OT: Sharing our hobbies

Those are awesome art quilts catnapper!
I have tried quilting and thread painting. I HATED piecing those little pieces. I haven't done thread painting for a while but I was thinking of doing some based on some of my drawings. I keep seeing them in terms of fabric and yarn.

khauser wrote:Avi,
NICE woodworking, and I am more than a little jealous of your shop!

No photos available right now, but I've built:

• Oak Bunk Bed for my kids
• Dresser
• Cherry TV Stand with storage
• Mission-style bookcase (a pair) with glass doors and inlaid pulls

My woodshop is in my basement which is a rented condo. I have only a little space and have to constantly move things around, but I have everything I want except a lathe. Also I'd trade my radial arm saw for a combination mitre saw ... probably will at some point.

What lights are you using? Looks like florescent, but I find those to be far too short-lived and not a great candidate for the basement.

Explanation,

I would like to apologize that I don't do woodworking any more. Three years ago I came down with Peripheral Neuropathy and Sleep Apnea. At that point I stopped woodworking b/c it was too dangerous for me. I sold most of my heavy woodworking machines to woodworkers at symbolic prices. That was the end of this hobby!

I been doing woodworking from age of 55 till about age of 80. Being a Mech Eng it was easy to learn. I took classes at the local branch of Shopsmith and before they went broke I purchased the used machines from the branch at fire sale.

My woodshop is (was) in a semi basement. Below ground on three sides. Together with adjacent rooms that I used for wood storage and other storage it occupied the 1400 sq. ft. comprising the foot print of the single house. The shop area is 600 sq. ft. The fluorescent lights are T6 running in two rows of doubles along 34' of the ceiling length. Several of the bulbs are burnt but since there are so many of them it makes no difference in adequate lighting. I had the Shopsmith Mark V for a lathe. I sold it too.

Two opposite views of the woodshop before moving in:

The right side view ends by the in house upstairs.





Entrance to the basement woodshop from the backyard (can be seen at the end of the left view above):

The back yard on the right borders with Hole #9 on the golf course. I been using the shown garden cart to carry items to the front of the house. On the lawn.



The Shopsmith lathe that I "gave up". I still have the other two equipment.

I am glad you liked my quilts. I started quilting when I was 69 - 3 years ago. I like to make these art quilts instead of the bed quilts that are more traditional. I didn't know you could make them either! My mean old grandma made ugly quilts that weren't warm and were so heavy you couldn't turn over when you had them on the bed. I never wanted to make those, but I enjoy these small wall hangings. They are usually just over 2 feet square or so.

Thanks for the nice comments. You made my day!

Catnapper - Joanie

Thank you all for sharing your talents. I do wood carving. Not many pictures. I did do a plaque of a Montana Bitterroot flower that was used as a mold for casting bronzes that were placed on a new bridge across the Clark Fork River here in Missoula. I'll take some picture for here.

Hi! I'm new to this cpap forum. I'm an artist, musician (drums/percussion), singer, writer, proofreader, human pincushion for a sweet but half feral feline!

How does one go about showing off their works of art? I saw the Img button but how do you post a picture? I'm sure it's simplicity itself but it's very late here in Georgia and I am verrrrrrrry tired! Help!

kaiasgram wrote:Before I lose my nerve.

I found this pen & ink drawing and a small watercolor painting of a bell pepper at the bottom of my art supplies box. I recently got the box out of storage and decided to try art again as a way to deal with the loss of someone I love. I haven't drawn or painted in over ten years. I did this drawing in June 2000 and it's signed "Mom" -- my daughter had given me some gerbera daisies so I decided to draw them and turn them into a birthday card for her.

Thanks Lena for starting this thread. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's creative endeavors.

You don't have to worry about it being good enough. It is!! Of course, I'm very partial to pen & ink drawings. While I admit that bias, you did a great job with the flowers. Getting that right is a lot harder than it looks.

You out to pick it up as an odd time hobby .. when you get those odd moments where you are waiting.

I agree with others, I'm really impressed with the hobbies folks have.

Catnapper, your quilts are simply beautiful. A great way to brighten your house - and as gifts to others.

AVI123, I think mentioned in my post that I enjoy your wife's paintings. They are vibrant and full of energy.

AVI123, I am *really* sorry you had to give up the woodworking. My father, in his late 80s, took up making Norwegian Bent Wood Boxes. He's still making them in his early 90s. The following picture provides an example (but he did not make this one) of the style:



And I do understand the need to give up things when it becomes too dangerous. I no longer drive because my coordination has gotten too bad for me to be safe for others when I am behind the wheel. The gal at the DMV could not believe that I was voluntarily giving up my right to drive. But I don't want my selfishness to lead to me hurting anyone else.

Pugsy, great photos. And wonderful examples! You definitely have a green thumb!!

BlackSpinner, great drawing and soft sculptures.

Randyp1234, you have a great eye for composition and interesting angles on subjects. As you've probably seen from my shots, I love odd perspectives.

zoocrewphoto ... hmmm ... I wonder why you chose your nickname??!! .. .. animal photography requires a real gift with animals. It's a patience and connection that I just don't seem to have. So, I definitely respect what you accomplish.

Just amazing to see what everyone does. I love it.

JohnBFisher wrote:You don't have to worry about it being good enough. It is!!

What a sweet message, thank you John.

Several years ago I had the pleasure of living with and getting to know the niece of Eleanor Roosevelt. In addition to the fascinating stories about her life as a Roosevelt, time spent in the White House, etc., Ellie was an amazing artist. As she aged she had to give up sculpting but her pieces were all around her home, as were many of her paintings. When she sat down to sketch she never used a pencil, she just started with ink and created something wonderful the first time, no erasing. I was always in awe of her of her talent and I'm equally in awe of yours. I will take your suggestion to just draw when I find myself with free moments here and there.

Thanks again, and keep us inspired with your journey as an artist.

Spinner and everyone, your artwork is exquisite! I just love it. This thread was an awesome idea. It's amazing how talented people are. I immediately wanted that armoir in my closet lol. Love that. Makes me want to take up a hobby.

islandboy5150 wrote:Spinner and everyone, your artwork is exquisite! I just love it. This thread was an awesome idea. It's amazing how talented people are. I immediately wanted that armoir in my closet lol. Love that. Makes me want to take up a hobby.

Comment,

If you want to become a woodworker it's easy. Just start taking classes at the Woodcraft Store near you. But making that Armoire which I have built, you need about 10 years of experience and a few thousand dollars for woodworking machines.

https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&q ... d=0CCwQtQM

See here how it's made:

http://shakerovalbox.com/articles/building/

Before I got my cpap machine, everything was sitting in a closet. There was a weekend long conference on doll making coming up in a city about 1.5 hours driving away (Ottawa) and I just chucked the info in the corner of the desk. About 3 weeks after I started cpap therapy I found the papers back and said to my self "Why am I not signed up for this? It is so close!" and I registered right away, looked at he half finished doll gathering dust and decided to finish it for the show. I suddenly had all these creative ideas and signed up with a life drawing studio in town. I three month I went from "Can't be bothered" to "maybe I can enter a show!!!"

Hi all,
I like doing animation and graphic design in my spare time. I used to do these for work. I was an animator at Pixar for "Finding Nemo" and "WALLE," but now I'm in the support realm. Other things I like doing is working on cars--going to meets, shows, etc. I have a '93 Nissan 300ZX and a '67 Datsun RL411. Up until last year I was marching all ages drum and bugle corps. Here is a little slice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iE4Y-DcW8s

Enjoy!

telly wrote:... I like doing animation and graphic design in my spare time. I used to do these for work. I was an animator at Pixar for "Finding Nemo" and "WALLE," but now I'm in the support realm. ...

Way cool! Of course, done right (as Pixar has frequently done), they are just tools to help tell a compelling story.

It's been interesting for me to observe how quickly computer animation went from a thought process to a full fledged industry. I remember playing with an Amiga and thinking how such technology would revolutionize the world. Talk about an understatement!! It's been nothing less than breath taking!

My compliments for both the creative drive and the sheer nit picking drive you had to employ to bring a story to life. I am impressed.

Amiga; remember the toaster?
The system was close enough to Unix, it gave me a foot in the door for my career in GIS.
I was one of the dinosaurs who wrote arc info macros (AML).