fuck it

in

After 30+ years in some form of creative practice, the only lesson I’ve learned worth passing on is that the magic words are “fuck it” – as in “fuck it, I’m going to The Shed and freeze and fiddle with things,” or “fuck it, I have no clue what I’m doing so (so - not but!) I’m going to do it anyhow because that’s the only way to learn”: this magical refrain being what drew me out of the past few days’ creative stupor (nice to see that posting here again with regularity and verbosity wasn’t solely because of the stupor) to the point that maybe, just maybe I have the start of something worth pursuing that makes use of all those flat metal rods that I cut for another project before deciding to go in a different direction (fuck it), flat metal rods which have, for the last week, been sitting on the workbench with the nine-inch-ish flat metal rod equivalent of a middle finger pointing in my general direction and sneering.

arctic processing

in

Arctic blast continues its arctic blasting amidst mountains of shoveled snow and my patience for being creatively empty (brought mostly by it being too fucking cold in The Shed to think how I like to think – staring at random scraps of metal (or paper, or words) without a single notion of what I’m going to make until a semblance of potential comes to mind – for more than two minutes at a time) is at a low ebb. While it’s nice that I can occupy myself with writing things for this space and making my way through Stone and Chester drum exercises, I’d much rather be out there making shit without plans and batches and/oh hell I’m just being a bitchy old grump this morning.

While Ann Lamott would tell us that being creatively empty is a chance to fill up again, how, exactly, to refill that empty has been and continues to be the question: the ways that used to work no longer work. Perhaps these postings are part of that refilling?

snowmahgerd26, update 03

in

Snow has stopped / final clean + shovel of all paths and panels / RIP metalshack, but it’s all good: since I moved shop to my front Shed porch, metalshack has served as a scrap storage space. Had planned to take it out in the Spring to make room for something else behind the shed. Still, lots of process memories and creative development occurred under the auspices of its ramshackle embrace.

snowmahgerd26, update 01

in

According to the schizophrenic Apple Weather app, 8.2” has fallen in the last six hours. I’ve already shoveled one path out to The Shed (with Kirby’s helpful as ever help) and will, following second caffeination, give it its second enpathening to reach said Shed for solar panel cleaning; aiming to clear them on The Shed every few hours as I’d rather deal with four inches than a foot and a half with a 20-foot window washer thing tomorrow morning. Fortunately, we’re supposed to just get a fuckton of fluffy snow, so ice (FUCK ICE with that 20-foot window washer thing extended and spread) won’t be a problem. Collection dusting later; pretty sure the dust layer is the same as the projected snowfall.

/202509151210

in

The laser welder is hooked up and emitting lasers and melting things and welding things (except copper because fuck copper). And burning a hole into the side of The Shed. Oops. All good, clear, etc. Turns out my old argon tank was borked, so I got one of those big ones that a little shorter than me and all was well. Repaired an earlier lamp project, so it's back to a full strength weld. Also learned that the cleaner function on this thing is insane – though I'll still use the flapper disc and angle grinder for larger cleans and the laser for details and those hard-to-reach spaces, as the soap commercials would say. Might do a little metal piece this afternoon to get acquainted with the thing, then see how I'll use it in conjunction with my baby MIG welder. Probably the MIG for initial assembly, and laser for adding details and cleaning up. TBD.

/202509131102

in

Wee baby welding cart has been modified (see Principle _02) to fit the decidedly not baby laser welder, primarily heavier-duty wheels that aren't held on with pins. Still waiting on the new argon regulator so I can either get an argon flow going from my wee argon canister or upgrade from the wee to a non-wee. While I wait: determine if I can move the welding table to The Shed porch and use metalshack as metal storage (though I’ve given the cart heavy duty wheels, moving a 40-lb laser welder down my little alley path between fence and shed isn’t going to happen). There will be lasers, eventually.