Shanti Sixteen-Tube Tea Display

Just finished another couple of pieces for Shanti Tea.  The goal in these pieces was to create a simple display for sixteen glass tubes of tea leaves that prominently shows the Shanti logo, showcases the natural grain of the wood, and can be easily reproduced.  The final piece is 14" wide at the base and 5" tall at the center.

I proudly present you with the Shanti sixteen-tube tea display (I really need to come up with better names for these things):  

Shanti Tea Display

In all the excitement of coming home from vacation and then getting hit by a car (oh yeah... never got around to that post, either) I completely forgot to post pictures of the display I designed and built for a friend of mine in Toronto!  He asked for a display that would hold 1" diameter test tubes for display at a tea trade show.  He wanted it to collapse for storage so that it would be portable and he wanted it made of wood and finely crafted.  So we talked about it for an hour or so and I put about 60 hours of design and build into the final product.  The base is 1"x21"x4" and the whole piece with lid on is 21"x21"x12".  I proudly present you with the Shanti Tea Display:

I can't believe I forgot to post this...

Oh, and as for getting hit by a car, I stopped at a two-way stop sign thinking it was a four-way and I expected the woman coming from my right to stop. She never even saw me and I hit the side of her car while she was doing about 30 miles an hour. I put my right arm through her driver's side backseat window and opened my arm up good. I'd put pictures up but I know my mom reads this so I'll spare her the imagery. I was in the ER for 8 hours because I was admitted just ahead of a shift change and I got lost in the shuffle. 6 hours later I had to send Katy up to ask if I could at least have an Advil. They looked at her funny and she explained that I had been hit by a car but that no one had even looked at me since I walked in the door six hours earlier. That got 'em moving. Lucky for them I really didn't have any other issues... didn't hit my head or bump or bruise anything. I would have gotten away scot free had it not been for her pathetic excuse for a window. Anyway, everything is okay now. I had to take 2 weeks off from work to let the wound heal. Funny to think I was talking in the ER like I was going to go in to work the next day. It's taking some effort, but I'm getting back into a normal routine. I've been really busy making watch paintings and putting up the etsy store. Also, this past weekend I hung a dozen pieces at a science-fiction convention here in town. I sold two! Almost There...

 and Faster, Grandpa! Faster!

I even designed myself a business card for the occasion:



It was a great experience.  And, I found out about the event at the last minute and managed to pull together a whole show in just two days.  It was work, but with a little help from Katy and some friends I got it done.

So yeah... stuff's been happening.  All is well.

Now available at an internet access near you!

I've been talking about doing it forever and have finally come around to marking it off my to-do list.  I put up an online store on Etsy.  Check it out:

www.etsy.com/shop/lostmykeysonbroadway

No grand hurrah yet... that is still to come.  But for now it's nice to have this much started.  Support aspiring artists!  Tell your friends!

Where I've been...

Katy and I just spent a couple of weeks with Katy's parents, including a week at their lake cottage.  Oh, bliss, thy name art lake cottage and you are good!  We had a great time kayaking and swimming in the lake, sunning on the dock with a book, and generally relaxing and enjoying ourselves.  Katy's folks were fantastic hosts and we enjoyed every moment of our visit. 

Here's a few pictures of the lake and of Katy's friend's grandmother's farmhouse which we also visited while we were out in cottage country.  The pics at the end are from the newly renovated Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.

Just me and my harmonica...

A friend took some pictures at an open mic I've been playing for the past few weeks.

And while I'm at it, here are a few older shots of me playing harp...

So there ya have it.