Casting classes!

So I'm going to my casting class tonight. So far the things I've sculpted have turned out beautifully!!!!

The way it works is you make your piece out of wax, and then you make a plaster cast of it. The wax is burned out and the hole left in the plaster is then filled with molten metal. The metal is then cleaned and finished.

This process allows me to really use a lot of my artistic talents, and I love working with that wax. It's completely different from the fabrication classes. I'm really glad I took those classes first because if I hadn't, I might never even want to, as my talents are so well suited to wax modeling!

The pieces that were cast in the last class were poured by my instructor, so technically they are not my work alone. She said I could pour it myself but, as I've see it done more than once, but I wanted these two pieces to, um, actually turn out? She said that casting is never guaranteed, if I do it there's a 50% chance it will turn out, where as if she does it, there's an 80% chance it will turn out. There are just so many factors that go into it and so many things that could go wrong. I wanted them to have the best chance of success, as I really put a lot of work into the pendant. If I'm feeling very brave, I will pour the next batch. I have been commissioned to make a ring for someone, and if I manage to get a round to it in this class, I will have to pour that one myself......
Even if I'm not successful in the pouring it's all a learning process, and as my instructor says I can't let being afraid of ruining something prevent me from doing it, "After all Sarah, it's only wax!"
I will take my camera with me tonight so I can photograph the unfinished pieces!
And oh, Happy Birthday to me!! I didn't receive any cards this year but that's probably due to the postal strike ;)

Bag of tricks!

So I have my open studio tonight, which is bench time at the workshop where I can (hopefully) drill/solder/ polish all the little things I've cut at home.
Since my explanation of my home set up always leads to questions (Srsly! It's just a block of wood clamped to my bookshelf above a cake pan also clamped to my book shelf) I have included some photos of that as well.
Wish me luck tonight!!
Here are 12 things I have started at home displayed in the sanding tray my darling husband made me:



Here is the cutting block on the bookshelf:


Here is the cutting block with the drop pan:

Home set up!!!

I am now able to cut metal at home!!!
This is a huge break though for me as it means I can really use my bench time at the work shop well. I have me a saw, cutting block, files and sand paper which is all I really need to cut and shape things at home. It's all very exciting. I have several projects on the go that I will hopefully be able to finish completely on Friday. Also so excited to show my teacher all the stuff I've done independently. She is always so encouraging and supportive. Hopefully everything will turn out well. Still trying to wrap my head around actually making something to sell. so hard to attach a dollar value to all my hard work, especially as I like jewelry so much that I just want to keep it all! I know without a doubt now that this is what I want to do. It's just a matter of finding a way to make it work. Wish me luck, and hopefully I'll have good news after Friday!

Five months? My that's a long time!

Well it's not been five months yet, but it will be in a few days.
So five months smoke free without even a small puff of tobacco.
Have I finally done it?
I guess only time will tell. It's not the first time I've attempted to quite smoking. Though I must admit I've never had such a strong monetary motivation (smoke are so expensive and we have so little money), nor such strong moral motivation (preschoolers being so impressionable).
But I gotta say, I don't like it. I still like the idea of being a smoker. When I see people puffing away I don't think "yuck that's so nasty." I very quickly calculate the odds of me getting away with knocking them down and stealing their cigarette. I still have dreams in which I am smoking, the most memorable one being:

I am out at a club dancing and having a great time with some of my friends. I go out for numerous smoke brakes, but every time the pack of smokes is full. At the end of the evening I step out side and feel a little sad that it's over and time to head home. Then I remember that I was supposed to quit smoking. I am holding a full pack of smokes. I cannot take them home because if Andrew finds out I've been smoking I will get in big trouble, so in the infinite wisdom of dreams, I decide I will walk home (from down town) and I will smoke them all on the way.

After we quite, I was constatntly looking forward to Christmas eve, becuase there are always cigars. I got through the entire first month by thinking that I just need to wait until Christmas eve and then I can have a lovely cigar. So wouldn't you know, there were no cigars on Christmas eve. Our very considerate friends decided it wouldn't be wise seeing as we were just a month into quitting.
The way I'm getting through it now is thinking "well, it's not forvever, it's just until Ben moves out on his own, so another what? 18, 19 years?
I don't think I'll be able to go in for the whole "social smoking" thing, sounds just like "weekend smoking" to me. Some people say it works as long as you don't buy pack, but no one loves a mooch do they?
Anyhoo, I just wanted to let everyone know that Andrew and I are still goin strong!
Huzzah!