That one time I had to call Pixar

 If you know me well enough, you will know that I can be...er...impulsive.

Good thing or bad thing...it all depends. This has either landed me making a real good joke, or throwing egg all over my own face. If you are ever bored on a Saturday, just go and find an adult who grew up as an only kid. We shall find enough to help fill and make the day interesting.

So, one afternoon after the kids had come off the bus and I had some time to kill before we headed off to church to help run troops. I looked at the dining room walls and remembered about a piece of art I had saved from moms old house that I wanted to hang. It was a wooden relief carving of a chicken. For as long as I could remember, it hung in the kitchen, right before heading out, just past the trash bag on the counter. After years of neglect, it was gunked with dust/cooking oils/cobwebs etc. The redwood needed a scrub with wood oil to bring things back to life and enhance all the details found in the chicken.

After using a mini electric spinning scrub brush, much like a slightly larger tooth brush head, I turned it over to discover there was a partial address, phone and the name Harley Jessup. The last name Jessup was also carved into the front right bottom corner

With having a name to go on, I was curious as to who this artist was and if they continued to do any more of this work. I found myself doing this a lot with the art pieces which graced the walls of my childhood home to see if the art had much value before posting them on marketplace. Google is as good as gold when going cold searching.

I entered the name and chicken carving + wood relief into the search field. I wasn't getting much with any artist related to wood carving or anything else that looked anywhere close to the above style. But yet, I did have some sorta famous person who kept coming up. What caught my eye was they had been invited as a guest speaker for commencement for Oregon State University and featured in the college's alumni publication.

Hmmm...that's located in Corvallis. We have A LOT of family history there with the former Sand and Gravel plant, family alums and my grandmother growing up there. The address on the back just listed some Hall...like a college dormitory. When I asked my mother where this piece of art had been procured from, she said it was from an old restored Methodist church that had been turned into an art gallery. She spent $60 on it in the very late 70's and had thought to gift it to one of her uncle's wifes as she loved farm house décor and...chickens. Except, it never became gifted and lived in SoCal for 40 years.

I continued to read up on this Harley Jessup guy. His degree in graphic design took him eventually to the bay area where he did the large maps of Neverland for the movie Hook and other projects with Industrial Light and Magic. Eventually it brought him to work at Pixar.

So, here I am calling Pixar and getting a robot voice to speak of the person you wished to contact. Nervously, I spoke his name...paused.....and then it rang.....until I got a VM prompt.

"Hi, my name is Erin and you don't know me. But if you ever carved a wooden chicken, please give me a call. Otherwise, if a wooden chicken seems odd to you, please disregard this message and go on with your day."

Okay then...nothing else I can do at this point and we best be getting off to church for troops.

During dinner, I get a call from an LA area number. Now, usually I ignore these numbers as its usually some solicitation about an extended car warranty, insurance or a time share vacation I'd won. 

But...what if it was.....Jessup?

Upon answering..."Yes, this is Harley Jessup, and that is my chicken you speak of!"

I FOUND THE ARTIST......and

HE WORKS AT FLIPPIN PIXAR.....and

HE IS THE HEAD OF THE ART DIRECTION DEPRTMENT....and

HE HAS COME UP WITH THE ART DIRECTION FOR MONSTERS INC,UP, RATATUOI...and others!

It turns out, he only did wood carving for a very limited stint. A very large piece for his family and the solo chicken was done for a freshman level art course at OSU. He had donated it to the gallery as part of an auction/fundraiser for restoring the old church building at the time. Except he never went to the opening night of the gala and never checked up on if the piece had sold.  He said it was like looking back on an old friend. 

I've shared some of my illustration work with him and he showed me the first piece he did, complete with an accompanying rooster in it. 

So, now our chicken hangs in our dining room and I look at it with a whole new set of eyes and appreciate it all the more knowing where the artist started and brought him in life.

     

 

Never One to be Quiet

 

With the craziness of summer come and gone and the kids returning to in person school.....life has brought me to a new season of life. The season where, since becoming a SAHM, I am now kid free during the work week. Having all the kids back in a routine of getting on a bus and a set schedule outside of a screen has been more then beneficial for all of our mental health needs.

Speaking of a crazy summer...late July I had a bit of a mental break down. Considering all that I had been going through, I thought it must be even more then my medications could handle. I was exhausted in the physical and emotional sense, but if I didn't keep continually busy, all I wanted to do was cry. I was super irritable, snapping at my kids over small things, patience extremely limited and unless certain people needed to know specific information, I felt it was best to keep things on a need to know basis. Otherwise, I couldn't handle having to explain all the details. Unbeknown at the time, and by my husband, there had been a big goof in my daily medications that had me going cold turkey on a very important prescription.

After all this was figured out, I had the motivation to set up a piece of heavy machinery that has changed much of my free time in the barn....

With the sale of my childhood home, I acquired a Delta wood lathe, complete with many standard cutting tools, accessories and slow speed grinder. In the last several years, I had eyed a few on FB market place. Except I either didn't have really ANY space in my 10x10 wood shed and/or they weighed nearly a TON and purposed for commercial shop space.

This new passion of wood turning has captured my heart and rekindled my years of throwing pots in high school and college ceramics. Now with my old love and passion for wood working, I spend as much of my time in the barn covered in wood shavings.

With MANY learning curves, near disasters, splitting final pieces due to improper wood drying and a few expensive trips to Woodcraft...

             

All of these pieces started off as a log, still holding the bark.

I've been scouting for free wood and different species. My favorite seems to be Honey Locust and most Maple varieties for how smooth I can get them in the finish sanding stages. All pieces are only finished off with a wood turners varnish to seal things, but let the organic nature of the grain shine.

I do hope to sell a few pieces this gift giving season. Not to make really a profit, but to take the earnings to reinvest into better tools to continue this passion. A passion that has been an added savior for my mental health. In order to cut costs, I've repurposed a graduation gown from a thrift store by tailoring in the gaping sleeves to make it safe. Every day is pomp, wood shavings and circumstance!   

Let me know if you would like to order a piece as advanced notice is appreciated. After each item is finished, it is plunged into a giant tub of wood shavings to slowly dry out evenly and avoid any splitting due to atmospheric changes.  

  

Time flies!

 Okay,

The last time I wrote in this archaic piece of social networking was back in the summer of 2017!

Most of you, who will read this, stay up to date on face space anyways...so no need to recap the last 3 years....

Now that summer is officially over with, (did it really even start?!) everyone is adjusting to a whole new normal with back to school and wondering what the holiday season this fall might look and feel like.

Except....I'm having to adjust to a very new normal. A normal which entails having one of the kids grandmothers living only minutes away. I WISHED to have the fun luxury of memories past when visiting a grandparent happened with the use of a car....instead of walking down the hallway.

This grandmother, would of course, be my own mother. Since moving away in 2006 and the yearly 1 month visit she would make once the grandbabies started arriving....Matt and I have never had the blessing of a near by familial helper with the kids...until now.

Folks....we can have date nights happen more often then 2 or 3 times a year! Not that we've gone anywhere super special on these occasions. I mean, the super Walmart or Costco brings its charm....but no candle lit dinners on linen table cloths where the only "high chair" you'll find is up at the bar.

.....But with every new change in life, comes the passing of an old.

Just this month, my childhood home is now pending with an investor to be rented out. It had sold to a neighbor who was either going to be a landlord or flip it, as it helped meet the need of a long term project to stay busy during this time of quarantine.

Several years prior, I felt there was a need to start letting go of the idea of being able to hang on to the house once mom physically moved out...either to a home or eternally. six years had passed since I had last visited. Life, babies, new family being found...new chapters and lack of extra cash to get away made pushing off travel inevitable.

This flaming dumpster pile of a summer forced me to dive deep into the realities of what its like to get serious about the changing of the care taking roles between child and parent. I was grateful to find a buyer so easily with someone we knew. Grateful to know mom's new place in Indiana would be afforded with the house sale money. If only it was Matt and I being the buyer and renting or selling it to people we knew and being a blessing.

 A month was spent clearing the house out, filling a truck and selling of what retail treasures mom had amassed. It was hard to believe I was stepping on "virginal" portions of garage floor! Never had I seen how open and empty the garage had become after all the sweat equity I had put in.

In the last days leading up to our departure, lots of pictures were taken. Silly, but views from windows like my bedroom where the sun would rise and great me with my 6:30 am alarm of the Jeff n' Jer radio showgram starting with "Lovely Day" during highschool and college.

Now, I look at the listing pictures with the walls painted, fixtures changed, outside landscaping taken out or re-shaped....

No more character I once knew.

No more juicy naval oranges from the tree mailed out at Christmas.

No more care packages from mom with the old return address.

The house will now go back to being rented out, which I believe is what it was used for prior to mom buying the 2 house property back in 1980. Yet, God brought a friend into my life in HS where it was her mother who had first lived in this house built in 54'. Same bedroom in fact!

Indiana is where I now call home. Despite the kids having made a big move they will remember....its my responsibility to make this new place, the place they can call home when they've made the transition to adulthood and move out on their own.

A new home where holiday gatherings have started to grow with more love and family near by, as Matt's mom will be retiring and moving within driving distance next summer.

I use to grow up with no near by family....now family is finally coming to us.

Dusting things off......

Hello? (echo echo)


It's been nearly 6 months since I last updated this space, and even as I try to type, I have a very obstinate four year old encroaching on my time. Such is life as a mom!

So I guess here is the run down...

January: Asbestos abatement, surprise electrical break down and 2 new sub panels, Nolan turned four
February: Celebrated eight years of marriage
March: Nolan started full day public prek 3 and rides a school bus
April: Spent our last holiday with both Mom and Dad as a family during Easter, roof damaged by ice
May: Watched Dad go on to the next life and celebrated his life with dear friends and family
June: Alden turned 2, drove to OH with mom Eva for Aunt Linda's funeral, Eliza completed Kindergarten

Speaking of our two year old,...

Weight: 29 lbs. (62nd %)

Height: (97th %)

Head: (97th %)

Alden loves everything boy, from climbing/wrestling, time spent in the sand box or water table, exerting his new found exploration, roaring with dinosaurs and lots of cars/planes/transformer play.

Language continues to grow with using two word sentences and a few learned phrases.

The boys have been in bunkbeds since late winter, with no real problems with sleep. Before not too long, I am sure the kitchen table highchair will be retired.

Food with this boy is very fickle. I can look at a kids menu and scratch my head as to what I can possibly feed him. I pray that hot dogs and other general meats and fruits will be accepted as suitable food, or I foresee a lot of meal time fights and a hungry tummy at bed time. This momma is not a short order chef!

2016 Prayersolutions Throwback Answers

Chug....chug-a-lug'n along. Time to look back at just how God showed himself to our family this year.

Dear Gracious Heavenly Father...

Family
Very much is uncertain for our extended family. Matt's father has been diagnosed with stage four cancer. Its been all rather sudden for us all. Please give the doctors the wisdom as to how to best attack it. Give our father the strength as he goes through chemo. Also give peace and endurance for our mother as she cares for him. I am so thankful for my children getting to grow up with a grandfather in their lives. It was something I never got to experience, and I praise you for breaking the cycle in our family.

This has been a hard year for Matt's dad. The chemo has not worked how we were all hoping for. It has continued to come up in scans as spreading to his liver and lungs. He is now trying an oral chemo treatment as opposed to being hooked up to a travel pump for 3 days. After a few cycles, another scan will be scheduled to see how the cancer is reacting to it. Mom has been given, by the only I am, added super powers to help care for her husband and added responsibilities in their ministry roles.

Home
Please bring fourth a moving crew to help us make this move in yet another winter. I look at all we've amassed in 6 years of our last cross country move and can't help but feel overwhelmed at all which has to get packed and moved. You also know of the work we still will need to put into the house before and after we move in. May your timing be perfect and help us realize it when we get worried or frustrated with the work being done.

Such a life changing event! God not only brought forth a crew of folks to help with the move.....He also provided us with a moving truck and 4 guys for 4 hours to get all the big/major stuff AND move it into the house. Through our wonderful neighbors at the old place, sacrificed their family time and know how in getting two bedroom floors laid down right before the furniture was to get moved in. I knew we didn't have the space to shuffle furniture around between the rooms and hallway; and all the very old red and brown/green/orange shade shag carpet had to get pulled out and subfloor prepped. An added bonus was the snowfall holding off until after we had moved in!

Community
I pray for the wisdom and discernment as to how best to serve our community. There are many hurting and broken people who just need to be loved. Please help our family better reach out to these people and any resources we might need to do so.

In this season of life, ministry takes on a different look/feel. With three littles to raise, a house to run and a marriage to build.....one can not simply run out the door with a cape on to save the world. But in small ways, the light can still shine. My lamp has just taken on a different look.

Business
Please help bring photography clients my way. I really do enjoy doing what I do when the opportunities present themselves. I would love to seek out any other working from home possibilities...whether it be doing side work of face painting or even being able to bless a family with affordable childcare like we have experienced in the past. I know how frustrating that process is when you want a reliable care provider in a loving home. With the blessing of having a bigger house, I ask for your will on that way to help provide for our family needs.

God did come through with a blessing of some extra income by the way of doing childcare! And The Geddes Touch being developed this fall was a nice surprise. It has allowed me to invest in some decent tools to continue in my artistic home decor business, while also applying them to the various future home repair/remodel projects on the docket. Even just the spare money from collecting deposit cans while out in the community have helped fund some of the up front costs of producing my work.

An open letter: To the Craft Show Participant

I see you walking down the halls or aisles....

You may or may not have already purchased something....

But I see you glancing with a focused eye at all the goodies stacked at eye level.

We, the vendor/crafter sit with anticipation, studying your body movements, hoping you'll pause to take a longer look at our wares.

The mobile young children in tow tell us you won't get much time to stop and shop. They will have already pulled your arm out of its socket, hollering at you to keep moving. I did the same thing as a kid, but stood outside the booth, pacing just past, wondering as to how much more time could my mother spend in this one spot!

I see the old women, who glance at my skill and craft. Your heart wants to buy, but the brain and its logic win when reminding you how you don't have anyplace to plop another knick knack. But you enjoy seeing it nonetheless.

A group comments on an item and how it would be perfect for so and so. Everyone agrees, but continues walking by.

I lower my prices, in hopes it was the reason why you were holding the purse strings tightly.

There are the well meaning folks who see your work. Many compliments about how great your work/products are....talent etc. You hear it a lot as the clock is being watched, but find they are only hollow shells when nothing results in a sale following it. Like a perpetual honorable mention ribbon in your life. You get acknowledged, but fall short from placing with any real substance.

I wonder if I'd be any happier if folks just kept quiet while browsing until moving on.

I've been working very hard in the months leading up to this show....sacrificing time with my family, house responsibilities and sleep to be ready. Our money has been used to get needed supplies and to rent a booth for this show. Yet we end up feeling used as an art museum for the day. Your eyes have been excited at all the pretty things, or your mind is racing with inspiration as to how you could recreate it on your own.

As vendors, we can't help but question why you felt purchasing items x y and z were of more value over ours, even when it wasn't anything related to what we sold. Then of course, we remind ourselves of how we want everyone to do well. But I still can't help but scratch my head over just a few...

I think the folks who make decent money at these shows are the ones who put them on and sell spaces. This particular show and my last experience were at least put on as a fundraising events. I am happy for being able to help support a school's PTG, while also minimizing entry fee costs. But unless people who attend these fundraising fairs are purchasing items other than food.....vendors won't return.....groups don't raise funds....and both parties lose.

I've talked with a lot of crafters, and one theme keeps coming up. We aren't looking to get rich from these sales. Most of us just want to get something back from all the time/money spent creating, so we can continue doing what we love. My goal was/is to be able to purchase a workshop tool to allow me to be able to produce some different art while also producing the current items in a safer manner.

I'm pretty sure a few techniques I use to create are not recommended by the manufacture.....

On a side note....for those of you I know personally....I don't hold any grudges or ill feelings towards anyone if they didn't buy anything. Friendship is always going to trump over little things like this, and I value yours much much more.

A Life After Babies

As I stated in a blog post prior about how life is chugging along, I sit here typing in the wee hours of the night after failed attempts of getting back to sleep. I'm pretty sure I know this is a side affect of my ADHD medication, but hoping its not going to be a regular occurrence.

So blog post it is!

At the same age give or take, Alden has been weaned. The same behavior issues were resulting as like his brother....and this momma was now over this bonding experience.

........And I have to say.....I am not really missing it. Yes, I just said that. Three and a half years of my life were given to trying to ensure they could get the most health benefit from the liquid gold.

So now what?

Why, a whole new lifestyle that is!

I can now shop for tops/sweaters and not have to test it for how easy I could whip a boob out while not flashing whatever bystander was near. The girls get to 'move up' to a new position post with the help of underwire! No more having to re click the nursing bra back after wrestling a baby and toddler on my lap.

THE BAR IS CLOSED!

Nolan frequently refers to my boobs as 'mommies milk', and has been obsessed with them since day one. After having weaned him for 15 months, one day after being incredibly tired of fighting him off while nursing his brother, said, "Fine....go ahead!"

He latched and nursed as if those last 15 months were only but a skipped day.

But the latch of a near three year old is not the same as the one of a six month old.

Yep.....this ain't going to continue.

I'm not stuck holding a baby to feed or rock to sleep and can go and reinvest in my previous hobbies/passions which had to sit off to the side most of the time except for a few brief moments I was able to indulge myself with a personal project.


In the last few days, I've looked on at the family as my three are sitting on the couch with Gram while she reads a few more stories before her soon to be here flight home.....

This life stage is actually pretty enjoyable. Yes, my last baby is no longer a baby and pushing his independence and curiosity for life further each day.....but so much about everyday life is very much exciting to him. I've noticed how he'll roll a train car over my curves, jumping it from fat mound to leg and back to fat mound like Evil Knievel ramps. *sigh*

Nolan will be overheard playing with one of the boys I watch during the day and reenacting with his Rescue Bots along with Optimus Prime trying to save each other. Just his own fantasy role playing that Eliza didn't get very big into

....And my big five year old, bus riding kindergartener. Her new abilities she's developing from improving her speech, learning to read and even following step by step visual directions to put together a Lego Friends set pieces.

My kids love each other....most of the time....and love their parents.....most of the time.....

I really am blessed.

We may have a giant hole in the ceiling, a kitchen that can't be kept clean, one car we have to share between a career/kids/appointments/life, bitten off more than we might possibly be able to chew....

But blessed :)