30 September 2011

Interesting

Gotta love it when your government legislates what you should eat:
http://www.businessinsider.com/denmark-fat-tax-2011-9
I just wonder when that'll happen here.

And how about this one:
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/national_world&id=8374727#&cmp=fb-kgo-article-8374727
Two year minimum, huh? Sort of like leasing a car.

25 September 2011

Art it isn't ................

................... but it sure is fun - experimenting, that is. Learning new things, playing with that newfound knowledge, trying things.



The above were all made in a class or just after with Anat Silvera - stenciling and stamping. Stamping was easy, stenciling took a little more practice.

The above is stamped. I just happen to have a stamp with artists' signatures.

Everything below is an experiment. I discovered Barbara Lewis' blog and her brandnew book (http://paintingwithfireartwear.blogspot.com/ ) and "ning" - a forum for enamelists to hang out and exchange info, ask questions and learn.

Tried overfiring. Didn't quite work, neither propane nor butane get hot enough. The piece did get hot enough for me to hold my breath, hoping it wouldn't slump and totally melt into the trivet.

These, too, are experiments in overfiring. Here I did try Barbara's method of holding the copper blank, heating it and dipping it into the enamel powder (as opposed to the traditional method). Results are more interesting because, I think, the opaque enamel in the bottom rose to the surface through the transparent. I can't decide whether I like the pendant with the holes or the one with the bumpies (made with centerpunch and hammer) better.
No art, but definitely lots of fun.

09 September 2011

A week of high drama

I like my life quiet and uneventful and this past week hasn't been. And it's not over yet - there's still the anniversary of the San Bruno explosion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_San_Bruno_pipeline_explosion) and the 10-year anniversary of 9-11. No link necessary, we all know about that huge tragedy.

The following happened, in no particular order:
My PayPal account was hacked and somebody tried charging something to my bank account. I caught it within minutes and filed a claim for fraudulent charges and everything should be okay. Still, one feels violated.
The plane crash in Russia with a whole hockey team. We are hockey fans and several of the players are familiar. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/09/07/russia.plane.crash/index.html?hpt=hp_t1).
The neighbor's kid bought himself a pitbull puppy. This family has a rather bad record of pet ownership and, while the son doesn't actually live at home any longer, I don't see this ending well.
The local newspaper published my annual letter yesterday and today we are giving away Henry's old car - just as soon as we can get it started. Sitting in the driveway and not being driven enough isn't doing anything good for the battery. (http://www.henrysmomsmusings.blogspot.com/)
Obviously, not all of these things are bad and not all of them affect us directly, but still ............ it's drama.
Let's hope next week is quieter. I need it.