Wishlists

I have this app on my phone called Wunderlist. I feel like my Wunderlist entries are super clever, like I am an expert at wanting things. I usually put my shopping and wish lists on the back cover of my notebooks and  so I don't lose track of them, but now I am aggregating them into Wunderlist.

My "Travel" list gives me a twinge in my belly because it's so exciting and so unattainable. But I know if I permanently want to go to the New Zealand beaches and fjords, the Budapest hot springs, and the B
altimore Washington monument and George Peabody Library, I will eventually be in a state where I can make it happen. There are two things from each of those places on my list, as well as "use a pneumatic tube" which I recently found out you can do in some offices with their old systems and some hospitals with new systems. I got excited to add "send a pigeongramme" to my New Zealand wishlist, but the service was replaced by telegraph in 1908. So that is my travel wishlist. I also want to go to iceland, but for the same reason I want to go to Budapest (to swim in hot springs), plus in DC all the metro ads are for going to Iceland on your way to London, and that made me want it more.  I bet there are a lot of iceland shaped things to buy in iceland, and i would like that.

 I have a seperate wishlist for books I want to buy or check out of the library, but some should be on my travel list because I specifically want to read them at the Library of Congress. Like, the Klingon Newsletter, which I won't be able to read but will still be exciting. Also I want to look at very old copies of books by the Dutch ambassador to Japan, Isaac Titsinghs. I know everyone has already made their peace with autocorrect, but it really takes exception to basically everything on my wishlists.

Resin Jewelry

 There is still a lot of trial and error with resin for me. I love this ring, but it is rubbery so I have to recast it with the correct catalyst to resin proportion, also the back is flat but that's nicer than the many tries I did as a 3d cast instead of a flat cast. Also it is too big. I was making some dripped resin layered rings before this, so I thought adding material was the easy direction, but for a cast item I think it will be easier to shave off material. So I can cast this in beeswax, which shrinks as it cools, then make a fresh mold in 2 part silicone, then cast it in resin that I've mixed properly.

 I figured out a one piece cuff link I'm happy with! I made the original out of buttons and cheese wax. And I can cast it in any color! But the mold is only usable once or twice, because I make it thin and then invert it to release the cuff link. I just made a thick mold and cut a zig-zag down the side to release the cuff link, but I haven't tried it yet. I'm hoping it will just make a thin seam of extra resin that I can trim off. Maybe I can let the resin set in the mixing container for a short time to thicken.

I love waiting overnight to decant these little treasures. Maybe I should take notes instead of trying to remember what works.

Fabric Dye

The jacquard iDye is supposed to be no mess because of the dissolving plastic they're made from- just toss it in the dye pot! But my counter was wet (whose counter is dry all the time?) so a packet got glued down and then when I pulled it up it made a terrible mess. I was glad I did my ring modeling earlier in the day.

Bataeff's

It's kind of hard to find where to go for cheap metal in a new town, but luckily my Dad and Dawn knew where to go in Santa Rosa- Bataeff's Salvage. They sell scrap metal by the pound (copper is $6, brass 15, I think steel is 1) and it's all kinds of gorgeous shapes. Also they sell a bit of new steel in consistent lengths, but the fun is picking through the bins and bathtubs to find treasures. 

I have been using a lot of this steel mesh in my rings so I picked up some more, also some tiny brass findings to supplement the ones I spoiled with resin. 

 I think these are for computer cooling, and they look like this even after sitting out in the rain every day forever.

 I think these pipes are galvanized so they can't rust, but the cut ends do for a nice contrast.

 Also the whole ground looks like this to some extent, this is a medium/high density of items.

They have bins and bins of ball bearings in all sizes.

 Since it's sold by the pound and I am working at jewelry scale, everything is nearly free, and then Dawn treated me so it was exactly like free. Yay!

What does the inside of a geode look like?

I wanted to properly see the inside of a geode, so I filled it with casting silicone

and peeled it out. 

The cast actually has glittery facets. 

And it looks nice backlit, kind of biological because of the color. It's pretty small. I could cover an led night light with it, or use it to cast a crystal texture.

Casting Silicone

 Beeswax is my preferred wax. When I was a kid, Dad used to keep bees, and I did so many little projects with the wax we'd harvest. It smells amazing and it just feels wholesome. Also I am not that good at making things out of beeswax because it is so hard and splintery. My models slated for casting in silver would take hours and be super prone to damage. Since they are intended for sale, I feel like I have to keep my labor hours down a little bit so I decided to cast some blanks and forms to work with.

 I mixed up too much of this Smooth On casting silicone, so I rushed to find little items to cast, and those ended up being great. This stuff is so easy to use. I just mixed the two bottles together and poured it over my sprued models. I wish that in school we used real modern casting supplies instead of learning the process/theory with plaster of paris cast in plaster of paris molds. You have to use specialty vaseline to keep the casting plaster from sticking to the mold, completely avoid undercuts, the plaster makes an enormous mess that can't be washed up, and the process takes days because each stage has to cure/dry. Also, you are an adult, a sculptor even, whose plaster cast has sealed permanently into your mold, and can only be removed in bits, before being presented for critique and grading.

 It is even a great color.

Ring blank, heart, house, bear, light bulb, person blank

I didn't carve the heart, so I wouldn't cast anything from it to sell. (The light bulb is fair game, I am sure.)  My boyfriend noticed me noticing it among the costume jewelry at a discount store and surprised me with it. The silver has worn off so I thought it would be sweet to cast it in silver, to show how much I like it.  

Structure #1

Up in Santa Rosa it's refreshingly rural. So many trees, so few neighbors. I am dotting the hill we live on with little structures. This is the first. It is a half tent (privacy and solitude for your upper half) made of a shoe rack and lace scraps, plus a bit of bamboo. And it's all sewn with dental floss. 

After spending so much time busily in transition- driving across the country and helping mom pack, and editing my belongings into a smaller and smaller pile, I was really ready to get to sculpting my first day up here. So I leapt right into building this shoe rack tent. The floor is a pair of giant pallets that Dad salvaged a while ago. And it's under a tarp, so maybe it doesn't have to be waterproofed? I would like to varnish it, but then I can't use the fabric on the next incarnation. I think it's actually pretty lovely, but it's definitely not going to keep weather out, and I have to store my toiletries and books in the house or my car. It's 34 or 39 degrees every night here. I think being an ascetic is good for me, but at the same time, I don't like it.

Here's an interior view. It really is pretty.