Getting Ready For the Weekend

Here's a photo I took several days ago. I'm aware of the fact that it's getting dark earlier. Of course you csn't tell that from the photo, but it was taken earlier in the evening than some I took in July. You can see my white umbrella between the two arched windows. The tree directly above my umbrella is the one with all the yellow flowers on it. In fact, you can see the flowers in the photo. Today when I looked at the tree there were lots of lanterns beginning to form.

I spent the day inside for the most part, so I didn't look very closely at the lanterns, but tomorrow I'll be working outside at my table. We are hosting the Autumn Art Festival this weekend in the patio. We have two each year. This is our fourth autumn one. The first one was in the spring of 2003, if I remember correctly. Now that we've done them a number of times, it's relatively easy to do. I personally help the President with the silent auction that we hold, taking bids on work donated by artists in the Village. We use the proceeds for some of the expenses of running the Village.

Most of my day was spent on various aspects of the computer part of my business. Yesterday I took some photographs using the camera Jon gave me. Today I uploaded them to my hard drive and attempted to print them out on some photo paper I have. They were not successful, but Jon says there are various things I need to do including calibrating my printer, changing the settings on the printer, and getting different paper.

I also spent time looking at the templates that Philip suggested as a way to create my website. I chose one that I think will work for me. Then we talked about what I need to gather in the way of information. One of the biggest tasks, besides photographing the jewelry, is to write an artist's statement and a bio. I have some things that I've written in the past, but I'm sure I'll need to update it.

Philip and I talked about how to handle the photos of my jewelry, because I currently make only one of a kind items. However, I said that if I automatically photographed each piece after I make it and had a relatively standardized way of modifying and uploading the photo, it would simply be another part of the process. And then I suppose I could have a way to add a "sold" notation to each piece so that the photo could remain, or I could just automatically take each photo off when the piece sold. Leaving it on there might be nice to provide a sort of portfolio, maybe in a different place on the site. Anyway, those are the kinds of questions we will need to answer eventually.

Art At Night: Fourth Thursday

Here's a photo I took this evening from the chair at my worktable, looking in the opposite direction from my studio. Directly across the patio, beside the table and benches, is where the agave plants are growing. The trunk of the palm tree is hidden by the upright support of my display stand.

Today was my day off, and I spent it doing personal items. I never even got to my printmaking class. I don't like to miss a class, but this was an exception. However, I did come down here to the Villlage for Fourth Thursday. I enjoyed myself, talking to both Philip and Jon and various other artists who came by. Philip and I agreed that there were far fewer people here than there have been in the past. Of course, now it gets dark earlier, among other things, so that makes a difference. I don't know whether we will continue to be open on Fourth Thursdays. This was our sixth one, and I think we agreed to evaluate the situation at that point. We've had so few visitors recently in general that I don't know that we can even give it a fair assessment.

I'm tired, and I'm going home to bed. Tomorrow I'll be back at the Village early because this weekend is the Autumn Art Festival, and that always requires a great deal of work on my part, preparing for the silent auction.

Trying To Get Organized

Here's the latest photo of the agave stalks. I think it's a good one, showing how the branches are beginning to form, extending perpendicular to the main stalk. I think that's where the flowers will be. I'm not sure. Once again, my knowledge of botany fails me.

I spent the day working on Spanish Village business for the most part. I am the Recording Secretary, so I sometimes get asked to find information in previous months' meeting minutes. Because I went through a period when I was having computer problems, and because we have an office on the premises for the use of the Board of Directors, I have prepared the typed versions of minutes there. Now that I have the computer in my studio, I need to spend a certain amount of time organizing the minutes, making sure that both my computer and the one in the office have copies of all the minutes and other documents I've prepared over time. Our current term ends with elections in February, 2007. Even though I may run again, I want to get everything from this past term organized. That way I can move on with a fresh start.

Having spent time organizing Spanish Village documents, I moved on to organizing some of my own drawers. I'm trying to figure out how to fit everything in my studio. I need a certain amount of space for various kinds of paper, like business card stock, heavy paper for tags, regular paper for minutes and memos, transparencies for photo etchings. I managed to get some of those in my file cabinet. However, the regular hanging file folders are too thin to hold reams of paper. I began cleaning out the second file drawer which is currently filled with magazines. I might put paper in there, although I'm not sure how handy that would be. The option is to get a paper tray with about four shelves. However, I am not sure whether it's worth giving up that much space on my bookcase. On the other hand, I like things to be convenient and within reach. Right now I have so much stuff on my inside worktable, and I'd really like to put it somewhere else in my studio.

I also spent time organizing my etchings. I have a large portfolio in which I keep them. I went through them and put all the various series together, first the fish, then the flowers, then the trees. I also added some of the ones I've printed at school this semester. Yesterday I bought a smaller portfolio in which to care my current work to and from school. Most of what I'm working on now will stay in there. I'll transfer it later.

And of course looking at all of the etchings makes me realize there are many of them I could at least mat and put in a print rack. I loaned my large print rack to Philip because I don't have room for it in my studio; however, I've considered getting one that sits on the table. And of course I could get busy and frame some of them as well. There's still room on the wall for more prints. The other option is to rotate them with the ones hanging on the wall now. I admit I hate to mat and frame my work. I like it when it's done, but I hate actually doing it. I have lots and lots of frames, though. I stocked up several years ago. And I still have a fair number of the better quality standard mats. I stocked up on those, too, because I can no longer buy them. However, there is an artist here in the Village who cuts mats as a business. So he will cut me some. I just have to give him the sizes. One more thing to do.

New Etching Lessons

Here you can begin to see the "lanterns" that form in the tree after the flowers drop off. It's that dark orange spot in the middle about two thirds of the way up. And when I arrived this afternoon after the printmaking class, I see there are half a dozen lanterns on my outside worktable. However, they're small ones, not yet full developed. I'm not sure why they fall off. Maybe there isn't room for all of them and the tree automatically sheds some. I really should try to do some research and find out a little bit about the trees.

Today was my day off, but I was here this morning, and I've returned after my printmaking class to bring my work back here. I have a portfolio that I keep my new etchings in and a box for some of the other items, like plates and newsprint to wrap them in to protect them in transport. Everything fits in a large bag that I dug out today. I had been carrying just the box and sometimes I used a grocery bag to carry things in. But this bag is one I've used in the past. One of the reasons I decided on the bag was because I spent time this morning searching in my studio for my etching needle, and I couldn't find it. So now that I'm using the bag, I'll just make sure I keep at least one in the bag. I'll always know where it is.

Jon gave me a Kodak digital camera that runs with two AA batteries. So I tried it this morning. I wasn't very happy with the photos I took. One thing that's kind of funny is that the view finder is not accurate, so it isn't WYSIWYG. You don't get what you see. I can adjust for that, I'm sure. Another thing that's kind of funny is that it comes with software for viewing and printing the photos. The thing is that the photos come out a distorted shape. And they're not very detailed. However, I see there's a way to turn the macro on and off. I have no idea how, but the Kodak website has an online manual that I can read and refer to. That's very handy.

I spent the afternoon working on several etching plates. One was a brass plate that I etched last night. The aquatint didn't come out as well as I would have liked, and not as well as the copper ones. So I used a roulette wheel that we have in the classroom. No, it's not the same as gaming table. It's a tiny little cylinder that turns when you move it across the plate. It has tiny little protrusions that make pricks in the plate that ideally will hold ink. It works well, but probably not as well as I would hope. It seems to take a long time. But is that just my California, life-in-the-fast-lane mentality? I don't know. I've been attempting to fix the problems on my plates, but sometimes I wonder if it would just be easier to do them over again. The problems are caused by some of my lack of knowledge when I first undertook to etch plates on my own. Now that I know better, I'm tempted to abandon them. However, correcting them is a good learning experience.

One thing I did learn was that aquatint isn't as successful on the brass as it is on copper. Or at least, I should say my first attempt to apply aquatint to brass didn't turn out very well. There were areas where the aquatint didn't take. Now it might be that when I applied the rosin in the first place, it didn't stick evenly. I admit I didn't check that. Next time I will. Or it might be that I didn't leave it in the etching solution long enough. I'm not sure that was the case though.

It's interesting to try etching on the different metals. When the printmaking class first began, I searched through my drawer at school and found some small plates I had created several years ago that were almost twins of some of the copper plates I've created in the last several months. But the lines on the zinc plates are not nearly as fine as those on the copper. And the lines on a brass plate are even finer and crisper than copper. There's so much to learn and do.

Late in the day, the professor asked me about whether I had been pressing my prints. I said I never had done that; I wasn't sure how. So he explained that after each print air dries for about 10 minutes, I should place it between two sheets of newsprint and put a board on top of it. There's one in the corner of the classroom on the type rack that is just for that purpose. So that will be the next part of the process that I haven't done in the past that I will now incorporate. The process is so involved.

Sometimes Change Is Slow

Here's another photo of the agave plants. I took it several days ago. Jon is standing up on the balcony beside the sunburst on the right. The stalk of the flower is up to the top of the balcony. It seems likely that it may not grow any taller, but it appears to be preparing to bloom. You can see the smaller stalks sticking out to the sides of the main stalk.

I spent the day in my studio, mostly working on the computer. I created labels for the etchings I have hung on the walls. Now I need to attach them to each of the etchings. I may have to have someone help me with the ones hung higher on the wall. I'm not sure I can reach them.

After I finished the labels, I concentrated on printing out a box that I could use for packaging. I had the idea of using one of the box templates from a place like stampington.com and embellishing it with my name, address, etc., and printing it out on card stock. It would be like a personalized bag that I could give to clients when they buy my work. However, the templates I have create such small boxes that I'm afraid the idea won't work. The only thing I might be able to use them for is earrings, bracelets, and maybe small necklaces.

Besides the problem of size, the other problem was the resolution of the file. It seems to me that it is set at a very low resolution, because when I added text, it prints out like old-fashioned dot matrix printers did. It looks as though it's only 72 dpi. I have to find out how to change that, to make the text and artwork clearer. Oh, well, one more problem to deal with.

I'm finally at the point where I can take some time now to make a bracelet, at least. Sometimes I spend so much time on other things that I don't even get to my artwork. But, of course, that's something any business owner has to deal with. I want to be an artist, but all I'm doing is paperwork. Oh, well.

Another Type Of Small Yellow Flowers

Here's a photo I took when I first arrived this morning. You can see all the tiny yellow flowers that have fallen from the trees overhead. Andy, the glassblower next door, says they're called golden rain trees. I'm not sure if that's correct, but they're certainly raining flowers all over us. I can already see places where the lanterns are beginning to form behind the flowers. Right now they look dark orange. Eventually they'll be a lighter color, sort of pumpkin colored, appropriate for the season. I brushed them off my work table before I put the tablecloth on it, but they continued to fall on the table, in my hair, in my toolbox, and on the ground all day.

Today was very slow; very few people came to the Village. It's been like that now for quite some time, since spring, I think. On Thursday night, we have Art At Night; Fourth Thursday. And then over the weekend we have the Autumn Art Festival when we invite other artists to come and set up their booths on the patio and on the sidewalk in front of the Village. Sometimes that brings more visitors to the Village, but never as many as we would like to see.

I never did get to my etching. I spent the whole day working on jewelry. I had started a turquoise necklace that I wanted to finish, and then I made three bracelets. Most of the bracelets I've made in the past were made using glass or crystal beads. However, I've decided to start making them out of stones. That's what I use for most of my necklaces, and it makes sense to make the bracelets the same way. Today I made two out of different colors of carnelian and one out of smokey quartz and agate. I'll wear them tonight, to make sure they function properly and then put them on the display stand tomorrow.

I talked to Philip today about my website. I mentioned that I want to market my jewelry in other places besides Spanish Village, and he said I really need to have a website, a presence on the web. I have started to create a site myself, and I use to write html, but I find it time consuming at this point in my life. So he gave me a suggestion for using a template that he has. He says he will help me with it. That would be great. Now I need to get one of the cameras functioning so that I can take some photos. Also, I need to work on my biographic information so that I can create a brochure that includes that information. That can go on my website as well. There's a great deal to do this week.

Small Yellow Flowers

Here's a photo I took two nights ago in front of one of the other studios. These flowers belong to a plant that's called a poor man's orchid. It has clumps of tiny yellow flowers on a long stalk that protrudes from a pattern of orchid-like leaves. I don't know whether it's a succulent or not. I'd have to go and examine it. A succulent usually has thick leathery leaves plump with fluid.

Today was a very slow day in the Park. I think the economy has something to do with the situation. Also, I think the Padres, our San Diego baseball team might be playing a game, so that might have kept people home to watch it or sent them to the ballpark.

The tree outside my studio, the one that hangs out over the glassblowing canopy is at the stage now where it is dropping showers of tiny yellow flowers. Some of the leaves are beginning to drop as well. Next it will develop seed pods that look like orange paper lanterns. They are really very pretty. But then of course it will lose those as well as its leaves. So the lanterns are really small consolation for what's coming: fall. Jon walked into my studio late today to use the drill press, and he came out saying, "it smells like fall back there," to which I responded, "being a California girl, I can't really relate to that."

I spent time working on some necklaces. I have a client who asked me for turquoise, so I've been going to the various bead suppliers to see what is available. There are all kinds of turquoise, of course, in all colors. I found some which is so bright it looks fake. The label says it's stablized turquoise. I asked the owner of the warehouse, and he told me what they told him. Apparently the turquoise is mined in Arizona, and it's very soft, so they add colored resin to it, making it harder and brighter. So then I picked up another strand that I had selected and asked him if it was dyed, too. It was bright as well. And he said, "most everything is dyed nowadays." I like to know so that I can tell my clients. I don't want to misrepresent anything I sell. Recently, I sold a red coral necklace to a client, and I made sure that I told her it was dyed. Red coral is endangered now, so the real red coral isn't available.

After I finish several other turquoise necklaces tomorrow, I'll go back to etching. I have about three or four plates that are ready to go in the ferric chloride to be etched. I don't want to wait until Monday to do it for my class on Tuesday. I just have to make sure I wear a shirt that is already stained. I have a tendency to get the etching solution on my shirts, no matter how careful I try to me. Etching is messy, one way or another.

Creating A Simple Package

Here's a photo I took this afternoon looking down into the sub-patio where the children's clay classes are held in the summer. On the left, you can see the edges of the benches and one of the tables. On the right, slightly out of the photo is the window where the towel and the bucket normally appear each morning in preparation for the class. The restrooms are on the right and left of the arch and through the arch, beyond the trees, is the San Diego Zoo, the Children's Zoo to be exact. Sometimes we can hear the animals. But the Zoo is quite large and so I guess that's why I'm not surprised that we can't hear more animal noises than we do. The one I'm aware of upon occasion is the screech of the peacocks. Everything else seems to blend into the ambient noise all around us. Actually, up where we are, we hear the minature train going by and the antique carousel's music.

Today was a rather quiet day, as they go. The train and the carousel don't operate during the week. At about noontime, I heard the rainbird out back. I haven't heard it for quite some time, but of course I'm not in my studio all the time. Today I did spend the day inside, working on a turquoise necklace. Philip came by and set up my new printer. It seems to work fine, and is more or less the same as the old one, except that of course the ink cartridges from one don't fit in the other. I was able to return the old ones, though.

I want to make a sort of fold up package to put my jewelry in when I sell it. I hae the idea of getting a pattern for a little container that would be sort of a cross between an envelop and a box that would hold a necklace. I would take the pattern or template and create a background on it and include my name and address and phone number. Then the whole would be printed out, cut out, and folded to create a personalized container that I could use. I worked on the idea some this afternoon, but I needed thicker paper. So this evening, when I went to return the unused printer ink, I bought some card stock. I'll try making a box tomorrow. It has to be one that is relaitvely easy to assemble, so that I don't spend a lot of time on each one. Of course, my rate of sales are not so great that I couldn't easily keep up with production. But, still, I want it to be simple and ingenuous.

Feeling Under the Weather

Here's a photo of the main patio I took last week. It was a hot sunny day once again. Today was cooler, and we've been having a few clouds as well. I find the shorter days dreary, but I agree it's nice to have a break in the hot weather. And, anyway, as I've mentioned before, we still have about another six to eight weeks of relativevly nice weather for sitting and working outside. When it does get cold, the glassblowers like it, because it's so hot near the furnace and the glory hole. I even notice the heat of it myself sometimes.

I have been feeling under the weather and wound up not going to work today. I really hate to miss a day, but sometimes I think it's more efficient in the long run to stay home and rest. So that's what I did. I feel much better this evening.

Now I will need to go over in the morning and put at least one of my etching plates in the ferric chloride, to get it ready for my class tomorrow. I'd like to be able to print an edition this week, if possible. I may not make it, but I'm certainly going to try. Otherwise, I'll wind up doing two next week. And I'd rather not do that.

Trying To Fight Traffic

I can't seem to get a photo uploaded. I'll wait until later and see how I make out. I seem to be spending my day waiting for traffic to die down. Nowadays there's traffic everywhere, including the information superhighway.

I was off today, feeling a little under the weather. I did go and look for a new printer as it transpires that the old one is broken, at least according to the Help Desk at Epson. I was attracted to one that is a combination printer, copier, and scanner all in one. It was on sale. However, I resisted buying it. And really, I think it's better I did. I have a scanner already. I just need a printer. A special friend suggested going to Frye's and buying a reconditioned one there. I think I just may do that.

Actually, I had planned to do it this evening, but I had a problem. I drove over to Spanish Village from the printmaking class, thinking I would deliver the etching plates I had in my car and write in my blog. Then when the traffic died down a little, I would go out to Frye's. What happened was that I wound up locking my keys in my car. Fortunately I have Triple AAA. I went over to one of the other studios, and we called them. While I waited for someone to come and open my door, I had a chance to talk to two of the artists, both board members, both very pleasant to talk to. I wasn't feeling well, and one of them offered me sunflower seeds and a mango drink. I felt much better and enjoyed our chat.

I printed the etching plate that I etched yesterday, the one with aquatint on it. I wound up leaving it in the etching solution for 75 minutes. That created quite a dark tone. Our professor found a printmaking book that he owns that has the etching process described. He has many, but this one is very thorough. And it has a chart in it that covers times for aquatint. The problem is that the chart shows a plate etched in a combination of ferric chloride and hydrochloric acid, so we can't really judge the times. However, I noticed that the chart shows the very darkest tones being achieved after 100 minutes. So it could be more accurate than we're giving it credit for. I don't know. I'll just have to keep trying various time periods.

I have two plates prepared to put in the etching solution to create aquatint. I'm hoping one of them will be successful so that I can print an edition of Thursday. I didn't manage to print one today. I'm still working on preparing the plates. I'll do that tomorrow while I'm in my studio.

Making Slow Electronic Progress

Here's the image I prepared for my photoetching. I don't know if it will work because for some reason my printer isn't printing black ink. I changed it to gray scale in PhotoShop, and it did print in a sort of brown shade. But I don't know if it will be too pale to work. And then that also means I have to figure out why my printer isn't working and either get another or somehow get it fixed. I used the cleaning feature that comes with it, but that didn't solve the problem. Compared to that old daisy wheel I use to make nasty comments about, this printer is a dream. But I understand that printers are so cheap now and come with ink so that it's less expensive to buy a new printer than buy ink cartridges. I admit that sounds very wasteful to me. It's our consumer society that creates that mentality.

I spent the day working on creating and printing business cards. After reading the directions that came in the package, I had no trouble. Funny how that works. I think lots of us who learned to use the computer in the old days have a habit of not reading directions. There was a time when the help manuals were extremely unhelpful. I can remember when I use to use that text editor on the mini computer, I'd get a message that said error 327 or something like that. Even consulting the manual was no help. So most of us just learned by trial and error. We learned a great deal, but it was frustrating.

The image above is the same one I used on my business card, smaller and turned sideways. Originally it was a drawing in one of my sketchbooks that I took a photo of with my cellphone. Before I altered it in PhotoShop to make it grayscale, it was printing with a sort of green tinge to it. I liked that and added some olive green text to it for the information about me. The business cards I got are ivory so it makes a nice combination. Of course, I could have scanned in the image, but my scanner isn't set up yet, so I used the photo instead. Philip said to me recently, "you really use your cellphone a lot." Yes, I do.

So now I'm waiting for one of my copper plates to finish etching. I put rosin and stop out on it last week, and now I've got it in the ferric chloride. I was worried about the weather being cooler, but we suddenly have hot weather again, so I don't have that concern. I'll leave it in for an hour and hope that works. I'd like to print another edition this week, but it occurs to me that if I'm adding aquatint to several plates, I could then print on both Tuesday and Thursday of next week. Then I'd be back on schedule. I'll aim for that if worse comes to worst.

Another Warm Sunday - Keeping Fall At Bay

Here's a more recent photo of my display table. I now have three velvet "tee" displays for necklaces. I've sorted them according to length and type, some with natural stones, others with crystals, some with more or less chain in them. And I've tried to categorize them by price, too. That makes it easier to explain how much they are and which ones logically go together price-wise.

I spent the day working outside at my table, mostly on an etching plate. However, I did sell several items so I spent time making pieces to replace them. I don't ever make the same item more than once. Well, as soon as I say that, I will. But really, I don't remember what I've made, and I think it could be very boring to just make the same item over and over again. I'd rather make something new. I do need to get my camera set up so that I can take photos of pieces before they sell, not that I would necessarily want to copy them, but they will make a portfolio for me of past pieces.

A client who bought a coral necklace came back to visit today. She had the necklace on. She says she's gotten compliments for it. I'm sure she has. It looked wonderful on her. She didn't buy anything today, but she asked me about a turquoise necklace, one that has nugget shaped stones, I think. So I suggested she check back with me in a couple of week. In the meantime, I'll check several sources and find some nice turquoise. I've actually had several people ask me for it, so I think it's worth making a necklace or two out of some good quality stones.

I finally got my printer moved from home to the studio and all set up with my computer. Having a printer seems like such a luxury, which is silly, because I could have had it to use all along. But it just seems like there's so much to think about and plan for. My next move will be the scanner. Fortunately I found the software for it, so it will be relatively easy to install with this computer. I talked to Philip about where I'm going to put it. He suggested putting the printer on top of the computer tower and that works really well. If I get a piece of wood to put on top of the tower, I might be able to put both the printer and the scanner there. Jon brought me some wood last night, but it's not quite right. Unfortunately I didn't give him measurements, so he didn't have much to work with. Sorry, Jon.

Awhile back, I went to have a chat with my friend Shelley who has a gallery. She is a person I met in my printmaking class the very first semester. We spent two or three semesters together and became friends. I had seen her and I wanted to see which of my etching she had in her print rack. Last night, I discovered that she has been reading some of my blog and left me a very sweet comment. Thank you, Shelley. I miss not having you in class with me.

Saturday In Balboa Park

Here's a new photo of the agave plants. You can just see the one stalk almost up to the top of the porch. The angle is a little different, but that makes it easier to see I think. The shorter stalk is outlined against the trunk of the palm tree. It's a little harder to see.

There was a heart walk through Balboa Park this morning, so I didn't get here until about 10:20. By that time there was almost no sign of anything having occurred, although there were tents down by the War Memorial Building and a long line of cars headed for the Zoo parking lot. I would like to have gotten here earlier, but it was nice to kind of lounge around in bed until a fairly late hour. I've been trying to go to bed earlier, too, so that I'm ready to get up earlier for my morning workout.

Today there were a fair number of people in the Village, walking around, watching the glassblowing, looking at my jewelry. But most people are just looking, not buying anything. I explain jewelry making to people and demonstrate how I made certain wire wraps and encourage people to try it themselves. After talking to one woman today, she said I had inspired her to go home and practice. I told her to get inexpensive wire and glass beads so that if she has to cut off part that isn't very good, she won't mind because the wire isn't costly. It's just a matter of time that's involved. But really, that's true of everything in life. Most everything just takes time, putting in enough time.

I'm finding myself less inspired in my jewelry making. That's an indication that it's time to move back to etching. I want to do that anyway, because I want to create some new plates to print this next week. Also, I don't want to forget to work on my photoetching project as well. I did some of that on Friday, but I didn't come to a resolution about what photograph I'm going to use. I'm thinking of doing one of a landscape, but I'm also thinking of doing a portrait. I'm not sure. Anyway, I want to have something ready for Tuesday. There's a great deal to do always. I hate it when the day comes to an end. I never feel like I've accomplished enough. Sometimes it makes me feel guilty.

A Quiet Day For Myself

Here's a photo of my outside worktable. On the left side under the top is a green handle. In theory, I am supposed to use the handle to move the table back and forth across the patio. However, at this particular time I have no need to move it and it has no wheels on its legs anyway. So the handle is just for decoration, I guess you could say. However, I love that yellow green color.

If you look below the handle, you'll see a blue circle with a white center. That's the glass eye from Turkey, used to ward off the evil eye, to protect against envious observers. One of the artists here in Spanish Village is a photographer who is married to a woman from Turkey. When he's not set up on the patio, he stores his cinder blocks that hold his canopy under my table. That way he doesn't have to take them home all the time or carry them back to the back patio. As a thank you to me for allowing him to put them under the table, he brought me some souvenirs when he returned from Turkey several days ago. One of the items he brought was the eye. So I have hung it on the handle of my table to protect all of us from evil or envious intent.

When my husband and I traveled to Istanbul, we brought back a number of blue "eyes" that we purchased in The Grand Bazaar. I don't know where any of them are anymore. I know we gave many of them away as gifts. I like the idea of doing something positive, like hanging up an eye, to improve my situation. Another belief I subscribe to and am working on translating has to do with the energy vibrations of the various stones I use in my jewelry creations. I have a wide variety of stones hanging on the pegboard in my studio, and I honestly believe they create a pleasant, restful atmosphere for me here in my studio. I feel very comfortable sitting here at my desk and worktable.

Today I've spent my time sitting inside. I think it's a good idea. Andy, the glassblower, is sick, so there is nobody blowing glass. It's very quiet back here in my corner, and I enjoy it. I've spent some of my time today thinking about and working on a subject for my photoetching project. I have several photographs to choose from. And my plan is to add some text as well. I've gotten the transparencies to print on that I need and I've brought my printer from home. So, even though I still can't say, "watch out CocaCola," I'm making progress.

Etching Research

Here's a photo I took last week of a group of succulents that grow near my studio. Actually, there are succulents all over the Village. The tourists like them and so do the local people. I had a conversation with a couple last weekend; they were very interested in the fact that the San Diego Cactus and Succulent Society has sales here in the Park periodically. I think probably most of the succulents that grow around the various patios are from their sales.

Today I went to the etching class. I wanted to begin the aquatint process on some of my plates. The thing is that I wasn't sure how long to leave the plate in the ferric chloride to create an aquatint. The professor didn't know either, because he doesn't work with it. However, he has a nice library of printmaking books there in the classroom and I did some research. The most specific book I found wasn't very specific. The only thing it said was that the aquatint would take about one third as long to bite as the line etching, and that the length of time depends on various factors including the humidity and the temperature.

When I created the plates originally, I left them in the acid for about two hours, maybe slightly less. But the weather was very hot and humid at the time. I think I will begin by leaving the plate in for one hour. If the aquatint tone that is created is too dark, I can use some steel wool to remove some of it. Ideally, I'd like to have an answer so that I can move forward with my plates and my printing, but I realize I just have to do some experimenting. I chose a plate that has a great deal of false biting on it so that if the aquatint doesn't work, it won't be the end of the world.

One of the projects I'm going to participate in is photoetching. You transfer a photograph to a plate and put it in the sun to create the image. The rest washes away when you scrub it with a brush. It's a method that some of the students have tried in the past, but I never had the required computer and printer equipment to participate. Now I do and I'm anxious to try. That will be one of my four class projects. I plan to try printing some text as well as an image. We'll begin with a small plate measuring 4 inches by 5 inches and go from there. Anyway, the first plate will give us an idea of what is involved and how well the process works.

I find that I'm much more comfortable with the whole etching process because I have created a place to perform most of the process. Now when the professor asks me to do something like fill up the paper tray with water or to grind rosin for the rosin box, I can do it easily. It doesn't seem like an unsurmountable task. Also, I am much more focused than I was before. I know exactly what I want to do. That helps as well.

Working Slowly But Steadily

Here's a detail of one of the etchings I printed last week. Some of the areas where there are outlines only and no pattern will be filled in with aquatint, a process using rosin to create a texture of tiny dots that will hold ink and print an area of tone as opposed to the line you see currently. There are various ways to apply rosin to the etching plate, but the best way is to create a cloudy chamber into which you put the plate and wait for the fine rosin dust to settle on the plate. Then you carefully heat the plate to melt the rosin slightly, causing it to adhere to the plate. Then you put it in the acid and that creates the tone. So that's my plan for my class tomorrow: begin the process of creating aquatint.

Today was a rather slow day. I spent the time inside working at my computer and making some jewelry. Early in the day the network wasn't functioning. At first I decided to just forget about it. But one of the other artists came to ask me about getting on, saying she couldn't get on either. So I went into Southwestern's gallery to check the repeater. It was fine, still plugged in. Then I attempted to reset my computer, but I still couldn't get online. Next I went to check the router and the computer it is attached to, the one in the Spanish Village Board office. That computer was running, but we noticed that the clock was blinking, indicating that there had been a power outage. So I pulled out the router power plug and put it back in. This time when I went back to my studio to try it, it was fine. Thank you Philip for showing me what to do before you went away.

I spent time making two pieces of jewelry with pearls and sterling silver. I had a client ask me for silver jewelry, and I said I didn't make much of it because it tarnishes. However, another artist told me I could rinse the silver in Simple Green to clean it. But I don't know about whether that would bother the pearls, so I made a test necklace and bracelet. I went through all my boxes of loose beads until I found all the different pearls that I have and added one of each. I think it's possible some pearls may hold up better than others.

Nowadays many pearls are dyed, so they may not clean well. I need to find out. I noticed that the hemimorphite that I used on my bracelet has faded. I've had it since Sunday and worn it in the shower each day. It has turned white. I try to find out these things so that I can inform my clients. I don't want to have any surprises nor do I want them to.

Etching Goals

Here's a photo I took last week of the classroom where the printmaking class meets. That's our professor in the back. The classroom contains four presses, three that can be used for etchings and the other is a letter press. It's the old-fashioned kind that was used to print books and newspapers, in the days when the type was set by hand. We use it now in combination with our linoleum cuts usually although it could be combined with etching as well.

What I want to do as one of my printmaking projects is to combine some of my poems with some of my etchings. The plan is to create the etching first and print it on paper. Then Philip will put the paper in his printer and print text on it. He has an oversized printer that will print up to 13 inches by 19 inches. The ink used to print the text is fade-resistent for 30 years. That seems pretty good.

Anyway, today was printmaking class. I told my professor that I intended to print one edition per week. An edition is a printing of the same etching plate over and over using the same color ink and the same type of paper. So this afternoon I printed the first of the editions that I have planned. I managed to print 11 copies of the same plate. I think one didn't come out very well, but the others should be okay. Then we talked about some of the etchings that I printed proofs of last week, and he agreed with my ideas for modifying them slightly. So I will do some of that beginning on Thursday. He likes the idea of my goal to print an edition every week, that it will keep me on track and make taking the class worth my while. And I won't allow myself to become distracted the way I did when I took the class before.

Making Use of the Internet

Here's a photo of the agave stalks. Can you see in the photo how both stalks have grown taller than the bottom of the upstairs balcony? They will be easier to see when they grow even taller. There's a third stalk growing somewhat behind the palm tree and it doesn't show up very well in photos. Jon says he thinks it won't grow as tall as the others because the plant itself is smaller. I'm not sure. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Yesterday, I checked my email and discovered that Philip has posted some photos up on the internet for us to see. He's vacationing in Hawaii right now, but he is still sending us email. I think that's so great: a way to keep in touch via the internet. Recently a friend was talking about using the cellphone in novel ways. I take all my blog photos with mine. But I also use it for other purposes, like calling a friend if we get separated in a great big store. And sometimes when customers comment about all the detail work I produce in my jewelry making and etching, I jokingly say it's better than playing solitaire on my cellphone. Yesterday a woman laughed and said her boyfriend plays on his all the time.

Today was a Spanish Village board meeting in the morning. Now that I'm here on Mondays, I can come back to my studio and begin writing up the minutes of the meeting while they are fresh in my mind. I didn't finish, because I spent some of my time making a necklace, but I'll go on with the task tomorrow after class or on Wednesday. And speaking of the internet, we now use it to send messages to our members much less expensiviely than sending out cards and letters.

Tomorrow I'm off to the printmaking class. I had hoped to have at least one new plate to print, but I'm a little behind schedule. However, I have plates at school that I can print. I want to stick to my schedule of printing at least one edition each week. I'm sure I can.

Changes

This iris plant is blooming right beside my outside worktable. In fact, if I turn a certain way, I brush against the flower. I thought Jon put it close to me, but he says he's not the one who moved it. Anyway, I like the idea of being surrounded by plants. And he told me that the plant in the front of the pot, which you can just barely see as shorter and lighter green in the top of the photo, is the plant that one of the other artists gave me when my husband died. I had trouble taking care of it, and Jon adopted it for me. Now I have it back, in a manner of speaking. I like that.

Today was rather busy. We had a larger number of people than we've had for a very long time. It began to look like the crowds we're accustom to getting. The weather is definitely cooler and that makes a difference. Also, the price of gas has gone down so I think that probably encourages people to get out more than they have been. So there are more changes taking place than the leaves on the trees. One of these days I'll sit at my table without my umbrella. It will be cool enough.

New Projects For Fall

Here's a photo of the buds that appear on the tree outside my studio. I didn't notice them because they're high up and blend with the leaves, but when I drove around town the other day, I saw them on the same kinds of trees that I passed. I'm not sure what kind of tree it is. I'll have to look it up in the Sunset Garden Book. After awhile, it will have persimmon colored "lanterns" on it, and then it will lose it's leaves. And they'll be everywhere. Autumn. It's not my favorite season, but before we know it, the days will be getting longer again. I have a special friend who says autumn is his favorite. I'll have to ask him why that is.

Late afternoon is such a good time to work on my etching plates. There's something about the angle and intensity of the sun that allows me to see so clearly. I worked on a plate today, one I had started three or four weeks ago. I spent about three hours on it, and it's nearly finished. I'll etch it tomorrow or Monday in preparation for class on Tuesday.

The weather is definitely changing. I sat at my outside table all day, and at the end of the day, I began to get goose bumps. I have spent the summer dressed in thin cotton shifts, but today I wore a blouse and long pants. I was still cold. Soon I'll need a sweater, but I'll still sit outside all autumn and winter on the weekends, only moving inside if it begins to rain.

It was nice to see one of enamel artists today in the Enamel Guild. He's only here once a month. I took enamel classes from him. Eventually, I'd like to go back to doing so again. I could incorporate enameling into my jewelry. While I was talking to him, he mentioned an upcoming show that celebrates the Day of the Dead. The show is by invitation and involves creating an altar to the dead, based on a Mexican tradition, if I remember, in which the dead are invited to return and be placcated. I participated several years ago, and I'd like to again. The show takes place close to the anniverssary of my husband's death, and it seems appropriate to participate. My thoughts have been turning to him recently and creating a piece can be very cathartic. I still have the piece I created two years ago.

Participating in a show like that would allow me to create a mixed media piece. Here at Spanish Village, I'm juried in for printmaking, painting, and jewelry. I'm not allowed to display or sell items created in a different medium or media. I don't mind that, but it also means that I don't usually stray outside my media. This would give me a chance to do so, a good way for increasing creativity, I think. I'll try to make something. I have an idea already.

Printing New Etchings

Here's a photo of a beetle that appeared on my desk late yesterday afternoon. He's rather hard to see in this photo, but he is an off-white or cream color and he has brown stripes running down his back. I have seen ones like him here in Spanish Village, but I have never seen them anywhere else in all the time I've lived in San Diego. There may be a tree here in Balboa Park that attracts them. I don't know what they're called either, although it occurs to me that I just saw an insect book of mine at home. If I remember, I'll try to look it up. Anyway, it crawled under the overhang of the desk, and I don't see it today.

I spent the afternoon in the printmaking class I'm taking. I printed seven etchings, one each from different plates that I have prepapred here and one that I found in my drawer at school. I did a series of six prints several years ago for a show, but I actually never printed editions of them. I'll try to print at least some of them this semester.

I had a conversation with the instructor about the logistics of my various projects. He says we could set up a ferric chloride bath in the classroom where I could do some of the etching on my plates. I would like to do some aquatint and some soft ground etching. I could apply the rosin for aquatinting and bring the plate back here to my studio to etch it, but the soft ground would be a little harder. The soft ground is soft enough so that you can take some like fabric or leaves that have some texture to them and put them on the plate and then roll them through the press. If the plate has soft ground on it, the pattern will be transferred to the ground and that pattern will then etch onto the plate. I have plates onto which I have pressed a piece of cheesecloth. When I print the plates, the print has a soft woven background to it. Some of my new plates would benefit from the same technique.

After class, I came back here to Spanish Village to work in my studio a little bit and write in my blogs. I also returned the two framed etchings that were not accepted by the Women's Caucus For the Arts show at the San Carlos Library. I took a sneak peak at the show when I drove out to pick up my rejected pieces. It's very nice, but very small. It is contained in a meeting room they have in the back. I can see why the judge only took one piece from each person. It would be too crowded otherwise. There's a reception on Sunday, but I'm not sure I can go unless I find someone to stay in my studio for me. Well, maybe I can.

My One-Day Week

Here's a photo I took several days ago. It's the philodendron by my studio door, and behind it you can see two new leaves of the tree fern unwinding. I love my little garden. I can see it when I sit either in or outside my studio. I love to look up and see the plants. I'm partial to tropical plants anyway, and these are some of my favorites. The tree ferns, paticularly, remind me of my visits to Hawaii over the years.

I spent the day making two necklaces, something I hadn't intended to do when I arrived this morning. It was my intention to straighten up and organize things here in the studio. But there was one necklace that I started last night, and I wanted to finish it. Then I wanted to make one out of some fancy agate that I bought from the bead supplier on Monday. I seem to be attracted to agate these days. I had another agate necklace, complete different, that a client purchased on Saturday. I had intended to wear it that night. So now I've made another. The previous one was translucent, tending toward brown. This one is peach, orange, white with a spot pattern of sorts on some of the pieces.

We continue to have very warm weather. I drove east yesterday to submit three pieces for a jury show put on by the San Diego Caucus for Women Artists. When I returned home last night, I received word that one of my three pieces had been accepted. That is very nice. I'm not sure I can make it to the reception which takes place while I'm in my studio on Sunday. Maybe Jon would keep the studio open for me. I'll ask him. He's right outside now talking to one of the other artists.

Tomorrow I'll have a chance to print the new plates that I created a few weeks ago. I'm anxious to see how they turn out. I think they may need more work, but at least I can get a start on them. In the meantime, if they do need more work, I have about eight plates in my drawer in the classroom, and I could print an addition of any one of them. In fact, there's one in particular that I was considering.

Back to School After Labor Day

Here's Jon with the two agave stalks. We've discovered a third one in the back. I took a photo of it, but it's really too short to show up yet. It's interesting that the two are almost the same height. I suppose they will continue that way.

It was terribly hot today, like yesterday. This is the time of year when we may have a Santa Ana, a wind that blows from the dessert and brings hot air with it. Usually we get a nice breeze off the ocean that keeps us comfortable. While we're having this hot weather, there's no breeze and the ocean temperature is higher than normal which adds to the hot weather.

Today was my day off, but I came back to the Village late this afternoon, thinking I might have time to make another piece of jewelry, but I wound up talking instead. By the time I finish writing, it will be time to go home for dinner. But I now have the chain I need after going to the bead supplier, and it would be nice to make another necklace.

This morning I came over to the Village to get three of my etchings that I planned to enter in a juried art show in another part of town. I took them out to the venue and had just enough time to get back to my printmaking class. It's so nice to be back. The students are all different, but of course the instructor is the same. And my drawer of paper and old etching plates was still there. So the first thing I did was clean it out, taking out all the plates that aren't worth fooling with, throwing away the trash, separating the used and unused plates, and taking a look at the paper I still have.

I found some blank copper plates which is nice. I can use those. And I found two small zinc plates that I don't remember making or printing. The interesting thing is that they look a great deal like what I've been making out of copper in the last few months. I really thought my style had changed, but an artist's style doesn't really ever totally change. There's always an element of their "voice" in everything they do.

Now it's really too late to stay and work on creating something. I'm leaving so I'll be ready for work tomorrow. When I was growing up, we always went back to school right after Labor Day. I always hated it, because I loved summer so much. But now I'm at the age where I enjoy school, because I can study what I want, and I go by choice. Amazing how that makes a difference.

Happy Labor Day 2006

Once again Jon wasn't here to pose beside the agave, but you can see the one stalk is all the way up to the level of the balcony. The other one is harder to see, but I think it's growing faster and catching up.

Today was very slow. There were very few people walking around Spanish Village. In addition, it was very hot, so I expect that kept people away. Well, I say it was very hot. It was hot and humid for San Diego. We could normally expect a high of about 75 degrees and I think it was in the 80's. Currently it's 79 degrees. The humidity is only about 50 percent, but it feels humid to me. I know there are people in some parts of the country and the world who will laugh at my calling those temperatures hot and humid, but they are for San Diego.

I made three necklaces between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. I usually sit and work all day, never walking around and talking much. Sometimes when I arrive in the morning I think about doing things in my studio and/or on the computer, but usually I just like to sit down and go to work. In the past, when the subject has come up, other members of the Village have said things like, "oh, you're always working." It's true. I am. I enjoy making things. And at the Village, we are considereed working studios, so we should be working. Sometimes I think it could be an excuse to avoid doing some of the routine work, but I also think it's a productive excuse if that's what it is.

They didn't blow glass today, saying it was too hot. And actually, if there's one day when they don't blow glass, it would be Mondays. We are required to stay open on holidays, however, and that's one reason I was here. Also, I'm going to join the printmaking class which begins tomorrow, so I have officially changed my days off to Tuesday and Thursday. I'll see how that works out. I'm not committed to go twice a week to the printmaking class, but I would like to try. I could do a great deal of printing that way.

Labor Day Sunday

Here's a photo from the other side of the main patio, looking toward the sub-patio where my studio is located. You can see the blue awning of Gallery 21, the rotating gallery in front of my studio. I love all those trees that grow mostly behind the Village. If the San Diego Zoo goes through with its expansion plans, I'm afraid they would cut down all those beautiful big trees. That would be too bad. A great many trees in the Park are protected, but I'm not sure those would be. But that plan may never come to fruition.

There were very few people walking around Spanish Village today. I understand from talking to some passersby that the Zoo parking lot was full and there were lots of people down by the museums, but we didn't see very many. In fact, there have been very few people all summer long, much fewer than in the past. I'm not sure why. We all speculate about it, but nobody seems to have an answer. Meanwhile, we keep pursuing our art, regardless.

I had a productive day, making jewelry. I think in the next day or so, I will have enough for now and I will go back to etching. Also, I'm going to try to enter a show out in La Mesa, about 10 miles east. I need to get something ready to take to them on Tuesday morning before I go the printmaking class. So I'll be busy tomorrow.

Little Sprouts Grow Up

Here's a photo I took on Thursday of Jon with the agave plant. You can see how much it's grown from when I took the last photo of him on Monday. He said to me this evening as I was leaving that we need to take another photo, so we'll do that tomorrow. The flower stalk is certainly growing quickly. And that's what everyone was predicting. Several of the artists are calling this an agave plant. I think it is. I know the agave is the plant they make tequila from. I'm not sure if this is that variety. But I find it attractive nonetheless.

I spent today making jewelry. When I went to the bead supplier yesterday, I picked out a number of strands that are semi-precious stones, in polished but rather rough shapes. So today I made three necklaces, one jade, one agate, and one which was labeled "assorted stone." I don't like that kind of label. It's too vague, and my knowledge of stones is not expert. However, as I look at the stones, they look to me as though they are at least partially red or poppy jasper. I know they're not agate. According to the gem book I have, agate has bands, and this assorted stone does not. It has dots or circles. Anyway, it's very pretty I think and looks wonderful with gold wire and chain between each piece.

I spent time talking to Philip about my upcoming printmaking class. One of the things I've wanted to do for a long time is to create a broadside, a large poster sort of piece that has a combination of drawing and writing on it. Philip has a printer that prints paper up to 13 by 19 inches. So I could print an etching on rag paper and then give it to Philip and he could print text on the same paper using his computer and printer. It wouldn't be the same as using a letter press to print the text, but I think it would be satisfactory. Anyway it's worth a try. I could of course use my own printer, but I think it probably only takes an 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of paper, and I want to make something bigger.

So, my plan is to spend time tomorrow working on a few more jewelry pieces, one anyway that I started late in the afternoon. Then I'll put that aside and start concentrating on the etching. I have a number of plates ready to print. I know that when I go to class on Tuesday, I won't be able to print, but at least I can clean out my flat file drawer left from several years ago and get ready to move forward. Who would have thought I'd be going back to school. Certainly not me.

Too Late To Reset the Wi-Fi

Here's a photo of the new vase that I bought from Jon. You can see it between the lamp and the edge of the computer screen. It's beautiful, consisting of a sort of chocolate brown/black, pink, green, and lavendar. It has swirls of color in it that are fascinating to look at. It's in a safe place right now although it's not visible to anyone really except me. If I put it on the other side of the monitor, I worry that it could get knocked off the desk. I'll have to figure out where I want it to sit. However, having it right there next to the monitor allows me to see it when I work at the computer.

I had the day off, but I went to Spanish Village at about 5:30 with the idea of spending some time working at my computer and puttering around in my studio. However, I discovered that the network was down. I'm assuming that the repeater in the other gallery was unplugged again. Because they close at 4:30, I was unable to go in to check on it. So I'm forced to wait until tomorrow.

The Village was busy though. There was a wedding reception taking place at the far end of the main patio. There were mariachis in white suits and an easy listening/dance band dressed in tuxedos and black. In addition, the Enamel Guild was busy setting up their semi-annual show in Gallery 21, the rotating gallery next to my studio. They always have wonderful shows, and they receive entries from all over the world. I'm always very inspired by the work and go back repeatedly to look at it. They open tomorrow.

I spent a part of the day shopping for beads, wire, and gold-filled chain. There's a supplier that specializes in large, dramatic beads in every color imaginable. They have smaller beads, too, but the bulk of their pieces are large, many of them flat rectangles or circles. Because I make most of my pieces with chain and/or wire between the beads, those big, geometric pieces are hard for me to work with. I tend to prefer smaller beads. Or at least that's what I'm using now, although in the past few weeks I've graduated to larger stones and thicker wire. But anyway, I found about 10 strands of beads that inspired me. I'm looking forward to spending the weekend making them into necklaces. Then I'm going to turn to etching.

Yesterday, I called my printmaking teacher and left a message on his answering machine. This evening he called me to say that he'd love to have me back in his class. So I'm going to go. I'm very excited. This way I'll be able to print the plates that I've created. I will probably only go once a week, but I can do all the rest of the work in my studio. Then I can just print at school. I'm thrilled to be going back. Being in a classroom situation enables me to have further contact with other artists. Two of my best friends are women I met in printmaking class.