chromate demonstrable doormen

(I was at TJ's yesterday and practically came to blows over a pair of shoes, but fortunately for both of us they didn't feel comfortable to me and besides they were too much money so I LET IT GO!  If there was any chance in hell I could have actually easily put them on they would be more but they were ankle straps with buckles and a real pain to get on)

Talent isn't genius, and no amount of energy can make it so. I want to be great, or nothing. I won't be a commonplace dauber, so I don't intend to try any more. (Louisa May Alcott)

Hmmm, I can't much agree with ole Louisa May on that one!  My experience is that you can't give up on something you really love to do after just a few tries.  You have to do it, do it some more, take a class, practice, practice, practice and then do it a whole lot more.  The bad experiments get either tossed or recycled-  one canvas can have layers of your history 10 deep!  Or one quilt can moulder in the bottom drawer unfinished for years before being hauled out and cut up for parts for a new idea.  I'll get this quote wrong and I'm too lazy to chase it down, but the essence is that the prepared mind plays with the objects it loves!  

A hex on the hexagons!  The giant too-heavy-to-lift, still-in-progress afghan/rug/car cozy:

(above, the completed section, below the loose hexes waiting for attachment-

out of the frame, ME with a look of distress, boredom and intent to finish!)

An old friend called yesterday because she was in town for a few days and we went out to lunch at a place on the water to watch the boats.  Since she was alone, she asked me to go out to dinner too with some additional friends but I reluctantly declined knowing TY was leaving the morning for Atlanta and would want dinner at home.  So I made a chicken curry and it was all ready when he grabbed his keys to go to a movie with his friends-  I had forgotten this plan though he had told me earlier in the week.  I quickly called Annie back and got her before she left so I also had a lovely dinner on the water at a different restaurant with different friends!  So today I am on a food boycott!  

So today I have to catch up with things I must show you-

Dai Li  was born in Sichauan, China, in 1987, and now lives and works in Queensland, Australia. She makes these hysterically funny ceramic sculptures, jewelry, and functional ware.  You simply MUST visit the artist’s website to see more of her work.

It boggles the mind how artist Carol Milne was able to manipulate glass to look like row upon row of intertwined yarn. You see, the melting point of glass is between 1,400-1,600 degrees Fahrenheit, so how was she able to knit the fragile – not to mention very hot – material into intricate artworks?

Milne invented the process herself in 2006. She first makes a wax model of the sculpture, which is then encased by a refractory mold material (that can withstand hot temperatures.) The second step involves melting out the wax with steam and replacing it with pieces of glass. She then heats the mold to 1,400-1,600 degrees Fahrenheit, which melts the glass, allowing it to occupy the mold’s empty cavities. The piece is left to cool for several weeks before Milne starts chipping away at the shell to reveal the details of the sculpture.

And finally, HOME SWEET HOME, if you're a ground owl~

My new dumpster, my new sand delivery. 

My New House is finally underway!

squirrelgirl, clenched fists yet smiling!