October 30th

Well, it's been long enough since my last post, a little over two weeks, strewth!   This past week I went on a what was supposed to be a weekend camping trip up to the Alps into lake Como, I ended up befriending a bunch of other travelers and locals and journeyed through the north of Italy.  I started by climbing Alpine mountains surrounding a giant glacial lake to burying my feet in the sand of the warm November beaches of western Italy.  I made memories that I can never ever forget, from the mountains to the Mediterranean.

It is when you feel most at home when you are truly traveling.

So my updates for my work include this:
The Amulet is bent, mostly set, and I have the rings for the leather lace made, all that is left to solder the rings, do my finishing touches, and polish the entire piece to a blinding shine.  I would like to point out though that the piece was a fucker to bend, and I ended up breaking off a bunch of interior pieces and had to solder them (shittily) back in, and in the process also ended up melting off some of the smaller interior pieces.  At this point in time, I just want this amulet done so I can get on to making my cast ring(s).  Here is the piece.

LET ME BE DONE WITH YOU

As for my next piece, I am getting very excited.  Essentially what will happen is that I get a big piece of casting wax, and I will carve a ring out of it.  Once that's done I will take it to a caster's and have it clamped and then put into a tube; a solution of water and chalk will get poured in and then the tub will be put into an oven.  The oven will quickly dry the solution, which will harden around the wax, the wax will then melt and pour out through the clamp, leaving negative space in the shape of my piece, hot molten metal (the type depends on how big the piece is, the bigger the piece the more expensive, the cheaper the metal, the more I can do) will be poured into the piece and then will dry, leaving a metal copy of what I made out of wax.
My concepts for this include three ideas that I can share with you, the fourth I can't share so that it remains a secret to someone who may or may not read this blawgg.

1st Concept: Abstract dark metal ring.
This piece is pretty cool, I've gotten a lot of compliments on the idea, and I will most likely do it, but I am not sure if I want this to be more first piece.  We shall see, maybe I'll do two rings at a time.

 

P.s. Fuck MS paint.

Essentially the black blocks are raised pieces, the dark grey areas on top are supposed to opposite side of the ring.  I'll try and actually take the time to make a good looking sketch and show the concept in detail.

Concept DEUX: Diving bells.
This second idea I am thoroughly psyched about, I am a fan of old nautical themed jewellery, so hey.  This is going to be actually two rings that fit together into one. Essentially it's this:

Old school

It's gonna be an old school diving bell on a band that looks like seaweed.  All of it will be made from brass and the dome and mantle will be separate pieces on separate bands which will all lock into place.  The more I work on this concept however, the more I realize that this would maybe look cooler as a giant pendant with chains of seaweed, and perhaps a hinge so that you can put stuff in the dome of the piece (a pearl?).  I'll keep working on the concept art and see where it takes me.  Ahoy.






The Third:  Crashing.
So the third piece is essentially going to be a wide topped ring with a nice silver body, and then sculpted on top is going to be a women sleeping on a couch. Kinda like this but simpler couch and she'll be on her side or front, and we'll probably be not wearing pajamas. Again MS paint really lets me explore the depths of details.

This kinda looks a bad sketch of someones legs with a weird ass t-shirt.

My marble sculpture is going pretty well, I am almost done with the upper arms and shoulders, the forearms are coming in, and I will start doing the hands.  I also realized that I gave way too much space for the head, which makes the piece look really goofy, but better extra stone than not enough.  Here it be:

Ok, now as you all know it's the day before Halloween, and this holiday is kinda my shit. Unfortunately it's hard to get the atmosphere right here when it's a day before Halloween and it's 70 degrees outside, but I'm doing my best. Here's some ooky halloween music for you:


HALLOWEEN is HOLLERIN':

Halloween Theme - Chrispy (dubstep re-mix)
GLOBAL DOMINATION, to be honest the dubstep fad is finally coming to an end, and I'm not gonna lie, I'm not sad about that at all, but once in a while a little dub can go a long way, and there will still always be those few dubstep songs that stick.  This song isn't exceptional in any way, but it suits the mood.

Slowly by Galapagos
I couldn't find any pictures of the band, so I chose a tortoise.  This song is a little eerie, a little upbeat.  The lighter sides of Halloween, like a shit-ton of candy.

Run by Air
Eeriest hypnotic nap song ever, this song is my all time favorite song for laying down in the summer sun, but it also happens to fit Halloween as well.

Small Town Witch by Sneaker Pimps
This band is one of those bands which should have skyrocketed in the charts, but didn't.  There is a special place in my heart for Sneaker Pimps (no matter how weird their name is).  The band started off very trip hoppy with their girl singer Kelli Dayton ,and had a bunch of hits, but Dayton was kicked out because she was a bitch (awesome) and they picked up Chris Corner, one of the wierdest son a bitch I have seen, but absolutely amazing musician. Pretty much any of their albums are perfect for halloween or for just kickin' it.  If you like what you hear, listen up to the albuum Bloodsport, one of the best albums of the 2000's.

Ghost Town by The Specials
Uhm, nothing need be said about The Specials and this song. Classic.

Clint Eastwood by The Gorillaz
Best band of the 2000's.  Best Album of the 2000's. Best song of the Album.  What does that say?  The Gorillaz, the brainchild of legendary brit-pop figure Damon Albarn, has ruled the radiowaves around the world for over a decade.  Every new album is a hit, is completely original, and follows a specific theme with it's virtual band members.  I can't tell you how much I love this band, and as soon as October comes around, I have an even better excuse to put this song on repeat day in day out.



Plastic Jungle by Mike Snow
Miike Snow, the 2007 Indie Pop band straight outta Sweden has made one hell of an album with one hell of a sound on their self titled release which has many major hits.  The band's two Swedes actually began working as sound recorders and producers for people like Madonna and Britney Spears, but then went out on their own way to make a great indie pop band.

Wolf Like Me by TV on the Radio
Great song that fits with the Holliday like white on Rice.  Thank you TV on the Radio, you weirdos.

Yonkers by Tyler, the Creator
BE PREPARED FOR THE MOST OFFENSIVE LYRICS OF YOUR LIFE.  Tyler, the Creator has adopted a style of offending as many people as possible and creating as many enemies as well (much like a young eminem [don't let that statement be cliche]).  This album is pretty gritty, angry, full of too much information, terribly easy beats, and bad singing.  I love it and hate it.  This song here is probably as damned as it gets, and it grows on you like a musical tumor.

Me and the Devil by Gil Scott Heron
Blues legend Gil Scott Heron has now taken his spoken word style soaked in tobacco and mixed it with the low-fi electricity of our new age underground.  This music is a haunting hair raiser.

Walk Away by Tom Waits
Tom Waits, good for you, good for ghouls.  This guy has been singing like a ancient large black man with laryngitis by the time his balls dropped.  Some blame it on the cigarettes, some blame it on the booze, I blame it on musical genius.  The eccentricity of his character also leads to his music being that much more chilling.  So here's the Halloween list.