The Road to Paradise, part II

Well, we're here :)

There is no greater feeling than crossing the causeway, no greater feeling than waking up on my island.

Plus there's the religious experience of the approach... it was strange this year because we've never driven before, but seeing the island after two days of driving... it filled me with quiet inspiration and awe and excitement and joy.

But more to the point: the "road to paradise" in this case is Summerlin, the road that leads to the causeway. In my mind, it is the best road in the U.S. In fact, I love this road so much that I've already decided that if one day I find myself the owner of a horse barn, that barn will be christened Summerlin Stables. Nice name, don't you think? I think so too... a worthy name for a worthy dream.

And I think that's why I love Sanibel so very much... it's the stuff of rest and dreams, the place where all things seem possible.

The Road to Paradise and the Quest for Sonic

Well, contrary to what you might be thinking... "Sonic" refers not to Sonic the Hedgehog but, in fact, Sonic the Drive-in.

Matt and I finally got to eat at a Sonic today... after pining after the idea for years... Because, crazily enough, we see Sonic commercials all the time in PA; however, the closest Sonic is 150 miles away! Crazy or what. Anyway, wonderful... we both agree that Pittsburgh needs Sonic in the worst way: good burgers, good tots, good wraps, good limeade, good milkshakes :)

AND, how may you ask did Matt and I finally get to sample some Sonic? We're driving to Florida this year... and since we're driving through the southern states, there are more Sonics than you can shake a stick at. Nice :)

Plus, driving to Sanibel has been really nice so far (we have about 5 hours left to drive tomorrow)... the scenery has been fab, and like I said... Sonic! But honestly, I've really enjoyed the drive so far. Good times.

A Bad Couple of Days

Well, as my title implies... I've been having a bad couple of days:

-Last week, my windshield wipers broke... as in stopped working... as in moved a couple of inches and then died right on my windshield. THEN, this week, there was paying to get them fixed. Yuck.
-Over the weekend, I went to a craft fair (by far my worst so far)... I made NO money, and I got rained on... more like poured on actually; the fair was in a parking lot, and it was raining so hard that I was standing in an inch of water. Thank God for tarps and water-proof canopies.
-Then, this week, I've all of a sudden become a klutz. I don't know what my deal is, bit I have cuts all over my hands, and I keep dropping things (luckily I haven't broken anything yet)... but I shouldn't have mentioned the not breaking anything because you know as soon as I finish this post, I'm going to walk downstairs and break a jar of jelly or pickles or minced garlic or something equally as messy all over the floor.

And that's all... Well, they say that bad things come in threes... and I'm hoping that this means of I'm covered for a while. Actually, I'm just praying that these happenings are signs of worse things to come. Cross your fingers for me.

BeaveRun MotorSports Complex

I have three words for you... Vintage Race Cars. 'Nough said.

Well, actually, I have more words for you than that: seafood and linguine casserole, cheesecake with berries, tent raising, Las Vegas on wheels, '69 Camero, the pool, beef, Bobby Rahal, traffic, traffic, traffic, smoke, air freight, horse power, ignition, good times, good food, adventure.

All right: now, 'nough said.

Fireworks

Well, yesterday (as if you didn't know) was the 4th of July... and there were fireworks abound.

NOW, from our old house, we could see one display very well... but from our new house, we can see five separate displays (and see whispers of at least two others). Do you believe that? Neither do I. AND because we live on the lip of a valley, they all echo... it sounded like being in the American Revolution. Not that I've ever been in battle... but I imagine that the booming of five different fire works displays echoing in one valley sound a lot like one of those battles.

Standing in the dark watching the pretty lights... good times :)

My First Official Craft Fair

Hey Kids... this post is a little bit late: my first fair was the weekend of June 22-24. But alas, I'm just getting to this post now. I've just been so busy making and inventorying jewelry, getting myself together, etc.

BUT, my first fair was a really nice experience. I had excellent weather, and Matt graciously came with me to keep me company.

I wish I had more exciting things to tell you... but the truth is that it was nice and boring. I did some business and sat around in the sun and made more jewelry to sell. And that's all there is to tell. But doesn't my table look really pretty? A lot of other people thought so too. AND, I got tons of offers on my mannequin necklace stands (but of course I didn't sell them because they're mine gosh darn-it) so I went out and bought more of them so that I can sell some the next time people admire them.

And there was live music... and cotton candy... and kettle corn... and Smiley Cookies, etc.

I had a good time. I would do it again :)

Although, it's a very interesting experience... peddling your own wears. It breaks your hearts when people don't buy them... and it breaks your heart when they do. I find that my heart is very fickle about the whole matter... as if when I sell the last duplicate of a necklace or bracelet, I feel as though I'll never see the like again... which of course is not true at all (I keep records of the things I make, duplication would be easy enough if I wanted to take the time). But putting all that creative energy out there is exhilarating... and frightening. I pray often that it will all be enough one of these days.

Three Rivers Arts' Festival

So, I made my way downtown yesterday and went to the festival. AMAZING! I can't believe that I've never gone before.

There was so much neat stuff to look at and interesting artists to meet that I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. I aspire and hope that I get to be one of those artists some day.

There was photography and painting and jewelry and woodwork and ceramics and papercuttings (if you've never seen papercuttings, you don't know what you're missing. They're totally sick: origami/winter snowflakes on speed, crack, and steroids all at once) and textile arts (I bought myself an awesome pair of mittens) and handmade instruments and furniture and hand blown glass and gorgeous handwoven baskets, etc. Let's just say I was glad that I had given myself a budget or else I could easily have spent my entire savings account. Ouch.

Although, I did acquire (thanks to my dad who was in town to take Matt and me to the festival) a beautiful sterling and enamel ring by artist Jenn Parnell.

I think all I really have to say about the afternoon is that I had a good time, and that if you're ever in the area when the Arts' Festival is afoot, you simply must take the time to go.

Drawing II: "midterm" update

So, it's true... I'm taking summer classes at CCAC. Not really as terrible as you would think... although I have class twice a week for five hours each. Blah.

BUT, I have been making some fine drawings. Here's a sample:



I've been working mainly in pencil and charcoal so far, but I'm hoping to use some India Ink as well. I've never used that kind of ink and it sounds like a good time. So, we'll see.

ALSO, since I'm in Drawing II, our teacher wanted our projects to be more self-motivated. So, I'm working on a series of equine portraits (all of my pony, of course:). And last week, I took a break from that for some portraiture. The portrait drawing that I included was based on a photograph by Richard Avedon.

So, good times. Enjoy.

Up Before Dawn

So, for reasons I don't feel the need to explain at the moment, I found myself up at 4:30 this morning... and by the time I got back to bed at 6:30, the sun had risen.

Now, this may come as a shock to many of you, but I am not an up-before-dawn kinda girl. I love sleeping-in (although, I rarely do these days). I love sleeping in almost as much as I love ice cream... but that's a really tough comparison, because I can count on one hand the things I love more than ice cream: hence the modifier, "almost."

Anyways, I had always thought (foolishly) that dawn was just dusk in reverse. Not true. They have nothing on each other. Dawn and dusk are as different from one another as the conditions that they separate.

In the morning... there is no glorious blaze, no showy display of color and brilliance... just a lightening: a cold glow and a soft haze... as if the light had forgotten about itself in the darkness, as if reemerging was its own cautious surprise.

I had no idea, but I'm glad that I know now.

My Blog is 100 Posts Old!

It's true. My last post marked my one-hundredth post. I just thought I would mention that.

Also, there is a cricket in my garage. I thought I would just mention that too because it troubles me. It will probably die in there... because you have no idea how freakin' hot it is in my garage. And that worries me because crickets are supposed to be good luck... do you suppose that it would be bad karma to have a cricket die in your house? I suppose I will be finding out in a day or two. OR, maybe I'll leave the door open for a while tomorrow and hope that the little bug finds its way into the outdoors.

Wow, I've thought very hard about this, huh? Oh well, that is the summer for you. Small worries, thank God for them. Although, on the other hand, I have enough on my plate without having to worry about the death of a cricket. Let's see... I still need to get myself a tax number, I still need to find a mirror, I still need to tag and inventory all the jewelry that I've made... and oh yeah, silly me, I still need to find myself craft fairs to go to. So, there's that. Plus, drawing homework.

So, really, that poor, little cricket better have the decency to leave the garage tomorrow, or I don't know, but you know... I'm sure you do.

Instant Canopy

So, I bought myself an instant canopy today... will come in very handy in the future when I'm at craft fairs, sitting in the sun all day, selling jewelry to the huddled masses.

It came in its own little carrying case, with wheels! It has a metal frame that folds out to a 12x12 canopy. So exciting!

I truly think this is my most exciting purchase of the year :)

Sushi

Matt and I had a brother-sister-bonding-activity today and went for sushi. Yum... Spicy Tuna Roll, Spicy California Roll, and the Mushroom Roll. Just what I wanted.

AND, did you know that although in English, the word "sushi" refers to the finished pieces of fish and rice and toppings, in Japanese the same word only refers to the vinegared rice that goes into the pieces? It's true. AND, the word "sashimi" (in Japanese) refers to the raw fish.

AND, there are three main types of sushi: 1. maki-sushi or the common sushi roll, 2. nigiri-sushi, a hand-formed mound of rice, a thin layer of wasabi, and then a slice of sushi grade sashimi. 3. temaki-sushi, a hand roll in which the sushi chef makes a cone of nori (seaweed) then stuffs the cone with rice and fish and toppings.

I've never had temaki-sushi but don't all those types sound uber-sweet? Yeah, I think so too. Raw fish and vinegared rice... good times had by all.

Home Again, Home Again

Okay, so last night was my first night back in my own bed... and what wakes me up at 7 in the A.M. but the gobble, gobble of wild turkeys. Do you believe it? Neither do I. I think that they were munching on the neighbor's grass seed.

The Art of Jim Parlin

Alrighty... Jim Parlin is my sculpture professor. He was also my 3D professor last semester. And these are a few images of his work.

We looked at some samples of Jim's work in class today, and I just thought I would share. I pirated these two images off the website for EUP's Graduate Program in Sculpture, and unfortunately, interesting though they may be, they are not a very accurate sampling of his sculpture.



When he was talking about his own work, he was talking about how saturated colors are one of his inspirations (he casts his work in metal and then painted them with oil and acrylic paints). So, as a result, many of his sculptures are incredibly vibrant and lush looking. But, again unfortunately, neither of these pictures shows this aspect of his work very well.

After today's mini-exhibition of Jim's work, I kind of think of him a Walt Whitman of sculpture... no-holds-barred, honest, in-your-face, sensual, sexual, concerned with the biology and humanity of living, concerned with the death involved in living, personal, gritty, elegant, etc. And again, I wish that I had better images to demonstrate these points. But I hope that you can follow my drift.

Both of the images above are of some of his earlier works, and lately (within the last six months) he finished a series of small figurative sculptures: very interesting and intense, portraying everything from suicide to a simple moment between a mother and daughter. And this brings me to the last point that I want to make: Jim's sculpture is intensely personal, which is why it is so moving. All the sculpture that he makes revolves around the people in his life and his personal concerns. So, I guess as Walt Whitman would say, "To the real artist in humanity, what are called bad manners are often the most picturesque and significant of all."

Jewelry Fabrication: forging piece

Okay kids, here it is... my last metals assignment of the semester.

We were learning about forging... which is a wire based technique in which you bend, flatten, and shape the wire using hammers. Then you anneal the wire and repeat steps 1-3 until you're satisfied with what you have. If you DO NOT anneal the wire, it becomes brittle from all the pounding and may snap. Yes, annealing is very important. And annealing is very simple: just heat the metal with a torch, not all the way up to soldering temperature, but hot enough so that it has a dull glow. With copper, it will glow a light orange, and with sterling, it will glow a dull cherry color.

As for materials: amber cabochons set in copper, 16 gauge copper wire, 16 gauge brass wire, and sterling earring posts. I based the bottom part of the earrings on wind spinners... I twisted the brass and copper wires together to get that barber-shop pole type of effect, then I forged the wire twists into "horse shoes" and pulled the ends apart vertically to get that spinning effect. I soldered 4 twists together to make each spinner. The cabochons are simply bezel set in 26 gauge copper. And I also used some of my combined wire to made spiral headpins so I could solder the earring posts onto the back.

All in all, I'm very pleased. Enjoy.

The Next Time You're on Jeopardy

ACCT II final? Woh buddy, that test WAS HARD! But I tell you what, the next time you're on Jeopardy and there's a category labeled "Managerial Accounting," you'll be all set. Here's what you need to know:

The Statement of Cost of Goods Manufactured:
Cost of Goods Manufactured = (Direct Materials Used + Direct Labor + Manufacturing Overhead) + Beginning-of-the-year Work-in-Process Inventory - End-of-the-year Work-in-Process Inventory. All financial statements must be written in good form with proper 3-line heading and with proper punctuation, indentation, and account titles.

Confused? Oh, we haven't even started yet.

Work-in-Process Inventory: just as the name implies, this is work in process, widgets that are being worked on.

Finished Goods Inventory: when the widgets are finished, they are moved from the Work-in-Process Inventory into the Finished Goods Inventory. From the Finished Goods Inventory, widgets can be sold to the public... in which case, said goods would be moved out of the Finished Goods inventory and recorded in an account called Cost of Goods Sold at whole sale price, then the sale would be recorded at retail price.

Direct Materials Used = Beginning-of-the-year Direct Materials Inventory + Direct Materials Purchased - End-of-the-year Direct Materials Inventory

Direct Labor: usually given in a rate per hour

Manufacturing Overhead: includes items such as indirect labor, indirect materials, rent on the manufacturing plant, expenses for the manufacturing plant such as electricity and insurance, etc. DOES NOT included Sales Expenses such as advertisings or sales commissions OR General and Administrative Expenses such as rent on administrative offices or CEO's salary.

Indirect Labor and Indirect Materials: includes labor and materials used in maintenance of the actual manufacturing plant and equipment. For instance, say that a textile plant has weaving machines that run for about 10 hours a day, AND those machines need to be kept oiled and running smoothly. What the plant pays for oil would be an expense incurred as an indirect material, and what the plant pays workers to apply that oil would be an expense incurred as indirect labor.

Now onto Cost/Profit Analysis (Some equations you're going to need):
Sales Revenue - Variable Costs - Fixed Costs = Profit
Sales Revenue = Sales Price * Units sold
Contribution Margin = Sales Price - Variable Costs per Unit
Contribution Margin Ratio = Contribution Margin/Sales Price
Break Even Analysis (in Units) = Fixed Costs/Contribution Margin
Break Even Analysis (in Dollars) = (Fixed Costs/Contribution Margin)*Sales Price

Variable Costs: usually includes items like labor (both direct and indirect) that change based the Job Order (it takes more hours to create 100 widgets than it takes to create 10 widgets). Also includes materials (both direct and indirect) for the same reason.

Fixed Costs: includes Overhead charges, Sales Expenses, and General and Administrative Expenses... the rent on the factory and the CEO's salary are not going to change no matter how many widgets are produced in a month.

And that's really a very solid, scratch-the-surface kind of glimpse into the world of Managerial Accounting.

I know that all this accounting mumbo-jumbo sounds insane, but gosh darn-it, doesn't all this shop-talk make you hot? I know what you're saying, 'no.' But don't worry, the next time you're on jeopardy, you'll thank me. (By reading his Blog Entry, you are agreeing to pay me a retainer at the rate of $5 per minute that you spent reading said Entry. And in the event that the information written here leads to Jeopardy winnings, this message entitles me to collect 10% of said winnings before taxes).

Finals Week

Things I still need to survive:
-Accounting II Exam: non-cumulative on managerial accounting
-Jewelry Project: forging (I'm making earrings)
-Algebra Exam: cumulative
-Sculpture: finish my casting project and studio clean-up
-Graphic Design: final project, Alphabet Book... I'm making a hand-scroll with desserts for every letter of the alphabet :)

Ben and Jerry's for Dinner

This is a tradition that I started last semester, where on the last day of classes, I have Ben and Jerry's for dinner. And you know, considering my affinity for ice cream and my long history with higher education, I'm surprised that I didn't come up with this tradition sooner. I mean, I'm good all semester: I think, I study, I create: I work hard. So, I feel like I deserve (for just one evening) to be bad... because that's what this tradition is all about: indulgence.

Plus, the idea of ice cream for dinner will give me just the boost that I need to make it through finals week. I'm in the home stretch.

And as for the flavor... Last semester I had "Everything But The..." and right now, I'm feeling the "Cherry Garcia" vibe. But you know me, I'll probably stand in front of the ice cream case, weighing my options for about 15 minutes and then choose something completely different.

All I can really say is this: I've been awaiting (patiently) this occasion for weeks.

The Last Monday of Classes in the School Year

Thank God.

Jewelry Fabrication: hollow construction piece

This project was a total bitch. I'm decently happy with the out come of it... but looking back, I wish I had attempted something a little bit smaller. Because this piece was so much larger than anything I've attempted before (relatively speaking), I had the worst time soldering everything together... every time I needed to solder a joint, I had to run to my teacher for help so that she would hold a second torch on my piece so I could keep it at soldering temperature. Honestly, I'm not opposed to asking for help, but after a while, I started to feel really needy. Luckily my teacher was great, or else she might have started getting annoyed with me.

The object of the project was to make a hollow container (not necessarily a box, just anything with hollow space in it) with a historical person in mind: he or she could be basically anyone in history as long as the person was generally recognizable. I made my box for Galileo, but others chose poets and authors, religious leaders and fictional characters. So, the sky was the limit as far as that choice was concerned.

As for materials... the top, "dome of heaven" is made of brass and is riveted together then soldered to the lid. And the rest of the box is made of copper... and you can't tell from the picture, but there are star cutouts on the inside of the box... I Liver of Sulfered the inside so it would be black, then I filled the stars with blue and yellow polymer clay so the piece would have some color.

And I did incorporate some words into this piece using letter stamps... I made this piece as a wish box... so the words on the outside band of the globe read: When you wish/ The heavens tremble... and then there's a band of brass on the inside of the piece that reads: So wish hard/ and often.

And that's pretty much a snapshot of this undertaking. Enjoy.