I saw these willow wreathes at the dollar store a few weeks ago, so I got one!
I already made a dreamcatcher from scratch from grapevines last month, so I wanted to try one of these and do something similar.
It's made with a number of items from my old store I used to have, especially Buddhist mala beads and jade from China, and the medallion, which was a popular one we sold back then.
This project actually came together rather fast, compared to my other dreamcatcher I made. However, it still took several hours worth of prep and hand work.
I finally got to start moving forward to work on this project, and I gotta tell ya, I was REALLY feeling this one, and the muses, but the pesky set-backs were driving me MAD! So frustrating! I originally wanted to finish this project in 2014, which I mentioned in my previous blog post about this.
So, I needed to start drilling the hole into the teapot to make it into a lamp, kind like this:
First I got a marker and tried to eye-ball the dots I wanted to drill, but they just weren't to my liking, and since drilling them is permanent, I wanted them to be as symmetrical and geometrically close to perfect as possible even tho' the teapot is gashed, dented, and weathered.
So, I got some masking tape and started over, then got the electric power drill, and started drilling it. Unfortunately, I don;t have a machine shop, nor a vice, so I have to hunch over it, and sprawl onto to floor just to work on it, so my time working on it is limited, because it hurts my back.
So, I have to limit how long I work on it. But, I also hurt my back at the gym on an abbs machine this month, and now I'm going to physical therapy to fix my spine and muscles which are connected through my abdominal muscles. I also ran out of chiropractic visits on my medical insurance and have to wait until January 2017 to go back.
I hope I can continue working on it by September or October.
Cha Dao (The Tao of Tea or The Way of Tea) AKA Gunfu Cha, AKA Tea Culture
If you look up Cha Dao or tea Culture you will find many many kinds of this cultural art that's even to a science from China. It's very ancient, and even has Zen styles (called "chan" in Chinese).
My brother-in-law came to visit in May/June this year, and our family in China asked us if there were anything/ any things we wanted. We always want tea stuff. But, this year, we wanted the real high quality Cha Dao AKA Gungfu Cha stuff. there's many many styles of this, which range town to town, city to city, province to province, and many different age groups even preform this differently, or social status people. My brother-in-law, Mr. Zhang (Zhang Weifu), was something of a connoisseur in this art. However, many tea masters have their own ideologies and styles. He had his style and he was teaching me his way.
We specifically asked our family for the style of this tea culture that is the tray table style. This was very important to us, because we didn't want to pour everything outside, but inside, and without the tray table kind, a regular tray will easily fill up with water because you're supposed to "xi-xi cha" (wash the tea) in a ritualized protocol.
We also got another Gungfu Cha set, but this was the one we're using.
We did the majority of this stuff in May-June while the weather was actually very cold here this year even in early July, until mid July when we got struck with a heat wave that is only now starting to dissipate slightly.
A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on
A common thread among Gypsets is the openness to many kinds of cultural and worldly cultures, and items, as well as different time periods. Gypsets are actually NOT all white women, which is bunk. Anyone can be a Gypset, usually its women, but I see no problem with calling a man this if he so wishes. Many Gypsets are ethnic mixed themselves (like myself).
WIP DIY Boho Chic Eclectic Art Project Antique Teapot
This project is definitely a Work In Progress, and has been delayed a long long time.
I got this old antique pitcher teapot thingy from my father in New Jersey in 2014 around the time he was having his famous pig roasts.
It's old, weathered, worn out, and the wooden handle was broken, plus it's dented, and the knob on the top was missing.
I follow and read tons of boho chic and gypset style blogs for so many years I can't even remember anymore. So, when I saw it, my artist spidey sences went off. I asked my dad what he was gonna do with it, and where he got it. He just seemed to be nonchalant about it, and was like:
Oh, that's OOOOOOLD! You want it?
I was like: Yeah!
So, I sawed off the old busted crude broken parts of the wooden handle with all the industrial machines he has in his garage, and power sanded it with an electric power sander. Boo-yah!
I had several fusion ideas for it. Needless to say, poverty is like a thing.... so, I could never get the chance to go to Home Depot, or wherever to get a knob for it until last month of THIS YEAR (2016).
I mostly just let the thing sit outside on my so-called balcony on the first floor as is in these photos above here. I liked the way it still managed to give it a boho vintage fusion vibe to everything. And, before I ever even got my lanterns that was my go-to decoration.
Well, once I finally started my Federal Work Study (job) since I'm enrolled at UMASS now, I went over to Home Depot and picked out the knob I wanted.
A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on
After that, I was gonna wire wrap a quartz crystal point to the handle... but, a ton of problems ensued. Firstly, the main crystal point went totally missing. Vanished out of thin air!
Everyone says "Homer did it!" (The alleged little ghost that haunts my family and steals things, and often gets blamed for EVERYTHING. My baby brother named him when we were little, and once I told my daughter, now everyone blames Homer.)
Since I couldn't find it, I had to get a new one! So, I shopped Amazon.com for weeks thinking about what would be best, what price to settle on when my paycheck came through, and checking the size with a ruler to be sure it would fit right.
But, when I finally decided to settle on one, and the right size for the right price, and the right look & feel, a SNAFU happened.
A video posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on
I was really conflicted about it also. I'd intended the crystal for my art project, but I read through the stuff included with it and realized it was intended for something else. So, I was really in a quandry...
Well, I hunkered down and wrote a letter to the company, and asked them what to do, because I didn't want to hurt their feelings or insult them. But, the CEO was really nice about it, and sent me a package from India with a smaller one. In fact, he gave me a whole bunch of stuff, and we're friends on Facebook now, plus he wants to see photos of the project when it's done.
A photo posted by Kandice Kathleen Zimbleman 任思麒 (@blackunigryphon) on
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I need some wood glue now, since the handle is a bit broken... and I also need the silver wire(s).
Once I get all of that taken care of, I'll be able to finish the handle.
The rest of it I will turn into a lantern and drill bore holes into the sides and add LED Lights.
If that doesn't make any sense to you, maybe this will help:
Wire Wrapping Jewels/Crystals:
DIY Lanterns:
LED String Lights:
Basically, I'm turning this pot into a lantern/lamp. I want to string lights to also pour out of the spout.
It'll be great! You'll see!
Anyways, it makes sense in MY HEAD, not very easy to explain tho'. Hopefully if you're like me, then you'll "get it".
As for whenever it'll be finished I can't say now. I was hoping to be finished either by end of summer, or possibly by Fall... but, UMASS invented a bunch of made-up fees n stuck me with a bill of almost $700! SO, I don't know when that will happen!
As it is, I also wanted to get some Sugru to hand stuff in my balcony including stuff I just made and got, but nowhere to hang it. Being shoved out of The Middle Class blows because disposable income is not a given, but a luxury, and if I have too many things going well for me, the government punishes me for it, and what little I already qualify gets taken away. I can't even qualify for cash assistance just because of the type of minivan my spouse owns. It makes no logical sense whatsoever because an automobile isn't a magical ATM that dispenses money like a fountain...
I actually expected to be DONE with this project by 2015... but, not the case...
