Sketchbook - 2

Here's another sketchbook page.  Looks like I'm on a roll with plants and lamps.  I may just continue this theme and maybe turn them into a series of either lino carvings or (my new fun fav) digitally colored prints.

I left work today late.  Then I ran an errand to an office supply store in search of a particular item.  I couldn't find what I was looking for.  A young employee approached and asked if I need help.  I told him what I was looking for and he admitted he didn't know what that was and would ask an appropriate associate from that department to help me.  So, I waited and waited and waited.  I wandered up and down the aisles in search of what I was there for.  Nothing and no sales associate.  I kept looking at the time on my cell phone, watching the minutes pass and getting slightly annoyed at this "part of my life I'll never get back".

I finally found what I was looking for, but not as many as I wanted to get.  The young employee returned and asked if the appropriate associate had helped me.  I told him no but that I found what I was looking for and asked if someone could tell me if there was more in stock somewhere.  That began yet another long wait.  Moral of this story - I was in the store for 45 minutes and there was no additional inventory.  Ugh.  I felt like I was being "tested".  Needless to say, that put me home late after leaving work late and now I feel like my evening is shot.  I have two back-to-back webinars in the morning beginning at 8am and I am not proficient at being anywhere at 8am.

Dino the rescue cat

I have rescued many cats and it has always been pretty smooth transitioning a new cat into the mix. I think that is because my previous rescues were either kittens or indoor cats. Dino was a stray cat that began hanging out on my patio Thanksgiving Day 2009. He pretty much showed up and didn't really leave. He would be on the patio in the morning and when I got home from work. He began to trust me and I was able to pet him when I'd take food out to him. Soon, he was expressing an interest in coming indoors. I was not sure about that as the cats of the house were usually hissing at him through the sliding glass door.

Knowing the weather was taking a turn and storms were on the way, I felt I needed to do something. I couldn't stand the thought of just leaving him out in the cold rain, looking in, meowing. I called the vet and scheduled an appointment. I wanted to determine if he had a chip since he did not have a collar or tag. He was a fully intact male and the house cats are all neutered males. The morning of the vet appointment arrived. I grabbed a pet taxi and headed out to the patio. He was there and I opened the carrier and picked him up, attempting, not so successfully, to get him in. He was not happy. He hissed and growled and fought with everything in him. He was so mad that I knew if I let him go, I'd be dead. I fought him and finally won. He was in the carrier, I had beads of sweat on my hairline and my heart pounded the entire commute to the vet's office.

No chip was detected, so I knew he pretty much was a wild stray. He may have lived with people at some point and that might explain why he was rather quick to accept human contact. So, I had him neutered, vaccinated, tested, etc. I picked him up at the end of the day and brought home. Silly me, I thought that just by neutering him, he'd immediately be less wild. I was wrong. He was trying to get to the other rooms with the house cats by jumping up on kitchen counters. Naturally, I was freaking out since he had just had a (surely) not so pleasant procedure. I kept him separated from the guys that night and the following day. Then, the next evening, I thought I'd try to let him out with the house cats.

That exercise didn't go so well. I now realize that getting the wild natural side subdued would take more than 24 hours. He spent who knows how long, depending on his wild instincts to for survival. When he came out from the back room, he approached Louie, and Louie didn't take to kindly to this. Louie is older now and not interested in any interaction with the cats. With all his "charm", Louie managed a massive hiss and growl and Dino retaliated and a minor cat fight was beginning. In an attempt to break this up, I stupidly picked Dino up. He was breathing heavy and very agitated. I tried to calm him as I carried him back to the room he had been kept in. He bit me more than once on the hand. The blood flowed and it began to hurt. The next day I was at the doctor's office getting a tetanus shot and a prescription for antibiotics. Ugh.

After this little incident, I contacted the local humane society and established contact with a pet behaviorist. She has been very helpful with this situation, giving me advice and guidance on the situation. Basically, I have kept Dino separated from the other guys and have swapped out their blankets so that they could get used to the scents. I also feed the house cats on the other side of the door of the room Dino is in (again, getting them used to scents). Dino and Monkey even play (and quite rough) through the space under the doors. I have used Rescue Remedy in their water (not consistently) and now Feliway in hopes of alleviating tension and in hopes of a calm and smooth transition. The pet behaviorist even paid a visit to the house to monitor the interaction. This came about because of my frustration when I attempted to feed them in the same room and the first night, Monkey attacked Dino followed by Dino attacking Petey the second night.

When she monitored the interaction between the guys, she pointed out normal traits of cats and all things considered, they were on their best behavior, if not totally comfortable. Petey was not happy with this contact whatsoever! So, she left and things seemed smooth. Later that night when we were all relaxing in the same room, Dino got crazy and snuck up on Monkey while he was sleeping and attacked. It suddenly seemed like all progress was gone, and I'm feeling like I'm back to square one. I am not sure if this will work. He was a wild stray cat and still has that tendency. I cannot continue to lock the house cats in rooms every day when they're used to having the run of the place. I also cannot keep Dino locked up in a room for his life. Will it get better or do I need to find him a home? Maybe (and I'm thinking it is a pretty good maybe) he needs to be the only cat in a house.

Dino really is an adorable cat. He is very social and loves attention. He purrs, rubs against your legs, sits on your lap, lays on you and is like a mink stole, jumping on your shoulder and wrapping himself around your neck. I want him to have every chance at a happy life and feel that maybe my time with him has been to “foster” him and prepare him for a life safe from the streets in a loving home where he can be the star cat.  Naturally, this breaks my heart as he is so sweet and I am growing attached.  Maybe it can work out here, but either it isn't, or I'm not giving it enough opportunity to work.  Surely, this saga will be continued at a later date.  This story will require updates.

Song of the Week - 13

It is that time of the year here in California - daylight saving time. I am one of those people that does not like to lose an hour. It always seems like mandatory and enforced jetlag. I am still baffled as to why we continue with this practice and may at some time really study the pros and cons.

I've heard that DST is great for sporting events, retail and anything relying on afternoon sunlight. Hmm, more daylight for shopping just might require more frequent stops at the gas station. Well, maybe then the oil companies are reaping great rewards.

On the other hand, concerts under the stars, holiday firework displays and the like must begin later when the sun finally goes down. Most people I know love the extra daylight citing driving home from work with the sun has a positive psychological effect. I'm sure there are many good arguments but I really just want that hour back!

This morning I got up and it was an hour later than it should have been. I sat down with a cup of coffee, thinking about how hard it will be to get up for work tomorrow and this week's song jumped into my head. So, in "honor" of the loss of an hour, this week's song is about time, a word with with so many meanings.  This song is not about daylight saving, but it is about time.  Time is something we all have and may or may not make the best  use of and time is short, especially as you get older.  Hopefully, I can make the most of this day, less one hour.

The Chambers Brothers, The Time Has Come Today.  Enjoy.

Sketchbook - 1

I have tons of sketchbooks and journals. Each book has sketches, doodles, thoughts written down. I think I will begin to share some of these pages here.

I finally posted again yesterday after almost three weeks. So my 2010 goal to post two to three times a week did not hold up in February. The reason for my absence is I did something stupid and hurt myself. I was taking out the trash one evening a little over three weeks ago. I usually empty the litter boxes into separate plastic shopping bags, but this one time, I had this insane idea to save the bags and to dump the litter boxes into the big Hefty bag with the kitchen trash. Well, it was heavy and I couldn't lift it. I tried to "hoist" the bag, using all my strength and that seemed to work. The bag went flying and so did I. Fell right into the cat tree (ouch) and did some damage to the rib(s).

The nurse checked and where there was a little bit of swelling, there was no bruising. I opted to not get an x-ray. Anyway, I have been dealing with the now lessening pain and was not so focused on creative endeavors such as drawing, painting, printmaking or writing. I just sat around annoyed at myself for not doing anything creative.

So over the weekend I pulled out one of the sketchbooks, a marker and my Prismacolor pencils and started to draw pictures with the marker and then color them with the pencils. It was fun to do something creative again.

And speaking of doing creative things, I have an order for bracelets that I am terribly late on delivering. I have only made four of the eight requested. I'd say it's beyond time to get busy.

Song of the Week - 12

Well, I've been away for few weeks and I'll address that in a different post.

The Academy Awards was on tonight. I was really happy that the Hurt Locker won. I had every intention of watching it before the show, but just didn't get around to it.

I spent three years sending people to Iraq to rebuild a country that was destroyed by a war I did not agree with. The men and women of the armed forces were there, doing their jobs. I sent people (Government Contractors) there that were making a hell of a lot more money than the men and women in uniform, just doing their jobs. I won’t spend any time on this topic except to say that Iraq was not a real war (whatever that really might be) and should not have happened, in my opinion.

I can’t think of too many people that have not had someone in their life in uniform. Both my dad and my mom served their countries (my dad the US and my mom Canada) during WWII. I know young people now currently serving and I want to salute all of them. This includes those that went to Viet Nam, be it on their own or by the draft. The men and women that came home to ridicule and not fanfare or parades. The service people that were prisoners of war or missing in action. The people whose names were on the metal bracelets we bought as kids in the 60s and faithfully wore, hoping to learn someday that they would come home safe.

I have read and heard that this week’s song was written by Doors guitarist Robby Krieger. Apparently the song was about a soldier/sailor on his last day with his girlfriend before shipping off to war. How very cool and what a great song. Enjoy. The Doors, Love Me Two Times.

Religion, sola fide and the second Klan

I had a pretty free upbringing when it came to religion. My mother was raised in a strict Catholic home, and vowed to not subject her kids to that. Rather, she encouraged us to attend church with various friends, learning about different denominations, to determine if anything felt right.

My dad, on the other hand, was completely turned off to religion. When asked, he referred to himself as Protestant. Protestant basically refers to a Christian denomination (Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, etc.) that isn't Catholic. Unlike Catholics, Protestants believe that salvation comes from faith alone (sola fide). Surely, salvation by faith alone isn't all that bad when you want to run amok raping and pillaging, discriminating or terrorizing. That might explain why so much harm and bad things seem to happen in the name of God. That might also explain my grandmother Lola's behavior. Considering so many denominations fall under the "category" of Protestant, I may never know what "house of worship" Lola was a member of.

At some point when my dad was young, Lola aligned herself with what my dad called, "the holy rollers". She was a bible-thumping fundamentalist and would chase her young son around, hitting him with the bible while yelling unsavory things at him. Surely such behavior leaves a bad impression of religion on a young person. My dad was the youngest of two boys. His older brother (by about 2 years) drowned when he was very young. Lola never quite got over that loss. One of the things my dad told me she would yell at him while chasing him with her bible, was how she wished it would have been him that drowned. This would usually happen when he did something she didn't approve of.

When I consider that many people may call themselves Christian or Protestant, I do realize that doesn't always mean an active participating member of a church. Whether Lola went to church or not, I have no clue. I do know that she had a bible (and surely most households did or still do). I do know that many people will justify horrific behavior, claiming it is "the will of God" or "in the bible".

Lola was married to Red. No doubt Red was Protestant, too. Whether Red actually went to church or had a bible, I don't know. Red and Lola started their family life in the Midwest, welcoming their first born son around 1915. My dad came along two years later. Something else they apparently welcomed into their early life also happened in 1915 - the second Ku Klux Klan.



Red was of an age that required he not only register for the draft during WWI, but also WWII. As far as I can tell, he was not a war veteran. Post-war times are hard and many fears arise, especially when it comes to immigration and livelihood. The fear of job loss when one has a family to feed is scary. Post WWI, was no exception, especially in the Midwest where many freed slaves began to move, along with an influx of Catholic and Jewish immigrants from Europe. During that time, there was no such thing as Social Security, so many men joined fraternal organizations such as the Elks in order to provide for their families in the event they died or were unable to work.

The Klan promoted itself as a fraternal organization, hiding the violence many of it's members exhibited. Klan members were white, protestant males. My dad told us stories of being a young child walking with his parents and brother in Klan marches. These two little boys (pictured above), holding their mother's hands and marching in something they were completely oblivious to was a part of my dad's life he hated and felt remorseful about. I guess he struggled with accepting the fact that participating in those marches was not of his free will - he was a very young child when that happened.

History has the ability to teach us lessons. Unfortunately, I'm not sure we always learn from them. Justification of hate in the name of religion still burdens society today. Will we ever get past that? Probably not in my lifetime.

At this point in my research, I do not know how long the affiliation between my grandparents and Klan lasted. This was not something my dad talked about in great detail. Actually, he didn't talk about many things in great detail, making this search for Lola both interesting and frustrating. So the search goes on.

Yudu and Gocco

 I am a long time user of the Print Gocco, a table-top printing system developed in Japan in 1977. This fun little machine works using flash bulbs, carbon based artwork and an emulsion-coated screen.  When you manually flash the bulbs, the carbon artwork burns the image into the emulsion-coated screen.  Sadly, in 2005, Riso (Print Gocco's parent company) citing decreased sales caused them to end production.  That started an internet campaign to save Gocco or find a new home for Gocco.  Now the supplies are getting harder to come by and therefore more expensive than ever! This crisis has forced me to look for alternatives.

About a year ago, I heard about the Yudu.  I was pretty jazzed and HAD to go get one.  I bought it along with additional supplies.  And now, almost one year later, it is still in the box.   The "similarities" in the name (Gocco - Yudu) did not go unnoticed by me.  This Yudu came with an instructional DVD which was, to say the least, pretty darn goofy.  Since it also comes with one screen and two (rather pricey) capillary emulsion sheets, I kept putting off using it.  I would read the posts on the Yudu Forum for tips and occassionally search for videos on YouTube.  Then I discovered a place in the L.A. area that was teaching Yudu workshops.  I wrote on my 2010 goals that I'd take the workshop.  I posted those goals.  I then called to sign up and was told that the workshop was sold out.  NO!  I was told that they offer it every month, but, in February it was being offered on a weeknight and with my work schedule, plus the hideous traffic involved in getting from point A to point B, I couldn't do it.  I asked to be put on the wait list.  The laws of attraction, I gather, were at work.  I got a call a few days later that someone cancelled the workshop and I was in.  I went last Saturday.

One of the class requirements was to email the artwork to the instructor.  I chose my Guitar Cat, thinking I could not only burn a screen of the detailed drawing to print in black, but that I could also burn a second screen sans the detail for the first run in a different color.  That wasn't really a part of the class.  The class was quite good and focused on how to properly transfer the emulsion sheet to the screen (apparently the hardest part of the process), burning the screen in the Yudu, removing the excess emulsion after the screen has been exposed, drying the screen and then printing.

I brought T-shirts, flour sack dishtowels and card stock with me to class to print on.  We were given a piece of scrap fabric for our first print.  The Yudu comes with 110 mesh screens.  These are really for printing larger areas.  My finer line artwork lends itself well to 220 mesh (smaller holes per inch) and Gocco screens are 220.  Yudu now offers 220 mesh screens, FYI.



Once all the prep work was done, we got down to printing.  Yikes!  Way too much ink.  This is the scrap fabric provided by the class for our first print. 




I then started to print on the floursack towels. These towels are pretty big and I encountered a little problem due to the limited work area - kept accidentally getting the towel in the ink (not good).  Also, my prints on the cardstock were equally "runny".  I wasn't too pleased due to the lack of detail, but my hip, young instructor liked the look.  She even called me a "perfectionist"!

After several runs the image began to look how I wanted it to look.  I think it didn't have anything to do with the mesh count, but rather the amount of ink.  In the class, we also determined the cardstock was just too glossy and that could be why they were so blurry.  Maybe, or maybe it the screen was just too overloaded with ink.  This was quite fun and I fully plan to get the hang of it soon.  Stay tuned. More to come.