Waiting and wondering

9:34 am

This has been the strangest first week of the month filled with ups and downs. On the up side, I’ve sent 8 squirts out into the world for others to enjoy. There were also the 10 bowls sold to friends. The prints made it to their destination in Boise and I even received a request to teach a linoleum reduction printmaking class at the studio. Still thinking on that one.

The down side involves my old dog George who grows ever closer to the being set free from his body. Right now I’m having him tortured at the vet to rule out possible dental problems. It’s happened before where we decide to put a dog down only to discover there has been a abscess brewing in their mouth, putting off the needle for another 6 to 8 months. Is it worth having this last procedure done? The checking account doesn’t like it but I need to have that nagging doubt laid to rest. George probably hoped never to return to the place of dog hell.

9:55 am

We’ve always wondered what would give out first with him: skeletal or heart. The vet just called and it’s looking like the heart will give out first. He won’t be doing a dental today. He is uncharacteristically calm. Not a good sign since he’s always fighting to get out of that place. Respiration is at 70/min (normal is 30-40). She will have a consult with a cardiologist and get back to me in a while.

More waiting….

First order since December!

March has certainly started out on a good foot. I spent some time photographing more squirts (actually some of the Pulpos) and designed a new banner image for the Etsy site. When I uploaded the image I noticed some of the squirts were not listed. What the heck? How did Etsy screw up my listing? Where did they go? Did someone hack my account? Needless to say I soon discovered two squirts had SOLD. Oh my goodness!

Now they are boxed up and out the door along with the prints for the exchange.

I couldn’t resist adding a little something to the mailing labels. Yes, the top of a squirt graces the lower left corner of the label. I think my sister would call it “Cute!”. It’s actually one of the “Pulpos” rather than a squirt.  Have I really started two lines of these thing? Time will tell…

New snow for a new month

It’s always surprising to wake to a dusting of snow here in the Willamette Valley. We received (at our location) about an inch. Just enough to coat our normally green & brown landscape.

and then the sun came up …

The dogs always enjoy goofing around in the snow, no matter what the age. This morning they enjoyed licking & crunching the snow. Moby loved catching snowballs.

George enjoyed wandering around a bit after satisfying his cold water need.

A beautiful way to start the day. Thank goodness I don’t have to drive anywhere this morning.

🙂

Sea Squirt Assortment

Opening the kiln on Sunday morning was surprising. My little squirts had attached themselves to the shelf stilts and required quite a bit of attention to free them. A few tipped over and joined in an intimate kiss. Ah, another good learning experience. Don’t use kiln stilts that were given to you & you don’t know what their temp range might be. It would have been smarter to just place them on coated shelves. C’est la vie!

I’ll be spending the next several days uploading images and writing text for the 9 guys/gals. You might be wondering their size. Most would fit inside a 2.5″ cube with some smaller & a few just a tad larger. Each one is individual & resembles a cross between several tide pool critters:  a sea cucumber and an octopus. They can rest on a shelf or even hang on the wall (they all have one or two holes on their underside). Why not have several hanging out together?

Thanks for checking out the group!

So close!

After a weekend of no water in the house and plumbing woes out of the way, the Moby print came back in focus. There will be one more color for the border, but for the most part things are looking pretty complete. Keeping the print paper properly lined up (registration) can often be a challenge. This time around I pre cut the paper to 5″x7″ with a blade (no tearing) and used layers of tape as guides in the lower right corner. Below are the three colors printed thus far and a completed image. Many types of paper have been used for the full edition including BFK Rives, Arches and others. Color testing has been on newsprint or computer paper.

Right now, all the prints are laid out and drying. I love seeing a full edition out on a tabletop. It makes me feel like something has really been accomplished. Instant satisfaction!

A closer look at one.

Hopefully by late afternoon the prints will be dry enough for the final border color. All I have to do is keep the cat & dogs from placing their mucky paws or chins on the drying lot. The majority of images will head off to the Leftover Print exchange organized by my Sitka friend Amy Nack. One or two will pop up for sale and the others will find homes with Moby’s previous owners.  Cindy and the kids will get a kick out of it. I’ve not met his first owners but maybe they too would enjoy having an image of the boy all grown up.  🙂

2 colors down

   Lack of useable colored etching ink has thrown some of my printmaking into a standstill. However, there is always screen printing! My inks for that style are also getting old but still useable. A couple of years ago I switched from Speedball to Versa and I’m not very happy. Maybe it’s the extender but something in the ink gives it a bubbly texture. Personally, I like an ink to lay smoothly over the paper and not yield sticky pock marks.  I also don’t like it when my screen gets a halo happening (probably ink drying in between printing).  Well, at least I’ll have something for the Leftover Print exchange!

This will be a 4 color print of Moby my German Wirehaired Pointer. Maybe it’s considered a 5 color including the white background? Anyway, only two more block outs on the screen and two more colors to run. There have been a few registration glitches but overall things are still looking pretty good. I’ll be happy when it’s done.

Critters, Vet time and Mosaics

This morning I woke to my furry household members demanding food. Feeding critters is always the first thing on the agenda. With one bouncy dog (Moby) and one ever watchful arthritic geriatric dog (George), the cat (Nigel) typically jumps right in for his share of attention. But today was different. He normally begs  & cries for tuna (yes, I’ve raised a tuna fish junkie) but when offered food he smelled it and passed. He never turns up his nose to tuna. Somethings wrong with the cat! UT infection? I hope not! So I waited patiently for 2 hrs before contacting the vet.

Our appointment was scheduled and we were quickly driving to Corvallis. The vet & assistant did lots of poking, prodding, taking of temp (normal), kitty blood pressure (normal), brown,yellow & red samples taken and we were out the door. Still not certain what’s up with him, but a baseline has been started. He still seems off. Test results should be in by Friday.

George is experiencing more joint problems. The past several weeks have been wrapped around his doggy needs. Weekends disrupt his regular daily schedule and I spend the first three weekdays getting back on track. I started administering Adequan yesterday by injection. Sticking needles in my dog flat out sucks! Doesn’t help that I’m a tad squeamish doing it. Hopefully after a few weeks it will all kick in & help mobility.

Moby turned 2 at the end of January and has now passed the one year mark of coming to living with us. I’m still amazed we haven’t throttled him for consuming more items of importance than any of our other dogs combined. I have to keep reminding myself that he’s still a young dog.

Art production has been fairly steady. Currently, I’m finishing up glazing all the sea squirts, pulpos & bowls for a final firing. More prints have popped up on Etsy including the pug & terrier.  One of my friends told me I need to have about 20 items for sale before anyone will take my shop seriously. Well, I certainly need to produce and upload more items! One of my dog models, Rogue, passed away at the beginning of the month due to surgery complications. I feel so sad for our friends Tracie & Sean. Rogue had a short life for an old soul. I’m determined to finish the Rogue print before months end. Well, maybe before the end of March. I should be realistic.

The beginning of February also marked the 2 year anniversary of my mothers death and a hard time to pass through. My sister and I planned a coast escape to mark the time, but due to a lack of vehicle and weather problems things shifted. Instead, we took a mosaic workshop from a dear friend in Corvallis. Ella (Sacred Shard Mosaic) has been working with mosaics for many years & this was her introductory class. We learned about material sources, how to cut glass & tile, how to use different tools and at the end, a quick mirror project. I was a tad hung over from a Friday night tequila extravaganza and had no lunch. This combination altered my ability to focus on the project. The nice thing about workshops is that what comes out doesn’t matter, it’s the information that’s important. I have a bowling ball that’s screaming to become a flashy yard ornament!

Eventually I’ll post progress on a small 4 color Moby block print. I’m also toying with running the image as a screen print. Hmmm, needing to produce some screen printed tea towels…sea or food themed for upcoming shows at The Arts Center. Product, product, product!

Thanks for checking in!

Dog nose up close

I’ve always struggled with drawing images. In school, I had a teacher hunt me down to turn in my sketchbook at terms end (he was the sculpture teacher and I think he really wanted to see how my brain worked). Sketchbooks become very personal and frankly, I just didn’t want him to have it!  So my drawing skills have not progressed as they should due to my own mental hurdles.  But somehow charcoal has been different. It’s a tactile process that allows fingers to be up-close with the image. To me it wasn’t drawing but sculpture.  I added & subtracted clay in sculptures, why not burnt wood lays? Maybe I should spend more time revisiting this old love.

The desire to work burnt wood over paper was too strong today and I gave in. It’s been pushing forward for weeks plus the dog nose image has been floating around my brain for months and maybe years. My goal is to pull together an image that I’m satisfied with and use it for a polyester lithography print for the “Leftovers” print exchange.  Maybe it will be an etching or a drypoint… still trying to decide.  The above image shows Trial#1 & #2. This is strictly sketch mode, nothing set in stone! Trial #2 (right dog) has better proportions & foreshortening. More sketching in charcoal to come!

Quality photos are worth it!

Stroll in the Woods, Mixed Media, Gale Everett 2012

I try my darnedest to do most of my own work, be it photos, web or computer. However, I’m convinced that it’s totally worth paying someone else to take GOOD photos. This way I don’t have to know how to do everything  or keep the equipment on hand for those occasional images. All I have to do is transport the pieces to Harold Wood’s home and he works his magic. Potter friends have set-ups that work great for their media. Some even keep a photo section in their studio for quick pix. Guess it makes sense to work in one media and in similar size/shape but that just won’t do for me.  I’ll keep plodding along with my sculptural pieces that make me happy and hope one day they will leave the nest and make someone else happy!

Thanks Harold for yet another round of photos!

To see some of Harold’s work, please click on the link

www.haroldwoodart.com

All of the images in the “Sculptural Art” page were taken by Harold.

Finished Project

Whew! The end of the month and many projects accomplished!

The biggest thing off my plate happens to be the donation for The Arts Center…

Stroll in the Woods will be up for sale during Chocolate Fantasy. All proceeds from the sale will benefit the AC.

Now I can get back into the swing of ceramics! Wait, there are deadlines for shows on February 28th! Will I produce something or not? Time will tell & you’ll just have to keep checking back in!