It's WAY too late for me to be up right now

. . but I justed to get my latest finished piece of self portrait work out on my blog. So. here it is, the self portrait based on my 1973 Greenwich High School portrait.



Hopefully,this will be the start of something great. Enjouy!

Hello World, for the 55th Consecutive Year!

And here I am, flush with pride at having dodged the bullet long enough to celebrate my 55th year since alighting to the planet.

That's just a fancy way of saying happy birthday to me, again!

My day started in my beloved, soft bed, surrounded by my two little fur boys! Ah, the joys of sleeping (something which I once disdained as only for 'dead people')

How life does change, eh?

So, upon alighting from my queenly bed (ahem) I promptly fed the fur boys (who were more than happy to exit the comforter) and hung around waiting for George to wake up because he promised to make me a big breakfast the night before.

Another one of my life's passions is FOOD!

He made a wonderful scrambled egg and toast breakfast-thoroughly enjoyable-and then I proceeded to fritter away the day in my favorite red bathrobe and flannel PJs.

A person would think I had nothing on my agenda!

Oh, I forgot to mention, while I was laying in bed this morning (before 8 a.m.) I heard all kinds of sirens and fire horns going off. Apparently one third of downtown Alfred went on fire this morning un-housing about a dozen AU students and destroying a couple of businesses.

Fortunately, no one was hurt. But, a couple of businesses went up in flames.

There was news coverage from both the Buffalo and Rochester stations. The building that went up on the small block downtown were probably well over a hundred years old.

Here's the news link from the Hornell Evening Tribune:

The one business loss that was most deeply mourned by the students (apparently) was Alfred's only liquor store. I'm sure the alcohol helped the fire just a tad.

Anyway, back to my b-day news.

What did I accomplish today?

Not much.

My called me this morning and did their birthday song into my voice mail. This is the perfect start to ANY birthday for me! They always sing together in harmony-which is such a kick and my most favorite birthday present (honestly, no money or card could ever replace this) and then I got FB b-day wishes from my niece, little sister and another VM from my little bro Larry and then lot of FB wishes from friends near and far!

Oh, and yes, I got the birthday card from my parents. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Then, I basically frittered the day away until George took me out for a good Chinese food dinner.

To top off my evening, Franner called from CT to wish me a HB.

Now, how could I possibly top that?

Thanks and love to all (both near and far) that made this a wonderful fifty-fifth B-Day!

I am truly blessed.

Now, Beezer and Tai-tai, let's go off to bed . . . zzzzzzzzz

Happy Birthday to Me!

O.K., so that's my own bit of shameless promotion.

Yes, today I am officially (well not actually officially until about 12:45 p.m.) fifty five years-old! OMG, now there, I've said it.

I'm sitting right now, in my favorite red bathrobe, between my two cats, (Beezer and Tai-tai) in the blessed silence of a birthday morning.

And, it is good to be 55, or whatever ever age I get to be.

Today I plan on getting some reading and writing done for art history, and a bit of studio time at the foundry (dipping, dipping) then off to painting studio, my happy place.

Tonight George is taking me out to dinner at a Chinese-Japanese place in Hornell called, "Rainbow Heaven."

Oh, I've got a couple of pics I took at the studio yesterday, works in progress.



The one above is from an old 4X6 photo of Dad and me shortly after I was born. The picture was taken on Pemberwick Road, looks like it was taken in front of the old shoemaker's shop.

This other picture is of my 'studio mate' Madeline with one of her unfinished paintings.



Oh, and we couldn't leave out the boys . . .

Tuesday, Works In Progress

Today was another packed day.

George succeeded in getting me out of bed this morning by appealing to my cat-maternal nature, ("come on Beezer, Mommy's going to get out of bed and feed you.")

My cat was ecstatic. I was not. But oh, what the hell, I got out of bed and within forty-five minutes was dressed, washed, made up, fed breakfast by George and out the door to my art history class. Yes, I know, that in itself is a miracle of God.

After class I drove over to the foundry to dip my wax bells in ceramic shell. Here's what they look like in this in-process state.



If you look at the picture (sorry, it's not very sharp) there are seven (count 'em 7) wax bells on the sprue and vent system. If it all casts I'll be cutting off and grinding bronze bells like a fiend next week to make it for the November 3rd crit.

Here's what the room in the foundry looks like where the wax is dipped (first in the giant mixer on the right, then in the stucco bins on the left.)



After the 'quick dip' at the foundry, I stopped home for food (one of my life's passions) and to pick up a picture I'm going to use for my next painting.

Then, I headed to the painting studio (my happy place) and started working on V. 2 of my self portrait (from a 1973 High School photo.)

It's taking me FOREVER to get the likeness right, but, I think I'm finally getting there. Ya know, you would think that after looking at my puss all these years I'd get it down.

So, here's what the painting looks like right now (before I head out the door to the studio again).



"And, that (as Walter Cronkite once said, on network T.V.) is the way it is."

Good night from Almond, N.Y.

Too Pooped to Post

But I am anyway. Just a short one.

Today I spend about six hours sitting next to the wax pot at the foundry. And what, you ask did I accomplish? Did I get some waxes all ready to be coated in ceramic shell and ready for a metal pour (a special metal pour that I requested) on Wednesday evening?

And the answer is . . . a drum roll please . . . .

NO!
But I did get most of the way through one that I think will be acceptable enough to coat and get ready for Wednesday.

The other one (there were two sprue and vent systems I made to cast a bunch of stuff) got (politely, helpfully) squewered by our resident graduate sculpture student who just happened to be hanging out in the foundry and wanted to let me know that he wouldn't 'bother' putting one of my wax thingies into shell becuase he just thought it wouldn't fill with metal.

And, he was right.

So, I was going to take pictures of the stuff I'm working on but it was getting to be close to eight o'clock and I was just starving.

So, I went home.

And that, for all you boys and girls out there, means that at some time tomorrow I'm going to have to shimmy my little butt back to the foundry to get it done.

Oh, and on top of that I put some investment molds into the burn out kiln (to get the wax out of the molds) and hope they will work, because the investment just looked like it was all bubbly and it should be smooth.

Blah, blah, blah. . .I am fascinated by metal casting but it is just so time consuming and frustrating. I just can't wait till the semester is over.

I think it's going to be 100% painting for my senior show.

Gotta go. I've still got an annotated bibliography to finish so I can hand it in at art history tomorrow morning.

Last train to Waxville

So, I just got back from the foundry.

I am continuing my wax insanity and realized tonight that I simply have too many wax bells to cast next Wednesday. So, I have to limit myself to just six more, because besides the wax bells I have small items (the ones I put in last night's posting) and I really don't want to lose my sanity again in the same semester.

I worked for about six hours today on my second version of the 1973 self-portrait. I thought I had gotten the face just right when I took a good last look and realized my nose was too long! Sh(*$!

So, tomorrow one of the things I'll be doing is shortening my face, getting another canvas ready for the next painting, running to Walmart (my favorite and almost only place to shop) for one of my favorite staples; cat litter.

After that thrilling trip it'll be back to the foundry to assemble stuff so I can start dipping it in the lovely green-yellow-phosphorescent slurry and get it ready to cast next Wednesday evening.

I didn't take any pics today of my work. That will have to wait until tomorrow.

G'night world.

Paint, Wax and Ice Cream!

No, I'm not mixing them together and eating them!

On Thursdays I don't have Art History, so, I have more time for studio work.

So, since I got a late start, I had a late end. But, I did accomplish some things so. . .wutevah!

I went to the painting studio first. I'm working on a second pass at a self-portrait based on my 1973 High School photo that was never actually bought. I'm working from a digitized copy of the photographer's proof. The original copy has holes punched across my bust and I don't know where it actually resides right now. But with a little help from Photoshop it's now a digital memory and my bust doesn't look like swiss cheese.

Funny, I was talking to someone in my studio who had the funkiest home-made, tacky digital watch, so I complimented him on it. Then I went to show him mine, a good old watch with hands AND numbers, and he said, "I'm sorry" as if he was taking pity on me for wearing an 'old fashioned' watch! So, I told him I live in my "own time zone."

And, if you know me, you know that's very true. Time (or rather, being on time) has always been a challenge for me. The only place I have to be on time on a regular basis lately is my art history class, three times a week I have to be there by 11:20 a.m. That's not too hard to take.

So, here's the work in progress self-portrait from earlier today:



I've been having a really difficult time getting a likeness. You would think that after looking at my face all these years I would have that down. But then, my face is changing anyway so I'm looking at past history here. I know when I was in high school I didn't appreciate my face. I thought I was ugly.

Time and distance sure does change perspective.

While I was painting, my studio partner came in and started working on one of her paintings. She tends to gravitate to paintings of her friends and zombies. Hey, who am I to judge? Just a month ago I was painting my tits on a canvas.

After painting for a few hours I headed down to the foundry to work on wax. I was able to get the foundry teacher to schedule an extra metal pour next Wednesday because I would never be able to make it for the next group crit on November 2nd without the extra pour date.

So, here are some pictures of the depth of my wax-insanity.



This WAS my wax bell-bowl. I put in back into the wax pot tonight because:
1. It would weigh a ton if it was actually cast
2. I am sick of looking at it
3. I couldn't get the stupid thing to attach to the wax sprues last time so I'm done!

But I had to take pictures of it before it went to its waxy grave in the wax pot. Oh, what a cruel fate! Who knows what creatures exist at the bottom of the primordial ooze?

And, here is more wax insanity. I'm not sure I'm going to cast all of this stuff.



These are little pendants. When my professor saw that I was going into 'production mode' she discouraged me from pursuing this commercial line of thought. This, after all, is 'art school' and we aren't supposed to be thinking about things like eating and clothing ourselves. We are supposed to be making ART!

I don't know, I guess I've worked for so long (and made a living) that my brain keeps on thinking, what am I going to do to make a living when I get out of here?


I suppose I ought to suppress those thoughts for now.

So besides the pendants I've gone absolutely gah-gah over producing bells. Now, when I took a good look at all the wax positives I've produced tonight I decided that I'd better draw the line somewhere or I'll be cutting off sprues and grinding metal until god-knows-when!

So, here are just some of those wax bells.



When I got home tonight I had ice cream (mmmm, deep chocolate) cookies and a banana.

One of the main benefits of being an adult is that I CAN eat ice cream if I want for dinner.

Yes, it is good to be me.

Hello Mom & Dad

I am sending this post out to my Mom and Dad who SHOULD be able to get onto my blog now that I have sent them the link.

There are lots of pictures posted on this blog if you just click on the various dates in the right column. O.K.?

My day started early today, at 7 a.m. I had to get to school for a painting crit at 9 a.m. The crit went well. My professor liked my current self-portrait (that's posted on the previous page to this.) The one before that one was based on my 1973 high school portrait, and I really didn't like the way it came out so I uh, sort of, covered it over with the explanation that we really 'don't know who we are' in high school. I still believe that's true, but I really just didn't like the painting.

Anway, I'll be doing that self portrait over.

So, here's my day in a nut shell (very fitting for me):

1. up at 7 a.m.
2. sitting at painting crit at 9 a.m. (I left and they still hadn't gotten through everyone)
3. off to art history class
4. over to library to return an over due book (bad student) and pick up another I needed
5. back to painting studio to pick up coat and find out what the CAAP test that was mentioned in an e mail was all about
6. found out the CAAP test is some kind of test that measures the school's teaching standards (doesn't effect GPA)
7. left painting studio and went home for lunch (huge salad with all kind of stuff in it and a few hand fulls of Chex Mix)
8. went to foundry where I worked on wax bells until foundry meeting at 5 p.m.
9. Meeting lasted until 5:45
10. Went to library to pick up a couple of books for research
11. went home for a delicious chicken, strings beans and garlic mashed potatoes dinner (courtesy of George)
12. ran back out to the ATM to get money for tomorrow
13. here I am at the PC
. . .right now I should be reading my research books but. . . .I am not. . .oh well, it's time for me to send a groveling e mail to my foundry professor to see if I can get her to have an additional metal pour on this coming Wednesday.

Coney Island bell rings again after a century

Coney Island bell rings again after a century

I just thought I'd post this interesting little ditty about a bell. . . .Dreamland was a Coney Island amusement park, and it's bell survived a watery grave. It's hard to destroy bronze.

11:55 p.m. Saturday night Party!

O.K., so I'm lying.

I just got home from the foundry where I made a shit-load of little wax (I mean little, as in two inches long and under) positives which I'll mess with further and make into jewelry castings ostensibly to sell because I need money.

Well, we all need money but I'm especially in need . . . or maybe I just think I am.

And, there it is, I think too much!

I had a painting crit on Friday night that was disappointing. My professor just hated that I mostly covered over my 1973 high school portrait. I thought it was kind of neat myself and a statement about how we don't really know ourselves in high school.

He also didn't like my current self-portrait with the 3-D glasses which I also felt was cool. I think he didn't like the fact that I had covered up my eyes. He actually asked me if I was covering up bad painting (underneath). I put the 3-D glasses on the portrait because I had just gotten through a rough patch (thanks to a Doc who prescribed meds that almost sent me off the edge of sanity) and I wanted the portrait to reflect the spacey time I had just been through. Here is it, in all it's glory (or is that gory?)



I have to remind myself of what I always tell the other students; "It's only his opinion."

And, we all know about opinions, don't we?

Paint, paint, paint

When all else in my world feels wonky I can still paint!

I don't know, I just felt like typing that.

I'm at home, monkey in the middle as usual, between my two sleeping cats in my small home studio.

We (the imperial college we) just had a few days off and I've been home cleaning, putting plastic up on windows, calling about bills, (ugh!) calling Apple to get my wireless mouse replaced, (it's not scrolling up and down) doing laundry, sleeping, and just plain eating too much.

What I have accomplished though, is a really cool acrylic and water color painting and some study toward my final (ah yes, the final academic class of my college career) presentation due sometime next month. Come to think of that, I'd better get the date pretty well straight in my head. . .calendar, calendar, calendar.

So, tomorrow it's back to school (my one scheduled class this semester) and then off to studio to touch up some existing stuff and bring in some new . . . .and, it's off to bed with me any minute now.

G'night.

Two Cat Night

Back in the early 1970s there was a rock group called, Three Dog Night (and I, young and clueless as I was, had the hots for Chuck Negron, the lead singer.) The rock-n-roll mythology is that they took their name from a phrase used by shepherds used to describe the coldest nights they spent in the pastures. O.K., so back in the 70s they had a strange way of picking band names. I guess that hasn't changed much.

Anyway, back to the 'three dog night' thing. So, the coldest night was a 'three dog night' when they would need to have three dogs huddled around for warmth.

So, why am I writing this?

Because my mind is twisted and I'm sitting between my two cats as I write this. so, it's not that cold. Only two cats worth of cold. Yes, I know, lame.

While I'm spinning off into the 1970s, I might as well tell you my nightmare teeny bopper story. It will be good for a laugh if nothing else.

At the time of this particularly earth shattering event, I'm in junior high school and there is a theatre in the next town, (Port Chester, New York) called the Capitol Theatre. The Capitol theatre was an old movie theatre built in the golden age of Hollywood (the 1930s).

By the time the 1970s rolled around the building was in disrepair, and it's once lovely interior (decorated in gold-leaf and cherubs) is now painted a bright day-glo pink. Some of the original stage seats are there and the rest have been replaced by wooden bleachers (not to comfortable, but my back was much more forgiving then.)

Somehow, my friend (Joan Brabender-if you are out there reading this, forgive me) and I end up getting tickets to the performance. I'm searching my memory, but somehow I can't seem to remember how we did that, but I know it was a sneaky thing because our parents just wouldn't have let us go to one of those 'hippy places.'

So, there we were, two little teeny boppers sitting in orchestra seats, and we were in heaven and feeling very cool.

In my memory (which I never trust because it's so faulty) we are sitting in our seats enjoying ourselves when, low and behold, there comes Mrs. Brabender down the aisle of the theatre in her bathrobe and curlers looking absolutely middle-class, uncool, and fiercer than a rabid dog.

She was apparently not pleased that we were in attendance at this event.

I remember being promptly ejected from my seat and ushered out of the building embarrassed, distressed and definately NOT feeling cool. As for what happened next I also have no memory, but it couldn't have been that bad because here I am, living to write about it.

I haven't been posting for a few days so I though I should get back at it.

In the last few days I haven't accomplished much. I can't tell you why. But, I have made about fifteen little clay models for pendants that will (hopefully) eventually be cast in bronze.

We've got what the school is calling a 'mini' break. Yes, I'd say it's mini (four days worth, counting the week end.)

We go back to classes on Wednesday.

Here are the little clay positives I made for casting (eventually) in bronze.



I tried to upload these the other night and they wouldn't work. I dunno . . . .

Hump Day

Where exactly is the hump? I have always hated that expression, by the way. I guess because it brings back such 'happy memories' of my corporate life.

Well, it wasn't all bad. It was a way to make a living (and have health insurance.)

So, today was the last of the series of art history classes this week. Fortunately, we watched a film. Film, no pop corn, oh, and heat in the building. Some genius decided that the heat needed to be off so they could repair it. During the semester? I dunno. . . . hey, it's college . . .

So, today I got some of my casting supplies and I am psyched to go on that.

I've been working on some clay models so I can cast tons of wax positives to go in the burn out over to make molds. I guess I'm thinking too commercial for art school, but then I need to make money (who doesn't?) and I thing that bronze jewelry might just be something that I can sell and people might actually buy.

I'm thinking of a business name. . . .how about, Bronze Goddess? Ah, it's late and I'm tired so what do you want?

Here is the latest iteration of my self portrait. Since the last couple of weeks have been a kind of a hairy ride for me I thought I'd have some fun with it.



Do you like my 3-D glasses?

I was going to post some pics of pendants and earrings I've been working on in clay that will be cast in bronze in the next week or two. But, I can't get my picture to upload. Apparently, this is not a problem with my system but with eBlogger.

So, get it fixed, will ya?

Beezer is purring loudly next to me which means I'd better get to bed now.

Return To(from) 3-D

It's been a rollicking few days and I feel as if I've returned from the flat-land to the mountains.

To sum it all up: I went temporarily crazy thanks to a physician who felt it was in my best interests to change chemical horses in mid-stream.

For those of you not acquainted with 'better living through chemistry' I'm a one of the many people who will actually admit that I take an anti-depressant and have for years. Like many situations in my life, I can finally admit the booger in my nose that's been irritating me for years.

So there! I've gotten that off my chest.

Now that I'm back on the beam, I'll post a couple of pictures of what I've been up to.

Quite frankly, I'm sick of looking at my tits on canvas (if you've been following this blog you know that I did a nude portrait, just my torso) and would like to be done with that so I can move one. But, there's only one glitch right now. Some genius in maintenance decided it was time to repair the steam (heating) valves in the painting studio. So, I've had to rearrange my space so they can get to the heating unit that just happens to be in my studio space.

That's O.K., because actually, it couldn't have happened at a better time. This gives me a chance to work at the foundry more on wax models for my jewelry and to do some more research for my art history project.

Everything is working out according to plan. Of course, it's not my plan, but then why should I complain?

The next two pics you will see are the one self-portrait (based on my 1973 high school picture) and a bronze pendant I am still working on.

Fried-day

Again I find myself sitting at my beloved MAC at home between two cats (the one to my left is purring, the one to my right is silently waiting-for dinner.)

And, I, the imperial I, need to produce art work for my studios. And to that end, I found my self, bright and uncharacteristically early, at the foundry at 8 a.m. getting my ceramic shell molds ready for a burn out. So, I learned a few new things today.

Since, in previous trips to the foundry, I've been a wimp and let other people do the burn outs for me, today (with only three other people in the foundry besides the Professor and me) I got to actually load the molds into the flash furnace, crank the molds up into the thing, rake the wax out when it burns out of the molds and patch up the spots that needed patching. I also learned that I should not forget to put the final coat of slurry on the ceramic shell because without it, it's terribly brittle and prone to flaking off and cracking.

So, my first minor heartbreak of the day was that as I was walking one of my molds off to the sand pit to place it in prior to pouring I dropped it on the cement floor and most of it was destroyed. I'm surprised that I didn't get that upset, but then by now I've learned the one rule of art creation: don't love your work too much because it will break your heart! This is especially the rule when working in glass (something I don't do anymore.)

After the foundry, I made my way to the painting studio where I put another coat of black over one of my previous square canvases. It'll be the background for the next piece.

I think, for tonight anyway, I'm going to work at home as soon as I take a nice, long bath. . . .ah, the joys of having a whirlpool tub!