Week 14: Screw City, Dragonflies, and Lava Pours

 And the quarantine continues...

Well I look forward to weekends because I can actually stay in except for the grocery run.  Some food is starting to come back and with the limit into Walmart and other grocery stores maybe they can catch up on the stocking.   We still have work but it is much slower than what we are use to.

So I have been able to be creative.  So I have been wanting to do this next shot for a while.  I call it Screw City (even though it has bolts).

There are lots of these going around but in my line of work I have more screws and bolts than you can shake a stick at!  So I decided to give it a whirl.  I really enjoyed it and may have a series in mind where I can use different screws and bolts and different colored backgrounds.  We'll see.  I only knocked the screws over once moving the mirror that they are on, which can be maddening, but the whole process was a lot of fun.  And I used my new lens which made everything really sharp.

 So I was repairing a deck this week.  While working my fellow worker noticed something fly by and land.  He said I have to take a picture of that.  I did not have my big camera with me but that is why I got the phone I did.  Not as good of pictures as the DSLR, but as you can see it can hold it's own!

 This thing was huge!  It is getting that time of year where dragonflies are coming out and I just recently got a new bag that will hold my camera with my new lens, so it looks like it will start coming with more and more.

Pictures are not the only thing I have been up too.  I have been doing another special pour.  This one was requested to be red and black. So I did some special things to this.  First I decided to mix a little flourescent red into the mix.  And a happy accident, it textured which made it look like lava.  So the normal light picture is:

And with a black light, let the lava be seen....

The coaster ended up cracking so it was a bust, but the pour turned out to be one of my top pours!  Once again, it was a LOT of fun to do.  Since cleaning my studio and rearranging it I have been able to get in and really get creative.  Since I work it has been a good stress relief to get into the studio and tune out the world and have some fun.  I have a couple of other fun projects coming up so stay tuned!

On another front entirely, Ginger and I are doing well.  Ginger gets cabin fever pretty bad some days so I have been trying to get home for lunch so she can at least have some human interaction.  Sophie has not started talking to her in English yet so that is good!  I did have to take the Xterra in to get serviced.  Was having a really weird problem.  I would put the key in, turn it, nothing.  I would turn the key around and it would start.  Then only one side of the spare key was working.  Well, it was either the ignition switch failing or the starter.  Got the call yesterday, it is the starter.  I only had a few times left before I would have been stranded somewhere.  I love the place I take the Xterra too, I have a particular person I go to who helps me out and takes the hassle out of the whole process.  I learned that from my Mom and Dad.  I was up there one year and Mom's car doing something weird.  They took it into their contact at the dealership and they took care of it right away.  When I buy a new car I am going to this dealership, Amber has treated Ginger and I with nothing but respect.  But since Ginger has nowhere really to go, taking me to and from work is going to be a welcome distraction and I have a work truck. 

I hope everyone is staying safe and virus free.  We are praying for everyone and we know you are praying for us!  We love you all, virtual hugs for everyone!

Baa