Big Lino Blocks

I've been using the little 2x3" wooden lino blocks for decades. I figured "improvements" have probably been made during this time, so I decided to check out some other types of blocks.

This first one is like if you peeled the lino top off the wooden blocks. Super hard surface, but without the one inch thick wooden piece bracing the back. I found it a little bit harder to hang onto, and also it's a bit curved, but the hardness of the surface allows for lots of small details.

This block is 5x7" and the design requires some explanation: At Factory Job, these machines have been my burden for 2 1/2 years. Once a machine operator, always a machine operator, thus they will be my burden until I am dead. There are six of them, and they are pissy bitches. I decided to capture their bitchy glory in lino block form.

This series is called "Assholes."

Next I tried out some of the floppy, buttery 5x7" blocks. They are very very easy to carve, which means you have to be very careful. Every slip can potentially remove huge chunks of rubber. I tried out this design:

I was going for a finely detailed art deco look, but ended up with what looks like someone drunkenly decorated a cake with tube icing. I plan to redo this with one of the harder lino blocks. But I made use of the prints:

Due to my AMAZING skill level, I decided those soft blocks would be better for a design with bold sloppy lines.

"Grrrrr -- what are you taking a picture of?" "Nothing, Frankenstein. Hold still."

Then I made the alien girl.

I put her on everything. Fabric, some weird tyvek type stuff, leather:

And I made cards:

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I watercolored that one with only partial success. That "Believe" stamp came out of a religious stamp set I found for half off. Hahaha.

So I ended up with an assload of prints just lying around the bunker and I didn't know what to do with them. I grabbed my pile of scrap leather and made these:

The closures are made out of bones. Shout-out to all the weirdos selling complete animal skeletons on ebay. You're the best!

Small Lino Blocks

I recently went through a block cutting phase. Cranked out quite a few:

These are the little 2x3" wooden blocks with the lino top layer.

I did some on cotton fabric:

I also used the 2x3" blocks to make castle parts:

When all the parts are printed out and assembled, they look like this:

This is getting a bit long, so I'll save the big lino blocks for another post...

Michael's Is Not Screwing Around

Look at these stamps:

The top row of dark red stamps is one set, the black is a second set, and the clowns at the bottom are a third set.

Michael's went ahead and took the gloves off this Halloween. LOOK AT THE DAMN CLOWNS. And if I was any kind of friend I would have photographed the packaging. Maybe I will do that later and update this. Maybe I won't. Who can say?

I was bad enough about Halloween shopping before I ended up with a real life Frankenstein. Now I'm unstoppable. I got this guy at the Smith's:

Walmarks had the perfect pillow for my couch:

Unfortunately they only had the one, so I plan to keep looking for a second one.

I got these candlesticks at the walmarks too. They were an ugly mottled black and gold, so I took them out to the back yard and spray painted them silver:

I still need to check out Target because they always have adorable Halloween stuff. I might go broke before Halloween actually gets here. Wheeee!

Dead Wasps

Frankenstein is painting his mother's house, and encountering lots of wasps in the process. He sprays them with wasp killer and waits until they're all dead before he resumes painting. Then he asked me, "Do you want the dead wasps?"

Hell yes I want the dead wasps.

Frankenstein presented me with this jar. The lid says "apricot jam."

I pulled out my resin and my molds. Took the lid off the jar of wasps, poured two wasps out onto my table, and then froze in terror. I was completely paralyzed. I stared at those two wasps for a good three or four minutes. Then I carefully put them back into the jar using a hemostat, put the lid back on, and texted Frankenstein. "Are we sure these wasps are dead? REALLY DEAD?" "Of course they're dead," he responded. "Be brave, little one!"

After about ten more minutes of staring at the closed lid, I realized that the only way I was going to do the damn thing was if I actually mixed the resin. So I sucked it up, mixed the resin, opened the apricot jam, and poured out two wasps. I was committed now.

Every time I dropped something or bumped the table, the wasps jumped, and I screamed. This continued throughout the project. But somehow I finally managed to get glitter and resin and wasps into the molds.

Behold:

This is a pic of the wasps on the doming tray. The glitter predictably sank to the bottom of the resin, which made the side stuck in the mold effectively the back side. And the wasps' various lumpy parts were sticking out of the tops, so I domed them. Afterward I had to sand off a couple of drips and round some of the edges, but they turned out pretty well.

Once they were safely contained within the resin, I felt more comfortable touching them! Not 100%, but better.

I pulled out my tiny hand drill and prepared to turn them into jewelry. My wire wrapping skills are not the best. So I'm trying to improve. Here's an early one:

This one came out okay:

Mostly I stuck to the swirls that I'm comfortable with. But there are lots more wasps waiting to be wrapped, so I hope to get better at it. As you can see in the doming pic, there are lots more to practice on.

And Frankenstein has already filled another jar full of wasps for me. They sure do love his mother's house! Perhaps I should gift her one of these...