Monday
and Tuesday, I finished the current stab at arranging and organizing
the shop. I'm determined to get it in some sort of order before it
gets so hot over there it can't be inhabited. Some of what I want to
do can't be done til we do this small animal hospital job (yes,
Virginia there is a small animal hospital job) because the small bay
that is to be the kiln room and in which one of the kilns sits but
not the other or all the brick and fiber blanket sitting around
taking up space elsewhere is where we are (probably) going to cut the
stencils instead of where we are currently set up in the big bay.
Confused yet? And it doesn't look like we are going to do the tear
out of the interior rooms this year so I want to get them somewhat
functional so that I can work
over there this summer in air conditioned comfort.
I
got the storeroom set up sans one shelving unit that I haven't bought
yet (or the bricks and fiber blanket moved...see above). And I got
all my frit reorganized into one pound size jars that my friend Paul
sent to me, happy to be rid of 70+ empty jars, and moved. I ran out
of caulk so I still have about 5' on the back side, one short side
(which is totally overgrown and I can't get to), and the short front
sections in between the bay and people doors left to do. I got the
caulk but the weather turned cold on Tuesday and it is just now
warming up again.
So
I've been working on trying to get the last two cast pieces from fall
finished before I start on anything else. To that end, I located a
shop that could provide me with the 1/4” pieces of steel plate for
mounting the magnolia leaves and set them out for further rusting. I
got a big piece for all three and three small pieces since I wasn't
sure how they would look best. Consensus of opinion is the three
small pieces. I also didn't count on how heavy they would be so I
went back and got three pieces of 1/8” steel plate. They are
sitting out for rust accumulation.
So
finally, Tuesday afternoon I got out the wax working tools and
started on the wax model for the last little piece, the pink flower
with the bee, something I had been putting off waiting for the
deposit check for this job that no one seems in a hurry for us to
start (though I imagine they will be in a big hurry for us to
finish). That evening, I was going through my spam blocker folder
looking for something and came across an email that was nearly a week
old from the art consultant about the university still not having
received the substitute W-9 form that we sent in weeks previous. So,
form now emailed and one more step in the direction of actually
getting this job.
In
the meantime, I am working on this wax model of a rose leaf platform
for the little flower to sit on.
I don't know why, but those rows of jars of frit make me happy. I wish I had shelving like that for all of my yarn. I just need to get rid of a bunch of Mike's books. Yeah, right :)
ReplyDeleteWipe your steel down with denatured alcohol and then apply fresh hydrogen peroxide to them. They'll rust in a jiffy.
ReplyDeleteLove following the steps of your creativity. It's also fascinating to see how artists set up their work space. I don't currently have a work space and this is something I need to work on.
ReplyDeleteThese "working" posts just blow my mind. The amount of hard labor that goes into each of your delicate, beautiful pieces is simply astounding.
ReplyDeleteI love a clean slate in my sewing room. As soon as I get my energy back I will be rearranging and cleaning mine. I usually get it done twice a year, but this fall was filled with other things.
ReplyDeleteI would truly love to watch you work and be a 'runner' or some such. I find this work so fascinating and other's have written so much hard work goes into it. Good luck on finishig it all on time.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you're getting down to business there. Well, old business. I love organized!
ReplyDeleteProgress. I am sure that makes you feel better. How nice to have such a space. I can only wish...
ReplyDeleteThose three magnolia leaves are great. What a clever idea, to put one stage on each leaf. I know the flower and the seeds -- I guess the first must be the bud, or maybe the empty cone once the seeds are gone. In any event, they're beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThere's something about being organized that just makes me happy. Jars of anything in a row are great: canned veggies, nails and screws, frit -- whatever. It seems as though we have a really warm and nice string of days coming up. You can finish your caulking. :)
The magnolia leaves look great! And I love the platform for the pink blossom, too. Great work as always.
ReplyDeleteIt's got to feel good to have all that frit organized. I need to do the same to Dave's spice cabinet!
Looks very nice, love the pieces also. I am not the best with organization, but am getting better.Have company coming tonight so will spend 1 hr arranging and 6 hours cooking.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see someone's work area organized, I look at my own work space and want to run away.
ReplyDeleteYour shop looks amazing! What a great work space. The magnolia leaves are more delicate than I would think a cast of them could be. You work at both ends of the spectrum ~ big tools to make delicate art.
ReplyDelete