Lamps, the saga continues

Can you believe it took this much "stuff" to finally get the color I wanted? Well, it did. We have some really nice pieces of mission oak furniture that I tried to mimic as far as color. I think I did a good job. Living in the Japan wilderness makes it kind of hard to go to Lowes and pick a color off the store shelf. So, I had to improvise. The dyes I kept from many years ago. It was fun learning how to use them again.

Well, what do you think? Five coats, but who's counting. I like to sneak up on the color since once it's too dark you're screwed.

Lamp number one is stained and dyed. Four more to go. I think the others will go a lot faster...I hope.

Not to brag, but damn that came out well. 

Notice how the grain stands out. That's because of the dyes. Regular stain mottles the grain. I learned this the hard way.

I kept the night light pattern simple as I don't want to distract from the lamp shade. Colors are still undetermined as I don't know what colors are available in Japan. Please stay tuned for that. I'll be busy with the next four lamps and getting ready for the holiday season. Have a great Thanksgiving!

 

Please excuse that these pictures are not in order. Well, let's start here...the stiles are ready for stain and installation. Hope they fit,

No worries! Nice and snug.

The base is ready to accept the stiles. I lightly drilled the mortises to save a step... chiseling the stiles.

This is how to drill a square hole. Precision required as the mortise need to be snug, not too tight or loose.

Everything seems to fit just fine. No glue required as the rails lock the stiles in place. I couldn't have asked for a better fit.

I had some scrap wood so I made some feet for the lamps. I think it's a nice touch. Not hard to make as long as the blade is sharp and the cut is slow. Be careful not to burn the wood.

About 30 minutes of work.

Feet installed. The base is ready for disassembly, stain, and reassembly.

This is where the project sits currently. I'm mixing and experimenting with stains and dyes to get a reasonable mission oak finish. Stay tuned for that...

Before I end this post, I had a heck of a time figuring out how to replace the night light if it were to burn out. Ah Hah! I installed a couple of screws in the top plate and...

...plugged the holes. The plug is easily removed to access the screw so the lamp can be replaced. Damn, it's almost like I know what I'm doing.

Please stay tuned for the finish of the lamp base and the design for the stained glass for the base. 

 

Lamp Update

Been busy making the bases for the lamps. There are many tools required to accomplish this. I used to do a lot of woodworking about 24 years ago. Most of these tools were put away so I could remodel...four homes (just need a hammer for that). I had to relearn some skills so I wouldn't waste precious wood (white oak). Well, things are moving along and I still have all my fingers! I'm looking forward to doing some glasswork, but I still have some work to do on the bases. Right now, I'm making mortise and tenon joints for the framing of the glass in the lower part of the lamp. This is where the night light will go. More on that later. This lamp will have a lower stained-glass box and an upper lamp shade. I figured if I'm going to make something I might as well make it difficult. I think the part that is kind of a drag is that to make 5 lamps requires the same cuts to be made over and over. Fortunately, I only have to measure once and repeat...many times. The cuts tend to be more uniform and accurate if done all at the same time. I'm not crazy about making things repetitive, but it's the most efficient way to do this. Stay tuned as this project is just getting started.

Final lampshade design

Nothing fancy here...just a lot of routing and wood dust.

White oak ready to be made into lamps.

Bag of lamp parts. I didn't realize how many parts a lamp has.

This is just a few of the tools required to make these lamps come to life.

This tool is for making mortises (square holes).

Unfinished lamp bases...still a lot of work to do.

This tool is for making tenons on the table saw. 

 

Helix Nebula a.k.a. The Eye of God

 I took this image of the Helix Nebula in 2021 here in Tsukahara, Japan. A total of 21 hours of subs in Ha and OIII. I tried something new with color masks to bring out some of the faint details in Ha. Adam Block's fine tutorials was the key to this image along with some help from Russell Croman's BXT, NXT, and SXT. Adam was able to bring out the blue, OIII, in the outer shells. I think I need more imaging time to make that possible. In his description of the nebula, he noted near the center of the Helix is a star that is slowly shedding its outer shell as it dies. This creates enormous winds that blow the pillar shaped gasses away from the core of the nebula. What I find fascinating is that these pillars of gas also create shadows (whch can be seen in this image...barely) that look like dark streaks. You have probably seen this nebula on television shows like Cosmos, Nova, Star Trek, etc. as it is quite stunning.

M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy

 

Finally processing again. I've been busy with a bedroom remodel plus it's been such a hot and humid summer. Really haven't been able to concentrate on hobbies. Hopefully autumn will bring cooler weather...soon. This image was captured a couple of years ago. I took some less than optimal calibration frames for this image so the image background is dark. In other words, a dark background hides a multitude of sins, I mean mistakes. Well anyway, here's a couple of galaxies passing each other. Unfortunately for the smaller galaxy it's being assimilated by the bigger galaxy...you know, the big fish eats the little fish. One day in the far, far, very distant future our Milky Way Galaxy will meet a similiar end. Our cosmic neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, will assimilate our galaxy. Sorry to break the news, but as the old saying goes, "Nothing lasts forever".

Future projects in the mix consist of Prairie Style table and wall lamps. I have most of the lamp parts on hand along with some quarter sawn white oak. I'll be drawing a design shortly and share some pictures on the blog. I plan on making at least 5 lamps to start with. I haven't done anything like this before so we'll see how it goes. I'll be using my woodworking, glass, and electrical skills to make this all come together. I'm very excited to get this project started. 

Currently, I'm painting the master bedroom...again and will be painting the living/ dining room again. It's kind of a drag because the original paint I used faded and looks shabby. I switched to a reliable brand of latex paint from Cloverdale Paints (Canada) and hopefully this will be the last time I need to paint. The difficult and frustrating part about this paint job is that the original paint is made from a moisture wicking substance which leaves a surface that must be removed first before another coat can be applied. This is very time consuming and difficult to do. Well, enough complaining...time to get to work!

Sun dried tomatoes (in the oven)

We're having a very good year for tomatoes considering the lousy weather we have been experiencing. The problem with having so many tomatoes is what to do with them. Well, I love pizza especially pizza with sun dried tomatoes. Hummm, but we haven't had any consistent sun for the past month or so. Plus, summer in Tsukahara is the peak season for vacationing insects. They seem to congregate in our garden from all over Japan. No sun and lots of insects make the task of drying tomatoes in the sun impossible. Thanks to the internet I discovered making sun dried tomatoes in the oven. Hey, I'm using solar power for the oven so it's kinda like sun dried isn't it?

Alrighty then, to make a long story short...it's easy to do this. Make sure you use tomatoes of roughly the same size. I used cherry tomatoes. Cut them in half and place the cut side face up on something that doesn't stick. Very lightly salt the halves (helps bring out the flavor). Place in an oven set at 90C. Now be patient. Actually set the timer for 2 hours and forget about them. After two hours, gently press on the halves, but don't flatten them too much. They''ll squirt some liquid. To keep from making a mess just place a paper towel over the halves to absorb the excess liquid. I thought of this...pretty clever huh? Next, I lightly sprinkled some Italian seasoning over the halves and placed the whole thing back in the oven for another 2.5 hours. The entire house had a wonderful scent of sun dried tomatoes. It's easy to tell if the tomatoes are done...dry but pliable. Don't over do it or you'll end up with tomato chips! 

Storage is easy too. We decided to place the halves in a freezer bag and store them in the freezer. Another option is to store them in extra virgin olive oil. Pretty simple, right?

 

My cousin, Sachiko

 

Hello, I would like to introduce my cousin from Okinawa. Her name is Sachiko. Believe it or not, she is 73 years old. I first met her when I was 24 years old. I haven't seen or spoken with her in almost 40 years! One day I was looking at some old photos of the first time I visited Japan and I found her picture. My other cousin, Megumi, had her contact information and I invited Sachiko to come and visit. She was thrilled!! She stayed at our home for four wonderful days. Erika showed her the sights in Beppu and Yufuin. She experienced lots of home cooked meals and enjoyed the natural surroundings. It was an emotional reunion and goodbye and I'm looking forward to seeing her again.

Just Passing Time

I decided to give stained glass a brief rest and try my hand at intarsia. I used to do intarsia about twenty years ago. Here's a napkin holder that was inspired by our new rescue, Sky. Nothing too complicated...just something to get those creative juices flowing again.

 

M81 Starburst Galaxy

 According to esahubble.org, M82 is a starburst galaxy. Literally the stars are bursting from this turbulent and very active galaxy. The red plumes of hydrogen appear to be blasting out from the central core. New stars are being formed 10 times faster than our own galaxy. I find this galaxy to be quite unusual in appearance and I have always wanted to photograph it since I was a kid.

Finished Sunflower Stained Glass Mural

It's funny how life works. When I started this project I wanted to lighten the darkest area of our home with a colorful stained glass. Soon after I cut holes in wall I learned that Lucky (my dog) had a tumor that would end his life. The glass took on a whole new purpose. I desperately wanted to express my feelings I had towards all of the dogs I have shared my life with...Jeff, Sunny, Windy, Kiley, Lucky and all the rescues I have known or yet to know. Each flower displays its own personality which I tried to express in the pattern and color choices. I think each dog's character has been respectfully represented with each flower. 

The project started in August of 2021 and was completed in February of 2023. I tried to use every color of the rainbow. I ended up using 32 various colors of glass from five different manufacturers. The entire mural is six feet wide by four feet wide (190cm x 130cm). Several guests have commented that the mural made them feel happy. One person said it was breathtaking and uplifting. I think I accomplished lightening the darkest area of our home, but most important, I managed to lighten my spirit at a time when I felt the darkest. As a footnote, the day I completed and installed the last panel of the mural, I received the news that two dog rescues were available for adoption. One of the rescue workers commented that it felt as if my previous dogs were giving me permission to open my heart for those rescued pups. I could not have asked for better news.

Big News!!

 Well, first the big news. Yesterday our new rescue doggies arrived. The girls name is Holly and she is 8 and the boys name is Sky and he is 6. They were rescued from horrible conditions. Holly was only 4 kg with severe digestion problems. Sky is missing two toes from his rear foot along with some psychological problems. Both doggies are in need of training. Dog walking is an entirely new concept for them. The only home they knew were cages for their entire life.

We will give them freedom, home, care and love they deserve for the rest of their lives...I promise. Right now, we are busy house training them. It's easy to see that they are eager to learn. I think that Sky is a mix and Holly might be a Jack Russell. No one knows about their past as they were taken from someone who had over 50 animals in different stages of deteriorating health. Our home must feel like Disneyland to them. We plan on keeping it that way.

The curious thing about all of this is that we heard about these pups the day I finished the sunflower stained glass mural. We all feel that it was Lucky and Kileys blessing that we have these doggies. Speaking of glass, I'll be posting some pictures in the next post. Please stay tuned.