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What do ambulances, shootings, diapers, income tax, improvisation, crocodiles, cashews and motherboards have in common?

My life recently.


....and that's not including teenagers and mid-term progress reports, nor MY job.

Busts that get busted (or should have been)

My bust, as hastily thrown together as I could get away with looks like a cross between Trudeau and Plato with Bob Marley Rastafarian dreadlocks on a rather saggy pedestal. My husband likes it. Did another one twenty years ago that I remember struggling through and finally finished, only to have her neck break in the kiln, and my instructor glued it together with epoxy that dripped everywhere. Then someone saw it, and claimed it was a beautiful piece of modeling (which made me proud), but all I could see was the gobs o’ glue. It was suggested it go in an exhibition, and all I remember was it looked so stupid with that black velvet ribbon covering up the gobs o' glue.

Oh well, I can always make another, I remember thinking.

Now I’ve got a philosopher/prime minister who sports very nicely repaired dreadlocks, but so what? I don't like it. He does make the bookcase look intellectual though. Might even be more effective if there wasn’t a pile of dog-chewed socks at the bottom.

And my lovely lady? She was buried glue deep in the garden peeking through some day lilies and a fuzzy green plant; and looked absolutely gorgeous when you discovered her. After 10 years, the moss and soil rather broke down the clay, so I brought her in - but she’s in a box somewhere because she has no neck.

Expecting a picture, were ya?

Stuff is busted. My apologies.

Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Not too much of industrial interest here, but be looking towards a tropical series of works. One SLR, one digital, one camcorder and enough batteries to power Guanacaste translates to about 1,000 images to work from and we`ve only been here a couple of days.

The weather is a sweltering 33 on average, and howler monkeys wake us up in the morning. By bedtime, I´m the howler monkey, because after all, resort life and free drinks are an inescapable fact of life.

We went to Nicaragua yesterday and by the end of the day as we were touring the colonial city of Granada, I think I heard myself wishing for Canadian winter. But only for a microsecond, mind you!

We also visited an active volcano, and although there was no lava flowing - just lots of sulfur and gas, I found myself finding the perfect tie-in for the industrial series - Nature`s Smelter.

The pool beckons, and it is high time for a drink.

Adios amigos!

Pumped (Allis Chalmers SRL pump)

Falconbridge Nickel Mines: Converter aisle; view from smelter floor

Falconbridge Nickel Mines: Converter Aisle

Anyox BC: Turbine

Sudbury: Superstack