Yesterday, I made a BIG foldformed sculpture – the whole thing would fit in about an 8″ sphere. I’m thrilled with it except that it’s also flawed in a way that I can’t let it be sold.  I’ll post a photo here, but not until I have another made – I want you all to understand, by seeing the flawed and a (hopefully) perfect piece side-by-side, how the flaw practically ruins the piece. Metal is wonderful, and it’s nearly infinitely workable, but sometimes flaws can be fixed only by starting over – melting it down, rolling it out, and doing it all over.

The large piece is destined for the front display at my studios space (Artisan’s Asylum – check the links!) but I need to make about a dozen more smaller items of various kinds in order to feel like I’ll have a good display – of course I also plan to be making during SOS, but I want a solid collection to start with. As I’ve mentioned before, these are simply practice pieces for the most part, but I hope people like them enough to give me feedback and maybe even to buy a few so I can buy more copper!

I’ll be fashioning some sort of table and display for things too, and I’m not sure just what I’ll do for that, but that’s always the fun part anyway. I’ll keep it small, but professional. Lots of levels. Black with a subtle pattern tablecloth/cover. Maybe a paper-machie bust for the brass necklace if I get to it.  It’s all the fun part!

For anyone on the area, please drop by Artisan’s Asylum at 10 Tyler St. Somerville, MA 02143 on Saturday and Sunday, May 5th and 6th, after noon. I won’t be the only one showing, and I certainly won’t be the “one to see”, so come by and get inspired to create.

I have heard a lot of people say things along the lines of “I’m really good/interested at X, but I can’t seem to get inspired to do X” or “I’m waiting for inspiration to strike” or one of a hundred other, similar quotes that all boil down to the same thing: They are *waiting* for something to happen *to them* in order to be creative. I know exactly what that’s like, but I think by breaking through this, it’s making me a better creator.

Things inspire me every day, but I used to ignore it or, maybe more accurately, I didn’t really know how to pay attention. Then I stopped waiting for something to strike me and say “THIS HERE!” and instead started asking “WHAT IS IN THIS?” Doing this has changed most days from mundane to magical. There wasn’t some particular moment where I changed, it was just recognizing a pattern of behavior in myself and addressing it. Once in a while, I would get back from a walk or a trip to a museum or market or a night out and feel refreshed and excited. Other times I didn’t, and even when I did, I still usually ended up sitting in front of a screen of some kind, allowing that energy to drain away. The first realization I made is that, by and large, the times I was inspired were when I was connecting with the world around me, seeing and hearing and conversing, thinking and sketching and investigating. The second realization is that the difference between the times I connected with the world and those when I did not was largely a state-of-mind, something within myself, and something I can control. This had led me to the strong belief that if I seek inspiration, I will find it. Everywhere. All the time.

And I do.

While in New York, I finally attended MoMA which was a fantastic experience and I have a lot of notes and snapshots to review later. The people, the stores, the smells – it all inspired me in different ways. Architectural elements became jewelry in my head. Plants on the High Line were sculptures and some of the most revered art in the world left me flat from 10 feet away, but woke me up to the amazing minutia in brush strokes.

This morning — a gorgeous, sunny spring day — I looked for inspiration as I walked to my studio. I often find focusing on a single type of stimulus works best for me, and I’m a visual guy, so I was, basically, paying attention to anything that caught my eye. I’m playing with architectural influences so my eye was drawn to buildings and details, like an excellent molding design that I think I can use and an interesting set of arches that attached together a bit too soon and had a wonderful truncated look which should be useful to think about. Since I’m also working with illumination in some of my work, the way the silica flakes in the concrete sidewalks flashed and flickered with reflected sunlight gave me some ideas about random flickering and how to recreate it. Trees, ever a source of inspiration for me, caught my eye more than once and I “found” a new, magnificent oak, five stories tall that brought on a true sense of awe. (I’ve walked that stretch of road dozens of times and never noticed it, but I’m sure to most times in the future!)

This is all to say that I now LOOK for inspiration and I accept it from everything around me. Sure, there will be times when I have blocks in areas or feel uninspired, but there will never have to be a time that I stop and WAIT for inspiration unless I’m choosing to do so. Just this morning, I had seven exciting flashes of inspiration just walking to work, and I have more pages of notes to look through when I’m designing something new.

That references the an entire additional part of this puzzle, and would classify as realization number three: If I don’t *do* anything with the things that inspire me, what’s the point? But that’s an entire post of its own.

I have recently accepted a position with Karen Christians of Cleverwerx as her assistant. This is awesome for me as I get to help her organize things using technology while she teaches new metalsmiting and jewelry creation techniques I haven’t used before. I’m very excited and it’s been going quite well so far. Today, I taught a student how to use electronic soldering methods to connect jewelry components. Solder paste and a butane pencil torch are amazing for this, by the way. (Be sure to use lead & toxin free solder!)

I also forged my first non-fold form piece of metal. I took a bar of brass about 4″ long, 1/4″ wide and 1/8″ thick and ended up with the neck piece below. I’m happy that I was able to control the metal to make the exact shape I was going for, including forcing the sharp curve at the bottom and the sweeping curves up the sides. The sides are the same length and curvature – something I had to continually correct and guide during the process. Once forged, I added the ball peen texture to the front mainly to hide the flaws… There are still many flaws in this item, but it drove home just how much metal is like clay. I’m still smitten.

Hand forged, this neckpiece started as a 5"x.25"x.125" slab of brass.

I think I owe you all a marketing & advertising post. I think by next week…

I really don’t like things that have been spattered with “blood” in completely unrealistic ways, so I wanted to solve that in this case. I figured that the best way to do that would be to, as close as ethically possible, replicate the acts that would result in the blood splatter. Since I’m not too keen on eating brains myself (and I question whether an appropriate quantity of blood would still be present in any commercially available specimen) I got the idea to substitute a sponge. I figured if I stood in the bathtub and bit down on a sponge filled with blood, the resulting splash would properly color my costume.

Of course, I needed blood. While I could probably have gotten away with a pint of my own, I was planning to have a drink or two so I felt I should keep my strength up. Instead I went web-spelunking and looked at a LOT of fake blood recipes. The one I found that seemed the most promising (and also achievable with items on-hand) is from The Raven’s Fake Blood Recipes. It’s called “Chocolate Blood” and it is absolutely fantastic! The recipe as I used it:

1/2 cup water (warm works best)
1 tbsp cocoa powder
3-4 tbsp corn syrup (I used sucrose syrup, but corn syrup would have made for a thicker blood)
3/4 tsp red food coloring
2-3 drops green food coloring (this is important, I think, to get a real blood-looking color)

Mix, skim if necessary, splatter. Also, it's sweet, but tasty!

So I had my blood, I had my costume, I had my sponge and I recruited a cameraman (thanks hubby!!) Into the bathtub and here it is:

If I do it again, I’ll move/tilt my head back a bit to keep more blood on my chest. I ended up dabbing on a bit on the ascot any my face with the sponge later, once the blood was beginning to dry and thicken up. Overall, I’m thrilled with the results.

Zombie Me with Blood (forgive the too-small tux shirt. I had a big dinner. Brrraaaaiiiinzzz...)

Today, I had a professional, therapeutic massage. The experience was one of my best, with a therapist who was not afraid to really lay on the pressure and who had a laser-guided precision in her strokes. While the specific act of having a massage is, I can finally admit, important to my overall well-being, it’s the idea that taking care of my body is a necessary thing for me to do. As I sit here creating today, I find that I am more focused, less distracted, happier, more energetic and generally just more excited to be doing just what I was doing yesterday. I have taken the time to care for my body for a change, and it has highlighted the need for more attention to be paid there.

This has also let me realize that I have other parts of me that need time too. My literary and writing interest has, once again, lay dormant for too long and I am itching to write. I have a lot more desire to be social than I once was, and, believe it or not, I have to make time to go to parties and gatherings. A lot of my life, I’ve kept my sexuality in a bottle, but that, too, is important to embrace and care for as needed. My wardrobe, cleaning around the house, correspondence with friends – you name it.

I used to look at lists like this and become overwhelmed with the time and effort involved just in keeping up, but these days I look at it differently. Taking care of these parts of my life allow me to connect with my primary passions much more fully and effectively. Staying healthy lets me work more. Staying connected with my friends inspires me to create more. Spending time with my sexual partners keeps me more focused when I’m working and dressing the way I want to dress makes me more confident in all aspects of my life. And the feeling of going home to a clean, organized home cannot be understated. Caring for all the facets of my life isn’t a chore, it’s just part of being a fiercely creative person.

Fold forming is a technique that relies on metal’s plastic deformation properties to shape a piece. By folding, hammering, annealing and unfolding, amazing organic shapes can be obtained quickly and satisfy even the newcomer like me. It really is as simple as folding a sheet of brass or copper, hitting it a lot with a hammer, heating it with a blowtorch and unfolding. Of course, with a basic technique like that, only relatively basic results will be achieved. However, after an understanding of the technique and the reaction of the metal is obtained, repeated annealings and workings, foldings and unfoldings, and careful planning, the result can be an absolutely stunning form — many of which would be difficult to create in any other metalsmithing method.

Practice pieces from brass and copper

These are some of the practice pieces I created using fold forming. The brass leaf was first and it taught me that very thin brass isn’t as workable as the thicker copper I used for the twist. Brass is less malleable than copper – it moves around less before becoming work hardened – and the thinness of the sheet I used prevented the piece from taking on a lot of character. (Though it is, actually, a very convincing leaf!) The copper was much easer to work and created more profound shapes. I’m likely to keep working in copper for a while as being more forgiving and dramatic, I’ll be able to more easily understand how the folds work. Of course, I love the look of brass, and I will return to it often.

One goal I have for this technique is to learn ways to make metal drape and pool more like a leather. This will take some time to perfect, but each time I practice this technique further, I get more exciting results. Even the practice pieces I don’t care for teach me.

I have had an interactive sculpture in mind for a few years now, and I think I have finally amassed the skills to execute it to the level I want it to be. It will require fold-forming over 200 individual objects, plenty of soldering, and an Arduino, but I’m excited to start the process. In the meantime, I have a couple of opportunities approaching that I would be foolish not to pursue.

A large Rueger fold in copper

In May, Somerville Open Studios will once again bring hundreds of people into the studios of local artists. My studio space, Artisan’s Asylum, will be participating which means I can participate with a display in my studio and, hopefully, place something in the gallery we will have at the front of the house. In addition, Cambridge Center for Adult Education is once again running their CSArt program with an application deadline on April 9. My goal, in light of these opportunities, is to complete at least 50 practice pieces and three “refined” pieces before April 9. I have, so far, 7 which I consider worthy of counting toward that goal of 50. At SoS, I plan to offer these practice pieces for sale on a sliding scale. They are only practice pieces, but they do look fun, and I think it appropriate to offer them in exchange for funds that will allow me to continue my education in this area. Copper sheets, anvils and hammers aren’t terribly cheap, but they are reasonable. However, the more metal I have, the more items I can make, and the better I become at the craft.

I have recently helped out a local theatre troupe, Theatre@First, on an upcoming show based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It’s an amazing new adaptation by a local author, Elizabeth Hunter, who has loved the book for years. I’ve helped a bit with publicity planning, and promised to create a commemorative  bookmark to be offered at the door to the show in exchange for a donation. I really didn’t want to just throw something together in Illustrator, and since I am also learning how to create fancy scrollwork and embellished text, I decided I’d draw the thing – or at least most of the components.

This was a big decision for me. I’ve been stupidly private with my artistic pursuits in the past and here I am creating something that hundreds of people are likely to see – and I’m also audacious enough to ask them for money in exchange for a copy! Eeek! I chose not to let that get to me (well, until it was all done and ready to go) but rather to just focus on getting it done.

Initially, I drew out this title plate. It’s about 7×10″ on bristol, carefully laid out and then hand rendered. One way I got over the idea of showing this to people is by leaving it up on my drafting table at my studio for about a week, in plain view to anyone walking by. I’m glad I did – all comments I received were positive and that helped with my confidence.

Next, I tackled a border for the bookmark. I again laid out this piece, loosely based on the Golden Spiral, and finished it by hand. The dappled background took forever, and, ultimately is a bit darker than I would have chosen, but it worked pretty well.

I had intended on creating a straight section of border as well, but it turns out I didn’t need it. After scanning and cleanup, I worked some photoshop magic and pieced together the border quite well. (I also ended up pulling apart the title plate and rearranging it, having changed the layout I wanted – THAT should have been sketched and planned earlier!) I printed the bookmarks 5-up on some excellent Strathmore inkjet-compatible textured paper and trimmed them. I wanted the design to bleed to the edge, so I made sure the border would support such a layout. After trimming, the addition of a small eyelet and length of silver ribbon, this is the result.

I’m honestly thrilled with it. The texture that was preserved in the background is amazing and even though I may have chosen to go with a lighter background in the border, I’m glad I ended up with what I did. The background scrollwork provides a really rich, subtle texture that, I think, makes the whole piece seem rich and crafted.

These will be available at the door to Pride and Prejudice by Theatre@First, opening March 23, 2012 at the Somerville Theater in Davis Square, Somerville, Massachusetts.

In fact, almost always, I get something like this:

I’m purchasing it for my cousin as a gift.  I’m presently out of town (offshore) so I can’t pick up, but I will offer you $[MORETHANYOUASKED] including shipping expenses via USPS Express Mail to him as he schools in Belgium
Let me know if we can make the transaction asap, and I’ll send the money through my paypal account.
Regards
Susan

So, recently, I’ve starting responding like this:

Oh, wow, that sounds great!  However, I looked into it, and it’s going to cost US $4963.00 to send this ITEM overseas. If you send me that amount, plus the $1750 I’m asking for the ITEM, plus a US $3722.00 packing fee, then once the cashier’s check has cleared (in about 90 days) then I will send the ITEM right out to you!

Let me know if you agree.

I’m hoping I get a bite one of these days and make a nice return on my time…

I have thought about taking one up on their offer some day, and then sending them wet phonebooks instead of the “item” but since I don’t go to great lengths to hide my identity, I just figure that would backfire and find me in trouble. Dang legal system!

~w

That upset me a bit because Cambridge is a very pedestrian-friendly town, the van was in an area that has no less than five crosswalks crossing Mass Ave within about a three block section, and with behavior like that, the driver is going to hurt someone some day. I like to look after my fellow humans, and my righteousness was flaring, so I ducked around the corner where the van was parking and began to write down the number to the plumbing company that the van belongs to along with the license plate. The driver jumped out at that point and began yelling at me, telling me to be sure to tell the company that I jumped out in front of him when I call and that he would have killed me had he tried to slow down since he would have locked up the brakes. Yes, apparently he was unable to slow the vehicle over a 2/3 block distance without locking up the breaks. Honestly, if he thought that it was too rainy for me to be using the crosswalk normally, then doesn’t it follow that it was too rainy for him to be driving so fast as not to be able to safely stop in that distance?

Anyway, at that point he started getting belligerant. He claimed to have a witness who would testify that I jumped in front of him and demanded my name so he could file a police report before the morning. Of course, that is just a waste of resources for a petty situation, so I told him we could just drop the whole thing and leave it be. He would hear none of it and instead called me a douchebag. Yes. A douchebag. It’s funny, he looked older than 12, but I guess not.

I left at that point, unwilling to put up with any more from this silly person. After talking with my husband, I did choose to call his workplace and leave a message, calmly explaining the situation, stating that I was calling them because it was their vehicle that was being driven irresponsibly and dangerously, and mentioning that I would be happy to let the situation pass if the driver would as well. Then I shrugged it all off and headed home. I can’t imagine that anyone of sound mind would make anything of this, but if he choses to do so, I wanted to put down my recollections of the incident while it was fresh.

Now for some pure speculation…

I have no idea what was going on in this guy’s head, but I imagine that he legitimately thought that I was misusing the crosswalk because he was in a situation where he needed to make accommodation for a pedestrian. (comments he made like “I know you pedestrians think you own the road” made it clear where he stands in regards to the most healthy and environmentally friendly mode of transportation we have) I imagine, though, that he quickly realized he was in the wrong when he noticed me taking down the information on his van, and in typical macho-man fashion, chose to embellish, expand, and vigorously defend his story so as to have something to fall back on if he got called on his actions. Unfortunately this is a vicious kind of person – the person who knows he’s wrong but has followed the lie so far that he can’t get out of it. I find these people to defend their positions so irrationally and vehemently as to be scary, impossible to deal with, and dangerous.

I made only one mistake in this entire situation. I gave him my business card when he demanded my name. I have absolutely nothing to hide, and so I should not be worried about this, but, honestly, when dealing with an irrational person like this, I do have some misgivings having given him too much information about myself. It will all work out, of course.

Boston Globe (My photo was used, a competitor was actually mentioned in the article)

Boston.com (haven’t been able to bring myself to watch that one yet)

TUAW.com (That’s me back by the end of the cattle guards with David Nunez, a partner in DINO)

OK, that’s enough tooting.