LAW 31 THE ART OF MAKING BOOKS

This winter i decided that i was going to spend time learning new book making techniques. For years i made and taught Japanese book binding techniques; i was however ultimately unhappy with the way the books opened, using stab binding techniques did not allow the books to open flat.

This one is sold!

 So i went on the web and did some research, found some, tons, of interesting sites and taught myself both the French stitch binding technique and the Coptic stitch.

The Bold Buccaneer

Since we live on a boat and have lots of friends who sail i thought, why not make blank books that could be used for Captain's Logs? Cool idea huh?

Who could resist a mermaid?

Fate stepped in when a large piece of Marine blue Sunforger cloth came floating down the river. Mungo fished it out of the drink and i have been making book covers out of it ever since.

Or this little beauty who wants you to look into her mirror

I have to admit that the Sunforger cloth came with its own special challenges, the biggest being that PVA glues do not like to stick to the fabric. It took way more time and trouble than it was worth. Once more Mungo came to the rescue. He found TearMender; an all natural latex based glue that has been around since the 30's. It works wonderfully. I recommend it highly. It appears to be available only on the web.

Wanting to personalize the books; i mean after all, just how many blank blue books could i make before i got bored, i decided that i would find interesting marine themes and hand embroider the front covers. Thus keeping my interest in the projects and fulfilling my personal need and interest in fine handwork.

I hope you like the images, almost all of them are available for sale: feel free to contact me, or check out my Etsy site, gailelwell @ Floating Empire Works.

Enjoy
more later,
Morgainne

LAW 30: OUR NEW SHIPMATE

Magellan in the head, he is very helpful

Magellan, a 12.6 pound, 7 year old ball of love joined our crew on April 16th. He is with out a doubt the sweetest boy kitty that we have lived with in a very long while. He has adapted to shipboard life beautifully.

Magellan in the loft window, it's kitty TV

 He is a great personal assistant and a talented art maker in his own right!
 You should see some of the topo maps he creates in his studio, hmmm, litter box. Just thought i would share some images of the boy.
later,
Morgainne

 

 

 

 

Magellan on stairs, educating Mungo about electricity, "Now here's your problem"

Oh yes, he has already figured out how to jump of the boat on to the finger pier, watch out ducks!

Resting after a busy morning

LAW #29 Yesterday

entrance to the gallery

was the opening reception for the Faculty Art Show at Carroll CC "The Gang, Past and Present."  This show is the last one that Maggie Ball will curate.  The turnout for the reception was amazing:  students, old and new friends, all crowded the gallery, talked art, and ate food.

Maggie with Aaron and Holly

After last call at the gallery the art faculty repaired to Maggie's, sat, drank, talked some more, and generally enjoyed connecting and re-connecting, especially with Buckshot the Pig.  Yes, there was a Pig at the party. . .

Buckshot begging for apple slices

More Later,
Morgainne

LAW #28 Cacophany Spring

This being the first spring we have spent on the river here, we were not prepared for the truly amazing variety of bird life here on the Upper Middle River.  Cacophony of course refers to the multitude of geese.  These flights of geese (the migrants, not the homeboys, but that's another story) seem to start about 3AM, rain or shine.  They've got great rhythm, but melody and lyrics?….huh!  Watching and listening to them calls to mind the stories of passenger pigeons filling the skies in earlier centuries.

Last week we saw the first Osprey, and early arrival (and a big one!)  Of course we have been watching the ubiquitous gulls all winter, along with a spectacular pair of Bald Eagles and two Blue Herons that insist that they own the river. 

The ducks are coming back as well.  A pair of them have taken up a quacking station on our finger pier and are apparently trying to nest on the roof membrane--thanks guys, but not interested.  Move along.

There's a also pair of starlings building a nest in the starboard stern piling of our slip--much fun to watch as we go up and down the stairs to the loft.

Other signs of spring are visible/audible hereabouts.  The first boat was splashed late last week.  People are everywhere on the hard, prepping their boats for another summer of fun on the water.  Oh yea! 

There was another melody of the springtime overture this weekend as well:  the ice cream truck was heard wandering through the neighborhood.

Now if we can just get them to stop at the marina. . . .

LAW #27, Rehabilitation

LAW 27, Rehabilitation. . .

. . . is a very long and arduous road to go down.  I'm not sure that i am up to the emotional and physical toll that will be demanded:  but after a roller coaster weekend with our dearly beloved feline companion Kallisti, i can see that may be where we are headed.  Kali (as she is known) is a 17 1/2 year old lilac point Siamese, who has shared our home and life since she was about 10 weeks old.  All cats are special, she more than most as she is the granddaughter of the dearly beloved Mungo Jerry through Loki, his son.  Mungo Jerry is another tale entirely, but suffice to say he was the prince of cats and the real owner of Mungo Jerry's Fat Cat Cafe which we ran for a number of years on his behalf.

But I digress, as usual.

After an emergency visit on Saturday, Kali was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.  After we were pummeled with treatment options, none of the promising, we elected to take her home, make her comfortable, and try to come to terms with the all too soon inevitable loss of our cat child.  She seemed fine Saturday, the drugs apparently working, but sometime Sunday morning she had a stroke which has left her partially paralyzed on her left side.  After a day filled with tears, and of course some internet research, we've decided, at least for right now, that she's not ready to end the game.  She is eating and drinking and trying very hard to make things work.  The cat may be Siamese, but she has a lot of Tortitude (if you're a cat owner, you KNOW what that means.  As an example of her attitude, here's a brief video of me trying to teach her to go up the stairs last year). 

So keep her and us in your thoughts as she undergoes PT.  Send Tuna Love!

More Later

Morgainne

LAW 26 THE SOUND OF THE WIND

Changes . There is a remarkable difference in the sounds of the summer  and winter wind. Having lived most of my life surrounded by the trees of the great temperate forests of America you would think that this is something i would have previously recognized. I imagine on some sub-conscious level i had. However, not until i had lived through both a summer and most of a winter here on the Empire  did i become fully aware of this phenomena.

Of course i had heard the difference in the winds before: but in the busy structured schedule of the mundane, everyday routine of work, school, etc. i had not been fully engaged in what was happening all around me.

After all, 'who can see the wind?' Neither you or i… but

Living on the river on the Floating Empire: living with the natural rhythms of my body instead of the demands of societal structure has allowed me to fine tune my awareness of the difference. Surprising, unless the winds are hitting gale force speeds you don't really see the winds of winter the same way you see the wind of summer. Winter winds here on the Middle River are mainly out of the north: since the river runs primarily north/south this results in very, very, very low tides during major winter weather events. The north wind effectively teaming up with the tide pushes all of the water out of the river into the bay. Last week we were literally 'floating' on the mud of the river bottom. Needless to say no one got off the boat that day, or the next.

I for one will be very happy to hear and see the winds of summer again.

More later,
Morgainne

GOOD MORNING JUST A NOTE

Alright, we are alive and well, and floating, albeit cold. We just got our new computer yesterday; which in case you were wondering is why we haven't been posting. We will be up and back to sharing with you  real soon now. Take care, stay warm and cheer spring on!

More later,
Morgainne