United breaks guitars

I love this story. You must read it.

Well, I don't love what happened to the musician whose guitar was broken by United Airlines baggage handlers.



We've all been there, haven't we? How many of us have suffered broken or missing bags? And as a former musician, I'm particularly incensed that the employees wouldn't realize that what they were moving could possibly be fragile, and handle it a little more gently, rather than toss it.

You know what? I applaud what Dave Carroll did. He tried to go through the proper channels to take care of the problem, but when the airline stalled him, time after time, he took matters into his own hands. Good for him. I hope this video brings in tons of attention to his situation. I'm pretty sure United won't ever fix the problem, but perhaps it will all work out for him in the end.

He's vowed to make three videos. Good for you, Dave, stick it to them. I hope he sells a buttload of CDs.

The article linked above quotes James Norrie, associate dean of the Ted Rogers School of Management as saying that if Dave keeps writing the songs in the same manner as this one, that viewers will get bored and the attention paid to him will die down. It's exactly that sort of thinking that keeps that dude in his job, out of touch with the public.

Good luck Dave, keep the videos coming. And United Airlines? Shame on you.

Short break between classes

When you're the chief cook and bottle washer of a small business, everything falls on your shoulders. That's one of the reasons I've been absent from this blog for a few days, it's been a little crazy here.

The good news is that a few days ago, the first class in my new woodworking school "graduated". And I have to say that every single student produced some very nice work while studying with me. Of course, it would have been great to be able to post a few photos here of some of their pieces, but I forgot to shoot some pictures. What's even sadder - I had my camera with me, I just forgot to take it out!

So I have a couple of weeks off, with lots of plans for upgrades and renovations to the school. I plan on blogging this coming week (OK, maybe next week) about something verrry interesting - an eco-friendly concrete staining system that I am using on the office and small gallery in the school. I started stripping the floors today with a stripper that's so safe, you can apply it with your bare hands. Try that with muriatic acid! I was amazed at how well the stuff works, and plan on writing about it here. I think it'll be fascinating.

Well, that's if if your idea of "fascinating" includes stripping concrete.

Meanwhile, my garden at home has exploded. There's a nectarine tree with (I'm not exaggerating) about 200+ pieces of fruit on it. I can barely keep up with it, and the dogs just love picking up and gnawing on the rotten ones that have fallen off. For a truly different experience - try pulling a soggy smashed nectarine out of a puppy's mouth.


I've said it before - I never seriously gardened before I moved here. There was wasn't enough time to get a garden started in Ohio. By the time you put it in, you're lucky if you have 40 days of warm weather before the frosts of Fall start. Why bother?

But here in the desert, I started planting in March. March 13, to be exact. Yes, I'm anal about it and I wrote it on my calendar. And no, I don't draw a "map" and lay out the garden. The stuff goes where I can fit it. We like peppers, zucchini and tomatoes, so those are "givens", but this year, I added a few interesting things to the mix.

Like these gorgeous eggplant.


I've already started giving the eggplant to friends - there are so many on this plant that I am running out of friends who want them!


And I made a conscious decision this year to only plant two tomato plants. Last year, we simply had too many. So ... imagine my surprise when FOUR MORE tomato plants popped up on their own.


There aren't enough neighbors on the block to take all the excess.


And yes, if you read my blog last year and remember my insanity, those damn hornworms are back.


These bad boys creep me out, but I'm trying to stay on top of it by spraying the plants regularly. I swear, if someone ever spied on me in the back yard, they would witness a crazy woman staring intently at her tomato plant, trying to find these worms. They're so stealth, it's amazing. I can be inches from one, and not even see it. Then all of a sudden, I'll realize it's right there in front of me. What's up with that? I can't tell you how many hours I've spent searching for these damn worms.

Bastards!

Finally, the peppers... ah, peppers. Is there anything better than roasting and peeling them, and putting them on a piece of fresh bread? (With salt and a drop of olive oil, or course) I planted about a dozen plants this year, and right about now, I choke back the water to them, which makes them all the hotter.



By the end of the summer, I'll have about a half dozen or more huge bags of frozen peppers put away for the winter. I just clean and freeze them, and can cook with them for the next few months, until I start the garden back up. Nice. I've got a killer recipe for salmon that calls for peppers, it's our favorite way of using them.

That's all for now. I'm heading out to hunt for some of those damn worms now...

Some nice coverage in a local newspaper

Things are heating up here in Las Vegas. No, I don't mean the temperature, although it was 108˚here yesterday.

Here's an article published yesterday in a local newspaper about the school.

Meanwhile, here's the sort of day I'm having.

As I sip that tasty beverage, I'm toasting everyone who's written to me lately, congratulating me on the school. Thanks for your support!

Progress & Prayer Flags

Every week, a little more progress is made on the new school. It's a slow process, and I'm very lucky to have some wonderful neighbors who have pitched in to help. Just a few doors down from my shop is Joe's Signs, it's a full service sign shop here in town. Joe was kind enough to set me up with some vinyl for my windows.




The inside is coming along, too. The prayer flags hanging in the tool room hopefully give us some good karma around all the machinery.


And it never hurts to remind people to keep an eye on their digits.


My next task is figuring out what to do with the concrete floor in my office and in the small gallery space. I've spent the last few days stripping off the linoleum and cleaning off the adhesive. Anyone who does that for a living has my sympathy. Now I'm doing a little research to decide what to do with the bare concrete. Staining? Painting? Etching? Any suggestions?

Fishstikks

Whenever I have a little free time, I love to check out other blogs. Food blogs are one of my favorites, like Jen Yu's or the Pioneer Woman's blog, both of which are part of my morning ritual. I'm also a little addicted to Cynthia Guajardo's ceramic blog, and this completely ridulous/disgusting site.

But since I sell my work on Etsy, I like to peruse some of the artists on that site. I've collaborated with a few of them, and gotten to be friends with some, even though we're miles apart.

Recently, I was checking out some local artists, when one woman's work snagged my attention. There was something entirely hypnotic about her work, and I found myself looking at page after page of her pieces. Honestly, I can barely tear my eyes away from her work.

Of course, I had to "meet" her, and as I was checking out her profile, I noticed we share the same birth date. Well, that sealed it, I had to write to her and introduce myself.

Let me back up a minute here and say that whenever I read someone's blog and they do a profile on a "guest", I automatically think - "oh, you ran out of things to say today, right?" But that's not the case here. I think Debi's work is simply fantastic, and I hope you will, too. Debi goes by the user name of Fishstikk's on Etsy, and you can check out her shop here.

So here's a little "introduction" to Debi, I asked her to answer a few questions.



Anything about your design process that you feel like sharing? Where you get your inspiration? Where do you work? How you start the process? Do you have some sort of ritual before starting?

My ritual always consists of going into my art room and then remembering say, my glasses, getting up to go fetch them and returning 20 minutes later after doing several things I saw along the way, sitting down and remembering that I still need my glasses...rinse and repeat.
Inspiration comes in many forms, from something my Ralphie cat does to the mean mockingbirds outside my front door (with babies) to the rescue birds my friend brings over that she finds on the golf course.
My design process was slow at first but in thinking how can I take the to the next step brought about some really great things, especially in the big eyed birds. I love taking things that would normally have been thrown away and create new things with them.
I also got to convert my spare bedroom into my art room and at the moment have it stuffed to the gills with future projects and things I find 'seemingly' useful.




Name three people you'd like to have dinner with (living or dead is OK).

Hmmm, I think Angelina Jolie must be fascinating to talk to, the things she's done and the places she's seen.
I would love to pick Tim Burton's head with all the weird things floating around in there.
Stephen King as I adore most everything he's ever written. He's been the host of many a nightmare and I find him one of the most creative souls I've ever heard of.

If we'd open your fridge, would we find any surprises?

Most definitely. I've kept almost all of my "science" experiments with the exception of the ones that have got up and walked out.

Anything on your nightstand that you care to share with us?

My dogs ball, the current issue of Cloth Paper Scissors that I hope to be published in "one day", Stephen Kings' most recent book and my volleyball league schedule.



When people ask what you do - how do you describe yourself?

I generally speak about my day job first but then I like to tell them what I really enjoy doing - I make art! Then I like to bore them with projects I'm currently working on, hehe.

Can you name five different things about yourself that most people (even those close to you) might not know?

This might be pretty hard to answer. Those close to me know me pretty well. I'm insecure. I'm shy...no really! I was the prom queen in High School. Wow! I struggled to get those three out, who would have thought I would be so...transparent. Hehe.

When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

At first I thought I wanted to be a vet because I liked animals so well. We weren't really allowed to have any pets growing up except for the occassional wild cat who wasn't even allowed in the house. When I realized that being a vet was much more complicated than just simply "having" a bunch of animals around I decided I wanted to be an artist. Go figure.



What's your studio/workspace like?

Disorganized, messy, cluttered, full of everything imagineable, happy and bright all at the same time. I love turning trash into treasure with altered art so needless to say I keep the most bizarre things around for the day I may find a use for it kind of things.

What do you listen to while doing your work?

Movies. I love to watch movies while I work. I'm sure that if I had music on in the background I would more than likely accomplish a lot more when I work but movies it is.



What's the most interesting (or most challenging?) (or most frustrating?) project you've worked on?

I did a swap with some wonderfully talented artists where we decided to alter our ancestors. There were 5 of us in this group and we each picked out three of our own ancestors for the others to choose from. I had no problem choosing which ancestors I wanted to use but when it came time to alter them I was completely stuck. I agonized over my decisions on what to do. I mean come on, these were someone's Grandparents and Mothers. It took me weeks to come to grips with it (everyone else too). Finally one day it just clicked and I was ever so pleased with how mine came out. Would most definitely like to wander down that path again!

What are you working on right now?

A surprise project that may come to fruition in November but I had better get it done by July 1st! That and lots more of my Big Eyed Birds and chubby little houses!

Describe your perfect meal.

That's easy, Salmon cooked in extra virgin olive oil, garlic mashed potatoes, spinach with some vinegar and strawberry cheesecake for dessert...yummy!

(Thanks, Debi!)

Junk mail

Is your mailbox always full of junk mail? We get a buttload of mail every day, and most of the time, it's all a bunch of crapola.

I don't get it. I went to Catalog Choice a while ago, and asked to opt of of all my catalog deliveries, but I still receive them. They go right into the recycling bin; I don't even look at them.

What a waste of money. Even worse, what a waste of trees.

Here's something I received in today's mail.



As if that wasn't bad enough, I opened the envelop to find this:




H i l a r i o u s.

I needed a good laugh after the day I've had!

Major score of wood

It all started when a fellow cabinetmaker told me about a local door company that had gone out of business, and was auctioning off their shop. On one hand, I've been seeing a lot of that, and it makes me sad. But the other side of the coin is that it does make the market tighten up a bit, with less businesses competing for the few construction dollars that are out there. Whatever. All I know is that I scored a major amount of wood, for a very nice price.

If you've never been to an auction, or bid on something online, I'm here to tell you that some amazing bargains can be had. I know a fellow who bought a load of white oak for $25. Well, not just a load, two semi trailers full of white oak. His biggest problem was where to store everything, since it was in sixteen foot lengths. So bargains can be found at auctions, no doubt.

Back to the local company selling everything. Honestly, all I was looking for was a dust collector.


But I noticed that they had some lumber up for bidding. Since I opened my woodworking school about three weeks ago, I've been looking for a good assortment of wood.

Be careful what you wish for.

It started out with me winning four of the auctions for pallets of wood. Now when I looked at the pictures and read the descriptions, I didn't really have a clear picture of what each "lot" contained. It just said "hardwood" but didn't mention the amount of wood included.

It started off with a van full of it.


I started stacking it neatly, trying to sort it by specie.


But the shelves quickly filled and I had to start new piles on the floor.


Every new stack revealed some gorgeous boards. Notice the 16" wide boards of mahogany above. The pile below contains some 2x10s and 2x12s of mahogany, but there are some huge pieces that I can't identify. Bubinga? Teak? Rosewood?


Below is a very nice stack of red oak, which I used to love. But compared to some of the other gems in this lot, it's rather boring.


And I have no idea what I'm going to do with this stack of softwood, most of it is a gorgeous vertical grain douglas fir. This stuff is really pretty, but a little thin for my taste.


All this wood ended up filling my van three times, and my buddy Phil's truck (which is huge) took the balance I'm starting to run out of room, but at least it's somewhat sorted.


Now, I'm pretty good at wood identification, but even I was having trouble figuring out what some of the wood was. Luckily, some of it was labeled.


Even though they botched the spelling, I'm glad this board was labeled. There's no way I would have guessed this one.


Finally, all the wood is unloaded.


There are piles everywhere. Luckily, I have someone coming by over the weekend to help me get this organized.


About half of this load is longer pieces, so I'm sure I'll be building some very cool pieces in the coming years. But there are some incredible "shorts", perfect for using in the projects that we make at the school.

Now if I can just figure out what to make with that pile of softwood...

Furniture repair

Families with toddlers have my sympathy. Every bit of it. I remember a few years ago, I was at a client's home, measuring their dining room so that I could design a sideboard for them. They had a gorgeous home, modern and custom, and were filling it entirely with custom built pieces.

They were particularly proud of their kitchen table, a custom piece in fumed Cherry with stainless steel mesh accents. So they urged me to take a look at it, especially the aprons and underside, where the maker had included some very special details. As I crouched down to see the piece, I noticed a huge smear of peanut butter down one leg and all across the meshwork.

Kids!

I can relate. Well, not really with peanut butter. But you probably know we have a puppy around the house. Life with puppies isn't for for weak of heart. Oh, the housebreaking went fine; it's the chewing that bothers me.



This is a leg on one of the dining room chairs that I made. If you read reports of a small tremor in the Las Vegas desert last week, that was probably me losing my mind when I noticed this.



Of course, when you have a face like this, you tend to get away with a lot of things that normally wouldn't be tolerated.

Thank god I know how to repair and refinish furniture.

It takes a village

This has been an emotional week.

To start, we lost our beloved Lily on Saturday. Losing anyone is painful, but pets just wipe me out, emotionally. Lily was smart, yet sometimes crabby, demanding, but understanding. She was the perfect companion, and her 13 years went by way too swiftly.


I can't tell you how different our home feels without her. But the show must go on, so just 48 hours after her passing, the first woodworking class commenced in my new school.

Wow... it feels very odd to say "my school" but that's what it is. It's been a dream for a very long time of mine. See, I've taught in I-don't-know-how-many different woodshops over the last 15 years. In some cases. I've had to bring in my own tools, clamps and even a tablesaw, when the school's saw was broken. I've kept a running list in the back of my head - when I start my own school, I'll have this or that. Well, I finally have the opportunity to do that, and while it's still a work in progress, I'm finally setting up things the way I want them to be. It's WAY cool. But on top of doing things MY way, I've had to rely on the generosity of friends and aquaintences. And let me tell you, these people in my life have been absolutely amazing. AMAZING. I'm blown away at their generosity, and I'd like to give some thanks here to the many people who have been great in my time of need. In no particlar order, I'll just jump in. Oh, I take that back, I'll sort of run through the list chronologically. It might be the best way for me to not forget anyone.

First, I really have to thank my family - mom and Jill, who have been there since the beginning, listening to my mania and whining, until I decided to take the plunge and actually get this thing going. They endured more discussions and played devils advocate better than anyone else, answering me honestly, and giving me a few "snap out of it!" Cher moments. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for putting up with me during this time.

Sharon Gainsburg has been a mentor, a friend, and a peer, offering her wisdom and encouragement in ways that only another artist and teacher could do. Sharon runs her own school here in town - a marble carving studio - and you can feel the love in her classroom. She's been invaluable for educating me about the ins and outs of the Las Vegas licensing system, not to mention giving me amazing support when I hit a few bumps in the road.

Dan Layman and his office manager Rick L'Esperance of Exotic Millworks used to occupy the space that I moved into. They were so helpful with tips and trivia about the space, names of people to call, and general support for what I was attempting. They said they felt like there was a good vibe in their shop, and hoped it would stay in the room for me and my tools. I think it has. Along the way, Dan loaned me everything from scaffolding to tools, shared misceallaneous remodeling tips, and even pitched in on a couple of tool repairs when he could see I was exhausted. These two run an amazing local cabinet shop that is growing by leaps and bounds. I wish them nothing but smooth sailing and continued growth in that endeavor, they're great guys.

My good friends Charles and Adrienne couldn't have been more helpful, or more supportive, and for that, I am so very thankful. Charles is a master electrician, and let's get this straight - you know that line about "diamonds are a girl's best friend?" Not true... electricians are. He was kind and patient, helpful and generous with his time. Adrienne was a constant source of encouragement from the very beginning, and kept us fed while Charles and I worked together. I don't want to think about how much harder the woodshop set-up would have been without these two in my life.

Larry Yule, of AG Yule & Sons Custom Woodworking, has been incredibly kind, helpful, and freely offered the depth of his experience to me, to which I am completely indebted. Larry is a great woodworker, he's a straight shooter and such a nice guy, I wish he was my brother. When I couldn't get my jointer adjusted correctly after knocking it around during my move, Larry was johnny-on-the-spot for me, stopping by and helping me out. Even sweeter, Larry presented me with a "studio warming" gift of an awesome H. O. Schumacher & Sohn Saw Blade. I'd never used one before, but now I'm a big fan. I've only known him about six months, but he's really one of those great no-BS kind of people that your rarely come across in life. I'm lucky to have met him.

I'd be forgetting a big part of my success if I forgot to mention my buddy, Dave Tome, back in Ohio. He's an electrical genious, and more geeky about tools than I am. I can't count the number of times I called Dave for advice, with an electrical question, or just to generally complain about life. Dave gets me, and I get him. Life would be a just a little more dull without hearing Dave's stories or speaking to him during our weekly bitch sessions.

I mentioned in a recent blog post that I'm especially grateful to Stacey Campbell, whose amazing artwork now adorns my walls. After our four day painting marathon, we were both exhausted but so invigorated by what she'd accomplished. Stacey's work is a treasure waiting to be discovered, and I know a gallery or two are going to snatch up her work and spring her headfirst into the LA art scene. She deserves every bit of that attention, her work is that good. While Stacey was in town, her family including Janet, Helen and Terry kept us fed, and gave us much love and support. Once again, I'm so blown away by people's generosity.

Speaking of generosity, sometimes out of the blue, someone comes along and just does something sweet "just because". One of my current students, Larry M. unexpectedly stopped in while Stacey and I were painting, with pizza and sodas in hand. I get a warm feeling just writing that, it was just such a sweet (and unexpected!) gesture.

And finally, I'd like to thank the students both past and present, that have enrolled in my classes. Without these current students, all of these efforts would have been for naught. It takes a lot of trust and a leap of faith to enroll in a woodworking class with a perfect stranger. I'm humbled by their trust, and pledge to make every class a great experience for every single person. I miss my old group of students, and it's testament to our bond that I still correspond and visit many of them when I return to Ohio. I can only hope to work with such a diverse, friendly group of people here, in Las Vegas.

So - here's a sincere thanks to all of you, you've truly made a difference in my life.

If I've forgotten anyone here, shame on me.

Sam Maloof

Sam Maloof passed away at his home in California last Thursday, May 28. He was 93. If you're a woodworker, you almost certainly know his work. If you're a fan of hand crafted furniture, you probably have seen his pieces.




Not sure why, but this last picture just really captures the essence of many woodworkers that I know.

A painting marathon

If you Google "famous quotes about friends", you'll find a variety of wise words about friendship. I'm still woozy from the long weekend spent in my studio, where my friend Stacey and I spent about 45 hours over four days there painting.

Well, painting makes it sound like we were rolling the walls with boring white paint.

Not.

We... no, SHE transformed the place into an actual art studio, where just walking in the room makes someone feel just a little more creative than before. It's amazing. So I was struggling to come up with words to explain how the weekend went. But I'd be missing the point if I just spoke about painting, and neglected all the other fine points about what occurred.

First and foremost, Stacey is an artist and a friend. Who else would show up armed with sketches, tools, paints, brushes and inspiration? And energy! On the first night, we prioritized and decided which paintings we couldn't do without. Here she is, starting the big wall, a huge square "canvas" on which to paint a massive tape measure.

Just to give you an idea of the size, this wall is 18' tall and 18' wide, hence the need for the scaffolding.

One of the coolest parts is how the tape continues across the floor.

For many years, I've used handprints in my logo, and we decided those might be a nice addition in the tool room.


I have a crooked, arthritic index finger and Stacey managed to capture that in the painting.

Any long time reader of this blog will know that nearly two years ago, I lost my beloved Aunt Dena. She was an amazing artist and art teacher, and collected crayon memorabilia. In fact, her license plate was "CRAYONS", so what a fitting tribute to include some crayon artwork in my space.

I actually worked on this painting, and ...trust me... I am NOT a painter. Perhaps I was channeling Dena's spirit, this painting over the door is just perfect.

The outlines.


My helper.



And then the color...


The weekend was wrapping up and we still hadn't even started the last huge wall, the one we were both looking forward to the most. Stacey changed her travel plans and arranged to stay an extra day to complete this.




Did you figure it out yet?




Stacey's final detail - her signature.





This screw is 24' long, I'm not sure if this picture can really give you an idea of how great it looks in this space.

What a great weekend, thanks to Stacey's talents and determination.

I'd like to take a moment here to thank everyone who contributed during this painting frenzy - from Danny and Rick from Exotic Millworks, who loaned us their scaffolding, to Larry M. for bringing us lunch that first day, to Jill for picking up a paintbrush and lending a hand. And let's not forget Terry, Helen and Janet for lunch the next day, and ... well, the list goes on and on. I will do a proper acknowledgment in the next few weeks, as I write more about the completion of this school. It's been an amazing process, thanks to the MANY people who have helped out, offered a kind word, and have been so supportive along this journey. I'm really humbled by the outpouring of kindness.

Thanks to everyone, I couldnt' have done this without them.

The Corpus Clock

What an amazing clock. I'm not sure I'd want one in my bedroom, the noise might be a little much.



(Thanks to my cousin in California for sending me this link.)

Third meeting of the Sin City Woodworkers

The third meeting of Sin City Woodworkers was special for a couple of reasons - it was our first get together in a while, since we'd skipped an April meeting, due to a lack of venue. Since my new studio is close to being operational, we held it there. And had the swamp cooler been working properly in both rooms, all would have been perfect. Alas, we were only 50% cooled.

Still, it was a very nice get together.

John Eugster gave a very informative demo on making custom profile cutters and making scratch stock. John is a consummate professional, with efficient and graceful movement while performing his craft. He's a joy to watch.




We discussed a few things important to maintaining a group - including setting our dues ($20 a year) and choosing a permanent night for our meetings. We chose the third Wednesday of each month for our meetings, which means our next one will be held on June 17.

Other topics includes a future "garage sale" of woodworking tools and accessories, as well as formally adopting the name "Sin City Woodworkers". See, someone had raised an objection about the name, and wanted to discuss it further.



Here's my tip when you raise an objection - be there to discuss it. As it turned out, it was a non issue because everyone seemed pretty happy with the moniker, and chose to blow off the one dissenting opinion.

I'll be posting something shortly about the classes that I announced - I've started registering people for classes starting in just two weeks. Stay tuned...

At the Red House...

The (final) demise of Woodwork Magazine

In October of 2008, I blogged about Woodwork Magazine, mentioning that I'd gotten a letter saying they were "re-organizing".

Imagine my surprise when I received this a couple of days ago..





So much for reorganizing, they have disappeared.

I'm sad to see it go; I enjoyed their magazine. Perhaps there's a correlation between the fact that they didn't have page after page of advertising, and the fact that they're gone.

Remember this - it's all about the Benjamins.

Unpacking the beast

I owe my buddy Larry a nice lunch.

He and a friend stopped by just as the new tablesaw was being delivered. Just the crate and all of it's stickers got my heart pumping.

After opening the main crate, we slid the beast into the mobile base, thus making it easier to assemble. Of course, I'd like to say I remembered to bring my camera and documented the whole assembly, but...



About that lunch bet - here's a tip. If you ever have an opportunity to make a bet on whether or not a power cord comes with a $4500 saw, bet that it doesn't.

If you're lucky enough to live in a great place like Las Vegas, there are some fantastic places you've always wanted to try, but probably couldn't afford. This bet could be a great way to win a free lunch in the restaurant of your choice.

Way to go, Larry.



My next question is - why the hell do manufacturers do that? Oh, I know, they want the machine to be hardwired into the wall. I understand that, but even so - where's the cord to do so?

Now I have to run all over town trying to find an appropriate molded cord. Note to the SawStop company - just because you make one of the coolest saws in the world doesn't give you the right to flake out on this issue.

Be it ever so humble...

If you wrote out a list of all the things you'd really want in a woodworking studio, you might include high ceilings, lots of natural light, a good assortment of electrical outlets, and nice neighbors. For once, I just might have what I really want.



One of the reasons I've haven't been blogging much is that moving my shop has been taking up a lot of my time. Well, packing and moving, paperwork, licensing BS and much, much more.

And even though the shop is not anywhere near being finished, the third meeting of the Sin City Woodworkers will be held on Tuesday, May 19 at 7:00 PM in the new digs - 2267 West Gowan, Suites 106 & 107. It's pretty easy to find. The zip is 89032, in case you want to MapQuest it. Gowan runs just north of Cheyenne, and the nearest cross-street is Simmons.

When you pull into the main driveway, drive straight in; my shop will be about halfway back, on the right. I'm still moving in, and don't know how organized the place will be, but at least we'll have a roof over our head and no one chasing us out. My seating is limited.... well, OK, I have exactly two chairs in the whole place. So I suggest you bring a lawn chair with you.

Local woodworker John Eugster, of Woodworks by John, will give a presentation on making scratch stocks, favored by well known woodworker Garrett Hack. He'll show how simple they are to make, and will demonstrate how to use them in your next woodworking project. For anyone looking to add a touch of personalization to an upcoming piece, this demo is a must-see.

I was thinking it might be kind of interesting to hold a woodworking garage sale sometime in the future, and let some of us bring tools/wood/supplies that we'd like to sell or trade with other woodworkers. During the last meeting, I mentioned that at some point, we'll need to discuss dues or some sort of cash flow, so that we can cover the expenses for this group. Maybe we can discuss dues and figure out what everyone thinks is fair.

Another thing - I love the way the woodturners in town raffle off wood blanks and other goodies. If anyone has something they'd like to donate that we can raffle off to the group, I'd love to hear from you. I have a few items I'm willing to give up, and hope others will pitch in, too.



I've commissioned an LA artist to spice things up a bit. In the coming weeks, she'll be coming to town and adding some much needed color and character to the walls. Stacey Campbell is not only talented and creative, she's not afraid of climbing up scaffolding like this and painting for hours.

And finally, anyone wishing to enroll is a woodworking class with me is invited to contact me for more information. Enrollment is starting soon, and I'll have more details about classes, prices, and schedules in the next couple of weeks. If anyone has any preferences about times or days of the week, please feel free to contact me with your suggestions.

Oh - and I'm offering private lessons, too... for those with performance anxiety or a general aversion for sharing tools. If you're interested, let me know.

By the way, the SawStop gets delivered tomorrow. Let the games begin!

Finally... and the big news is...

Forgive me if I'm a little overwhelmed right now. For the last few blogposts, I've been hinting that I might have some news to share here. Sort of big news, at least for me. I'm thrilled to be announcing something that's been many, many months in the works. Months of planning, researching, getting approval and licensing, liability insurance and that's not even the half of it.

The news? I'm finally going to be able to start offering lessons in small groups for anyone wishing to learn woodworking. Down the line, I hope to offer much more than just wood classes, but for now, it's a good start. I'll have more details and a time line in the weeks to come, but it's all starting to come together.


Right now, the space is being painted and tweaked to accommodate benches, tools, storage racks and all the other accoutrements that define a studio.

One of the best parts about finally securing a space is that I'll finally be able to host the Sin City Woodworkers, rather than have our meetings at various locations around the valley. Some of the woodworkers I've met have already turned into great friends, and I'm confident that our numbers will continue to grow.


In the meantime, I'll probably start blogging about the ups and downs of pulling this project together. Wish me luck! And if anyone out there is handy with a paint roller, please stop by!

A whale of a video

Hawaii is a place that you either "get" or don't. Oh, pretty much everyone loves it, but there are some things about it that are nerve wracking. "Hawaii time" is one, and tourism is another. Like Las Vegas, Hawaii depends on the tourism industry to feed it's economy. But that doesn't mean that Hawaiians like that fact. While tourists spend their vacation dollars there, they also tend to treat the land as if it is expendable. Trash? No problem? Bad behavior at Happy Hour? Cool!

So one of the things that has long bothered me is the cashing in on the whale industry in Hawaii. There are all sorts of whale watching expeditions you can take, where you can go out in the middle of the ocean and hope a whale scoots past. It's illegal to boat over to a whale, and many get caught doing so. But many don't. At least the state tries to help the marine life.

I suppose that's why this video, taken on one of those small submarines that you can go out in, is so special. Try to get past the jerkiness of the camera operator, and enjoy the whales. I've been to Hawaii probably 25 times and I've never gotten to see something this amazing.



The look of bliss on the whales face almost makes me think he's falling in love with the sub.

Cobalt Waterfall Glazes

It's been a while since I posted any images of the Waterfall glazes that make my humble clay work look so nice. A few nights ago, I fired my big kiln, filled mostly with tile.

The deep green in these tiles is amazing, they're going to look fabulous in the Mahogany dining table that I intend to build.



This particular load was fired perfectly.




Every shelf I removed revealed the layer underneath it. Shelf by shelf, every layer became more exciting than the one above it.



But these dinner plates proved to be the real winner of the load. They're just under 10" square, and I may have finally mastered that cobalt glaze that I call Real Blue.

I'll get back to woodworking very soon; like I said, I've got some interesting irons in the fire.


These images will have to hold you over until certain things come to fruition over here.

Stay tuned...