Seeing some light

 

 Sunday, 6/13/21

 

 

Day after day, working alone, I can go so deep down the rabbit hole of my own thoughts, that solitude starts giving way to solipsism. I forget that there's a world outside my own head. It was good to take a break. Saturday was our bike club's monthly event, The So Cal RatRod Ride. It was good to get out of the yard, and down to the beach. .

I got down to the meet up spot about quarter after eight. I always get there early, and just enjoy sitting alone by the river. Penny (Giving the "V" signs) pulled up not long after. Her health has been shaky, as of late, so it was good to see her. Penny is ninety some pounds of radioactive dynamite. That skinny ol' gal will ride the wheels off guys twenty years younger than she. She brought me a sampler of some of her home grown buds.  Soon enough the rest of the gang, and our guests rolled in.

We had a fair turnout- about a dozen people came out to ride. Shan from Chopaderos, and Buddy Lee from Sins and Sprockets came down for the cruise. Life is returning to So Cal. Both clubs, Chopaderos, and Sins are planning rides. We're co-hosting a beach party with Pedalwhips from the Inland Empire next month.
The day was perfect early summer clear, temps in the low to mid eighties. We got sunscreened, put away all the extra junk and stuff, got the cars locked up, and saddled up.

 I took a sample of Penny's Blue Dream. Stuff is well-named, and Penny's grow was sweet and good. Troy gave the sign, and we rolled. It was quiet as we  gathered up the pack, and headed down the trail. The tide was high enough that there was water in the riverbed all the way up to the two-mile marker where we start the cruise. A white heron and it's reflection skimmed the mirror glass surface, keeping pace with us as we rolled. Wind hadn't come up yet.  Finally, finally, we're beginning to see, if not the end, at least a huge reduction in the face masking. Like I said, some semblance of life is returning to the Southland. Another California summer. Despite everything, and all, it's another So Cal summer.

 

Yesterday marked two months since I rolled the rock out of the garage.  We started out here, one hundred fifteen pounds of crystal alabaster:

 

 

 

Subtract eighteen pounds to make a base:

 

And here's where it stands after sixty  days.

 

 

Current Project weight: fifty seven pounds. (and falling)

Last week I was having doubts about where the project was going. I got myself into one of those funks where everything seemed out of joint, nothing was looking right, and the whole effort was feeling futile.

Julie commented that the stone was looking like a Klein Bottle, and I was tying my own head in knots overthinking things. Good observations.

There isn't much to say in the way of the work.  Right now, it's mostly just excavation, and it's slow going. I've thought about bringing out the flex shaft grinder, but I don't like using it. The power tool removes material fast, but it's unforgiving.  Tiny mistakes can have huge consequences. Like anything else, using power tools well takes practice. I don't want to "practice" with the grinder this deep into the project. Besides, I'm used to shaping with hand tools. Scratch by scratch, the bowls gets deeper, the curves get smoother, the walls grow thinner, and begin to hold the light that pours through the translucent stone. The image I held in my mind's eye is taking shape just as I had planned it. The front view is still odd looking, but it will improve dramatically when I get the figure in the middle shaped down.

I learned that my last piece, which is on display over at the Whittier Art Gallery, got demoted from first place to second place. Good thing there are no cliffs or bridges to jump off around here. Just kidding.