Summerized

Tap Plastics again

I needed more plastic to practice gluing, so I stopped by Tap Plastics scrap bin. Though I haven't started gluing anything dimensional together yet, it seems like it will be difficult. The salespeople at Tap suggested using a jig; they actually build their own, and sold me this one. It seems there is a real art to gluing acrylic together. I also bought some silicone sealant, for possible future use. I left with a plastic contact high.

Laser cutting and gluing experiments

I have some project ideas that involve laser cutting and gluing pieces of acrylic; some of which would be like "laser marquetry." But I need to learn a few skills and methods before going forward with the projects. One thing I'm trying to learn is how to glue pieces of see-through acrylic to each other, so that they look neat, and don't have bubbles between them. My friend Marcia showed me how to use Weld-On 4 with a little dropper bottle to do this.

Trying it at home, my results are not as good. This is probably because I'm working on an extremely dusty slab of cement by our basement and the pieces are getting dirty as I work on them.

My first experiment involved trying to glue transparent red pieces of acrylic (star and hexagon) into the corresponding shapes that I cut out of a black piece of acrylic. I tried to confine the glue to just the edges, so the red acrylic would remain unmarred, but the Weld-On is kind of hard to control and watery. The results are really unattractive. Both pieces of acrylic are marred by the glue, and there are little gaps between the pieces of acrylic, which are made more an attractive by the globs of glue lodged in there. I don't think this method will work.

My second experiment involved gluing some interlocking acrylic shapes (and transparent red, milky white, and black) onto a thin piece of transparent acrylic. This method is more promising. The only problem is that there are still some bubbles between the pieces of acrylic - you can only see these on the red pieces because they're transparent. But I'm thinking that this method could work well if I was working in a less dusty environment

Felt Cocoons and the High Line in New York

I went to New York for a couple of days last week. It was great to catch up with a few friends, see some exhibits, eat great food, and do a little shopping. We're really sorry we didn't get to see everyone; we're trying to see different people on each trip, as it's just impossible to see everyone we want to in a few days.

The Fashioning Felt show at the Cooper-Hewitt had some lovely pieces, including this cocoon-like installation. It's a great place to sit and decompress.

Walking around the lower East side, I was surprised to see lots of small galleries. And the southern part of the neighborhood is a lot more gentrified than I remember. Tea and pastry at Teany was tasty.

Isabel, Catherine and I watched Isa's a friend Brassy sing at Duane Park. She was quite good.

We were lucky enough to have a couple of delicious homemade meals at friends homes.

And we indulged in a few new culinary adventures, the most exciting of which was deep fat fried Oreos at Cafeteria. Recommended. Artisanal bacon gravy at Char Number 4 in Carroll Gardens wasn't too shabby either. And it was nice to check out the old neighborhood.

Dan and I went to the Model as Muse exhibit at the Met. He thought I should see all the fabulous mod fashions on display. He was right. I especially loved the planar mini-dresses constructed from sheet metal.

And the Roxy Paine installation on the roof was stunning. It's made out of regular old hardware store pipe, yet is so graceful. A combination of natural and artificial that reminded me of Terminator trees, it creates a great interplay of sky, people, park and New York skyline.

And we arrived just in time to see the newly opened High Line park. The High Line started out as a very short elevated railway that transported food and manufactured goods from factory to warehouse, within Manhattan. It was abandoned in the 80s. When my friends and I would gallery-hop in Chelsea, the High Line cut an eerie silhouette against the night sky -- an overpass carpeted in tall wild grasses swaying in the breeze. I was always slightly tempted to climb up.

After much finagling by Friends of the High Line and others, the abandoned High Line was saved from destruction, and converted into a one-of-a-kind park, featuring wild flowers and plants growing amongst railroad tracks. The design team included Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The High Line stretches for blocks, giving you unique, gritty views of the city and the Hudson River. We really enjoyed walking along the park, and it made the Hudson feel ever so slightly like a Riviera. What an amazing achievement.

Clock Parts

I completed the cutting of the other clock components a couple weeks ago, and will assemble and photograph the clock shortly. This material is so luminous.

Maker Faire '09

Jason and I went to the Maker Faire last weekend. There was less steampunk than last year, and more rapid prototyping. I'm so excited about that technology, and have been wanting to work more with it.

And I totally want some of these jumping stilts.

Hikes

We've been doing a lot of hiking lately. There are so many wildflowers out this time of year. This hill was quite a schlep.

And when we don't get out of the city, we take stairway walks. Most of them can be reached from our front door. The Vulcans Stairs are one of my favorites. They're the length of a city block; in fact they are a city block -- an official street comprised only of stairs and lush gardens. The gardens are gorgeous, and are maintained by neighbors. Quaint old houses along the Vulcan Stairs have no other access than the stairs, so residents must carry everything they bring from up or down the stairs.