Dogs, Dogs, Dogs

Silly Puppy

https://www.etsy.com/listing/180948925/silly-puppy


The Salty Dog

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

Wire hair Terrier

https://www.etsy.com/listing/173924665/wire-hair-dog

But I do make cats, and flamingos, and owls, and robots, and moose!
So, come back for more, maybe, just maybe next time I share a story.

A little about Today

Today has been another frustrating day. My car is still in the shop, undiagnosed. I do have access to another car but hate to ask to use it. I am a burden on my parents. I have been unable to find any steady employment. Why? I'm not really sure. College degree? Check, Georgia Tech. Experience? Check, lots of different experience. Willingness to do almost anything? Check.

I was hoping to get a job with an organization that I have been volunteering with for over a year now. There is a position that is open, I'm qualified, have done the work while volunteering, and want and need the job. I have been recommended by current employees of said organization. What have I done for this organization as a volunteer? Good question. I've repaired several pieces of metal furniture welding things back together. I've also fixed many other pieces of furniture, re-upholstered a lot of dining chairs so that they have sold, found out many of the items that are donated were/are worth a lot more than they knew, hello antique and design knowledge, assisted countless numbers of customers, researched many items to find prices, and probably some other things. I will hit the ground running and won't need training for the job, I've had it.Today I find out I still have to apply through a temp agency, did, go to the temp agency so that they can meet me before sending me to the organization that I have been with for over 1 year volunteering. Does this make sense to anyone? It's confusing the everliving, complete, and utter crap out of me. So, I have to go to a temp agency to be approved for a job with people that I've know for almost 1 and a half years? Yes, I am super frustrated. I'm sorry temp agency, I knew about the job before you all did, I know the manager, but yet I'll probably have to accept a lower pay for the first few months so that you all get paid?(If I do get the job) What exactly are you guys doing for me? A background check and a drug test. Do I have to study for that? I have a really boring background, except for that time in Alabama in the El Dorado convertible on the way to spring break in Destin, oh wait nothing happened.

I'm a smart individual, the smartest? Nope, I definitely know that, I screw up, I make mistakes, and I don't know everything, a lot, yes. But not everything, far from it. So, what do I know?
Gardening
Welding
Art
Information Technology
Design
Architecture
Energy Efficiency
Automotive repair basic
woodworking skills
carpentry
painting
baking
cooking
laundry

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/cto/2959597836.html

massage
cleaning
childcare
household repairs
animal care
Probably a lot more things that I do know that I don't even think about(not that I think that highly of myself, I unfortunately don't). I don't know how to fix a lot of things as evidenced by my car being in the shop. I do keep my old 64 Ford truck running on my own, except for the clutch, no thanks I wasn't going to do that job. I do what needs to be done and yet still I am broke, in debt, have no prospects, and I am at this time depressed about all of it. I've been lucky to have a very loving family that has helped and supported me through this time.

I work part time gardening for a neighbor, do handyman work for several people part time, take classes to be a master gardener, run my art business on etsy, metalartdude.etsy.com, have several galleries with my art work, work at 1 of the galleries part time, volunteer at 2 different places, contribute artwork to charities, sometimes help out my friend at her school(doing artsy things), help out my sister with her kids as much as possible, help around the house, and maintain and plant 2 gardens for family. I know a lot of people that do more. I'm not saying I work more than anyone at all.

Am I a lazy slacker? I don't want to be rich and famous, I would however like to pay my bills, have a place to live, food to eat, and some beer to drink. I can't even do that right now however and I feel like a loser in spite of it all.

And then I think do I want to work for an organization that can't just say "Hey, Joel, go to this temp agency and fill out the application, it's a formality, we want you for the position but we have to do this because of the rules of our organization." At one time I did, now, I'm not so sure.

The Cat is King

Once there was a cat that lived in a nice house with some very nice people. Now this cat thought he was the king of the household, when he Meowed, he got food. When he went to the door and meowed, he was let out, and when he was ready to come back in, he meowed and was let back into the house. He was fed, his litter box was cleaned, he had warm places to nap, and someone to scratch him on his back and between his ears, he was the king of the household. His people that he lived with knew it, he knew it, but the dogs in the neighborhood didn't know it.
The dogs in the neighborhood would chase him when they saw him and this would not do, this was no way to treat a king, especially when it interfered with nap time, sunning time, and resting time. What was a cat to do? The next day the cat woke up, meowed and was fed, meowed at the back door and was let out. He decided that he needed to figure out a way to keep the dogs away from his castle for he was the king, they just didn't know it. So, the cat laid in the sun and thought. He took a nap in the shade and thought. He cleaned his paws and he thought about what he could do to keep the dogs from chasing him. He was much too good to hiss at the dogs and clawing a dog on its nose never made things better, so he sat outside all day and thought and thought. Soon it was late so he went to the back door, meowed, and was let inside. He meowed and was fed dinner, Then it was time to lay on someone's lap and get a good head scratch, finally off to bed where he would wake up at 3 am and play with his people's feet, waking them up every night.
Maybe I'll finish the story later. Here's a cat that I made.

Ironic the Cat

Ironic the Cat

Car Ma Police

The Cat that came from the RR and the Stove

Welcome back your dreams are you ticket out. Just have a few new pieces of metal work. It's been hot here in GA and I haven't been welding as much as I would like, that's why I've done a lot of clocks lately. So, this is what's been welded up in the new studio in Newnan, GA. More info on these pieces at; Moosey-anti-loper-metal-wall-sculpture and Ironic-the-cat-metal-wall-sculpture

Dodo bird Antiloper Moose Ram

I've also made a few letters out of chain and tools, first a J and a S. Pictures soon. Also a new lowrider dog, a robot, a fish, and a snail to be painted, so those pictures will be a little longer coming to the internets. Thanks for reading.

What is Going on with Me? Or how I learned to stop worrying about the beans and weld.

1970 Oldsmobile 98 hubcap 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the latest hubcap clock for my etsy shop, metalartdude's metal shop. The new junkyard that I get most of my hubcaps from now just has a big pile of them and I have to research them to get the year and model. Sometimes the owner of the junkyard helps me out if I ask about something that I have no idea about, like the DeSoto with the spinner cap, probably from the 50's. That's still sitting by the bus in the junkyard. I didn't want to get it right now but I did take the Thunderbird from the early to mid 70's, it's sweet. There is a Mazda hubcap from the early 70's there also, maybe one day I'll pick that one up. But for now I have quite a few left in the trunk of my car, why yes, I do have junk in my trunk. ;P

So now time for some randomness. Lime green flamingo!

 And more flamingos!

Junkyards and Clocks

Walked around a junkyard.  It's a cool, sad, exciting, and an educational experience all at the same time. I went looking for hubcaps but I don't want to take the ones that I see as a complete set on a car. I feel bad using them for a clock when they could be used to finish another car restored to it's former glory and back on the road but then I wonder how long these cars from the 50's and 60's have been in this junkyard and wonder if anyone will take the hubcaps for their restoration project.

The cars of years past were really big, and to think they usually had drum brakes, no power steering, no power anything, and yet they were driven. We are spoiled by the modern conveniences and safeties of our current daily drivers. It truly is a different experience to drive a vehicle that is 40-50 years old, and I drive a 64 Ford F100, not as a daily driver but I do drive it as often as possible and use it to its fullest capabilities as a truck. It ain't pretty, it's a truck, it was designed to haul things and tow things. At least the previous owner told me he had towed his fishing boat with it.  Well time to go to the basement and get something done. Later.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/71139254/hubcap-wall-clock-1975-mustang-ii

And some newer art work for today. "Headed Askew"

Blackberries and Robots

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/74810845/like-iron-robot-original-metal-sculpture

http://www.etsy.com/listing/75321599/dancing-robot-original-metal-sculpture

We went blackberry picking today, urban foraging, if you will. What does this have to do with robots? Not much but we did get a lot of prickers in our hands and ran into some poison ivy too but all is well. Picked about 4 cups of berries and left lots on the bushes. It would be cool to have a robot to wander into the bushes and pick some of those nice berries that are just beyond reach without getting ripped up and scratched up. Oh well, maybe the next robot will be a berry picker. One of these days though, I will actually finish painting that small dog sculpture....and then there is that other dog that I finished that needs to be photographed. Well thanks for reading.  Someday soon I'll be heading back to the local junkyard to find a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner for a clock.