As some of you may know, I tend to build things out of wood. I have been thinking about building a wooden bicycle for some time now, and I think I am going to start one this winter. I have designed about five different bikes, I just need to choose the one to build. The designs are relatively simple, not straying from the traditional look of a bicycle, but they all have a swooping look to them, curved frames with simple handle bars. The only one that really differs would be the recumbent bike that I drew up after I saw one at a bike show a few years ago. I'm not sure if that will be the one I'll build, but maybe sometime.

The bike that seems to be at the top of my list to build (besides the cruiser bicycle in my last post) is a bike made of birch plywood. It will be a strong bike, seeing as though it will be made of many sheets laminated together. The design in question is shaped like a "T" with the pedals at the bottom of the "T." It's still a curved frame, just not as curved as the other bikes I'm thinking of. I think this will be the one due to the ease of the build, starting out simple and making my mistakes in a more forgiving material like plywood, as opposed to using some fine high grade wood. I will post the sketch of this bike in the near future.

A number of months ago I bought a bike from the working bike collective. It's a curved framed bike that was painted with peach house paint and had these big flower stickers on it. Less than a manly bike. I have since stripped most of the paint off, took it apart and started work on the rebuild. During the tear down I discovered the bike was an Evans cruiser, a middle weight as I understand it. It's nothing special so I'm not feeling too bad about what I'm doing to it.

This will be my cruising bike, something to ride this summer instead of my normal touring bike, the old school mint green Schwinn 12 speed. This new bike will be a flat black cruiser with big ape hanger handle bars and a few custom things like chain guards and tank insert. The bike will be named X 1857, after my grandfather's motorcycle license plate from 1934.

Hopefully I will be done with it in early spring, and riding it this summer, but who knows, as my jeep is still in a coma and has been for five years.

I guess it's cold outside. Everyone keeps informing me of this, it would seem that people don't get that I was just outside walking into the building, I know it is cold, thank you for clarifying it, I was under the impression the world was ending.

I need a nap.

I have nothing to write about. I don't know why this is news, it seems to be the same thing I write about at least once a month. It gets old. I'm going to force myself into a writing mood so I can do something interesting with this blog. For the past few years I've thought about writing papers on artists I have an appreciation for, papers for no other reason that doing some research and some reading about their lives. I'm not in school so these papers will have no value to me, unless I go back to school and need a quick paper on Francis Bacon and his drinking problems or something. So that's one thing that may pop up on this blog, something different.

I have also decided that I need to do some paintings and illustrations to get back into the swing of making art. I've been so focused on making cards that I have neglected making some paintings that I sketched over the last few months, read six months. I hope to have some up on this site in the oft mentioned but not quite there art section, whenever I get to that. If you were at the diy trunkshow or the art vs. craft show, you might remember the silhouette painting on wood; I think I will be doing some more of that type of painting/ drawing.

I've been busy working on some projects of late so I haven't been posting. I know I say this all the time, but it happens allot, work that is. I've been working on the catalogue, the new one that is, with all sorts of new cards, including a "we're moving" card. Someone asked for that, I just don't remember who, not that it was an order or anything, maybe just a suggestion. So sooner or later this site will get a slight overhaul, adding some more cards and the art section at some point. Stay tuned.

On a different note, the gallery I have some work in will be closing its doors as of the first of the year. Due to circumstances beyond their control, they decided to shut down the gallery, and move most of the artwork to the sister gallery in Arizona. I've decided that my work will not be going, so now I will be looking for a new gallery.