What to say? Thank You!

The day of thanks. I am thankful every day, from the people at the bank that are always cheery and friendly, to the mechanics I know near my shop/studio. I am thankful for many things and do try to impress upon people my gratitude for their kindness, consideration, time, and effort.

 And now some art.

 I have a facebook fan page for my artwork, like it, like it, like it!
https://www.facebook.com/themetalartdude

Smashed and Fun

Bruised, bleeding, burned, smelling like electricity, metal, sweat, paint, grease, and dirt. Welcome to my world, my work. Hazards of the job? Yep. It's my life, and I'm happy. My job is dirty, hot, I melt metal, swirling it together into little circles joining two pieces of steel. I don't go to some nice office or studio, just a  garage, but it is a great space for what I do. I'm noisy, messy, dirty, and sometimes foul mouthed. Hey, smash your finger and tell me how you react?  I make things, cute things, robot things, whimsical things, whatever I want to make things. Mostly though, I have fun. Do you get to be messy at work? Stomp through an old junkyard looking for parts? Pick through oily, greasy scrap metal? Cover your hands in paint for days? Meet interesting people and hear their stories? I do.

 The robot legs and head are from the Atlanta Mini-Makers Faire at Georgia Tech. I had a good day, sold a few pieces. Funny thing I don't think most of those students had a clue that I was one of them, would they've looked at me differently? Treated me better?

Yes, a bunny, a rabbit. A drawing on the chalkboard by my daughter inspired me to make the rabbit. 

Art, being quiet and alone

Back again at square one. Or maybe 5. Sometimes, sometimes, I lose count, try as I may to find it. It is great at hiding, but maybe, just maybe I'm not looking.
I've been quiet lately, not much talking on the phone, no texts, a few emails, some brief encounters with friends. It is quiet in my life for now, except for that little bundle of 10 year old joy! My sanity has stayed with me because of such a smart and wise young one. But to tell the truth I miss things, mostly the little things, walking and holding hands, being in someone's presence that warm glowing feeling, kissing, hugging, and being more than just me.
Being alone, it's good, I'm not sad, I have this amazing freedom now, being on my own, away, just a little further away. At least I have her though the spider she loves me!

And scared little miss away!

Doing a lot of artwork lately, busy, busy, busy. It is good! It is good. Thank you! I feel better about things now. My life has changed, who would have thought I'd hear the water falling, seeing the geese flying, hear the ducks quacking, quacking, quacking, and the silence is mine.

Lost Again

Where did it all go? I still feel it, the past and the present, you dropped it off in the trash. Or did you recycle it? Probably, that's why I can't shake the sadness. 
Now, my plans have fallen apart, try not to make that mistake again, trust in someone else, no, really, I'll probably make that mistake again and again, until I figure out nothing. So, what to do? What to do?

And then the spider he kissed stung him, wrapped him up, and left town.

Cows, cows, and maybe more cows

Cows, cows, and more cows. Because why not. 

Something funny and witty to say? Nahhh, not today.

Leaving things behind...because sometimes naked is better

Do you know? The past is what makes up what we are, who I am. But yet it drags me down, if I let it. And sometimes, yes, sometimes I do. I fight to forget the past because I want to move on and live in the present, but I can not escape my past. Not that I've done something wrong that I regret, it's more of a time to let go, I've got a good present, things are looking better. Best of all, I am hopeful, not dreadful of my future. It has taken a long time, it seems but yet, it has only been a blip. I've grown, I've changed, I'm better.

Things are going to change, I can feel it....

And Usually on Wednesday I have cake

Well, no, not really. It's time, spring, that time of the year when things start to turn green, right after everything has turned yellow. I was down for 3 weeks with a broken welder, got it fixed supposedly. But the place I took it didn't fix it and charged me a lot of money, so I took it back, was refunded, and went to buy a new welder. Still getting used to the new welder. I've finished the deer for the master gardeners' demo garden.

really? It's the correct way on my computer...arrrggghh! Buck

Doe and fawn

And I've made a few other things lately. The owl was a custom order.

Owl

 

Helper Robot

 This little robot hopefully found a new home. I've been leaving a few like these around Carrollton, GA. Hopefully I'll be leaving some in Atlanta and Decatur, GA.

Red Dog

https://www.etsy.com/listing/127736527/red-dog

Many more projects coming down the line, I've revamped on of the flamingos, crazy only the pink and red ones sold, not blue, nor green, not even orange. Strange indeed. ;-)
A pond drain cover with a bottle tree protruding from it is in a pond some where in Ranburne, AL. I made some bird legs for a friend that is going to create some ceramic birds on top of the legs, can't wait to see what becomes of them. I've got a few pieces to work on for the master gardeners' demo garden, an art in the park piece for this summer, a garden stake for the Scrap Bin, http://www.scrapbin.org/ , and a tree to hold some hummingbird feeders. Ohh, crap, I better get busy!

Beaten Broken Blue

My hands are cut, bruised, burned, stained, and abused. They are my tools to create my work. Try as I might they do get damaged, covered in grease, oil, and whatever. Metal pieces push into my skin, I feel them through the heat of the steel. Still I go on, I create. And this is some of what I've done recently. When will it pay off? When will I stop?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/124964189/the-salty-dog-original-metal-art

https://www.etsy.com/listing/124966562/penguin-metal-art-sculpture

https://www.etsy.com/listing/124298764/blue-cat-metal-art-sculpture

https://www.etsy.com/listing/123758497/a-blue-legged-cat

Dogs, deer, and pigs Oh My!!!

A dog, a bearing dog...

bearing-hound-original-metal-art

Another dog!

A spotted flying pink pig!

 D'oh! A deer, a silver deer.  silver-deer-original-metal-art-sculpture

A Flying Pink Pig, oh, my!!

a-flying-pig-original-garden-art 

So, that's what's been going on lately. Happy New Year to everyone! Last year was fun, last year is done, and this year will hopefully be a great one!