Packrat Adventures

What do you get when you combine a prop master and a broken pen?

A glue and tape fix it job instead of a trashcan demise. I can't throw anything away. "I can fix that" is one of my mottoes. "I can use that" is another and "someone can use that" is yet another. My house is a revolving door for stuff. The minute a home is found for one thing a box of more stuff finds its way here. Lately I have been ebay-ing, etsy-ing, putting stuff on my website-- www.pickypackrat.com , craigslisting and linking what I can to FB. Once items have had a chance there then it is off to freecycle or goodwill.

If anyone would like to trade art materials please check out boxes under my FB profile. Feel free to let me know what art materials you have to trade as well so that we can all start clearing out our garages.

Christmas in July

It may seem a bit early to be thinking about Christmas, but if I don't get started on my holiday projects I will probably wait until the last minute before Christmas. As you can see from the 2 of the pix the Santa head was in pretty bad shape. I removed the polyfil, scrubbed it down, primed it and repainted it. Currently I am adding new hair, beard, mustache etc.

Silicone Rubber Hands

I had a scare with one of my rubber hand sculptures. I was showing one of the hands to my sculpture student and he set the hand down on newspaper. The silicone material picked up the ink and neither soap and water nor rubbing alcohol would clean the ink off. I freaked! The materials and process to make these hands is pricey so I did not want to have to make another hand. Luckily lacquer thinner did remove the newspaper ink so all was saved.

Artist Materials Swap

After talking with artists it seems like we all share the common affliction that we end up with extra materials that we don't use. Our materials cost so much to purchase, have minimum order requirements, and some we cannot even purchase locally. So instead of losing our investment I would like to start an art materials swap where artists can trade what they have extras of for something that they could use now. Please share this note with anyone who may be interested and list what you have to trade.

Currently I have the following to trade (what I currently need is hydrocal plaster, fiberglass resin & matte, plaster bandages):
1)glue gun
2) leather scraps--many colors
3) PVA which is used as a separator for fiberglass
4) Dry pigment that dissolves in solvent, not in water.
5) 1 large gray tubes that can be used in prop fabrication

Gray tube 10 to 12" dia and 6 ft.long. 6)gallon of drywall paint, 7)round slide holders for a projector 8)tar paper 5) wooden disks--small
6)Bostik staples--various lengths
7)rafia rope
8) various fabrics
9) small pix frames
10) belt sander
11) unopened spool of twine
12) small castors
13) Rosco silver paper
14) glitter

Give aways:
1) old plastic toys great for collage projects

For sale:
1) 16 oz. of Liquitex Artist Acrylic for only $10--flourescent pink
2)art festival screens and print holder--asking $50 but will take best offer.

Cleaning the Warehouse Days 3,4,5, 6...10

At this point I have lost count. It blurs together as I ponder humanity's attachment to stuff. Is it an obsession with keeping stuff or is it attachment to memories--the way things were, days gone by.

The pix to the right show a relatively organized spot in the warehouse.

We found a box of old towels. Some in good condition some old and full of holes. The pea green and vibrant robin's egg blue are true vintage 70's shades. Not today's re-invention of the seventies but the real deal. "Why did my parents keep these?", I wondered. Were they carelessly thrown in a pile, not realizing what they were? Were they kept as a backup in case they were ever needed? An act of preservation ingrained in the psyche from the Great Depression? Or maybe this was to be a holding station until they were donated but somehow just got lost in the shuffle.

The only right thing to do? I took them home, washed them, kept a few vintage ones for posterity, and donated the rest to the SPCA. There they will be used for bedding or rags. One last use before an honorable discard to the landfill.