Well Hello There

Ahhhh, the sanity is calming ~down that is. The sanity is calming indeed. But I don't think I need to be telling you all that now do I.

Our reception was wonderful, and I had such a great time, but it was a lot of work. My body has relatively stopped aching, and my house and my mum's is getting put back to normal rather slowly. My brother and his wife have left, as of Sun. evening, and my sister and her family have left as of this morning. The piles of left over food have been eaten or thrown out, and many left overs are in the freezer. Thank goodness for blenders, or all that fruit would have been a true waste. And 3 kegs, what were we thinking? We finished the first keg Sunday evening, mind you the after party was Sat. Well the Hop Rod Rye by Bear Republic has been tapped and the kegerator is happily chugging away. Just one keg after that...ah double IPA's what's a body to do, but to go into liver failure. HA. I've been pacing myself and inviting peeps over, plenty. The great thing is that we can count on quite a few people to help us out. Thank goodness.



So if you really want to know, Sprout is well, ok. I say that trepedatiously, because it's not fantastic. But it's off the needles. For the most part. But it's just probably going to need to be fixed a bit. I didn't finish the neck shaping correctly. Perhaps I should just become a milliner (hat maker) and buy sweaters from here on out.



Currently there is nothing on the needles, but the Red Scarf Project is due soon, so I should cast on for a scarf. After all the other Beer Bitches are already half way through theirs. And then I was also just reminded that Halloween is coming. And even though I'm not sure if we'll go up to my brothers in Portland for his annual party, or stay here and go to one of our friend's house...well either way a new hat must be made. One of difficulty, one that requires shaping, or maybe some needle felting. Then the question that every artist hopefully comes up with "Are my mad skills good enough?" I mean how does one go about making a shaped frog hat with a snail sitting on it's head in the size of one of my mini top hats?

See that little guy, I've posted him before. He's my muse for the next hat. My thought process leans towards using a mold to get the shape of the creature down. So that would be a statuette of a frog sitting, that I could mold some green gauze over. I would need to use a stiffening agent, generally matte varnish and some gel medium. For the eyes, I could use some of the plastic eyes I have, there's only about 500 of them. And then for le piece de resistance, a needle felted snail, feelers and all. I believe a brim would be fantastic. Ahh epiphany! I have just the right size of frog to use. And a little embroidery could bring the piece to life. I believe I can see the fabrication now...
Ok sorry I was stuck in me head there for a second.
See this Saturday I was asked by a long time friend and mentor where I've been going with my art lately and I must admit there really hasn't been any for a looooong time. But it's got me to thinking about how we come up with our ideas and for whom we make our art and what is supposed to be done with it when it has been fabricated. I mean I could go about making more and more hats and just really focus on the art and the fabrication of said pieces but does that make them art. And if it does what do I do with them. What would I do with them. Show them in galleries, sell them and make some money. That's always been a bit of what holds me up. Where does one go with it now....
Well that's what I am going to have to really work on. Just because I have an office job doesn't mean I have to give in and give up. Just means I can buy more supplies, right.

Ok enough introspection. Can I tell you a secret.
shhh it's kinda cool. And I really am not meaning to brag or talk up myself, but my husband really is the sweetest thing. He registered us at Sears. Yeah right great, well it get's better. He registered us for something I've been pining over learning for what like 5 years now. We are now the proud owners of a welder. I'm beaming and at the same time trying not to crack a smile, that's not easy you know. A his and her's welder. I feel silly. And a bit worried that it won't hold the fascination over me that it does right now once I get into playing with it. But the possibilities are really endless in the things that I could make. I believe I will begin with a mushroom seat. We have a round spool previously used for cables in the backyard that could use some new chairs. The empty kegs just aren't cutting it. So there you have it. The husbeast and I have a new toy. At least one of us can already weld. And at least one of us is rarin' to learn.
Cheers all and today, let's just say Happy Creating what eva' it is that you create.