Saving dishes

I'm not a fan of dishes. Well, that's not true, I like dishes and all different types too, stoneware, glass, ceramics, china, and whatever else there is. What I should say is I don't like washing dishes. I suppose a dishwasher is supposed to make that chore easier but I'm not sure ours really does that. With the exception of most liquids in a cup or glass, we pretty much have to wash each dish before putting it in the dishwasher because it's not like the machine actually gets food off anything. Which makes me wonder, what's the point? I imagine we could use the cabinet space more than the appliance.

But since I also don't like waste and I have some crunchy tendencies, not to mention the prohibitive cost comparisons, we don't use disposable dishes either. Shoot, we don't even use disposable paper towels or napkins. So I wash dishes. Thankfully, I have helpers.

The Storyteller joyfully does the dishes. Can't you tell? That's joy all over her face.

These helpers help a lot, they know how to load and unload the dishwasher, scrape the plates, wipe down the counters, and put away the silver ware. And they have a magic talent. They know how to make the dishes, specifically glasses, multiply. Hot from playing outside, get a clean glass and a cold drink of water! Enjoying a captivating read? Keep a fresh glass of water close by. Can't sleep? Grab another glass and fill 'er up! Even more sweaty? Yep, more water! Can't find your glass from 5 minutes ago? That's ok, grab another one and drink up! And if you had something other than water in your glass you certainly don't want to rinse it out and re-use the glass that would be gross! So, GET ANOTHER GLASS! Yay!

Not yay.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love that the girls can chug some water and stay well hydrated, really, I do. I'm thrilled that I generally don't have to worry about their fluid intake on any given day. But I can't say that I appreciate being able to count how many glasses of water they'd had before noon just by the number of glasses cluttering up the counter. Particularly the ones that were full with only a few sips of water missing. Though I watered plenty of plants by pouring the contents of abandoned glasses into their pots, I was in desperate need of a solution. And I really didn't like having to wash all those glasses so many times in an effort to have glasses on the shelf.

We tried tape on the counter tops with names so you could get a drink and put your glass back right in front of your name. I attempted to enforce that for 2 weeks but failed miserably. Then it was designated spots, The Piano Man always keeps a glass by the sink so he can fill it up with water and just knows to set it there when he's done so it is ready for the next time. Important fact to keep in mind as to why this works for him and not for his children: He's 20-something years older than the oldest child in the family. That and I'm their mom, my DNA is in the mix too and I have a hard time remembering where I put my purse. The next effort in having the girls use the same glass all day was to label the glasses but the labels got lost, wet, removed, whatever, the point is that didn't work either.

Our glasses and the glass markers.

Finally I decided to try personalized glasses but I wasn't about to order glasses with their names etched on them. Instead, I pulled out the plain glasses we had from IKEA and picked up a set of glass paint markers. For a few days we talked about the idea of creating a custom glass, each of us designing and decorating a glass in our own unique style and the girls got excited. Thinking it was going to be quite the time consuming production, I procrastinated a few days until Lolie couldn't stand the anticipation of creating her very own glass and pestered me to no end. However much work it would be it was worth doing to get her to stop. I shouldn't have worried. The glass paint markers were simple and easy to use once we got the paint flowing into the tip of each marker. I helped the girls get going with theirs and figuring out some of the tricky maneuvering required for some of their designs. The Piano Man joined us and it wasn't long before we had 10 distinctly different glasses full of color, whimsy, energy, individuality and character. Setting all the glasses on a tray to put in the oven to bake the paint I was delighted with our mis-matched matching family glasses.

9 of our set of 10.

We have rainbows, flowers, butterflies, birds, stripes, swirls and polka-dots, hearts, a colorful henna-tattoo inspired glass, our family initials, and people jumping from mountain top to mountain top (I admit, I scratched my head at that one) decorating our glasses and "set" is proudly displayed on a shelf between the kitchen and dinning room. The light shines through them in a colorful display creating our own small stained glass collection. The most amazing thing though is that they are usually at least a few on the shelf at all times with the exception of those that are in use at any given moment.

It was really simple, wash the glasses, prep the surface by wiping them down with vinegar, shaking the paint down to the tips of the markers and getting creative. After they were painted they had to sit for 24 hours to dry and then bake for 40 minutes at 325 degrees. Each of us enjoyed seeing not only our own glasses come to life with color but what everyone else was doing as well. My original plan was to have us each create a cup for ourselves and one for guests and everyone in the family would use their personalized glass. However, we all enjoy the other glasses so much that every morning we pick a new glass. Today I have the purple people jumping on green mountains. A fun family project that has miraculously cut down on the amount of dishes.

Are you crafty?

Have you seen this site? Very cool! They have a Facebook page too. Crafters of all ages will find something to create there. Got to love that!

Controversy in Conversation

I participated in a conversation happening over at this blog about a controversial piece the gallery decided to pull from the same exhibit I am participating in. Your thoughts are valued, please view and share.

Stages of a Station, the Art of Art part 2

The second part of the piece was the actual photographs. This Stations of the Cross exhibit is also a part of Fotofest, an art event that takes place every other year. Not having a camera of the caliber I'd like for something like this, I borrowed my friend Jack's camera and set about a-clicking. I could explain the concept behind these images but I'm not going to do that just yet. Your comments on these would be greatly appreciated. Please note that I know I am not a photographer, in fact, I'm not sure I'm an artist but I do kind of have an artistic eye. I had a great time taking these images and they all feature Cosette at almost 5 weeks old.





The following three images are used in the piece and were taken by Linda Dybala at Cosette's birth.


I intend to share more images from these sessions but these are the ones that are a part of the piece.

Stages of a Station, the Art of Art part 1b

I started sharing the process of creating the piece I was asked to contribute to Xnihillo Gallery's Station of the Cross exhibit here. My brilliant and talented friend, Jack took some photos of my belly cast for me. I'm not sure what I'm doing with the cast when the show is done but I'm thinking one of these images will be framed and hanging on my wall for "cool" factor alone.

When the cast had hardened enough to remove it from the frame (my body) we placed it belly side down to finish curing. Now, if you decide to make a plaster cast of your shape I have a bit of advice to give you: load on the petroleum jelly. When you think you have enough, add more. If you think you've covered enough of the area, add another inch. I think I did pretty well, actually but there were a few spots where I could have used more Vaseline and OH. MY. FREAKIN. CRAP. My eyes sting just thinking about it and so do other parts of my body. Trust me. Lots and lots and lots of petroleum jelly, you won't regret using too much, you will regret not using enough.


The plan was for it to rest for 3 days and then I'd start working on preparing it for what was to come. But then I had a baby in three days and, well, it sat for 3 weeks before I did anything with it. Another talented and brilliant friend, Linda, came and did our labor and birth photography.

(Those are my hands. Sweet, right?!)

Before the cast could be really used for the piece, I had to reinforce it with a few more layers of the plaster cloth so the girls and I pulled out the supplies and set to work. Everyone got in on the action. You can't tell from these phone pics (Thanks O and L for taking them for me!) but tiny, newborn C is off to the side in her bouncy seat being bounced with my foot when these shots were taken.



We did the additional layers in three stages. The next part of the plan was to sand the cast smooth, get the photo images we needed, have them printed on canvas and then wrap the form in strips of cloth and the photos. It completely changed though and the cast remains pretty much the same in the finished piece thanks to my friend Jack convincing me that the cast was beautiful without doing anything to it. I cleaned up a few spots with sandpaper but left it as is.

More on the process later.

Stages of a station, the Art of Art part 1

Several months ago I was asked to participate in an art exhibit of the Stations of the Cross/Fotofest for Xnihilo Gallery. The station I was given to create a piece of art depicting or interpreting was Station 4, Jesus Meets His Mother. In a moment that can only be explained as a complete departure from reality as I'm not an artist and certainly not a photographer, I said yes. What in the world was I thinking? It must have been the pregnancy, certainly in my non-gestational state of mind I would never have said yes.

I spent a good amount of time dreaming up my piece before reality caught up with me and by the time I realized that this wasn't such a good idea it was too late for me to back out. So with a concept in mind Jeremy and I worked out how the piece could work. Though photography was required for the show it didn't have to be the only medium.


My pregnancy carried quite the influence on me as I thought the piece and eventually became the canvas we would use to build the rest of the work on. On Christmas Eve, 3 days before I went into labor at almost 37 weeks, Jeremy and I made a cast of my torso. We had hoped to make 2 or 3 of these but it turns out we did well to get the one.


The process was simple, Vaseline all over the area we would be making a cast of, a large roll of plaster cloth, a container of warm water, a vinyl table cloth for the floor and towels. It didn't take as long as we expected and, true to the directions on the plaster cloth, it dried very fast. Watching the original Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, we got to work. Me sitting naked in the living room while Jeremy smoothed slimy, wet pieces of the plaster cloth on my torso might sound exciting but it really wasn't as sexy as one might think.


The strips were drying so quickly, Jeremy had to work fast. I snapped as many pictures as I could while trying to remain still. As you can see the pics didn't turn out so well!



In order to make my belly look a little bigger and to be sure the plaster didn't end up all over my dinning room chair, I leaned back in the chair with just my rear and the top of my back touching the chair making for an uncomfortable and long 30 minutes while we waited for the plaster to set so it wouldn't crush when we removed the cast.


I'll be posting more photos of the progress of the piece over this next week. The belly cast was a great experience and I love it, very glad we made one, it turned out beautifully.