I know many of you are anxious for Spring to arrive. Big City Girl was so tired of old man Winter, she ran off to Cancun for a few days. Isn't it great that flights can be tracked online? She just landed a few minutes ago, and it won't be long till she's decked out in her bikini soaking up some sun.
These are some felted flowers I worked on while watching the Olympics. The orange one is a snowboarding flower and the yellow one is an ice dancing one. I didn't make a curling flower. I've just never been fond of curling. But I do wonder how the idea came about. There must have been a heck of a drunken brainstorming party.
I finally added the left hand to the chef-in-a-mug, but as it was drying the thumb came loose. So the second thumb is now drying, and if time permits I will do a little sanding and painting. He will be outfitted after I get back to the Treehouse.
Meanwhile, I've been brainstorming (soberly) about another clay project....also to include a chef. I have an old flour sifter about the same size as the mug. I'm thinking of putting a chef inside and attaching him to the bottom so he will move back and forth slightly when the handle is moved in the sifting motion.
So, our carpeting job was postponed because of the rain. It will be done next week, and this was really a lucky break because we needed a few days to get stuff organized. This morning Mr. Gadget and I started that process. We are happy with the re-do, even though it wasn't on our time schedule. I guess when life gives you lemons, you might as well make lemon meringue pie.
It's another cloth and clay project. I thought it would be fun to create something as part of an object I found around the house, and this mug was it.
I made a very simple wire armature and wrapped it first with plastic grocery bags. The ones I get at the store here (you know, where the firemen shop) are very thin and barely hold the potatoes, but they worked well for my dollmaking purposes and didn't go to waste. Then I wrapped some fabric strips (old sheets) around it, but not too carefully. I was impatient to get to the sculpting.
It's a work-in-progress, and probably won't be finished until I get back to Connecticut. But in the meantime, it's saving my sanity. The circus that has been going on in the Calcondo for the almost-seven weeks we've been here has turned my brain into cotton candy. I'm sure the elephants will be marching through soon.
Tomorrow, however, I'll have a little break from the big top. I'm going to have breakfast with Arizona Barbara and her boyfriend. They are visiting from...yep....Arizona. Long ago I mentioned Barbara, my long-time friend and fellow lover-of-fabric, and told you that she had left California for Arizona and a man. This is that man. So I'm looking forward to meeting him so I can see for myself what is so terribly exciting about him....and if she had a good enough reason to go off and leave me to do my fabric shopping all by myself.
Yesterday I visited the South Bay Quilt Guild's annual quilt show. Even though I'm not a quilter (and I have no quilt guilt) I do like to admire the handiwork of other fans of textiles. Here are some of my favorites:
Turtle
Ground Zero
The big city
Neckties
Black bird might be a little jealous that owl's picture was chosen for the Kleenex box instead of his. Or maybe he's just an angry bird.
I've been busy with small projects while things have been in disarray here at the condo. Black bird was made by covering a Styrofoam ball with paper clay. His legs are wire that I wrapped with floral tape. He stands more easily than my previous bird attempts. The secret is in the feet. He was a fun little project and he'll most likely have some friends in the future.
The condo repair is coming to an end. Just a few finishing details are needed before we can finally put things back where they belong....like our clothes that have been hanging in cardboard boxes in the living room since just after we arrived in early January. All of this, you may recall, was because of an insufficiently snaked bathroom sink drain in the condo above. It hasn't been much fun, but at least there's no snow.
So Mr. Gadget and I are having a little tiff. He's angry at me and I'm basically clueless. It has to do with the trim color in the newly painted rooms. He says I agreed to something I have no recollection of ever discussing. I might have to start keeping better records....since this seems to be happening with more regularity.
It's probably time to wrap this post up, since it's been sitting in my computer, unfinished, for days. I do have some other projects in the works, and several more brewing in my brain. The dust and the disorganization in the house is getting to me. I might find the snow a welcome relief. Just saying....
I never thought I'd find artistic inspiration on a box of Kleenex. This is actually a replacement box. The original was damaged in the deluge.
This morning I went to the grocery store....but not specifically to buy the replacement box. Why is it that each time I go grocery shopping the firemen are doing their shopping too? They never do a big shopping. It appears they're just picking up a little something for dinner. I've never figured out why they need to bring the really big truck just to fetch a few chili fixins'.
It's very unsettling to see a van driving around the neighborhood with the word "Coroner" on the back.
The construction guys have given us a few days off from the noise and dust. The last time they were here they very considerately tiled just half of the hallway so we could walk around easily while the glue dried. I like that trait in a construction guy.
This morning after I got up I looked out the front window and almost freaked out. There was lots of white stuff. Then I realized it was just fog and it would go away by itself without shoveling.
I'm working on a couple of small projects that
should be finished soon. I've also been browsing artsy websites and I discovered a new dollmaker. Her creations are whimsical and wonderful....and very inspiring. I would love to take one of her classes, but they are usually far away and they fill up quickly.
I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of hearing the word awesome. I really thought it would run its course, like so many expressions do, but it has incredible staying power.
And poor Bob Costas with that annoying eye infection. I really thought he was trying to make a fashion statement with those cute round glasses. When I first met Mr. Gadget he wore round glasses with metal frames and I was immediately smitten. After we got married, he put the glasses away in a drawer....along with his cooking skills. Mr. G. used to make a mean pot o' chili...and somehow, amazingly, he was able to get all of his chili fixins' home in his sports car.
...."it's not easy being green."
But if you're a witch in my witchy doll world, you're stuck with it, so you'd better make the best of it. This is celery green, over a coat of gesso, over paper clay that has been sculpted over a stuffed muslin head. They are fun to make, especially now that I've had some practice and I've learned to allow a little bit of forehead.
Things are progressing with the repair here at the Calcondo. Did I show you this picture? I can't remember. If so, sorry.
The workers are making good progress and the whole thing now has new drywall. A little added bonus is that I have decided I'll use that vanity area for my sewing machine (where the Bounty is reserving the space). For years it's been a place to stash miscellaneous stuff, and the drawers were full of junk from my parents' era. Sometimes we just need a little push.....I mean a gigantic shove....to become better organized.
Today the construction guys are taking a break while the drywall putty dries, but we did have a visit from the condo maintenance crew who was called in to fix the deplorable job the plumber did next to the outside wall when he connected our new drain line to the sewer. Mr. Gadget and I were so ready for a change of scenery that we walked up to the Asian market to replenish my supply of persimmons, but there were none to be had. I knew we were perilously close to the end of their season, but still, it was disappointing. I had to settle for a papaya.
Things could be worse I suppose. At least I'm here in California where the sun is shining. Poor Big City Girl. She's having to trudge through slush to get to work and back. She's trying to plan a little getaway to someplace warm for a few days, but picking a flight that won't be canceled is pretty much of a crap shoot.
So today I made a trip over to Joann's to buy a couple of paint brushes (sometimes things I need at the Cal are at the Con). For one day only they were offering a 20% discount to senior citizens. I certainly expected to be asked for my ID, but that didn't happen. I remember a couple of years ago being asked by a young Valley-girl type clerk for my ID when I was attempting to buy glue. "No one under 21 is allowed to buy it," she said. But that was before I let my hair go gray, so I guess it stands to reason....
