04-23-08_1428.jpg

• April 23rd, 2008 • 0 Comments • cell phone, photo •

04-23-08_1428.jpg

Originally uploaded by olisny

Cabinet of mermaids.

 

03-28-08_1738.jpg

• March 28th, 2008 • 0 Comments • cell phone, photo •

03-28-08_1738.jpg

Originally uploaded by olisny

Vertical living here.

 

03-25-08_1233.jpg

• March 25th, 2008 • 0 Comments • cell phone, photo •

03-25-08_1233.jpg

Originally uploaded by olisny

Wait.

 

03-14-08_0828.jpg

• March 14th, 2008 • 0 Comments • cell phone, photo •

03-14-08_0828.jpg

Originally uploaded by olisny

Car repair lot.

 

Studio 4A, RIP

• September 9th, 2006 • 1 Comments • photo, studio 4A •

Well, with the help of my husband and one of his buddies, I cleaned out the straggling dregs of the garage Friday night. There it stands, a gaping hole. Well, almost gaping. That pile in the back is a sculpture that I couldn’t ever finish called “Spindle.” It hung on like one of those cuts on your cheek: annoying and painful. So, I dragged it unceremoniously to the compactor and pressed the button until I could no longer hear the wood cracking and smashing the damn thing to bits.We actually started on Thursday night. The moment I stepped foot in the studio, I could feel tears coming on. Michael seemed to sense this and handed me my pick-axe and asked if I wanted to smash the two desks we had to move rather than find a new home for them. Senseless destruction helped to vent my anger and frustration as well as get rid of two large pieces of furniture that could previously not fit into the compactor. That, and there’s a sense of juvenile satisfaction to be had in leaving tiny pieces of wood and screws all over the parking lot. Bah. Take that apartment management.

Hell, I shouldn’t be so mopey about it, but it’s one of those “principle” things I like to hold a long-standing grudge about. So long, Studio 4A. I suppose now I’m in “Studio Guest Bathroom” until we buy our new house. Phooey.

 

Mixed Bag

• July 11th, 2005 • 0 Comments • experiments, meandering, photo, supplies •

Several items to cover, in random order.

1) I don’t recall whether or not I talked about my new sink! No, the studio doesn’t have running water…from an outside source! My father gave me a bunch of left-over plumbing bits, so I crafted a new sink with a 3 gallon or so reserve. My technologically-advanced sink has the following features: an actual faucet with an on/off valve; a flexible hose drain which snakes around the outside of the garage door into some bushes; a method for plugging the drain which involves looping the end of the drain hose and slipping it over a curl of iron the shelf the sink is sitting on. Huzzah!

2) Grass paper update: Arrrg, I just realized that I deleted all of the photos I took off of my camera before uploading them! Why did I do that? Well, there IS news, but I’ll put that in another post with some nice close-ups of the paper. Grrr.

3) Remember Michael’s Mother’s Studio? Well, I got to root around in the mountains of art supplies again last weekend. It’s so much fun to discover the treasures this woman left behind. From clippings of poetry and quotes she found to be important, on to sketchbooks and journals, it’s all very interesting. Unfortunately, the summer heat and lack of room to move items (this place has no A/C; it’s a converted garage) kept me from looking too long. However, I did manage to find the following treasures this time:

1 - a complete X-Acto Knife kit. They don’t sell kits this complete anymore! Wow!
2 - a nigh-complete compass set. It even came with a compass lead sharpener. I didn’t know those existed!
3 - a carbonite marking pen. Cool! Another etching tool!
4 - a variety of french curves and floorplan stencils
5 - a home-made light table. I might have to replace the light on it, but hey! It’s well-made!
6 - two home-made clay sculptures. I like having artwork from my future-past mother-in-law.
7 - a jewelry vise with magnifying glass
8 - computer punch cards. HOT DAMN!!! Need I say MORE??

The coolest thing I found was a portable screen-printing setup. Yeehaw! Whotta deal. It appears to be homemade, as best I can tell. There’s a large portable board with different hinge layouts for the various screens I found. I have to replace all of the silk, as it’s somewhat rotted and filled with holes. Other than that, they’re all in great condition, and I can’t wait to try them out when I get the chance to order some new screen! Yippie!

 

Picture Time!

• May 6th, 2005 • 0 Comments • papermaking, photo, studio 4A •

What I wouldn’t give for a good ventilation system.

Gahh, there was a minor oopsy when I came in this evening; I forgot I hadn’t fixed a leg on that desk, so the weight of my pulp bin seems to have slooowly pulled it down. I’m surprised it didn’t fall over entirely, which would have left dried paper pulp everywhere. How precarious!

Shellac-ing the paper I’ve been making. This sheet has a hole in it that the shellac has frozen in time. It’s quite beautiful the way it moves in the light, especially with fresh shellac on it. This is the third coat being applied to this sheet.

This sheet is receiving a brand new coat of shellac, as it finished drying a few days ago. Uncoated paper is amazingly absorbent. I need to buy a beater.

Satisfying more of my own photoegotism with a self-portrait. To the left you can see Spindle; behind me is my wiener dog screen I can’t bring myself to wash out. I’m getting too much milage out of it!

 

Studio Pictures!

• March 8th, 2005 • 0 Comments • photo, supplies •

Last time I mentioned that I would post some pictures of my new typewriter, so here it is:

The one on the left is my new baby, the one on the right is my old one. As near as I can figure, there are only slight differences between the two models (aside from their more obvious typeface differences).

How ’bout some type samples?

I really should actually scan in the card to get a clearer picture, but this is what I have for now! The top line is from the new machine: typical typewriter typeface (Ooo, alliterative!) with a delicious bit of misalignment. The second line is from my old machine: an unusual script. I’m quite happy with them both. Now I’m no longer dependent on electricity when working on such a project!

* * *

Other than doting over my new typewriters, I’ve begun a new “painting.” Have a gander at some of the pieces to be used in it:

 

Outside the garage

• September 29th, 2004 • 0 Comments • photo, studio 4A •

Got up bright and early and shot a picture at 9:00am. My garage is on the corner of a row of car-holes, so it has a little window. It is really nice how a little natural light helps to cheer up the inside. Granted, I can open the door and let in a lot of light, but it’s not much for privacy.