My Amazing Friends, Chapter One

The word “amazing” is overused these days. It is often pronounced “uh-MAY-zing” and has taken the place formerly occupied by “awesome”, pronounced “AHHH-sum”. My uh-MAY-zing and Oh-so-wise Dad was bothered by the description inflation of “awesome”. He said that very little was truly awesome, short of God or his (God’s, not Dad’s) handiwork. I’ve grown up with the word “amazing” usually reserved for God’s grace. . . heard the song?

Nonetheless, I have some friends who amaze me with their creativity and generosity and abilities. Today we begin learning of those friends.

First, there is Bob. He lives in Three Rivers and is a superb craftsman, a unique Tulare County artist (or would that be “artisan”?).

Look what Bob has made:

Fantastically beautiful and functional, oversized and modified Adirondack chairs from salvaged redwood. These chairs have arms large enough for a cat, some knitting, a plate of food, a skinny friend’s hiney to perch, or the Wall St. Journal in its entirety. When I sit in one of his original designs, my feet stick out in front of me, and I want to shout, “OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!”

Bob modified his design to fit smaller humans, such as myself. I am not small, but medium. Bob is not medium, so sometimes I have to remind him that things which fit him swallow up medium people such as his sweet wife or me.

Look what else Bob made for me:

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This is a GIANT easel on wheels that lock. I’m reluctant to get paint on it. When it is all set up with a canvas (AFTER I finish the year of drawing The Cabins of Wilsonia) then I will take the plunge and begin using this AHHHH-sum and uh-MAY-zing piece of equipment.

To view Bob’s work, go here: Kelbro Stoneworks

Tomorrow I will post at The Cabins of Wilsonia.

An Odd Job

As a California artist based in rural Tulare County, I am willing to do odd jobs. Odd art jobs, that is. (Please don’t call me to wash your windows – they will probably turn out odd.) Staying in the business of art in a place like this means saying, “Yes” when  asked to do odd jobs.

I’ve shown you some of the unusual things I’ve been asked to do in the past. Here are a few links if you want to see some of these items (each will open in a separate tab or window): cabin sign (gotta scroll down the post to see it), chair back slat, ornament (you can read the entire story and see all the photos in December 2011), antique window, pet sign, boat sign, quilt square. There are more, but I fear I will test your patience and you will say TLDR*.

My latest job could sort of be considered a mural, sort of a commission: a faded decal on a recreational vehicle at a mobile home park in Hanford, California.

It was a challenging and fun job. (I consider a job fun when the conditions are good and the job turns out well.)

The most fun part was mixing the colors to match the non-faded sides of the RV.

This side wasn’t faded as badly but the owner requested a touch-up here too.

*Too long, didn’t read

Not Much Snow in March in Mineral King

Not much snow on Sawtooth.

 

Not much snow in the valley looking toward Farewell Gap.

No snow on the south-facing slopes; not much snow on the north facing slope on the Sawtooth trail.

Not much snow for March.

Decisions, Decisions

The commissioned pencil drawing presented several challenges. When a place is really beautiful, visually captivating, unusually interesting, my oh my it is difficult to choose the right view!

I didn’t intend to draw this view but thought it made a nice photo.

The door by which one enters a building is considered the “face” and is usually the most welcoming view.

Since it is actually the office of a ranching business, showing the tank with the name was a good commercial idea.

This used to be the front door. It faced the afternoon sun, and with the stone steps and the view beyond, I was a goner. But I knew it wasn’t even worth showing to the customer because this sort of view is not why people commission me to draw their houses and offices and cabins and ranch offices.

This is the view which attracted my attention to this beautiful house way back when. . . with the orange trees recently topped, the house really shows up well. Unfortunately, topped trees look sort of like a weird lumpy lawn.

Come back tomorrow to see which view the customer chose! 

Commissioned Pencil Drawing Coming Up

I’m drawing my brains out, working on The Cabins of Wilsonia. (Okay, I’m not really drawing my brains out – I need them for stuff like posting to my blog. Try not to take me too literally here.) When I get commissions, I take a break from that Giant Project.

There is a house here in Tulare County that I have admired for years. It is on a road I really like – it is curvy, against the foothills, and it meanders through citrus country. A friend was hired to do some work at this house and provided the name and address of the owner.

I had the audacity to write a letter introducing myself and asking if he would like to hire me to draw the house.

He did not respond.

I was embarrassed, but got over it. If I was a really good business person, I probably would have followed up with a phone call. Alas, I don’t want to be sellsy, so I let it go.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the man’s wife, via a common friend. (She isn’t really “common” – she is actually quite special. But, what I meant is that she is a friend to me and to the wife. Try not to take me so literally here.) She asked if I could draw the house for her hubby’s upcoming birthday. She mentioned that I had written to her husband awhile back – I was a little embarrassed, but also pleased that my self-promotion hadn’t been too sellsy.

Trail Guy and I went to the house to get some photos. Now that he is retired, he gets involved in the more fun parts of my business. He also does errands for me so I can draw uninterrupted.

These are not the photos I am using for the drawing – because it is a birthday surprise, and because there is a 1 in 1,000,000 chance that the man reads my blog, I’m not showing you those yet.

On the off chance that he does read my blog, he won’t know which view I am drawing. Sneaky of me, yes?

Now that I only have Perkins, I am especially vulnerable to any and all cats. Try not to take advantage of this weakness, please.

If I didn’t love living in Three Rivers, I’d want to live here. Of course, I thought that when I was in Blowing Rock, Washington, and Downers Grove. Stop it.

After the birthday gift has been given, I’ll show you the photos I used, the ones I didn’t use, and the finished drawing. I think it turned out great, but given the subject matter, how could it be anything except beautiful?

Making Stuff, Chapter 5

Tile, tile, everywhere!

Anyone out there aware of Pinterest? I’ve heard it can suck you in, turn you into a materialistic and self-centered spoiled brat who wastes hours looking at stuff, wishing for stuff, and collecting pictures of stuff.

Me? It just makes me want to make more stuff. Useful, functional, beautiful Real Stuff.

I kept seeing these wonderful garden ornaments on Pinterest. They seemed like gazing balls, but they weren’t reflecting. Instead, they were . . . yep, you guessed it. . . TILED!

After chasing a few links, I learned these were bowling balls. Tiled bowling balls?

Where does a non-bowler find an old bowling ball? If you are me, you ask your friend Bill, the source of anything cool or unusual or necessary in the unending journey of Making Stuff.

After Bill sent me a bowling ball, I looked through my mosaic supplies. Whoa! Check out the teacup handle! That’s also from Bill.  This is how the bowling ball looked when everything was attached but not yet grouted.

 

There isn’t much planning available when tiling a sphere. You just pick your colors, get your pieces together, and begin attaching.

Don’t try to pick this up by the teacup handle, ‘k?

Making Stuff, Chapter 4

Usable, functional, beautiful, real stuff  that I made myself. This is the grown up version of a toddler saying “Me do it!!” No pipe cleaners (are those actually for cleaning pipes?) or glue guns for this chick!

Last time I warned you not to put tile on things that were rotting.

This time I am warning you not to put tile on rusty discs that will then contain water. This was a beautifully tiled bird bath, welded from a couple of discs, a pipe and an auger tip by Cowboy Bert. The water and the rust caused the tile to discolor, and then the tiles began to fall off. Well, bummer. Now I just repaint it blue every year. It’s time again, wouldn’t you agree?

This is a weird little table top that is secured onto a weird little concrete pipe. It is the perfect place for storing your can of Off, which is necessary when you are sitting in your Adirondack chair while BBQing in the evening. (There is an abundance of mosquitos in Three Rivers.) Perhaps you should be pulling the oxalis instead of just sitting.

My friend Bill either made or salvaged this table base for me. He is the source of many cool items, most of which are the basis for more coolness.

In fact, Bill is the source of many of the tiles I have used in my quest to cover almost everything I own with bright colors and grout.

But Wait! There’s More!

You didn’t actually think I was done showing you all the tiled items and other things I have made? I wasn’t kidding when I told you that I love to make stuff!

Making Stuff, Chapter 3

I love to make stuff, real, usable stuff, things that enhance life both in usefulness and beauty. You can keep your pipe cleaners, glue guns and felt – I want things that function and that last.

I learned that tile can be used in many ways. (I was not kidding when I said I went nutso over this stuff!)

My friend Bill made the table and gave it to me to mosaic. The plan was for me to sell it, and we would all go to dinner. The table didn’t sell, I use it every day, and the restaurant closed. Thanks, Bill!

This drinking fountain is sort of low. So what? It is eminently cool, particularly with its matching stepping stone. Have you accessorized your drinking fountain?

This step had to be tiled twice. Don’t put tile on a rotting item. It doesn’t work. Don’t put a fabulous doormat in front of a tiled step. No one will notice the step. Everyone will notice the doormat. Everyone will ask if you made the doormat. You will have to admit that your friend bought it somewhere for you. Everyone will studiously ignore the step, and you will wonder if it is weird. You will decide that it doesn’t matter, because you love the step.

Would you believe there is more stuff that I have tiled, and more stuff that I have made, and more stuff that I want to make, and more stuff that I have persuaded other people to make for me?

Making Stuff will be continued. . .

 

 

Mural Make-over

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

Nope, that’s not the subject of this blog post. But, sometimes an aunt has to do what she has to do. I’m in awe of my niece, proud of her, and so pleased to be her aunt.

In March of 2012, I painted a mural on the side of the building that was to become Sequoia Outdoor Sports. This is a business that is needed in Three Rivers, where thousands pass through on their way to Sequoia National Park for camping, backpacking, hiking and snow-shoeing.

I thought it turned out well, in spite of the fact that they requested sequoia trees where there are none. I am a hired paintbrush, and it is my job to make the customer happy (even when it causes a slight tic under my left eye).

The mural faded. This is highly disappointing, since I use high-end mural paints that are formulated to be lightfast and very saturated. I work from just the primaries, so I order the blues, yellows and reds with the highest lightfast rating. Apparently, even the magic of chemistry is not enough to compete with the sun on a south-facing wall.

Heehee, this reminds of those horrid photos they take of people right before a makeover. Weird unbrushed hair, no make-up, icky facial expression . . . in this case, it is shadows on the mural. That’s so you can fully appreciate the contrast to the final product.

Okay, now I know people will be slamming on their brakes, chattering excitedly to one another, “Where did that come from? What sort of business it that? We must check it out!”

I agree! You should check out Sequoia Outdoor Sports. It is a classy place, with a tremendous amount of great gear for camping and backpacking and who knows what else – ummm, they do! Why lug your old gear to Sequoia when you can travel without all that stuff, rent the best, turn it in at the end of your trip and not have to clean it up? Hmmmm?

P.S. In the local paper’s annual Best of Kaweah Country, this mural was voted the favorite in Three Rivers! In my humble opinion, it was because it was the newest that year. But, thanks, Three Rivers!!