Just Keep Swimming...

Today was rather productive. I started off with some work on the Pseudo Sphere... or for those of you who have seen me recently, "THE BRAIN!!!" It's all crochet and I've been working on it since November of 2009. It's rather heavy now, it feels like a small bowling ball, so about 6 lbs. I love how in depth the project is. There are all these layers of yarn to get through just to see the middle, and it's all one plane. A Pseudo Sphere is a type of hyperbolic plane, if you were to stretch this thing out it would be one flat piece. It's like a labyrinth of tactile goodies, it's a piece of art that I wish people could experience everyday. I love the reactions I've gotten from this piece. The first thing everyone does is to put it on their head. I kid you not, more people have tried that thing on as a garment than looked at it as a sculpture ( I wish I had photos). I love it. I think it's great that people can have a moment of silliness no matter where they are. I guess it reminds us of a wig, or something that belongs in or on our heads, and the fact that it's so soft helps too. If this was made of glass, people would be far more hesitant to touch it. I've actually fallen asleep on the Brain a few times, it's just so fluffy and warm that I kind of doze off, and wake up with brain wrinkles on my cheek. (I added the photo on the right so that ya'll can get an idea of the scale. That is an ordinary tissue box.) There have been so many questions that have popped up as the piece continues to grow. Questions like; how big can I make it? How dense will it become? Can I make it big enough to fill a room or support my weight? Can I get lost in it and if so, will I receive cell service? I like to think that one day this brain will shelter an entire civilization of Lilliputian type beings. There are even cosmic questions that came up. Due to the weight being added to the outside of the plane and doubling with each layer, how long will it take for the center strings to snap and begin to unravel from the inside out? It's almost like the brain is its own small universe, and as it expands the resulting stress on the form causes the center to fall in on itself, so that as it grows it collapses simultaneously. Maybe that is the nature of our universe. That somewhere, out there, the center of our existence has collapsed in on itself and this void is continuing to grow even as new forms and life expand outward from this epicenter.

Well on a lighter note, after doing some work on the Brain, Dory (featured below) popped on over for a crafting day. This seems to be a new developing pattern for us and I like it. Dory makes crafts and has a thriving business for Cute Things. We had discussed that at some point she would come over to my place and we'd experiment with different techniques and materials. So today I taught her how to carve up dollar store erasers into hand made stamps. It was quite a bit of fun actually, we had a great breeze coming in through the window, plenty of sunlight and Interview with a Vampire in the dvd player. Dory is a Twilight fan. I said that was unacceptable since she had never read or seen some of the best vampire books or movies. So we started with an Anne Rice movie. Bram Stoker's Dracula is next on the list. We were so productive, after the stamps we worked on perfecting the use of sculpy clay for charm making. Dory made these really cute Macaroon charms and I made a pretzel. I'm very proud of my pretzel. For those of you who have never used sculpy clay, it's a clay you have to bake in an oven in order for it to harden (at left). My dad walked in and made some off hand comment about how he used that toaster oven when he had an apartment. I was like 'whoa, wait, this thing is from the 70's?!' I suddenly feel less inclined to bake in it now. Who knows what concoctions ended up in there. We tried our hand at pouring some resin charms today, as well as trying to coat some origami pieces to make them more sturdy. I pulled out the pressed leaves and flowers for this. I dug up my butterfly wing too. A little over a year ago, I found a butterfly wing wafting on my front porch. It was one of those moments where you can't quite believe you've just witnessed something beautiful and meaningful. So I felt I had to hold onto the wing and hopefully find a way to keep it safe from damage. I kind of felt bad for the poor butterfly that had lost it's wing, but I couldn't find the rest of the little guy. I think the neighbor's cat got to it. It's a mean s.o.b. Well today I embedded the wing in resin and I am eagerly awaiting the results of our experiment. I feel a little bit like a mad scientist, mixing chemicals, poking and prodding things into shape and setting things (almost) on fire.

I'd like to end this post with a link that my friend Kat posted to her F.B.
2 Squirrels Discuss Art (I would post the picture but half of it is cut off it's that big)
I think that link sums up most of today for me.
See ya'll later!