A friend recently asked if I could make a “cat sarcophagus” for her daughter’s upcoming eighth birthday party. Along with the proposal she included a snapshot of a “cat mummy” from London. Coincidentally, a few months prior, National Geographic had a cover issue dedicated to pet mummies of ancient Egypt, which my family had loved. So plenty of fodder. I took up the task and wanted to document the process and result to share.

Step One
Create the form. Since the sarcophagus was going to be used to store candy, I knew it needed two halves. I drew and cut one out of a large cardboard box, and essentially copied it for the second half. In the center, cut out a square somewhat larger than a shoebox size, leaving enough room on the edges to retain structural integrity.

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Thanks to dear friend Jon for this must see international video collaboration. I am completely taken with the idea of using the urban landscape as a canvas. And even though the subject is kind of dull and reductive, the inspiration is brilliant!

While I was in Ithaca last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Victoria Romanoff, restorationist and artist. One of the pieces of ‘functional salvage art’ she introduced me to was her “washboard table.” The idea is elegantly simple: for an open-faced (front and back) table, join two antique washboards together with a top surface and an interior-mounted lower shelf. For a closed-back table, join three washboards together.

I had fun over the weekend creating some collage-texture work and joining them together as a side table. To give the top a nice clean edge, I trimmed the lip all the way around at 45 degrees. A coat of waterbased finish later, voila! A bright, colorful and very stable but lightweight table.

Next time, I’ll have to make sure I find matching washboards to match: I was so excited to get started on this effort that I’ve used a bronze, horizontally oriented board on one side, and a plated silver, vertically oriented board on the other. Both made by National Corporation of Chicago and bought locally for about $4.00.

I am asking everyone I know to support a new effort in Montpelier: the Onion River Exchange’s Pecha Kucha Night. The idea is pretty cool, and really simple:
- Two rounds of presenters
- Each presenter has 6 minutes and 20 slides with which to present their idea
- 5 presenters each round
- Do it somewhere fun, with food and drink

Think of it as TED meets speed dating - in Central Vermont. Seriously, should be a lot of fun - especially with YOU on stage.

Anyway, here’s what I’m asking:
- Think of yourself as someone who might want to present that big, bold idea you’ve been slaving away on
- Pass along the flier to anyone else you know who has an idea they’ve been working on and encourage them to contact me.

The invitation is *especially* for those whose work communicates well visually. They should get in touch with me BEFORE April 30.

So, let’s paint the town Pecha Kucha!

Download the Pecha Kucha Flier.

Learn more about Pecha Kucha the international movement.

Visit the Onion River Exchange.

Thanks, and hope you’re enjoying this prime gardening weather.

These days I am occupied - nearly obsessed - with an idea for a new social venture start-up in Vermont - a state that thrives on individual pluck within an awareness of the whole.  With luck, you would join a very small, very accomplished group of advisors to this new venture, all of whom have a track record of success starting businesses based on creativity and social value.

Here is a little background:

Rewind: Johannesburg 2004. After a carooming ride from Botswana  to South Africa with a group called Pioneers of Change (http://www.pioneersofchange.net) I met with young entrepreneurs in the city over the course of several days and was introduced the idea of “The Hub,” (http://www.the-hub.net) - a place for young people with ideas for the next generation of businesses to incubate their start-up in a relaxed environment, connected to a global network of individuals concerned with leaving the planet better off than we got it.

Okay, fast forward: Two things collide in my imagination over the last week. The first is my recent involvement in the Onion River Exchange, an exciting start-up that aims to connect people with talent and skills to share with people in need through volunteering. The second was an article in the do-gooder magazine ODE that profiled the nascent success of the The Hub idea and its plans for growth.

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