Connecting

I just saw this video on Upworthy (a favorite internet haunt of mine for its uplifting and intriguing content) about social interaction through objects, such as cellphones and other electronic devices.

It wasn’t exactly what I expected. I was watching with the expectation that the upshot would be that more electronics meant a more limited human experience. Instead, these interface designers were showing how the digitally networked experience can enhance our interactions instead of limit them. They used some really great examples including the Egyptian revolution and the Occupy Wall St movement.

However, it also sort of terrified me. I don’t know where my place would be in a world where every object has a digital aspect or representation. I’m terrible at talking on the phone because the lack of body language and facial expression makes me question my interpretations of their responses. I’m terrible at Twitter because I don’t feel the need to announce my lunch time to everyone who happens across my feed.

I work with my hands with very limited “connectivity.” Although my kiln and lamps and dremel are all powered on electricity, none are connected to the web. My designs are in a notebook instead of in CAD. My clay colors are in little physical sample tiles that I’ve made over the years.

I’m much more comfortable in the world of textures and tactile sensations than I am in the digital world. (I proved it to myself when I tried to create my own website from scratch. HA! Now I use Indiemade.com)

If the world is becoming more and more electronic, where is my place as an artisan? In this age when a design can be digitally rendered,  printed on a 3D printer, and be born never having been touched by the human hand, where do I fit?

I guess I’ll find out.

Trying out Bloglovin!

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Apparently, I must put this here.

I am a Kinesthetic Learner. I touch everything.

Everyone learns differently. Some learn by seeing it, others by hearing it. I learn by touching it. Moving it. Messing with it. Pretending to do it. Like memorizing phone numbers! If I want to remember my finacee’s number, I pretend I’m punching it into my phone, and voila! I remember the number!

I’ve always been this way. I’ve gotten in trouble during classes for doodling, wiggling, tapping, building little paperclip dolls, but I can repeat back everything they’ve been saying.

I was thinking about this today while playing with my stainless steel shot. 

 

Look at the stuff! Don’t you want to run your fingers through it? Well. I just spent five minutes doing that. It was wonderful. Cold and heavy and smooth.

Back to the learning. Being a kinesthetic learner has been great for me. If I can take it apart and check it out while it works, chances are I can fix it when it’s broken. Or origami! That’s a prime example! Looking at the pictures in a tutorial, I get lost very easily. It overwhelms me. But if I take it step by step physically, it clicks. “Well, duh Lyssa! Of course you have to fold the edges in! How else would the wings stay joined?”

 

I think learning this way has actually been great for me as an entrepreneur. Since it’s just me right now, I fulfill every role. And by doing everything from the creation to the budgeting and marketing, I’m learning skills I previously thought I could never master. Like simple math, haha!

That’s my introspect for the day, time to get back to making!

Also, my fiancee is currently playing samurai with his umbrella. 

Hadar’s Clay Brilliant Bronze

Last summer, I branched out from polymer clay into the world of metal clay, and discovered Hadar Jacobson’s powdered metal clays. GREAT! Because I tend to work small, I don’t use an entire packet of PMC3 in one sitting. This means that next time I want to work with it, I have to reconstitute it.

With Hadar’s Clay, you can mix however much you think you’re going to need, and the rest can stay in powdered form! Genius. I ordered her new Brilliant Bronze because it has a gorgeous golden color without the price of gold. Here’s one of Hadar’s photos showing the Brilliant Bronze next to gold.

So, I experimented! I made a pair of earrings that I call my little geodes to see how well they shine up, and if the clay holds a fine texture well. The outside was sanded smooth before firing, and the inside is textured with a bit of rock I found on my Philippines adventure.

After firing, they had a crunchy dull colored coat on them, but it comes off very easily in the finishing process. I used varying grades of sandpaper on my split mandrel, and finished it off with my micro mesh sanding pads.

They fully sintered, and are very strong. Trust me, I’ve been dropping them all day. I’m a klutz. Unfortunately, I buried them a little to deep in the carbon during firing, and the back blistered a little. But now I know!

My other test piece was a simple ring. I wanted to see if an overlap seam with no blending would hold up during both firing, and hammering. It did!

I rolled it on a texture sheet so the design is very shallow to see if it would be distorted in any way, or sand off during the finishing. The texture prevails! And the joint holds!

All in all, I’m thrilled with the Brilliant Bronze clay.

Who’s on Pinterest?

Here’s my official Melissa Dawn Pinterest Page! Who else is on? I also have a personal Pinterest (points for alliteration!) where I post fun things, wedding things, and geeky things, which is pinterest.com/lyssafineman

Commander, you have a new message at your private terminal

So I just had an absolutely lovely time in the Philippines (which I still need to blog about…sorry) and arrived back home at around 7:30 on the 14th. The flight was really rough. Lots of turbulence, and since I had an aisle seat, I found it hard to sleep. The result was one very tired Lyssa who had only 4 hrs sleep during my 26 hr travel.

As wonderful as being in the Philippines with my Mom was, I missed my boyfriend terribly. When I saw him waiting for me, I ran to him. Showered him with mushlovey hugs and kisses. A friend of ours had come with him, and I figured that they’d had a geek night and he’d come along to welcome me back. “Pictures! I’ll take pictures of you coming home!” he said. So, dutifully, I got in position with Elliot for photos.

Then another friend appears, and hands me this saying, “Commander, you have a new message at your private terminal.” (If you didn’t know, my favorite video game series ever is Mass Effect, and yes, I was ok with the ending.)

My boyfriend had bought me an N7 hoodie for Christmas last year, so every time I wear it, at least one person calls me Commander. I thought this was a cute little welcome home with a reference to my hoodie.

I opened the envelope and pulled out the most guapo picture of my boyfriend, the same one I’d been showing off to every family member in the Philippines.

Now, keep in mind that I haven’t slept in 22 hours. The wheels in my head ground to a halt. I stared at it, trying to wrap my mind around what I was seeing. “Will you marry me?“

Shocked, I looked up from the photo to see my boyfriend kneeling in front of me with a beautiful opal ring nestled in a blue box, and it finally clicked.

I dropped to the floor, my happiness overwhelming me. “Yes!” I squeaked out. “YES YES YES!” I threw myself on him, both of us on the floor laughing like lunatics.

A smattering of applause came from the onlookers. Finally, we made it off the floor, and he slipped the ring on my finger with trembling hands.

I am ecstatic! I get to marry the man who is not only my love, but my best friend and confidant. The man who has been there for me at my best, and not so best. The one who loves me unconditionally through all my flaws, and never judges me. The one who makes up silly songs with me and dances to Frank Sinatra in the kitchen. The one I can can talk to about anything.

Even after years together, I still get butterflies thinking about him. During my Philippines trip, it wasn’t the US I missed, it was him. I have never had a second thought about being with him, even when we disagree. I’m thrilled to call him my fiancee, and look forward to calling him my husband.

I am a RAW artist!

Photo by the lovely Mental Image!

I am a RAW artist!

Last night’s show was an absolute BLAST! There were so many talented people!

I set up my table near a new friend of mine, Jasmine. She has some incredible jewelry! Extremely unique and customizable. And colorful! Her jewelry was not only on display at her table, (her setup is incredible, by the way) but went down the runway in collaboration with an awesome hair and make up stylist, Candy. Here are the photos Jasmine took of their work!

My friend Sonja was also there! She’s a photographer. It thrilled me that she brought all cosplay photos! Did I mention she also does private shoots? She took my profile photo!

My dad and so many of my friends came out to see me! I get very nervous about large groups of people, so it meant a lot to me that you were all there to support me. I couldn’t have done it without you! Or at least it would have taken a lot more alcohol…

And here are some of my other friends’ work! Please click on the pictures to learn more about these amazingly talented people!

Jamie Lynn Moore

Sheila Carroll Photography

Jaime Andrews

Laurie Linney