Pocket Calculator circa 1906

One hundred-six pages of numbers  make my eyes cross!  

Ropp's New Calculator helped farmers calculate all the stuff they needed to in order to navigate the turn of the century farmin' biz.  TECHNOLOGY!!!!

I'd like to use this in art sometime, but I pretty much love it as is.  This is how hoarding starts, you guys!!

I hope I look this good, even if I'm outmoded, when I'm 107 years old.

Anatomical Imagery!

Found in the shed last summer, I recovered a dozen pages from what I assume was a very awesome book with anatomical diagrams and pictures.  Alas, most of the book was gobbled up by critters.  I rediscovered the pages yesterday in my studio when I was tiding up.  So I'll share some here!

The Bones!

Cross-section of head

See and hear with these things.

The Arm.

The Leg and Foot.

I thought I'd sell these through The Retro Ranch's Etsy store, but I really like them, so I might hang on to them and eventually frame them up or something.  Wish I knew anything about the book they came from or the year it was published...  Now, I just need to find more walls...

Old Fence, New Art

This summer I purchased a Tuff Shed.  It's a dream--just wish it was bigger!  (Show and tell about that in a future post.) I now have a place to put my art inventory and tent set up stuff that is only three steps from my truck.  Before, I was going up and down the basement stairs 25 times (literally--I counted) every time I had to load or unload for a show.

I took this opportunity to salvage the fence that had to come down in order to construct the shed...at least, what was left after ALL THE TERMITES OMG IT WAS HORRIFYING!

Anyway, I cut the slats down to 7" lengths, and then did some sanding and painting magic before adding some paper and vinyl in the popular anatomical heart design.  Multiples are fun!

Buh-bye, sucka!

I managed to get 90 pieces measuring 5 x 7 inches

Add some paint!

Sand it and add more paint!

"Fabric paper" with vinyl on painted wood

I like leaving the back rough to help tell the story.

I'm working on more of these for my spring shows and will have them in my booth regardless of if I'm showing clocks or "fine art."  People like 'em and I like making them.

After I deliver some to Essential Goods in Lawrence, I'll add the remaining piece up on my Etsy shop.

Burlap Seed Sacks

This summer I discovered some truly beautiful old sacks that were maybe used once and then hidden away in a trash can.  That trash can (it was lidded) was then hidden away in a barrel.  That barrel was placed in a shed.  Then, maybe fifty years later, I came along and found them.  

Love at first sight!

Found on August 16, 2014

I want to flatten and frame them, but I'm scared to really do anything yet.  I've read you can steam old burlap to get the wrinkles out, or even iron them or toss 'em in the dryer for a bit, but what if they disintegrate?  For now I'll just put them under some heavy flat things and see what happens.

It's snowing today, so no picking--except I actually did get some more vinyl from my lovely source.  Then I slid all over the road getting home.  Worth it.

My Last Custom Order

The most recent wall clock I made was for one of my dearest, oldest friends.  Well, for the baby he just had (on Kansas Day!  Whooot!).  Well, for her room, anyway.

I like the way the animals turned out, all stylized and cartoony.  

12 x 12", white vinyl with black vinyl over colored vinyl that I cut around.

Here's an action shot.  It actually is outside the room because...reasons.

Another great friend supporting my work while I get to contribute to their family's heirlooms.  Warm fuzzies.

What I'm Making Today

Well, I've passed the transition from 2014 to 2015 without even a peep here on the blog.  I was working almost literally up until Christmas and then was too burnt out/lazy to try to write something worth reading.  So I'm going to try to just put up some pictures to get the ball rolling again.

TODAY I'M WORKING ON: DESK CLOCKS!

3.5 x 3.5 inches/MDF/paper from old hymnals, Mary Poppins book, and "fabric paper"

When they're done I'll have them up on my Etsy site or they'll go live in Lawrence, Kansas, at Essential Goods!

Happy Belated New Year/Ground Hog Day!

Why I don't have Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals

I don't often put my work on sale because I can't afford to.  Instead of spending my time setting up sales, promoting those sales, and hoping this will somehow bring thousands of dollars my way, I try to just make work that I like and maybe someone else will see its value.

This is my nightmare:

Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters

Unlike Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and all those other convenient chain retailers, I don't have a board of directors, stock market presence, or a plan to expand to eighty new locations over the next five years.  

Also, I don't pay my over-seas workers pennies a day to make plastic junk that will fall apart in no time.  I have no employees. 

I keep my overhead low by using cast-offs and salvaged materials.  The components I do buy, I try my hardest to keep them sourced in America--my clock mechanisms are American made and cost a bit more, but I feel that's worth it.  My aluminum is American-sourced and purchased in my hometown, so my family can pick it up and we can meet in the middle for regular visits only 30 minutes from my home.  We'd be doing this anyway, so we're not adding any extra shipping costs to the metal.

I work out of my home, so my commute is by foot, about ten feet from my bed, and I save on heating by having a cat on my lap (right now!).  This offsets my long road trips to out of town shows, so I feel at least a little less guilty filling up my tank.

So what I'm saying is, I can't afford to have enormous discounts on my work, even with all my own efforts to cost-cut and be frugal day to day.

I have too many ideas in my head to give away the things I make with my hands.  I'm happy to clear out older work and experiments/sketch pieces during my normal shows, and, yes, my show schedule is heavier as we near the winter holidays, so these coincide. But I'm not into all the hype.  

WITH THAT BEING SAID...

My final showing of the year is this weekend.  I'm in the company of four other wonderful artists and am excited to meet more Kansas City area art lovers.  So here's my plug for in-person, art-buying opportunity from me, the artist who makes the things you will see.

3rd Annual Holiday Art Sale at Meya Studio
3345 Baltimore Ave., KCMO
FRIDAY, DEC. 5, 6-9PM
SATURDAY, DEC. 6, 10AM-6PM
SUNDAY, DEC. 7, 11AM-5PM

Discounted transitional pieces, oldies but goodies, new desk clocks, all the wall clocks you could ever want, plus ceramics, glass jewelry, fine art paintings, and funky paper cuts and mixed media.

Also, hot rum and cider, beef stew, brownies, wine, and OMG JUST COME ON BY!

Here's us last year as we were wrapping up:

Amy Meya, Allan Winkler, Laura Nugent, and Desiree Warren
It was an average 15 degrees all weekend, so we were cold...but this year it will be much warmer!

If you want to buy online, my Etsy store will be open and updated as much as possible.  I've been working on loads of desk clocks that are not only perfect for gifting, but easy to ship and pretty economical! 

Happy Cold Time of the Year, Art Lovers!