Yep, its me. I am spending my time this weekend working on a project for my cousin, Jen. Her fundraiser auction for the Olympia M.S. Walk is next weekend. I don't tend to raise a lot of money at these events with my metal art. For example, for three years in a row, I donated a bottle tree to the school auction. The top year, it earned $80. The market for these trees is between $100-300. I sold a bottle tree for $250 after hosting a booth at an art festival.
With that said, I try not to take the low bid price personally. It could be the art or just that the crowd is not really into art, as they are more interested in getting a good deal on car washes or window cleaning. I took a poll of my friends and asked what I should create out of metal, and what is a popular item right now. The winning idea was a rain chain. I have never made one before, but the concept seems simple. Replace the gutter downspout with a chain and make it look interesting as the water pours down it. I decided to use stainless steel so that it wont rust, and I have a lot of the material on hand. The material was given to me by the Pomegranate Center when they were cleaning out their garage, so some of the pieces have an interesting shape. I chose one that looks like a vine. I will be cutting it more to resemble leaves. I found blue glass globes from a light fixture at the Rebuilding Center for about $3 each. They didn't have any chain there that I could re-purpose, so the chain is new from Lowes.
The final design turned out pretty well, albeit, photographing stainless steel in my garage is not really easy. It stands five feet with another eight feet of chain. Spread the word, email me your bid if you are interested. It is for a great cause!
