Present Time

• March 16th, 2008 • 0 Comments • photography, supplies •

Happy Belated Birthday to me~

I received an external flash! Check out the difference it can makes:

The first picture is the on-camera flash. The second is the external flash. All the difference in the world. I read that the way to get rid of that bleached out look you get with digital cameras is to get an external flash. After experiencing the difference in photos myself, the quality change is amazing. It feels a little awkward, having a camera with a big honkin’ flash on top; it either screams, “I’m a highly trained professional photographer,” or “I spend waaaaaaay too much money on camera equipment.” I’m not really either; I just like to be able to take nice pictures and fudge around with camera settings to my liking. Now that the bleachiness of doom is a thing of the past, I’ll probably get over having the flash on my camera real quick.

 

Cameras!

• April 23rd, 2007 • 0 Comments • exploring, photography, supplies •

I hit the jackpot yesterday.

I wanted to do some scrounging in Michael’s Mother’s Studio yesterday. I’ve found some really cool stuff in there before, but Michael’s dad actually gave some of his old stuff to me yesterday!

I wish I had photos or names, but long story short, I came into possession of roughly 7 fantastically old cameras. You know, the kind that have two funky huge lenses in the front, and a viewfinder that pops up and you look down into. He initially offered up on just one, to which I happily accepted. (I’ve always wanted to experiment with old cameras; they’re fascinating. Sadly, cameras that have been taken care of fetch a mean price.) Next question: “Would you like a darkroom?”

Hell yes I would like a darkroom.

I am now the proud owner of another enlarger, tubs, a couple more cameras and other miscellaneous photography equipment. Unfortunately I won’t actually get to play with anything until Michael and I find our new house. Wahhh.

 

$4 Pressure

• May 17th, 2006 • 2 Comments • how-to, screen printing, supplies •

A while back, I made a mod for my shower to wash out screens. Well, the whole things works pretty good, but for stubborn photo emulsion, I need more pressure! I wanted to use some sort of garden hose jet as most cheap shower heads just don’t have the blast-your-skin-off kind of pressure I want. Here’s a simple fix I did to add more power!

1) Purchased a 1/2″ to 3/4″ adapter and a ordinary garden hose jet attachment for about $4 at the store. (All showerheads are 1/2″ and garden hose fittings are 3/4″.)

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2) Screw them into existing fitting thusly, and viola you have more pressure.

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For this, there is obviously more splash-back, but I can live with that.

 

Airbrush Antics

• April 6th, 2006 • 0 Comments • airbrushing, supplies •

As both my husband and I are interested in using the airbrushes we found for different purposes, it was decided after much muddled debate to purchase an air compressor specifically for airbrushing. My previous scheme to buy a regular ol’ hardware store compressor did not seem feasible upon investigating various models. (It didn’t seem like a good idea to hook up something capable of >200psi to a delicate device.) The fellow at the hobby store we frequent was quite helpful and confirmed my suspicions: if I bought a cheap compressor, I would need to buy all sorts of adapters, scrubbers, regulators and so forth so that the cost would end up more than a mid-grade compressor. So, I chose the lovely 50s green-colored Paasche D100. Hooray!

Excitedly, I got home and hooked up the hose and brush, carefully filling the cup with some brown watercolor. After flicking on the switch the brush produced only a few spits of paint. Rather anti-climatic considering all the hard work I invested in cleaning the damned brush! So I check connections, I re-clean openings, pull out the needle and polish it shiny. Nothing. Upon reaching down to check the connection again I noticed a direct breeze on my wrist coming from the hose! Well! Obviously living in a garage frequented by mice leaves tubes open to being munched on. I never noticed as the hose is covered with cloth. Ah me!

A friend and I discussed online the distinct need for all-night art/craft/hobby supply stores. Tomorrow, we’ll give this a try once more!

 

Airbrushing, eh?

• March 29th, 2006 • 0 Comments • airbrushing, supplies •

I’ve always wanted to try out airbrushing (who hasn’t!). Fortunately, Michael’s Mother’s studio happened to have two hanging around. Before I go any further I will point out that I know nothing about airbrushes, except that one adds air and paint, and magically the combination of the two makes nifty effects on surfaces.

Model number one seems to be (as near as I can figure) a fairly generic model: Thayer & Chandler No. 46512 A. I took the durn thing apart to clean it as 1) it had a handy exploded view in the instructions and 2) the container it had been sitting in for 15+ years was filled with some sort of foam that disintegrated upon being touched and had corroded the sides of the brush a bit. As my technical pen cleaning tutorial shows, I loooooove taking apart stuff like this. Very enjoyable. Somehow I managed to get all the parts back into the pen in working order after cleaning them with warm water and BKF.

Model number two is a Paasche Double Action AB. It looks more complicated than the T&C model; further research online yielded the fact that this is considered one of if not the top o’ the line model for airbrushes. One of the many airbrush books in the studio refused to even discuss the Paasche AB, as it was just not for beginners! At a whopping $250(!) I would venture to say that beginners would in fact NOT use that brush. (Heck, even if I was a pro I don’t know if I could invest that kind of cabbage.) Good grief! Talk about a treasure!

Sadly, there was no compressor to accompany the finds. Michael and I stopped by my arch-nemisis Hobby Lobby on the way home to price the compressors. I found the prices strange: the cheapest compressor was $90. The ol’ hardware store has yielded compressors at reasonable prices, so, what’s the difference? As far as I know, most “standard” compressors can range from 20psi to enough to fill my tires. Obviously this warrants further investigation. Compressed air has always made me nervous ever since a bike tire blew up in my face when I was 12 due to overfilling using Dad’s SpeedyAire. Considering I’ve run across all sorts of moisture scrubbers, hose adapters and fittings, it seems feasible to hook up the airbrush to a standard air compressor I can use not only for running the fancy-schmancy Paasche, but fill the car tires, run the industrial air brush gun Dad gave me and use a nail gun. That’s right. I want it all. All from one machine. Why can’t the hardware store be open past midnight?

 

Presents!

• December 26th, 2005 • 0 Comments • reading, supplies •

Christmas presents were very nice to me this year! After years of trying to convince relatives that office supplies are plenty to keep me satisfied, my future-nephews kindly loaded up a box of markers, sticky notes and glue. Little darlings!

My mother gave me a surprising present. For a few years my RSS feeds have included a page-a-day from Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebooks. Every day a different page is featured, many talking about art techniques. (I understand that da Vinci can be lumped into one of the more “Coffee Table Book” artists, which is a damn shame, because he deserves a closer look.) Each page I find interesting: as da Vinci describes techniques in clear and simple terms concepts I’ve seen book after book for. Example: “Perspective is nothing else than the seeing of an object behind a sheet of glass, smooth and quite transparent, on the surface of which all things may be marked that are behind this glass; these things approach the point of the eye in pyramids, and these pyramids are cut by the said glass.”

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Ok, ok, that was rude. Perspective really wasn’t so obvious in da Vinci’s time, as evidenced by the large number of bizarre-looking buildings painted “way back when.” It was da Vinci that helped to clear all that up for us, so that perspective is obvious, thank God, and we don’t have to go about figuring complex mathematical formulas to build cubes.

Speaking of obvious, I’ve digressed! Yes yes, I’ve been reading the Notebooks which are a wealth of information. Sadly, as noted on the RSS feed site, while you can get a FREE version of the Notebooks from Project Gutenberg there are no pictures. My wonderful mother gave me a glorious, hardcover version of the notebooks: with pictures!

YEE-HAW!

 

Of Solder and Safety

• September 11th, 2005 • 2 Comments • supplies •

So I tried my hand at making some manner of jewelry this week. Materials include: solder, butane torch, jewelry fixtures, copper tape and computer boards. I can’t say I’m interested in posting a photo of my first few attempts as they succeeded in accomplishing very little! I’ve never worked with solder before; it’s an interesting substance. My only fear is burning the bejeezus out of my hand when some of that molten metal lands on it. Seriously, it’s only a matter of time. I’ve managed to burn or slice myself on every other dangerous appliance in the studio, so a solder burn can’t be far behind. You may insert the sound of me weeping in cringing anticipation here.

Aside from messing with solder, I am refurbishing the old screens recovered from Michael’s Mother’s studio. NOT a neat and tidy task: the rotting screen material was encrusted with decade-old masking tape and held in place with ancient nails. BLECH! My palms are sore from wrenching all of those old nails out with a screwdriver. Someone kindly hammered them flush with the wood. Despite all of my whining, I think they will turn out ok. The new fabric arrived last week so all I have to do is sand, fill and refinish the frames. Huzzah!

Speaking of safety! My father has a very important question he always asked me when I was working with a dangerous power tool. “How does the table saw know the difference between your hand and what you’re cutting?” He would ask. After careful pondering, I would reply, “It doesn’t.” He always nodded, “Exactly.” It’s still true today; I made the mistake of letting a metal right-angle pusher bar get too close to the table saw when trying to knock a scrap of wood out of the way. Immediately the bar was sucked into the saw, bent and promptly shot across the room, while another component was ripped off of the saw. I’m not sure the safety goggles would’ve helped had I been standing directly in front of the saw. Fortunately I always stand to the side and I ducked, whipped the saw’s power off avoiding any injury. Lesson boys and girls, it’s better to have chunks of wood fly about then to have a metal bar get sucked in. Now the right-angle and the damn saw are broken. At least I still have my health. And my eyes.

 

The Old Lady Factor

• September 5th, 2005 • 0 Comments • meandering, studio 4A, supplies •

Ohboyohboy! My parents decided that they no longer needed their old Xerox machine, and you know what that means! Yes! Printmaking with toner and acetone! Huzzah! I’ve avoided copy-machine prints for a while now simply because I can’t afford the many trips to the store. Now there is convenience inside my house, at my fingertips even.

Only problem is I’m completely overwhelmed with ideas. Where to start?!

I know where: CLEANING THE STUDIO. In addition to being overwhelmed with ideas, I’m overwhelmed with a complete mess. Frankly, the entire garage needs to be rearranged. The weather has cooled off a bit, but not enough for such an all-day project. Looking back in the almanac, the average daily temperature for this month last summer was 89 degrees, whereas this year is 95 degrees. Either I’m in for a mild winter or an ironically cold one, preventing me from wanting to even leave my bed, much less the apartment for the studio.

Problem number one cluttering up the studio is, well, art. I am in desperate need of a show. Desperate.. Admittedly I have been out of college for an entire year and have had plenty of time to find a nice local art association to join. My problem? “The Old Lady Factor.” What might that be, you ask. See, I’ve noticed that several of the local (by local, I mean metroplex) art organizations suffer from an influx of older women and men producing hotel art. There’s nothing wrong with hotel art, it’s just, kinda dry and not what I do. While browsing the websites, 95% of the art showcased is of puppies ‘n’ kittens, peaceful country meadows and fruit in bowls. I can clearly recall entering a piece into a local art organization: I saw at least 5 people walk in with gold-leafed art from the 80s. You know what I mean. Needless to say, I did not even make it into the show.

By no means do I make the claim that my art is so fantastically different that I am having a hard time finding an organization in which I can find peers. But I do think that when looking for an art organization, one looks for similar interests. For instance, another local organization told me on its web-page that it doesn’t allow: anything not entirely two-dimensional, photography, digital works or nudes. Er, really. That limits me a bit.

This leaves two possibilities: shut up and join, or follow suit of my high-school self and start my own organization!

 

Paper Storage

• August 31st, 2005 • 2 Comments • how-to, supplies •

I have been hunting for weeks for a suitable solution to my paper storage problem. Most are 8.5″x11″ for running through the printer. There is no room in the ol’ home office for another file cabinet to put them in, and no room on the desk for a stack of unsightly shelves. What to do, what to do? Build your own paper storage unit!1. Go to the office supply store and buy a big box of hanging file folders, enough to accommodate the different number of paper types you have. Me, I got mine off of the clearance table for 50 cents.

2. Go to the hardware store and buy two 4′ lengths of chain. I got mine for 39 cents/foot; not sure what gauge it is but it’s about the same thickness as the 7/8″ brass cup hooks I also purchased for 69 cents. You want to make sure the file folder will hang on the type of chain you buy. (I bought cup hooks to screw into a door. If you want to do this project on a wall, buy wall hooks that are appropriately strong.)

3. Go home. Screw the two cup hooks into the door approximately 11.5″ apart on a horizontal level.

4. Hang chains from cup hooks

5. Fill file folder with paper, and hook the file folder hooks into a link of chain so that the folder hangs evenly. Viola!

It’s so simple, it’s stupid. Now my paper is off the ground, out of my way, and super-organized. I suspect this project could be modified to hold larger projects, provided you put bolts into wall studs to hold the weight.

 

Thinking Out Loud

• August 25th, 2005 • 2 Comments • meandering, supplies, texas •

It’s too hot out! The temperatures the last few weeks have been unbearable in the studio. Last week was so humid, I could turn on the faucet and water would just hang there in the saturated air. This week there have been triple digits all week long. Sadly this means no working in the studio. I’ve brought items to work on up in my apartment but there are too many distractions; television and my computer being the main culprits. In addition, my computer desk is no place to do art! I am one of those people that needs for all items I am using to be spread out so I can see them; there is absolutely no room for this kind of nonsense in our office. The evening brings no relief from the heat or the humidity for that matter.

Lousy heat, why can’t you be cooler? The poor studio is such a mess. My parents recently moved and I acquired several new items, including a table saw and an air compressor. But with this heat I cannot re-arrange the studio to accommodate, or use for that matter, my new toys. How frustrating!

It always seems that the “To-Do” list piles up when one is unable to “Do.” Thus far the agenda includes:

1. organizing sketches from 2004 into some sort of cohesive notebook.
2. case several naked book blocks!
3. paint large painting on new canvas, er, first build frame
4. build structure to house: paper, boards, completed artwork, prints
5. re-arrange studio for actual use

I’d like to spend some time on item #4. Storage is fast becoming a big problem. It’s probably one of the bigger ones I’m facing. What is the best way for me to store accumulated paper, mat boards, illustration boards, finished prints, et cetera? My best plan so far involves constructing a 4′x4′x4′ rolling cube with shelves. If I built it to my ideal specifications, it has the potential to skyrocket to roughly $200. Outch. That’s similar to the price that keeps me from buying pre-made shelves. After some more calculatin’, I discovered that I could shave it down to $130 if I didn’t put my box on wheels. My father suggested creating a sort of “skeleton” of the box, using 1″x2″ boards. This bodes well for the money, but I fear it’s impractical for actual storage. (There’s no protection from flying paint or dust.)

This opens the option for vertical storage, which I loathe: it leaves my boards all bent and warped. I want the cube, as it not only will provide nice flat storage, but also a super-duper-rolling work surface. The only major disadvantage to the cube is it’s weight. I don’t plan on being in the apartment garage forever; lifting that mother into a U-Haul would probably kill me. The cube’s weight quickly increases with the thickness of the board I want to use, another drawback. What’s a girl to do? I have NO idea.