long time away

If it looks like I don't have the blog habit, well, there it is-last posted on my birthday and it's almost time for another one. Ouch

Photos are my biggest hangup-I know from my own taste that pictures are it, especially if you are claiming to be an artistic blog. Not claiming to be an artist yet, but a person with intense creative compulsions. Every now and again art comes out of it, but the fun of working things out and just keeping going is what it's all about. Copper still hasn't been etched-it isn't TIME yet, that's how I work. No discipline, no plan, attention deficit disorder to the Nth degree.

Second biggest hangup is password-I don't do so much computer stuff that I have any password recall or an organized place to keep track of them between sessions. This internet costs a fortune relative to my meager income and I think it's time to get my money's worth out it, eh?

Project o'the week is plaster-taking Judy Wise and Stephanie Lee's class online-I really like the format and have so much plaster around that soon my hardwood floors will be limed. The group part of it is really fun. Everyone chimes in with experiences and problems and then they get answers from the rest and Judy and Steph are good at answering in a timely manner.

So, without further ado I am going to post a photo of incomplete projects-and God forbid I should ever be happy with anything, That will be posted in Big way.

First of all, I was trying to experiment with substrates, just to see what would and wouldn't work. Today I put plaster on the back of an old cork bulletin board. Using light joint compound fairly thick, it cupped just the slightest bit but I'm not calling it a failure until I see if it pops off when completely dry.

Next project was the back side of a monopoly board cut down to size-at first it cupped but as it dried it flattened back out.

Then, a piece of antique pine with paint on one side that was already warped/cupped-put the plaster on the unpainted side and filled it in to make it flat. It dried fine and that plaster isn't going anywhere, so it's ready to paint and powder.

My daughter handed me three pine frames that had big wood areas and a small window-she said can you do something with these? Of course. Just didn't know at the time what that would be.

I shellacked the back just to be safe and slathered the joint compound on pretty thick-wanted to have some to sand off. No warping, but that is more because of the construction of the frames-they are butted and glued together. Could have warped even then, but they didn't. So, now there are three more surfaces to play with.

I have been playing around with a cheap box for about two years trying to decide what to do with a failed collage experiment, so that got plastered along with everything else and now my shame is completely covered and ready to be something else. Thought I hadn't accomplished much, but this list says otherwise. Now it's time to throw some more mud at everything in the form of stencils, paint, found objects etc. That excites me.