it's moving day!

Hi everyone.  I an effort to organize myself slightly better, I am moving the blog over to my website.  We're still working out the kinks with the new layout, but I hope you'll check out my current postings there! 

http://vestige-home.com/vestigeBlog/

lately...

Finishing up a lath mirror that was donated to the Patrons of the HeARTS annual Artscapade.

All packed up and ready to go!

She's got legs!

mistakes and moving forward

My brother over at Mechanish crafted these great steel legs from some drawings that I made.  I routered out a spot in the bottom of my window bench to allow the plates to sit flush with the bottom of the bench. 

Ahh...a nice fit.

Testing out the t-nuts that I installed so that the brackets can be removed for shipping.

Unfortunately, as I started work on installing the t-nuts to the other side, I discovered that I had routered out the area for the bracket on the wrong side of the line I measured—time for some repairs!

A reminder for the future.

I started working the transition piece for the shade of my Through The Forest Lamp—it's made from a vintage jello mold tin that I cut and bent to form the shape-I had a lot of fun experimenting with this.

I've posted a couple peeks of my new studio space over at CoRK, but thought I'd post some more pics of the space-it's still a work in progress, but it's great to have plenty of room to work amongst so many talented artists.

A wide-angle shot of the studio-I'm slowly cleaning and replacing the windows to let in more light and enjoy the view-when I moved in, there were all completely covered in grime.

Here's that great view—and the trains run by regularly :)

Another side of the studio.

I found this old door in the corner of the warehouse space and turned it into a spot to hold some of my hand tools.

Here's my area to draw and plan out projects-I painted the wall with chalkboard paint for sketching.

Here's the before, midway through the chalkboard wall repairs, it was a mess.

My wall of treasures...oh the possibilities!

More treasures, I found this ladder on the curb one morning while walking the dogs and carried it all the way home.  I think my free MDF shelving is going to need replacing soon though, it's really sagging (darn that Florida humidity!)

A little lath detail on one of the workbenches I built.

I can make a lamp out of those rulers, right?

dye and wood

It's been a busy couple of weeks in the shop.  Much time was spent moving into a new studio location just blocks from the house at CoRK, where a flurry of cleaning, dry-walling, replacing glass, moving, and building has taken place.  While it took me away from my projects for a bit-it's wonderful to have more space to move about and not get stabbed in the side by some piece of wood or metal every time I turn around.  I am also looking forward to the opportunity to be in company with the many great artists in this community, and of course getting out of my own house is a big plus! 

I've finished up on my first lamp, the Textile Lamp.  

Each part of this piece has particular details which I appreciated and my goal was to bring them together as a functional whole, but in a simple way so as not to detract from the individuality of each part.  Incorporating elements of wood, metal, and fiber in raw form... the days of the booming U.S. textile factories. 

Drilling a hole for the lamp cord.

Time to wire everything up!

The lampshade is re-purposed from an old lamp.  Long strips of cloth from my collection were torn and wrapped around the frame.  I then dyed the shade in a turquoise ombré.

The light coming through the shade highlights the ombré effect.

A few of the great details I love about the components of this piece.

A brass water hose nozzle makes an unexpected finial.

I've also been wrapping up on these mirrors.  Made out of lath from the walls of Jacksonville's Riverside/Avondale homes-I contrasted the rough, unevenness of the lath with glossy, modern white frames.

I cut some pieces of birch for the back of the frames (where the mirror will go) and papered them.  Just because it's the back doesn't mean it shouldn't look pretty!

A little peek at my new studio space, I thought the old sampler was quite apropos to the pieces that I create.

finding my way

"I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it--but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor" 

Oliver Wendell Holmes

To find myself supported by others who share a passion to create is a wonderful feeling.  To share admiration for a rusted piece of steel discarded in a bin, to see a "kindred spirit" in others-maybe this is what life is about?  I was taken on a voyage of sorts today that I could not have envisioned, yet another example of how I should stop trying to always "have a plan."  A thumbs up out the car window lead us to a personal tour of a local propeller foundry, not only were the GIANT machines and fire shooting out of the furnaces REALLY COOL-but the pride, knowledge, and willingness to share of his craft left my heart filled with joy.  And when Mr. James is showing you the snapshots of his metalwork over the last few decades and says, while turning the final page "there it is...my heart's work" you gotta smile. Oh, and if you haven't been over to CoRK, you should check it out, it's a pretty special place too :)

This machine is used to clean up the propeller after it is poured (look at all the tiny brass shavings EVERYWHERE!)

Molds for the props; cut out of wood using computer patterns that they upload into their CNC machine. 

 

 

 

Fire!

A few goodies found along the way.

triangles and treasures

It's been a busy month traveling here and there.  Spent quite a bit of time in good 'ole Kansas City--you may know it for it's BBQ, but let me tell you, there's far more to it than that...perhaps the bread pudding, bierocks, and brioche from Bloom Baking Co. is your thing (it sure is mine!), or maybe some homemade, melt in your mouth pillows of happiness gnocchi with mushrooms and truffle sauce at 801 Chophouse is more your style (yes, I'll take more of that too, please) ok, ok...I'm done reminiscing about my K.C. gastronomical delights....

KC Skyline shot with my phone-probably while stuffing my face with brioche.

The up-cycled corduroy upholstery is coming together quite nicely for the window bench.  It is extremely time consuming, but will be worth it in the end.   

Oh, and did I mention the great finds I've found on the curb for the garbage truck this last couple weeks----such good stuff, I'm glad I beat out the trash man!  Why wouldn't you at least take it to the Goodwill, or even make it separate from the real trash pile so that SOMEONE could see it and use it for something? (Our neighborhood is notorious for pretty much ANYTHING being picked up and recycled off the curb) No matter though, because I saw these glorious treasures, and they were MINE! (And could be yours, but better). 

So my immediate ideas are that the old ladder with lots of great paint drips (DO YOU SEE THAT LOVELY GREEN!?) is going to be perfect for a display for my booth at an upcoming art show this fall (that is if I get accepted...staying positive).  I'm going to have the mirror cut to size for my lath mirrors that are almost complete and I'm thinking that the tempered glass piece is the perfect size for a lath-luscious coffee table...yes, I see it taking shape in my mind already...