carving up my heart

Vallejo, CA

To get into grad school, I must take a class that involves a three dimensional art form or I must "master" a 3D art medium. The options for grad school are: ceramics, basket weaving, soap making, jewelry making or wood working. The classes offered at my junior college: ceramics. I have no desire to take a ceramics course. Just my luck - I would have a beautiful pot on the throw wheel right when Demi Moore would come up, ruin the pot and force me to watch Ghost with her. So I am attempting to "master" certain aspects of wood working instead. I have a book and I'm trying to plow my way through it.

Evergreen

Antioch, CA

Tom and I finished building the retaining wall tonight. On Saturday I will spend a great deal of time back filling the wall. Slowly but surely this fence is getting done.

Extreme Makeover Ramp Edition

Antioch, CA
Taken with John's Fuji Finepix F480

I have a neighbor who is dying of bone cancer. She is now confined to a wheelchair. A niece's boyfriend's brother installed this ramp while drinking a case of beer. And it shows. John suggested to the neighbor, that I could build a better one. My help was enlisted and I designed and built this ramp. At the top there is a platform for the older lady to just sit and enjoy the weather. I then increased the ramp size by 4 feet giving them 12 feet to go up the 14 inch rise. The way the previous ramp worked actually gave a 16 inch rise in 8 feet, so by moving it to flat land I increased the run while decreasing the rise. On Monday I will bolt down the front using concrete bolts. Another neighbor has agreed to paint it...so I'm pretty much done.

John at Work

Antioch, CA

See Sunday for the story.

(Happy Anniversary Brother and Sister In Law)

Block of wood

Anitoch, CA

I'm working on carving a new fish and it's not going well. If the project doesn't get better in the next day, I might redesign the plans and turn it into a box of kindling.

Go Fish

Antioch, CA

I carved this fish for my cousin. Yes yes I know it looks liked a bloated dolphin, but this was only my fourth carving experience. I will get better with time.

kindling

I've been carving on a fish for my cousin in CA. What a mess I've made.

(And yes - that is the real time)

Wood working

I've been working on a earring box for the last few weeks. These pics show the progress I've made. I still need to sand out the hole and paint the box.

I talked about it here