A New Workspace...

I'm going to be moving into a real shop! (sort of) For the last 3 years, I've been working out of my home garage--can you believe it?! I've rented out shop space a few times for some of the big projects, but mostly just build everything in my driveway; in a subdivision, with the neighbors watching & wondering.... Anyway, my Grammy & Grampy recently bought a fixer-uper house in Boise, & it happens to have a little shop on the back of the property....it's tiny, rather ugly, & full of bird nests at the moment, but they have agreed to let me use it for a year or so in return for me fixing the place up.... It's quite the project, but I'm excited about the possibilities. --love the blue roof: it goes so well with Granpa's lime green tractor--

There is plenty of space in the back to park the fleet of trucks & trailer, along with storage of treasures. Last week, we found a guy who makes storage sheds out of big shipping containers, so we have one on the way--I'm also planning on putting the silo up out back for more storage--the actual workspace is quite tiny, so there is no room for anything extra in the shop.

Having everything in one place is going to be amazing; right now I have some stuff here at the shop, a bunch of stuff at home in Nampa--all the tools & welders, --& more of the bigger salvaged treasures & steel at my Mom's house (also in Boise). It's going to be great to be able to actually use the crane to help build things--I'll be able to park it right next to the shop & not have to worry about the neighbors calling the HOA on me :)

Hopefully I can also join the Boise Open Studios and be on the fall tour too--that should be fun; to be able to show people around & let them see the stuff I use & how things come together...

More to come; I promise to be better at updating: I've been neglecting the blog lately with all the proposal deadlines & meetings this month-- Anyway, back to work for now; gotta go check on the chickens!! :)

Amber

New Additions to the Back Yard

yep; I finally got some chickens!! (don't tell the HOA) 4 young hens: a red one, a black one, a black & white one, & a grayish one with fuzzy feet :)Husband found this cute little chicken house on Craigslist & brought it home a few weeks ago, & we finally went out to Parma & picked some chickens the other night :) Beside being cute & funny--chickens crack me up--they are good garden helpers; eating bugs & fertilizing....they fertilize a lot! And in a month or so, we will have fresh brown eggs to enjoy :)

So far, everyone is getting along: the cats are fascinated, but a little scared too....soon the chickens will be bigger than them ...

Skwishy Cat is definitely curious....I think everyone will get along & be just fine :) Although the girl kitty looks a bit worried; the chickens are bigger than her already...

More updates to come; gotta go fill up the feeder...

Amber

New Jewelry Creations

Just wanted to share a few new jewelry creations..... "Seeing Stars" necklace. Love the old rhinestone star---and check out the little glass lens: I soldered a whole bunch of these to use as charms & this is the first one to be featured in a necklace :) Also, a gear from an old power meter, glass fuse, & some old chain :) Too much fun!

Ooooh; this one is fun too; love the purple rhinestones. This one also has a little glass umbrella & an old brass lipstick tube; the little sample size kind---so cute. And, it still has lipstick in it! Its all dried out & such a lovely shade of orangy red, but how much fun is that!!

"Autumn Train Ride" set---loving the goldy brown tones on this one...it also has a little lipstick tube, but it doesn't open; it fused when I soldered the ring on top :) And, my last little glass teapot... cuteness :)

These are all listed on my Esty shop; there is a link in the sidebar to the right :) More new creations to come; husband is sick in bed today & I'm working on quiet activities....

Amber

It's official; we now have a fleet of trucks....

Last weekend, husband & I spent Saturday at the auction; we went with the intent to buy a bucket-truck, if it went for a good price.... Welllllllll, it did & I bought it ---aaaaand, 2 other trucks--another bucket-truck that no one wanted & a big flatbed. The price was right--so we brought them home :)

The little bucket truck runs great & everything works---the flatbed broke down on the way home & we had to tow it from the gas station, but that's another story...

So, we now have 6 big trucks--that's not including my big orange ford..... OMG--I never imagined that I would have any interest in big ol trucks, let alone be excited about building our fleet....

Here is Kevin in the smaller bucket-truck, trying to figure out how to make it go up :) (this took a few minutes, he he he-don't tell him I told you)

Up he goes....I made him test it out; using the excuse of needing to take pics....

Wahoo--way up there; we figured it to be around 28 feet.

And this is the one we went to the auction for; it goes up to almost 40 feet; and has lots of cool cabinets & stuff; I can just imagine filling it up with tools & a welder; my art studio on wheels!

The auction was quite the experience; we had fun & got a good sunburn :) For now, we will keep the trucks & do a few little fixes on them; then either sell a few or use for trade goods.

Things have been crazy busy lately; lots of meetings, deadlines, design work, etc. And, I'm starting the process of moving into a new space---Grandpa & I worked out a deal & I'm going to be using the shop on the back of their property for the next year: more on that later--it's going to be quite the project, but I'm excited about it...

More updates soon, I promise....

Amber

Kleiner Park design update

I'm so excited to finally be able to share the design for Kleiner Park. (see earlier posts for details about the project) Standing around 50 feet tall, the sculpture will be built out of plate steel, with accents of white powder-coated steel & will feature (hopefully) a vertical axis wind turbine that will generate power for the park :)The design & materials represent strength, integrity, & the spirit of a true American journey. The white flowing lines are the path of a lifetime spent overcoming obstacles & envisioning the possibilities of the future. The support struts on the sides of the steel structure speak of community support & involvement: adding strength of character & pushing upwards toward a better tomorrow... The wind turbine is also a nod to creating a better future; not only adding movement to the piece, but helping to offset some of the electricity used by the park :)

There will be three of the sculptures throughout the park; each will be created out of the same components, but will be individual & unique. I can just imagine seeing the top of the sculptures above the trees; spinning gracefully in the wind--check out the rendering below of the sculpture in place--I like the way it fits in with the architecture of the buildings & contrasts with the greenery of the park.... Getting to this stage has been really difficult; I think I've struggled more with this design than any before....finding the right balance of size, cost, design, etc for a piece that has to fit in within a relatively small base, but be tall & cool looking has been hard. And then thinking about concrete foundation, engineering, & coming up with something that work for 3 different designs, & different areas of the park....I really don't know how it finally clicked, but like 5 minutes before I was meeting with the Architect for the park, I sketched out the basic design :) This was after 2 straight weeks of sketching, re-sketching, researching, pulling my hair out, & freaking out a bit--funny how it works like that sometimes...

Anyway, I presented the idea to the design team for the park, & it was well liked & created some excitement--yay! However, as usual, with adding the wind turbine & pushing the size up, I have gone beyond the initial budget....we have a few different options; size wise to come in closer to the original numbers, but we all like the scale of the larger piece within the park. Now it comes down to coming up with some creative options to rework budget numbers & try to get this done. So, we are looking into grants/money available for green energy projects to help purchase the turbines & get them installed---if anyone out there has any ideas; let me know. I so much want to see the turbines in the park-it seems like such a positive for everyone--not only do they look really cool & add to the design of the sculptures, but its such a positive for the city of Meridian & Parks & Rec: to really get the the conversation about green energy started in such a public setting :)

Next post; will talk about the turbines themselves & the crazy process of finding the right company that sells them.... later...

Amber

A Cute Vase

Made this cute vase this weekend for a client....Thin, cold-rolled sheet steel....with accents of copper--welded with bronze :) Here it it; with the patina "cooking"....

And; all done--it stands 4 feet tall & is finished with a natural wax. Very cute :) It's called Un-Perfection #2: because it is un-perfect...but I like it that way. It will be going to Spokane tomorow: as usual my creations go away as fast as I make them! Oh well....it will have a good home :)

Amber