Lady Bug Circus

New Favorite Blog

http://wvartist.wordpress.com/

Check out Robert Villamagna's blog and see how he assembles his tin work. Also check out the cool flea markets he goes to. This man has a great life.

Red Hot Poker, by any other name...

 

Red Hot Pokers (also known as Torch Lilies or Tritomas, Kniphofia uvaria) grew like weeds along the stairs down to my mother's garden.

I have a couple of them in the yard that look a little ratty, but I love them just the same. I once suggested to a woman, I used to know, that she could plant some in her garden. She said she would never plant anything in her garden that was called a Red Hot Poker. I guess I shoulda said Kniphofia uvaria instead.

Molly Norris has a book!

Check it out by clicking here, then buy it, you won't be disappointed.  It's funny and brilliant at the same time.

Today's trip to the Zoo and Rose Garden

 

Did I mention I have the world's greatest job? Today we went to the Woodland Park Zoo and Rose Garden. The animals were posing for their close-ups. I think this guy was asleep.

 

The new penguin exhibit is great.

 

The roses were in full bloom.

 

It was a lovely day with the residents.

 

Early evening sunlight

 

This time of year, there's a fleeting moment in the early evening, just before sunset, when there's a beam of sunlight that comes through the dining room window. Everything in its path is illuminated. I stand there staring at the glow and in a blink, it's gone.

Family

I was getting ready to leave work yesterday when a resident came up to the counter and said "When do you get off?" I said "Right now and I'm heading home to my family." To which she said "You mean your other family". sweet huh?

A Gift to Myself

So now when I walk out of the house or come home to it, I will be oh so very happy to see the patio.

 

Two and a half days of weeding, raking, moving pots, planting a few flowers, a tomato (a squash plant from Kerrie H.) and one load to the dumps and it looks great.

 

Ahhhhhhhhh.

A cowboy...

 

jumps into an active volcano. The interior of the volcano is a really great shiny magenta color that doesn't show up in this scan. 2 more panels to go.

Vacation Time

I'm half way through my vacation and have yet to pull one weed.

 

There are hundreds of honey and bumble bees in this tree. The sound of buzzing was what first caught my attention. Unfortunately none of them show up in the photo.

Third Robot

 

That's it I'm through with robot portraits. Originally the series was to be of 24 robots(what was I thinking?), but enough already! The world is full of artist who can create the same thing over and over for years and never tire of it. I am puzzled by this. How does what they do keep their attention?

On to the next ideas...

Finished but not quite done...

 

After.

 

Before.

It's interesting how a work evolves over just a few days. Different pieces of tin catch my eye and end up getting swapped out for what was there originally.

Another Small One (that's almost done)

 

 

This was an experiment, and it was successful. I learned a lot from doing this. Click on the image to enlarge.

Better 1? Better 2?

You know how when you go to the eye doctor and he/she holds those lenses up to your eyes and says Better 1? Better 2? as they change them back and forth? I do that a lot when a piece is in progress. Sometimes having a photograph of it to look at, on and off during the day, helps me decide which one looks better.

 

 

 

A tad more to do

 

This was inspired by a resident whose wife had passed away. He said there is a hole in his heart where the wind blows through.

Beginning of the Robot Series

 

For quite a while now I have been sketching and looking at different robot images. Mostly old tin toy robots. This is the first one and it still isn't nailed down yet. On this one the background was done first which is less satisfying to me because the tin is just being layered instead of fitted together. When it's put together, as say a puzzle is, it has a very flat appearance and a better crafted look. But since I want to make a number of these I am doing it the down and dirty way.

So here he is nailed down. When multiple layers of tin have to be nailed in place it's easy to goof up. The awl can slip or go too deep and create a hole that is larger than your nail head. For these challenges I came up with some nifty solutions. Seems that with each piece I learn soooo much.

Nailed down

So the tin is nailed down, now comes the challenging part. What to do about the background? The possibilities are infinite. For now this piece gets set aside while I ruminate about all the different directions this can go. Another work gets started, on to the robot.

Studio project...

 

Look at this piggy bank. It's awful and fabulous at the same time. It's made from some kind of brittle plastic. It's the perfect image needed for an idea I have. No, not about any flu viruses.

 

While working out the pieces to this piggy project, I have placed the cut out metal shapes on magnets so I can see it evolve before nailing it down. This is a great way to work because the work can be leaned up against something and viewed from across the room.

Just a little more to do...

 

 

 

 

Inspired by a Mexican embroidery cloth my mother did in 1972 when we lived in Loreto, B.C. Sur. The one she did said something like En este cesta, le doy mi amor (In this basket I give you my love). The thumbs up sign is from a container of Chinese pepper that was given to me by Bianca S.  Click on image to enlarge.

...and the horse you rode in on

The colors aren't quite right on this one either, but you get the idea. It still needs the edging done to it, so it's not exactly finished yet. It's a new twist on an old saying.

Flower Arrangement

The whole day was spent in the studio. This piece was started 2 months ago and is still being worked on. Look at these bad snapshots to get a sense of the work (colors are off). The flowers are on magnets so they can be re-arranged. Hence the title Flower Arrangement.