I wonder whether Art has a higher function than to make me feel, appreciate, and enjoy natural objects for their art value? - Bernard Berenson

Hey, thanks for your support on my very first posting. 

Okay, time to post my favorite project.  The cholla spine coffee tables. Cholla is pronounced "choya".  I made these tables a few years ago when I lived in Arizona.  I can't really take credit for this project.  My husband and son helped.  In fact, my biggest contribution was the idea and design.  The remainder of my contribution was lending a helping hand. 

Usually, my ideas for projects are pretty clear to me.  The catch is getting them out of my mind and into reality.  My success rate is fairly small.  Not that the projects aren't close.  Not that the projects aren't nice.  My mind sees a masterpiece, but my hands produce nice.  Fortunately, my hands are cooperating with my mind more every day.  Someday.....

Here they are:

Under the glass, the table tops have insets where you can display items:

The sides of the tables are cholla cactus spines.   Here is what the cactus looks like when it is alive.

Just down the road from our house was a state forest.  We would go riding in our 4x4 rhino.  It was absolutely beautiful with it's varieties of cactus.  I saw these cholla all over.  They intrigue me.  One day I found out why they called them "jumping chollas" .  I was standing next to one, clearly not touching it, when I felt pain in my hand.  I looked down to see a piece of the cactus had assaulted the back of my hand.  It was one of the top pieces.  They are "linked" together and break off easy.  It looks like this:

Now how does that chipmunk climb up that cactus?  These thorns are barbed and can pierce leather.  It will go through the bottom of boots.  My hand was no match.  I yelled to my husband, Bill, to pull it off.  He and my stepson, Al, proceeded to laugh at me.  AT me!  Hmmm.  By the way, Al didn't laugh nearly as hard when the same thing happened to him a couple weeks later.  :)  As I stood there with this cactus bonded to my hand, my husband pulled on it with his handy dandy pocket pliers.  It was cartoonish.  My skin stretched far from my body in a rubbery way.  Then a piece of the cactus broke off, leaving the majority of the piece to rebound back to my hand, doubling the amount of thorns embedding in my hand.  I was really in pain now.  It felt like it was pumping poison into my hand.  It wasn't, but it felt like it.  Eventually we figured out to pick up two rocks and "tweezer" the thing off me.  Yowza.  

Now you would think I would like to take vengeance on the cactus, not have a memorial to it in my living room, but as you can see, it is very unique.  A tribute to the beauty of a being, inside and out.  We collected only dead cholla for our project.  I am thankful it is in my living room on show instead of laying in the desert unappreciated.

The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning. ---Baker Priest

Many people post their New Years resolutions every year.  I hardly think about any resolutions.  To me it's not about anything new, it's more like a continuation.  I make a note to self, "Do everything better this year."  Yet, I find 2011 to be different.  It is a new year for me.  A beginning.  A change in life.  A transition.  Many things have ended, many things have started.  What a perfect time to "kick off" a blog.

Take a look at my "about me"  (green writing on the left).  It's going to be changed soon!  I will be taking out the part about excavating swimming pools.  That is because after I wrap up a few things, I will no longer be working for that company.  I am looking past the minor anxiety that a person can feel when looking into the cloud named ~Unknown~. Reminds me of when I moved to Arizona and someone said,  "You will get sick of the sun.  Every day is bright and sunny.  You will learn to appreciate and love the clouds and rain."  Coming from the Midwest, in March, I thought,  "You are crazy!".  And she is a Mini-sotan too!  She proved correct.  LOL.  The sun and the clouds, in themselves, are part of the cycle of beginnings and ends.  SO with that in mind, I am currently looking for a new job with great optimism, appreciation and excitement. 

In the spring, we will be starting a spec home.  We call ourselves Smart Homes of Minnesota.  Our goal is to build highly energy efficient homes utilizing passive solar energy along with quality materials.   These homes meet or exceed Energy Star requirements.  What is passive solar?  We design the home so that its large windows face south.  The sun comes through the windows and warms up the concrete floor.  The floors hold the heat and disburse it as needed.   It proves to be a very low cost heating system.  In the summer, the sun is higher in the sky.  The overhang on the house cuts most sunlight that directly shines on the concrete floors.  Trees and window blinds cut the rest.  Concrete floors without warmth are very cool.  Last year my son, Pat and his wife, Silke built a home.  We constructed it with Smart Homes in mind.  It is our prototype.   We asked a few realtors to a tour during construction.  They had some very interesting comments:  "We would have to market this house to senior citizens as it is single level living."  What!  Only senior citizens don't want to walk up stairs?  "When I think of passive solar, I think of solar panels on the roof."  What!  That would be solar powered.  The operative word is passive.  "Are you going to tile over the concrete?"  What!  "The concrete absorbs the heat from the sun."  We can't cover it up.  Wait 'til you see it stained and shined.  I expected these questions from customers, but not from self proclaimed "highly experienced" realtors.  This is going to be an interesting journey.

My stress release is art.  I love to build things using slightly unusual materials in slightly unusual ways.  Pallet wood, cactus spines, concrete, rock,...   Taking the ideas and pictures that are in my head and bringing them to reality can be difficult at times.  Thankfully, my man Billy, is patient and helps me with the technical aspects.  The picture behind my blog title is of a hand formed, stained concrete tile I made.  Getting concrete to cooperate isn't too easy.  Concrete is a very stubborn, self serving material.  Usually handled by men.  Common ground?  JK.  hee hee   ;)