Not MGLN content, but I found this video of Masami Okui and Nana Mizuki singing Rinbu Revolution, the opening for Revolutionary Girl Utena. I didn’t want it to get lost, so I’m posting it here for others to enjoy.
Ephesians 5:15-16 (NIV) - Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
A few weeks back I chatted to Robyn Galway and Jemma Millen about my creative life and practice for their Making Conversations podcast. The episode is now live on their website here. For iTunes here, Podbean here,Spotifyhere and Google podcasts here.
I accidentally cut up a French Classic Erotic Novel
I like to make boxes out of old books. I started in high school, and these days I choose my books carefully: a good size hardcover, interesting look, and most importantly: the contents should be irrelevant. As far as “irrelevant books” goes, obviously I’m not chopping up books just based on personal taste: there are a lot of older books with good hardcovers that contain racism, so I pick those. (I have one I’m still working on called “The Gentle Americas” that glorifies colonization, so that shit is not needed.) I saw this gorgeous, somewhat smaller than usual, black hardcover with gold details, both on the outside and inside. And it was in French! (Now that I live in Australia, that is more of a novelty than growing up in Ontario, Canada). So a cool looking French book in Australia: meh, I’ll make it an even cooler box, no need to worry what it’s about.
Well, I’ve even taken a book binding course, so I made five signature of 8, and started sewing them together. It was when I was sewing the very middle signature, that the text finally jumped out at me:
Now, while I did nine years of French Immersion, there are some words they don’t teach you, that you have to learn yourself: fit éjaculer deux fois - ejaculated twice sondait l’anus - probed the anus
Aw man! What did I cut up??? Sadly, as it turns out, a French Classic. The book is (or was) Juliette, ou les Prospérités du Vice by the Marquis de Sade (first published 1801, my copy 1974). So. The deed was done. What could I do now??? Well, if you know me at all, you know I am very patient with precise, detail oriented creativity. I’ve gone through pages from an old book before, and re-contextualized the text: http://elijasaurus.tumblr.com/tagged/cut-and-paste-poetry-series So why not do the same? What a better way to unwind after a long day of bow tie making, pattern drafting, and gardening (one day I’ll have a job that pays me), then finding (and sometimes translating) old French erotica? It’s a great way to brush up on my French, and to learn some new words–more useful than Duolingo can provide.
I’ll definitely be compiling the found sentences/snippets into a zine, along with translations and a selection of “cut out and rearrange!” like a fridge magnet poetry set. Here’s some that’s I’ve come across (no pun intended, jk) so far:
Go ahead an type some of these into Google translate, it’s well worth it. I mean, who the fuck knows what Google analytics now thinks I’m up to, but whatever. (Also, after posting this I’m sure the amount of porn blogs/bots that follow me is going to skyrocket.)
There comes a time where, as an artist, you grow bored, hit a creative rock, or plainly just really start to hate your work you are producing. It SUCKS. I’ve hit this wall several times as an artist. When I feel at all unmotivated with my sewing projects, I put that project on hold (unless there is a deadline ) and move to something else. Anything else! For me, I will move to plein air drawing…
No matter the quality of your creations, remember that you’re the only one in the world who can make them exactly like that. They’re all unique contributions to this world cause no one else can do it like you. Don’t let comparison and competition make you forget that you got a perspective no one else in the world can express.
[Five jars of fat drippings drained off of ground beef on a kitchen countertop]
into this
[A lit jar candle on a kitchen countertop]
The first thing I did was turn on my slow cooker, and put as many jars as would fit into it with their lids off, then filled the space around them with water and waited for everything to heat up
[Jars of fat drippings inside a slow cooker]
Next I got a jar with a nice lip for pouring, a funnel, a mesh sieve, and some cheesecloth. I put the funnel in the jar, and the sieve in the funnel, and the cheesecloth in the sieve
[Cheesecloth inside a sieve, inside a funnel, inside a canning jar]
Once the contents of the jars in the slow cooker are all liquid, the tallow will separate from the water and other stuff and will float on top, making it easy to pour off through the cheesecloth (etc.) and into the jar
[A jar full of golden liquid tallow]
You might be wondering why I didn’t pour it directly into my candle jar. Well, this is just a precaution to make sure the tallow is separated and pure. What if I accidentally poured in some of the water or bits of food? That wouldn’t make for a very nice candle. This way I can ensure only tallow makes it into my candle.
Next I’m going to get my candle jar ready. You’ll of course need a jar, but you’ll also need these
[A container of wax adhesive and a spool of cotton wick]
You’ll also need a pen/pencil/stick for the top of the wick. The wick’s purpose is obvious, and the wax adhesive will keep your wick stuck to the bottom of the jar. So, I took the end of my wick and rubbed it in the adhesive to make it sticky, then planted it in the center of the bottom of the jar. Then I wrapped the other end around a pen to keep the wick centered (more or less) while the tallow was being poured and was cooling
[An empty candle jar with a wick inside it suspended by a purple pen resting across the top of the jar]
At this point it’s time to pour the tallow into the candle jar!
[A candle jar filled with golden tallow with a wick suspended by a purple pen resting across the top of the jar]
At this point, you just wait for the tallow to cool. I put them in the fridge to speed this up, but found out after the fact that this can cause condensation in your candle, which will cause lots of sputtering and flickering. But it went away after a little while.
Once the tallow is solid, trim the wick to about ¼ inch and enjoy!
[Two pictures of a golden jar candle on a kitchen counter, the right one is lit, the left one is not]
I was surprised, these candles (I ended up making eight total in various sizes) didn’t have any scent to them. I was half expecting a burger scented candle! But since they don’t really smell, you could probably add your choice of oils/fragrances to make scented candles if you want to. I may do so in the future.
Making Candles is really a fun hobby and enterprising business enterprise for other people. You will find fundamental supplies you’ll need to be able to make candle lights. All candle lights require three necessities – wax, wick, along with a candle holder. Since candle lights can be created in a variety of shapes, styles, and shapes the quantity of wax, period of wick, and kind of candle holder you’ll use is dependent by yourself preferences. The wax employed for making candles is either paraffin wax or beeswax.
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Column candle lights are much like taper candle lights, but they’re wider in most cases shorter. The top column candle lights isn’t pointed like on the taper candle. Rather, it greatly resembles the top a volcano. Column candle lights are extremely pretty and distinct. There is a classic turn to them that’s timeless. These candle lights possess a ridge design as opposed to a smooth design such as the column candle lights. They add beauty and charm to the atmosphere. Making your personal column candle lights is extremely easy.
Column candle lights burn for hrs on finish, which makes them well worth the cost of your some time and supplies to ensure they are. Normally, column candle lights burn for 35 hrs. Column candle lights don’t produce smoke or dripping, which makes them extremely popular. Many people experience frustration searching for holders to place their column candle lights in. They’ll fit all standard tea light holders and spiked base holders.
You’ll need some fundamental products to begin making column candle lights including wax, conforms, wick, color, and scent. The scent is option, but certainly adds attract your column candle lights. To melt the wax correctly, you may need a double boiler. You will need to make certain you utilize top quality paraffin wax to create your column candle lights. Bees wax looks beautiful, but doesn’t endure well using the structure from the column candle. An excessive amount of warmth may cause a column candle made from bees wax to ooze throughout, developing a mess in addition to a candle that is not too pretty to check out.
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This is actually the point along the way where you will need to add any color or scent towards the melted wax. The moment you’ve mixed it together, pour the new wax in to the conforms. Should you permit the wax to begin cooling before you decide to pour it the candle lights may have protuberances inside them. You are able to remove your finished candle lights in the conforms the moment they’ve completely cooled. Snip the surplus wick to around ¼ inch of the top candle.
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Column candle lights are extremely unique within their look and appeal. You may make them with no difficulty. These candle lights make lovely table decorations in addition to personalised gifts. You’ll find all of the supplies you have to make quality column candle lights at the local craft stores and also on the web.
