Art doesn’t just happen by accident. It is about pulling out new tricks and trying new things.
~Nicholas Meyer
A bad tendency to explode
So much for the angry parnsip not getting weirder. Leaving the bottom to dry — top branches and sanding tomorrow. Joy of joys. Should probably drag the frond factory back out, but…bleh. Maybe some test bundles; at least form an accurate estimate.
Or I could stitch Ruby, put together my present, research sewing machines, bust out the stained glass FPP pattern, start a Project Linus quilt. Literally anything else. I should base the forest dragon while the airbrush is out. I really am hopeless.
Most of us only teach our children not to admit to prejudice. A parent training a child not to say certain things that are overtly racist is teaching the child self-censorship rather than how to examine the deeply embedded racial messages we all absorb. Ideally, we would teach our children how to recognize and challenge prejudice, rather than deny it.
~Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility, 2018.
Tedium & Adhesives
Holiday proximity is overloading focus.
Lotta snow dumped on the Cascades, but at least stationary water doesn’t flush dumpsters down the Clackamas. Back to our regularly scheduled drizzle and gloom. Until the windstorm hits. ‘Tis the season for a disaster movie.
In sum, we propose a continuum of contact and closeness in the realm of weak ties, progressing from stranger to fringeship. Individuals we encounter periodically and recognize without much emotion become consequential strangers. We engage with “familiars” regularly and they may evoke positive or negative feelings. And the familiars with whom we have a particularly fond relationship and particularly connect with are fringeships.
~Fingerman, et al. More than an Acquaintance Less than a Friend: Fringeships in Everyday Life. Review of General Psychology, 28 July 2025.
Sisyphus & Sincerity
There is a distinct possibility I did not think this through enough. Not saying I miss my power tools, but…we adapt. Lotta lather, rinse, repeat on this one. I should probably dig out a drop cloth.
Only fleshed out a few branches on the armature today, but all the layers were thin and allowed to dry fully. That’s progress of a different sort.
Thinking about swapping the foliage base out, drop the mercerized cotton for a double strand of embroidery thread – increased adhesive absorption and surface area. Not rigging sails with it, so tensile strength is immaterial; at worst, it’s ineffective. Only ever one way to find out.
Did not expect to cry by the 50 page mark. Punctuation game is on point.
Marilla felt more embarrassed than ever. She had intended to teach Anne the childish classic, “Now I lay me down to sleep.” But she had, as I have told you, the glimmerings of a sense of humor–which is simply another name for a sense of the fitness of things; and it suddenly occurred to her that that simple little prayer, sacred to white-robed childhood lisping at motherly knees, was entirely unsuited to this freckled witch of a girl who knew nothing about God’s love, since she had never had it translated to her through the medium of human love.
~L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Watching the world go by
Cause clearly what this situation needed was fucking hail. Fantastic.
Skipped adding paint to the mix yesterday. Between that and the plastic clumps, the angry parnsip is exuding molding-purple-spots vibes. I don’t have the patience for another round of goop; I think he’s bulked enough to pivot.
We’ll see how he dries. In the meantime, there is much foliage to be made.
Maybe it was a request. Maybe if we all offer up more Halestorm, Mother Nature will stop waterboarding us.
The pendulum swings for those who dare wait
May have gotten crazy with the cheese whiz. Rather than shred wadding, decided to use shavings from the pencil sharpener in the fiber paste recipe. Unfortunately, I am a child, and only purchase pencils with flame, tie-dye, or holographic wraps. Started to sort out the plastics but it got monotonous fast.
Threw down with the usual subjects until things got non-Newtonian, and progressed to the angry parsnip stage. Once the base layer is dry, can start the branches and roots. Next time lighter on the plaster and heavier on the corn starch.
Which is apparently not going to be tonight, cause he’s still tacky. I always underestimate the plaster dry time.
Counting the hours
Busted levies on the White River and the Green. Another front moving in – high winds and soggy ground. At 0530 there were dozens of outages all across the metro, and most of Vancouver was dark AF. 100K without power, far too many without heat, and we’ve barely set the stage. Candles and sterno are stocked, rechargeables are topped off, cooler retrieved from storage.
Good time for a new project. If I don’t get out of my head and into my hands soon, my cranium is going to combust and I’m not cleaning that up. Might finally be time to make the damn tree; nothing loves water quite like a willow.
Armature is 22ga floral wire and I only bled twice. (Edit: That I noticed at the time; now that the swelling has set in, I look like I tussled with a feral cat. Next time wear the damn gloves.)
Out of baby powder to make fiber paste. I could probably whip up something workable with plaster.
