Full On

Thursday?! What happened to Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday?! This week is flying by like I knew it would. From here on out before we know it I’ll be raking leaves! No, it’s not pessimistic thinking, it’s the life-long Alaskan in me speaking from experience! Our family “jokes” we pack an entire year’s worth of events into the craziest, busiest, best 90 days of weather Alaska offers in June, July and August. My other time trigger that kicks me into high gear production is my annual Half Moon Creek Gallery Garden Show. This year is even more special because the Gallery has moved to Palmer into a brand-new building and will be celebrating their Grand Opening with my Show the “Artful Garden,” Saturday, May 8. I LOVE to do this show because the customer turn-out is so fantastic and I get to make ANYTHING I want to. Because of the incredible support and popularity, I tend to make some of my most creative pieces. Along with the Half Moon Show around the corner, there are several other shows and art events I’ll be participating in during the fast and furious days of summer -well the sun shines until midnight up here, so what the heck. Plans are also underway for my other favorite event, The Alaska Botanical Garden Fair and Gala, June 24 and 26 & 27. I’m the volunteer coordinator for the Outdoor Art Show and will be rounding up artists starting next week.

After all the eggs this weekend I was inspired to make a couple of “Garden Hens,” similar to some I made a few years ago, only these are free standing, about 6’ tall and a bit plumper than a life-size hen. Continuing the farm theme the right side of my brain was in, I made up patterns for some life-size sheep. My mom actually inspired the sheep sculptures with some photos she sent me.

On larger works sometimes I will draw out an idea then cut the components out of tag board and assemble a mock-up. The heavier paper, or even foam core, is more rigid and can give me a better idea of how the shapes will or won’t form in steel. On the large sheep I’ll have SteelFab cut them using their large bed plasma cutter after we refine the digital file. I want to have the bases out of steel and curly galvanized metal circles swirling all around their fat bodies. While remodeling the new building, the Half Moon Creek girls dropped off a load of duct work that I wanted to up-cycle and use for the sheep’s curls! With my bounty of metal, the side yard is quite a sight… it’s probably a good thing we don’t have a homeowners association policing the grounds in 99503 -ha!

Derek’s Aunt & Uncle in AZ follow my Blog and sent me this bumper sticker they won with some goodies at their Community Center. Kay thought it would be perfect to hang above my kiln and I agree. THANKS for thinking of me guys!

ROCKIN' THE CASBAH! -A 4.6 earthquake rocked Southcentral Alaska yesterday morning. Not a biggie, but enough to make you feel insignificant! Gus and I were eating our Wheaties, getting ready for school and the whole house shook. But as quick as it began, it was over. Bunny Foo-Foo was in the studio thumping away! The rabbit senses earthquakes before they happen. The other weird thing was, is that I heard this earthquake before we actually felt it...