Every once in awhile, in the shop, you remember why you started making an item in the first place. Then the items imperfections and all the other constant, tiny insults life throws are of no consequence.
Showing posts with label garnet door. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garnet door. Show all posts
Friday, July 20, 2012
Saturday, September 19, 2009
swiss cheese
From the diary of Dr. Bard:
(original timeline September, 1923)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"...however there are singular voids springing up in time; lone characters missing in a world oblivious to their absence.
"Where is da Vinci, for example? No one from his own point in history seems to have the slightest knowledge of his existence. His works, the records of his life, spring into being later in time. The first literary mention I can find of him is in 1863. A travel to one year later, June 1864, finds him once again a pivotal point in the (First) Italian Renaissance; his name altering preexisting scientific and secular writings.
"Conversely, where is the work and records of Jonas Peerman? The man who alleviated many of the woes of cancer - stumbling by chance upon the medicinal shrub, 'Calapus arboreus'. After a brief period in the late 2200s, he and the plant disappear from history. I have checked in twenty year intervals from 2220 - 2380.
"Has someone else used the door?
Will I, at some later date, create these holes in time?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(original timeline September, 1923)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"...however there are singular voids springing up in time; lone characters missing in a world oblivious to their absence.
"Where is da Vinci, for example? No one from his own point in history seems to have the slightest knowledge of his existence. His works, the records of his life, spring into being later in time. The first literary mention I can find of him is in 1863. A travel to one year later, June 1864, finds him once again a pivotal point in the (First) Italian Renaissance; his name altering preexisting scientific and secular writings.
"Conversely, where is the work and records of Jonas Peerman? The man who alleviated many of the woes of cancer - stumbling by chance upon the medicinal shrub, 'Calapus arboreus'. After a brief period in the late 2200s, he and the plant disappear from history. I have checked in twenty year intervals from 2220 - 2380.
"Has someone else used the door?
Will I, at some later date, create these holes in time?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
visualBard
So I have finally completed the visual manifestations of Dr. Bard's otherworld.
The floating jellyfish earrings from Dr Bard's first real adventure are made with top and bottom cast silver sections, and a center 8mm black onyx round. They had to be earrings, since they would lose their floaty-ness as a necklace. In actuality, it is just a beaded earring, with top and bottom bead caps. The most elaborate beaded earrings on the planet, but that's what they are, just the same.
Most of the items I am finishing now are less complex tests for larger projects planned for the future. I may be making some cast metal beads and bead cap in the future, and these caps answered a couple of questions concerning the metal casting part.
The tentacles are tests to convert the vinelike texture used on the back of spooky window to a more animal-like look. I am really pleased with the wispy, organic look. This will be used on a couple of 'alien-infected' pendants in the future, including the revised mindworm pendant, and an infected egg which is the most technically challenging design I have ever come up with. The egg has possibly our best accompanying sci-fi pendant story to date also - mum's the word.
The garnet door started as a small project to complete a casting run. I wanted to remake a door pendant that I had made a decade ago when I was doing art shows. The nice thing about casting is that you can spend an elaborate amount of time on a piece, and spread the initial cost over more than one casting. This time I wanted to use a faceted stone instead of a rounded cabochon - it seemed more fitting.
The piece was turning out so well felt it needed a story. The door became a portal for an arcane technology that opens time and space: the result was that I then had a catalyst for infinite story lines. Thus Dr. Bard was born. I tacked his name onto a story snippet I wrote for the veggiescape pendant I had designed earlier; which fit nicely, as it was made as a Jules-Verne-esque piece. The floating jellyfish were designed from his first adventure. Who knows what work Dr Bards adventures will inspire in the future, if I can get him out of Nowhere
The floating jellyfish earrings from Dr Bard's first real adventure are made with top and bottom cast silver sections, and a center 8mm black onyx round. They had to be earrings, since they would lose their floaty-ness as a necklace. In actuality, it is just a beaded earring, with top and bottom bead caps. The most elaborate beaded earrings on the planet, but that's what they are, just the same.
Most of the items I am finishing now are less complex tests for larger projects planned for the future. I may be making some cast metal beads and bead cap in the future, and these caps answered a couple of questions concerning the metal casting part.
The tentacles are tests to convert the vinelike texture used on the back of spooky window to a more animal-like look. I am really pleased with the wispy, organic look. This will be used on a couple of 'alien-infected' pendants in the future, including the revised mindworm pendant, and an infected egg which is the most technically challenging design I have ever come up with. The egg has possibly our best accompanying sci-fi pendant story to date also - mum's the word.
The garnet door started as a small project to complete a casting run. I wanted to remake a door pendant that I had made a decade ago when I was doing art shows. The nice thing about casting is that you can spend an elaborate amount of time on a piece, and spread the initial cost over more than one casting. This time I wanted to use a faceted stone instead of a rounded cabochon - it seemed more fitting.
The piece was turning out so well felt it needed a story. The door became a portal for an arcane technology that opens time and space: the result was that I then had a catalyst for infinite story lines. Thus Dr. Bard was born. I tacked his name onto a story snippet I wrote for the veggiescape pendant I had designed earlier; which fit nicely, as it was made as a Jules-Verne-esque piece. The floating jellyfish were designed from his first adventure. Who knows what work Dr Bards adventures will inspire in the future, if I can get him out of Nowhere
Sunday, July 19, 2009
a journey into Dr. Bard's mind
part two of Dr Bards infamous trip to nowhere
(Although not a requirement that the reader begin in any particular place when reading about Dr Bard's adventures, it may be helpful before reading this story to start with part one of Dr Bard's infamous trip to nowhere.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Day 43
It has been forty three days since the garnet door's madness infected my soul; since I became stranded in Nowhere. This is based on the assumption that my care-givers are telling me the truth regarding the correct date. - That I am sane enough to process their speech correctly. - That they really do exist. - And that I still exist.
Across the room from my hospital bed, slowly pouring in from a barred window, dim light from an overcast sky confirms the time of year; a dreary, late fall day. The window, complete with it's own rusty restraints, has been placed too high on the wall for offering any pleasure other than watching the sky change from gloomy to pathetic. Sounds from the English countryside carry through the thin pane of the window; the start of branches at the latest surge of winter's approach; small creature's muted prayers for an early spring. The asylum is sufficiently removed from London's noise so as not to disturb my fellow comrades, sectioned in their own rooms, battling their own psychic demons.
Dr Purdue has allowed the loosening of my arm restraints between episodes, so that I can attempt writing in my journal. He is convinced that a madness lies within my own psyche. He seems unaffected by stories of 'magical doors' in tropical forests. I am convinced the door's trickery has captured my soul.
to be continued...
(Although not a requirement that the reader begin in any particular place when reading about Dr Bard's adventures, it may be helpful before reading this story to start with part one of Dr Bard's infamous trip to nowhere.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Day 43
It has been forty three days since the garnet door's madness infected my soul; since I became stranded in Nowhere. This is based on the assumption that my care-givers are telling me the truth regarding the correct date. - That I am sane enough to process their speech correctly. - That they really do exist. - And that I still exist.
Across the room from my hospital bed, slowly pouring in from a barred window, dim light from an overcast sky confirms the time of year; a dreary, late fall day. The window, complete with it's own rusty restraints, has been placed too high on the wall for offering any pleasure other than watching the sky change from gloomy to pathetic. Sounds from the English countryside carry through the thin pane of the window; the start of branches at the latest surge of winter's approach; small creature's muted prayers for an early spring. The asylum is sufficiently removed from London's noise so as not to disturb my fellow comrades, sectioned in their own rooms, battling their own psychic demons.
Dr Purdue has allowed the loosening of my arm restraints between episodes, so that I can attempt writing in my journal. He is convinced that a madness lies within my own psyche. He seems unaffected by stories of 'magical doors' in tropical forests. I am convinced the door's trickery has captured my soul.
[Dr Bard does not notice that the door of his hospital room has opened slightly. Opened just enough for the snakelike creature to wedge it's way through, slithering on the floor, moving towards the foot of Dr Bard's bed. Through the opening in the door one can see that the hospital hallway no longer exists, in it's place, the Pool-Room.]
to be continued...
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Dr Bards infamous trip to nowhere
- a foolish, foolish man
- into your own mind you did send.
- a foolish, foolish man
- now death is your only friend.
Translated, yet unheeded by Dr. Bard from ancient Tupooli-Mooli
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Bard's notes shortly before his trip to nowhere:
"What is the nature and limits of the door? I have moved forwards and backwards in time. I have traveled distances unimaginable by merely wishing myself there. I have seen otherworlds, and have witnessed our own world altered through chances of fate and manipulation. A few of these changes I have effected; others I do not understand.
"I now ask, what if I chose to travel to a place that does not physically exist? Or travel before time itself? Is the door powerful enough to cause reality itself to spring into existence? Could I go so far as to alter the fabric of the universe? These thoughts may seem grandiose; the ravings of a madman. I am not, however, referring to my own power to inflict such changes, but questioning whether my mind might serve as a rudder, leading the door into chaos, with reality itself in tow.
"How could I set up an experiment to measure the doors ability to generate reality, without distorting the reality that we know and live in? Perhaps a journey into ones own mind would show the boundaries of the door. I have learned that by concentrating on a given time and place, at precisely the moment of opening the door, I can often control the otherwise random point and time to which the door opens. I question whether, if I concentrated on a place within my own mind, a dream perhaps, would I be transported into that dream world?"
Not long after penning these notes, Dr. Bard decides to put the door's limits to a test. Past experience has taught him to prepare a 'survival kit' for a journey beyond the door, since he cannot be sure of what conditions might lie beyond the door. A few days food and water can allow one to explore a time or place where such necessities are not readily available. Due to the peculiar circumstances of this experiment, he opts to forgo these normal preparations.
It is a short distance to the door structure from Dr. Bard's makeshift laboratory on the tropical isle of Tu-pooli. When Dr Bard arrives at the ancient door structure, a light rain is dripping from the tree canopy above. He stands apprehensively in front of the door, for this experiment is unlike any other that he has attempted. After a moment's pause, he grabs the decrepit door handle, and clears his mind of all else but the time and location that he wishes to visit. In this instance, he does not focus on a real place and time, but to a pleasant dream of childhood. He then pulls the door open. Peering through the door opening, it appears to open up to the same rain-soaked forest. Dr. Bard, however, is well aware that looks can be deceiving when entering an otherworld. Dr Bard steps through the doorway...
part two: 'a journey into Dr. Bard's Mind'
(2009/05/17 revision)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Dr Bard's first real adventure through he garnet door
In a previous post I wrote of Dr. Bard's first glimpse of the world beyond the garnet door.##
Few records have been found as to what he saw on his first brief visit. We know he walked through the door, took a couple of bewildered steps forward, then backed out the door, and shut it behind himself. His first real adventure began upon re-opening the door, and stepping through a second time. (The reader must remember that this was before Dr. Bard learned to control the door, so the 'other side' was a seemingly random place and time.)
From his brief notes concerning the first quick journey through the garnet door, the 'first world' that Dr Bard stepped into was at least earth-like; not so the second trip. Dr Bard's explains in his diary:
"When I opened the door the second time, a slight breeze blew upon my face from the other side. The air was cool. There was a sweet, slightly metallic odor. Just minutes before, on my first brief entry through the door, the air had the scent of tropical dampness.
"The sensations of smell were soon forgotten, for what I saw with my eyes was surely the most outstanding thing any man has ever seen. It was so beyond any other experience that I now have trouble recording it in a way that a reader might understand.
"The sky. What a marvelous sight. Light was coming from the entire expanse above me at an even intensity; reminiscent of an overcast day, but brighter and with no hint as to where to sun might lie. The sky rising from the horizon directly in front of me was a luminous pale peach color. As I continued looking heavenward, the tint of the sky gradually changed, until, when I looked behind me, the sky was a bright, turquoise color.
"I was able to look back through the door from which I had entered. The wooded area beyond the door could be seen, and appeared as a flat, out-of-place painting. The greens, browns and azure sky of the forest clashed with this pale, pastel world that now framed the door.
"At the blinking of a eye, and without the slightest sound, the door closed. I say it closed, since one moment the door was opened, the next moment I was staring at the back of the door. So quick was the transformation, it was if I had been mistaken that the door had been ajar. Once closed, this opposite side of the door was an exact replica of the side from which I had entered, down to the last detail.
"At this point I felt that somehow the door was affecting my wits; that what I was experiencing was a concoction of my own mind, prompted by the mysterious garnet door."
(Years later, Dr Bard made an entry at this point in the diary "I still wonder if all the worlds, and times and experiences through the door would not be better explained as the ramblings of an unsound mind.")
Back to diary:
"As my mind adjusted to the wonder of this new world, I was able to take in more details of it's absolute wonder. I say 'new world' for this place, if real, could not possibly exist on Earth; that I was certain of.
"From the distant horizon, where sky met land, all the way back to where I was standing, a pale white haze lay where one would expect solid ground. The effect was similar to morning fog crouching in a shallow valley. Looking down I realized that my legs were buried knee-high in the fog. The ground, which I could not see for the fog, felt not so much like solid ground, but yielding and spongy. Occasionally I could feel the ground contract and shudder beneath my feet. I had the sense of standing on a living being.
"When I first entered the world I saw dark objects in the sky that I took as large birds. I now realized that this first assumption was impossible, for the objects were floating in the sky, rather than flying. The lighter than aether objects drifted slowly on unseen currents.
"Looking to my left, one of the creatures was quite close to where I was standing, and drifting closer. I do not know how it could have taken me this long to notice it, for it was immense. For sake of a better comparison, the creature resembled a gigantic black jellyfish suspended in the air. Below it's black, slightly flattened body, translucent tentacles of all sizes tested the air.
"As it came closer to where I was standing, it eclipsed nearly a third of the sky. I say the creatures drifted, although once through the door there was not the slightest breeze that I could detect. The billowy creature would dip down until the tip of it's longest tentacles would disappear in the fog blanketing the ground. The tentacles probing into the fog seem to move with more purpose. I noticed that, not long after the ground below my feet began a mild tremor, a slight shudder would emanate up through the tentacles and into the dark body of the hovering creature. Was it feeding? Communicating? One could only guess.
"I do not know how long I stood and watched the graceful creature as it slowly passed in front of me. I saw no indications that it noticed my presence. I later came to realize that if it had sensed me, it would have more than likely viewed me as a small insect; the difference in our size rendering me insignificant.
"So wondrous was this world, that only then - for the first time - did I give heed to my predicament; once closed, could I return through the door, and safely back to the familiar world I had departed?
"The structure of the door still stood beside me. I walked over to the door, and apprehensively opened it. To my relief, I was able to walk right back into the woods from whence I came. Once back through the door, I was startled by the volume and variety of familiar sounds in the woods. The sound rushed upon me instantly as I crossed the threshold of the door. How different from the eerie silence I had just left. I do not recall hearing the slightest sound while in the other world."
~End of diary entry.
As was mentioned at the onset, Dr. Bard eventually gained more control over his travels through the door. This wondrous land of silent floating giants, however, was one of the few places he was never able to find and visit again.
Some have speculated that the 'floating jellyfish world' only existed in Dr Bard's mind, similar to Dr Bard's infamous 'trip to nowhere'. This, they argue was the reason he was never able to return to the world. It is unlikely, however, that the story, with it's minute, other-worldly details could have been gleaned from the mind of someone living in the late 1800's.
## This previous post was actually the very first occurrence of our Dr. Bard. I have been running on less sleep than I need as I struggle to keep Dr Bard from fading into nothingness. This nearly happened here. Eventually he will have a large enough story, and be in enough people's memory that I will not have to constantly write him into existence.
Few records have been found as to what he saw on his first brief visit. We know he walked through the door, took a couple of bewildered steps forward, then backed out the door, and shut it behind himself. His first real adventure began upon re-opening the door, and stepping through a second time. (The reader must remember that this was before Dr. Bard learned to control the door, so the 'other side' was a seemingly random place and time.)
From his brief notes concerning the first quick journey through the garnet door, the 'first world' that Dr Bard stepped into was at least earth-like; not so the second trip. Dr Bard's explains in his diary:
"When I opened the door the second time, a slight breeze blew upon my face from the other side. The air was cool. There was a sweet, slightly metallic odor. Just minutes before, on my first brief entry through the door, the air had the scent of tropical dampness.
"The sensations of smell were soon forgotten, for what I saw with my eyes was surely the most outstanding thing any man has ever seen. It was so beyond any other experience that I now have trouble recording it in a way that a reader might understand.
"The sky. What a marvelous sight. Light was coming from the entire expanse above me at an even intensity; reminiscent of an overcast day, but brighter and with no hint as to where to sun might lie. The sky rising from the horizon directly in front of me was a luminous pale peach color. As I continued looking heavenward, the tint of the sky gradually changed, until, when I looked behind me, the sky was a bright, turquoise color.
"I was able to look back through the door from which I had entered. The wooded area beyond the door could be seen, and appeared as a flat, out-of-place painting. The greens, browns and azure sky of the forest clashed with this pale, pastel world that now framed the door.
"At the blinking of a eye, and without the slightest sound, the door closed. I say it closed, since one moment the door was opened, the next moment I was staring at the back of the door. So quick was the transformation, it was if I had been mistaken that the door had been ajar. Once closed, this opposite side of the door was an exact replica of the side from which I had entered, down to the last detail.
"At this point I felt that somehow the door was affecting my wits; that what I was experiencing was a concoction of my own mind, prompted by the mysterious garnet door."
(Years later, Dr Bard made an entry at this point in the diary "I still wonder if all the worlds, and times and experiences through the door would not be better explained as the ramblings of an unsound mind.")
Back to diary:
"As my mind adjusted to the wonder of this new world, I was able to take in more details of it's absolute wonder. I say 'new world' for this place, if real, could not possibly exist on Earth; that I was certain of.
"From the distant horizon, where sky met land, all the way back to where I was standing, a pale white haze lay where one would expect solid ground. The effect was similar to morning fog crouching in a shallow valley. Looking down I realized that my legs were buried knee-high in the fog. The ground, which I could not see for the fog, felt not so much like solid ground, but yielding and spongy. Occasionally I could feel the ground contract and shudder beneath my feet. I had the sense of standing on a living being.
"When I first entered the world I saw dark objects in the sky that I took as large birds. I now realized that this first assumption was impossible, for the objects were floating in the sky, rather than flying. The lighter than aether objects drifted slowly on unseen currents.
"Looking to my left, one of the creatures was quite close to where I was standing, and drifting closer. I do not know how it could have taken me this long to notice it, for it was immense. For sake of a better comparison, the creature resembled a gigantic black jellyfish suspended in the air. Below it's black, slightly flattened body, translucent tentacles of all sizes tested the air.
"As it came closer to where I was standing, it eclipsed nearly a third of the sky. I say the creatures drifted, although once through the door there was not the slightest breeze that I could detect. The billowy creature would dip down until the tip of it's longest tentacles would disappear in the fog blanketing the ground. The tentacles probing into the fog seem to move with more purpose. I noticed that, not long after the ground below my feet began a mild tremor, a slight shudder would emanate up through the tentacles and into the dark body of the hovering creature. Was it feeding? Communicating? One could only guess.
"I do not know how long I stood and watched the graceful creature as it slowly passed in front of me. I saw no indications that it noticed my presence. I later came to realize that if it had sensed me, it would have more than likely viewed me as a small insect; the difference in our size rendering me insignificant.
"So wondrous was this world, that only then - for the first time - did I give heed to my predicament; once closed, could I return through the door, and safely back to the familiar world I had departed?
"The structure of the door still stood beside me. I walked over to the door, and apprehensively opened it. To my relief, I was able to walk right back into the woods from whence I came. Once back through the door, I was startled by the volume and variety of familiar sounds in the woods. The sound rushed upon me instantly as I crossed the threshold of the door. How different from the eerie silence I had just left. I do not recall hearing the slightest sound while in the other world."
~End of diary entry.
As was mentioned at the onset, Dr. Bard eventually gained more control over his travels through the door. This wondrous land of silent floating giants, however, was one of the few places he was never able to find and visit again.
Some have speculated that the 'floating jellyfish world' only existed in Dr Bard's mind, similar to Dr Bard's infamous 'trip to nowhere'. This, they argue was the reason he was never able to return to the world. It is unlikely, however, that the story, with it's minute, other-worldly details could have been gleaned from the mind of someone living in the late 1800's.
## This previous post was actually the very first occurrence of our Dr. Bard. I have been running on less sleep than I need as I struggle to keep Dr Bard from fading into nothingness. This nearly happened here. Eventually he will have a large enough story, and be in enough people's memory that I will not have to constantly write him into existence.
Friday, May 1, 2009
i nearly destroyed the world yesterday
I surely do not need to tell you how a single act can destroy the world as we know it.A misspoken word. A forgotten embellishment on a piece of jewelry.
Yesterday, I held in my hand what I believed to be a finished wax model. The world was gay. Birds chirp outside the window, and all seemed well with the universe.
Fools we were, for the most essential piece of the pendant was missing; the door handle to the garnet door. A simple enough mistake, however without the handle, nothing in heaven or on earth could pry the door on it's hinges.
Dr. Bard could never have entered the door. He could never have gone back in time to June 28th, 1838, to the coronation of Queen Victoria, and removed an embarrassing square of bathroom tissue from the heel of her uncle, King Leopold I of Belgium. (He accomplished this by discreetly stepping onto the revealed edge of the tissue as King Leopold stepped away.) This simple act averted disaster, as the errant tissue would have been a public scandal that would have ultimately destroyed the alliance between Belgium and England. WWI would have started nearly fifty years early. This would have made the original 1914 conflict we know of as WWI, WWII; and the original WWII, WWIII. This final conflict would have left the world a smoking cinder.
For want of an extra shoe the tissue wasn't lost.
For want of a shed tissue the alliance was lost.
For want of an alliance the world was lost.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
almost done carving garnet window
-What is infinite,
-yet impossibly thin?
-find the garnet door,
-find the answer within.
-What is eternal,
-yet shifts like the sand?
-open the garnet door,
-find it if you can.
Translated by Dr. Bard from ancient Tupooli-Mooli song, Pacific Islands
------------------------------------
Well a bit of looking for 'issues' and the garnet door is ready for being molded. Hope to pour the mold today. We will see, as it is nearly 3pm.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
to-do to-day
First thing to deal with today is bricking up the back of the above garnet door pendant. The front of the pendant has a square faceted garnet stone as a window. The front is sufficiently finish so that I am able to temporarily set the stone to see what it looks like. So far, it is a bit more impressive than I had first imagined. (This was to be a 'giblet' side project to accompany a larger project at casting time.)
To achieve non-giblet, stand-alone-as-legitimate-work status, a piece must have an accompanying story, or at least a snippet of a story. The story kinda goes:
"Retracing his step backwards, Dr. Bard slowly retreated from the mysterious and impossible inner world, and out the garnet door. After shutting the door, he once again walked around to the back of the structure, only to be greeted with a solid brick wall.
" 'What sort of trickery could this be?', he exclaimed."
Our Dr. Bard is frozen in time and space, having retreated from the inner world, and started his circumnavigation around the pendant, only to come face-to-face with an even scarier fate; the brick wall, his appointment with the back of the pendant, his world, has not yet been completed.
It's off to save Dr. Bard from non-existence.
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