Friday's Feelings: Nostalgia and the Firemen!!

I had fun with my scanner yesterday; uploading and editing a bunch of old photos (1,000's left to do - gack!!) This is my Dad and I about 30 years ago. It looks like one of his better days - he suffered a lot from depression and anxiety. We had a deep love for each other and this picture makes me think of when I was little and we used to dance around the dining room table to the country tunes of Johnny Cash, Buck Owens or Patsy Cline. One of the nicknames my dad had over the years was the "Silver Fox" - he had one hell of a head of hair!! All 5 of us kids however got my mother's dark hair. Durnnnn...

I wish my waist was still that size!! I remember that skirt - I bought it at a second-hand store...of course! My thriftiness started at a very early age, that sweater came from there too as I recall - it was a vintage store in London called Layman House.

I had fun editing this faded little scrap of a photo. I must be around 6 or so and I can see some of the old Norwich neighbourhood behind me. It doesn't look like that anymore.

 And here's Kazi, age 4, with our first two kittens Ruby and Tisky. I love how cute Tisky looks peeking out from her hiding place - she's our cat who lived to be 20 years old and died just last September.

Nothing like the annual Firemen's Fashion Show to perk one up!! Sorry about the poor photo quality but these guys were on the move! 

 

Oops, this guy forgot his shirt!!

They say clothes make the man...

An appreciative audience :)

And finally - here's what one of my finished soapstone pieces looks like all polished up by hand using a dozen or more fine and finer grades of sandpaper.

Here's the chunk I've chosen to work on now...

And here it is after 3-4 hours of carving. My right arm really ached after 4 hours of carving - it's the arm with nerve damage after the pinched nerve of January 2013. However, after yoga Wed. night it's not too bad. Maybe I just have to get back into it and it'll eventually strengthen my arm? Maybe??

It's coming along but lots of work to do yet.

Once the carving is finished the polishing begins.

My process is to carve the piece down below all its bumps and bruises and see what's left.

It usually ends up looking very organic and free-flowing - like birds, seals, full of curves, twists and turns.

Of course none of this could be accomplished without my workshop helper, Luna. She oversees all goings on from her bin on a shelf behind me. I replaced the scraps of screening that were in the bin for some nice soft shammies - I thought that might be a bit more comfortable...Luna concurs :)

Happy Friday everyone! I'm doing my update at Starbucks this morning and they just gave me a free drink!! Sweet!! I hope your day is going well and something FREE comes YOUR way!