Monday, November 8, 2010

Time in the “Studio”

First of all I have to tell you that Daylight Saving Time messes up my circadian rhythm and I get crankier than normal.  I am already exhausted and it has only been one day..my body doesn’t know when to sleep or eat.  Chance was even feeling it last night..he was hungry at five..and when the pager went off at it’s usual time at six and he had already eaten he was really confused. It is going to be a tough week.  I hate the dark..and everyday from now until December 21 has more of it everyday.

I need sunshine everyday in order to be semi non-bitchy.

Hence time in the “Studio.” I had a special project I was working on.  Christmas Ornaments for three little girls..special girls as Jen is God Mother to one.

I start with a piece of Cottonwood bark.  Can you see a Church in this one?  Far Guy has pre cut a chunk for me…I marked the roof line and where the chimney will go.

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I usually use a gouge for this part. See just like that you have a roof and a chimney.

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Then you have to sort out your eaves and your walls, and steps if you have room for them.  Cottonwood bark is very temperamental, sometimes you just have to go with the flow and do whatever the wood tells you.  It will speak to you if you are listening..no I am not nuts..yet.

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Then you add some features..a door, a window and some shingles on the roof and a cross because it is a church.

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There I now have three, ready for Jen to add the final touches ..she will wood burn the little girls names in the bottom and paint them however she wants and then seal them.

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The backs of the ornaments are hollowed out..we have a number of small Dremel type tools each with different purposes.  Each ornament takes just about two hours to carve.

IMG_9028 This is where Far Guy sits across from me.  We used to just use the small table on the right..then Far Guy rolled over the patio table from the house. We will be able to use the “studio” on sunny days for the next month or so.  I will be carving a few ornaments for a give away the first part of December..so stay tuned. One thing about the “studio” it is already a huge mess and you can hardly make it any worse that it already is. His “studio” used to be the greenhouse where he grew vegetables in the spring ..now it is just a sunny warm space to work out of the wind.

We still go once a week to carving at the local library..we are taking a new class ..a Santa Carving out of a huge piece of Cottonwood bark ..faces are really difficult but our instructor is a real gem..and I hope mine looks like a person when I get done:)

21 comments:

Jennifer said...

Well it's no surprise for her now is it... or maybe it's a good thing she will know how much work went into them! Thanks, I will paint/seal them on Thursday.

Far Side of Fifty said...

whoops..see me and my big mouth..with the foot stuck in it..perhaps you could email Jamie and tell her not to read todays post:)

West Side of Straight said...

Ha - my mouth is too big too C. But I enjoyed the post. You really do a great job, and can't wait to see a Santa!

Terra said...

Those church ornaments are family heirlooms in the making. That is a cool hobby.

Anonymous said...

Wow - you are talented! Our clocks changed a couple of weeks ago.. the kids started getting up at 5 am on the weekend! Yawn...

Patsy said...

I hate this time change ,I was up at 3:00 am but did go back to bed after few hours. Why do we have it any way?
Your little Church ornaments are so good, everyone will want one or two.

Rita said...

Sooo cute! Looks difficult to me. Really nice to see the pictures in progress. Gives me a clue as to what you are doing. ;)

Daylight savings time seems silly to me, always has.

Highlight said...

Those are delightful! Art in 3-D is a mystery to me, but your pictures help explain it well!

lisa said...

That is so neat! You have some talent there!

Linda said...

I've had a couple of cranky moments but the spring change is MUCH worse for me. I'd be "one of your little girls" in a minute to get one of those. Such great talent!

Emma Rose said...

Sign me up for the giveaway! Those are wonderful. You are very talented. The little girls will love them :)

Kisses for Chance,
Emma Rose

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

These little ornaments are just charmin' and you are such a talent girl!

I'm sayin'....about the time. Hubby and I looked at each other around eight last night and did the ....whoa...it's only eight thang! Heeehehehee!

It takes me much longer to adjust to this one.

God bless and have an excellent day sweetie!!!

Country Gal said...

Beautiful work ! I hear ya about the time change , its affecting us and our fur babies as well! Have a great day!

DJan said...

Those little houses are so adorable, Connie. And as someone said, heirlooms in the making. I love them, and I'm glad you have something to focus on during the dark days ahead...

Lynda said...

I am so totally impressed with your ability and your artistic eye. You are very, very talented. Thanks for showing us how the carving progresses from start to finish. It's wonderful that you and your husband share interest in a hobby.
About the time change - - my grandfather was a dairy farmer and the cows didn't understand the time change either. My grandfather lost many hours of sleep helping the bovines adjust to the new hours because the cows HAD to BE milked the same number of hours apart every day - - no matter what hour the clocks said.

EBet said...

You're a regular Santa your self!

gayle said...

I love your little houses!! Such a great job!!

Mary Aalgaard said...

Ah, the wood talks to you the way my characters have conversations with me. Great ornaments - they look so sweet. Hope you find moments of sun and fun during these dark days of winter.

RURAL said...

Connie those are lovely. Really beautiful!

I am so glad that you showed up what you are working on, it makes it all so much more real.

Those are treasures that the little girls will keep forever.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Karen said...

I love those little houses, I hope we get to see what they look like when they are painted.

Girl Tornado said...

OMG, Connie, those are absolutely ADORABLE. YOU made these? I'm amazed... not that you're not capable or anything (LOL), but I guess woodworking has always amazed me for some odd reason. You are so talented - and I hope we get to see them after they are painted... I think they are pretty cool looking as-is, rather rustic, so it will be interesting to see the final versions. :-)