Pack Rat Tuesday, Dec 16, 2008

Objet d'rat #5—this always makes me want to say 'ow ow ow!' Picked up both, although not in one fell swoop, during the 2007 Steens trip. Found the bird's nest in the yard of the Hotel Diamond, right after we got there, dropped off the bags, and went out to check out our new environs. Then 2 days later, found the horse chestnuts at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge Headquarters. I just like how the two of them go (or don't go) together. I'm not planning to make anything with this, it is done.



But how about those Sculpey blueberries?

Hey, I finally powdered them all today. Despite my prior claims, I just have 65 blueberries, which is ok for now. I might make more later if I find that I need more. But the exciting thing to report for today is that I actually have most of the game figured out!

I have the game pieces (blueberries, utensils, cards, and one die), the board, and the rules mostly figured out. I still need to research the details (the information to go on the cards), 'prices' and 'points', then I can start painting/printing the game.

Pack Rat Tuesday, Dec 9, 2008

These are the twist off tops from the lancets that I use to poke my fingers. I have jars of these. I must be able to do SOMETHING with them, eventually...you'd think:



On what every artist must do

Anyhow, I've spent a couple of days doing 'marketing' stuff now. Emailing people, responding to emails, updating website. And today, I packed up 8 books to ship out to Vamp & Tramp Booksellers. This is no guarantee that they'll take me on, this is just to look. But anyhow. Took me all day to make little wrap around covers and reclosable fitted bubble wrap envelopes. But that's all done and ready to go to the post office. I should pat myself on the back...MARKETING, now that's somethin'!

Pack Rat Tuesday

Objet d'rat #3, those pesky credit card offers that include a fake credit card for 'YOUR NAME HERE':



I figure that they'll make good covers for some miniature books someday.

But how about those room divider screens?

Exhibit A, here's a screen being cut loose from its frame.



Exhibit B, the pile after a whole bunch of screens have been cut loose from their frames, and plus the backings from the plexi sheets:



Exhibit C, here the screens have been mounted on, eh, the screen:



I am, obviously, not anywhere near finished; I'm just 2/3 way through the first screen. It still needs 30 more holes filled. Then I do the exact same thing with the other screen, only with different, eh, gocco screens.

Pack Rat Tuesday

Objet d'rat #2, big sticks and...



...little sticks.



I consider the garden an extension of my studio, so yeah, these count! For years, I've been thinking that I could make something with these (in addition to the trellises and such). Most are from my yard, but some I have dragged back from other places too. Most notably, in the big sticks photo, the curved branch right at the front—I dragged that one back from Tektronix campus a few years back when they chopped down a bunch of trees between Building 50 and 58 (where I spent my mis-spent youth) and built a Starbucks! They had the area all cordoned off, but when I came back from lunch, there was an opening. So I figured, hey, that must meant I could go in there.

So naturally, I went in there poking around. Then a couple of big guys in hard hats came out from behind some big tractors and started yelling at me and Giao, my accomplice. But then they asked what we were doing there (that was their mistake), so of course I said I was looking for a big branch.

"Ah, well, do you know which one you want?"

"Umm, how about that one?" I pointed to a big curved branch still attached to a tree.

"Well, ok." Then they took out a chainsaw and cut it right off for me. They even offered to load it in my car for me! But it really wasn't so big that we needed help.

So that's my souvenir branch from Tektronix. I had thought I'd use it to top the 2 big posts to make a little gate of sorts, but when I tried it, it didn't look quite right, so I did this instead, and the branch is still waiting for just the right project to come along.

Tragedy in the garden.

Not sure when this happened, but I noticed yesterday that half of the persimmon tree was lying on the ground!



The fallen half had ripped itself right off the trunk...this looks pretty serious.



I had been meaning to prune the tree for a couple of years and just never got around to it, so now it's gone and done it itself, although it didn't do a very good job. I've rescued the persimmons, 3 with spouts, but I doubt that they'll ripen.





After I cleaned it up, it doesn't look too bad. I'll have to see if there's something I'm supposed to put on the wound. The upside is that the vegetable bed will now get more sun.



The camellia that's blooming now. It's one of my favorite plants in the garden.



Relay/Replay at the library.

So here they are, at the John Wilson Special Collections, with lots of reflections from the overhead light and the window.





But what did I do today?

I did finish the 2nd room divider screen, and took photos. I'll upload those tomorrow. By 'finish,' I just mean that I put Danish oil on the wood and buffed it. I still need to insert the prints and gocco screens into the openings. These past 2 days have been really nice, so I wanted to take advantage of good weather and do the stuff that I have to do outside.

Introducing...Packrat Tuesdays!

The Pearl has First Thursdays; SE Art District has First Fridays; Multnomah Village has Last Fridays; Dr. Russ has Paper Fridays. And then there's Michael5000, who got Quizzes Mondays and Thursdays AND Classical Music Wednesdays. I think he's got something going on Tuesdays too, but lets ignore that for a second.

Anyhow, before all the days of the week are all taken, I'm staking my claim on Pack Rat Tuesdays.

Objet d'rat #1:

A jar full of fortune cookie fortunes.



I actually used quite a few of these fortunes for an edition of gocco printed greeting cards. It was a 3 color gocco print of a drawing of fortune cookies, with a fortune attached. It was one of my best selling cards, and I always intended to print more; but, the screen was accidentally destroyed.

So, what are Pack Rat Tuesdays?

Well, originally, this was going to be Tchotzke Tuesdays, but objet d'tchotzke didn't sound quite right, so Pack Rat Tuesday it is. And on these Tuesdays, I shall introduce priceless items that evidently have accumulated in my studio. Some of these took years to gather, like the fortune cookie fortunes, for example; others were acquired simply because I had the good fortune to be at the right place at the right time.

And I always think, "oh hey, yeah, of course I'll be able to make something with THIS!"