Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

Well, I am now an artist whose work is sold in three states. This past weekend, my work was accepted for sale in the gift shop of the Metals Museum in Memphis, TN. Whee! Yes, I’m excited, but stressed at the same time. You see, the stakes have been raised. I must produce more work to keep up with demand. I know, I know, nobody has any sympathy for me!

It’s an honor and I owe a debt of gratitude to my good friend, Sarah Perkins, who not only took my work to Memphis, but believed I was good enough to be in the museum.

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This morning, as I’m running around attempting to straighten my house, I’m reminded of those daily chores I hate to do. You know, the ones you’d gladly pay someone else to take care of, but you do them anyway. So here’s a sampling of the mundane chores that I put off until I have to do them.

• Put away folded laundry. I’ll fold it, but I hate putting it away.
• Empty the dishwasher. I don’t know why this is a biggie since my dishwasher is small, but I hate doing it.
• Hand washing dishes. Large soup pots, wine glasses and other delicate pieces will sit, rinsed, in my sink for days before I’ll wash, dry and put them away.
• Grocery shop. I don’t know anyone who likes doing this. Add to the mix the fact our nearest store is crummy and you have one of my most hated chores.
• Emptying the litter box. I give Steve that job.
• Emptying trash cans. Again, this is Steve’s job, but I sometimes have to do it.
• Making the bed. It’s the first thing I do, but I’d much rather let someone else take care of it.
• Vacuuming. Another Steve chore, but I tackle it occasionally since we have so much cat hair.
• Dusting. I do not dust. I should, but I don’t. I can let the stuff settle for months before taking care of the problem.

What are your hated chores? How do you tackle them? Helpful hints welcome here.

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With cooler weather comes more opportunities for cooking! Todays’ recipe isn’t necessarily gross, like last week’s bananas ‘n’ bacon, but the picture is disgusting. Plus, the name is just funny.

Veal Birds - veal round steak, bread crumbs, butter, onion, sage and salt combine to make a lovely centerpiece to your dinner creation. Why these are called “Veal Birds” is beyond me. They don’t even look like birds once they’re rolled up. Basically, these are thin cuts of veal stuffed with bread crumbs, covered with gravy and baked. They suggest serving them with parsleyed carrots which are the same color as the veal in the picture below. Note the unappetizing red gravy. This is like a dinnertime massacre.

Veal Birds with Parsleyed Carrots - Yummy!

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It’s done. The vessel and stand are done and ready to be turned in on Monday. It’s been a love/hate relationship. I hated all the hammering to raise it, the planishing almost drove me crazy, the enamel inside didn’t turn out as planned and the stand has it’s own set of problems. But it’s done. And, really, I think it looks pretty damned amazing. I had no idea I could do something like this.

The vessel is copper with leaded enamel on the inside. I couldn’t get a good picture of it, but the color is a deep amber with a black stripe around the rim. The stand is sterling silver and the stones are synthetic topaz and peridot.

Here’s the piece put together. I like how the topaz are reflected in the copper. I lacquered the vessel so it won’t tarnish.

Here’s just the stand. Note that I set the peridots upside down so they form little pyramid feet. How clever is that?

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It’s finally cool enough to wear the first boots of the season. Hooray! Today’s choice is the timeless Frye Harness Boot the best boot I’ve ever owned. They make me feel powerful. They make me feel invincible.

Now I’m going to go out and kick some ass in my powerful, invincible boots. Oh, note to Suzanne, I’ve paired these with my hippie-cool camo jacket. I know how much you love camo.

Look out Springfield, here I come!

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Yesterday I learned sand casting which I was happy to learn since the cuttlefish and I weren’t getting along. Since I was studio monitor today, I decided I’d jump right in to sand casting.

I took a vintage glass bead and cast it and the results are below. The original bead is on the left. You can see that the wings didn’t fully form. That’s due to the placement of the piece. I should have put the wings below so the silver could flow better. Still, he looks pretty cute!

I also did a huge piece, but it didn’t form fully for the same reason as the bat. However, it’s cool so it might appear here in the future. Btw, the sand contains glycerine and smells like burning crayons when it’s being cast. So far I haven’t found a casting method yet that doesn’t stink.

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Does anyone have any idea how close Christmas is???!!! Anyone???!!! I’m a bit stressed here, people. I have tons of jewelry to make, a class to complete, new stuff to learn, a trip to Chicago, articles to write - argh!!! Today, I took an innocent trip to Waverly House to deliver a piece I’d made as a special order. I ended up selling two other pieces that I’d just made last Saturday. Yes, this is good news, but it seems like I just can’t make this stuff fast enough. I’m a one-person shop!

I need help. I need a studio assistant. I need a drink.

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The Mutants have arrived! These evil, mutant bugs are the result of cuttlefish casting gone bad. I have learned, in the past week, that cuttlefish casting just might not be my forte. I have tried casting six times and half of them have turned out properly. Three of my bugs didn’t work at all. Two worked, but looked bad. I finally told Sarah that it was time for me to learn another form of casting.

Mutant Bug Party

The weird thing about my cuttlefish casting experience is that the very first one I did turned out perfect. Here’s the button I first cast. The original button is one the right, the cast piece is on the left.

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October begins with bacon! Mmmm, bacon. Hey, move over bacon, here comes Sizzlelean! Ok, enough of that. Let’s get down to business. I’m so excited to bring you what I think might be the most disgusting recipe ever. Seriously. I’m actually going to copy this verbatim and, I promise, I’m not making this up.

• Broiled Banana Appetizers. Choose yellow bananas with green tips - not too ripe. Peel; wrap bacon strip around each and peg with toothpick (don’t let ends of picks stick out). With pancake turner, roll bananas back and forth on greased grill top until bacon is cooked, about 5 minutes. (Takes a hot fire - you want bacon to crisp before banana cooks too much.) Count on a small banana or half a large one per serving.

Ok, first, how drunk do you have to be to invent this recipe? Was this some sort of prank? And what’s with not letting the ends of the picks stick out? Maybe it’s because you want to poke your eyes out after reading this recipe. What really cracks me up is that you’re supposed to grease the grill. Like you won’t get enough grease from the bacon. Bananas and bacon? Ewwww!

To cleanse the palate, may I suggest the ever-popular Bacon-Cheese Bites. These lovely artery-cloggers-on-a-stick will be a hit at your next shindig or hootenanny. Simply wrap 1-inch cubes of sharp process American cheese in partially cooked slices of bacon. Grill, rotating, until bacon is done and cheese is melty.

Well, bacon and cheese doesn’t really sound all that bad, but this is one big gut buster of an appetizer. First, make sure guests are not lactose-intolerant. Second, give the vegetarians a relish tray. Third, and most important, don’t eat too many!

Pictured below: Mushroom Buttons, Bacon-Cheese Bites, Cocktail Totem, Western Starter (coming soon) and Shrimpkin. As always, Bon Appetite!

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I’ve decided to search for a new perfume and it’s no small task. For the last two years I’ve worn Stella Sheer by Stella McCartney and I love it. However, I’m trying to branch out and decided to look for a winter fragrance. Problem is, I hate most perfumes and they hate me. A lot of fragrances that smell good in the bottle or sprayed on a piece of paper, turn ugly when combined with my chemistry. Tonight, while puttering around Macy’s, I decided to peruse the fragrance counter. Most were not my style, but I found one I was willing to actually put on my body. It’s Euphoria by Calvin Klein. Calvin, Ralph Lauren and I have a nice history. Most of the fragrances don’t change on me. This one, Euphoria, was warm with a note of fruit on top. However, after wearing it for the past two hours, I must say it’s a bit too strong. It’s a nice scent, just too much for me. I’m looking for something sheer, warm and not too sweet. I don’t like too much vanilla, amber or pachouli. Any suggestions?

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