CREATIVE outlets-

[natatbeach]

People here are SO talented---it only leads me to believe that their talents must expand outward to other areas of life and be expressed thru other mediums----

so,what are some of your other creative outlets? post a pic or two or three or whatever of some of your projects

here's just two
the first is my poor man's attempt at stained glass using gallery glass(acrylic paint)...I would LOVE to eventually have the space and the time(and the money) to design some pieces...

and a scarf I've been working on (not the quickest knitter) since I just learned two days ago...

Look forward to seeing everyone's posts....

[Sebastian]

RIght now I'm working on a computer game as an artist. I love 3D computer animation, and it's nice to be able to get back into it again.

Besides that, I take illustration classes on and off.

Nice scarf, how much do you charge for those?

[Kokopeli]

People here are SO talented---it only leads me to believe that their talents must expand outward to other areas of life and be expressed thru other mediums----

so,what are some of your other creative outlets? post a pic or two or three or whatever of some of your projects

here's just two
the first is my poor man's attempt at stained glass using gallery glass(acrylic paint)...I would LOVE to eventually have the space and the time(and the money) to design some pieces...

and a scarf I've been working on (not the quickest knitter) since I just learned two days ago...

Look forward to seeing everyone's posts....

I don't have an artistic bone in my body! Everyone here knows that, just look at my photography!! LOLOLOLOL

Ok.. Here's a little secret about me. I sometimes write cheezy poetry, but don't tell anyone.

Here's one from back when I was a teen and found out that my girlfriend of the past 9 months was actually gay...

She is hers
She is mine
She sends shivers up my spine
She loves her
And I love she
Why does this $h!# always happen to me?
~Brian Liles circa 1984

See, I told you it was cheezy!!!

I really like the image of your scarf. I think it would make an excellent stock image and I could see it printed in "American Knitters" or some other trade mag.

Well done Nata!

[Asylum Steve]

She is hers
She is mine
She sends shivers up my spine
She loves her
And I love she
Why does this $h!# always happen to me?
~Brian Liles circa 1984

...limericks and greeting cards.

But hey, I'm not knocking it. There's a ton of money to be made there...

[Kokopeli]

...limericks and greeting cards.

But hey, I'm not knocking it. There's a ton of money to be made there...

I've considered it! LOLOL

I actually had a book of poetry that I had written, but it mysteriously disappeared around the same time my exwife moved out. The "poem" I posted is one of the only ones I can remember.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Steve! :P

[natatbeach]

to be a computer game tester for a living. THAT is what my 14 year old has decided to do for a living (I supposed I should be proud he picked something)...

designing games is what I thought would be a more lucrative profession, that sounds pretty fun...

as far as the scarf well, my scraves sell for about $2 for now (if I could only keep it straight) but may sell for more----believe it or not scarves with thoseyarns retail for about $60 around here. when I can keep them straight(by Christmas) I'll offer a PR discount -hehe

[darkman]

Hi Nat,

I'm not sure I would call my other outlets "creative." My other hobbies are bike riding, other outdoor activities, and tinkering with cars.

In bike riding terms I used to race a lot. I was at either an "expert" or "elite" level in mtb racing and road racing. Though I'm still recovering from an accident - lower back - I keep at riding whenever possible. I aslo love to hike, backpack, and x-country ski (skate, backcountry, and tele). I even ski patroled at sandia (I'm not sure if I should admit this) for a season in the late 80's. I hardly down hill anymore now.

I have 4 cars in may garage. Besides the daily drivers I have a 71 porsche 914-6 (rebuilt to 2.2S specs) and an '02 miata LS. I may sell the porsche and tweek the miata a little:-)

I desing IC's durring my day job. Some people consider this creative!

Mike

[Asylum Steve]

so,what are some of your other creative outlets? post a pic or two or three or whatever of some of your projects

One of my new passions is stained glass. Not new in my facination of it, but new in a hands-on sense...

I've been working at a local glass studio for over a year now, very on and off. I've only completed a couple of pieces so far, but absolutely love the organic workflow, the time consuming craftsmanship, and especially the previsual design process, where carefully choosing glass colors and textures AHEAD of time is the key to a successful piece.

It's a great change of pace from my now extremely high tech photographic work. Yet, ironically, I rely on computer imaging programs like photoshop a great deal to help me design my glasswork. It's amazing how quickly you can change and resize designs and try color and pattern variations in ps.

These pics are of my current project, a large violet for Sebastian's fiance, uh I mean GIRLFRIEND (hehhehheh) Rhiannon. The first is the layout design, then a shot of my workspace, then some details.

BTW, what makes this a very meaningful gift for him (other than the HUGE amount of money he's paying me) is that the design is based on one of Seb's photos.

Despite a lot cut fingers, it's a VERY satisfying thing to do...

[natatbeach]

I really like the image of your scarf. I think it would make an excellent stock image and I could see it printed in "American Knitters" or some other trade mag.

Thanks...that poem really wasn't too bad---here's my HORRID teen angst poem I wrote when I was 15 after a break up with a particulary BAD bo (I got back together with him-big 'TARD that I was)

White Picket Fences
and Four Poster Beds
Hopes and dreams
that only exist in my head

Love and Hate,
Go hand in hand
Never Happy
Never Sad.

All the Joy I can never have
Living my fantasy
happily NEVER after

there ya go see maybe we should start a teen angst poem thread-lol.

[natatbeach]

considering they all take talent...especially the car "tinkering"

lower back injuries are brutal to recover from...sorry to hear that

you and my father in law have a lot in common--he's a ctually a ski patrolman in CT
and he loves cars he just had a 1963 split window corvette restored...

it's amazing...

what are ICs? excuse my lack of brain power....

thanks for your contribution

nat

[natatbeach]

I have wanted to do stained glass forever. I visited a studio where they sold the materials and she had bunches of glass to choose from...it was like a candy store. I have a thing for textures and colors...nice to know you are willing to do pieces for pay...

your window is quite beautiful and iris I presume...I like the copper leading as opposed to the silver or black...

o.k. I'm jealous...I would love to see you post more of your stuff...

[Asylum Steve]

your window is quite beautiful and iris I presume...I like the copper leading as opposed to the silver or black...

Thanks, nat. It's actually a violet, although it's embellished enough because of the glass patterns to look iris-like...

The cooper foil is only visible in this early stage of the process. It will eventually be soldered to hold the pieces together (this is the Tiffany style of glass construction). The finished solder can then either be left as is (silver like you mentioned), or patina'd black or copper color.

I'll be sure to post a shot of the finished piece...

[natatbeach]

I presumed because of the coloration and the three prominent petals that it was an iris but had I been observant enough and looked more closely at the leaves I could have had a better idea. (AND had I read your text instead of drooling over the pics) never the less it's beautiful especially the variations in the glass you chose for the petals.

nat

[darkman]

what are ICs? excuse my lack of brain power....

nat

Hi Nat,

IC's are Intergrated Circuits. In simple terms, I desing circuits that go in computer chips. Some actually end up in cameras:-)

I absolutely have very poor fine motor skills. Drawing, cutting glass (yikes!), etc are out of the question. I even have trouble with scissors! I do OK in machine shops where I can dial each cut and bend down to a micrometer. But I haven't had access to one of those since college.

This, lack of fine motor skillls, is what drew me to photography. It's a creative outlet that doesn't require draftsman type skills to do.

Mike

[Charles Hess]

as my spare time is limited. Was a pro jazz/rock trumpeter for years, travelled with Alice Cooper, Van Morrison, opened for Chicago, Blood, Sweat, & Tears, Jethro Tull....so, I still listen to music, from jazz to metal to rap(I love Kid Rock!) I guess I can only have one creative outlet at a time. :-)

I presumed because of the coloration and the three prominent petals that it was an iris but had I been observant enough and looked more closely at the leaves I could have had a better idea. (AND had I read your text instead of drooling over the pics) never the less it's beautiful especially the variations in the glass you chose for the petals.

nat

[darkman]

I do play guitar, which strangely enough I'm pretty good at. Not at charles' level, but much better than most I've come across.

In this case, being left handed and playing right handed is definately a help.

How did I forget that! I was playing around with a new midi last night.

Mike

[mtbbrian]

Although I am very new to doing stained glass, I am enjoying very much. I like the hands on appeal too. Reminds me of doing photography the "20th Century Way"...
Steve and I have had few email exchanges about it recently(Thanks Steve!)
I got into, becausee there is a window in my home that I have always wanted to put one in.
My lovely and talanted wife got me a class and all the necessary tools to do.
I am coming up on the mid way point of the class. We will be learing both the copper foil and leaded methods.
My other creative outlets are my website and mountain biking.

Great post Natalie!
Brian

[natatbeach]

as my spare time is limited. Was a pro jazz/rock trumpeter for years, travelled with Alice Cooper, Van Morrison, opened for Chicago, Blood, Sweat, & Tears, Jethro Tull....so, I still listen to music, from jazz to metal to rap(I love Kid Rock!) I guess I can only have one creative outlet at a time. :-)

I would suspect being as good as you are at the things you do whether music or photography----that the many talents you posses can only be nurtured one at a time.

thnaks for sharing

[natatbeach]

Awww man---another one! now I'm jealousx2...that's pretty cool that your wife encourages it------ any pics or descriptions of color of subject that you'll be immortalizing in glass?....the next birthday portrait is being done in glass is that it

[adina]

I don't have a much time for it as I used to, but I can do it. Usually crib sized because they are smaller, and a lot of our friends are in the having baby stage still. I don't have any pics on the computer though. I've also done Halloween costumes, and am going to do ballet skirts for the girls. We saw some that had flower petals in the skirt, and they were so impressed.

We have also decided to try gardening this year. We'll see how that goes. Going completely organic, and letting the girls pick most of the seeds. We ended up with quite a few variaties of chili pepper, as they are pretty colors.

Not a lot of time for creative outlets these days. But we did just teach our oldest to read, she is thrilled to death with it.

Here's my oldest's Halloween dress from 2001 on my youngest. She wanted to be a princess that year.

adina

[adina]

After re-reading my post, I realized we are a bunch of homebodies. I guess in another 15 years we can develop some adult interests..

adina

[Asylum Steve]

My lovely and talanted wife got me a class and all the necessary tools to do.
Brian

Heh heh, you just THINK you have all the tools...

When I started my glass classes, the tool kit they provided us with cost about $30. I remember thinking, "hey, this ain't too bad".

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!

Well, that was BEFORE I realized I really needed my own grinder, then a Toyo Super glass cutter, then a good ceramic soldering iron, then a foiling tool, then a Gryphon Wire Saw (ouch!), etc., etc., etc.

And that's not even counting all the glass packs and beads, and globs, and bevels, and foils, and solders, and frames, and patinas.

Boy, now that I think about it, I really can't afford this expensive a hobby... ;)

[natatbeach]

Steve thinks glass is expensive try the tools for quilting...and it bites when you don't even stick to it! the first and only class cost me $75 (because I was sure I would love it-HA!

I tried quilting and I HATED (did I say hate? let me say it again HATED) it....bless you and I admire you for having the patience to do that...the worst part was trying to pic fabrics out...too many choices and too many everything...

I'm always in awe of people that can sew well (beautiful princess costume) and i've seen those little skirts with petals for the skirt (they also carry little "fairy" slippers that look like ballet slippers made from cloth that fit over a standard shoe and the ankle cuffs are sheer "leaves" pretty neat...

[mtbbrian]

Awww man---another one! now I'm jealousx2...that's pretty cool that your wife encourages it------ any pics or descriptions of color of subject that you'll be immortalizing in glass?....the next birthday portrait is being done in glass is that it

Yeah I have great wife!
Right now I am at the crawling stages of this new outlet, but I do have a desgin in mind for the window in our home. It is a geometric desgin.
I'll post a pic or two of it when I finish it.
Brian

[mtbbrian]

Heh heh, you just THINK you have all the tools...

Boy, now that I think about it, I really can't afford this expensive a hobby... ;)

I know, what you are talking about Steve, but I have a grinder, and a lot of misellanous tools, although I did buy a cutting board in class the other day. So I do have a good start.

On a financial level, I have asked myself that already, but I plan on doing a project or two a year, to keep me in it and improve my skills.

Brian