Necessity is a Mutha

Because sometimes you need something, and you need it RIGHT NOW!

We were on the train, Amtrak to be exact, to West Virginia. It was 6 am, and the sun was up, and I had been awake since 2. I was tired, grumpy, and only wanted to sleep. Unfortunately, the light was making it tough. Luckily, I had my size 9 needles and a skein of black Riverstone wool worsted in my knitting bag. I quickly whipped up a pattern in my head: cast on 18 stitches, knit 3 rows, purl 1, (to make a lifted rib to keep it from being heavy on my eyes) for 20 rows, then decrease at the bottom edge for 4 rows, then increase at the bottom edge for 4 rows, then repeat the purl 1 row, knit 3 rows back for 20 rows. Bind off. I wove in the ties (using the remnant of the long tail cast on for one tie).

The increasing and decreasing made the notch for my nose. It really worked suprizingly well, and by 7:30 or so, I had a functioning sleep mask.



The other passengers must have been SOOOOOO jealous.

OMG, someone likes me...

So, I got all linkedy linked today and sorta featured in a blog write up on the joys of wool and felt, if you go to Moods and Appetites, you can see it. They pictured my Winter Majesty Necklace. You can also see some other impressively amazing felt work by some artists that totally make me drool, and who I DO NOT feel worthy to be pictured with.

I shamefully COVET that felted cat skull. Morbid? Yes. Fantastic? Abso-freakin-lutely!

Just call me Garth...

I'm not worthy....I'm not worthy....I'm not worthy

MAKE LIKE A STOAT

Need I remind you, if you are in the USA today, to get out and VOTE VOTE VOTE like a BABY STOAT!

It is your priviledge and duty!

If you don't, you have nothing to complain about when your order isn't what you wanted!

All tied up

It is finished. The corset is done, and I couldn't be happier. My fingers are tired and exhausted and a little bloody and bruised, but it is done.

It took several days to do the handwork on the corset.

I had to finish the eyelet holes in silk buttonhole twist (which was from a stash of vintage sewing goods and was about 120 years old.

Then I had to pin in the lining, and start binding the thing at the top and bottom edges. I had originally planned to use leather for the binding, but couldn't get the needle to get through, so I fell back on cotton.

It took me four days of hand sewing and pinning to get the bindings all done. I thought that it would never be finished. But it is, and I tried it on for the first time tonight, without lacing in too tightly for fear that a bone might snap. But I was lucky, and they all seemed to hold. I laced in over my chemise, and I was pleased that the look was very authentic. It was stiffer than any other corset I had worn, and I could definitely feel the "cone" shape that it was wanting to push my body into. It also seemed to push my shoulders and upper back forwards, which was something that I was not expecting.

What I'm bound to do...

What the heck have I been doing with myself?

Honestly? I've been incredibly busy, just not with making as much stuff as I would like.

I have however been growing stuff (which I will share some images of).

Just recently I have gotten a fire in my belly again for the making, and thus I am back with posting to the blog. My latest project is a pair of 18th century stays using the JP Ryan strapless stays pattern.

I decided that it was time to have something to wear in my historical reenactment events that was a bit nicer than my leather jumps, and so wanted a pair of custom made stays, (corset) but was unwilling to pay the $300 and up to have them done. So as a challenge, I am making them myself.

I started on Saturday, October 11, and here is what I got done:

1. -Cut, sewed and fit the fitting muslin (out of muslin of course) which will then be used as the lining

2. -Cut the face and interfacing of the stays out of cotton drill which is a very heavy bodied fabric. (These are meant to be functional, not fancy)

3. -Sewed the face and interfacings together with a contrasting thread (machine stitched) so I could see the work

4. -Sewed up the body of the piece from the sandwiched face/interfacing pieces, once again in contrasting thread, and pressed open

5. -Sewed in the channels for the boning (yeah, machine stitched again, don't kill me, I only have a week to get this done) in a pale gold thread so it will be ever so slightly noticeable.

6. -Then I individual fit the bones into the channels. The channels were sewn to be 1/4 inch plus 1/16 ease to fit a 1/4 inch bone. I sewed all the channels freehand without marks, using only the presser foot as a guide, so it was a gamble if the bones would fit. I wanted to use half round basket reeding as my boning material, as this is fairly period correct. I cut each piece, shaped and sanded the ends, and in some cases, shaped the sides to fit the slightly more narrow edge channels. I ended up fitting in 88 bones to make a fully boned corset. I still have two bones to fit on the very ends outside the lacing eyelets....

The detritus of boning....

7. -I used a hammer and round punch to cut in the eyelets on one side (however after testing by sewing the eyelet, it may be too small and I may have to re-cut with a larger punch). I also turned the back edges over and hand basted the edge prior to punching the eyelets.

-WHEW~! All that in one day! What remains to be done is all the handwork...finishing punching eyelet holes, finishing them, sewing in the lining and binding all the edges...as well as checking for final fit and poky bones. I was going to bind in cotton, but I remembered some cream colored lightweight leather that I had laying around, and after consulting "What Clothes Reveal" I saw this was a very common binding material for corsets, and I think it will result in a sturdy finish.

Wish me luck!

Tigers in the Long Grass

Tigers in the Long Grass, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

I'm looking for some inspiration....

I have been busy cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. You know how when you think you are going to make something, and then you start to "tidy" the studio or office, and then it becomes a massive cleaning extravaganza, and then you never end up making what you went in there to make in the first place? Well, that is the state I am in right now.

I have to get inspired enough to overcome the urge to clean and triumph with the urge to make.

I took a bunch of photos when I was walking in town, this being one of them...thinking I could use them for felting inspiration. It is worth a try at least, isn't it?

Wordle

Another day, another new internet toy: Wordle

I created a wordle from the tags on my flikr images. I took a few out, that were a little personal or incongruous, fiddled with the colors and fonts a bit, and this is what I got.



I like it. I feel like it sums up what my art would be if it were manifest in word soup inside my brain. If you could open my cranium, it is what you would see on a hot June night.

Library Loving

So my little exhibit at the library went up yesterday. It was the first time that I had done anything like that and I think that it looks pretty good. It took me some time to finesse it to where I was happy with the display, but in the end, I was pleased. It was a combination of my felt work and some photos of my felt being worn. It is just one display cabinet, but it is a start! It runs for the whole month of June, and at least now I can say that I have had an exhibit!

I also included an artist statement and a bit about the history of felting, as well as some of my microscope images of wool fibers.

Snake scarf gets LOVE

snake scarf, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

So Craftmag saw my little snake scarf and decided to give it some love today in their blog. Yippee!

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/06/wetfelted_snake_scarf.html

If you were on Long Island, then you could see the real thing, as it in on display at my Library Exhibit.

I kind of love my little Rumpole the Reductive Rattler. He is wet felted, hand beaded and about 5 feet long. He works well as both a scarf and a belt. Totally fun.

Multitasking

Talk about multi-tasking...

Even now, as I write this, I am being the consummate felting multi-tasker. I am listening to an audio book on my computer that is engaging of plot and amusing in the reading. I am fulling a new batch of felt (my third today) under my feet by rolling my bubble wrapped bundle of felt on a towel under the table while my husband looks on in horror. And finally, I am writing this missive to you. Not bad on a lazy lovely Sunday. I am busily making flat felt to turn into flowers for a little exhibition at the local library....hopefully I will have enough to fill the case and make it interesting.

Been gone a long time...

I haven't posted in a long while, and I admit that I feel really guilty about that. I have my excuses and you probably don't want to hear them...but here we go anyway. I recently costumed another show at a local college (Dowling College), a production of "Little Shop of Horrors". This was a fabulous and rewarding experience. I really enjoyed working with a group of older actors who conducted themselves in a highly professional manner, as well as working with a director who really appreciated what good costuming could bring to a production. It was hard work, but worth it. And I got paid....which was also nice.

Then I did a "Sheep to Shawl" festival where I demonstrated felting all day. This was a fun day, as the sun was shining for a change and I managed to not only educate many people about the range of things that can be done with felt, but also sunburned my HANDS. Yes....just my hands. That is what happens when you wear a long shirt, floppy hat and sunscreen, but have your hands in soapy water all day in the sun.

I did hand out a few business cards and actually got a couple of convo's regarding some of my items which I had for perusal at the demo. Unfortunately, I think that when I mentioned price, it scared off some prospective buyers. I fear that is what often happens in the land of the handcrafted. Folks love the idea of a thing, but when they discover that the thing they love took 26 hand hours to create and (gosh) actually had material costs involved and so will have a price aligned with that fact, they no longer love the item so much. It is tragic, but I won't be a sad crafter who feels compelled to lower my prices just to move that item off my shelf. My integrity is worth more than that....thank you very much.

I am also busy making some new felt for an exhibit at a local library. I will keep more posted on this as it comes available.

Video Essay: Green everyday

I know that I haven't been blogging as much about my art...which I am getting back to, BTW. But as spring comes, I am moved to think more and more about the environment, which is something that we think about all the time here. So I put together this little video essay with a few of the little things (beyond what I have already written about in this blog) that we do around here to be green)




Enjoy! (Comments are always appreciated)

Ranting till my face is Green

primordial, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

It is Earth Day...which is sweet and all...but I find the whole "one day a year" of it mildly insulting.

I was reading my newspaper this weekend (Yes, I still get a newspaper. And yes, I either compost or recycle it) and there were tons of ads for "Green" products and businesses.

Come on people. Get real. What percentage of the public actually falls for this wholesale greenwashing that is being trotted out more and more and passed off to general consumers like it is environmentalism. Piss off.

If you care about the environment, you care all year....that is 365 days in my book (366 this year...you get an extra day of care-y goodness) not one day where you proclaim all your evils to be for naught.

I'm sick of it and I'm not going to take it anymore. If you pretend to be "green" then I am not going to be spending my dollars with you. Hey big company, know how we can tell you are an impostor? You use the word "GREEN" on your products of advertising and have done so either:
a: just around earth day
b: within the last year but are not a new company
c: and you are a petroleum company. There are no green petroleum companies...so that horse has flown the barn so to speak.

Also....don't insult me by coloring all your advertising green. It doesn't mean the stuff you make or sell is. You really should be ashamed of yourself. You know who you are.

If you are going to talk the talk, big businesses, walk the f-ing walk.

I'm done ranting for now. I think that I will go make some stuff that I don't have to label "green"...because handmade is just that by it's nature.

white curl earrings

white curl earrings, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

Curly....white....fun. I love the assymetry and the movement in these. They are fun, springy, and great for spring. They weigh almost nothing. And will be up for sale very soon on my etsy page.

aqua necklace

aqua necklace, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

My newest creation over at etsy. This felted necklace has been treated so that all those hard edges will remain nice and sharp. The glass beads that I used as spacers are absolutely delicious, and I have to admit that I was tempted to keep them for myself. I also used some cute cute cute green polka dot glass beads around the back of the necklace, so that it would feel nice and smooth against your neck.

There you go. It is for sale in my etsy shop. Go get it.

pink earrings

pink earrings, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

Now hear this: I am branching out into earrings.

I had all these end bits from the felt ropes that I make to create the hard beads for the "Bullseye Bones" necklaces. I finally figured that they would make great earrings.

So here they are...and they are for sale in my Etsy Shop.

They kind of look like tiny hams, don't they?

Drink Green Beer

Yeah, I know that St. Patricks is past. And I pity any of you out there who actually drink green beer on this most co-opted of holidays. What I am talking about is beer that is another shade of green...

In my house, we try our darndest to live pretty damn green. Our electricity is generated by the solar panels on our roof, we don't drive when we can walk, only one of us drives to work ( the other bikes), and we recycle/upcycle like crazy. We also extend this idea to what we eat. We have a pretty large garden that gets more productive every year. We try to grow the majority of what we eat in season, and when we can't grow it, we strive to shop local. And that is what brings me to our topic for today: Greening your beer...

I will admit, I am kind of a beer snob. But when ecology was a factor, it always tended to win over taste. In grad school, my roommates and I drank case after case of Old Milwaukee, because in Kentucky, it was the only beer that would take back the bottles for re-fill instead of recycling. It wasn't bad beer...but I knew that there had to be something better out there.

Now we have great options in the form of micro-brewers. Do a Google search. Go ahead, I'll wait. I bet you can find at least one brewery within 100 miles of you. And if you do...buy your beer from them. It is so much greener than that fancy import from Germany or Holland or Bavaria that you have been drinking, and it probably tastes better too.

Think about the reduced carbon footprint simply by reducing the shipping distances that are involved in getting the brew to you when you purchase local. This is a huge environmental benefit. You also get the added charge of pumping dollars into your own local economy, which can never be bad.

Our local brewhouse is the Blue Point Brewery. We are lucky in that they are only a few miles away. They also are super green, because they give you the option to buy the beer in growlers which are essentially gallon jugs. If you have a couple brewmeisters in your house, this could be a good option for you. The awesome greenness of the growler is that you wash it when it is empty and you can take it back to the brewery (or a couple of other convienent beer sellers with Blue Point taps) for a fill up. You get a little discount on the price of the brew going in the jug, and you get to know that you are keeping a big old chunk of glass out of the recycling stream, by re-using - which should always come before recycling anyway.

(If you go to the BPB, try the Old Howling Bastard...you will never be the same)

So eat, drink, and be merry my friends....but keep it local if you can. You will feel good about it in more ways than one.

New Endeavor

I just published my first instructable:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-wet-felted-wool-curly-que/

I used the video's that I have posted here on the blog, but now they have some written instructions and some additional edifying images.

Enjoy!!!!

fungus among us

fungus, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

Yeah, I know that this isn't a fiber...but I love how this picture came out, so I am posting it anyway. This is kind of the most extreme Macro you can get. What you are looking at here are the fruiting bodies of a common bread mold, stained for visibility and viewed through a microscope at 100x.

I took the photo by fitting the microscope with my digital eyepiece that I bought surplus from Russia. (My school couldn't afford one at the time and I REALLY wanted one) I think that it looks like modern art, and it kind of reminds me of my encaustic flower paintings that I do when I am not wrapped up in wool roving.

Maybe I should blow this up and sell the prints on Etsy...it really is kind of oddly lovely, isn't it?

corriedale 100x

corriedale 100x, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

THE SCALES! LOOK AT THE SCALES!!!

Yup...that is what makes this stuff felt so well....

When you heat these fibers up, those scales flip open and just grab each other like crazy.

LOVE IT.... I really do.

Cashmere 100x

Cashmere 100x, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

When art and science meet.....it can be a beautiful thing. In Forensic Science class last week, I was teaching my students how to recognize different fibers microscopically. While they were looking at fiber samples through the microscopes, I took some photos of thier best samples. I thought that I would share some of the better ones with you.

I took this with my camera, a steady hand, my students and a microscope. Yes, it is green dyed. If you look at the image in the largest format, you can see the cuticle scales on each fiber.

living room shelves: eye spy game and contest

living room shelves: eye spy game, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

Can you spot all the hand made items on this page?

If it is an Etsy item, can you find the shop it came from?

If you click on the photo, it will take you to the original flickr file, where you can add your comments and notes.

I think that I shall make it a contest. Every one who leaves a comment on the Flikr photo, trying to ID an item is eligible.

The prize will be a set of hand felted hairpins, just like the one's I sell in my Etsy shop, ...as well as some possible goody destash items waiting to go in my other shop, toomuchmary.etsy.com

The EYE SPY contest will run until March 8th, 2008.

Good Luck!

I will choose the winner totally at random.

A Dark Confession

nutmeg, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

I have a confession to make.

My husband hates nutmeg. Or at least he thinks that he hates nutmeg. Every time that I make a quiche or an egg dish he complains that I put nutmeg in it. Now I know that I do NOT over season my food, be it with nutmeg, or salt, or anything else. I also know that if you DO NOT put nutmeg in a baked egg dish the flavour falls flat.

So I have started putting nutmeg in everything I cook.

EVERYTHING.

It is only a little bit. But it is going everywhere....all the time.

He has been complimenting me on my cooking more than ever.

What does this say about his sense of taste? What does this say about our relationship? What does this say about his fear of nutmeg?

More importantly, I wonder if he actually reads my blog?

What do you have to confess? Feel free to do it here. I am pretty confident that YOUR significant other doesn't read this blog.

Felting Tutorial Part 3: Curly-que

Welcome to Part 3 of my felting tutorial on making a Curly-que.

Part 3 covers how to shape the Curly-que, after it has been formed and wet felted. You can find Parts 1 and 2 posted yesterday and the day before!





I would also like to give a big shout out to Linda over at The Craftgossip Blog Network, who picked up Parts one and two of my tutorial on the felting section of her blog today. You ROCK!!!

Felting Tutorial Part 2: Curly-que

Here is part 2 of my Video Felting Tutorial: Felting a Curly-Que.

This portion of the tutorial covers the actual process of wet felting around the wire form. Part 1 covered how to wind the felt around the wire form and prepare it for wet felting. (If you haven't seen Part 1, it is in yesterday's post!)

Enjoy!



Link to part 1 of the tutorial here: Take me to it!

Felting Tutorial Part 1: Curly-que

I thought that it would be fun for me to start filming a series of tutorials on some basic felting techniques.

So here is the first in that series: How to wet felt a curly-que, just like the one you see here!

These little curls are really useful as embellishments or as fun elements in larger pieces, I use them all the time. Besides, they are a great place to start because they work up quick, don't take much roving, and they are just as whimsical as all get out. They can take something that is kind of ho-hum and elevate it. They can also be just the thing to add a touch of the organic to a piece that is feeling a little staid or static.

I hope you enjoy part 1 of this tutorial, parts two and three will follow shortly!

Part 1: Taming the wool (The wind up)

Part 2: Prepare to get wet (Felting it up)

Part 3: Taking shape (Forming the curl)

I must be Bored...

Herbert LOL cat shopping for bike shorts, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

If I am doing things like this to my perfectly good photographs. Actually, I recently discovered fd's flickr toys and have become addicted to them. I kind of hate lolcats, but here I am making one out of this picture of my dear Herbert, never-the-less.

I have also created a bevy of psuedo inspirational posters that I am VERY tempted to share with the viewing public at large. They are misanthropic and somewhat offensive. I kind of love them.

My husband wants them for his office, so his college students will really grasp where they stand with him. If you want to see them, click on my flickr stream there on the left sidebar.....go ahead. I double dog dare you.

Wearing your heart outside your chest: Featured Etsy seller: EHMEGLASS

FEATURED ETSY SELLER: EHMEGLASS.ETSY.COM

My husband has great taste. Let me just start off by saying that. He also has the good sense to shop for me from my Etsy favourites list.

Good Man....

So for Valentine's day I received the most perfect peice of jewellry you could imagine for a romantic biology teacher. Isn't it great? I can't wait to wear it to school, and for the kids to see it. Nothing like wearing your heart on the outside of your chest for all to see...

I think one of the best things about it must be in the nature of the glass itself. As you wear it, it gets warm. And while I am certain that it only acheives body temperature, you could almost imagine that it feels a bit warmer than that...giving it the illusion of having a tiny life of it's own. The detail in this coronary cadeaux is just amazing, and the biologist in me delights in it. The artist in me wonders at the process, but honestly, doesn't want the mystery spoiled.

All of the work coming out of Amy Johnson's Toronto TANK studio has this amazing organic quality that just draws you in. It makes you want to touch it, and caress it. Because while all her product is glass, it does not appear precious or weak. This stuff is strong. At least in appearance and intent if not in reality.

You owe it to yourself to see what she can do...I can attest that as fantastic as her work appears in photos, her efforts are even better when you hold them in the palm of your hand.

ON pins and Pins

Hair Pins...something new to do with my hardened felt:

I had these left over felt beads that had already been hardened with the acrylic so I had to figure out what to do with them. I am kind of over seeing buttons stuck on the end of bobbie pins...but I thought that my felt disks were quite different!

Now I think that I shall whip out a few of these whenever I have some left over bits at the end of a necklace making session...

Too Much Mary

Too Much Mary Banner copy, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

So...while I did not get much made, I have gotten some organizing done. In the course of going through my studio I decided that I have too much stuff. Plain and simple: there is Too Much Mary.

I have too much of Mary Jane in me. She was my grandmother who ran an antique shop called "The Elephant's Foot" and never threw anything away. It is a dangerous and delicate rope to walk, and I acknowledge that.

Hence, me opening up a second shop purely for destash. And when I say destash, I mean it. I am getting rid of the dusty, the old, and that which I must finally admit to myself that I shall never use. Maybe these things will inspire someone else.

Come check it out, I will be listing things fairly constantly, until the point is reached where my studio space no longer tests the boundaries of physics.

So the new destash shop is: http://toomuchmary.etsy.com

I will ALWAYS be found making art at my regular address: http://marysusan.etsy.com

A few Favourites on a winter day

A few Favourites on a winter day, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

Still getting into a creative mood...and searching for inspiration on a cold, wet day.

1. Tree Peony, 2. Mietze and his true love 1, 3. Untitled, 4. feltygoodness, 5. Stack of pearls earrings, 6. Indie snow07, 7. PAISLEY PARK, 8. Felt Cherry Drop Scarf, 9. 1008, 10. Loop Di Loo - Sold, 11. Catch the Brass Ring, 12. wedding bouquet, 13. Liebe von Volkwagen #1, 14. dressed without a face, 15. Untitled, 16. winterdetail2

vases

vases
Originally uploaded by Marysusan

I haven't managed to make anything yet today, but have cleaned in my pit of a studio and have taken a few nice photos in the fading February light...and that is something.

Isn't it?

Add: I did in the end make something, now the light just needs to return so I can photograph it.

Abandoned

abandon
Originally uploaded by Marysusan

Where is my muse?

I am waiting for inspiration to strike. Now that the play is over and I can finally get into the studio and make some things for myself alone, I find that I am at an impase as to how to do so.

Perhaps I just need to get in there and make something, anything, to get the juices flowing. I know I NEED to do it....or else I will just stay in this grey limbo of doing nothing, which is a kind of artistic metastasis.

It has got to break.

Beautiful in pink

For our latest show we executed over 35 outfits that had to be made raw....20 of those were for the Beautiful Girls number. We made a progression of pink flapper dresses that went from pale pink to a vibrant orange. They each had a vintage rhinstone buckle at the shoulder and a pink headband to tie everything together. Each dress was custom made for the girls' measurements, so that they could dance in them and feel comfortable. This was probably the biggest overall task that my girls and I had to tackle for this production of "Singing in the Rain". We also made the sparkly pink top hat, to go with the tux (which was donated for the event).

(All faces were blurred as all actors were minors)

Dress without a face

I have discovered the danger of things being too good.

Here are two of the costumes from the show that I just finished. They are from the "Dancing Cavalier" section of Singing in the Rain that I made for our winter production. Faces have been removed, as it is a High School production and the actors are minors.

The dress has almost 20 yards of fabric in it...BTW.

Unfortunately, tons of people just assumed that we had either purchased the dress or had borrowed it from a local museum or costume house in the city (one of the possibilites being this close to Manhattan). Folks just could not beleive that we (my mum and I) made this dress. She gave me some amazing help on the bodice during her Christmas visit and then I completed and fitted the dress over the next week. There were over 30 woman hours of work in that baby. Don't get me started on the man's version...

They were just amazing on stage...I was so happy.

Exquisite Corpse

I can't show you what I have been making lately, as it is for the school play...perhaps I can post some production stills later...

But I can post some links to my most current writing. I recently reviewed the book Exquisite Corpse by Mark Nelson and Sarah Hudson Bayliss. It is about the connections between surrealism and the Black Dahlia murder. It combines my two interests of art and forensic science. You can read that review in its entirety HERE.

But here is an excerpt, or an amuse bouche if you will :

The authors of Exquisite Corpse, Mark Nelson and Sarah Hudson Bayliss, posit an extremely interesting hypothesis: that the murderer of the "Black Dahlia" was inspired by, and intimately involved with, the surrealist art movement. This in and of itself is an extraordinary claim, which unfortunately relies on too many layers of assumptions and suppositions to be held truly credible in anything but the realm of pure theory.

The core of the text makes the basic assumption that the murderer of Elizabeth Short, a.k.a. The Black Dahlia,was George Hodel. This information is relied upon as if it were fact in this book, which unfortunately, it is not. There is one major source that proposes Hodel is the Black Dahlia killer, and that is his own son, Steve Hodel. Exquisite Corpse fully hangs its hat on this idea of Hodel being the killer. If this were not the case, their hypothesis would crumble like the walls of Jericho. Once one buys the idea of Hodel as the killer (largely based on the presence of two pictures of a pretty, young unidentified woman in a Hodel family photo album, which Steve Hodel identifies as Elizabeth Short, frankly, I don't see the resemblance), then the connections to the surrealist movement can be made.....

Superhero

I love fun silly saturday morning time wasters. Here is my newest one, the HEROMACHINE.

I have generated two alterego's for myself:

The Lab Girl:

Has the ability to...

• Prepare lessons at lightning speeds
• Implant info in students' brains telepathically
• Blast the occasional jerk with a "Behaviour Modification Ray"
• Fold time for grading purposes
• Look fabulous Doing it
• Repel stains and evildoers with her Lab Coat of Majesty

The Good Girl Mary

Has the ability to:

• Create something from nothing
• Whip onery felt into shape
• Get others to shop Handmade

• Blast the Big Box Stores (metaphorically speaking or course)

• See the good in everything
• Alter space and time to pack more matter than possible by mere physics into a small space
• Blow away creative blocks

You can make your own SUPERHERO at:

http://www.marvelvc.com.br/Hero/

Have fun!

What have I been doing with myself lately?

You might have noticed that I haven't been posting a terrible lot in the recent past. This is because I have been working my little fingers to the bone costuming our Winter Musical. I thought that I would post a couple snaps of one of our latest creations.

This is Miss Marissa, a lovely young student at my school who is playing Lena in our production of "Singing in the Rain." The gown was sewn by my sainted mother and myself. We mostly completed the bodice together in a couple afternoons and one hectic morning during her Christmas-time visit, I then completed the remainder of the dress last weekend. The wig is constructed from two wigs, that are supported with foam inserts and supplemented with flowers, bows, birds and yes a cage.

And this is just the beginning.