Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Two spheroids in a sack

It's been a while and I haven't really been drawing a lot recently. Partly because of a hectic time in school as well as the mounting pressure of finding a job for the summer, both of which problems are now solved, and, well, just not being in the mood. It's hard to force creativity. Sometimes, it's possible, but for the purposes of this blog, maybe it might not be desirable. I realize that the one period of high readership on this blog was thanks to what was a relatively rapid and consistent pace of entry output, but right now I don't think I have the necessary time and motivation for that kind of thing. 

So here we are. Anyway, while I may not have been drawing, that does not mean I haven't been creative. On the contrary, I've spent quite some time crafting things the past week. Foremost, I almost finished my orchestra uniform. I'm a part of Humpsvakar's dancegroup Rumpskakar, and we've got really pretty bright red uniforms. Mine is still missing a few non-essential parts, but it is ready to wear now. This is more of a personal matter than something to blog about, but I do urge everyone to come see us perform at our 55-year jubilee this fall. It's going to be awesome, I guarantee it. 


Now that I've a lot less schoolwork, I once again have found some time for woodworking! I made a pair of poi on the lathe. Really, the wood material is not great, they are still without a finish, and the surface is quite rough. But that's how I'm going to leave them. They're wooden balls that weigh over a 150 grams (I'd wager) and they're going to be spinning about at high velocities. There's no point in making them all too fancy, they're going to hit something at some point anyway.

They're the perfect size, but I expected the wood to be a little bit less dense. They are quite heavy, and while it doesn't quite hurt to hit yourself somewhere on the thigh or the torso, hitting bony parts like an elbow, a knee, or the hipbone does REALLY sting. I don't expect any self-inflicted damage, though.

It's not the cleanest spin as I'm still getting used to the heavier poi.

I also sewed myself a bag! The seams aren't all perfectly straight and tidy, but I love it. I'm not big on sewing, generally, but hey, it's a whole lot more productive than sitting inside, playing video games. I got to make it exactly how I wanted, the length is perfect and it fits about an A4 drawing pad. Which is also appropriately similar to my tablet.

I chose to make most of the seams visible to the outside. It's a distinctly minimalist yet rugged style. If I could do anything differently, I'd make the rectangular area that connects the strap to the bag a little bit taller. They're too square. They could be closer to a 3:2 relationship, to make it more like a golden rectangle (You know. With the golden ratio. Like your computer monitor probably is. Paintings are usually also proportioned like a golden rectangle.). 

It's a pale shade of army green. The cloth is cut from an old shirt!