendant

Weekend Goodies....

I'm involved in an exercise in expanding creativity. One of the projects was to take pictures of things around you and use it as inspiration. The catch is that you get one shot to make something...no redos. I don't always do my best on the first attempt but the exercise is opening my eyes and sending me down paths I might have never taken.

I posted this picture of a building last week. I love the old fashioned pointing hand. Below is the piece I made from it. I didn't know what to have it pointing towards....."offices" just wasn't doing it for me. And then it came to me....Paris....but of course :) I had fun with it and it gave me a chance to rivet. I need lots of practice at riveting. I'm pretty bad at it.

I spent my free time over the weekend making tear-aways. I tried out some of my "stamperized" pictures. I'll get a chance to work with them tomorrow.

Stamperize your pictures....

You like that word...stamperize. I made that up :)

I've been considering buying some rubber stamps of the Eiffel Tower and other sites in Paris. But I hesitated because I have pictures of those sites. So I hopped onto Photoshop Elements and found the stamp function. Check it out......








Now it's really time to play with some tear-aways.

Glad it's Friday...

What a week. You all heard about my fall on Wednesday. Well that was mid-week. The beginning of the week started with my being called back to the Breast Center for some additional images and an ultrasound because the radiologist had seen something on my mammogram. At this point the diagnosis is "probably benign"....hmmmm. I have a follow up in 6 months. Then on Tuesday my brother was in the hospital for a knee replacement...good news is that he went home today. Wednesday was the fall. Yesterday and today were rather calm and the weather has finally become bearable.

The weekend will come and go quickly. I have a project due that I haven't even started on. I will work on that tomorrow. We have dinner with friends Saturday night. Sunday I've got nothing planned but housework usually sucks up a good portion of the day. I thought once my shows were over I would get tons of work done. Not the case. I don't know where my time goes. I had planned to have all my things up on Etsy by now...I haven't even taken pictures yet and it doesn't look good that it will happen anytime soon.

I bought a lottery ticket tonight. What would you do with $207 million?? I was day dreaming about this on the way home. First it is way too much money to even know how to spend it.....so charity would definetely come in to play. But first a few things for me :) My current house would be history. I would build a new one...not much bigger but with a custom designed studio. But the question would be where would I choose to live. I know you're all thinking Paris....but probably not permanently. I'd get a little pied-de-terre in Paris (and you could all stay there for free). I'd hire a housekeeper, cook, and gardener (stimulate the economy) so I could have free time. There's not much that I want.....no expensive car, no boat, no mansion. What I really want is time. I would be happy to have my days free so I could work in the studio. It was Marcus Aurelius who said.."very little is needed to make a happy life, it is all within yourself, all in your way of thinking".

I think I would buy a new car...a mini....I love those things.



see more Lolcats and funny pictures

My Mood Today

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

This was on Anne's blog and it says it all for me today. I'm in a sour mood but I'm trying not to show it.

We are have a massive tree taken down. It is in the back yard right next to the house and power lines. Our back yard is landlocked so they have to put the crane in the neighbors front yard and reach between the houses (which are very close) to get to the tree. They were suppose to give us a few days notice so we could warn the neighbors. But they didn't and showed up this morning before I had even gotten into the shower. Luckily the neighbor was out in his front yard this morning because he locked himself out of the house.

Anyway...I moved my car out to the street and went back in to get ready for work....fast...very fast. I didn't want to be around when they took this thing down. I got ready in about 15 minutes, threw some cat food in the dishes and headed out the door. I was walking in the street to my car and fell. Let's just say the tree wasnt' the only thing falling down today...."Big Girl falling down!!!!". There was a guy in his car on the wrong side of the street. I don't know what he was doing there...may have been with the tree company. As I lay in the middle of the street I looked up and him and he waved to me. WTF??? Didn't get out of the car, didn't even yell to me to see if I was OK....just waved. Now my leg hurts and my knee is all scuffed up and I'm in a pissy mood.

Cleveland Photos

I left work early on Friday and had a chance to snap some photos that I've been wanting to take. The first is the side of an abandoned building with a really cool pointing hand sign on the wall.

As I pulled down the street I saw another abandoned building. I wanted to get closer to this one....but that wasn't an option. Not just because there was a fence. The pictures were taken on one of the streets I occassionaly drive down to get to work. Employee's take shortcuts through the surrounding neighborhoods to get to work faster. This neighborhood happens to be ranked the 20th most dangerous in the US. I drive through it every day so it doesn't really seem that bad. But I'm not dumb enough to get out of the car and walk around.

Then I drove over to Tremont to see Saint Theodosious. Cleveland is a steel town...or maybe "was" is a better term. Tremont is located close to the steel mills. The neighborhood is old and has an industrial edge to it. It's become the site of a number of great restaurants and some trendy boutiques.