Clean Slate… a great phrase.. a fresh start

in our life ? Well maybe, but I mean that that’s what I did this

afternoon.. .. clean slate.. as we helped our friend Chris  prepare

pieces of slate  shingles for sandblasting.. 

 Chris

makes these things into beutiful ornaments  He’s getting them ready for

the Vermont Artisanans Open Studio day and needed a few eextra hands.. 

My job was to use an air hose to blow off any chips of slate before their masked for sandblasting.

It

was so cool watching the thin sheets of slate come flying off under the

force of the air hose. Each of those sheets represented a layer of mud

sediment layed down on he bottom of soem body of water eans ago.. how

cool is that ? 

It was mindless. noisy and satisfying work. It was really gratifying to get to the bottom of the slate container. 

Here they are , ready to mask..

Meanwhile

Gabe worked on applying the rubber masks that pattern the sandblasting.

Gabe is really good at this sorty of fine work..

Chris

showed us the jar of used exacto blades he’s gone through over the

years.. He says that every one he’s every used is in either this jar or

an even larger oe he has in his shop !

While

Gabe and I worked with Chris on the rocks, Diane helped Kim weed one of

their many gardens.. It felt good to be useful !..

It’s always

cool visiting chris and kim.. they have soe much interesting stuff..

here’s Chris’s artistically done firewood stacks

Ans

his current in construnction sculpture project, mineral springs II.  

It’s a beutoiful copper and brassfoot treadle poered shower. It’s

really amazing 

The shower head is an old army helmet !

We each took a turn on Chris’s zip line to finish our day..

I noticed a Sam button in Chris’s work area.. been thinkign of him all day..

OK.. only 9 PM .. but I’m fading fast. Must get some sleep.. More tomorrow.
nite all, night Sam
-me