4/26/2010

Grumpy - and an octopus

I guess it was bound to happen.
You can't just go, buy a can of resin and expect it to work right away. A new technique, even if you just want to seal something, needs time. Practice. Patience. An increasing moon in the second house of Venus in retrograde.
Heck, yeah, I have no idea what I'm talking about!

But how embarrassing is it to say - I wanted to open the can and couldn't. There were two clasps on it and when I tried to take them off I broke my favorite pair of scissors (earned the hard way by spending too much money on cat food, it was a gift from my cat food shop, but it was such a good one!). Then I bent up the lid all the way around. It looked a little like modern art, but I tried to get IN there, thank you very much!
Finally I did. At first I thought there was a layer of whatever on it, but I guess it was dried whatever, eh, resin. I got rid of it and hopefully stuck a wooden stick into the resin. Ehm, wasn't that supposed to be kind of, eh, like, eh, liquid? Yes, that was exactly how I stood there. Actually my whole face was one big "eh".

I had read the instructions. This can had not been in the cold for a few days, so what was going on here? I read the instructions again, this time in Finnish. You never know what you miss if you only read the German ones. After noticing that I held the paper upside down, I went back to the German ones after all.
"Put the can in a hot water bath for 10 minutes." I'm not a cook, but that is my easiest exercise. Pot, water, stove, let the water sizzle, but not boil. 10 minutes exactly. Ping.
Another attempt at stirring the mass, but this time it tried to eat the wooden stick. I checked the can again. There, it said "resin", not "alien sticky blobby mass from Vungula IV". Hm, maybe another 10 minutes. Maybe it's like watching milk. I should just let it do its stuff whatever that may be and do something else.

What about that abandoned bezel whose color I didn't like for the Septarian? I could make something for it from polymer clay. I measured the bezel, mixed some blue and black. A deep water scene with seaweed in green and white. Little silver fish. This turned out to be much more fun than watching the can.
From time to time I went over to the stove to check on the alien. It tried to eat another wooden stick, but apart from that it stayed unchanged. Ugly words floated around in my head.

Where the octopus came from, I don't know. He happened, like many of my designs happen, but once he was in my head, I immensely enjoyed the process of wrapping seaweed round his tentacles and the other way round.
The eyes were last. I wondered if I should give him a cutesy look, but suddenly these slightly evil eyes were staring at me. I tell you what, I don't say that often, but I love him just the way he is and I think I'll keep him for myself.


As for the resin? After wasting energy for about an hour I gave up on it. For now, that is. I won't let a transparent alien beat me, no sir!

6 comments:

  1. I will be watching since I know nothing about resin. The octopus is way cool...love the evil eyes.

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  2. *snort* Alien sticky blobby mass from Vungula IV ::rolls on floor laughing:: I'm sorry you had so much trouble with it, but I know you will overcome!

    I love the little evil-eyed octopus--do you think his name might be Aristotle?

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  3. Love the Octopus. Love it's eyes. Sorry about the resin.

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  4. haha! Love the octopus, you've put me off resin for life though.

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  5. OH my...

    At least you didn't get your hand stuck in the can or resin in your hair, thank goodness! Your story will be running through my head when I do battle with resin this morning. Thanks for the laugh!

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    Replies
    1. I was even afraid to take a picture of it, I didn't want to aggravate it any more! ;-)
      The shop did take it back, though
      http://catswire.blogspot.de/2010/05/oh-its-fluid.html

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