Page 32 - Demo

quilted toss pillows and seat cushions, and made macram%u00e9 pot hangers, belts, and purses%u2014all of my own designs.At one point, I decided to try my hand at paper casting, and began by making an embossed-copper-foil form of my design. Then, I used casting plaster to make a concave mold of that form. Next, I filled the mold with a paper slurry and let it thoroughly dry. In general, I was pleased with the results, and I knew I could use molds to make a number of copies in limited editions. However it was not long after, that I decided to no longer enter my art in exhibitions. As a result, I only made one each, of four different castings, then moved on to working in other media.Outdoors, I created several extensive gardens around our house and along our driveway. These include an artificial creek bed of hand-placed rocks and ferns that directs rainwater away from the area between the house and garage. John shared in this by moving the heaviest rocks. Smaller gardens were located along the dock for our pond, and beside our driveway turnaround. Indoors, I%u2019ve accumulated and tended numerous houseplants, mostly succulents and cacti. Wherever we%u2019ve lived, I%u2019ve used my creativity to decorate our home, cook from scratch, and bake. And, I%u2019ve always designed our annual Christmas cards. During our healthy-house years, I was surprised to have my eyes %u201cclick together,%u201d and I%u2019m now able to see in three dimensions most of the time. I didn%u2019t realize it until after my eyes became synchronized, but I had primarily identified objects by their outlines, as is common with two-dimensional vision. I had read about this, and knew that people with 3-D vision, without realizing it, tend to see the world in three-dimensional shapes. While I%u2019m now better at seeing the solidity of three-dimensional objects, it%u2019s taken quite a while for me to become comfortable with the sensation. For some time, I felt I was living in an unfamiliar universe%u2014literally lost in space. I%u2019m certainly getting more used to seeing in 3-D but, sometimes, when we%u2019re driving, it%u2019s hard to overcome the very real sensation that cars are about to crash into us from every direction. When John%u2019s driving, I%u2019m often pressing my right foot on an imaginary brake pedal so we don%u2019t have an accident. After I started becoming comfortable seeing in 3-D, I found I could read quicker, and no longer had to examine each word thoroughly, or sound out all the individual letters in my head. I had no idea I was reading differently from everyone else, until now. However, I still have difficulty creating rounded threedimensional shadowing in my drawings, and that%u2019s been disappointing. Nor have I been able to get any better at simple arithmetic skills, counting, or keeping a beat. And, knowing my right from left is still iffy. Around the time my 3-D vision set in, I became aware that I also had a condition called Partial Face Blindness, which is an inability to recognize people easily. And, when I%u2019m tired, I have Noun Aphasia, an inability to pull certain key nouns from my mind when speaking. All this could be related to the fact that, as a baby, my mother dropped me on my head. If that%u2019s the case, I feel I%u2019ve compensated fairly well for any damage my brain suffered as an infant. In fact, maybe, along with some damage, I developed some extra neural connections that have allowed me to see insights where others don%u2019t%u2014something I often use in my art. In any case, any skills I don%u2019t have, don%u2019t seem particularly essential, and I get along quite well.Parachuting Pachyderms. Cast paper. 2005