Archive for March, 2009

art day 25 – [story fragment] Rubber Duckies

This little chunk of cynical just sorta popped out. Hmmm… i haven’t figured out if there’s anybody to like in this, or … um, what anybody’s doing. Ah well, into the “Story Starts” folder with you.

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I got the nickname Nix when I was fourteen. I thought it was cool, like the guys had stopped thinking of me as the token girl, like I had finally bought some status in the gang. It was three, maybe three and a half months later when I learned what it meant. Nada. Zilch. Nothing.
After that, I think I kept the name because I wanted everyone to think it rolled off of me. Like my nerve endings had gone numb.
Not that I had much choice anyway. Once you were branded in the gang, that was it for life. The same time I figured out what Nix meant was when I started to feel more confused about what friends meant.
Don’t get the wrong idea from the word “gang.” I’m talking about a bunch of nerdy suburban white kids. Ducky, Erik and Eric. Rick, Pat and me. I found out later Ducky spread rumors they were all screwing me. Buying status with kids cooler than us.
The gang weren’t very kind to each other either. Ducky made names for everyone. Eric was Virgin. Pat was Stick. They called Rick Spoon Boy, from some drunken story Ducky made up about a boy who lives on a toilet, eating shit.
Ducky named us all. We each had a superhero name. We each had a Godzilla Monster name, and a wrestling name.
I was Nix, Capt. Pox, Rodan, and The Masked Vagina.
I never figured why we looked up to Ducky. He was our fashion. He made our fads and broke them.
And he always got his way, could lay any chick he wanted. Except for me. And to be honest, sometimes I thought about it.

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art day 24 – [music] Fuller (trance)

Just a little trance track i threw together. Another contender for the “could use a little more melody” camp.

The mildly dancable

Fuller
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art day 22 – [music] Powder (electronic)

This about sums up my mood. Sorry for the quality. I couldn’t sleep and i just knocked this out with midi instruments.

Powder

art day 21 – [crafts] making a bamboo calligraphy pen

A couple folks asked how i made a bamboo nib pen for calligraphy, so here’s the quick and dirty version.

When i got into calligraphy, i noticed that i was … well, not very good at it. Since i’m lazy, i looked for ways to try to make my general sloppiness into my “style.”

Then i discovered Japanese bamboo calligraphy. I found bamboo calligraphy-nib pens on an art site, but thought, “why pay $15 for one of these when i already have a backyard full of bamboo?”

The neighbor's bamboo is trying to eat our yard

The neighbor's bamboo is trying to eat our yard

Start with a stalk that fits comfortably in your hand. It doesn’t have to be as thin as a regular pen, but you want something you can hold comfortably.

Using clippers to cut the bamboo

Regular garden clippers can get through the green stalk, but you still have to work at it. I usually twist it around and cut it from various sides.

You want it about the length of a paintbrush.

You want it about the length of a paintbrush.

Trim off the excess branches and cut it down to proper size.

See how bamboo is flat on one edge? I think it’s best to have that flat spot resting against your thumb. So hold the stick and see how it feels most comfortable. Think about how the nib will rest against the paper as you hold it.

Then use a utility knife to cut away at the proper section. At the beginning, start about an 2 or 3 centimeters from the end and scrape at outer hull of the bamboo. It will get easier to cut deeper as you go. Take your time. Eventually you’ll have a 30 degree plane cut to the end.

Your initial cuts will be at about a 30 degree angle

Your initial cuts will be at about a 30 degree angle

Once you have that, use a scalloping motion (sort of cut down and pull back up as you go) to flatten out the last centimeter or so of the nib.

After the initial cut, start to flatten out the last centimeter

After the initial cut, start to flatten out the last centimeter

Next you’ll slowly trim the sides of the nib to make it the width you want. Again use the scalloping motion so you more or less have a flat edge leading to the tip.

Finished nib

Use scissors to flatten the end of the nib. Keep in mind you want the nib tip to be as thin as you can (i mean thickness, you can make it as wide as you like.) Bamboo is strong and pliable, so after you trim it all down, feel free to scrape at it till it’s quite thin.

You hold it more or less like a pen, but with the flat nib parallell to the surface.

You hold it more or less like a pen, but with the flat nib parallell to the surface.

There are other guides on how to use a calligraphy pen. Here’s a nice one and here’s a video.

Luke calligraphy

I started by doing a calligraphy for a visiting friend.

Gra calligraphy

Then did one for myself.

Questions?