I’m going to do it again — 100 tiny paintings in a year. I might make them a little bigger, 3-1/2 inches by 3 inches instead of 3-1/2 by 2-1/2 inches . I’ll start next week and have set the timing for every third day for the next 52 weeks.
I’ll make storage books like the ones I made for the last set, but I’ll make them all at the same time. This time I’ll make the pockets out of transparency film. I still have the roll that came from an old photocopier that used rolls of paper or transparencies for copies. That was in the mid ‘80’s or as my youngest granddaughter used to say “the olden days.”
I’m also in the process of getting my craft room back in order. The Boomerang Child is spending a lot more time with the Not-Wife who is undergoing chemo for cancer. I moved the bed and dresser out of my room and am getting it set back up. One of my craft room tables is in my studio, but I think I will swap it with a different table.
Once I get the room set back up, I can bring back some of the supplies I have at the makerspace and devote the studio to painting and class development. so watch this space for pictures of paintings and projects. Once I’m re-organized, I’ll have more to post about.
I”m working on the first of two shadowbox mashups. The first one is Alice in OZ. It’s images cut from cardstock from two paper sets – The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. It features Alice and other cutouts from one paper set mixed in with images from thee Wizard of Oz set.
First layer of Alice in OzImage of another attempt Alice in Oz – yet another version
The layers are attached to transparency film so I can rearrange them to get the effect I want. Each film layer is attached at the corners with foam tape to provide depth to the finished project. The images are attached to the film with tape as well so i can re-arrange each element to get a balanced image.
The background of this one is a cropped image of the wizard in a balloon leaving Oz. The good witch, the lion, and poppies appear in different layers. The other characters are from the Alice paper set. There may be a scarecrow added in the next arrangement. A picture of the finished shadowbox will be published later.
The Dorothy in Wonderland shadowbox will have Dorothy and other characters from the Oz paper set intermixed with characters and images from the Wonderland set. I used these papers before to create tunnel books that were for sale at a craft show.
I broke my car again. Saturday was a wet snowy afternoon. I was on my way to take my grandson home and for whatever reason decided to go through town instead of on the highway. Big mistake.
I was within a mile of the house when the car in front of me hit an icy patch and skewed sideways. Even though I was going slowly, my car also started sliding and braking was ineffectual. BANG! I slid into the driver’s side door.
I won’t bore you with the details. My car is in the shop for the next few weeks. I have a loaner to use until the car is repaired. No one was hurt as far as I know. And I did use my handy duct tape as a bandage to hold the bumper on until I could take the car in.
The good news is that I’m almost finished with my Alice in Oz shadowbox.
I’m almost caught up with my miniature watercolors. I set a schedule of one painting every three days. September and October had so many things going on that I got behind in painting Now, I’m only two paintings behind and I think I’m finding a way to do decent landscapes. I still need more practice.
Some framed mini paintings- you’ve seen these already..
As the self-appointed repairer of the vending machines, I failed to get the soda machine out of its “out of service” mode and had to call the person who sold us the machine. Because he was going out of town, he couldn’t get to us until Oct. 31st.
He got it working and I spent another hour testing and resetting the slots. He also gave some tips on keeping it running such as getting dust out of the cooling unit and cleaning out the junk that was stashed in there “in case we need it.” The machine is working better and I should be able to maintain it.
I’ve been teaching sewing to students from the city’s alternative high schools. We have two, with limited curricula for students who don’t do well in standard classes. They come to the maker-space to try things like woodworking, leather craft, sewing, stained glass, and pottery.
I’ve taught them to make pillow cases and stuff sacks, utility aprons with pockets, and our latest project – bags to use to microwave popcorn. When I teach them, I show them and explain each step of using the sewing machines, how to measure and cut fabric, and how to mark the seam lines by using a piece of masking tape as a guide next to the sewing foot.
This student has used a sewing machine before so she didn’t need the masking tape.
One of the teachers also made a bag.
When I take project pictures with these groups, I only picture the hands of the students since I don’t have parental or guardian permission to film them.
Medicare doesn’t cover annual physicals for us old folks. They only cover wellness checks. So I spent time mostly answering questions about my quality of life in the negative which confirmed the positive quality of my old age. Sounds odd, doesn’t it? Anyway, I passed, so I guess I’m doing well.
The Boomerang Child talked about getting some mental health treatment. As far as I can tell, he hasn’t made a move to do so. I fully expect to find him dead one day. I’ve had low periods— spent many an evening contemplating whether it would hurt for a long time if I slit some part of my body or if I took pills and drank alcohol, would I wake up in the morning.
The answer is yes, it hurts and I did wake up the next morning. More than once. The worst time was being held down while my stomach was pumped. I spent two weeks locked in the psych ward for that one. That was over 50 years ago. Now that I’m older, I don’t have time for that foolishness.
I’m still six paintings behind in working my way up to 100. I should have 83, but I’m only up to 79. I bought four frames from Dollar Tree and inserted some paintings. They’re not horrible.
Thursday, October 9th, I taught basic sewing to a group of high schoolers. This time, instead of stuff sacks or pillow cases, they made can cozies. I was scheduled to teach four or five students, depending on what prior projects weren’t completed, but I made kits for six just in case I got six. I have six sewing machines to use for teaching that were purchased with grant money from the school district.
The can cozies were simple- two strips of fabric with batting sandwiched between them with a strip of velcro to hold the sides closed. I have one I made one that has craft foam instead of batting. That seems to work as well, so I’ll use that instead of batting.
Can cozy made by one of the students.
It was fun. My pattern turned out to be a bit short in length so the cozies didn’t turn quite as well-fitting as they should have. For the next class, I’m going to allow larger seam allowances which we can then adjust and trim.
I initiated hourly fees for use of the most expensive sewing machines in my area of the makerspace. We were the only large area not charging use fees. My hourly fees are only $2 per hour, lower than the $10 per hour of other areas because I get more long term projects on machines requiring less expensive repairs or replacements. The fees will go toward things like needles, bobbins, and replacement machine embroidery hoops or specialty parts for the other sewing machines.
I had a serger disappear from the shop. I’ve ordered a replacement. What I don’t understand is why I still have the scrap bin and the pedal. The new machine, as well as the other more expensive machines are getting trackers. That way if another machine disappears, I’ll have a notification and a time frame to check the cameras.
This past weekend, I took part in Bodgefest — a celebration of 11 years as a makerspace. I had a table featuring various zines and handmade books, plus fancy bookmarks and some leftover wristlet key holders I found in with my displays.
I’ve made a few new zines for the sale this month. One is a new Florida Man adventure based on current events. I have not nentioned any names. Another is a short story that includes a recipe for a hearty soup. I’ve also written a small book on diy book-binding,
My son helped me carry in my table and display items. I didn’t make much money. I don’t think any of us vendors did more than a few sales. My last sale wasn’t actually a sale. A really cute little girl came by with her mom and looked over my books. A tiny coil-bound notebook caught her eye. She picked it up and looked inside but the pink flower on the cover is what caught her eye.
Her mom asked how much it was. I hadn’t put a price sticker on that one, but the others were $2. When I mentioned I hadn’t priced it, the little girl placed the book back on the rack. When her mom asked how much, I told her it was a dollar, or free, her choice. The little girl was so happy to get the little notebook. I didn’t lose any real money by not charging for it. The happy smile was worth more than money.
Here I am, setting up. The little girl’s book is on the third row of the rack below the zines.
The zines are an in-going commentary on various topics. The Florida Man headlines make an entire series. I do a couple of new zines every year. Next year I’m going to set up a table at Zine Fest featuring the Insanity Shuffles* series and some copies of my craft booklets that I make for my classes – paper-making, book-binding, soap making, how to read sewing pattern symbols, and a few others.
A corner landmark is gone now – sledgehammered into oblivion. There used to be a fireplace business on the corner that had the pizza oven and a couple of outdoor fireplaces on the corner. They went out of business shortly after I moved into the neighborhood.
The property sat empty for almost ten years. I don’t know if the owners retired or died but the oven remained. The property was bought a couple of years ago, but nothing was done with it until recently. It’s all cleaned up except for the remains of the oven. I’m not certain if the new owners even knew that was a wood-fired pizza oven. As far as I know it was only a display in front of the shop.
Life goes on and I get older. The youngest granddaughter is in college and moving into her first apartment. The parental units are concerned because she’s a full-time student who also works full time. I’m not worried because she’s had a plan since she was 13. She started working at 14 and unlike her parents, I know she has savings. She’s worked as many hours as she legally could and saved more that she spent. She’ll make it.
I signed up for a program of “chair yoga.” It’s okay, but I picked a bad time to start with my sore neck and shoulder. The weird thing is that in spite of the pain and stiffness, I have full range of motion. I guess I’m just peculiar.
The Boomerang Child is back at work after almost three weeks. The company must really like him or they have trouble hiring people. He likes it, so I’m not going to complain. Well, not too much.
I’m about 5 paintings behind on my painting project. I’ve been working on some new inventory for a sale that occurs in a couple of weeks. I always do well at the occasional sale event we put on. Part of the reason is I have my logo on the bags I use.
They’re small brown paper shopping bags with handles that I attach logo stickers too. Even if a customer only buys a $3 zine, they get a bag. It acts as a signal to others. I’ve had so many customers come up and tell me they saw my bags and had to find out what I was selling.
I am at the pricing stage for my newer items. I usually stick a tiny price sticker on each item unless a label won’t fit or stick. Those items get added to my price list.
I currently have 50 mini watercolor paintings. Painting every three days or so is working. Some are blah, some are okay, some might actually be decent.
The first two mini albums. The upper one has 24 pockets and the lower has 26.
Another view of the albums.
My studio is quite crowded. I’m thinking of putting the drafting table in the shop’s free area and bringing in another folding table. The drafting table is a couple of inches too high and can’t be adjusted any lower. Plus I need another flat surface more than a tilted surface. I have a couple of easels if I need paintings tilted.
I covered up the logo on my lab coat. The kitty patch adds character to a nice cover-up for messy crafts.
I’m rather messy when I’m painting or crafting. Actually, I’m rather messy everywhere. The only two places at home that are not messy are my bedroom and the bathroom. My house is a little short on storage space. People in the 1920’s didn’t have a lot of possessions and no one since has upgraded the storage. My need for storage is for craft supplies and yarn.
I cleared out my Craft room at the house to make a bedroom, but it turns out I’m trying to stuff way more things than I have room or storage for into what is actually a smaller space. I can’t go as high up with the angled ceiling since I can’t use the end wall without blocking the stairs. I have a desk against the half wall, but can’t go higher because then I can’t reach the light switch for the area.
I did not plan very well. An alternative is to get rid of the dining table and chairs and move the crafty stuff to the living room. Another alternative plan is to move two of the tall bookcases from the living room to upstairs and then move the craft tables and their attendant storage pieces to the living room.
At any rate, I have too much stuff and need to weed some of it out. Hey Makerspace— incoming!
So the boomerang child is once again employed. I hope this works out. If you sense a bit of underwhelm, it’s because he has quite a shaky employment history. The longest he’s held a job is just under two years.
More tiny paintings
I’m still painting. I have three paintings to do and the second book will be filled. That will be 50 out of the 100 paintings completed. I’m also working on some larger pieces— 9 by 12 inches.
My soap making class was cancelled due to a lack of interest. I only have one person registered for my paper making class on Saturday. Maybe my teaching fee is too high. I think I’ll make some feedback forms to find out what members want.
Sillytoes Crafts 