Still Morning Clouds and Some Rain

Here's a photo of my new electric skillet with four small copper plates on it. The one in the bottom left corner has asphaltum already spread on it. The other threee have dabs of asphaltum that I haven't spread out yet. I used my new skillet to put asphaltum on all the copper plates I cut the other day. There are ten of them. It was remarkably easy, almost like doing them at school. However, at school we had a great big hot plate that measured probably 24 by 36 inches. I have much less space, but it's plenty big enough for my needs.

The one thing was that I had no newsprint to wrap them in when they cooled the way I did at school. So I left them spread out all over my table. I put them on the cardboard box when I first took them off the skillet. Fortunately I had the forethought to buy two spatulas to maneuver them with. That made the task much easier. I did drop one on the floor, but it turned out fine anyway.

Late this afternoon when I was considering going home, a woman came in with two children. They looked at everything, and she was obviously instructing them although not in English. It sounded as though one of the children spoke Spanish, but the woman was speaking some other language. It turned out she is from Italy and she lives with her husband and children in Ensenada, Mexico. Her husband is an astonomer, and she is an architect.

She was particularly interested in the etchings, saying there was one in particular that reminded her of a topographical map. Other architects have said the same thing about that particular piece. In fact, my etchings seem to appeal to architects. I think it's partly because I majored in interior design myself and took 10 units of landscape architecture. I went to school long enough ago to have learned to do architectural drafting by hand. I have since learned to use AutoCAD, but the hand work has stuck with me.

There were other visitors to my studio. Having my canvas out in front definitely attracts people in. Certainly for now it's all I need although I'd like to eventually create one that is more studio specific. Aside from the Italian woman, there was a woman from Chicago, and another woman whom I think I have seen at the Village before. Then the photographer from across the way stopped in as well. There was no glassblowing going on, but he came by to bring some more of his work. And I explained the etching process to him as well.