April 2010 log

April 24, Saturday- This is my first entry into this format. I don't know how regularly I will be able to make entries, but I will try my best. Having some expectation from others for being up to date might make me a bit more productive. At least that's my thought. I need something to spur me to create instead of sitting here and wishing that I was doing something. It's difficult to self-motivate. That has always been one of my deepest flaws. Not that I don't have several, that's just one of the worse ones.

My apartment has what they call a "den", which is a small room off of the living room measuring about 8 1/2 by 8 feet. I'm turning it into a studio of sorts that will allow me some space to work on decorating some of the bowls I brought out here. Here are two photos of that space, first showing the doorway from the living room into it and the second showing my small "bench".

Remember, these photos will expand if you click on them.

Today I also made a Craigslist ad for my dad's 1985 Chevy Suburban. Check it out HERE. It's in amazing condition and tows a trailer like it's not even there. My dad maintains his vehicles in top condition and this one is ready to drive anywhere a road may be located and for as far as you want to go.

That's all for now. If you have any trouble seeing any part of this site or if the links don't work correctly please let me know. I do this all myself and I'm constantly learning (and at times failing to learn) new things about the Web.

April 25, Sunday - I managed to get a cold of some type this weekend. It started Friday night and I'm fighting it now, but I do think I'm getting better. I'm using that as an excuse for the low output this weekend. That said, I did manage to start, or continue on a bowl. I started this bowl in February and got it turned and the outside finished smooth. It's the inside that is getting the decorative treatment. Here are some photos:

The first photo is the start of the carving detail with larger pockets near the center of each segment division. The next photo shows the smaller pockets mingling with the larger ones and spreading out a bit more towards the burned sections. The last photo shows smaller pockets being made with a pyrography tool. The effect I'm shooting for is something like this:

Once I have the surface details in place then everything is getting a coat of black gesso. Then the colors will go on. The bowl is made of soft maple and is about 7 inches in diameter by 3 inches tall. I don't know if I'll do any more today, but at least I'm working on wood again. It's been rather rainy and cool today, so this was a good way to spend it indoors.

April 27, 2010 - Like I said when I started this, I might not make an entry every day. Yesterday I didn't have anything to say so I skipped. Get used to it.

Today I finished the pyrography on the bowl I'm working on. Here's a photo of the progress: 

Next I'm going to coat it with black gesso and then start the coloring process. I have more to do before I go to bed tonight so I won't do any more on this today. I hope to make more progress on this tomorrow. It's hard to believe that the end of April is nearly here. Soon summer will be upon us.

May 2, 2010 - I went home to Michigan this weekend. I finished the bowl that I had on the lathe but I don't have any photos to show you right now. Now I'm back in Columbus, IN and relaxing before I go to work tomorrow. I didn't do any work on the bowl above, but maybe this week I'm make some more progress. Right now I'm tired from the drive.

May 6, 2010 - I wish I had more to report but I haven't had the time to do any work lately. I just returned from a drive to Michigan to take care of some urgent business. I have to go to work tomorrow but I wanted to at least say that there's nothing to say. I hope to get some time over the weekend to work on the bowl and show some more photos. Until then, stay tuned...

May 11, 2010 - Well, I must say that I'm moving at a glacial pace on the bowl. I'm trying to make some video while I work on it, so that takes some time. However, I just haven't felt inspired lately. I guess sometimes you just get into a funk and have a difficult time getting out of it. I just have to make an effort to get back into it. What I did get done was to get a coat of black gesso on the bowl in preparation for the colors that will go on next. Here are a couple of photos showing what it looks like now.

As you can see, the surface detail is still there. I may put another coat on to cover some of those areas that still show wood through. It isn't really important but the photos show me how the gesso didn't get into the small details so maybe I'll thin it down a bit and take another stab at it. I'm starting to experiment with some colors on a scrap piece of wood to make sure I get the effect I want. Don't worry, I WILL get this done. Maybe that will inspire me to get on with the next piece. We'll see.