finding my way

"I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it--but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor" 

Oliver Wendell Holmes

To find myself supported by others who share a passion to create is a wonderful feeling.  To share admiration for a rusted piece of steel discarded in a bin, to see a "kindred spirit" in others-maybe this is what life is about?  I was taken on a voyage of sorts today that I could not have envisioned, yet another example of how I should stop trying to always "have a plan."  A thumbs up out the car window lead us to a personal tour of a local propeller foundry, not only were the GIANT machines and fire shooting out of the furnaces REALLY COOL-but the pride, knowledge, and willingness to share of his craft left my heart filled with joy.  And when Mr. James is showing you the snapshots of his metalwork over the last few decades and says, while turning the final page "there it is...my heart's work" you gotta smile. Oh, and if you haven't been over to CoRK, you should check it out, it's a pretty special place too :)

This machine is used to clean up the propeller after it is poured (look at all the tiny brass shavings EVERYWHERE!)

Molds for the props; cut out of wood using computer patterns that they upload into their CNC machine. 

 

 

 

Fire!

A few goodies found along the way.

triangles and treasures

It's been a busy month traveling here and there.  Spent quite a bit of time in good 'ole Kansas City--you may know it for it's BBQ, but let me tell you, there's far more to it than that...perhaps the bread pudding, bierocks, and brioche from Bloom Baking Co. is your thing (it sure is mine!), or maybe some homemade, melt in your mouth pillows of happiness gnocchi with mushrooms and truffle sauce at 801 Chophouse is more your style (yes, I'll take more of that too, please) ok, ok...I'm done reminiscing about my K.C. gastronomical delights....

KC Skyline shot with my phone-probably while stuffing my face with brioche.

The up-cycled corduroy upholstery is coming together quite nicely for the window bench.  It is extremely time consuming, but will be worth it in the end.   

Oh, and did I mention the great finds I've found on the curb for the garbage truck this last couple weeks----such good stuff, I'm glad I beat out the trash man!  Why wouldn't you at least take it to the Goodwill, or even make it separate from the real trash pile so that SOMEONE could see it and use it for something? (Our neighborhood is notorious for pretty much ANYTHING being picked up and recycled off the curb) No matter though, because I saw these glorious treasures, and they were MINE! (And could be yours, but better). 

So my immediate ideas are that the old ladder with lots of great paint drips (DO YOU SEE THAT LOVELY GREEN!?) is going to be perfect for a display for my booth at an upcoming art show this fall (that is if I get accepted...staying positive).  I'm going to have the mirror cut to size for my lath mirrors that are almost complete and I'm thinking that the tempered glass piece is the perfect size for a lath-luscious coffee table...yes, I see it taking shape in my mind already...