Watchworks Are So Beautiful!

This is an old, broken pocket watch. Earlier today I spent 5 minutes with this watch movement, a little Mr. Metal metal cleaner/polish, and paper towels, and a final once-over with a jeweler's polishing cloth. It started out very dull and grey-brown, but cleaned up so nice! It amazes me how much detail was put into the inside of a watch, which people generally did not see. This watch will never run again, and most of the parts inside, those that are left, are pretty well corroded. According to the person I bought it from, it spent something like 45 years in a box in a garage somewhere. I'm going to make it the centerpiece for something, and it will be part of an art piece. I shot this in my new mini-studio, a Rubbermaid translucent file box ($7.99 at Freddy's) with a couple of swing-arm lamps, one on either side, daylight (cool white) CFLs in each. I shot it with my 50mm dark 'n' contrasty f2.8 macro manual focus lens. There is still much perfecting to do with this system, and I really prefer overcast daylight to shoot, but it came out fairly decent overall. Obviously I need a better background to shoot against than a beading cloth, but it's early days yet. I just wanted to see how it would turn out.

Good Stuff in the Mail...

I've been under the weather a bit with a low-level cold that will not leave. But there's nothing like getting a bunch of old keys in the mail (eBay find) to cheer me up... Some of these are quite old, some are not, but they're all interesting and will, sooner or later, be part of art pieces.

I particularly like this one:



I've been getting rest and will continue to do so, while drinking lots of juice and enjoying the company of purring cats. That and a little ice cream will have me feeling better in no time.

Spiffing Up

Every few months it comes time to clean the studio, put those things away I was leaving out "just for a bit, in case I want to get back to them...", put the magazines on their shelf where I actually know I can find them when I need to look up something or other for reference, toss out old mail and misc. items, and/or put misc. items into the "interesting art bits" drawer. It's an annoyance to think of before I start, but really doesn't take that long (my studio room is little) and is quite easy. Mainly I don't like the idea of having to do it. XD Anyway, today is that day. As is usual, the secret real reason this gets done on a remotely regular basis is that I do it to avoid doing something else, as in, "I can't possibly get anything done with the room like this!" This ignores the fact that I got plenty done in here yesterday, and yet the room was just the same as it is now. After it's all cleaned and finished, and surfaces are rediscovered and all, things feel more spacious in here, and that makes me smile, plus, I'm so bored with the cleaning and organizing that whatever I was avoiding seems very attractive.

I'm starting to think about my February BJP page, which I plan to start sometime in the next week or so. I have my empty square up on my bulletin board, beads at the ready, and thread and needles waiting. There are a few things I have to accomplish first, and paying work to get done and out of the way, but I'm already getting excited to get started. January was a lot of fun to work on. I wonder what will appear on the page for February?

January Page

January done, and on time, too. :- ) This is all about bringing joy into my life and setting the vibration for the new calendar year, which is full of surprises and delights. I used colors that were bright and joyous to me, and also symbolized prosperity and abundance.

Cold and Rainy Here...

That makes it good weather to be beading away on my January BJP piece, which is coming along a little slower than I'd hoped, but it will be finished soon.

Here's two of my cats keeping warm. I wish I could climb in and curl up with them. I have to settle for getting up close and personal with the little space heater next to my desk. :- P That's Curtis Junior on the left, Herbert on the right.

Wheeeee!

I got the 2010 Rio Grande Tools and Equipment catalog today -- jewelry tool porn! I love going through and looking at all the stuff, the mutant extraterrestrial pliers, hammers, bizarre tweezers, strange machines, fascinating saw blades, dapping blocks, draw plates, vacuum forming machines, torches, kilns, and... This thing keeps me entertained for hours, and is one of the highlights of the new calendar year. And it came at the right time -- I happen to need some new bizarre tweezers. :- ) Lucky for me, they are inexpensive.

January BJP Started

I have started in on my January piece, but it's not far enough along to post an "in progress" pic just yet. There are some beads I want to use, but I put them... somewhere and now all my searching has not turned them up. If I go buy some more, they will magically reappear. If I keep looking, I'm not likely to find them. This is typical for me and my studio, and it has been this way forever. Usually if I can't find what I want, I discover something even better to use, that I would never have thought of otherwise. It will be interesting to see what I come up with.