Einstein, 12 x 12″, archival paper.

Hitchcock, 12 x 12″, archival paper.

Salvador Dalí, 12 x 12″, archival paper.

Satchelmouth, 12 x 12″, archival paper.

We decided to do a time lapse as we put together “Russian Blue”. This artwork is based on a photograph of our cat Hudson who recently passed away.

Find stills of the artwork in our previous post titled Russian Blue.

“Russian Blue”, 12 x 12″, archival paper.

The result (click below to view full size): Paper Champion (Self Portrait I), 12 x 12″, archival paper. Thanks for viewing!

The result: our new “3-Guchi” Table. Since it was a lot of fun to bring together, I’m labeling it as #1 since I expect that we will be making more. Cheers.

On May 22, I was feeling overwhelmed by too many things on my mind. So I decided on a whim, I would give up a few things. Consider it lent for an agnostic.

So that morning, after getting dressed, I wrote on Twitter: “As an experiment, I’m trying to eliminate as many unnecessary distractions from my life as I can for a month. Including Twitter. So, cheers!” I posted the same thing on Facebook. I then unchecked all email notifications from both, deleted their apps from my phone, and went so far to block both sites from my browser, both at home and work.

Since I checked both sites several times a day, it felt very liberating to disconnect. So I decided to take it a little further. I then decried that I would not watch any sports on TV and, most importantly, would not drink any alcohol in that time. As an NBA fan and a connoisseur of fine beer, these were tough to greenlight. But I deemed it for the best.

The way I see it, most people are able to rationalize that as long as they’re not abusive about their vices, then it’s okay to indulge at will. But is watching sports every night needed? Is a beer or two every night necessary? Will the world end if I don’t know what funny comments or status updates were left in the last hour? The answer is no for all.

I’m writing now to say that the experiment was a success. For four weeks, I never logged onto Facebook or Twitter (even though my wife told me people had commented on my last status), never watched sports on TV (even though I heard that the NBA Finals were fantastic), and never touched a drop of alcohol (despite it even being offered to me).

What does this all prove? Nothing. Will I go back to engaging in all four? Sure, why not; I’m not a self-sadist. Then why do this? Just to remind myself that (a) I still have a choice about the things I do every day, and (b) despite feeling older and less energetic, I still can summon extended willpower whenever I should need it.

This is something to build on. And I plan on it. Now it’s time to do the work. Cheers!

Click on the map snapshot to the left to view the path I took. Cheers.

Check it out here: http://www.hermanmiller.com/lifework/inspiration-artist-mark-sahm/

If by chance you’re not familiar with them (but you should be!), Herman Miller is a legendary furniture design company (learn more here). We couldn’t be more thrilled to see Mark, his paintings, and part of the Somrod studio featured here. Feel free to take some of the positive energy for yourself! Cheers.

Somrod.com has been given a design facelift, most specificially the homepage. We’ve also updated other elements around the site, and added a new series of paintings inspired by classic design.

Please take a look if you haven’t already. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers.

Canyon Ring - Copper Clay (unfired)

Challenge number two…(which really should have been challenge number one!) firing my wonderful little design. Yea…not my smartest move. I really should have test fired a piece of copper clay first because it was a complete disaster. It looked good at first glance. I dropped it on a metal bench block and it clinked like metal so I continued to burnish the ring and it starts shining like a new penny. Unfortunately, the copper clay shrank a little more than I expected it to so, I decided to put it on a ring mandrel and tap it down to expand it a little. This is something that I have done with silver a dozen times before. Well, on tap number three…CRACK! UGH! I can’t believe it…it snapped…and when I look inside its powdered. What a disappointment. But I should not have been surprised.

Seriously, what did I do wrong? Well, my first mistake was I didn’t test fire the copper. That really is something that I should have done. Inexcusable; I can’t believe I didn’t do it, but I figured, I was following the manufacturers directions so what could go wrong. Obviously, everything could go wrong. Maybe its because I was using a firing foil box instead of a stainless steel firing pan and the piece heated too quickly. Maybe I should have put the piece more towards the center or front to compensate for this. Maybe I used an incorrect firing schedule!?

I referred to my new friend the special edition of Art Jewelry Magazine: Metal Clay Jewelry. There is a complete guide to firing bronze & copper clays. So, I have adjusted my firing schedule using the tips discussed in the article and have since done two successful test strips. Unfortunately, my second ring attempt did not fire correctly. So, I may need to readjust my schedule again! I could stick to firing thin strips or maybe I should get a stainless steel pan. Will let you know what happens…

Once the piece was fully dried, I fired it and added a patina to highlight all the little details.
I must confess that I was afraid of the shrinkage factor but it looks fantastic and it fits.

Galaxy Swirl Ring

My first silver clay firing went well. I was able to create an oval setting using fine silver bezel wire with a metal clay base. I rolled out the clay on a texture template and cut out the base shape using my handy clay pick. After I fired and cooled the piece; I used patina gel to darken it. This process gave the piece real vintage character. I used my Dremel to polish before I set a Tiger Eye cabochon. It looks good.

I did realize that I made a few mistakes like:
1) Didn’t use enough base clay. The base should have been about two cards thicker. I used 3 cards.
2) The bezel wire was not evenly pressed down. Some places it almost went through to the other side and caused the clay to crack, separate and buckle slightly. Hardly noticeable.

Overall, I’m proud of my little pendant. It’s a great starting off point.
More to come…

First kiln fired metal clay project