Justification

And THIS is why I don't commit to a daily update. It has been several many days since i lastposted and it will probably many more days befor i get around to posting again; I simply have too much going on. I hope to have something read in the next couple days....maybe.

Let Sleeping Oxen Lie

Okay. So the subject of this "project" item is taken from Noah Scalin's 365, use your pet as your inspiration. Simple enough...this time. Instead of attempting to draw or paint, I have opted the easier route (for me, anyway) of photography.

This pic is of my dog, Oscar, nicknamed, the Ox (ergo the title of this post). Considering he spends 23 hours of the 24 hour day sleeping, he's not difficult to take pictures of. Taking a good photo of him, now that requires a little bit of work. Without sounding too arrogant and pretentious, photography is all about lighting. I love that  I (of all people) was able to get it just right, with sunlight streaming and filtered through the Venetian blinds.

The Key Master

The Key Master is a little Amigurumi fella I crocheted. He took a couple days of on-off effort to complete.   For those unaware of what it is, Amigurumi is (defined as) "the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures".

I've been creating these little guys for a couple years now. My interest began when I was perusing a bookstore and came across Nelly Pailloux's book Crobots (Crochet Robots).  I asked my wife if she'd make a couple of these things for me but her response was for me to learn how to crochet.

So I did!

I found crocheting is not too arduous, not too difficult and very relaxing. I later followed up with Christen Haden's Creepy Cute Crochet (the book has Cthulhu and the Grim Reaper on the cover, lovingly crafted in yarn!)

Anyhoo, this little guy has been completed for a couple days now, but every time I think about taking a picture to post him, it's 5:30 in the morning (natural sunlight isn't so great at that hour, particularly when taking the pic with my phone). I'll have to work on getting a better picture taken and posted.

"I Dream the Night"

    I dream the night
        and a corduroy vest pocket
        watch inlaid with gold and a
        sterling silver chain.

    I dream the night
        and four quarters of the moon
        light streaming through
        plantation style venetian blinds.

    I dream the night
        and a tasseled quilt in the brown
        stone row-house bedroom bed
        loved to frayed and tattered strips.

The rhythm and poetic style here, composed of visual images and using compound words broken to separate lines, was inspired by an old and long-time friend, Jennie L. I originally intended this to have several additional stanzas...perhaps another day.

Office Art

Yeah, I love to fold paper. I am, by no means, an Origami Master; at best, an educated enthusiast. Folding paper is soothing and a great way to spend a couple minutes when at work and waiting for a meeting to start or for some automated task to finish.

Paper Cranes, made using traditional Japanese Origami tissue paper. Yeah, they're traditional and somewhat passe, certainly not at all avant guarde, but they're fun to make and even more fun to play with (imagine sitting in a conference room full of Aerospace Engineers and flapping the wings of a paper crane).

These Origami Mystery Boxes are made from three square sticky notes. I love these! They are particularly impressive when you have good strong colors, which make them pop out. I was impressed one Christmas by making one using bright colored paper and discovering that they looked like an impressive ornament when put on the Christmas Tree. I learned how to make these one day while I was poking around On Demand shows and came across a section that had crafts for kids. I'm forever in debt to the guy who demeaned himself in his attempt to make origami an exciting showy activity for children (it was pitiful, but I appreciated his effort). Over the years I've continued to make these little boxes and handed them out to kids who think they're pretty cool but soon ruin them by taking them apart and can't put 'em back together again.They're called Mystery Boxes because -- depending on the size -- you can put little treats or at the very least secret messages inside.