Descending Ashtray

 Most of my free time the last couple of weeks has been spent working on this tiling project.  It was quite the learning experience.  We bought the large tiles and the Habit for Humanity reuse store.  But there were not enough of them to do the entire floor.  So that is how the tile rug idea came about.  The small colored tiles in the center are slate that we cut into strips from a 6×6 grid.  The dark tiles were ones that I cut with wet saw from 13″ tiles.  That part was very time consuming.  The total number of tiles in the center came to 567!  Laying them in thinset was also very tricky because there were three different thickness that all had to be somewhat level on the surface.  Lets just say I am happy that this project is over with.  It was fun to do the creative work but spending that much time on your knees can be painstaking. 

 So after all the work was over I took the day off and played some disc golf and watched Little Miss Sunshine.    It was funny and inspiring.  I have not laughed that much in a movie since The Gods must be Crazy!

Above are 4 of the 25 flowers, mutants of or ancestors to the ideal 5×5 flower.

I am kind of tired of doing flowers, I realized. I actually did these 3 weeks ago, but lost interest quickly after a session making these 4. I really just want to do some more cedar panel sculpture/paintings either in the burned or assembled vein.

I did spend a few hours the other night sketching some other versions, but my heart’s just not in finishing. Would it be a good exercise in discipline to finish the series, or should I follow my (often) wandering mind here?

I also need to spend some more time taking photos. These are awful.

I did this drawing last weekend when Brandy and I were camping in Nebraska.

I came up with this jig today so that I could cut a tenon on the end of a long piece of wood. The piece can slide in and out of the jig and there are little wedges with screws in them (so I have something to grab on to when I pull them out) that hold it in place.

I have been working on rebuilding a window in an old victorian house. It is a job that I received from placing an ad on Craigslist

Since we were fortunate enough to be included in the 9rules network (formal acceptance pending), I think this might be a good time to step back and take stock of the site.

I am very happy with the level of participation … the number and quality of the posts has far exceeded my expectations, and I think as we continue to write, I think we will improve even more.

Still, there is always room for improvement, and I’d like to open the floor for discussion.

What is missing from Descending Ashtray? What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? Any thoughts on the design/layout?

$30 worth of Cedar and five hours later, I have a new chair! It was fun to make but a little time consuming, since I made some design changes from the old one I was working off of. I think you are right that the next one should go alot faster.