Google Maestro!

How did we ever get along without Google?

Encyclopedias with outdated info, libraries with business hours, telephone books for our region only, trial and error, time, gas, money......

In the middle of record breaking cold this winter the passenger side heater in my car went kaput! With a few hastily typed words into Google I was soon knee deep into car trouble blogdom. Within a few minutes I learned that I wasn't alone in my frigid Jeep and that the dealer fix was nearly 2k. Not to fear, however, some handy, entrepreneurial, mechanic had devised a cheap fix and told me all about it on the blog. So for 80.00 I have heat again, and although the dual control is now relegated to just the driver at least the passenger has heat again.

The joy of my life at the moment is my i-robot, Roomba! He cleans under the sofas, around table legs, behind things, even under the stove and when he's all done he goes back to his power dock and recharges himself, but last week he developed a limp. He told me I needed to clean his brushes, which I did to no avail, so I took him all apart and there were no discernible issues. As dog hair began to accumulate in the corners I was really feeling his loss and then above my head up popped the little Google light bulb again. Within five minutes I learned that the bearing caps came off and required cleaning (the printed manual failed to mention this). Within another five minutes Roomba was back at work with smooth precision.

My laptop computer was having issues with sound (there wasn't any) so Kent, thinking he could fix it, made it worse and took several hours to do so. Dah dah tah da! Google to the rescue! In three minutes I found a blog of folks with the same problem and geek squad soldiers with the fix. Another ten minutes and I was hearing loud and clear again!

A couple of hot spring day's in a row reminded me that the bedroom ceiling fan had gone on the fritz last Fall. I didn't want to waste money on another dud of a fan again so with the aid of Google I was able to research which brand, motor, and air output was best. Then I found a place with comparisons and ratings for just about every fan in existence and even found the one I wanted wholesale! It did take a few hours to achieve, but I doubt it would have even been possible without the good 'ol web!

Just a few moments ago, bearing a commission from my husband (who stands in awe of my Google abilities) I cracked my knuckles and Googled how to fix the water pump on the boat. It took less than a minute and the information is on its way to his email box!

Next stop is to peruse the wonders of YouTube for a "how to" tutorial on fly fishing in an effort to out-cast Kent on our next vacation!

Inspiration out of defeat!!!

At last! I think I've found my "tools"!

Whenever we travel, we take in the museums, go to art shows, and wander galleries. When I'm there I get all inspired, because I just know I could do a better job of it than at least 80% of the artists out there...including some of the masters! Have you ever taken a close look at a Matisse or Monet'?

Full up of artistic inspiration, my fingers are practically itching to produce work that will amaze the world. But when I get home and set to work, I'm confronted by my life long issue once again. It's not my drawing ability or lack of subject matter, time or inspiration...it's the tools!

After years of struggling with water-color paint, pastels, oil paint, acrylic paint, pen and ink, colored pencils and finally oil pastels I just couldn't get comfortable with any of them no matter how much I practiced or how well works turned out.

Then one day I decided to do an oil pastel portrait of our dog Leelu, I started it on water color paper and even blocked out the colors with water color so there wouldn't be so much white to cover. On bumpy paper this is an issue as the pastels want to stay on top of the bumps making the picture look like a 3rd grade coloring project unless they are blended down into the crevices (smooth surfaces don't have enough tooth to grab the pastels). Then I couldn't get my oil pastels to blend without copious amounts of rubbing with expensive rubbing sticks that tended to get mucked up with the wrong color. In a moment of inattention I picked up the stick which had been used to blend olive green and attempted to blend white and pink with disastrous results.

Nearly ready to throw the whole thing in the trash and with a "nothing to lose" attitude I bought some turpentine on a whim and set to work with a brush in an attempt at reclamation.

WoooHooo! It worked! I could blend, add, take away and rework to my hearts content. I have found my medium! Some people might ask why I don't just use paint to begin with, in fact I've asked myself that question.....aside from issues of mixing the same exact color twice on a pallet and having to open little tubes all the time, the pastels have an inherent soft quality I like, and it's just plain fun blending the colors right there on the canvas. Kent put it best when he observed that rather than putting specific pieces of furniture in a predetermined place in a room, I liked to get a bunch of furniture in there and move it around until it looked right.

I have run into some technical difficulties with colors bleeding through on water color paper and slick spots on canvas, but I'm still in love with the method. Much experimentation is taking place with blending mediums, brushes and canvases, so each work of art will probably have it's set of flaws for a while, but finally I'm at a place where it's hard to walk by the studio without putting at least a lick or two on the current project!