Hi Everyone,
I've made it no secret that my favourite clay store is the online store http://shadesofclay.com/. It's run by our guild's past president, Marg Scott. Here's your opportunity to meet Marg and to peruse her supplies in person if you're in the Toronto area this weekend.
This coming weekend Marg (and her store) will be at the CreativFestival in Toronto. This annual event covers 200,000sq' of vendors, exhibitions, demos, book signings, make 'n takes, fashion shows and so much more. There are over 300 workshops held in conjuction with the festival. Workshops start October 15th; vendor sale starts October 17th and runs through to the 19th.
Along with many other guild members I'll be helping out at her booth. I'll be there on Sunday. While this may make me sound generous, it's not. I'm getting the better end of the deal as far as I'm concerned because she's paying booth staff with store credit! I think I've already spent my credit several times over in my head.
So come out and meet Marg and maybe meet some of the Southern Ontario Polymer Clay guild members (and maybe join the guild).
You can get more information here: http://shadesofclay.com/Articles/more/CreativFestival.html
Cheers,
Sandy
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
How my husband helps cure cancer in his spare time...
This blog entry is written by my husband about a hobby that you can participate in just by leaving your computer on. Please click on the links if you're interested in the topic, they provide much more information than I can provide here. It's very safe, much safer than opening e-mails. Feel free to leave comments if you want more information.
From my husband, Joe.
Almost a year ago I read an article about collaborative computing (definitely read the article in the link). Since then my spare computer that I rebuilt has run almost continuously, processing other people’s data. That’s the idea behind collaborative computing. I allow organizations such as CERN, LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) and Ontario Cancer Institute to use my computer to process the huge amounts of data their scientific endeavors create. Projects range from examining chess moves to looking for aliens with hundreds of ideas in between. All of this is controlled using a program called BOINC. If you go here, you can read more about BOINC and how to get involved in collaborative computing.
My personal favourite is Einstien@home through LIGO. I read a book about this project a few years ago and now I am a part of it. This daunting goal of proving Einstein’s theory about gravity waves uses kilometer long measuring devices to detect atomic size disturbances in our surroundings. To see how I’m doing, go to Boinc Account Manager (BAM).
Back to my claim though. A few months ago one of my original projects, lhc@home was nearing the end of its goal, which was to calibrate the new particle accelerator at CERN. Looking around for other projects, I decided to join the Work Community Grid. This organization allows smaller facilities that might not have the expertise or facilities to make use of collaborative computing. I believe IBM is the major supporter, with many other corporate sponsors. I decided to help in the search for cancer and for a better strain of rice.
“Using the power of World Community Grid, scientists at the Ontario Cancer Institute (OCI), Princess Margaret Hospital, and the University Health Network will process the existing 86 million images of proteins that have been screened in the high-throughput crystallization pipeline at HWI. World Community Grid will run a CrystalVision program that the researchers at OCI have developed to analyze the features of individual images to determine the outcome of the crystallization screen — crystal, micro crystal, phase separation, skin, precipitate, or no change.”
A small amount of this analysis is done on my computer, but thousands of participants like me make a huge contribution to science.
That’s how I cure cancer in my spare time.
Joe
From my husband, Joe.
Almost a year ago I read an article about collaborative computing (definitely read the article in the link). Since then my spare computer that I rebuilt has run almost continuously, processing other people’s data. That’s the idea behind collaborative computing. I allow organizations such as CERN, LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) and Ontario Cancer Institute to use my computer to process the huge amounts of data their scientific endeavors create. Projects range from examining chess moves to looking for aliens with hundreds of ideas in between. All of this is controlled using a program called BOINC. If you go here, you can read more about BOINC and how to get involved in collaborative computing.
My personal favourite is Einstien@home through LIGO. I read a book about this project a few years ago and now I am a part of it. This daunting goal of proving Einstein’s theory about gravity waves uses kilometer long measuring devices to detect atomic size disturbances in our surroundings. To see how I’m doing, go to Boinc Account Manager (BAM).
Back to my claim though. A few months ago one of my original projects, lhc@home was nearing the end of its goal, which was to calibrate the new particle accelerator at CERN. Looking around for other projects, I decided to join the Work Community Grid. This organization allows smaller facilities that might not have the expertise or facilities to make use of collaborative computing. I believe IBM is the major supporter, with many other corporate sponsors. I decided to help in the search for cancer and for a better strain of rice.
“Using the power of World Community Grid, scientists at the Ontario Cancer Institute (OCI), Princess Margaret Hospital, and the University Health Network will process the existing 86 million images of proteins that have been screened in the high-throughput crystallization pipeline at HWI. World Community Grid will run a CrystalVision program that the researchers at OCI have developed to analyze the features of individual images to determine the outcome of the crystallization screen — crystal, micro crystal, phase separation, skin, precipitate, or no change.”
A small amount of this analysis is done on my computer, but thousands of participants like me make a huge contribution to science.
That’s how I cure cancer in my spare time.
Joe
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
So this is a little embarrasing...before and after shots
Hi Everyone,My father and his girlfriend are coming to visit for a week and it was time to tackle the hobby room again so that it wasn't too bad. Not that they'll be spending any time in it, but it was a good excuse to force myself into tidying.
I have an amazing tolerance for working in clutter and my work space accumulates stuff until I'm left with six square inches of surface.
Sometimes I only clean up enough to find what I'm looking for. And other times I feel the urge to completely do a re-do. Those are far between.Fortunately, as I was thinking of cleaning, my clayer friend Janice called and said she wanted to get out of the house and could she come over. I said sure as long as she didn't mind watching me tidy.
So with good company I got quite a bit done. These are before and after photos. They're very similar to the photos I took over a year ago here.You can see my new Hamilton Beach oven that I bought last week. So far so good with it. I'll be curious to see how much stronger Kato clay is when baking it at higher temperatures. And that's about it for now.
Janice and I spent the morning today introducing a new friend to clay. We did a mokume gane technique and Pam is thrilled. I had to leave my tin at Janice's but once I get it back I'll post photos of both Janice's and my work.
And for those that are partially living travel vicariously through our travel bug Maple Bear, I'm happy to say he accomplished another mission and got his photo taken at Oktoberfest. He's now going on a tour of Germany for a while.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Adventures with my new baking oven...
Hi Everyone,
I was lucky enough to take a wonderful class from Donna Kato a couple of weeks ago. I haven't written about it because I'm waiting to finish my pieces (though you can check out some of the photos and impressions at http://sopcg.blogspot.com/.)
In order to finish the pieces I need to buy a bigger toaster oven. Also, if you're not already aware, Donna recommends raising the temperature to cure her clay to 325F. That's a big jump from the 275F I'd been using and I know that my little toaster oven isn't up for the job.
So I looked around this last weekend. My friend, Janice, loves her Hamilton Beach oven but it turns out that the stores don't carry last year's model and the new one is almost $50 more. So as I was shopping around I came acros a Euro-Pro Bravetti Professional convection oven. It was a clearance model and marked down $60 from $160. It had a lot of features that I liked, including a pizza stone that I thought would make a perfect tile. And if it cost $160 then it must be a decent oven, right?
Brought it home and turned it on. First warning was that it took almost a half hour to reach temperature. Not so much fun. The fan is a bit louder than I would liked initially but it settled down. Seemed to hold temperature for about 15 minutes but then temperature started climbing.
Several tests later and have come to the realization that after about 40 minutes the temperature control no longer works. I have a digital thermometer with a probe that will beep upon reaching whatever temperature I set it to. Even setting the dial to 275 causes the oven to reach temperatures greater than 350. Since Donna recommends curing for an hour as the final bake and since I often forget that pieces are in the oven, I can't afford that continued increase.
So, needless to say, the oven is going back.
The Black and Decker is on sale right now at Canadian Tire for half price. I might try that one out as well and if nothing else works I'll go with the tried and true Hamilton Beach.
That's it for now,
Sandy
I was lucky enough to take a wonderful class from Donna Kato a couple of weeks ago. I haven't written about it because I'm waiting to finish my pieces (though you can check out some of the photos and impressions at http://sopcg.blogspot.com/.)
In order to finish the pieces I need to buy a bigger toaster oven. Also, if you're not already aware, Donna recommends raising the temperature to cure her clay to 325F. That's a big jump from the 275F I'd been using and I know that my little toaster oven isn't up for the job.
So I looked around this last weekend. My friend, Janice, loves her Hamilton Beach oven but it turns out that the stores don't carry last year's model and the new one is almost $50 more. So as I was shopping around I came acros a Euro-Pro Bravetti Professional convection oven. It was a clearance model and marked down $60 from $160. It had a lot of features that I liked, including a pizza stone that I thought would make a perfect tile. And if it cost $160 then it must be a decent oven, right?
Brought it home and turned it on. First warning was that it took almost a half hour to reach temperature. Not so much fun. The fan is a bit louder than I would liked initially but it settled down. Seemed to hold temperature for about 15 minutes but then temperature started climbing.
Several tests later and have come to the realization that after about 40 minutes the temperature control no longer works. I have a digital thermometer with a probe that will beep upon reaching whatever temperature I set it to. Even setting the dial to 275 causes the oven to reach temperatures greater than 350. Since Donna recommends curing for an hour as the final bake and since I often forget that pieces are in the oven, I can't afford that continued increase.
So, needless to say, the oven is going back.
The Black and Decker is on sale right now at Canadian Tire for half price. I might try that one out as well and if nothing else works I'll go with the tried and true Hamilton Beach.
That's it for now,
Sandy
Sunday, September 28, 2008
And now, a message from the president...
Hee hee, I never thought I'd be able to say that.
I've just become the president of the Southern Ontario Polymer Clay Guild. Mostly by virtue of no one else volunteering and all the other non-president positions were taken.
I've been with the Guild for three years now and it's provided so much to me. I have met some amazing women (and a man, Nathan) whom I'm very honoured to call friends. I've had the opportunity to learn from the best (Donna Kato, Marla Frankenburg, Lisa Pavelka as well as our own members) and the Guild has enriched my life in many ways. So it's time to give back and help out where I can.
I won't be doing the job alone by any means and I think I'm actually more of a figurehead position. We have so many other kind and wonderful people helping me out including Cathy, Laurie, Marg, Jacey, Barb, Sharon and others.
We've also abandoned the idea of a website and now have a new blog. You can see it at http://sopcg.blogspot.com/. We got the idea from the new Montreal Guild website at http://clayguildmtl.canalblog.com/.
If you're in the Toronto area, please come out to a meeting (the last Sunday of every month except for April and December). All people are welcome, regardless of skill level. We're very generous with our time, patience, and knowledge. My life has truly been blessed by meeting everyone at Guild.
Oh, and as Gail correctly pointed out in the comments below, I do owe a HUGE, HUGE, GREAT BIG, thanks to Marg, the previous president and one of the founding members of the Guild. At my first meeting she took me aside, introduced me to others, and made sure I was comfortable. Marg has been instrumental at making the Guild what it is.
As an added bonus for those thinking of joining the Guild, you get a 10% discount on purchases made through Marg's on-line clay store - http://shadesofclay.com/.
Cheers,
Sandy
I've just become the president of the Southern Ontario Polymer Clay Guild. Mostly by virtue of no one else volunteering and all the other non-president positions were taken.
I've been with the Guild for three years now and it's provided so much to me. I have met some amazing women (and a man, Nathan) whom I'm very honoured to call friends. I've had the opportunity to learn from the best (Donna Kato, Marla Frankenburg, Lisa Pavelka as well as our own members) and the Guild has enriched my life in many ways. So it's time to give back and help out where I can.
I won't be doing the job alone by any means and I think I'm actually more of a figurehead position. We have so many other kind and wonderful people helping me out including Cathy, Laurie, Marg, Jacey, Barb, Sharon and others.
We've also abandoned the idea of a website and now have a new blog. You can see it at http://sopcg.blogspot.com/. We got the idea from the new Montreal Guild website at http://clayguildmtl.canalblog.com/.
If you're in the Toronto area, please come out to a meeting (the last Sunday of every month except for April and December). All people are welcome, regardless of skill level. We're very generous with our time, patience, and knowledge. My life has truly been blessed by meeting everyone at Guild.
Oh, and as Gail correctly pointed out in the comments below, I do owe a HUGE, HUGE, GREAT BIG, thanks to Marg, the previous president and one of the founding members of the Guild. At my first meeting she took me aside, introduced me to others, and made sure I was comfortable. Marg has been instrumental at making the Guild what it is.
As an added bonus for those thinking of joining the Guild, you get a 10% discount on purchases made through Marg's on-line clay store - http://shadesofclay.com/.
Cheers,
Sandy
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
A polymer clay box I really like from Germany
Hi Everyone,
Occasionally I'll check my Sitemeter statistics to see who has been looking at my blog. I particularly like the country section. And sometimes I'll go looking for a clayer in one of the countries and see if they've got a blog or Flickr account. I've somewhat consistently had a visitor from United Arab Emirates but have so far been unsuccessful in locating that person. I tried again tonight but still can't find that person.
So then I went looking for Switzerland and somehow got sidetracked onto the German guild site which you can see here. And then I came across Anke's blog here (which has the least intuitive web address) and fell in love with her box for ATCs that she's created.
I love everything about this. The colours, the textures, the look, did I mention the colours?
I might have to get into mosaics - what a wonderful way to combine moods and emotions.
It's somehow appropriate to focus on a German artist since my travel bug Maple Bear (see the geocaching post a few posts earlier) is in Bavaria at the moment trying to get to Oktoberfest.
Cheers,
Sandy
Occasionally I'll check my Sitemeter statistics to see who has been looking at my blog. I particularly like the country section. And sometimes I'll go looking for a clayer in one of the countries and see if they've got a blog or Flickr account. I've somewhat consistently had a visitor from United Arab Emirates but have so far been unsuccessful in locating that person. I tried again tonight but still can't find that person.
So then I went looking for Switzerland and somehow got sidetracked onto the German guild site which you can see here. And then I came across Anke's blog here (which has the least intuitive web address) and fell in love with her box for ATCs that she's created.
I love everything about this. The colours, the textures, the look, did I mention the colours?
I might have to get into mosaics - what a wonderful way to combine moods and emotions.
It's somehow appropriate to focus on a German artist since my travel bug Maple Bear (see the geocaching post a few posts earlier) is in Bavaria at the moment trying to get to Oktoberfest.
Cheers,
Sandy
Gasp, groan, signing up to do 100 pushups
This is just a short note. I came across http://hundredpushups.com/ through someone else's blog that wasn't related to clay.
I have never had upper body strength but have always wanted it. But haven't had the discipline to go do it. But this website provides a way to do it with three days a week, 1/2 hour total each week.
So now I'm making it public to everyone who visits. I am committing to attempting 100 consecutive pushups. Theoretically within 6 short weeks I can be doing them (though the program admits it may take longer).
I've taken the test and I'm a pathetic level 1 (though I didn't need to take the test to figure that out).
Check out the website if you're interested.
Anyone else want to join me?
Cheers,
Sandy
I have never had upper body strength but have always wanted it. But haven't had the discipline to go do it. But this website provides a way to do it with three days a week, 1/2 hour total each week.
So now I'm making it public to everyone who visits. I am committing to attempting 100 consecutive pushups. Theoretically within 6 short weeks I can be doing them (though the program admits it may take longer).
I've taken the test and I'm a pathetic level 1 (though I didn't need to take the test to figure that out).
Check out the website if you're interested.
Anyone else want to join me?
Cheers,
Sandy
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