Right cunning Bruce, right cunning.

LJ, you're saying your hero was Tiny Tim...?

"ukulele"

Who is that, Jimbo? I want to say it's either Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen or Alex Skolnick...

isn't the violin bow a giveaway?......plus I thought it looked like him.



it's jimmy page

:violin: I thought it was Jimmy page.

Here's something I did on scratchboard. Maybe it belongs in the Mad Cow thread.

Ok, you want fine art. Here's a sculpture from my red/white/blue period. I call it "Marriage" because it symbolizes the struggle, frustration and impossible situation marriage is. No matter how hard he vectors out to conquer the world or how hard she pushes out to clean out the malls, they both are dragged back into the cylinder that is their private hell. They only succeed in reproducing themselves which they could do without the institution. Heavy, huh.:)

also ukelele

I already posted some pictures of these in Dodads, but I thought I'd show a picture or two here, as well.

These are constructed solely of cheap Highland Invisible Tape, and colored with permanent markers. They are hollow and self-supporting. I first make all of the polygonal sides and color them, then connect them from the inside, wrap the outside, and recolor them.

I have to take some better pictures of my crochet and beadwork, but here's one that I just really, really like and am reposting despite it's appearance in the doodads thread ...

http://eva.alexandersguns.com/images/BMG.jpg

LJ, thanks for the glimpse at your "stoner period" artwork. :joint:

Bruce! that so...macgyver. very cool. you are the king of clever reuse.

Dont any of you woodworkers want to pick up work in Minnesota? I desire furniture, the clever organizational types you display and with dovetails. My current entertainment unit is a stacked pine plank.

Griff, when you were designing did you have any engineering consultations at all? Or did you just go by the books? Were there builders around that you learned from? Also, from what precedents did you borrow? What structures were you looking at when thinking up yours? (you should post a new pick of that lovely hearth.)

And Wolf, the beadwork is beautiful- you make your own statement, like the lone ranger.:)

This is a more conventional piece ... It's a prayer feather. They are used in Native American ceremonials for a variety of purposes, but most often for directing the smoke from a smudge bowl.

http://eva.alexandersguns.com/images...eathercrop.jpg

Detail of the beadwork:

http://eva.alexandersguns.com/images...therdetail.jpg

I'd mentioned in Doodad's that I make dreamcatchers. Some of them are large, some of them are tiny. This is a tiny one. The circle is a wooden hoop with an interior diameter of one inch. The wood is covered in beadwork, divided by lines representing the four directions. The Web is formed out of the same beading thread that the beads are attached to the circle with. It's about the same thickness as common sewing thread. The stones on the necklace are turquoise chips.

http://eva.alexandersguns.com/images/dreamcatcher.jpg

Whoa nellie, I like that one, Wolf. Beautiful, absolutely stunning. :thumb:

(griff is completely tanked so cut him some slack.)
Zero zip nada. Just the books and a great deal of wandering around in old barns. I know some guys now who know a lot about the old ways but my house is how I made my introductions. Its kind of a cool club which my little brother drunkin greenie sob just spent the last four hours trying to convince me to embrace. The buildings around here were paid for by Connetimicallit speculators but obviously built by folks with a background in ship building. The barns were meant for threshing wheat etc... which accounts for their large central floor which happens to make a nice living area if you convert them. More when I'm sensible

This was my first actual piece of beadwork. I had done a "test" piece trying to figure out the instructions for this technique that I found online. I have since taken several classes in this and other beading styles, but this is the one I like best. It's called peyote or gourd stitch.

http://eva.alexandersguns.com/images/talkingstick.jpg

I didn't have any fancy beads at that time. These are the same beads that you can buy at the KMart or the local craft store. They are larger than the higher quality beads, and also tend to be more irregular. But I was determined that I would make something, and make it I did. The feathers are found crow and bluejay.

Oh ... what is it? It's a "Talking Stick". You pass it around a ceremonial circle. Whoever holds the stick, gets to talk. You might be familiar with this from Boy or Girl Scouts, both of which have used this idea to maintain a semblance of order amongst groups of kids whose ADHD meds are running low.

So do you bead them right on the stick or do it flat and apply them later? I'm guessing you have a teeny bitty needle...very cool.
I have an African beaded necklace thats like a solid beaded cord that I'm very fond of- could never quite figure out how it was made...kind of coiled super tight around paper.

I have some amazing beaded Cree moccasins that my bro-in-law gave me. I look at them daily, but only wear them if I want to feel really blessed. I'll try to get a pic for doodads.