This One's For You.....

Dear TBD, here are some pics that I took especially for you! I don't think I need to give you any explanation - the pictures speak for themselves.

ENJOY!!!!!!

Here are pictures of our late night guests..... We musicians throw such great parties that anyone or anything will do whatever it takes to get in...even hang on the side of the house. This little critter is up right under the roof of the deck holding on as there is nowhere for him to go.

And then finally we took the soiree inside and the critter got down onto the railing and spied on us through the window.

Play flute every day for 10 minutes.

My new goal. No, it isn't lofty or terribly inspiring, but I figure if I post about it, I'll HAVE to practice every day because The World is Watching.
And expecting my next platinum album and 15th debut performance at Carnegie Hall.
I wish there was some way to play with other musicians ONLINE in real time. No pressures, mistakes okay, stopping to laugh in the middle of a phrase....belching because you've been gulping air....all fair game. Even belching just because YOU CAN is fine.
Not that any one I know would do anything like that.
Anyway, I need to practice ALSO staying ON TASK....So....
I'm posting today that I practiced technique exercises for 15 minutes. It was a very long 15 minutes and I have to admit I thought it would never end. And, instead of increasing the time tomorrow, I'm going to tell myself that I only have to practice for 10 minutes.
Counter productive? Not for me. In my quest to LOVE playing again, I've need to be flexible in my routine. I must HAVE a routine, but I don't want Miss. Fluteteacherfromhell yelling at me in my brain that I'm lazy and should keep playing for 3 hours. YES, I know THAT would be better than 10 or 15 minutes, but for NOW, 10 or 15 minutes is enough.
For now.
My goal IS to increase my time, but only if I'm ENJOYING it. I feel too often classical musicians are forced to be PERFECT and take all abusive external and internal thoughts FOR THE SAKE OF THE MUSIC. Well, scroo that. Yes, scroo that. I've been doing it that way for 30 years and it has burned me out. I'm trying something new. Will it work? Hellidunno.
For today, I've achieved my mission. Now, I'm on to MORE FUN and whimsy.
If none of this made sense, bite me Miss Fluteteacherfromhell, I don't need you badgering me any more. Go home and soak your head.
Yeah, maybe I'll post some pics later.

Ta Ta Chickens.

Do you know where it is SET, my dear? In a BROTHEL!

Oh my GOSH, it is such a culture shock to be BACK after touring with that rock band around the world. I swear I'll have jet lag for a least a MONTH. Anyway, I thought I'd begin to post a few items I harvested whilst abroad. My only thought was of the anesthetic prosthetic aesthetic value of each luxurious piece. With each post, I'm sure you can see each treasure speaks volumes of my artistic tastes:

For the brothel:


For the brothel at night:


The haute art was also gleaned during my precious few moments away from my fans.
I'm just WIPED OUT with exhaustion. I'll post more later. TA TA chickens.

Is it getting hot here or is it just me?

Alas, a lot of time has past - feels as if it's been years, and yet it's only been weeks since I last blogged. This will be short and sweet..... here are some pics from the deck. I hope you enjoy the view as much as I have been enjoying...NO, WAIT -- let's do this in order. FIRST, the move....

Here is the Princess in her royal carriage carrying her from her old castle to her new castle.


The Navajo Bridge - opened in January 1929 - was the first direct highway route between Arizona and Utah across the Colorado River. The original bridge (left) is now closed to traffic, but it open for people to walk on. A second bridge (you can see a small portion of it on the right side of the photo), was built to handle the newer heavier vehicles. It was built to look identical to the original.


A bridge with a view - looking down on the Colorado River:

FINALLY, we're here! This is the view that I enjoy every day from the deck. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

And now for the Paradisaical backyard of the big bro!

I'll Have My Cake and Eat it TOO!

TBD, thank you for the birthday wishes.  I ate so much I'm surprised I didn't POP!  Here is the lovely cake (the name has been removed to protect the innocent...that would be me)

And the beautiful flowers....

Now, for something completely different..... REEDS.   Yes, I, IB am a double reed God and have created reeds.  Behold the beauty of the double reeds:

And, let us not forget the hours spent on making the bridal shower cookies.  Sorry you can't partake of the delectable delights - perhaps your friend will eventually send you some.  In the meantime, please know that these were a big hit and tasted, uhm, how shall one say DELICIOUS!

Birthday Grrrrrrl

Happy Birthday IB! Someone needs to get their head out of their birthday cake and post on the blog.............. HINT HINT.

I reject your Paint By Number scheme and substitute my own....

As many of you are aware, I've exhibited some of my work in some mighty fine art galleries from here to New Mexico. So, of course, after getting the Paint by Number bug a few days ago, I HAD to buy a kit TODAY.

Kit as bought:










Same kit pimped out with REAL acrylic paints in complete Mezzo Presto fashion because we hates the wimpy little uninspired pots of useless goop. Also observe the crock of artistically arranged paint brushes added for panache:



We'll see how it turns out. I worked on it some today, then my muse disappeared and I worked on this. Doggie included for scale:





Looks kinda like those Byzantine artifacts someone digs up, polishes, and photographs for National Geographic. And, of course it needed MORE stuff on it, so I added MORE stuff on it....







I give you Psychedelic Byzantium:



I finished the back with the same sticky felt I used on the sparkly bracelet.
Yep, those are sequins, the base is made from those cheap glass beads from our fave crafty store. The little blue glass seed beads are actually real Delicas...rescued from the bargain wall at same said fave crafty place. No, haven't put the clasp on yet.

And, this arrived last week, left on my front porch. All 500 pounds of it. It is a storage cabinet.
Here's the before shot. Doggie included for scale:




Here's the after shot:


Yeah, I know...the after shot is of it AFTER I pulled/dragged it into the house. It may take a couple of weeks to regroup and get the thing put together.
Or months.
IB, when did you say you were going to stop by for a visit????

Behold, the beauty of the beads....

Well TBD here it is  - the latest creation.  The idea was that of a flower garden - nice pretty pastel flowers.  I'm not sure if I like the overall look.  Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't.  I will continue on and not give up on this creation.  Perhaps once the flowers have all been "planted" I'll like it more.  

And, just for fun - here is the Princess sitting on her throne, next to the sparkly fruited tree, observing the peasant (that would be me) wandering through her kingdom. 

Duct Tape Happens

Hey IB. Well, I'm back. Trip was not without incident, however. I popped open my car's sunroof and it wouldn't completely close afterward. I pushed on the hinge, trying to slide it back, then said a couple of bad words, then took it to the local dealer who announced that they did not have the part in stock to fix it. Rain was in the forecast......Long story short, went to our fave crafty place and got black Duct Tape to match the car (of course, I LOVED the RED Duct Tape, but that would have looked tacky.) It really does match better than in the picture. Really.



OMG, I can't wait to get it fixed.

And, for those that have been asking, here are some shots from what it looks like 4 minutes before a performance:



Mezzo Presto action shots:



For those who are about to Rock, I salute you:



Very exciting, no? Anyway, it killed a couple of minutes. I was going to take some shots AFTER the performance, but I was so wiped out that I didn't have the energy to reach down and dig out the camera. I crawled out to my car and had to just sit in it for about 10 minutes before I could drive back to where I was staying.

I think I need some SRV therapy. Johnny says hey.

You Better Give Me Those Shoes

Ah, that famous line that I love to repeat from "The Bad Seed" - an old black and white movie.  If you haven't watched it, you need to just to behold the acting.  It's not a comedy, but you WILL laugh!  Well, as you may remember, TBD, today was a bad day and so to make myself feel better I did what every red blooded American does - I went and SPENT MONEY!  Yes, I spent money that I should not have spent and I spent it on something totally frivolous, but fantastic! Yes, behold .... THE SHOES.....  

They really do look much more fantastic in person.  Plus, I got $10 off the already low price! 

And let us not forget these shoes:

Yes, shoes - my Prozac!  Now all I need to do is make some jewelry to go with the funtastical shoes.  

Hey TBD, this is in response to your note to me after I sent you the link to this puzzle...

The description read "These FUN puzzles have the same image on both sides. To up the challenge, the image on the back is rotated 90 degree" and you responded: FUN? THAT'S FUN?

I want you to picture this - Immortal Beloved (hereafter known as IB) orders the puzzle because IB loves puzzles. IB can't wait for the puzzle to arrive. It arrives. Excitement ensues. IB rips open the package and starts the "puzzle" ritual of taking out all the edge pieces. IB can hardly contain the excitement. IB begins..... IB looks....and looks....and continues to look....confidence begins to wane. WAIT A MATCH - two pieces put together...confidence once again builds and the excitement increases. OK, IB feels confident "I will be able to finish the puzzle". OH, another match and yet another one.... now looking, looking....looking, is this one? Nope....looking, looking, ah, here's one...nope...looking....looking HERE'S ONE - I'm sure of it...nope, frick. Confidence rating now at zero, fundar is now down to about one. IB thinks, "I'm NOT going to give up I'm NOT! Okay, maybe if I move the pieces around that will help - okay, got them moved".... looking...looking...looking.... IB, now talking outloud says, "Maybe I need better light" - more lights are turned on. "Good, I'm SURE that will help". OKAY, looking - AH two more pieces together - only 492 more to go. See, I knew that more light would help..... ten minutes pass.... twenty.... thirty.... DANG.....thirty five...CARP! Fundar down into the negative now. All of a sudden puzzle pieces FLY across the room. Kitty cat leaps up stunned by the puzzle piece rainfall and runs into the other room - more puzzle pieces are thrust into the atmosphere. IB gently stomps into the other room for a refreshing beverage and some comfort food. IB sure does LOVE puzzles. What a relaxing way to spend the evening. Only one dilemma remains - does IB pick up the renegade pieces now or in the morning? IB will vote for in the morning. Good night everybody! stoopid puzzle.

As I wandered through the salon.........

Hey IB. Windy here today, but didn't stop me from sitting outside ALL day long. I made FIRE with pinon wood. Smelled GOOD. Also got sunburned legs. Oh well.
Anyway, you wanted to see how I finished off the ends of the bracelet that I did on the loom...that is the same as yours, but I was too lazy to do it per the directions and did it on the loom instead. First, observe The Bracelet in all of its sparkle-in-the-sunshine glory:



Here it is on the loom with the checkerboard bracelet:



And here it is off the loom. I DID attempt to weave in all 40 some-odd warp threads, but it was just too much thread for the beads to handle, so I improvised and chanted mantras to the great loom goddess. Goddesses. Whatever. ...and decided to use a strip of self-adhesive felt to hold the loose threads across the back. This also made for a more stable foundation to sew on the buttons and loops.



I was concerned the sticky stuff on the back wouldn't be strong enough. However, I'm not sure if it was due to the hot sun or what, but the felt really adhered to the beads. I'll be using this technique again on the checkerboard bracelet, but I need to get some other color felt besides brown. I just happen to have it in my stash....got it from the local craft store.

Also, I made the bracelet longer this time around, and STILL added 7 extra beads to the loops to make it slightly longer. I measured the dang thing 432 times and it was still a bit too snug. I'm thinking it was due to the wideness of the bracelet.

This is the checkerboard with ornaments. The ornaments no longer exist. I just didn't like how it was turning out:



I've since started a pattern using beads from the bead fest. I wasn't feeling terribly adventurous and I'm only using two colors. I figured the pattern and the sparkly would be interest enough:



And that, my friend, is it for today. Can't wait to see your latest art clay endeavor! I GET DIBS.



Not responsible for typos and bad grammar. I'm sure it can be blamed on the wind as I blogged this from my backyard.

There's a First Time For Everything.....

OK, here it is - the grand unveiling of my first attempt with precious metal clay.

It turned out okay, but nothing spectacular. It was a fun learning process and I'm ready to create my next jewelry piece with PMC. Here's just a little run down of the process.... I'm going to chronicle this for you in pictures..... here I rolled out the clay to 3 cards thick.

I did learn very quickly that you have to put a moisturizer or oil on your hands (I used Slik) or else the clay sticks and dries out very quickly. After rolling out the clay I cut it into two rectangles and then stamped my image into the clay. Pretty complicated so far don't you think....but wait, it will get much more exciting...I hope you can keep up.

Here comes the exciting part.....I let the pieces dry overnight. After they had dried I sanded them a little bit, but here's where I made my first mistake - I didn't sand them as much as I should have. Silly me, I thought that with the heat and the silver merging into a solid mass that a miracle would happen and it would somehow smooth itself out. Well, that is a mistake I won't make again.

Anyway, I was overly excited to fire them so I did it on a windy day because every day the wind would blow and I got tired of waiting. So I opened all the windows in the house and set up my SpeedFire Cone System next to the door so the possible fumes would be sent outside rather than staying inside and causing who knows what kind of damage to my noodle.

After what I'll just call a "little windy incident" and hearing a "tinkle tinkly tink" metal sound on the tile I figured out that the pieces were fired. After my heart stopped pounding I picked them up off the tile floor and put them on a plate to cool. I knew that there would be a white film on the silver, however, I had no idea that they would look similar to the way they looked before they were fired.

I did like the look of the silver after I burnished them with a soft

brass brush. The earring on the left is how it looked after firing, the earring on the right has been burnished. Since I was trying to learn I decided I wanted to polish them. This is when I learned that I definitely should have made them as smooth as possible before firing them. I had to sand and sand and then sand some more to get the backs smooth. It was my intent to polish them to a mirror finish. So after sanding I used the polishing papers to get them smooth and shiny.

Then it was on to the tumbler. I threw them in the tumbler and an hour later VOILA! my first pair of shiny silver earrings. I turned the corners over to add a little flare to them.

Drive by blogging.

Well, I've made some progress with the loom. A checkerboard bracelet for now.
Doggie included for scale:

I've also made significant progress on the sparkly carrot. It really is a wonder.
Yeah, it is a beaded and sequined carrot.

And, for something completely random, this is a photo of a hallway where I work. One must pack a lunch just to walk from one end of it to the other.






I'm not feeling terribly creative right now, so that'll be all for the moment.

Mama and Papa Duck say Hey: