My Coronavirus Staycation...

     Some of you may have heard that we're in the midst of a pandemic. I kid you not; a full blown, world wide (hence the name) pandemic. Precautions include stay at home orders for non essential workers. Hmmmm... OK. I can do that. In fact it's not much different from most days here. I'd like to share some photos from my shelter in place isolation.

     This is the year I wanted to get bees. I've been planning them for a couple of years, but last year was a bit hectic with some health issues. So this is the year. I want to use natural methods with local swarms so I started building a swarm trap. This is basically a box with a few frames in it for bees to set up a temporary home. These frames then get transferred to the permanent hive 2-3 weeks after a swarm moves in.

     I still need to build the lid, paint it, and finish the frames, but I got a lot done yesterday. While the trap is out I'll build the hive and another 20 frames. If you have any interest in natural beekeeping, check out Horizontal Hives. Dr. Leo Sharashkin is a good speaker and provides simple instruction and plans for natural beekeeping. You can also purchase most of the products from his site if you don't want to build it all yourself.

     Doc says I need to lose weight. Exercise is a must. The gym is closed so it's time to be splitting all of that wood I had seasoning. There is also another 1000sq ft of bamboo to clear, quail pens to build, and two gardens to prep for planting.

     Water purification has been on my mind a lot. If things get really weird out there, I want to be able to distill my own water and other products. You know I have to use that corn and rye I grew last year somehow. The simplest method is a pot still. I also tapped a few walnut trees. Making syrup requires removing the water. Next year I'll try distilling the sap. Water vapor should boil off, condense, and leave me with syrup in the pot and distilled water at the drip end. Two birds, one stone, and all that jazz.

     Right before the virus stuff, I started reading Steven Erikson's Malazan series. This has been fulfilling my relaxation reading time. It's about 18,000 pages of fiction by two authors in 22+ books. They're some of my favorite fantasy fiction novels of all time. It's not easy reading but toothsome and satisfying.

     I've also made some tome for painting and sculpting. I'm working on some Burrows and Badgers warbands and a British Penninsular army for Black Powder. There are also a couple of French commanders that were sitting on my shelf.

     Another fantasy series that I've always loved is Glen Cook's Black Company. I started sculpting some 15mm miniatures for that. The Taken are on the table now. Finishing these will probably coincide nicely with the when businesses are open again.

     Well... most of the other stuff going on is of the standard daily living variety. Routine chores are keeping me grounded. The occasional distant chat with a neighbor across the street and conversations via text, phone and email help keep me emotionally connected. All in all, things are well and Dude abides.

     Feel free to share your personal projects and thoughts about all of this in the comments. Take care, stay well, and be kind to each other.

Some things I've learned from a heart attack

     Some of you are aware that one year ago today I survived what my health coach calls a major heath event. The physical recovery has been fairly straightforward. The mental and emotional part has been a little more tricky. I'd like to share the following thoughts as a reminder to myself and anyone else dealing with similar issues.

     Some things I've learned from a heart attack...

1) Even in the midst of a life altering event, remaining positive, pleasant, and polite can greatly reduce or eliminate misery.

2) Beating yourself up over past mistakes will not heal you. Learn from them, make changes, and move forward.

3) Never underestimate the healing power and comfort of a few kind words, a call, or a visit to someone dealing with a crisis.

4) Listen to your body. It's smarter than your brain.

5) I've known this all my life but it's worth mentioning again. Gratitude is key.

     I wish you all health, wealth and joy in this new year.

 

Welcoming the New Year

     Man, it's been a long time.

     Recovery from a life changing health event has been interesting to say the least. The physical stuff was easy. Wrapping my head around things... well... not so much at times. It has made me question what it is I want to do and what direction I want my business to take.

      The short version is that I've decided to close the online website. There were just too many issues with security that Bluehost no longer wishes to help their customers with without a large outlay of money. So I'm shifting my business to a mail order model. During the rest of January I'll be posting photo catalogs as an album here at FB and as a page at the Highlander Studios blog. I'll also be putting it in PDF form to send to those interested in my products. I'll get a line item list together today to send to those interested in ordering products in the interim.

      I'm also thinking about selling some of the product lines and limiting the development of future lines so that I can focus more of sculpting and painting commissions. My true passion lies in the creation aspect of things rather than the business end.

      Thank you all for your support and interest in my work. May you have a prosperous, healthy and joyous new year!

Highlander Studios Product Catalog

Some Sculpting for Myself

     Winter and it's enforced time indoors has definitely helped get me back in the sculpting groove. I still need to wrap up two long overdue commissions. It is a great source of embarrassment when things get swept aside; not forgotten but lost in the daily grind due to one excuse or another. I blame rectal-cranial inversion.

     Since the beginning of February I've been averaging almost one figure a day, about forty in seven weeks. There is space on the table that I haven't seen in ages and the pile of completed figures ready to be molded has grown. Today I was able to deliver five personal projects to the mold maker for production in April. Here are a three of my favorites.

     I'm stoked and sculpting has become fun again. Now to finish those projects and the two new commissions.

Lo There Do I See My Father

     One of my guilty pleasures when it comes to movies is the 113th Warrior. Every time I see it when channel surfing, I stop whatever else I'm doing and watch it. It doesn't matter at what point I came in,I like to sit and finish the movie. Yes, I know it's crap from a historical perspective, but the imagery and the story have me in it's grip from the moment Hrothgar's son arrives at the Viking burial.

     When I started sculpting figures a whole new world was opened to me and my gaming table, but with it came a whole new set of problems. You see, I want to sculpt everything. Sometimes it is just an artistic interest to see if I can recreate some of my favorite characters in miniature. Other times, I want to put them on the table and have a game around them. There are stories to tell that aren't in the books and movies I'm reading. Also, I doubt very much if I'm the only person who feels this way.

     Now those first two paragraphs may seem to belong to two different posts, but when both concepts are experienced at the same time, there is an even more driving urge to create the subject matter in miniature. I don't have the time to go haring off after every sculpting whim. But every now and then the stars align and I get a commission to do those projects close to my heart. One such was Splintered Light Miniatures' Romano-British line of figures and the accompanying Dark Age armies. The most recent has been a set based loosely on the 13th Warrior also for Splintered Lght.

     Here are some pics of this 20 piece, 15mm set. They are in the order of completion. Some of the warriors' have very little screen time and costumes change throughout so I've done the best I could to find image sources and made other details up.

     To be honest, this project took a lot longer than it should have. Many life challenges, a project that was given priority, the search for imagery, and a garden that consumed nine months of my time last year got in the way. I was able to get back to sculpting regularly in January and get these wrapped up this month. I can't say when they will be made available as that isn't up to me.

     David, thank-you for your patience and the really cool commission.