All done!

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd... we're done...

Next project, at the request of my STINKER OL' MAN... an out-house.  He wants one for his cycle shop.

Ohhhh, my love... really?

Okay.

All it needs is a sign!

Mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn, this derrick is on my last nerve... just about finished, though.

I painted the out-buildings and glued them in place.  Yep, those are green twisty-straws serving as pipes.  For the most part, I have no idea what the thingies whatchamacallits do... I just copied various photos and diagrams.

Please know that I made everything very funky-looking, dirty and dusty on purpose!

All it needs now is a big sign, probably at the top, probably on that top crossbar.   What do you think about "Gail Town Oil"?  

Derrick... painted!

MANNNNN!

I do believe that the derrick is now finished and painted.
Took me soooooooooooooooo long.  So many nooks and crannies... all that scaffolding.  I kept finding spots I missed.  Every time I turned it, I saw more!

So now I can move on to the Band-Aid boxes (I mean, out-buildings!)

The D-d-d-d-d-d-errrrrrrick...

This derrick is making me nuts... soooooo tedious, but...
I'm gettin' it done.
See?

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd...

You can see some dirt and dust and sand added to the post anchors, and ground.
Hey, that's the panhandle.

Back to the Derrick...

The derrick's basic internal structure itself is done... it still needs external cross-hatches and a couple of climbing-shelves.

Meanwhile, setting up the rest of the little scenario...

These boxes will serve as the bases for a couple of out-buildings, which house such things as pumps, coolers, mud pits, engines, pipe racks.  And since they're in the sheds,  I won't have to build 'em!

There are plenty of types of the actual wells, internal structures, and buildings.  I admit to "cherry-picking" the ones I liked, and the ones that looked easier to build.

What am I gonna do when I run out of space on the dining room table...?

The Choctaw People

I neglected to mention that my siblings and I are about 1/8 Choctaw, hence my affinity for their history and culture, and my resonance to the symbolism of the egret, as well as my personal experience on that day long ago after my grandmother's funeral.

Egret Spirit (Choctaw Chukka denizen)

While the new Oil Well structure continues to vex me, let me loop back to my favorite element of the Choctaw (Native American) chukka  (dwelling).

I have read that these people considered birds in general to be a lofty and sacred creation, since they could fly up into the presence of high spirits.  In particular, the Great Egret was the most revered.  They used its image frequently.  So I included a hide-painting.
Annnnnnnd... photos...

1.  The bird...   Casmerodius albus.

2.  The chukka (full details and photos below in original post).

3. The interior wall where I hung the egret hide-painting.

4. Close-up.

I love the ideas, images, and inspirations associated with the egret.  

I have a quirky habit of looking for "signs" from the "Spirit World"... I know, I know... but it's what I do.  On the way home from my grandmother's funeral, I was looking.  And looking.  All I saw was a pretty egret on the side of the road (in rural Texas).

Now, years later, after reading about the egret, and its meaning, well...  you can imagine the lift in my spirits.

Hummingbird Feeder

A mindfulness/mental wellness lesson... one which I sometimes have to re-learn.

When a task is overwhelming/annoying/frustrating you, it's okay to set it aside and let your mind work on it at its leisure, subconsciously.  I mean, as long as the task isn't urgent or critical, ya know!

My brain needed some space to work on that oil derrick.  I'm stuck on the next step.

So... how about a nice journey back in time to my construction of the hummingbird feeder for the art gallery?  I made it out of a little Christmas wreath LED bulb... the whole thing is less than an inch long.  As I often say, I'm always looking out for objects that could be re-purposed as miniature something-or-others.   This caught my eye!

First photo.  Generic hummingbird feeder, for those of you who may not be familiar.  They consist of a tube, filled with sugar/honey-water solution, and perches, or a ring or rim, for the birds to alight upon as they feed.  We used to attract tons of them out West.  More on this later.

Second photo.  The miniature "feeder",  painted, perches glued on, hung from wood beam.

Third.  The location at the gallery.

Fourth.  The little bulb as it started out life.

Fifth.  The Broad-tailed Hummingbird.

Back to the hummingbirds.  No visualization or memory is more delightful than our backyard feeder.  They would gather and feed all day.   30-40... probably 3-4 family groups.  They became tame and trustful, and with patience, I could stand at the feeder with my outstretched fingers over the perches, and they would perch on them and feed.  Nothing can match the whirrrrr of tiny wings or the close-up beauty and marvel of the little birds.  Ours were Broad-tailed Hummingbirds.  

I can lose myself in regenerating those sensations.  Peace was complete and matchless.  Join me, if you like.  I'm sure your imagination can make it happen!

Derrick... more Swivel and Traveling Block

So many interesting new words!  Swivel, traveling block, etc., etc.
And I still have the Kelly, hose, standpipe, and turntable to go...

Anyway, I painted the connected swivel and block mechanisms black.  Still much detail to do on them, but that's the base coat. 

The silver cord was pretty, and really looked nicely like steel reeling, but it just showed too many imperfections (by contrast with the black paint)  on the swivel and block construction, so I decided to go with black cord instead.

I'll need to shape the cord with a realistic drape,  and then hang the whole thing.

Photo one is a view of the derrick (Gail Town in background).
Photo two is the joined mechanism, with a sketch of how I'll need to arrange it and hang it.
Photo three is a schematic of the area.

So soothing.  Who has time for worry when you're figuring out how to make an oil derrick for your town??????/

More Derrick...

Yeah, so many details.

Today I formed the swivel mechanism and traveling block.  Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?   I have no idea, but I am trying to construct a realistic derrick, so...

Here we go.  Made 'em out of cardboard, glued 'em together, separated by another tiny cardboard so that I can thread the crown block line through it.

I need to paint it.  Then I'll figure the next step.

Mindfulness-wise...  I found myself getting VERY AGITATED AND IMPATIENT as I considered the many, many, MANY objects, details, layers, interactions, complications of this derrick.

A good exercise in mindfulness jumped into my lap.

Any task can be approached in steps, with patience, breathing, relaxation, and acceptance of the present.  Yep.  It worked.  

There can be peace and beauty in complexity.

Back to the Derrick

Yep, back to the derrick.  I started at the top, with something called a Crown Block thingie, which holds a pulley thingie that swings a swinging thingie downwards and... that's as far as I got for now.  Took a couple of hours to form the thingies out of cardboard, glue the pieces, paint the stuff.  In the photo, the gray lines show where the pulley cord thingies will eventually go.  I did this stuff while watching Fox and CNN (I figure I get the WHOLE STORY that way!) and chatting with my parrot.  A perfectly mindful afternoon!

FOOD... details!

Yipes, sorry!

Messages pointed out to me that I said nothing about how those foods were constructed.
Gah!

Okay.  I found a few images online which gave me ideas about sizes, textures, colors... I also used some imagination where needed.

I then drew/colored/painted images on watercolor paper using pencils, acrylics, and magic markers.  Cut them out, rolled, folded, whatevered them to look like appropriate shapes.  Lastly, some shiny topcoat nail polish provided some fresh/liquid-y, buttery highlights.  Then I glued the foods onto dishes (similar to ones I saw in my research), then glued dishes onto a matt, then glued the matt on the blanket.

Ta-da!

Back to the Chukka... FOOD!

The oil derrick has stymied me sufficiently that I decided to re-visit a previous and favorite feature.  When I'm stuck on a current project in this blog, I like to go back and chat about something from a structure that I completed before starting the blog, and didn't really explain or discuss much.

Tonight... back to the Native American  Choctaw (I'm about 1/8) chukka (dwelling), and the FOOD.  I mentioned that I like to do exhaustive research, the better for immersive, mindful meditation and guided imagery work.

So here we have some things I turned up in my research.

First, an overhead shot of the dwelling, with a few labels  The thatched roof is set to the side.  Maybe in the future, I'll discuss the various inside elements.  For now, let's talk food!  The drying rack provides preservation of cooking and curative spices, herbs, and plants.

Next... a shot of the 'picnic'.   The "traveling" dishes are various combinations of corn, beans, meat...  wrapped and cooked in corn husks or leaves.  Stews were common... rabbit, deer, fish.  Fried dough and breads were also typical.  Jugs of fermented liquids were popular.  People often gathered outside on bear skins or other durable materials to share meals.

It makes a great, comforting, reassuring, focusing meditation to visit this picnic, savoring the sights, smells, and tastes...
I highly recommend a little venture to explore and enjoy yourself here.
Maybe I'll see you there!

Oil Derrick, base...

GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!

I'm no architect (unlike my sister-in-law), and I just EYEBALL stuff, so...
no surprise that this was a ridiculously clumsy undertaking.  I FINALLY got the basic structure up and glued, thanks to many tries, Scotch tape, and cursing... and wine!  There are so many better ways to have done it, but... this is the GAIL TOWN way!  

I'll let it dry, and then  undertake the adding of crossbars, crown pump, out-buildings, all that!

I had a rough day, pain-wise, but concentrating on this was a great help... just the concentration... no particular fancy mindfulness techniques required!

Oil Derrick "progress"

Here we go.

My laptop, plus base-plan, plus four  15" dowels, plus  cardboard "blueprint", plus the brown derrick base.  Oh, and a new diagram of derrick stuff.

For now, I'm just thinking.  I'm not a precise person:  I make these things by intuition and trial-and-error.

Yep... thinking.  Any of y'all ever make a derrick before?

That glass of wine has a PURPOSE.

Oil Derrick

I think this will be a perfect landmark/vibe/descriptor for a Texas/Oklahoma town.
An old-fashioned oil derrick.
Below are the machinations of my miniature/mind!
From Google image examples to example selection to sketches to shopping list to construction of a platform (the last photo).
Next, I'll go to our local craft shop and see what sizes/types of dowels, etc., are available, revising plans as needed.

Apparel Rack/Shelf

I had an inquiry and a request for close-ups... here ya go.  Four photos and some notes.

1. The apparel sits against the back right corner.

2. The shelf is made out of a few sizes of craft sticks, painted brown.  Nearby are signage, bike rack        and bike, stool.

3.  Top shelf - catalog... more on this in the final picture.
      Next down - helmets.  Made these out of sculpey bakeable clay, painted with acrylics.  Glued on         some tiny straps and laces made out of paper.
      Next - gloves.  I just drew them and magic-markered them, cut them out and glued them down.
      Next shelf down - shorts, again just drawn, colored, cut out, gled down.
      Last - jerseys, drawn, cut out, and FOLDED for some extra dimension and realism.
      On the floor - a few pairs of shoes, made of sculpey and painted with more acrylics.

4. Back to the catalog.  I wanted a look of graphic precision, so I found a vintage cyclist
    image online and pasted that into a Paint document, on which I picked some nice Paint fonts and
    added the words.  I glued it like a cover, on a "stack" of paper squares I had cut out and glued             together, for the look of a book.
    A catalog was important, because I didn't have the space or inclination to include an array of
    clothes, so I just figured Cycle Guy could order stuff on demand!

Signage complete!

As planned, I glued the signage (from the previous post) onto the craft sticks (poles), mounted them in the pavers, and relocated the town bird (the Budgieraptor) from the old sign.   For now,  I placed the signage island at the center of Gail Town.

For those of you who are new here, there are detailed photos of the other buildings in early posts, along with periodic entries telling more about specific elements of each.  This blog began with the construction of the Gazebo, so it has the most detailed construction posts.

What's next in Gail Town?  

While I'm thinking, I had a question about the apparel shelf in the cycle shop, so I'll drop back and provide some photos and details about that feature.

Back to Signage!

Back to Signage...
And back to the pavers I whacked off the Gazebo.
And the little draft drawing.

Using my Paint application, I made the signs and cut them out.  I painted some little wooden craft sticks to serve as poles.  Here they are.  My thinking at this point is to fold/glue/attach the signs, mount the poles, and then "landscape" the little scene with rocks, some grass, some sand...

Ideas are welcome, as always!