ad libitum

WOULD BEES

Every family has holiday traditions. One of our traditions is that, at Halloween, I go out and buy a costume for our pets and then take photos. This amuses the bipeds in the family more than the quadrapeds. I've learned I really only have to buy one costume because no Huffpet will keep on a costume long enough to take a decent photo, much less romp around the house in it for photo opportuinities. This year, we have added Meeko (the cat I told my older daughter not to get because not all apartments allow pets and then she moved into an apartment that doesn't take pets, so Meeko moved into the house last June) to our menagerie - you can see how thrilled he is with the bee bonnet. Anyway, it's not exactly art, but it is sort of a Halloween card to anyone who reads my blog. Happy Halloween!

WELL, I MADE SOME COLLAGE SHEETS

I know I'm not ready to do real marketing (I'm actually thinking of a web site for selling my art, but am only in the very beginning planning stages; i.e., I just asked Britt to help me), but I have decided that I will try my hand at shameless commerce (just in time for your holiday pleasures?). I'm planning on printing out a few of these sheets and seeing what kind of feedback I get at the November 10 sale. I made the sheets by using Photoshop (of course) to "clean up" some of my cabinet cards (proving again, that seeing is not believing). Pricing is still an issue, but I think I'm charging $5 per sheet (so far I'm making only paper copies).

LOOK WHAT I SAWED

I am taking a beginning jewelry class at the KIA (Kalamazoo Institute of Art). It's the kind of class where we use copper and brass before we get to silver; anneal (as in using a torch) the metal; use a jeweler's saw and drill and all sorts of things I haven't learned yet (class lasts until the end of November). I've been shown how to solder, but the toch really scares me, so I've avoided it thus far. Anyway, I finished my first piece. I drew the design cut it out with a saw; pounded it into a domed shape (to resemble an egg - can you tell?); and patina-ed it (using the darned scary torch). I waxed it and added the beads and a copper jump ring that I made myslef. I may actually wear this in public.

BEFORE AND AFTER

I am constantly impressed by the high quality collage sheets offered of vintage photos. I have a very nice collection of cabinet cards and vintage photos, but they just don't seem as spiffy as the ones I see for sale. (In fact, my friend Karen Owen has just started selling collages of vintage photos: you may want to take a look and buy some: www.karenink.etsy.com) I'm not ready to put anything on sale, but I think I'm getting close to actually improving the look of some of the photos. I'm posting two before and after photos here, to show the direction I'm going in.