Card
12/4 '19
Block print. Stars are glittery but that don't photograph well.
bonus Spike!
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Sean M Puckett
Portrait and fine-art photographer. Radical programmer. Culture activist. Passionate & opinionated, yet kindly. Mind the froth.
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Fabric
11/22 '19
Printed tote bag.
The design I wrote with a calligraphy brush then turned it into a printing block. The ink is regular artist acrylic white, ultramarine and primary magenta with some thinned retarder to make it more fabric compatible. Mixed into a gradient on a glass palette with a wide brayer.
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Good job!
Proof of concept
11/20 '19
This is maybe 6" in diameter.
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Nicely Esched.
Pretty!
December name tag
11/19 '19
Y'all get to see it early.
Going for that knit Christmas sweater vibe, of course.
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This is so cute! I love it.
I really like the texture.
It's so jolly!
Thanks, it was fun.
Yeah, that seems pretty great.
Making stuff is wonderful!
More arts
11/19 '19
Two block prints of my partner.
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You're extraordinary at this.
Oooh. Nice contrast. I’m intrigued by the contrast between the powerful silhouette in the first image, and the delicate detail of the second. Excellent work.
Ultra-bougie confession
11/10 '19
We spend a lot of money for laundry appliances today. Since I won't buy Samsung or LG anything (because their after-sale support is notoriously shit) and really nothing on the inexpensive side seems to be super reliable or particularly gentle on clothes, we bought Miele; made in Germany.
I mean yes, I can feel good about the fact that the dryer only uses 110v so will cost us a lot less in electricity and is ventless which will save us both on electricity and vent cleaning (like a hundred bucks a year, strongly recommended by the condo board because a 30' dryer vent duct is a frigging fire hazard).
Honestly, though, if these machines will 1) get our clothes actually clean, without random blorts of lint, and 2) not quickly ruin the very nice business clothes that d needs, and the very nice statement pieces that I need, then it will be so, so worth it.
It's a Vimes Boots thing. You buy the good tool not only because it saves you money in the long run, but it also does the job better day-to-day.
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I used to have to "fix" my mom's computer for her once a month. Then I convinced her to buy a significantly more expensive Apple desktop. I never had to "fix" her computer again.
My washer and dryer are old enough to vote. I bought them at the scratch and dent because they live in the basement and who am I impressing with a washer and dryer? Recently, the dryer went on the fritz. It would spin but not dry. After nearly two decades of service, no complaints. Five minutes of Googling and ten of ordering from Amazon and the next day the parts to repair the problem were in hand. The hard part was disconnecting the dryer from the hard duct (flexible ducts are a fire trap), tilting the machine forward to work on the back, and the parts were installed. Total working repair time? Twenty minutes.
New washers and dryers do not fill me with confidence.
New washers and dryers do not fill me with confidence.
I had the same problem with my dryer last year. It felt so damn good to just fix it myself with a few parts.
And yep, the reason it died is likely because of a clogged dryer vent way downstream. Replaced that effer with non-flex tubing and I now feel significantly less flammable.
Fireman Jay (my dad) said that he put out sooooo many house fires that were caused by lint in the dryer duct. He also said that it is mindblowing to learn how many people don't clean their lint trap with every load, and worse, how many people don't know that cleared out their dryer duct is a thing.
And yep, the reason it died is likely because of a clogged dryer vent way downstream. Replaced that effer with non-flex tubing and I now feel significantly less flammable.
Fireman Jay (my dad) said that he put out sooooo many house fires that were caused by lint in the dryer duct. He also said that it is mindblowing to learn how many people don't clean their lint trap with every load, and worse, how many people don't know that cleared out their dryer duct is a thing.
This ductless dryer will be interesting. It has a water tank to catch the condensate (they say it's essentially "distilled" for use in e.g. irons) and like four levels of lint trap to keep stuff out of the heat pump. Makes a lot more sense than heating up a lot of air just to blow it outside.
Wow, that's a neat design. Curious to hear your reports once y'all have been using it a while!
I use a diverter with a secondary lint trap. In warm weather the hot air blows outside. This week, that hot air warms up my basement and adds some humidity to my house. Having to clean two lint traps is most definitely a first world problem.
For some reason, I remember reading (or hearing someone tell me) "HOLY CRAP DO NOT EVAR vent your dryer into your house evarr evarr evarrrrr," but now I can't really remember why this person was so against the idea.
In these dry, cold, winter nosebleed months, some "free" warm, moist air sounds kinda nice. *shrug*
Sounds like it works quite nicely for you.
In these dry, cold, winter nosebleed months, some "free" warm, moist air sounds kinda nice. *shrug*
Sounds like it works quite nicely for you.
Ultimately, you don't want to be breathing lint, especially very fine lint. We did the internal venting in our old house and it was okay, but even with a secondary lint trap the room simply fills with powdered lint made up of who knows what, much of which is stuff we were not intended to breathe.
We ended up buying Speed Queen for the same reason.* Parts are not made of plastic, customer service is a real thing, and the machines never die anyway. You will have to pry them from my cold dead hands they are so awesome.
*Though apparently we bought the last model year before the machines started to be made of trash parts, or so I hear.
*Though apparently we bought the last model year before the machines started to be made of trash parts, or so I hear.
When my dad retired and then got bored, he bought a laundromat, as you do. He said the Speed Queen machines were absolutely indestructible... and his laundromat was in rural northwest NJ, and people were using the machines for heavy-ass things like horse blankets. He said he'd never buy anything other than a front-loading Speed Queen ever again, whether for the laundromat or for home.
He's long-sold the laundromat... though ironically, he lives about 6 minutes from it now... but when he owned it, they lived in our old house, about an hour away.
The front-loading Speed Queen he owns at home cleans better than anything I've ever used. Apparently front-loading is the way to go, because gravity and no need for a center agitator. Even at 48, there are things I will save to wash at my parents' house. :-)
He's long-sold the laundromat... though ironically, he lives about 6 minutes from it now... but when he owned it, they lived in our old house, about an hour away.
The front-loading Speed Queen he owns at home cleans better than anything I've ever used. Apparently front-loading is the way to go, because gravity and no need for a center agitator. Even at 48, there are things I will save to wash at my parents' house. :-)
I never knew this. That's awesome.
The whole "Gravity cleans your clothes with a front loader" thing kinda blew my mind when he said it. It seems so obvious now. :)
The machine we have now is a top loader and it doesn't even have an agitator. One wonders, "how the hell does it clean the clothes?" The answer is: it doesn't. And it still manages to damage them. It's a miracle of the wrong kind.
I shouldn't laugh at that, but your phrasing made me chuckle.
But yeah, how could a top loader sans agitator, er, agitate?
The folks who owned my little house before me were awesome and moved the washer/dryer from the spidery basement to the main floor (we have a ranch layout). The washer and dryer live in the former hall linen closet, which is super-handy, but the space is not very deep. When I looked into replacing these units, finding a front-loader machine that was shallow enough to fit in that former closet was nigh impossible... which is why I haven't replaced 'em, just fixed 'em.
Ideally, I could also get bougie and find a stackable front loader washer/dryer so I could reclaim half my linen closet, because storage is kinda non-existent without it. But alas, the stackables we found were too deep for the space.
First world problems.
(Random factoid: Last year I learned that dryers aren't really a thing in England; people just hang their wash for the most part. This seems unintuitive to me, since England seems damp... but what do I know.)
But yeah, how could a top loader sans agitator, er, agitate?
The folks who owned my little house before me were awesome and moved the washer/dryer from the spidery basement to the main floor (we have a ranch layout). The washer and dryer live in the former hall linen closet, which is super-handy, but the space is not very deep. When I looked into replacing these units, finding a front-loader machine that was shallow enough to fit in that former closet was nigh impossible... which is why I haven't replaced 'em, just fixed 'em.
Ideally, I could also get bougie and find a stackable front loader washer/dryer so I could reclaim half my linen closet, because storage is kinda non-existent without it. But alas, the stackables we found were too deep for the space.
First world problems.
(Random factoid: Last year I learned that dryers aren't really a thing in England; people just hang their wash for the most part. This seems unintuitive to me, since England seems damp... but what do I know.)
I don't think these machines are any shallower than usual -- 25.5" deep, it says -- but they're only 24" wide, which is a help in the micro-closet they'll be assigned to. And they stack. So I'm hopeful the user experience will be good, though we'll have to re-arrange storage in that room to accommodate the front-opening washer door. Maybe some shelves or something.
We spent a lot of money on a 25% downpayment two weeks ago, then got notified by the sales person that we'd save an additional 10% of the purchase price if we came in to redo the order under their November promotion. We set a delivery date and paid the full shot in the store.
This weekend's laundry hijinks, including sopping wet clean clothes from a load that became unbalanced during the wash cycle and no spin-only cycle, are a pointed reminder that we need better than we've currently got.
Funding for the appliances is coming from the same cushion of savings that had originally been earmarked for retirement income and will be depleted over the next ten years to pay for adequate quality of pre-retirement life. At least half my RRSP will go to pay down a mortgage we don't want to have when we're in our 70s. The remainder will fund life improvements like this laundry pair.
I have a defined benefit pension plan from my former employer, and the civil service has a similar pension. If CPP still exists when I leave the work force, that will add a few hundred dollars a month as well. We are fortunate.
This weekend's laundry hijinks, including sopping wet clean clothes from a load that became unbalanced during the wash cycle and no spin-only cycle, are a pointed reminder that we need better than we've currently got.
Funding for the appliances is coming from the same cushion of savings that had originally been earmarked for retirement income and will be depleted over the next ten years to pay for adequate quality of pre-retirement life. At least half my RRSP will go to pay down a mortgage we don't want to have when we're in our 70s. The remainder will fund life improvements like this laundry pair.
I have a defined benefit pension plan from my former employer, and the civil service has a similar pension. If CPP still exists when I leave the work force, that will add a few hundred dollars a month as well. We are fortunate.
Pickle Update
11/7 '19
Four of the bins are now in the fridge; I've deemed them ready to eat. I put a bunch in the big jar and they're sooo goood. They taste like FOOD. So good.
So I guess if anyone wanted to come visit with the excuse of pickles, they're ready. On the other hand, snow is forecast for tomorrow. #fliptable
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Nice one.
I am dying over here with the inability to get some of these. Enjoy the hell out of them, please!
DROOL
Not blind yet
10/30 '19
But there's always later today.
Engraved on a sample of cherry hardwood flooring, about 4" wide.
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That looks great!
Thankew!
What did you use to do the engraving?
Laser cutter/engraver
That's pretty cool. I might just have to look into such things. :)
You can't carry it around in a backpack, so feel free to store it at my place. ;)
You are just SO selfless! Thank you for that. ;P
That's fricking amazing.
Thanks! It's not much artistically but it's got a fun texture.
This is gorgeous. Where did you make this? At a maker space with a laser cutter, or do you have one of your own? [drooling with envy if you do]
I have one; it's taking up like half my studio space and is a constant source of frustration, joy, and extremely unpleasant fumes (which are vented outside, but still). Learning how to use it has been most of the last month's work and I'm just beginning to get a handle on technique.
Paper mosaic
10/30 '19
Another thing, just a test. Islamic tile pattern in four colours.
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Nice!
Made thing
10/25 '19
We usually wear name tags in choir. There's more than a hundred of us so. Anyway people like to be creative with them. I have a hallowe'en themed one I'm wearing this month but needed to make one for November.
It's a kind of intarsia with felt and foam. I cut the pieces on the laser. It was "fun" working with the different colours. Did you figure that cutting blue/violet things with a blue/violet laser might be very different than cutting black things? I spent hours working on the right settings and insets to get the kerfs to match.
I have to glue all the bits to something, probably black construction paper, but that's a project for tomorrow.
oh, yes, I'm singing alto.
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Seriously nice work. I too love the type and the colors. Really good stuff.
So pretty!!! I love it.
Thank you! I had kind of a vision for what it would look like and I'm tickled that the result looks so close to it.
Looove the colors; looks great! And that "a" in Sean is especially satisfying. (I love typefaces.)
YAAS to you singing alto! (I sing tenor and even baritone.) Woot woot!
Also, I don't think I knew your pronouns are they/them. Thanks for this! Noted!
YAAS to you singing alto! (I sing tenor and even baritone.) Woot woot!
Also, I don't think I knew your pronouns are they/them. Thanks for this! Noted!
The typeface for the name is called Bullfinch and was digitized directly from an early 20th century typography sample book. It's so elegant!
One of the nice things about our choir is that no one calls the SAs "ladies" or the TBs "men." While I'm the only AMAB person in the SAs (trying to be a trendsetter here) there's a lot of AFAB people in the TBs and it's wonderful.
One of the nice things about our choir is that no one calls the SAs "ladies" or the TBs "men." While I'm the only AMAB person in the SAs (trying to be a trendsetter here) there's a lot of AFAB people in the TBs and it's wonderful.
The detail in this is magnificent.
This is so gorgeous.
When I was in a choir, I had a range from soprano to tenor, but I'm so tone deaf that I had to sing soprano because it was the range in which I was least tone-deaf.
When I was in a choir, I had a range from soprano to tenor, but I'm so tone deaf that I had to sing soprano because it was the range in which I was least tone-deaf.
After a couple hours singing alto I am sometimes sure at the end of it that I'm just making tuneless squeaks but no one has yelled at me yet. Tomorrow's our 7 hour retreat so I'm sure I'll get at least one dirty look. Or not!
I'd love to see a picture of the block and the print side by side.