Ow OW.

I was hoping to share some photos of a finished knit hat or brass brooch or pewter mug,

but instead I decided to remove a small, yet essential part of my fingertip.

It turns out that my urge to get a tetanus shot was prophetic.

This is becoming epic.

Addiction?

I just spent 15 hours in the studio, and no, I don't have anything due tomorrow.

OW.

I got something yesterday that every metalsmith needs.

It wasn't nearly as fun as a new hammer or set of files.

It was a tetanus shot.

Green pizza.

There hasn't been much time for cooking, so I thought I'd dip into the archives for some good food from the past. Here's some pizza that we made back in California, when avocados were 10 for a dollar and our kitchen had natural light.

If I remember correctly, it was pizza dough from Trader Joe's, cheddar cheese,

mushrooms, and avocados. We added sriracha sauce to taste. It was good.

La pomme d'amour, the wolf peach, or Lycopersicon esculentum.

You know how people used to think that tomatoes were poisonous?

It could be because of pewter plates. Historically, pewter was an alloy containing up to 15% lead. The lead wasn't much of an issue unless it came into contact with something acidic - such as tomatoes. The acid from the tomatoes made the lead leach out into the food, giving the eater lead poisoning.

By the way, modern pewter is actually a very safe material.

It is about 96% tin and the 4% copper and 2% antimony.

No one puts lead in it anymore, so it's safe to eat and

drink from, as long as you use a lead-free solder.

I guess I'll have to start wearing perfume.

While trying to understand pewter and its place in the world, I made a perfume container.

I had some suggestions during the critique for a larger handle

on the stopper... something that is easy to pull out and might

use some extra little detail or unexpected material.

Never show fools and children unfinished work.

In class, we are making brooches out of random found objects. Here's mine halfway through completion. That's a plastic goldfish tail, a river rock, and a glass piece from a bottle. The weird, chair-like thing in the middle is the part I made, and what ties them all together into a brooch.

Here is the finished piece:



It's totally weird and goofy and fun and unlike anything
I've ever even considered making. Now I have to wear it
for a week and have pictures taken every day.

This is a pewter piece from the workshop. It needs a lot of clean-up, but it's getting there.

Flour + Salt + Yeast + Water

Jake's been baking bread like a mad-man. Well, actually, like a baker.