Driia's Dreams » links

Big Dreams of Trains to Nowhere and Everywhere

carrie — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:23:34 +0000

My inspiration of the month….

With thanks to Craig who sent me the following link:

http://weburbanist.com/2009/10/29/all-aboard-clever-recycled-train-car-homes-offices-hotels/

It involves the clever reuse of train cars. Now what I find so inspiring about this … well in college my friends and I found a couple of old wooden cabooses…sitting on abandoned tracks a short walk from our dorms. The tracks had become a cut through or back way to get to a local shopping center. Since none of us had a car it was our preferred path and I saw them frequently over 4 years. I even thought of “stealing” the abandoned cars – but where would I put them? They are an enchanted part of my past – and involve one of my fondest fantasy: re-using them for a private retreat, or art studio. To this day it makes me sad to think of the neglect, and the vandalism. People had started fires in them and spray painted the interiors – it was so needless.

In an ideal (for me) world I would have a property that I could put a train car or two on – I’d be able to find the legal owners of the abandoned cars and buy them for myself and get them moved. I want to restore them and make an office / writing studio in one. In the other I would want to make a painting studio. For obscene amounts of space / time / money I’d have about 5 or 6 more cars and create for myself a village of train cottage work rooms for my various needs. Such as:

jewelers bench and studio
sanding, grinding woodworking (dust filled and messy)
painting / finishing studio for varnishing, glazing, glazes
kiln room for various kilns (jewelry fusing, slumping, etc)
fabric arts, quilting, costuming, weaving, spinning
an extra long car for raw material storage

In reality – I already have a nice little studio, and access to a garage fro all my woodworking needs. I just like to dream big and impossible things – after all who knows – maybe I’ll be fortunate one day and some more of my big dream will come true too. After all I never thought I’d have the chance to stay home and work on my art and jewelery.

It may even be possible to one day have my village. But if I do it will more than likely be made of small and large work sheds – and in the center – my one lone train car to serve as my inspirational retreat and office.

Hey – I even forgot my photography studio and the clay shop! Do I have too many interests?

You betchya!…and counting…..

*fingers crossed* Wish me luck and I wish the same for your own Big Dreams.

Using Gallery Glass Paints

admin — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:54:10 +0000

Since not everyone has ever heard of, let alone made a faux stained glass window, I thought that I would share with you some of my thoughts about making one.

My goal was to make a fairly large window and I only wanted to do it once. I knew that I would need to make a sample piece before I did the big window, but what size should I do? I decided that a small project was best.

First I took an unused basic plain wood picture frame, that had real glass, from my stockpile of “up for grab” items. Then I went looking for an actual stained glass pattern at a local store. (you may be able to find simple patterns online for free) I found a nice Pegasus pattern, which after I had it about half done I decided might have been too ambitious.

Having previously purchased a variety of the paint colors I was set to go, so I removed the glass from the frame and placed it on a work table over the cut out stained glass pattern.

There were a lot of curves and I was using the liquid “lead” paint. Taking my time and doing a few practice runs on scrap paper I quickly got the hang of starting and stopping a constant line of paint. If you are doing a basic geometric pattern then using the strips of straight self adhesive lead lines is really the way to go.

As advised in the instructions I waited for the liquid leading to dry before starting the coloring process. Which basically consists of squeezing some of the right colored paint into the designated area, and using either a toothpick or in my case a stainless nut pick to guide the pooled paint into the entire target area and especially into the corners.

Things went very quickly but I was less than satisfied with my first attempt. I made a few rookie mistakes, and I had to keep checking that I had the right color in the right section.

I found that when using Gallery Glass Paints that I needed to make sure that each separate color is done and dried before working on the next color. This will help to prevent you from accidentally smudging the paint causing blotching and unsightly wrinkling of the paint. While it adds a lot of time – it gives you the best results.

The colors will be opaque to start and then dry more transparent or with a pearl finish depending on the color choice.

Overall I was very glad I made a “practice” piece first….here is the result of my large window wall piece.

Here is a brief list of tips to help you avoid some of the pitfalls I made on my first attempt and allow you to create a more authentic stained glass effect:

Place a dot of the “lead” paint at each of the joint intersections – this simulates a solder joint nicely.

Use two or more paints lightly swirled together with a clean toothpick to give depth of field. I like to use a translucent pearl with a solid to give a shimmer. Be careful not to over mix the colors together.

Where you intend to leave clear glass – use a clear glass or very lightly tinted paint – then when the paint is just slightly dry… swirl it to give a textured effect.

To fix a mistake – do nothing until it’s dry. Then carefully cut out the mistake and re-do. If you try to clean up an area that you goofed before it sets – you usually end up with a bigger mess that is smeared and a lot harder to fix.

Don’t forget to use a clean toothpick or straight pin to lightly pop bubbles as they surface, or you may end up with mini craters in the dried paint.

Tape the pattern to the underside of the glass – that way if you bump the glass – you don’t shift your pattern.

Use a copy of your pattern – not the original – so that you can mark it with color choices. Once these are marked make sure to leave the pattern in place until you are done. You will be able to easily see which color goes where without having to frequently stop and recheck.

Creating your own faux stained glass window can be greatly satisfying or tremendously frustrating. But I encourage you to give it a try – you may surprise yourself. I consider this a great way for people who don’t think they are all that creative to make something they can show off and bring sense of confidence to other artistic en devours.

Shopping at Gem and Jewelry shows

admin — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:11:03 +0000

A question was asked on one of the sites I read about having a list before the show to shop from and pre-planning pieces. And a few other comments about going to bead shows.

I go to the International Gem and Jewelry Show two to four times a year. Here are my notes / observations on jewelry shows:

Never been:
If you can swing it – go the first day of a two/three day show – just to see what it’s about (if you’ve never been).

Then if you think you want to join the buying frenzy – get a re-entry coupon for the next day. They often have these – a few shows don’t do this – but the event management’s goal is to get lots of buying people in to keep the vendors happy enough to come back each time.

You can also ask vendors if they have admission coupons…some of the glitzier ones will likely have those.

If you use this tactic – then only go for 1-2 hours that first day… or you won’t want to go back the next day.

Been there done that – have the T-shirt:

Don’t go expecting to be an hour – four or five hours later you are exhausted and cranky and your feet hurt. Plan a minimum set of hours and prep accordingly.

Having someone with you…. they can help you make decisions, remind you of the time and prompt you to get something to eat or drink. If they really care they may help you carry the loot or make car runs to dump stuff off a few times.

I can get my husband to go – but he ends up encouraging me to buy more than I really wanted to spend. ie = $200 ends up as $500 or even $800 in the end. So I had to ditch him for a friend or go alone.

I do try to have a buy list – that said – I seldom have a “complete” list – more or less. I may be looking for findings and chains that are specific.

After the buy list is dealt with… I let my mood and inspiration dictate what I buy, within limits. If I can’t think of several specific ideas as I’m handling/looking at something – I put it down. If I get flashes of 5-10 ideas then it’s buy one or even two strands of whatever. Because at that point I KNOW that I’ll be able to find additional inspiration when I sit down with it later – away from the frenzy of the shows.

Always wear comfortable shoes…and I frequently bring my walking cane – just in case my joints start giving me a hassle.

Stay hydrated! – Bring your own water if they allow it – but be ready to buy some water to sip as you are walking around. These shows get hot and if you get tired or thirsty you may end up with a headache from lack of water.

Bring your own tote bag…to haul your stash in…. these places get crowded and trying to hold on to too many bags of various sizes will drive you crazy or hurt your hands.

Plan NOT to buy things on the first pass…

Do a quick tour of all – yes ALL the isles/ booths before buying anything.

See things to buy – grab a card from the vendor and make notes on the back about what’s interesting.

It helps to write down the booth number too.

On the first pass – look specifically for the buy list items – and making note of potential materials to revisit.

Noting prices in general for individual booths. This will help for comparison during the off list shopping.

After the list shopping is as complete as you can make it…now it’s time to play with the unexpected…have fun with the shopping but keep in mind what’s left of your budget.

See something that’s a must have? – get those first – even before the buy list – especially if you tend to dwell on what you didn’t buy.

Remember to bring my own business cards, some with a tax id on them and others without. That way if you WANT to be on their mailing list and get free coupons for upcoming shows – just give then a card…it ensures accuracy and saves you time.

Many vendors won’t charge you the tax if you have a business (and can prove it). You may also want to have a copy of your tax id paperwork – just reduce the size of the copy – and keep it on you to back up your claim. If you have a tax id then you should definitely go to the wholesale section first.

As you buy your items try to include the seller’s business card with the receipts…and make some notes – about what you bought – so you remember when you get home. It will also help you remember who ripped you off – if you find out later it’s not what they said it was. It won’t get you you’re money back but you can make notes on who to avoid next time. I always get a card – but the notes on the actual purchase – well – I don’t do this as much as I should…but it’s a habit I’m working on cultivating.

And remember that there WILL be another show…. you don’t have to buy everything THIS time. Some of the vendors also do mail order or web sales, so collect info on those vendors who you would buy from if you could only remember what you already have and had more money in your budget.

Now get out there and keep that economy rolling…… have fun and I hope this helped you in your planning.

Making a living – Photography

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:24:08 +0000

I had a friend ask the question about taking his photography to a professional level and trying to make a living with it… I thought I’d share my answer since may others also may be thinking along those lines.

Hey There!

If you seriously want to explore the whole photography as business idea -or – other passion as business idea for that matter…. then I can point you at a website that I think has lots of good basic starting ideas.

http://changingcourse.com/

in particular they featured this info for photographers…

http://changingcourse.com/recommends/photos/

I would also check out the links targeted to travelers too… since frequently travel and photography go hand in hand.

The site is very much geared to drive you to go to their seminars… and we’ll help you find / fulfill your life’s dreams by creating the life you want to live. Which is a bit over the top at times. But much of the info and ideas are okay.

They offer things like tips on taking things part time while working at a job full time…etc.

Anyway – I remembered the photography thing – so I thought I’d point you over there… I’m sure there are lots of things like this out there…but hey a place to start your investigation!

Shopping for the Impoverished Artist

carrie — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:10:24 +0000

The Holidays are upon us….

I find at this time of year that I am drawn even more to all the bits and pieces of equipment, tools and supplies that I don’t already have. That I quite simply can’t afford or justify either.

So. What do you do?

I try to cope by going to lots of thrift stores, and searching for bargain items to re-purpose. I look for the really good sales or buy only that one item that I can get with a 40% off coupon at the local craft stores. But for power tools, and materials – I have increasingly been haunting places like Craigslist.org or Freecycle.org – seriously.

My finds this year include:

an extra large laminater
a band saw (bench top 9″)
a floor standing artist’s easel
6 inch variable speed grinder
combo belt and disc sander
metal folding display shelf

And a variety of smaller things like wood mantle clocks, and computer accessories that I picked up for re-purposing.

There were more things that I could have bought – and their more things that I didn’t get.

The real beauty of sites like Craigslist and Freecycle is that you get to have your cake and eat it too. Something you want at a price that doesn’t have to make you cringe (often free if you start there), AND you save things from being thrown out…. so you aren’t buying new at the expense of sending older things to the landfill.

As a geek and an artist – I save waaay too many things. I know it, my husband knows it, our friends know it (and contribute to the chaos occasionally), and our house shows ALL the signs of becoming a black hole.

So look for those items that you want – be patient – be willing to drive a reasonable distance for the *right* items, and look at what you aren’t using and consider either trading or putting things up on site that helps your local area. It’s cheaper and you can list your terms: local pick up only – you haul, cash only.

If you are shopping for friends and family who are artists ….. a box of cool random bits and pieces can be even better than the latest tools and supplies. Someone’s cast off jewelry can be the parts they use to make something truly unique.

Don’t be afraid to bargain… do be polite and if you make an appointment to see the item – show up and be prepared to take the item right then. If you like it and you can afford it now is the time to buy it. Sometimes after you show up – you decide it’s not quite right – or that you aren’t willing to pay quite that much. Offer a compromise price…. or walk away.

While you look at these items – don’t forget….you can clean things up, you can paint or refinish things or you can pull items apart for parts to make something else… come on – we ALL do that – don’t we?

So – shop the internet and yes – the yellow pages (remember not all thrift stores are even listed online). Look for local consignment and thrift shops. Look for curb alerts (items being tossed out at the curb), freebies, and fair to good condition items at prices that will let you sleep at night.

Get going already…. there are things to find and more things to make!

Happy hunting and a Merry holiday season to all….

Amanda Fisher

carrie — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:41:16 +0000

Found the following jewelry artist while lurking on the jewelry makers LJ community:

http://afmetalsmith.livejournal.com/

I’ve added her to my links list and I look forward to reading her blog more in depth.
She does some very beautiful work, and has some nifty scent lockets.

Her online store:

http://www.afmetalsmith.com/index.html

I really like her site design as well. The layout is completely different than mine – however there are lessons to be had from her site’s look and feel.

Inspiration on multiple levels today! Beautiful jewelry, good journaling, and hansome website.

Fused glass Slumping supplier

carrie — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 13:15:40 +0000

http://www.slumpys.com/SlumpysStore/

I’ll have to check them out in more depth….later when I’m more awake maybe.

Artist’s Complete Health and Safety Guide, 3rd edition

admin — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 23:12:00 +0000

This book by Monona Rossol is a very good reference to have when looking at safety concerns.

I used it to help me decide about welders lenses to use with my kiln.I used the 2nd edition….from the library initially and now I am waiting for this newly revised 3rd edition to arrive.

http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Complete-Health-Safety-Guide/dp/1581152043/

Edit: While double checking my link for this book I found a good article by Zora Sweet Pinney that supports concern about the author’s negative slant and possible over emphasis on hazards.

http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/waac/wn/wn13/wn13-2/wn13-212.html

I agree that if material is presented that sounds like an over emphasis on warnings you should not automatically refrain from doing what you had planned. However, it is the responsibility of the artist once they are made aware of the hazzard to investigate the proper precautions needed in order to go forward safely.

While I respect the opinion of the reviewer in the link above I still believe that having a good reference as a place to start is an invaluable tool. And also allows the artist to casually browse for information and help us realize that there are precautions we should all be using….

Many artists are already well aware of potential hazards – but we should all keep in mind that information on health concerns do change. Additionally many of us migrate in our interests over time and as we move into new (for us) areas of artistic endevours we should be checking that we are usng appropriate safety measures for what we are currently doing. Knowledge about health and safety should not remain stagnant any more than creativity.

Setting up a Workshop / Studio

carrie — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 13:32:00 +0000

Setting up a Workshop / Studio

by Carrie S. Hafer

If you look around the web and talk to various artisans you will find lots of advice on setting up your own work space.Things to consider:

available space
required use and storage needs
flexibility of space as needs change
can you use the space available “as is”
do you need more power, electricity, outletts…etc.
how is the lighting? can you add more if needed?
will you be doing projects that require good ventilation?
do you need a sink / clean up area?

I could go on – but you get the point….planning – not always fun; but it can be if that’s your thing. When planning my own studio space I ran into several bonuses and a number of draw backs.

Bonuses – I am fairly good at space planning. I had a ready made room, around 125 sq ft to work with, a door that closed it off and an adjacent storage area. It just needed some updates for my needs and the ceiling was exposed so adding new electrical wasn’t too big a hassle to plan or do. We had remodeled our kitchen so I recycled several cabinets to the work shop in the garage and several more to my studio for additional storage. I was able to put in fully secured and supported shelving.

Drawbacks – I found that the shelving I had around the walls was not properly supported and I ended up having to tear it all out and put in all new shelving (which was also a bonus). I needed more electrical, and more lighting. I knew that what I wanted to do needed much better ventilation that what I had. Proper air flow was trickier – but more on that later. No water supply or clean up area directly connected to my studio.

Okay so it was a lot of work – but it’s turned out fairly well. I had my husband Craig helping me so I didn’t have to spend anything on a “handy man” and I’m fairly handy myself.

My studio remodel went something like this….

Location was fairly obvious – previous homeowners had a “storage / craft room” walled off in the basement. The studio side of the staircase was exposed and quite ugly. So first things first – build a wall. Craig and I added additional supports, as well as headers and footers to our “new wall”. After carefully marking where the studs were we put up drywall, did the finishing and priming and painting.

The other three walls just needed a fresh coat of paint. In the process of getting the really long wall prepped for painting we discoverd that the shelves there were not actually supported by studs. Not good. I knew that supplies and materials were apt to get heavy and I wanted as much support as possible. So we took out all the shelves – BOY! am I glad I did….. they were shakier than we first realized. I would have been devastated if things came crashing down later.

Naturally this set back my schedule and budget. That’s how it goes. So we fixed the walls where needed, prepped, primed and re-painted. Now for all new shelving! Yeah – looks really spiffy when it’s a nice and new…. makes you feel good just to look at it. (yeah I know – I’m weird)

Shelving – I decided that since I was putting in all new – it needed to be utilitarian, not too expensive (since it wasn’t originally part of the budget), and most importantly FLEXIBLE. So I checked out several stores and decided that my best bet was a hanging shelf track system. It was available in both of the major hardware store chains near us, and that made finding all the parts easier too. I have to admit I fell in love with this system. I’ve redone two closets with it in addition to the studio…and I have plans for several more closets in my home. Here the biggest pain was getting some of the really long shelves down into the basement. Ooops, we forgot about that…so we managed to get the really long pieces in through a strategically placed basement window. Other wise we could have cut them shorter and still used all the space. I just didn’t want to do that. But who knows we may still change things up in the future.

We had made sure all the vertical supports were attached to wood framing, and they were long too so I can have shelves down to about 2 ft off the ground if needed. This is were flexibility comes in. I can decide any time I want to that the shelf configuration is not working for me…and change it – with out ripping out the frame work. Sure I may need to cut wire shelves shorter or by additional brackets but nothing too outrageous needs to happen in order to change things up.

Storage – I knew that in addtion to shelves I would want for more storage. So the bottom shelf is placed roughly 45 inches from the floor. Why? Well – I found these really nifty plastic storage drawer sets that are about 42-43 tall. They have anywhere from 5 to 7 drawers and they are on wheels so I can move them around as needed. I also have two plastic base cabinets with doors that I put onto rolling platforms.

I use the storage towers to group my tools and various supplies that would not work well on the shelves. And the base cabinets for bulky items that are not pulled out as frequently. In addition to these I have some storage tubs with and with out wheels, a small book case that I added shelves to that fits in nook, and a wooden stereo system rack on wheels for my glass storage. And of course as mentioned earlier several cabinets from my old kitchen which are hung high on the new wall by the stairs. I use those to store books, recycled jars and other materials that I need available but not direct to hand.

Work Surfaces – Making decisions about work surfaces got trickier…. I already had a workbench that I had built years before, made from recycled shipping pallets and packing crates. But after that was in place I had limited room left. So I did a lot of shopping around and comparing my needs against what was available at the time. Eventually I found a really nice rolling kitchen island / cart with a drawers and a stainless steal top. It was on remainder at a local shop, again steaply discounted (affordable), and added useful storage. Next I have a rolling three tier metal cart (on wheels) which I can use to hold projects I had stopped at various stages. Then I needed something to put my glass grinder on, fortunately this didn’t need to be large – just movable and work hight. I decided to re-cycle an old (very old) computer stand. And finally I needed a workstation for power tools… a serviceable rolling tool cart with wood top and a power strip serves nicely and again has storage! I also added a topper to the plastic base cabinets to create a unified surface.

Don’t forget to pay attention to the overall height of your work surfaces….is it comfortable for you? Will you be sitting or standing a lot? Do you need deep or shallow for your work? Some people need things only 20 inches deep other need 36, 48 or maybe just 12 inches to work on. Look at what you plan to do, think about what else you may want to do…and decide from there what is comfortable. If it’s not comfortable – no matter how good it looks – you won’t use it.

Electric & Ventilation – Well as mentioned above the ceiling in my work room is exposed so I was able to address the ventilation issue by installing a kitchen vent hood over the center of my room (above the island work cart), and have it vent to the outside. This needed a dedicated circuit so I did hire an electrician to add that in. I aleady had a power strip, and ceiling light…but it needed more lighting on the other side of the vent hood, and power on the wall near the workbench. I have added portable clamp lights and long corded power strips in order to plug things in where I needed them. Eventually I will need to make more permant changes – but the budget and need hasn’t merited it yet.

Organizing – Last thing you want to do is spend alot of time once you have the room set up – but taking time to plan and organize where everything goes will save time and aggrevation in the long run…. trust me on this, I did this project in stages and added more storage in stages…so each time I added a piece I found I needed to re-organize where I kept things.

I have thing organized by type of craft or art work I’m doing….if you have only one or two main interests this isn’t too bad. But the more you have the more challenginf it gets. I have areas devoted to glass, polymer clay, craft paints, oil paints, beading, wooden items, metals & wire, fabric, leather, paper, and misc found items.

Then there are things I categorize as “supplies” – usually things like glue, craft sticks, paper towels, dust masks, baggies, and the like. Things that get used up but are not materials and they aren’t strictly tools either.

What about a system for storing raw materials vs items that are “finished” but not yet part of a completed piece. I often make various components that I like but haven’t yet decided the whole design it yet or if it’s a stand alone.

Now that I’ve described my own process – you can see that it can be a lot of work. But it’s very nice to have a studio that has all my tools, materials, and other stuff in one place. I’ll probably continue to “tweak it” but overall I’m very happy with the results.

Whatever your art – may you make a place of your own to work in. Enjoy setting things up the way you want and need them – you deserve it!