another step completed and our new national pastime

Woke up in a funky mood Tuesday. I got an OK night's sleep but I was sleepy just about all day and just dispirited. Marc steamed out the mold for the body of the box while I was doing the weekly grocery shop and we went over after lunch to make the last four molds, the ones for the feet. My grand plan was for him to seal around the bottom of the tube with clay and then I would use little clay balls to attach the ends of the wax wires I had cut to what I thought was the right length to the inside of the tube. First problem encountered was that I couldn't get my fingers down in the tubes to manipulate the clay and wires. Second problem encountered is that the clay wouldn't stick to the inside of the cardboard tubes and in the process of trying several of the wires came off and several turned out to be too short. So then I had to remove the clay and the tube and replace the wires.

Well, fuck, this wasn't getting done that day. I did finally figure out how to attach the wires to the tube on the inside using my batik tool,

reaching in with it while I leaned the set up on its side and dripping melted wax onto the inside where the wax wire touched the tube so the molds did get poured today. 

They'll get steamed out today and I'll do the last volume measures but now, all the molds are made, thirteen of them. Next is filling the molds with frit and/or powder or a mix of the two which is what I'm leaning toward. I'll use the rest of this week to choose colors and then start to fill molds next week.

I was in a little bit better mood yesterday. Staying off FB and Twitter and keeping busy helps.

So I guess this country has a new way of celebrating the 4^th, fireworks weren't enough so now people are engaging in mass murder and shootings at parades and fireworks displays. Can't think of a more appropriate way to celebrate our declaration of freedom, mass murder being the new national pastime and all. Forget baseball. Nobody dies in baseball.

The 22 year old mass murderer at the Highland Park parade, 7 dead, 20 +/- wounded, a 2 year old orphaned, was arrested. Of course he was. A white boy who had just killed and wounded 27 people, was asked politely by police, no brutality on display, “do me a favor, get on your knees, get on your knees lay down flat on your stomach”. Do me a favor??? Where's the screaming, where's the profanity, where's the knee on the neck? Where's the fucking chokehold?

Well, it's SHARE day so that will definitely keep me busy and my mind on positive things, participating in helping people in need.