Waiting is the hardest part

There are many things in life you have to wait for: Christmas morning, your coffee, your incubating child, your grades, the bus. You know that you will receive but the waiting is the hardest part. Just be here already! The anticipation is what people revel in but refuse to admit. I believe, waiting is where its at. They say that the difference between a child and adult, or the smart versus the ignorant, is the ability delay instant gratification. Much can be said about this in that those who can put off what can be easy today, will await a bigger reward later. Huh?

Just get here now!

So, I will revel in waiting by continuing this robot in the cave.
























~Nick

Celebrating with a fast

I scored a book deal yesterday! Waiting on the particulars but it looks like its a go. From what I know, it will be a children's book focusing on energy conservation. I'm wearing a big cheesy grin thinking about working with science again. Admittedly, I barely passed my highschool chemistry class. Later when I took physics in college, I did quite well. So there's some hope that I'll make this a believable portrayal. My comprehension of protons, neutrons, and molecules is something I'd like to fix some day.

Today I'm starting a two day fast. I'll eat nothing except for the occasional coffee (can't possibly give that up) or juice. This will end on Saturday morning with a bagel, coffee, and a piece of fruit. I can already taste the schmear.

Ran across this photo album today. Very cool. http://imgur.com/a/ITNuJ#1
















~Nick

Happy Valentines!!

(Click for larger)

Be mine. Please?

~Nick

Art space done; Art in-progress

Completed the construction of my drawing table this past weekend which finalized the construction of all the furniture in the space. I'll sand and stain the wood, possibly router the edges thereby finishing this project. It does look nice rough and raw but I'd like to protect the surfaces of the wood somewhat from future spills and stains.

Also last week, I was able to finish the concept stage of a new product design I'm working on with a client. So, in the mean time, more project searches and working on my personal art work. Here's a sketch of an idea I came up with last year that got shelved for a time. A kid is reaching up to an unearthed robot in a cave. I'll post a final version in a future post and on conceptart.org. Enjoy!

Coffee is a working man's drink

My new favorite is Trader Joe's Italian Roast. Bold, dark, smokey and a little greasy which is funny because some would say a perfect depiction of your average Italian male. Not a guido mind you, those are Americanized Italians. I'm thinking of the short, hairy, pitt-stained, wife-beater wearing, cigarette smoking Roman guy selling me fake oil paintings of Fontana De Trevi. This is what I think about when I drink a cup of this stuff. Plus, the packaging is cool. I'm always warm inside when I see a company use illustrations for their marketing efforts. Trader Joes actually uses a lot of artwork in their products so I'm happy to patronize them.
























I worship the gods of Stumptown roasters and when I can't get out to visit their shop, I brew some of this. I definitely see an increase in productivity when I'm on this stuff. I feel a little like that italian man hawking his wares on the streets of Rome. Crazy about Coffee gave it 4 out of 5 beans. Check it out.

~Nick

New Workshop

For the last several weeks, I've been constructing a workshop/art studio where I can work on my mad creations. Jim Wilson of Silverton, Oregon, was kind enough to hand down most of his woodworking tools he used during the majority of his home and barn building career. A gold mine to say the least. Considering it was bound for an eBay sale, I'd say I saved hundreds of dollars and time. More importantly, is that these tools are fully broken in and I love using old tools. The Rockwell Model 14 band saw alone was worth the sweat getting it into the basement. Its old and glorious and while the blade initially kept slipping off the rubber wheels, it runs like a champ. I was able to cut joints into 2x4's today for the table frame I built. The table frame will be the support for the adjustable angle drawing table (pictured on the right).


















As you can see, I've already built a set of shelves near the door for art supplies. Above the table I want to install a peg board to hang tools and parts for easy access and organization. More pictures to come.

Also this week, I'm working on a product concept with a former coworker of mine who is starting a soapstone company. That's all the details I can give at this point but hopefully soon I can get permission to post the concept drawings. Will probably happen when the packaging has been ordered.

Have an awesome week!

~Nick

Inspiration

I was really inspired by this so I decided to share. His reaction is gold.