lost. (wax casting)

>> Saturday, May 28, 2011

photo - instructables.com
i've been researching the whole lost wax casting thing.  i figured that i would start there because it seems the most interesting technique - it would allow me some freedom sculpturally and make me stretch my imagination a little.


but now i think it might be a little over my head - especially in regards to equipment.  cuttlefish bone, vulcanizer, seriously, wtf?  star trek, much?  i'm going to keep reading up on it, but i am pretty lost and think that i am going to have to find a course to take.  it might not be something i can do at home - all the pictures i've looked at involve molten metal being poured into a crucible and then swung around to create centrifrugal force.  (hmmmm... i remember getting a 55% in grade 11 physics... this might spell disaster for me)

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running. again.

i actually have been running.  i hadn't posted about it because i was not sure if i would be able to keep it up, but i have.  and i'm pretty happy to say that i'm probably halfway to where i left off last year.  not that i'm fit or anything, but i am one of those people who do well with long bouts of drawn out cardio.  (gravity is slowly taking it's toll on my butt, i'm afraid.)

what makes it even better is that i dusted off the jogging stroller (it has been living in the trunk of my car all winter) and the mini immediately got in.  and she stays in while i run.  so not only are we getting fresh air, but we're together too.  sweet!

i am thinking that i might need to go looking for a new pair of running shoes though.  they suggest that you get new ones after logging 100 miles of running or walking - i am sure that i have had these purple and orange babies since 2005 and definitely have done more than a 100 miles.  even if it was crawling.

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the fear you won't fall. and how i never watch grey's anatomy anymore.

>> Friday, May 27, 2011


L and i used to watch grey's anatomy religiously.  however, i usually am never awake long enough anymore to watch it, and it's no longer "on demand" on our cable service.  so now we just wait until it comes out on DVD.  (or when the girls at work ruin it for me when they talk about what happened this week.)

when i was on maternity leave, i watched a lot of grey's - i am sure that the mini initially thought mcsteamy was her real dad.  i do admit that some of what i listen to is influenced by the soundtrack - there is a lot of indie-rock/alternative type songs that i love.  including this one by joshua radin.  the female voice is schuyler fisk - who, incidentally, was apparently not only joshua's girlfriend, but is also the daughter of actress sissy spacek.  allegedly, their breakup was brutal and spawned a whole bunch of bittersweet songs on the part of joshua.  ah, love!
(sometimes the songs - and the show - are so sappy it makes me want to throw up.)

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dream wedding - a treasury

>> Thursday, May 26, 2011


if i was to do it all again.... enjoy these lovelies!

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wonderful!


one of my favorite songs - it can seriously take me back to summertime in downtown toronto. that art alexakis is able to write such bittersweet songs - but what do you expect from a dude who nearly died from a cocaine overdose and has been married three times? 

life CAN truly be wonderful - despite the cr*ppy parts!

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metalsmith-to-be. maybe.

>> Wednesday, May 25, 2011

as of late, i've had some downtime (huh.  it feels like i've had a lot of downtime lately.  what does that mean?) to think about what i really want to do with my creative life.  (besides win the lottery and buy a tiny little cottage studio on the banks of a river)  and i'm thinking that i want to expand my metalsmithing skills.  for people who have maybe been following me, i chose a introductory metalsmithing class instead of pre-natal courses when i was pregnant.  while it was a struggle because of my temporary carpal tunnel syndrome, and the fact that my belly wouldn't let me get close enough to the table, i loved it.  and it definitely led me in the design direction i was mean to move towards.  i ordered several jewelry fabrication books and devoured them - but still find my skills rudimentary at best.  either that, or i can't seem to move past the joy of melting things.  (don't worry, i've already ruled out pyromania.)

now i feel "itchy" (not in the STD sort of way) and want to learn more.  i am in love with gemstones and feel like i want to move beyond simple bezel settings.  not that there is anything wrong with my bezels, but i feel that even though i am not sculpturally-minded, i think that i could probably handle carving a setting out of wax and casting it.  channel setting, prong setting, tension setting... yum.  i just hope that i can overcome my impatience to get to the end product to learn properly.  in my latest indigo books run, i've added tim mccreight's fundamentals of metalsmithing in the hopes of expanding my skills.

i really admire people who teach themselves how to do something and do it well.  i'm hoping to add myself to that list one day.

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under control.

>> Monday, May 23, 2011


my absolute favorite strokes' song. perfect for a day off like today, watching the world go by.

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verdant.

>> Sunday, May 22, 2011


green.  lush.  so awesome.  i don't know what this plant is, but it's in my garden.

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