Iron #1

Dear Sarah--Day 343 of our daily drawing exercise

Hi Nikki,

Last week I went into a consignment store and was drawn to four very old irons. I resisted buying one that day, but have since been back twice to “visit” them, each time debating whether to buy one to use as a doorstop for my deck door. Two of them (the ones I like best) have wooden handles, which would not do well in Victoria’s damp climate. But now that I think about it, I don’t leave the door open in cold, wet weather, so I could just bring the iron inside for the winter. I may have to go back and buy one! They are quite compelling objects—and really heavy!! The first electric iron was invented in 1882, but sad irons (sad means solid in Old English), were still in use in the early 20thC. I mean, I don’t love ironing, but at least I don’t have to fill my iron with hot coals to heat them up!

Here is Iron #1, weighing in at about 4 pounds.

Hi Sarah -

I didn’t know the origin of the term ‘sad’ iron - thank you for enlightening me! They are cool objects, indeed… looking forward to seeing one at work as a door stop when I visit you next…

I returned to the iPad to tackle #2 in Amy Stewart’s series of art lessons… as usual, I didn’t quite follow directions, but hey - this is a safe place to embrace my rebellious side, right?

The poster below is not my work, but I wanted to share here in case there are any writer/performers in the area who may be interested.

The one we did last year was a lot of fun and ArtsPlace in Canmore is hosting another slam competition in February, so the timing of this workshop is perfect for anyone who wants to have a go at developing some spoken word poetry. Oh, actually - I repurposed my zany selfie from a few weeks back for a Facebook post to promote the slam…

This ability to easily manipulate after-the-fact is one of the great advantages of digital… though I guess I could draw on paper and then scan and manipulate later, which would maybe create a coolish hybrid effect.

Hm… more experiments ahead. Thank goodness we are not stopping when the year ends…

Cheers,
Nikki