Manufacturing Myth

This blog has gone on Holiday in Bermuda

2011-02-08T02:33:00.000-08:00

I've not really had time to update this blog in a while, or, in point of fact, much to say were I to sit down and try. No new sculptures, no exciting jewelry adventures save one that took place at mostly 3am-5am (not by the by, the best time to use power tools) and in a panicked rush before dashing of to the airport in a cab. So much of a panicked rush that not photos mark the process or the product.

And really, when you get right down to it, I'm not a writer, or much or a talker in general. There are things I keep meaning to do, like document a whole linoleum block carving and printing process. But when I end up doing the actual work, it always seems to be in a marathon type rush on the way to something else. Always some other deadline, some other project, a show to go to, a job to finish, a shop that needs more stock. I would love to say I'm sure I'll be back at this blogging thing someday, but I'm not terribly convinced. I seem to have created a life for myself in which it just wouldn't be normal if I wasn't always trying madly to figure out when everything will get done and what side projects to schedule in when. I did it on purpose. I rather like it that way most of the time. Really I seem to work best with long periods of marathon creation and then a week of rest where I don't do anything but menial tasks.

But I also don't wish for this to turn into a place where I just post show announcements over and over. Its not the kind of thing a blog is for, in my opinion, and its certainly not interesting reading. Its practically like the difference between an interesting magazine and a credit card solicitation! So things may just be quiet around here for long pauses, with sudden unpredictable moments of chatter.

While this blog lays dormant, those show announcements and photos and other things that require less then 150 characters to describe, can all be found on Facebook.

And if you like the pictures and not so much the words, my Sketchblog is all art and no talk (well okay, a little bit of talk).

See you when I see you!

APE this Saturday and Sunday!

2010-10-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

Come see me at the Alternative Press Expo, at the Concourse Convention Center in San Francisco this weekend! Some new jewelry, cards, and prints, plus the usual robots and such. Right by the entrance and the restrooms ;-)

The return to the blog.

2010-08-25T23:46:00.000-07:00

Where has this blog (or me) been for the last two months? The story is boring, a bit whiny, and not very much fun to write out so instead lets say that the blog has been on Holiday...at the beach. Now that the Holiday (or haitus) is over, lets just start again with something cheerful and work back up to actually talking about new and interesting things.

Some time ago, I left the 9 to 5 working world in order to try my hand at being entirely freelance. Somehow I haven't starved yet, and I keep paying the rent, and so long as these things happen I can't really complain because it means I can go to the beach on a Tuesday and take photos of jewelry on top of 12 foot rocks by the surf.

And I discovered that ACE hardware carries 3/4" thick rope, which makes a lovely sailing ship style ocean side prop. I got to toy with different sorts of light as the sun set, and I had been wanting to do some fish and octopus photos with a more ocean-appropriate set then my usual 'old things on tiles'.

Granted I ended up taking mostly photos I could probably have figured out how to take at home (if I could find a nice big flattish rock...) but I was at the BEACH which made it more fun.

And left me today at home to take photos of myself in the alley by my house, wearing jewelry, and pretending I have some sort of modeling skill.

I promise, the very next blog post will have something about process and making things and information you might actually be interested in reading. Really.

Another post that's really just a picture

2010-06-15T00:36:00.001-07:00

It feels like its been a very long time since I used this blog for what I meant to use it for - which is actually sharing thoughts and information. I didn't intend for it to become a glorified announcement site or a place to post images, but it seems as if it's been that for a bit.

Generally speaking I've been busy and overbooked and burned out. Because of that feeling of burn out I've promised myself the next few months to really work on projects. New sculptures, new illustrations, and a few just crazy things I've been wanting to try. And so, hopefully, the next post that arrives here will be ABOUT something. With processes and pictures and ideas and inspiration, instead of short notes and pretty pictures.

In the mean time, I just really like this necklace. I have a few more Ford tags and I think I might make one for myself. Or, at least, one to wear a few times for marketing photos!

Down the Rabbit Hole

2010-06-02T23:28:00.000-07:00

I'm in a little 6 person gallery show at Blow Salon in Berkeley this month. The jewelry in this show is a bit more overtly mixed media and steampunk then my usual selection, some cool bits and pieces like pulleys and watch makers vials and the like.
If you're in the area, the show opens this Saturday, June 5th at 8pm. The food and drinks are free, the jewelry is shiny and for sale!

Chrysanthemums

2010-05-19T23:24:00.001-07:00

Should really have been producing things for Maker Faire instead of doing this but, I couldn't really help it. It felt like a long time since I'd made something totally new.

There has been a lot of sketching and planning in the last few months, but really nothing but reproducing designs for shows. It was really nice to sit and spend a day making something completely new.

These will not, however, be at Maker Faire. They might make it into a gallery show that opens the following week though, which I shall talk about at some point next week.

New Necklaces at Sala, Berkeley!

2010-04-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

A little preview of the new necklaces I just dropped of at Sala in Berkeley. If you're in the area, stop by and check them out, along with Sala's other lovely clothing, jewelry, and accessories!

New faux ivory

2010-04-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

The very first ivory finished casts of 3 pieces only ever offered before in bronze. I am fairly sure that I've promised these at two events previously and not managed to get them to work out. Finally here they are. I can't wait to make things with them!

Confluence Gallery Pieces

2010-04-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a peak at some of the new pieces that are at the Confluence Gallery up in Twisp, WA right now. Still working on the cool things I can't talk about yet. And working on a full start to finish process post for a new sculpt, but its waiting for time to...actually do the sculpt!

And special thanks to the fabulous Kate McKinnon for showing me the power of tiles as photo backgrounds!

Sundry bits of news

2010-04-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

I made new post cards. Yes I did. And there are a few neat things I'm sort of in the middle of planning or organizing that I am afraid to really talk about yet for fear of counting my chickens before I have a basket of eggs!

But, two bits of news for sure.

First, if you're up in Twisp, Washington (or you know, in the mountains in Washington and thinking you might stop there), I'll be joining that fabulous work of Laurie Kain in a gallery show opening next Saturday April 17th at Confluence Gallery and Art Center. I'll have 7 new necklaces in the show, with a spring time nature merging with abandoned machine theme.

I will also be selling at Maker Fair, in San Mateo. I'll be outside somewhere with some steampunk contraption builders - but I am not yet sure where that will be located. More info will go up closer to the event.

Maker Fair will be my last in person event for the summer, but I have solved a lot of supply vs demand issues by then, and jewelry should actually be filling out my Etsy shop for once! I will also be closing for about a month, at the end of June/beginning of July for some moving and travel, but otherwise, I'll be open and working on my own projects quietly here.

That's all for now. More process and more photos after the end of April, when I have time to make them again!

More photos filling space

2010-03-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

I actually really like the set up of this photo, only its unreplicable unless I go out and buy a very large house plant with very broad leaves or take jewelry to a botanical garden. Blast.

And more necklace photos. Unfortunately although I intended to list a good group on Etsy after this class, it occurred to me when I got home that I had both a show in April and in May, and no more casts waiting to use so I have a suspicion that these will instead go to supply in person events. Luckily I have an exciting solution to my lack of creation speed all worked out and so very shortly supply might once again actually meet demand!
Not that having more demand then supply isn't really very flattering. Its gone straight to my head let me tell you. This new plan will also let me have more time to experiment with new materials and processes - I've had some other metal powders to cast with for awhile that I haven't tried yet. In theory, I have the power to make cast resin RUST. I've been hoping to have time to try that for a while now...
Show info coming soon when everything is all properly confirmed!

That's right, apeture is important

2010-03-24T00:20:00.000-07:00

I managed to sneak something wonderful into my schedule, as a reward for surviving the first few months of the new year with my sanity more or less intact. And thus I spent last Friday down in San Diego learning to take proper photos of jewelry. It was a lot of fun, and other folks have blogged about it more properly so I think I'll just link to them. Specifically to Patty Lakinsmith, who creates fantastic lampwork glass beads and who took the time to write out a much better post about the whole day then I could.

Once a long time ago I learned a lot about light and film - then shortly there after forgot it again. Learning about apeture, shutter speeds, film speeds, how the digital magic of not using film actually works, and how to actually use lights properly was really awesome and now I suspect I will probably not spend so much time taking piles of hit or miss photos of things.

All that being said, I know I have been neglecting this blog in favor of posting pictures with a few teasing sentences. Its no substitute for proper content, I know, but at least pictures are well...pictures!

Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition

2010-03-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to prove to everyone that I'm a real person. By posting a photo of myself doing something that all young ladies should know how to do...tying a cravat. A cravat which at some point I made from spare satin lining fabric, in a hotel room, with a travel sewing kit.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my table at the Steampunk Exhibition this past weekend, it was a fun time (and although I didn't leave my table, I'm told the panels were quite nice as well). I may or may not be at Maker Fair, more as that developes. In the mean time, look for some new pieces on Etsy in the next few weeks!

Photos © Gar Travis, used with permission

Secret Garden Preview

2010-02-12T00:57:00.000-08:00

Snuck this onto the facebook fan page and thought I'd post it here as well. I'm working on a littler series of necklaces with the combination of flowers, little birds and key holes and calling it (to myself anyway) Secret Garden. I've always loved that story.
And yes, in case anyone at all cared, its always me in these photos. Me, holding the camera out and using a mirror to reflect the view screen back so I can line up the shot. Very hi tech and professional, yessir.

Just a little Preview

2010-02-02T23:20:00.000-08:00

Its been quiet in here, hasn't it? What happened, you may be asking yourself, to the process posts and the rambling artist inspiration posts that at least had pretty reference images? Well here we are again, back to sketches and beginnings! I don't often do an actual color mock up sketch, but in this case I was unsure of the design and materials and wanted a better idea of how it would look as a finished piece.
These are designs I'm working on for the Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition coming in March. I've wanted for a while now to add something a little more genre specific to my jewelry designs, and these designs reflect that. I also wanted something suitable for both ladies and gentleman's accessories, so watch out for some watch chain-fob sets and some tie pins at the Exhibition!

The Edwardian Ball

2010-01-20T01:16:00.000-08:00

Come see me and Adornments for Tarts at the Edwardian Ball this weekend! The market will be open all afternoon Saturday and admittance will be FREE! If I'm very lucky I will even have something to sell ;-) Otherwise you might just have to buy cards and robot posters!

Raw casts of shiny new things

2009-12-09T12:52:00.001-08:00

In spite of the strange, un-California-like-cold molding and casting of the new sculpts has been going on. Here's an uncleaned and unfinished preview of the new pieces! The key hole is cast from a porcelain key hole plate from the early 1900's - one of those cool things you sometimes find lingering in antique shops that no one quite knows what to do with.

Something for the Holidays

2009-12-01T17:11:00.001-08:00

I've been working on some new pieces, debuting at the Holiday sale at the SF Center for the Book, on Dec 11th. Something a bit different for the holidays and the new year, and something for those who just art as into fish and cephalopods as I am ;-)

And just for fun, some progress photos. I start with a sketch, and create a rough version of the general shape to work out the scale. Then start adding in the details, working large to small.

Check back soon for some images of casts and christmas ornaments!

Sala in North Berkeley

2009-11-19T16:09:00.000-08:00

As of this afternoon, you can now buy my jewelry at Sala!

Sala is a fairly new, and very charming shop at 1746 Shattuck Ave in North Berkeley. They have a wonderful selection with a number of local designers and lots of handmade jewelry. If you're in the area, stop by and check it out.

You can also read a little write up about the shop on yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sala-berkeley

Cross promoted Cephalopods

2009-11-02T20:20:00.000-08:00

Blog cross promotion! I'm running a contest over at the Cephalopod Tea Party and will more then likely be supplying most of the prizes so skip on over and take a look! Best chance to get a free pin, octopus, or nautilus necklace.

Still not feeling terribly useful

2009-10-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

I'm terribly excited about a lot of things that won't matter to YOU faithful readers for some time. And at the moment I'm still suffering from a head cold enough as to not feel up to posting something that sounds intelligent or useful (this is assuming I ever do, of course, you can be the judge of that).
So, here are pretty pictures of jewelry made from the casts shown a few posts ago.

Soon I'll have a few events to confirm, and some new projects to ramble on about. Until then, as always, pictures!

Seattle Steamcon

2009-10-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who helped make the Alternative Press Expo AWESOME! Next in the crazy schedule is Steamcon in Seattle. I will have originals for sale in the art show, including the mad scientist above and some new pieces just for the Con. I don't end up selling originals all that often so if you're heading to the Con, check them out!

Alternative Press Expo (APE)

2009-10-14T12:48:00.001-07:00

Industrial Fairytale will be at APE this Saturday and Sunday (Oct 17-18), in San Francisco! Come by and see me if you're in the area. New jewelry, REALLY new jewelry, letterpress cards and prints. I shall be at table # 453, near the very rear of the hall - as shown on this helpful map!

Come by and say hello, buy things, bring gifts, bring tea, or just walk by mysteriously and wave so I wonder how I know you for the next few hours and feel guilty because I can't remember.

Sneaking into Boston Fashion Week

2009-10-13T19:40:00.001-07:00

schuyler_bostonfw (11)
Originally uploaded by Scoundrelle

Some while ago, I sent some jewelry to the very talented Heather Luca of Scoundrelle's Keep to help accessorize her beautiful fashions in a few shows.
And so, in a sneaky back door way, some of my jewelry slipped into Boston Fashion Week.

Check out the photos on Scoundrelle's Keep flickr photo stream of a lovely show! And if you squint, there are some koi in there!

Learning is Exciting

2009-10-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

I've been learning to mold and cast over the past few months. Rather then go slowly through the learning curve like most folk, I decided to jump straight to overhanging bits, tiny detail, and cold casting with atomized metal. This koi is...really horribly hard to get to cast without air bubbles on all the scales. I suddenly feel my casting partners pain!
Along with koi, I filled space with some random sculpts I did mostly just for the occasion. Although this boat is really mostly for my friend Angie, for sentimentality's sake.
And tentacle...things...designed mostly as buttons/cufflinks/and so forth for myself but which will probably end up drifting out for sale at some point or another.
And a full set of ginkgo leaves which I mostly sculpted because I felt like I didn't have enough cast to make it easy to mix and pour the right amount of resin. Blasted things are the thing that always comes out the best of all the pieces. And they were such a random afterthought.
But look how cute and tiny the little ones are?
A variety of these pieces should be available in limited numbers at the Alternative Press Expo, in San Fancisco next weekend. After that they shall appear on the Etsy site slowly, since I will be casting only now and then.

Letterpress cards listed!

2009-09-22T21:23:00.001-07:00

Its an adventure. It started sometime last December...

No, actually I think it started sometime many years ago when a roommate and I just out of college made grand plans to start 'a card company'. I believe we got as far as designing a logo before we realized we would need money to do this thing, and being just out of college money was the thing we had the very least of.

At any rate, a small series of Letterpress cards are now up for sale in my Etsy shop!
No on is surprised that they are illustrations of robots. No one at all.

In other less exciting news, I'm still a terrible product photographer, but I rather like this little set up I did for the card back.

September Events

2009-09-10T00:41:00.000-07:00

I'll be vending at the Center for the Book: Roadworks fair Spet 19th, downtown in San Francisco. The center of the fair is a series of enormous linoleum printing blocks, being printed with a steamroller! I'm not turning down any opportunity to see people make art with a steamroller. There won't be much jewelry with me this time, I'll be focusing on prints - and introducing a small series of letterpress greeting cards! Check out the itty bitty preview!
If you're local to San Francisco, or visiting on Sept 19th, come by and see the show!

(Edited, because a bigger, better flier has been supplied!)

Previews, filling space when you've got nothing else to say!

2009-08-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

I've started a bit of a series of necklaces involving keys and flowers. This one may show up in exciting places over the next few weeks! Oh the mystery of it all.

Miscellany

2009-08-20T21:18:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry its been such a long while, I've been busy with various things and neglecting my blogging. Between building my robot army, starting a comic book project, and paying my rent, time has just slipped right away from me!

I have, however, uploaded a few pieces using the new shiny floral and gear casts. They're new for the summer along with the nautilus (some more of which shall be listed soon) and the cuttlefish who has yet to hit the virtual shelves. The floral gear set are designs I'm enormously pleased with, and I am glad to have them in the shop finally.

Coming up in October I shall be bouncing around to events a bit again. I will have a table at the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco Oct 17-18, and I'll post more about that when they've given me actual info about where this table might be and how you might find it.
I will also be participating in the art show at Seattle's Steamcon, which I will likely (though not yet certainly) be attending. Since I don't often bother selling original artwork, it shall be a rare event!

Steampunk San Francisco History

2009-06-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

I have, for a while, been looking for and collecting images of San Francisco before the earthquake in 1906. This is currently my favorite image of San Francisco (in any time period) - a nighttime photo of Chinatown in 1904.
In 1906 an earthquake and the proceeding fire leveled much of San Francisco. Its a bit difficult to find images of the city before that quake but as far as I've found nearly impossible to find images of Chinatown before 1906. The entire old Chinatown was destroyed in the fires that raged after the 1906 quake, and was rebuilt in its current location. Because of city laws meant to dissuade further chinese immigration, Chinatown in 1904 was overcrowded and overbuilt and not really considered post card material.

Another of my favorites, as someone who enjoys maritime imagery and the part that sailing plays in the mythos of exploration and adventure. Look at the plated hull on that thing. If that doesn't make you think steampunk I don't know what to tell you!
And finally, here's the steam train that used to run right through Berkeley, where Shattuck Street is now. Its a good reminder of how important and pervasive the steam train systems once were in the area.

Just a little bit of inspiration for everyone. Its easy to forget sometimes that many places possess a rich visual history of photographs if you can figure out where to look for them. Sometimes a great source of inspiration is what your home town really looked like 100 years ago.

Various and Sundry Bits

2009-06-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd toss together a few little things that aren't totally worth a whole blog entry all for their lonesome (or at least not unless I don't have anything else to say and desperately wish to fill space).

First of all I thought the chest from the previous display image deserved some attention, mostly because I put rather more work into it then most display things I've used in the past, and I'm a little proud of it.
Its a wooden chest, covered in metal sheet. After giving it a good washing, I taped over with decal with masking tape to protect it from all the sanding and painting work (after sticking it to my jeans a few times to make it less likely to damage the decal - that's an old 'to cheap to by drafting tape' artist trick).
Two things I wanted to do were to keep the original decal and the dinged up texture of the metal covering and hardware. Luckily the front of the chest had paint that was in better condition then the rest of the piece so it was possible to avoid sanding and painting on the decal. I also managed to find a good paint match with a black semi-gloss rustoleum paint. For the hardware, I tried, skeptically, 'kurd kutter A Must For Rust' spray. Shockingly it actually worked more or less although it took about 3 applications, and works best at a temperature above 80 degrees.
The handle is pretty well falling apart, but I oiled the leather left on there in the hope that it would hold itself together.
I added the chain for the purposes of the display, and I do intend eventually to properly wash the interior (which is raw wood right now) and paper it with some victorian-pattern-looking paper. Probably with a water based glue that should be removed without a horrible hassel if I want to later. All in all, with some velvet covered foam core and a brass chain it made a really great display, and I could pack everything into it to travel back and forth!

And now to round out the post, a few preivews of things to come. I'm testing finishes on the new sculpted pieces now that I have casts of them. I'm not entirely satisfied with the nautilus' shell or the colors in the gear-floral pieces, still some things to play with there. I am entirely in love with the cuttlefish however. Of course, being a two part mold and a full 3d piece (rather then a flat backed relief sculpt like the others) he's the hardest to reproduce...but so worth it!

The First Ever "I went to a show" post

2009-06-01T11:02:00.001-07:00

Maker Faire San Mateo 2009 (49)
Originally uploaded by Pip R. Lagenta

This blog has never been graced with me actually writing an "event wrap up" post. Now lets be fair its not a very old blog, but I'm also devoted to trying to keep it interesting to anyone who reads it and mostly I think pure business stuff (especially with no pretty pictures) can be boring.

SO I searched Industrial Fairytale on Flickr and lo and behold, Pip Lagenta had already uploaded a photo of my little jewelry set up. It was even early enough in the weekend that there's still some STUFF on it! Thanks Pip!

Maker Faire was incredibly in all ways, and I really wish I'd had time to leave my table for more then a quick dash across the lawn to the bathrooms because there seemed to be lots of incredible things going on. A few very cool Maker's managed to escape THEIR booths and come see me however, and I'm now very excited to have a catalog of tiny solar panel bits and other very small robot parts (Thanks solarbotics!). The faire was very busy and vending went as well as could be imagined, and it was definitely a very fun place to be.

It was also lovely to finally meet some great artists in person with whom I've been exchanging ideas and collaborating with online. And to see some old friends again.

Now, a few days to recover and then, on we roll!

Two days before Maker Faire

2009-05-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

Another Maker Faire preview. I'll add photos here on and off till I leave I think.
Only two more days to get any jewelry listed in my Etsy shop, before it all goes off with me to Faire - some (or perhaps all) to never return!

Maker Faire

2009-05-23T01:13:00.001-07:00

I'll be vending at Maker Faire down in San Matea next weekend, May 30-31. Come by and see me, I'll be in the Carnival Mechanique (also know as 'the Steampunk Area') with a whole bunch of friends, including fellow bloggers Choklit Chanteuse and Tom Banwell.

I'll have a whole bunch of prints, including quite a few I've never offered for sale before, and lots of new jewelry. Here are a few little sneak peaks at some new Koi. Only one week left to prep, so off I go to stay busy!

1930's-punk?

2009-05-18T15:12:00.001-07:00

I discovered this watch, in an advertisement within one of those airline magazines in the seat pocket in front of you that you always flip through to avoid having awkward conversation with the person next to you who keeps starting sentences with the phrase 'the problem with women' and you can't begin the use of your approved electronic devices until you've reached cruising altitude (true story).
It reminded me that much as I enjoy gears and steam power and the 19th century, I'm really just very interested in the whole of history. And an era I have a particular love for is the 20's and 30's.
I've never been one to be restricted by reality or to take a particularly single minded view of any genre, and there is an aesthetic that each bit of history has that's all its own, from its graphic art, to its machinery.

Pulp adventure and detective novels, a public interested in organized crime dramatized (especially since its surge in visibility during prohibition), the Great Depression, the early whispers of Germany's actions that would lead to the second World War...lots of insteresting stuff in the 30's.

So besides wanting to own that watch ($99 from stauer.com), this is a call to artisans for a broadening of influence. You guide the genre, it should not constrain YOU.

More pulp covers can be found at the University at Buffalo online database HERE an extremely wonderful and free archive.

Inspiration - Arts and Crafts Movement

2009-05-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

I'm waiting for the Steampunk Arts and Crafts movement. Although, if we are using Steampunk as a social movement (as opposed to an imaginary future/past) then it already is an arts and crafts movement for our generation, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The Arts and Crafts movement was an art movement in the late 1800's which was inspired by the renewed interest in history and folk tradition of the Victorian era, and was arguably a reaction against the industrial revolution.

As the industrial revolution was making mass production possible, and cheaper machine made goods became available, there was a backlash against what many people saw as the lack of craftsmanship an quality in machine made items. The Arts and Crafts movement had a heavy emphasis on the hand crafted, and everything from woven clothe, to furniture to wallpaper was created.

Hand made tile, and printed and bound books, and hand crafted jewelry - all of which were now being mass produced in factories, were all crafted as works of art with emphasis being placed on the crafting process.

Architecture during the period was often inspired by much older styles, and there are a number of gothic looking churches that were built during the Arts and Crafts period. After all, gothic cathedrals were all crafted by hand.

The movement was one of the inspirations for artists of the Art Nouveau period. As well as other later art movements.

In the sense that Steampunk is an imaginary future, in which steam power rules and industry and invention are the height of society, I think its about time for a steampunk Arts and Crafts Movement.

On the other hand, in a way, Steampunk is an Arts and Crafts movement of its very own. In an age where consumerism is a way of life, and 'planned obsolescence' is an industry standard, Steampunk is a movement all about what can be constructed by the individual. Its about what you can create and invent and build yourself rather then purchase, use, and discard. Its an Industrial Arts and Crafts Movement.

(I think I may have just done that thing they tell you to do in high school when constructing a paper, and begun with a summary and ended with a conclusion...I feel as though I should end with something else, just to avoid it. But...I can't think of anything. Alas, I hope at least its something to think about.)

Netsuke and a Project just for me

2009-05-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

As western fashions gained popularity in the east, Japanese carvers created a set that could be used both with tradition dress or with a vest and pocket.
This particular piece was purchased by Captain Rance Barret, a merchant captain who, although an excellent captain, was otherwise remarkably irresponsible, and purchased the piece after losing his 3rd compass.
Upon his death, having no heirs, the piece was auctioned off with most of his possessions, to benefit the Foundation for the Support of Widows and Orphans of Seamen - which he founded upon his retirement.

****

Its been quite a while since I made something just for myself (disregarding drawings, that is). The Etsy Steam Team had a little contest this past month with the theme 'Steampunk as a Global Phenomenon'. I'd been toying with the idea some variety of watch fob since I started working with the faux-ivory-resin casts. I didn't really want the extra step of casting a piece that was just for myself so I used a colored polymer clay - premo sculpey. Premo Sculpey is now my least favorite medium of all time (it has trumped gouache) - its far to soft and oily in texture to be easy to work with, and it took a few false starts and many pauses to refrigerate the sculpts in between detail work.
I also took the opportunity to try and put together a decent set and take photos that aren't incredibly boring. I more or less dislike the photos I've been taking of my jewelry overall, and I keep trying to figure out this product photography thing with little success. Though, these feel like a step in the right direction anyway.

Previews, everyone likes previews

2009-04-28T18:22:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I have a vastly unrealistic idea of how long something will take to make. Sometimes I'm dead on but sometimes I think 'simple sweeping fronds with round bubbly ends will be easy' and forget that carefully shaping each little round bit takes time. I'm pleased with them, although I don't, honestly have any actual plans for how to use them...They're the same sort of set as previous ones, but not in the same scale, they're all 3 larger because smaller was simply a bad bad idea.

And a necklace I'm working on, as well as light/photo test. I've never been pleased with the photos in my Etsy shop, and haven't found a useful alternative yet.

Inspiration - Steampunk Prague

2009-04-22T11:21:00.000-07:00

Recently, the blog http://thesteampunkhome.blogspot.com/ had a little on blog contest (since completed) encouraging members to post their vote for the worlds most steampunk city. And as I read through the suggestions, I realized that no one was mentioning what I think is one of the most steampunk cities of them all - Prague.

For me Prague is a city that's a combination of ancient and vintage, that never quite gets all the way to modern. Even its metro system feels dated (visually if not functionally). Much of the newer parts of the city (not the 'New City' area, which is some 600 years young, but the more modern outskirts) are darkened by polution from industry during the reign of communism, and have not been cleaned and restored giving it feel of a more industrial age then it really occupies.
You can literally walk from the 1960's back through time until you reach the medieval town area.

The old city if full of nooks and crannies and old narrow streets. Buildings to close together for anything but a person of foot to get through, so separate from more modern constructions that you might as well be back in time.With and Old Town Square which boasts the thing that makes Prague the most steampunk place I can think of...

A huge complicated Astonomical Clock, with figures that animate on the hour, including DEATH. Its a beautiful wonderful contraption, the oldest part, the mechanical clock and astronomical dial, date back to 1410. Later, the calendar dial was added and clock facade decorated with gothic sculptures.

In the 17th century moving statues were added, and figures of the Apostles were added after major repair in 1865-1866.
More information on its history and design can be found in its Wikipedia Entry.

It also has the Black Theatre IMAGE - featuring all sorts of performances a bit like a circus and avant guard caberet in black light. If that's not your idea of steampunk, its still definitely too cool not to mention!

So for me, Prague is my very favorite steampunk city. Bethlehem, PA may be a second favorite, but we'll leave abandoned ore processing plants for another inpirational entry.

Photos © Katherine Dungan and Sarah Dungan (sometimes both at the same time, generally with me flailing and pointing. I like to call it 'art directing'. She likes to call it incredibly annoying and shove the camera at me saying 'you take it'.)

Process Part 2

2009-04-13T14:50:00.001-07:00

Once I have sketches all worked out, and some reference images printed up, I slap them down on my desk and start actually making the thing. Actually sculpting is a totally different mindset from designing for me, and from drawing as well. For the most part its more relaxing, there are fewer mistakes, more fooling around, and much less critical thinking involved.

First I just rough out the general shape of the whole piece. This is important because some things that work in a sketch don't work in 3 dimensions. If I started details without getting the whole form, I might find myself wasting effort when I realize something large needs to change.
I also find that I tend to sculpt just slightly larger then the sketch unconsciously, and I often have to correct that before I start working on details.

Case in point, although this images looks like an earlier version, its actually what I ended up with when I took the last version and corrected the proportions. The lines for the tentacles got lost when I shortened and reshaped the head portion - a good reason to avoid details before the shape is right!
I shortened him one more time after this photo was taken, I really wanted to stay close to the scale of the sketch because this piece is meant for smaller jewelry such as earrings.

Once I was satisfied I had the shape right, I started on the details, tentacles first (mostly because to do them I needed to hold the little bugger by the eyes/body and would have potentially squeeshed the details).

And here is the finished sculpt, details and all.
Rather then an exact visual match of the sketch, there are small changes - little things that worked better with the 3d form for whatever reason. Or that I just found I didn't like as much about the sketch anymore.

Now he's off to be cast in resin. So I suppose Process Part 3 will be sanding and finishing the casts.

Positively worn out

2009-04-02T01:39:00.000-07:00

I meant to start the nautilus as a warm up for the cuttlefish that I have half done (I was feeling kind of 'out of the groove' as it were). Instead I just ended up with a finished nautilus. It did give me the courage to make some important corrections to the base of the cuttlefish though.
He needs a few little bits of touching up, which I can see now looking at the image but which weren't clear when I had been sitting eyeing him all day.

Today was a day of meetings, and I'm totally worn out from it. I did, however, find time to set up a fake murder scene on my front porch with some caution tape borrowed from my neighbors (they had loads of it for some reason, in fact when I asked to borrow the used bits they said very cheerfully 'do you need more? we have lots'). It did not fool my roommate who said upon returning home:
"What's up with the caution tape?"
To which I replied, "There's blood too!"
"You mean the red wine?"
"Well yes. And a murder weapon, did you see the murder weapon?"

At this point, our house guest, who was in fact nearly fooled, or at least concerned enough that she knocked rather then coming right in, pointed out the bloody finger prints on the railing and the knocked over recycling bin, and I felt rather proud of myself.
I did feel a little guilty later when, after posting photos was texted by a family member tell me it better damn well be a prank. I had really felt the lack of 'police line do not cross' on the tape would give it away.

Next time...process photos of sculpting.
For now: Murder on my front porch! (it did smell a bit strongly of wine...)

Process Part 1

2009-03-26T23:23:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid I haven't had much to say. I haven't been working on anything crafty besides more crochet which I think everyone is rightly sick me posting about of even if it continues to be my own quiet little hobby obsession. What it comes down to is, I will probably go through a big crazy wave of making things all at once sometime in the next month and until then its all...well its all the first part of the process.

Sketching. Drawing. Plotting.

A friend recently mentioned to me how interesting he finds other peoples sketches, because it shows the creativity and thought behind things. I admit its my favorite part of the process, and I always over do it. I should also admit that I have a certain....lack of drive to continue the process after the sketching and the ideas that I tend to have to work to overcome. Somehow for me once the idea is arrived at I tend to feel satisfied enough that making the thing doesn't seem as important anymore. Which of course, isn't really a good way to go through life.

Some ideas arrive quickly and clearly and all at once, and I just do them. Or draw them or what have you. Sometimes just one sketch is enough, and I know its just right and what I wanted.
More often, things get sketched over and over. Often I end up sketching ideas for the same things in various different sketchbooks in various different places so I can't refer back to older sketches. Somehow this tends to help keep me from redrawing the same idea - as sometimes when you are sketching out a concept you can end up heading straight to refining one idea to quickly and don't explore as far as you could.

When I'm designing something for a piece of jewelry I tend to so a lot of trying to figure out the basic shape first. Figuring out how it will hang, attach, how the shape will work with gravity, things like that.

Here are the first sketches I did of the koi piece, and the eventual sculpture. The original idea of the single curve for the body and tail was replaced when it because clear it wouldn't hand nicely that way. The fins didn't become that prominent until I was actually sculpting, and found they added something nice to the shape that way.
I did a fair number of sketches trying to decide how the curve would work in the finished jewelry.

Sometimes, if I'm feeling insecure about a design, I do a group of 'final' reference drawings before I start the sculpt.

The sculptures I'm working on at the moment are done with this reference. I did a quick size reference of the already done octopus so the relation would be right. Notice the check marks and x's beside drawings and the random notes to myself. These drawings are done with more careful detail and real size, and meant to be an exact reference while I sculpt. I didn't bother with this step for the koi, and ended up making it larger then I'd sort of meant to. Since then I've tried to do scale references for everything.

I am afraid this might be a long jumble mostly incoherent post, but maybe its of some interest. Next time we'll do Part 2 and actually make something. I promise!

Tea cup glamour shot

2009-03-13T16:49:00.001-07:00

My tea was just sitting there on my kitchen counter, in the evening sun, and I thought "hey I got a slick little camera for Christmas and I could take a snapshot". So I did, in appreciation of my new cup from http://RedGateCeramics.etsy.com.
He's calling this new group 'Texture and Crawl" and its the most lovely cup to hold with its shiny slick textured surface. And you could get your very own, on Etsy. But you can't have mine.
Its full of tea made of Assam and blackberries, for the very curious.

More crochet

2009-02-13T01:10:00.001-08:00

So, I have a lot of hobbies. Some of them turn into jobs and thus I have an etsy shop. But crochet remains, thus far, something I only do as a hobby. And I've been spending a fair amount of time on it recently because its nice and relaxing. And because I've got nothing else useful to say here...here is a picture of a crochet tea cup (based on a free pattern and modified to but full of tea with a tea bag tab) - and as a special bonus, there is a cat. He really wanted to know what the hell I was doing stacking stuffed tea cups on boxes in his favorite window.

The more I crochet, the more I notice that a fair number of the patterns for sale on Etsy seem to be modified versions of patterns available for free in various places on the internet. This seems at once fair and...I don't know...a bit silly. Then again maybe its just that there are only so many ways to achieve the same effect.
Of course who am I to complain, I tend to figure things out from photos.

Happy New Year

2009-01-12T14:55:00.000-08:00

I feel as though I should have so much to show you, yet I don't. I've returned from weeks of holiday travels, to the realization that the crafty things I did for the holidays are unphotographed, and destined to remain so because they were all given as gifts. I invented a little round bird crochet pattern and everyone was showered with small squishy birds for the holidays - the pattern, and photos are destined for some other blog post when I have made one for myself and taken useful photos.

Otherwise most things have been on hold for the Holidays, and so the new jewelry sculpts and letterpress cards and crochet gear scarves will all be left for another blog day. So, the point of this post? A suggestion for a lovely celebration for the crafty and even the not so crafty types.

How to Hold a Zombie Tea Party (At Christmas or Otherwise):

What you will need:
A Zombie movie. Preferably one that is not to be taken to seriously, or one that is Classic. Very Serious Zombie Films are to heavy or tea party viewing.

A variety of teas of your choice, to be served in mugs or china cups as you please.

A good gingerbread recipe and the ingredients it requires (I recomment the Joy of Cooking version with just slightly more butter then it calls for)

A Gingerbread Man shaped cookie cutter, or a knife and a stencil, or simply a sure hand and creative mind. (I go for the cookie cutter, for speed and uniformity)

Icing in tube/tip applicators (home made if you are daring, bought at the store if you are me) - recommended colors - red, green, and white (Christmas AND Zombie colors...amazing)

What to do:

Invite your bohemian (or simply easy going) friends over for a tea time film.
I recommend preparing the dough for the gingerbread before your friends arrive, but rolling and cutting the cookies with their assistance. I say this because half the fun will be the 'edits' you make to your cookies pre-baking. You will be making ZOMBIE gingerbread men, not normal cheerful ones, so it pays to expose some bones or cut off some body parts here and there, for variety. You can have your friends cut out their own zombies if you like, so no one fights over the headless ones.
Once your cookies are all baked, give everyone a plate, set a cookie on it, and sit around a table, sharing your icing tubes and decorating your zombies. This is a jolly good time, full of laughs an inspired ideas. Screaming, blood, green rot, frothing at the mouth, and all variety of post mortum damage can be included (along with the classic sweater vests, buttons, and bow ties!).

Once all the decorating is done, you set out your tea pot, plate your zombie cookies, and settle down to bite the heads (and other limbs) off your zombies - while watching zombies bite the heads (and other limbs) off of people. Its very satisfying!

Although Gingerbread men are a classic for Christmas celebrations, Zombie Gingerbread Men break out of the holiday restrictions and may be enjoyed at any time of the year!

Delicious.

My Robot Army begins its march upon the hapless world!

2008-12-10T16:27:00.000-08:00

Posted some more Tiny Robots on Etsy. The last Angry Robot of the group, and another Happy heart filled bot! They're shipping with brass hooks for hanging on your christmas tree in addition to the usual black or red necklace cord.

Something I Like

2008-12-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

Since I don't have much to say for myself right now, I thought I'd pimp something I love. Ruby of iacua.etsy.com.
Lets be fair, if I were at all wealthy I would just order about 20 things on etsy right now, and a bunch of them would be from this shop. I found this jeweler because - in fact - she hearted my etsy shop. I've since ordered a set of rings from her, and she is absolutely wonderful. She's an SF bay area local, and deserves all the props I can give her!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
iacua.etsy.com

Oh and for the sake of amusement, here are those rings I have, on m hand :-)

All Work and No Etsy

2008-12-02T13:52:00.000-08:00

If you start a second business, while business is slow with your first business, you are setting yourself up for this...which is no new items in your Etsy shop while you instead work on better paying, real job work. So here's a picture of finished casts I haven't had time to make anything out of, just to prove I'm still alive.

Oh and I'm adding some robots (badly photographed but I haven't had time to redo the photos) to the shop, just in time for the holidays!

I'm Starting a Blog Meme. I shall call it, the Nice Meme

2008-11-21T18:07:00.000-08:00

If you are reading this, no matter where you are or what you are doing, at your very next free moment:

Do something nice for someone.

Email a friend to tell them how much they mean to you, send you mom an e-card, do some of your roommates dishes, offer to bring your cubical mate coffee from the break room, tell a coworker how much you enjoy working with them, pay someone elses toll on your commute home (but please don't tell me you're reading this DURING your commute ;-). It doesn't matter what you do, it doesn't matter how big or small, just do something nice.

You don't have to tag anyone, you don't have to repost this unless you want to, but if you can take one moment out of your day, and make the world a friendlier place.

Blogging about SteamPowered

2008-11-07T14:38:00.000-08:00

You know, everyone else already has so I don't think I'm going to have to do more then link to things. A basic summary is that it was a fun weekend, and a tiring one, and I still need more sleep.

Check out The Etsy Steam Team on MAKE: Blog

And don't miss our member OrpheusAlchemy in her very own Interview on MAKE:Blog.

And here's an obligatory picture of me, to prove that I not only exist, but dress up. Check out those arm garters by Choklit Chanteuse and the vest by PinkPeacock.

And to round out this little list of links and such, something that will be coming soon to my shop, and which made an appearance at the Con: Tiny Robots

Steampowered Ho!

2008-10-30T01:16:00.000-07:00

I've been working my arse off this past week to get ready for SteamPowered. Thus, no blogging. Frankly these past two months have been possibly the busiest I've been in years. I'm really enjoying the momentum but, I admit I'm really looking forward to November with some quiet time to work on new projects and personal illustration rather then just production.

I'll try to edit this post with some preview pictures of SteamPowered merchandize but...chances are not good so, lets just say there will be octopi and koi and ...tiny robots! If you're in Sunnyvale/San Jose, come by and say hi. Bring me a cup of tea, and I'll love you forever.

People keep tagging me.

2008-10-25T01:27:00.000-07:00

I don't usually do these, but now I've been tagged twice, and really, I've just had a generally frustrating evening and could use something to distract me before bed. So:

Seven facts about me.
I was tagged, first by thepinkhair and then by Catherinette Rings, go visit there blogs.

At the forefront, I shall say I'm not tagging anyone, just because I like to disobey rules. No that doesn't count as one of the seven facts.

These are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

And now... seven facts about me:

1) I think best while walking. Frequently I will have thought out whole epic novels in my head, then be unable to string a sentence together when sit down to write it. When thinking I often pace, or pace while juggling. Yes. Juggling.

2) I used to collect marbles. I'm still rather fond of them, but I long ago stopped trying to aquire more.

3) I spent a week in the rainforest in Peru when I was 13. While I was there I carved a toucan, from a freshly cut piece of balsa wood, with a slightly dull pocket knife. That was definitely not the coolest thing about the trip, but it was the random thing that came to mind.

4) At least half of everything I own is orange. I really, really like the color orange.

5) A short animated film of mine played in film festivals in Santa Fe, Nashville, and Boston in 2005. I haven't had time to finish another one since.

6) I play the clarinet.

7) I drink more tea then any other beverage. When I'm working, I always have a cup of tea sitting next to me, and baring when I forget its there and it goes cold, I average probably a cup of tea every hour or so.

Small mysteries revealed. Well not really, but maybe it was more interesting then staring at your wall or watching yet another youtube video?

I had an actual post, but instead...

2008-09-30T00:23:00.001-07:00

I am in the process of writing something interesting and useful, but I'm completely exhausted from lots of rushing and a fantastic weekend at the Handcar Regatta with the lovely and talented Choklit. So it will wait, while I say this:

I have just received my invitation to Spoonflower! Its all over now...I'm going to go broke printing fabric for myself...not to sell, not to craft with, just to make stupid things like throw pillows and jackets FOR MYSELF. Its sad, but it is the truth.

And an edit, because I felt guilty here's a picture of one of the koi, cast and finished, to your amusement.

How fast do YOU work?

2008-09-10T16:01:00.001-07:00

An addition or perhaps an informal response to Totusmel's blog post for the day, about unsolicited pricing advice. I want to address something that ties with pricing, and that she touched on in that post.

Speed of production.

The speed and deftness with which you complete a task is a real consideration in any 'trade'. But it seems to be one that crafters selling in a small way often forget. Being able to do something that creates a well made finished product doesn't mean you've 'mastered the craft' as it were. While it is true that one of the first questions to ask yourself before selling an item is "is the quality of my work appropriate for sale", but even once you reach a point where you are making something that you are proud of - that is well made and sellable - you may be working long careful hours and generating many cast offs to create that one lovely well crafted item.
Half the battle, of learning any process, is doing the same things faster, improving your work methods and your turn around times.

In my 'real' business I charge more because I work faster, I know that clients are willing to pay a higher hourly rate knowing I won't be taking days to finish the work.
I realize that I have to pay myself a smaller hourly rate for my jewelry, simply because I'm not that fast at it. I tend to to it while multitasking, drift in and out of the project, and in general make a fair number of mistakes. The final product is one I am happy with, but as yet it is not created at a speed which would allow me to consider the above materials price to be a decent hourly wage.

There is something to be said for pricing based on the amount of time put into your work. But you have to look at your own process realistically and understand when you are taking longer then might be expected to finish a piece. Its an important part of learning any trade. And I am, of course, still learning!

To Join the Octopus

2008-09-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

Those cupcakes just looked so pretty I left them up for awhile. No seriously, been busy and stressed. But here's a peak at some more sculptures to be cast as jewelry parts (like those flowers and that Octopus ). More of these to come I expect, slowly.

For now....I'm still playing catch up. I'm not allowed to offer to do/organize/make anything more until November...official personal rule!

Something Completely Different

2008-08-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

I always find myself posting here when I should be doing something else (in this case, printing cover letters, and label sticker things), but anyway...something entirely different. Crochet Cupcakes.

I made this set of four for a Steam Team friend as part of a trade (for wondrous eco-friendly cleaning products! You can check out more info on those at her Blog). They're for her daughter, and I really enjoy the idea that they'll be played with, and fed to teddy bears at tea parties.

They're fun to do, and invent a variety of toppings for. And this brings me to the sort of question of this blog post.

I don't feel particularly comfortable with the idea of selling them in my Etsy shop, because honestly there are about a million free cupcake crochet patterns out there and of course these are loosely based on one of them. And I don't really enjoy the process so much that I want to make a million of them.

But they're just such a happy little thing. Everyone likes cupcakes. I've been pondering a solution to bring happy to the world without simply making and selling them.

So here are my solutions up for consideration, anyone should feel free to comment on them or add suggestions!

First: Offer the pattern for free here. Its a fairly simple pattern, with a few vaguely complicated bits that I still need to fine tune, but really anyone could make a crochet cupcake (assume you know how to crochet hehe)

Second: Offer 'pay it forward' cupcakes now and then in my shop. Pay it forward is the idea that you give someone something for free more or less, and then they do the same for someone else. So for the listing fee and shipping, you would get a cupcake.

Third: Charity cupcakes. Sold now and again with the small proceeds going to a charity of one sort or another. Probably my own local animal shelter or soup kitchen.

Things to consider.

Madcap schemes

2008-08-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

I lately haven't felt like I have much to talk about. But just now, in the midst of making another long list of thing on the back of an envelope (I like using envelopes for lists, they are long, they come every day in piles in my mailbox for free, and they're always on my desk) I thought of something to ramble on about, at least for a few paragraphs while I drink my tea before I go to the bank/post office/used book store (hey, its on the way).

Anyone who knows me for more then a few months learns, that I am a sucker for new ideas and schemes. I'm always coming up with something else I'd like to make or do. Were I to write all my project ideas down on a sheet of paper (I do this regularly in small amounts) I could probably easily plan out all my time in creating things for the next few years. I've only recently learned to remind myself that making things actually takes time - I've never been good at time (always late, always saying I can do more in a day then is possible). And I can never wait until I've complete a project before planning the next. Actually I can rarely wait until I start the last project before planning the next.
I have an actual list - tucked into a sketchbook - of things I would LIKE to do. My real to do list doesn't even GET to them because of the things I should do, have to do, get paid to do, have deadlines for, etc.

And I don't really think this is a bad thing. I suspect it frustrates people, I will show a design, be very excited about an idea or plan, and tell people about it, and then not actually do it in any decent amount of time. But all this plotting serves the important purpose of keeping me enthusiastic about life. I thrive on the energy of planning and designing, and that gets me through the actual process of making things which I often fine it hard to stick with. And it gets me through less then amazing jobs that pay the bills but don't necessary inspire a lot of excitement. I just really like having something to be excited about ALL THE TIME. As often as possible, every waking moment.

So, when I start posting designs and concepts here, and pay off never comes, I apologize in advance, just you know - smile and nod and try not to make fun of me.

As a friend once told me "You wouldn't be happy if you didn't have at least your next 10 projects planned."

Building Tiny Robot - Part 2

2008-08-02T14:16:00.001-07:00

I should have known better then to say 'over the course of the next week'. Although to be fair I did, actually, do everything pictured here that week, as since then I've been really very busy.

At any rate, here are the basic pieces of the Tiny Robot. Cut brass tubing, and thin sheeted walnut, a watchmakers vial and a few itty bitty gears, I haven't decided which gears to use yet.

The pieces go together like this to form the body of the robot. (Excuse the blurry photo, its hard to hold pieces together with one hand and the SLR with the other and keep both steady as it turns out). The gears and some copper wire will decorate the interior, once everything is positioned and adhered together. As you can see everything needs more sanding at this point, and I'll eventually finish the wood with something, possibly olive oil (although I would apply oil after anything requiring epoxy glue has been already glued). I'm also pondering ways to darken the interior of the brass tube, to show off the vial and gears better.

Bet you were wondering what was going to go inside that vial, weren't you. A squid. A very small one. In order to allow him to squish a bit to fit tightly into the vial, I made the squid out of a questionable substance called "Bake and Bend" by sculpy. I original bought the stuff with an eye for stop motion animation, and used it only once - to make entry wounds for bullet holes (for which I must say, it worked alright in a pinch, but is a little to non-pliable for).

Bake and Bend bakes to a sort of slightly bendable rubbery substance. It also has a curiously chemical smell, and has been doing odd things to the dye on its plastic wrappers in the year its been sitting in a drawer. Its also annoyingly soft and I refrigerated it for a day before sculpting with it, because at this scale, I kept accidentally squishing my work!
He'll be shaded with some acrylic paint, before going into his vial for good.

The head of the robot had been left for later, because how its build really has a great deal to do with how the light bulb on top is lit. And so far, electricity confuses the daylights out of me. But I absolutely refuse to go to all this trouble and NOT have the little guy light up! In part 3, I've no idea what will happen, but probably...electricity. And hopefully very few fires or explosions...

Tatting is not a lost art Challenge entry

2008-07-31T23:42:00.001-07:00

Tatting is not a lost art Challenge entry
Originally uploaded by S Dungan

A short break to test a number of things.
1) Blogging from flickr, which I've never done and am kind of unsure about.

2)To show off how the casts eventually turned out from the sculptures I posted a bit ago. Aged with acrylic paint, by the way.

3) To get some comments on a possible new photo set up for future shop photoshoots. Wood replacing the leather I'd been using. More of that later, I intend to go a bit farther and do some still life sets for jewelry shots and see if I like that as a way of showing the work.

Am I worrying just a little to much?

2008-07-20T01:04:00.000-07:00

I think probably the 4 (possible as many as 5) individuals who read this blog will have some input on this, so we now take a break from your regularly scheduled program (Building Tiny Robot) for a bit of self-analysis. Its not as depressing as the subject makes it sound, I promise.

Lately, I've been not really finishing anything for my etsy shop, mostly because I've been experimenting with new directions and processes. Nothing wrong with that, really, but I've noticed that I've begun to put an enormous amount of weight on trying to include something "original" in every piece. By original I mean something completely crafted by me, rather then a store bought or recycled item. For some reason, not including something like that in a piece has become synonymous in my mind with 'copping out' or 'not giving it my all' or 'not being creative enough'. This is born mostly from an effort to try to step out from the crowd of Etsy sellers making necklaces out of wire and beads, but I wonder if I'm not going a bit to far. It means I don't have new items for my shop, which hurts both my sales and my ability to publicize. It means I spent more time generating pieces that aren't really up to the same quality as the bead and wire ones, while I try to perfect processes I haven't used in along time (or invent new ones wholesale). And I wonder if I'm not focusing all my energy on these new 'original' pieces for misguided reasons. Prejudice, if you will, against something that because I find it mechanically easy to accomplish I assume is worth less.
It should be said, I've always been a bit of a sucker for the harder path. I am after all, a 2d animator who refuses to work in digital 3d, and an artist who was arguably better at academics before university. But I wonder, am I putting value on something just because its more difficult to accomplish?

I'd be interested to hear other peoples thoughts.
In the mean time, I will be photographing a tiny clay squid, writing up how difficult it is to invent a way to clamp down a brass tube if you do not have a proper tabletop clamp, and pondering why a 1.5v battery will not light a 1.5 v light bulb.

Just barely once a week

2008-07-13T23:45:00.000-07:00

I've been at a loss, lately, for useful things to say. Its been enough trouble just keeping all the things I'm supposed to make and do straight in my head, pondering deep philosophical art thoughts really hasn't been happening. So this is an update really only to cover two things.

First, Totusmel informed me recently that she was passing the arte y pico award on to me. Which is far to nice of her. And I don't really have anyone to pass it on too, so I'll just say thank you and mention the award here, so that if anyone wants to hand them out to some blogs, you can. Since Totusmel may well be to blame for me starting to say more then just "I made this have a picture" here, I'm pretty honored that she enjoys my ramblings enough to offer me an award.

Second, this week I'll be making something crazy and new, and you'll get to come along with me on the journey. Including, unless I feel particularly self conscious, all of my stupid mistakes!
I will be making this:It may, or may not, light up, depending on how smart I feel, and how easily (to be read - without driving/buying gas) the parts I would need can be obtained. But it will, rest assured, contain a squid regardless. I haven't done mixed media sculpture in a good long while, so expect false starts and complaints and other such excitement along the way.

Finding Inspiration - suggestion the first

2008-07-05T15:47:00.001-07:00

Some little while ago, Totusmel posted in her blog asking for suggestions and inspiration. I offered something up that inspired her and she created this lovely piece -
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13121250

So I thought maybe it would be worth reiterating here, a way I often find inspiration. Themes and elaboration on them. I've had great success working though a theme to all its possible conclusions for inspiration. Usually a more abstract idea or broader 'thing' works the best, because you don't want to constrain your brainstorming too much. But even something like "This orange origami camel sitting on my desk" can work. I'll use the example that produced my suggestion to Totusmel, because I've been working with that theme a great deal lately: Airship captain.

I did this piece http://sarahdungan.blogspot.com/2008/05/i-think-its-done.html and from there, proceeded to do some airship designs, some airship captain sketches, and a set of images for pendants based on the idea.
In basis you explore outwards from the idea. Airships, captain of an airship, pilot of an airship, the environment an airship travels in, the far off lands an airship might visit, the wife pining at home (classic sailors mythology right there). The mechanics of how an airship might work. An airship port maybe? Just keep listing until you simply can't think of anything else. Then see what sparks your interest and go from there. And remember theres no harm in reiterating a theme until you feel your through with it! Sometimes the best ideas come in herds.

Finding the uniqueness in a trend

2008-06-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

I recently made a pact with myself, to try as hard as possible to avoid complaining. There are a pretty good number of people pointing out the problems of the world, and very few offering solutions to those problems. And while there is certainly value to airing grievances, complaints, and issues, I think I would like to approach the world from the other side. I would like to speak from the side of solutions, epiphanies, and ideas.

With that in mind, I intend to address a topic that has been much discussed lately, and one that has been on the minds of a number of those of us in the Etsy Steam Team. It was posed to me recently, and most eloquently, by one of the dashing fellows behind the upcoming The Handcar Regatta "Where is the you in it?"

We all think it, when we log into Etsy and search 'steampunk', or see the three millionth comic character wearing goggles - how do you stand out in a trend that is rapidly gaining more and more of the same sorts of styles? You love your gears, and your watch movements, and your brass filigree, but everyone else seems to be doing that as well. What will keep you an individual?

I believe its a way of thinking about what you're creating, as opposed to what you use to create it. Don't think about Steampunk as a visual style or a fashion style. That's the kind of thinking that can end with you browsing countless shops trying to decide what makes something steampunk, worrying you aren't steampunk enough, trying to follow trends so carefully that you start creating from the trend, instead of Creating the trend.

Instead, think of steampunk as a setting. A fabulous place filled with strange steam powered inventions, undiscovered countries yet to be explored, with a pervading attitude of adventure and invention! It doesn't matter if its the past that never was, the future that won't be, another world, another dimension, or your back yard, and it doesn't matter what everyone else is wearing. When you sit down to create, think of what you would wear or do in a world like that. Think of what other people would wear. In my world, gears are the fodder of the poorer classes - making decoration out of discarded bits of machinery, readily available. Maybe in your world, gears are a status symbol for the inventive geniuses of the universities. In my world, I wear suspenders and a cowboy hat, and tack my cravat down with a gear pin. Maybe you wear delicate silk and pearls, and pine for you aeronaut lover lost during a flight to the north pole. Don't think about the way other people's work looks, think about the way something from a Steampunk place COULD look.

Then in the end, you can at the very least be satisfied that you've put the You into Steampunk.

A sneak peak

2008-06-22T22:35:00.000-07:00

A little peak at some things I've been working on for jewelry. This is an example of the perils of having a built in camera in your latop. Instead of getting out the SLR you think 'I'll just set these on something white and tilt the screen a bit...there -click-'.

Sculpted in 'super scuply' which is always that disturbing fleshy pink color. There's another variation thats grey that I keep meaning to switch too. But if you only make tiny things, your big box of super sculpy lasts for quite awhile.

For Future Personal Reference, something not to do

2008-06-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

Don't open a shop on Etsy, then realize its already June and you have a book deadline at the end of the month. If you do that, people will start to BUY things in your shop and you will have nothing made to replace those things with. Then you will feel a little silly, and talk about it in your blog.

I will put up pictures of things like drawings for resin cameos and pictures of sculpting pieces for necklaces, and things about crochet...soon. But in the mean time, just that little warning, word to the wise, learn to temper your enthusiasm better then I do (not at all).

Wood carving 101, and a new necklace

2008-06-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

When Taueret asked me about the possibility of doing a trade on Etsy, I got excited. She's an excellent weaver and I love textiles...a lot. As we went back and forth about the design for her necklace, I decided that I wanted to add a bit of something extra special. So, after a long while of not working with it, I got out a little piece of walnut wood and went about carving a leaf charm.

It was a lot harder then I remember. Hack sawing out the shape was fine, but then three million years later I'm sitting there filing going "I remember this bit as going faster." Ah the rosy glow of nostalgia!

This was also my first time using olive oil as a finish. I've seen a number of eco-minded crafters use it on things like wooden buttons, and I thought I'd give it a try. I must say it worked nicely. If I find myself crazy enough to make my own wooden buttons, I'll be trying it again. I've got that nice piece of cherry....

The necessary introductory post

2008-05-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

I hate the first post in an empty blog. But there's an order to these things, and to just start posting as if this blog had been here forever and I was just continuing on would throw the universe out of alignment and threaten the very fabric on the inter-webs. So here is the obligatory statement of purpose.

I've been blogging for awhile in the grand tradition of the 'sketch blog' over at http://sarahdungan.blogspot.com - but I never say much, just throw up art and run. Now that I've started my Etsy.com adventure, I wanted to have a separate space to blog about that, and about craft projects in general - the sort that have nothing to do with the sketches and illustrations that go up on my other blog space. And here it is! New work, new projects, design sketches, long rambling process discussions, and other related thing will all appear here now and again.

And so, to wrap up, here are some shout outs to other blogs that I enjoy.

The Etsy Steam Team blog - cheating, because I'm on the team, and I contribute but that's no reason not to post it!

Taueret's Weaving Blog - Lovely weaver on etsy, with a nice blog with insight and book reviews among other things.

Wunderkammer - Craft blog with some really fabulous crochet work and a few little free patterns.

Moon's Creations - crochet artist I met helping put together a charity auction on Deviantart. Lots of cute little critters.