Below are the 19 most recent journal entries recorded in monocracker's LiveJournal:

Sunday, December 25th, 2005
11:55 pm	Nutcrackers are for auction online! http://nwcenter.maestroweb.com/ (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 20th, 2005
5:08 pm	Injury update I've done what I can for him outside, and adhered new tiles to the crown. The rest (grout and top coat) will have to be done after the march is over. (Comment on this)
Monday, December 12th, 2005
4:30 pm	Injury update I went and looked at the damage for myself today. There are shattered tiles and chunks that have obviously been broken off by some kind of impact. I hope it's at least dry by tomorrow. Looks like I'll be skipping a funeral to work on it. Current Mood: grumpy (Comment on this)
12:06 am	Sad day Apparently, Mono has suffered damage on his crown. I haven't gone myself to look at him yet, it was getting dark when I was told about it, but I have a hard time understanding how tiles could have possibly fallen off due to corrosion or weather. He's been out for less than a month and was constructed with outdoor materials, and the tiles are cased in friggen -cement-. I'm pretty upset and trying not to let myself get pissed off and assume that he was vandalized. But it's hard to fathom how else this could have happened. Updates to come when I find out how to get him repaired. Current Mood: annoyed (Comment on this)
Friday, November 25th, 2005
6:24 pm	Mono was in the Macys Holiday Parade I received an email from a friend in OR who saw the video of the Seattle Holiday Parade on TV. Mono was in it! (Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 15th, 2005
1:58 pm	6th and Pike in Downtown Seattle According to http://nutcrackermarch.com/, Mono will be displaying at 6th and Pike in downtown Seattle. I'm really pleased with that location indeed! This weekend I will go down there and get a photo of him to add to the journal. Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)
Sunday, November 13th, 2005
6:55 pm	Delivered Mono today I delivered Mono directly to the McCaw Hall just in time for the silent auction and preview showing of the nutcrackers. There were some really cute nutcrackers on display there. Tomorrow they go out on the street. Here are my favorites from the show. Current Mood: cheerful (Comment on this)
Saturday, November 12th, 2005
1:40 pm	Day 9 It is nearly compleeeeeted!! This photo is a little bit older than my progress. I added some black to the base to clean up the lines, as well as some fast drying concrete to the bottom edge of the base to project the bottom tiles from breaking. I put the last of the top coats on today, after hubs was kind enough to wake up every 4 hours last night to continue adding protective coats so I could get some sleep. I deliver the cracker tomorrow. No offense to Mono, but I will be glad when it's not in my living room making my house stink anymore! ------- Personal Thank yous: Rob Beck, Bev Sobelman, Jason Wilcox, Scott Steffy, Kirsten Lauzon, Sam Longoria, Emily Tsoi, Michaela Eaves, Andy Blau, Peter Boulanger, Pam, My Dad, Jenny. (You either helped, inspired, thought about helping, or otherwise enabled the project by being you) Acknowledgments: Art Tile Co, www.mosaictilearts.com, Happy Craft'n, Home Depot, Pacific Northwest ballet, Downtown Seattle Association, Northwest Center, The Money Tree. "Mono" design Inspirations: Black and White photography, Tim Burtons "The Nightmare before Christmas", S.A.D., disco balls, glamor, winter, "the holidays", uncharted waters. Current Mood: relieved (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, November 11th, 2005
11:38 pm	Day 8 The base is tiled, finally. I'd like to thank NPR for keeping me company during my marathon tiling rampage today. Current Mood: exhausted (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 10th, 2005
5:35 pm	Day 7 The grout is entirely finished and drying, on the nutcracker figure. I'm about 1/4 of the way through tiling the base with ceramic, then will grout that. Should be ready to do the final protective coats late tomorrow, hopefully, and after letting that dry as long as I possibly can, it will be time to figure out how to get it delivered. The nutcracker has gotten significantly heavier and more difficult to manage, but also much more interesting and impressive. It is very hard work, particularly at this stage, but I am excited to see it all coming together. Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)
12:31 am	Day 6 Grouting has begun. The dust involved in mixing grout indoors is weighing heavily on my already neglected body. I'm starting to not feel very energetic about the project, and coupled with the impending doom of my deadline looming like a cloud, this feels remarkably like work! Current Mood: sick (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 9th, 2005
1:27 pm	Day 5 The Nutcracker figure is almost entirely tiled now, and I have put the first of many coats of black paint over the top of the base. Mid-way through the project it was requested that I not adhere 3d objects to the lip of the base due to requirements that the pieces be screwed together, so I have altered my design to accomodate. Originally, no paint was to be used. I am now considering whether I would like to paint the entire base, or continue to tile. Time is getting very tight as my deadline is Nov 13th, and I will need to give the grout and top coats sufficient drying time. Current Mood: nervous (Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 8th, 2005
1:24 pm	Day 5 Obviously, I worked on his back today :) Logged a great number of hours indeed. Current Mood: chipper (Comment on this)
Monday, November 7th, 2005
1:21 pm	Day 4 Did some detail work that took a bit of trial and error today, on his arms. This is indeed a difficult shape for a novice mosaic artist to tile. I believe I will be removing the tiles that connect the skirt swirls and arm swirls in favor of a more realistic shape. Current Mood: okay (Comment on this)
Saturday, November 5th, 2005
1:11 pm	Day 3 This was a 10 hour marathon day. The face is completely filled in, as well as his chest piece, shoulder details, front belt and skirt swirls. Nothing has been done in the back yet, except for his crown which is completely decorated in tile. I am noticing just how pungent the smell of this fiberglass is. Just having the nutcracker sitting inside is irritating to my sinuses, and in my case I am sanding it as I go and using a slightly irritating adhesive as well. I am feeling the effects of bad ventilation. Due to the cold, I am unable to actively work on the piece with open windows. Thankfully, my hands are holding up well. I realized that the caulk gun was so hard to use due to my not punching a big enough hole in the tube seal, and my husband has signed on to help me snip the square mosaic tiles into triangles for me. Current Mood: tired (Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 1st, 2005
1:07 pm	Day 2 It is definitely winter, I had to move him inside, it's just too cold out there to be doing this kind of detail work. It's been a good while since I made progress to post. I waited for my hand to heal up completely and I've been waiting on materials to come in. Did a bunch of fill-in work on the crown and got to incorporate some interesting shapes and textures today. Rather than flat mirrored tiles, I got stylized ones. So far, I think it looks pretty unimpressive, but I don't hate it at least and can see it's potential. Current Mood: determined (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 25th, 2005
5:02 pm	Day 1 Got all four swirl tips done on his crown, the zigzag band, his whiskers, nose, eyes and moustache. I wanted to give him a face and a life as soon as possible to inspire me, because so far this project has not been particularly enjoyable. Went through a $12 bag of tile and a tube of adhesive. My arm is really sore, I can't bend my wrist back, from breaking tile and squeezing the caulk gun. No aerial practice tomorrow I would bet, but we'll see. Due to the positively outrageous cost of glass mosaic tiles locally, I ordered the rest of my tiles online, foresaking time for budget. It was not an easy decision but it had to be done. I've settled on Delorean Gray for the grout color. Current Mood: complacent (Comment on this)
12:56 pm	Finally, some real work! I have had my Nutcracker for a number of days but this is the first that I've been capable of doing any real work on it, due to delays, difficulty procuring materials, and technical issues with adhesives and preparing the surface. So far, the project is definitely NOT going more smoothly than before I managed to finally get this thing into my house, but I am optimistic now that I can begin the fun part. The primer wasn't sticking to parts of the blank so I went for sanding only. Which is fine since in sanding, I was removing all the primer anyway. Liquid nails did the trick as a no-clamp adhesive. Here is one little part of the crown. As you can see, this is going to take a really long time. And I'm going to need a lot more liquid nails. Current Mood: artistic (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 18th, 2005
12:54 pm	Picking up my Nutcracker tomorrow. Will probably have to rent a pick-up, or tie the hell out of it while hanging out of the back of the kia. But I am glad I can get it this week, I was really getting stressed out about the timeframe. So far there has been a lot of confusion and manufacturing delays. It is my hope that the rest of the project will go much smoother. Edit: Thank you to bevsob for assisting in the pick-up Current Mood: anxious (Comment on this)