Notes from December 2021 meeting of Pueblo Makes

Pueblo Makes did not meet in November 2021.

For this meeting, as we did last year in December, people were invited to make something, then join the zoom meeting, and show us what they had made.   

Jane started the meeting by showing us bags she had made from some leftover bedspread material from some friends, material that might otherwise have been thrown out. We got into a good discussion of using recycled materials, such as leftover vinyl from billboards, recycled feed bags (for sale at Museum of Friends in Walsenburg), FabScrap online, Creative Reuse of Pueblo, Who Gives a Scrap in Colorado Springs, etc.

Jane also opened a package given to her by Emily which turned out to be a three-layer wooden plaque of the Pueblo Makes logo, made by Emily. Beautiful!

Jean Flynn Ray showed us the 2022 Human Relations Commission calendar and described how it had evolved. They started with Hope or Esperanza as the theme, but also opened it up to other topics. The art teacher at Chavez Huerta schools had students work on the theme and sent in several pieces. Ideas represented included hope springing from the ground in April and a photo of a dandelion.  Every submission was used, some for a specific month and some as part of collage. Pieces were submitted from students at all levels: elementary, middle, high, and college. The Pueblo Libraries has given 600 copies of the calendar to the branches, available to the public for free. Jean has some left and she can deliver them. Jean also said they learned a lot about how to get submissions and how to design a calendar. The calendars were printed by Schuster Printer who did fantastic job.

In a big reveal, Emily announced the new location for TickTock and gave a video tour: Emily, Jane, and Samantha now own the complex that formerly was the Grand Prix restaurant on E Mesa, east of the Do Drop in on Santa Fe. It includes a restaurant with historic bar, event hall, commercial kitchen, bakery, pool hall and more. One basement seems to have been used to make bootleg wine during prohibition. Jane complimented the previous owners, Mark Acosta and his father Adrian Acosta, for having served as excellent stewards of this historic site. The building needs some improvements and the opening will be some time in 2022.  Sam announced that the location will operate as The Ethos, to encapsulate now and the future. Programs are being developed but will include spaces for makers and artists, classes, and more. Anyone interested in in teaching classes, please contact Emily at info@ticktockpueblo.com.

Zach, who is a software developer, said that he often develops his own tools to use in his work. He showed us an example, a web page that converts numbers from one base to another. You may remember that we use base 10, but, for example, base 2 gives us binary code. Different bases are used in different applications and in different cultures. The tool he created is available as open source, meaning anyone can use it, and can also copy the code and then adapt it to other uses. Zach said that everyone thought the Internet would end up being owned by big corporations, but software developers have a culture of making and sharing tools. Zach showed us that with a larger base (for example 10 is larger than 2) a specific number (usually) takes fewer digits to be represented. For example, 23 in base 10 is 10111 in base 2; 2 digits are needed in base 10, but 5 digits in base 2.  Bill complimented Zach on the elegant tool.

Sharon, the maker librarian at Pueblo libraries, showed us what she does as an artist. From boredom during COVID, she taught herself to do watercolor painting and showed us an example. She used the new vinyl cutter for the makerspace in Rawlings Library to make a patch that she applied on a jacket. She invited us to send her a png file that she will cut on the vinyl cutter. Emily is also a fiber artist and showed us a blanket she completed this year and a baby sweater she made.

Maria (co-director of the Museum of Friends in Walsenburg) demonstrated how to prepare baccalà (salt cured cod) in her kitchen. She bought it from Gagliano’s Italian food market in Pueblo, a place she recommended as “the real thing.” She covered it with water in a glass pan and will leave it there for three days, changing the water each day. She cut the fish into portions using scissors, leading to another interesting discussion of tools (Sam uses scissors to cut pizza). Once the fish is completely hydrated, Maria will dredge it in flour and fry it.

Jessica teaches art classes, currently at Walters on the second Saturday of each month, including a method of doodling.

Cathy showed us some fused glass pieces she made at Lane’s House of Glass at 111 Colorado in Pueblo. She described the different techniques she used for each piece. The red bowl was made by dripping melted glass. Glass is heated in a kiln. The technique requires knowing the rate at which each type of glass cools and similar types are used to prevent the object from breaking apart as it cools. The woven tray required making strips of glass that were made wavy by being laid over a corrugated mold. The cat can stand up since its legs are angled; several people said it reminded them of the work of Laurel Burch. The cat is one of several animal objects Cathy has made. We discussed the importance of designing a piece before starting to make it.

Emily and Sharon said they also make weird kids.

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