Art, food, camera

Hmm.  It's been a while.  Well, I told you (kinda) how hard it is for me to write.  Lack of bravery and all that.
At school, I got to take part in running the giant gas kiln for the first time.  The thing is, the gas kiln had been rebuilt, changing how it runs, so we were kind of flying blind.  We had a sheet of temperatures and such to follow, but no real guide.  ...To get to the right temps, we had to run the kiln longer than it was supposed to.  Much longer.  We found out later that we were using too much gas, causing the flames to loop, and stuff like that.  Some stuff sagged from the cooking, some cracked, some glazes dripped, and a lot of the colors didn't turn out like they were supposed to.  Oh well, chalk it up to a learning experience, and the teacher needing guinea pigs. Meh.  I still got some cool stuff out of it.
I do not own a camera.  So, every time I need one, I have to beg to borrow one from my family.  My brother owns a camera that he got for his birthday that he used once to take about three photos at a concert.  I actually used his camera, and in using it, got a mark on it.  He got mad, and won't let me use it anymore.  My mom has a really nice camera, but only lets me borrow it for tiny amounts of time, about once a year.  I understand, it's her baby.  I take what photos I can, when I can.  I want to get my own, but that costs money, and the money that I could have used on a camera got spent on something I consider to be much, MUCH more worth it: a spinning wheel.
My spinning wheel is amazing. She's big and powerful, but can still spin delicate soooooper tiny lace.  I like to spin on her whenever I can.  The only downside is that the lace I'm spinning could be likened to thread, and is taking forever.  I want more bobbins.  I have been spinning some stuff on the other bobbins that I already have.  I'd like to think they are pretty good.  If you want to find me on Ravelry, here I am: peanutbuster
Since the very beginning of January, I have started a babysitting job.  I watch a little six month old baby named Jeremy.  He's adorable.  The bee's knees.  Spiffarific.  And helps me with my baby urges.
I've also been taking advantage of my free time to cook like crazy.  I make bread nearly every day, and come up with lots of meal-type things.  My current favorite veggie is a leek.  So nummy.
So I've been being domestic, and working on some traditional women's art.  A nice start to the year.

School and Stuff

School is ending, I have gone crazy, holiday family pressures are making me wish for no Christmas, and I'll post pics of what I've been up to in school soon.  Until then, I leave you with this artist: because it's art meets knit

Get Out! (and Knit)

I had another assignment a bit back that I think is pretty spiffy.  I had to incorporate a few different elements for the teacher, and it all came together well.  I had to create something in response to this group called Futurefarmers.  They go out and do stuff in communities.  They are a collective based in San Francisco, CA that works with tons of stuff.  It had to have at least one of these elements: performance, collaborative, or temporary installation.  I chose performance.  The teach added a couple more parameters to this.  Because of the earthquake and fire in 1906 in San Francisco, I had to spend at least $19.06 (bonus if you can spend exactly that, which I did!  Thank you Bonnie) and I had to use wood or the woodshop.  It also could NOT be in the art building.
I went out and made my own double pointed knitting needles, which went better than I could have hoped for.  I might make my own again sometime when I don't need a specific size. 

I then bought some spiffy yarn and went out to Quarry Park and knitted bracelets while I hiked and gave them away as I made them.

It was a bit disorienting, but worth it.  I couldn't work too fast because of the hiking and cold, but it was so fun.

Some were scared when I approached them and tried to give them a free bracelet, some were excited.  It was really nifty to just pop in on people in a place where you don't run into many, and give them something handmade for free.  People just don't expect it at all.   I plan on doing it more, after the busy semester is finished.

Go there sometime.  You definitely will enjoy the scenery, and you might just get something extra ;)