I went to Blicks, a local art supply store, and got some air dry clay to play around with. I suck.....big time....but it is so fun and so zen. I may eventually get to a point where I have something useable. I have never actually done pottery before. I have watched many people do it. I have read books. Once I ordered this wheel I watch a bajillion YouTube videos of people doing it. Amazingly enough that is not the same as doing it. :P That is fine. I will continue to try. Eventually I will get it.

About a week after this one showed up, a second wheel showed up. When I was ordering my wheel, the first one I ordered ended up coming from China, and listed the shipping as 2 months out. So I cancelled that one and got the other one. Then while I was playing with the other one, the first one I ordered showed up. Even though I canceled that order. THey already gave me my money back. So I guess I have 2 mini wheels now.

​Ok...so now pic dump of wheels and attempts.

I am still trying to finish the video for Anglicon. I am cutting it close, and I doubt it will happen, but I am still trying.

This last week, I discovered a show called Cosplay Melee. It is fabulous! I am not much of a reality TV fan. I hate it, actually. But I needed a video to watch while I was working on homework to keep me from wandering away from my computer and it was there. There was no artificial drama. In fact, it was heartwarming to watch the contestants actually help each other out. Watching the final version of the costumes, I do not in any way believe that they finished those in the time allotted. They definitely worked more on them after the finish bell went off. The one thing I worry about is them giving an unrealistic expectation on how long it takes and how much work it takes to get them looking finished and beautiful like that. It was interesting to watch these people work. Watching thier techniques and how they organize thier workflow is way more valuable than any tutorial up on You Tube. In fact, watching the show has inspired me to try to build a costume out of EVA foam. I already have the ram horns I built a month or so ago. I have a skirt. So yesterday I headed out to the Dollar Tree to see what kind of supplies I could get there. Surprisingly, a ton. I got black loose fabric, black roses, natural colored foliage, plaster to fill in the bits of horn that needs filled in. Several fabric scarves that I can use as foundation fabrics. Rolls of tulle. Rolls of jute twine. Thinner craft foam to use as accents. Spiders and other insects to incorporate. My idea is to make a semi Augra type thing, with nature being the base for it. I also got a heat gun for cheap off Amazon. I found packages of EVA foam squares for cheap on Amazon. And Flexi-dip. I think all I have left to get is paint, and I want to finish designing it before I get that. I will have a full cosplay outfit for Kumoricon at the end of October.

I need to learn how to use my heat gun. Surprisingly, there are no instructions in the manual, just safety warnings. It has 2 levels, and a dial on the back with the numbers 1-8 with MAX just past the 8. I am guessing that, reading the box, level one is 176 to 572 degrees, and level 2 is 176 to 932 degrees. Which number corresponds to which temp is anyone's guess. Did not find anything online about it. Quite possibly, 1 is 176 and 8 or MAX is either 572 or 932. What the other numbers are specifically is wild guesswork.

I also need to figure out what the optimum tempurature is for heating EVA foam. 932 degrees feels a bit excessive. But maybe it is the correct tempurature? I dunno. What is the general temp of a heat gun that does not have the variable heat options? Online tutorials just say "heat it". That does not help here. I am probably overthinking this. I dunno. But once I get the EVA foam I will experiment. They include edge pieces as these are interlocking floor pads, which will be perfect for that. Either this will turn out spectacularly awesome or spectacularly crap. Because for some reason there is no inbetween with me.

 So due to exciting circumnstances I have the opportunity to go to Anglicon in Seattle in a few weeks. I am really excited about getting away from home for a few days. Most days I don't leave the house, because I don't have a reason to. I can do my job search from my computer. Most places I am applying to have online resume systems in place. I don't need a ton of groceries, so once a week shopping is sufficient. Last week, I did not leave my house from Tuesday till Sunday. That seems pathetic. Well, I did go into the yard to take pictures. The bees were busy in the mint flowers, so I took the opportunity to practice using the telephoto lens. It is a Canon 75mm-300mm. Not the most expensive, but not bad. It is taking me a while to get used to it, and remember all the settings. My goal is to eventually try to get good pictures of the moon with it. That will have to be somewhere other than at home though, as usually I can't see the moon from my house due to trees and/or houses. But still, I didn't really leave my yard to take the pics. I posted my pictures up on Flickr. I also took the camera with me to the Fair on Sunday. I didn't get a whole lot of good ones, though. I need to learn how to change the settings correctly to get indoor flourescent and outdoor shots. If you want to take a look they are all posted HERE. I made an album of the fair pics. They are all so mushy. I need to figure out why so I can fix it. So many of my pictures are mushy. I may need to invest in a photoshop class.

Anyway, my point was that now I get to take a train up to Seattle and hang out with my fellow nerds for a few days. I am taking my camera and my uke, though I don't expect there to be any music there, per se. I have social anxiety, and I find it easier to deal with constructively if I have the uke in my hand. It grounds me....reminds me I am not stuck where I am, and if I need to I can step outside and noodle until I am calm again. And Anglicon is British fandom themed, so my Who songs and Red Dwarf will be totally appropriate. So now I am getting ready for con. What will I wear? Will I try cosplaying? I have been contemplating painting my cane with space scenes and Tardis's. I don't know if I will do that. I may try. I am not exactly sure how one would accomplish that. I am not an artist. Am thinking maybe paint it solid black and flick white paint on it to represent stars. Maybe use a sponge and some dark blue on it. Then I have to try to freehand Tardis. Hmm....There may be an easier way. I will have to think about it some more. I am putting puppet building on hold for the week. I need to get away from the heavy glue smell anyway. I did get some more tubing, so I may try assembling more bodies. Though a lot of my time will be taken up getting ready for the con. I wish I was able to do these when I was in high school. I think I would have been a lot better off knowing I have options. That I am not a loner wierdo. That there are others who think like me. What I did after high school may have changed a bit.

Anyway, there is a long rambly update. I really am excited to get out and away. I am excited to be with fellow nerds. I am excited to destress for a bit.

I really need to get creative with my titles. :P It has only been a week and half, but I thought I would post anyway. Just kidding. I am trying to be better at keeping up with this thing. It feels like it has been months, though the calendar says it hasn't been. I really had fun playing with the Dremmel. I haven't taken it out for anything else yet. I am itching to, but I am worried about using it when I don't need to and killing a project that would have otherwise been fine.



I have been writing, but haven't really finished anything. This week we have had issues at work with the servers, issues at home with an injured ankle, and emotional issues dealing with this time of year. Also, someone in France has decided to usem y debit card number to try to purchase Formula One tickets (of all the fucking things), so they had to close down my debit card. My plan for this weekend was to price out alginate and get it ordered. Nope. I cannot do anything online now. Grrr argh. At least my new bank had the courtesy to call me first. They gave me a chance to get cash before they closed for the weekend. And they also replaced the money and flagged my card number. That is much better than what my previous bank did. My previous bank let the bastards clear out my account completely, from clear across the country, minutes after I used it here, so clearly it WASN'T ME. I had to jump through a ton of hoops to get it cncelled, a ton of hoops to get my money back, I had to threaten to sue in order to get my legally mandated 45 day credit until it was cleared up. I had to send a police report 4 times before they acknowledged they recieved it. At least this time the transaction was flagged, they saw it was from another country, and called me right away.



But I digress....I am good at that. :) Now that my ankle is doing a bit better and I am a bit more mobile, i will et going on it all again. I shot some footage a few weeks ago with my iPad. I am not happy with it, but I am trying to work with it. Main issue....the damn autofocus. Even after I have put it in focus lock it still kept refocusing. This is why I need a good camera damn it. I am getting tired of this crap. Makes it hard to get anything done. I have been playing around with the pictures in Pinnacle on my iPad. Not much help, but I think if I futz with it a bit more I may make something workable out of it. I tried transferring the pictures to my computer and working with them there. Every one of them were blurry. How the hell did it lose quality? All I did was copy them over. There are 400 some odd pictures. I guess I could try to email each one to myself. Or I could just say screw it and see what I can do in the ipad. Unless one of you wants to spring for a brand new camera? Yeah, didn't think so. I am also feeling jealous. Last fall a girl did an awesome Doctor Who stop mo, in the style of the old Rankin Bass Rudolph stop mos. it was very well done. And I am green with envy, cause I want to do THAT. And if I had money for the equipment I need, I could. I don't begrudge her the props. Cause she totally deserves them. I just want to be there too, and I am not yet.



Ok...enough of the whining. Time to get back to work.

Um, you know that video contest, the one that I worked so hard on to get a video completed, and then shamelessly pandered for votes and views? Well, it has just been announced. The winners, I mean.

                               I WON!!!!

Holy freakin cow! I am SO excited! I rarely win anything, and I SO needed a win about now. And this time it is a literal win. The people running the contest have been really nice the last few weeks, with all my questions and demand for answers.

I am trying to think of something clever to say here, but I really cannot. I am just too excited!!! :)

This is just what I needed to feed the fear monster...poison for his fallacious logic. I have a lot of work ahead of me to become the animator I want to be, but this confirms that my sense of humor and need for a storyline aren't lost on others. I am headed in the right direction.


And it feels good!

EDIT: As promised, here is the winning video: