Artistic Jumpstart, with safety goggles

2021 brought me several instances of fierce creative elation, and I will write more about that. All physical art things, not writing. Mainly instances of sharing art/creativity with other people. (I did not get into the DCAC Sparkplug thing, but that feels fine to me because I am at a creative juncture and might not be cranking out a lot of finished pieces right away. I just want to play with materials -- including hot metal!)

Step 55: "aim flame into pig's nose to burn out excess oil"

Donna Reinsel teaches welding at the Art League in Alexandria, VA. (Her portfolio features, in addition to jewelry and furniture, some of her amazing lamps and chandeliers. If you have ever had the misfortune of hearing me go on and on about the fantastic lighting fixtures that used to hang at Perry's in Adams Morgan, and now presumably hang in the owner's house, which is so unfair to the rest of us, then you may have some small inkling of the elation I felt when I realized that my impending instructor was in fact the creator of the Vanished Chandelier I Was Obsessed With.)

Mettle

 Filth & I had been talking about learning to weld, and the notion continued to smolder in me... then I happened upon the course listings for The Art League (at the Torpedo Factory), and now I am going to learn how to weld. (Details to follow!)

Also, I got in my application for the DC Arts Center's Sparkplug Collective. I started to type, "so I'm waiting to hear," but I'm not waiting. I've decided to behave as if I am in. Deadlines and shared projects energize me, so I am tapping into that energy as much as I can. Getting my atelier/aerie more organized in the direction of making more art. And making more art.