Pots to the People - Check! Fun and we raised just over $1000

Big Ink printmaking -  Check! 3 large prints are now drying in my office and I'm trying to figure out how best to get them framed. I am so very very proud of myself!

DRAGON - THE LAST PROJECT TO RULE THEM ALL. (or at least last project standing) Working in it! If JoAnns was still in business, or if I could find my sewing supplies, I'd be much further along in making the dragon body. Instead I wait for amazon to drop off a new rolly cutter, and piece together scrap fabric for the body as I wait. And also designed some 3D printed feet for the dragon which will take forever to print and will not fit the first time. But that's how I roll.

No photos yet of Dragon, but soon, Soooon my pretties, sooon.

14 days ago I went glamping/camping/crafting at an event called Figment Alpha. There I ran the first test of my lifesized Tsuro "Game of Dragons" game. And started making 2 more papercrafted/paper mache dragon heads. The game test informed some improvements. The heads are still a work in progress. (also while there I finally learned how to progress from a chain to the next step in crochet. That step took both 20 minutes and 50 years to learn.)

TOMORROW I have a fundraiser at the local beer garden. It's called Pots to the People, where we offer $35 handmade pottery items that come with a complementary drink ticket. We have 67 "pots" of various shapes & sizes. Funds raised support my non-profit Dover art league. I'm anxious but we're ready to rock it. I have 4 volunteers to help man the station! Also, the league is so fortunate to have on staff someone who translates my sketches/ideas to fabulous fliers. Check out this fab "power to the people" riff

The DAY AFTER TOMORROW I will be at the Delaware Contemporary Museum to print my first woodcarved block. Before then I need to sand and brush the board, but everytime I go to do that I start carving a bit more. I'm pretty sure the border isn't carved deep enough, but we shall find out Sunday! My ex is looking after my kid as I spend the day printing. I can't think of a better way to spend mother's day!

Loaner cat for scale. Also, shag carpet is great for hiding wood carving curls & scraps.

12 Days(ish) from now I go camping with 1200 of my best hippie friends. This is where we will play Human Sized Tsuro for real - I have it on the schedule for 1 or 2 hours every day. For that I am making a 10+ foot long dragon as decoration. It is SO NOT DONE. I so want to be spending all my time working on it but (see above) this weekend is already spoken for. Next Tuesday I'm working an election from 6AM-9PM. Today, and next Friday and Saturday I work my museum job. Arrrrgh, I just want to focus on Dragon! It is so not done that I don't even have photos. Le sigh, art life is stressful. But also wonderful and it keeps me busy,

In 21 days I print my first woodblock hand carved print at Big Ink at the Delaware Contemporary Museum in Wilmington. If it was tomorrow I would have something to print. It's done enough. But when is enough enough? I still want to crisp up some lines, clean out some chatter, and make Dante's coat better. (that's the character's name, Dante. With head on fire.)

I'm forcing myself to put that on hold for a week or two -- but not 3, because yo: 21 days til printing! Got other things to do: today is get the grant application to rebuild my Dover Art League's pottery studio submitted, and work on that Tsuro dragon game project that due in 5 days (see last post)

Anyway, some photos of the carved block, then I'm off the write my grant request.

April 23 - 6 days from now! I am bringing human sized Tsuro to Alpha. And apparently dragon crafting, because I told the coordinator that I would have crafting. I have a minimum viable version 90% complete! Minimum viable means:

1. rules (done. Printed and laminated)

2. 36 handheld tiles - done. Wood with lines burnt into each. Past Ursula made these on the laser cutter years ago for no particular reason. Yay past me!

3. 36 matching 2'x2' tiles - done. Cloroplast with vinyl lines

4. Mark the sets to match up the handheld & the large tiles -done as of tonight! 

5. Capes of various colors to mark the players - aquired from Amazon

6. Frame with start points marked - not started. Will be made from furring strips. I'm shooting for getting that done Sunday. 

Oh yeah, I also made a paper mache dragon head, but that's not really part of minimum viable. Still needs painting. I'll probably make that, and decorating the back of the tiles as the craft.

Photos:

The things I have to do. Note to get my thoughts in order.

As I'm apt to do, I committed to some things. Projects. Adventures. All these things have reasons and backstories. But now they are all lining up for attention and I need to make more of a schedule.

Tomorrow: Don't forget your doctors appointment! Also find a dentist & schedule an appointment!!

April 23 - 25 days from now I'm going to Alpha  which is kinda like adult summer camp for artists. I'm bringing human sized Tsuro board game, where humans are the pieces instead of pawns, which means I need to make supersized Tsuro. Also this will come with a side of dragon themed crafting. The things I still need to do for MINIMUM VIABLE is FINISH 35 human sized 2'x2' tiles. So far I've finished 1 and 5 quarter tiles. Probably won't work on it much until next week, but sometimes I'm inspired and get at it. One of the reasons I'm doing this project is to prep for Playa del Fuego (see below), which is towards the end of May.

May 1 - 33 days from now applications for Delaware's "Community Reinvestment Fund"  are due. I committed to putting in an application to revamp the Dover Art League's pottery studio. The room needs a floor without holes in it, and walls that reach the ceiling, less dumb use of space and other things of that ilk. Plan to get a draft grant request done this week. 

May 9 - 41 days from now is Pots to the People. I talked my Dover Art League into this fundraiser -- we are bringing 30-50 pottery pieces to the local brewpub. There we offer them up for $35 which includes a drink ticket. Check out the cool flyer/poster in the link - the Art League staff of creatives are amazing. I mentioned I wanted a "Power to the People" vibe, holding a mug, and wow. Anyway, now I just have to arrange staffing, signage, transport, and assist in getting all the pottery items made/glazed. This week, line up staffing. 

May 10 - 42 days from now is Big Ink at the Delaware Contemporary Museum. I have been following Big Ink for some time on Insta, and kept saying "if he ever comes to Delaware, I'm signing up!". Well, last fall I noticed he scheduled a Delaware date, so with some trepidation, I signed up. So yeah, working on that project. For Big Ink, you sign up to make a 2' x 3' or larger woodcut for printing. Mine is going to be Limbus Company fan art of a sort. I started carving a few days ago. This week: carve ~1hr per day.

May 23 - 52 days from now is Playa del Fuego. I'm bringing Dragon Themed Art project wich includes Human Sized T'suro and a 10' Dragon. I need to make a 10' dragon at some point between then and now. "Need" is the word here, because I applied for an art grant which included making the 10' Dragon. I got the grant, now I have to deliver. This week: do nothing more on this except the stuff mentioned for Alpha.

Late November 2026 - like 235 days from now I'm installing two large storefront windows for the Winter Window scene at, you guessed it, the Dover Art League. I decided one of the two windows will be a 10' hibernating dragon. Which is why Playa del Fuego art grant was for a dragon, which led to Tsuro and then Alpha. I hope 235 days is enough for it all to come together. (There is also a second window, which I plan to be Snow Queen themed)

oh yeah, I also have a date in a couple of weeks. I wonder if he'd be up for making a paper mache dragon instead of, dunno, dinner & a movie. 

I *know* I always feel good when I finish a project. Why do I instead sit on my butt most days and let inertia settle in? Dunno. But anyway, today I did a thing.

Sometime back I ordered some fast fashion for next to free from one of those websites. I can't remember if it was Shein, or Ali Express, or Temu or whatever. I have a young teen, who sometimes NEEDS OMG NEEEEEEDS! something or other from such a site. Sometimes I acquiesce to the need, then typically pad the order with several too-cheap-to-be-real items. And sometimes those items are clothes. But sizing is a crapshoot. I used to order off the site's sizing list, but almost always it came in too small. So I size up these days. Of the 5 dresses ordered, 1 went straight to goodwill (cause it felt like it was made from a shower curtain), 2 pretty much fit, 2 were sized for a MUCH heftier body than mine. And the one pair of pants were cut for a 6ft tall person. Ok, maybe a 5'11" person - and I'm 5' even.

And today, a mere 3 weeks after they arrived, and 2 days after retrieving the sewing machine from the depths of my basement, I hemmed the pants and took in the oversized dresses. The fun thing about altering cheap clothes is there is no pressure to get it perfect. I did not get it perfect - but it's perfect enough to wear. Yay me!

Tomorrow I'm hemming some sweatpants I've have for 3 years that I love but are 1" too long. And I also hemmed a pair of shorts for a neighbor. Doing the things!

So I'm feeling good about life just now (despite being stood up for a scheduled call). I think I'll get some wine and play Baldurs Gate.

Checkout the glorious pattern on this pair of $6.81 pants! (I looked it up. SHEIN.) And that straight hem!

Next on my docket to write about is Florida. But instead, gentle reader, I will talk about a glorious weekend of doing nothing. Nothing except watching season 2 of Bridgerton on Netflix and declaring to my offspring that I will be dressing like those society ladies. She asked: when will I dress so? I answered: For the rest of my life. It helps that the leads have skin approaching my complextion.  Visuals here. Representation, yo!

So today I’m up predawn and in my sweats because I have to do the school dropoff then head to the gym. One must workout if one is to fit into a regency silhouette.

<<interlude>>

The other thing I did this weekend is make a box on my trusty laser cutter. We’re doing a belated holiday gift exchange at work, where we are all exchanging mugs. I know very little about my coworker so I got her a mushroom mug because *I* think it cute. I did ask around and learned she likes Alpacas. So I AI’d (midjourney) a bunch of Alpacas for engraving, and made a box for the mug.

It feels nice to stretch the maker muscles now and again. I’ve slowed way down and am undermotivated these past few months. Which is okay, I know. But I also know I feel better when I have a project to make.

Florida notes will likely also not be done tomorrow. After kiddo dropoff,  I drive 2 hours for a typewriter pickup. My typewriter obsession is cooling, partially because they’ve become a demand on me instead of just a joy. The sit and judge me, saying “When are you going to get on with fixing us, Tinkeress?” I’m working on working on it, you marvelous machines! So it’s cooling, but not so much that I won’t drive 4 hours roundtrip to pick up a new and delightful one!

I think I'm going to write a manifesto. Largely because I like the thought of answering the constant "what are you up to?" questions with "writing my manifesto". Step one, look up what manifesto means. I'm guessing it is writing down what you want to manifest. 

I have learned in recent years to take February off. "No Fun February" is what I need to recharge after the holidays, which for me started early November and won't wrap until February 4. (Philly! Thanksgiving! New Orleans! DC! Christmas! Philly Again! Richmond for NYE Decemberween! DC Again for sheep* knapping! DC again again for sheep brain updates! NYC for Golden Fest! E's Birthday! DC again again again! . . . plus things I may have forgotten). It was wonderful, but I'm worn out.

So when February hits, I'm planning to slow it way down. Way way down. Meaning, not leaving the state (i.e., Delaware.)(ok, maybe once); not drinking alcohol (ok, maybe twice). It's time to get back on top of my life. I'm going to cook more planned meals, go on more walks, read more books.

But more than that, I'm putting forth a goal to create something every day (with upto 3 days off). This will mostly be with my laser cutter, unless something else inspires. And also, a goal to write a manifesto (whatever that means).

There, I said it. Now that I'm posting this, I'm changing the title from "Commitment Issues" to "Commitment Issued".

*BTW, I have a large plastic lightup talking sheep named Aries Ramball, now in my living room. 

I've been working on a project that is bringing plastic talking lightup ridable sheep to Burning Man.

I got drafted into making the corral. I designed a barn too, but it got nixed. We made signage for the corral. I spent july asking and asking for people to draw me sheep, robot sheep, sheep robots.  . . and then turned the submissions into signs. I'm still working on ones that says "Baa means Baa" and "Sheep consent to photos, but ya gotta check if the attending humans do". Here are some of the signs art:

With some other sheepsters, I spent yesterday making 5 flags for the corral.  I am very proud of these sheepy flags <3 <3 <3

Also, since I have a glowforge laser cutter in my basement, I offered to make swag. Sheep coaster sets: 

And Sheep pendants (matchbox for scale):

This project has been a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to seeing it all come together out in the desert at the end of the month! It's about flocking time!

PS: The sheep themselves look like this. And they talk, each of the dozen sheep have different voices/personalities :-)

It's time to make camping swag again!

A week or so ago, I went with some campmates to the Renwick Gallery, which is part of the Smithsonian, in Washington DC.  The Renwick is currently hosting an "Art of Burning Man" exhibit. Highly recommended. Inspiring. (In case you are wondering, my camp is called Balls Camp. We favor Ball Gowns.)

I saw a trinket there that inspired me to make a more complex necklace for camp swag than I have in the past. Not saying the designs won't continue to evolve, but I'm pretty happy with it. . .and I'm starting to wonder what an acrylic version would look like. . .