what?

Alas, my theory that gessoing cotton before stretching it would make it stronger & easier to stretch has been disproved. It makes a stiff fabric that can't get anything near taut, and leaves you with a lumpy, loose surface. This will not do. I did have a nice chunk of thick, lightly stretchy fabric- sort of a brocade, but not as fancy. This stretched beautifully over the frame & sounds like a drum. THIS I can work with.

So I just spent the last hour or so messing with one failure & one success, and my hands are sore from the staple gun. My ears are also ringing from the repeated blasts- sometimes I had to hit it 4 times before a staple came out. Next time: ear plugs. You what, now?

burn, baby, burn!

I have an idea for a project... it's just not ready to be... born. It's a combination of a phoenix/sculpture/assemblage/with a light/lamp thing, and a desire I've been having to burn things. We have a chiminea in our yard, and I like the smell of woodsmoke. The best is throwing in dried trimmings from our bay laurel- it's like outdoor incense.

The idea is to take a birdcage- I haven't decided on metal or bamboo- and burn something in it. This will either char the metal or burn through the bamboo. I'll scatter some red/orange/yellow feathers on the bottom of the cage, and voila! The implied phoenix has burned itself out and is on to reinvent itself. This is a direct representation of quitting the grey cubicle job and going to being a full time artist. I want to convey a sense of freedom, and having the door open would do that nicely. But the point is that the bird burned out- it didn't fly out. If I use a bamboo cage, the fire will burn through the top, and leave a hole. That's what I'll do. :-)

At first I was thinking of using a regular sized cage, then I was faced with "where do I put it?" I figure I'll do a smaller one- I should be able to find many a size of birdcage, as they're so often used for decor. eBay, here I come!