asterisk & ampersand

Forge & Form

redbirdsong — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:48:12 +0000

A few photos of me at work on some new stuff! I learned how to use some new equipment which will hopefully speed up the whole ‘making’ process and allow me to get some more of those ideas out of my head and into form…

I’m currently working with some padauk and bloodwood, both of which smell amazing as they’re cut and sanded… although particularly bad to inhale. Yes Mom and Dad, I did switch to wearing a proper respirator rather than a dust mask once I really got going.

Hopefully some new stuff for the Etsy shop soon… and a shoutout to Mary Jo Peritore (aka MerCurios) for the mention in her blog, Behind the Scenes

Victoria Steam Exposition in Photos

redbirdsong — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:41:44 +0000

A few photos from the Victoria Steam Expo, very appropriately described as STEAMPUNK in an historic and palatial Victorian edifice, in the heart of the crumbling colonial capital of a windswept Pacific island… more photos at the Victoria Steam Expo facebook page.

Check out the fabulous leather work of Skinz N Hydez (seen below), one of our artist neighbours at the convention, and the work of Thin Gypsy Thief, aka steampunk22, who made the lovely Da Vinci wings I got to wear – and before you ask, yes, they did open and close via a simple mechanism hidden in the back and activated by pulleys…

The event was beautiful and well-organized, (even the water provided came from a Victorian silver urn, poured into glass goblets), everyone was kind and looked fantastic… and one could enjoy a glass of wine at 10am. I had a wee hairstick hanging out in the corner of the table (and hilariously, nearly EVERY man that walked by picked it up and said “What’s this?” – whereas women merely observed that it was a hair stick I sold the piece about five days via Etsy later to someone who was close enough that they might have attended the convention. Who knows?

This gentleman had a wonderful mechanized arm, each finger fully articulating.

There were several people who looked as though they’d just been exploring…

One of many time travellers

Victoria Steam Expo

redbirdsong — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:19:49 +0000

I’ll be attending the Victoria Steam Expo helping promote Thin Gypsy Thief‘s work… and I suppose some of my own, in the sense that I’ll be wearing it! I don’t feel like I have enough to show at this point to justify reserving a whole table but I’m happy to show off the Mister’s work (he is really too modest sometimes)!

filaments & fire

redbirdsong — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 01:21:27 +0000

Something new for the etsy shop…

Reclaimin’

redbirdsong — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:45:18 +0000

A few photos from the day at the repurposing yard. Not shown is about 50 claw foot bath tubs… my secret dream, having been spoiled by living in places with such a luxury for a few years. I’ve spent four years with a regular tub and I still miss the deep, giant claw foot ones!

The wood is laid out according to size, so it was necessary for a more trained eye to identify useable pieces. We salvaged a lot of wood with both water & fire damage, hoping for something interesting to emerge. The wood was mostly arbutus – it was interesting to think that not only had this been a huge tree with its own history… but what building housed it? Who walked across the plank or leaned against the walls before we came upon this wood?

academie steampunk

redbirdsong — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:56:42 +0000

another link collection… more folks talking about social, cultural, artistic and political issues within steampunk as a subculture in 2010 and within victorian society as history knows it

Beyond Victoriana

“Beyond Victoriana is a blog about multicultural steampunk and retro-futurism–that is, steampunk outside of a Western-dominant, Eurocentric framework. All of the steampunkery here focuses on non-Western cultures, underrepresented minorities in Western histories (Asian / Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, First Nation, Hispanic, black / African), and the cultural intersection between the West and the non-West.” (excerpt from site)

Silver Goggles

“Explore[s] the possibilities of applying postcolonial theory within the literary and roleplaying aspects of the steampunk phenomenon in order to expand the current narratives to include those that center experiences, voices, and perspectives that are traditionally subaltern or marginalized in a larger Eurocentric context.”

Silver Goggles “engag[es] with issues of race, representation, diversity, and other such exciting adventures as one might find in a Scientific Romance” (excerpts from site)

Steampunk Scholar

“A blog devoted to the PhD research of Mike Perschon, aka Gotthammer” on his dissertation topic, “Steampunk as aesthetic” (excerpts from site)

Edwardian Promenade

For those interested in the Edwardian era (1901-1910)

The Victorian Era

A blog from a writer in the Netherlands with a personal interest in Victorian times.

the gaslamp bazaar

talk more about steampunk here: politics, art, activism. This forum is an offshot of steampunk magazine

and if you’ve not taken a look at the Steampunk Art Exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science at Oxford University, you’re in for a treat. Some incredible art featured!

mysterious girls

redbirdsong — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:04:34 +0000

a little picture-themed post… click the pictures to explore more

women & steampunk

redbirdsong — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:50:47 +0000

I’ve been featured in Overbury Ink‘s Steam Tuesday tour (thank you again Nancy!)

Super exciting and motivating… as well as an interesting experience overall for me. I had to think about my recent venturing into woodworking, and the fact that the things I’ve made fit into the ‘steampunk’ style. I make things that I would like to wear (and I do in fact make good use of my own art!) So, I thought a lot about the intersection between who I am (a woman living in 2010, to be very broad) and what I’m making (see above).

Then I started wondering if anyone else had thought about this… and indeed they have. Here’s a great link collection to keep the conversation going:

Feminism and Steampunk

Ada Lovelace Day/Women in Technology

19th Century Dress Reform

Turn-of-the-century clothing: to deviate or not?

Engineering and punk: from Radengineer, a fascinating blog “pushing the radical notion that engineers are women”

ooo shiny…

redbirdsong — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:26:31 +0000

A pair of pretties for my etsy store… this was a project from both the Mr. and I. I was very happy to be adding labradorite to these rosewood pieces – it’s one of my favorite stones.

They are thin enough to allow some spring light through… but still have that iridescent quality. Remember those oily stickers from the 80s? Reminds me of those…

new lovely

redbirdsong — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:05:22 +0000

Finally got this piece up in my etsy shop! It has been finished for quite a while, but I had a couple of lazy days in a row…

The Mr. bought me a different finish to apply to my next piece: tung oil. It dries MUCH faster than the finish I’ve been using, which means I can fiddle with things soon after applying it. I am not the most patient person in the world sometimes. He’s also made me a pair of matching rosewood sticks which I think I’m going to play with tomorrow! Watch for some photos…