metalshack complete

Fought the icemud which is now just mud mud and put a new, vinyl roof on MetalShack (because the original one didn't survive last night's freezing rain, much to my welding table's dismay; oh well, it's seen worse), put up the rest of the flame-retardant curtains, and used the remaining vinyl roofing to line the inside of the ceiling. Pretty sure The Shed's protected from my spark-inciting passion, so now I can get back to play. It isn't pretty - nor is gold my jam - but it'll do the job.

icemud

Morning's ice has given way to mud again though I did get to experience walking on icy mud which was certainly an experience but anyhow it seems that the key to making the writing part of The Shed as creatively appealing to me as the workshop side is to lock the desk at standing height so that I can pace to my quasi-beating heart's content: clearly, the lapsed percussionist of 20 years ago remains a steadfast part in position if not in performance – and besides, I always have Derbz's chair should I need to take the proverbial load off but only if he's not in The Shed with me because that's HIS chair, whether I'm in it or not.

replicate

Waiting patiently for my flame-retardant blankets to arrive so I can make MetalShack a little safer for all involved but already the benefit of a dedicated metalshop is evident. Started clearing out the workshop side of things – much nicer space without buckets of scrap metal all over the inside – and figuring and staring at the present metalwork WIP. In so doing, a realization: metal is the first medium I've played with in which full-scale, tactile replication (or gathering, but why would an ornamental hermit like myself do that?) is the only way for multiple people to experience the work as it was intended: in other words, if someone wants a work that I want to keep, I either have to remake the work or part with it, bleeding and screaming. Sure, I can take a picture of the work and stuff it online, but that's not the work: that – unlike writing, unless intended solely for physical release – is an approximation of it. My 10 minutes are nearly up: perhaps I’ll ruminate on this notion further tomorrow or later today maybe or move on to some other similarly useless mental gymnastic.

enter: metalshack (mind your head)

Honoring David Lynch's wisdom to always have a setup (and perhaps ameliorate today's midday concerns?) by transforming my scrap wood space into a dedicated metalwork shack behind The Shed. Still have to figure out the power situation and add fire retardant blankets or tarps as walls (including over the metal sheets that separate MetalShack fromThe Shed), but it's getting there.