Thanks

My family spent our Thanksgiving holiday in Hermann, Missouri.  We had a chance to see my in-laws and some family that we haven't seen for quite some time.  I have enjoyed going there since my wife and I began dating in the late 90's.  We were, in fact, married on the farm they own there.  Besides the amazing food and time getting to reconnect with extended family, my sister-in-law gave us a fantastic gift....we spent a night at the Hermann Hill Riverbluff cottages.  The suite was simply amazing.  When you have time take a look:  www.hermannhill.com

We stayed in the George Bayer Suite (room 103).  There is a hot tub outside, a Jacuzzi and crazy cool shower inside.  Multiple fireplaces and our own stocked kitchen made it feel like staying at a wonderful home instead of a rental cottage.  Hermann is a great little town, outside of St. Louis.  If you're in the area- I recommend you stay there. 

At my in-laws home, the decorating for Christmas was in full swing.  My wife, her sister and my daughter all worked to get things decorated. 

As I went downstairs to help bring up the tree- I looked over the fireplace mantle and had an instant flashback and immediately smiled.

Several years ago,  I lost the tip of the middle finger on my left hand in a table saw accident.  I think it might be more accurate to call it a Doug accident and the table saw happened to be involved.  I was trying to finish a doll house book case for our daughter and by ignoring all the safety recommendations that Norm Abrams ever explained on his show, I managed to end up minus one finger tip and some damage to the pointer finger as well.  I got back on the woodworking horse soon after and finished the doll house, but had some fear that the accident might impact my ability to do things.  Quite simply, I was scared.  I had been looking for ways to be creative and trying to make things, and I worried that this accident might impact my ability. 

My wife had promised to use an existing decoration of my mother-in-law's to create a new version...a winter scene instead of fall.  There would be some minor woodwork and then painting.  With Ashley at work and me at home recovering, I decided to give it a try myself.  I was right-handed anyway and thought there was no time like the present to see what I could and couldn't do.  I quickly found that I could manage quite well.  I proved to myself that there was no need to let a damaged hand limit or define me. 

After a few years, I don't think much about the accident or that I'm missing the finger tip.  It comes up sometimes in conversation as people notice it, but I no longer feel the sense of humiliation and frustration that came soon after the accident.  I've become more aware of the need for safety in the things I do, and I appreciate that I've been able to go much further than I hoped on the day I finished this winter scene.

 I am so fortunate to have a family of relatives, extended family, friends and neighbors...and my hand is now little more than a reminder to not take any of it for granted.  It makes it quite easy to look at my stubby middle finger and think "I am one of the luckiest people on the planet". 

Pink Foam to Pulse Rifle

I threw on a couple coats of thin resin to help protect the foam, and then it was time for primer and paint.  I could tell you that once it was dry I didn't do any Colonial Marine with pulse rifle poses in my shop, but why lie?

Now it's time to get back to work...something big I think! 

Lock And Load People...

I had to work on a website this morning....and I just hate it when there's nothing carving on the cnc.

I remember that, as a young boy, I was visiting my brother in Seattle, and my mother took me to a hobby/collector's store near the Fishmarket. They had all kinds of cool toys, movie and television scripts (original star trek scripts!) and then I saw it on the wall....a rifle from the movie Aliens.  It's called the m41a Pulse rifle.  I stared at it until my mother told me we simply had to leave!  I don't know if it was original or a replica, but I loved it.  Oddly, I'm not a gun person at all. I don't own a gun, don't want a gun and have no particular interest in them...but this was Sci-Fi. A gun to destroy the bad alien! I loved it as a kid, and I still like it now.

So...As I sat down to work on the website, I thought...what the heck. I very quickly found a decent 3D model on google's 3d warehouse, and set up some pink foam on the bot.  I got up to get some lunch, and the bot was done.  My own foam aliens rifle...full scale.  Eventually it'll probably end up on the neighbor boys wall, but that's ok...for me, it's practice and a chance to make the dream I had as a 10 year old come true..my very own aliens pulse rifle! 

A fast glue-up and just a bit of sanding, and it's ready for paint.

Carve Til You Drop

One of the truths in life is that in order to improve at something, you have to practice.  The more you flex the muscle you're using, the better you get. This applies to everything from athletics, to reading, to painting...so this weekend I had a chance to flex my carving muscles.  Steve Luck arrived Sat. morning and we jumped in.

I went through the process of cutting pocket cuts, profile cuts, v-carving, prismatic letter carving, 3D model importing (scaling, slicing and carving), and some very general painting tips.  I tread carefully because some of my knowledge comes from my friend Dan's workshop, and I encourage anybody who wants to take what they are doing a dozen levels up to attend his workshop.  I feel like what I showed Steve is the kind of stuff I wish I could have known before I went to Dan's workshop...only because knowing the basics would have let me go even further at the workshop.

So....I had Steve make a bunch of files..we carved and in some cases recarved. Our first attempts didn't always succeed. That's ok...learning how to recover from a mistake is just as important as succeeding.  I tried to keep up with his questions, and guide him through the process of making toolpaths (those tell the machine how and what to carve). 

We started with a recreation of a little sign I was given by another Sign Painter, Dave Correll.  The rest were things Steve wanted to try.  We really only spent 1 day working...with breaks for food and a little wrap up today...I think he did great.  I also learned a great deal, and flexed my carving muscle.  It's not even sore.  Ready to carve more..

This is the reproduction of the "signs" piece I was given...and below is a carving
of a 3D model of the "cricket" gun from the original "Men In Black" movie. It is a two-sided carving.

In addition, there is a copy of the monkees logo, a reproduction of a "Rustees" sign from the Pixar film "Cars", a v-carving of the "Green Hornet" hornet and a prismatic lettering sign of "Sign Magic".  I know Steve enjoyed watching the pieces appear as if by magic from the HDU powder left behind from the carving, and I enjoyed it too.  In the middle, we ate some birthday cupcakes as this weekend was also the time chosen for my daughter's 10th birthday party.  Cupcakes and Carving.  That's what I call a good way to spend a weekend.  Happy Birthday Elena!

Believe that you can do it..because you can do it.

One of the very first people I met at my first Walldog event (an event where more than a hundred artists descend upon a town to paint murals over a few days) was a man named Steve Luck.  We endured a massive rain storm under a tent and learned that making good memories doesn't always happen during the sunny days.  I spent some time that year painting with Steve and learned about his sign shop called "Sign Magic" in Godfrey, Illinois...near St. Louis.
Steve bought his own cnc machine last year and he's been itching to learn how to do more than carve out letters and cut pockets.  Steve, like many of us who make signs, is very visual.  A "hands-on" situation where Steve can watch, and then try it himself is ideal.  He's asked for awhile if he might come over for a day or weekend to play and learn.  I know Steve is creative, and I also know that until you get comfortable with the machine, it's hard to focus on being creative. 

He'll be here bright and early tomorrow morning, and I'll be showing him what I know so far.  I think we'll move up the ladder quickly...starting with making what we call prismatic letters, and then move on to more advanced things like importing 3D models and slicing them to carve...and then dig in to making your own dimensional designs and getting more complex.  By the end of the weekend, I hope to learn some new things as well.  I believe that one of the best parts of trying to teach others is learning more yourself.  I have no doubt Steve and I will do some laughing,  have some fun and make some cool things.  I also hope he'll head back home with enough tools in his how-to kit to make some amazing things that will help him take his own business to the next level. 
Why help him?  Because lots of people have helped me so far, and I have no problems trying to pay back a little of what I've been given.  Besides, I need to continue to sharpen up my skills....it's time to start pushing my friend Dan. 

The shop has been cleaned up a bit, and I'm ready to go!