Pointy!

From Charly, who I think is being much too modest:

This is the first knife I have made with the help of my out-of-scraps built belt sander and my drill powered lathe. Because this was a learning exercise for me, I took a bunch of old worthless stuff – a rusty file, rusty pipe, some old hinges, broken furniture legs and a piece of cow bone dug out of the ground in the garden. I have also deliberately used only the machines to do most of the work, including polishing – I wanted to see what kind of fit and finish I will be able to get this way.

Because it was learning exercise and because the materials were of bad quality (the pipes were a bit too rusty, I sanded through them at a few places) the result is not something too great, but it is sharp, pointy and dangerous. The design is a sort of hybrid between the Fairbarn-Sykes and a medieval rondel dagger and I freehanded most of it, with almost no measurements.

Stats: overall lenght 33,5 cm, blade length 22 cm, work time approx 12 hours (not including curing of the paint)

I am not intending to stab anyone, but it is extremely good letter opener. Click for full size!

© Charly, all rights reserved.

35 Degrees South: Fire & Rain.

From Lofty: The local parks and wildlife dept burnt a small reserve at the end of our road, and I took a few pictures a week later during our three day rainy patch, to see how the colours were progressing. I’ll be keeping an eye out to see how the bush regenerates over the next few months. Bonus birdie in the last picture, a magpie looking for fried grubs I suppose. Click for full size!

© Lofty, all rights reserved.

30 Brumaire.

Today marks my 60th birthday. Rather surprised I made it this far. I also have to be at Pain Clinic today, so I’m taking the day. TNET will be open, as always. Have fun, and don’t burn down the blog or anything. See you all tomorrow! Well, scratch that. Just got a phone call canceling my appointment for the second time this month, so you are all stuck with one very cranky person for the day. Who has matches?

Celebrating Natural Hair.

It’s truly rotten that so many places are determined to restrict and hate on a person’s natural hair, and to especially make girls feel ugly. This is not a matter of conformity as a social good, this is just plain old hateful bigotry, and it stinks, as bigotry always does. Enter CreativeSoul Photo:

Atlanta-based CreativeSoul Photo brought an inspiring artistic vision to life that highlights the beauty of black girls and their natural hair. Regis and Kahran are the husband and wife duo behind the photography studio, and their series Afro Art represents their expertise in capturing portraits as well as visual storytelling. The striking images feature young girls in elaborate costuming and hairstyles, from a Baroque-era aesthetic to steampunk clothing to fierce high-fashion ensembles.

The portraits of girls featured in Afro Art are stylish and carry themselves with confidence and grace. The feelings evoked from the series speak to the larger idea surrounding it. “We feel that it is so important for kids of color to be able to see positive images that look like them in the media,” Kahran told My Modern Met in an email. “Unfortunately the lack of diversity often plays into the stereotypes that they are not ‘good enough’ and often forces kids to have low self-esteem.”

To help combat these negative feelings, the couple showcases kids who love how they look. “We hope that viewers will see the beauty and versatility of afro hair,” Kahran explains, “and we hope that girls around the world will be inspired to love their unique differences and beauty within.”

The portraits and subjects are stunningly beautiful all. You can see some of them here.

Rat Art Installation #7,352.

This is actually a fairly old one, but I came across the bottle while cleaning the studio, and took pics this time out. I had this on a high shelf, which a persistent and creative Angel finally managed to get to, mostly with persistence in scaling the wall. The food colouring had, of course, run down the wall, and when I first saw it, still mostly asleep, first reaction was “WTF, who is bleeding and how in the hell…” This evening, just picking it up, after it has sat for months, I got my fingers covered in red, which won’t come off. Damn stuff is a menace.

© C. Ford.

Amos Chapple.

Absolutely stunning photography, many photos with their own stories, too. Just a few here, although I’d happily post each and every one of them!

An illegal tusk hunter at a site where men extract mammoth tusks from the permafrost. Click here for my story on the Mammoth Pirates of Siberia.

For 61 years he’s sat here, legs dwindling to sticks as he thumps cooking pots into shape. His sons work beside him, three hammer blows occasionally falling together in synch, then scattering again into the random beat of the workshop.

I ask whether the girls admired his arms when he was young but he scolds me for rudeness. He’s more comfortable talking about the men with firebombs who drove his family out of their homeland. His father had made the decision to stay when Pakistan was formed around them, a Sikh clan in a new Muslim nation, but eventually the mob violence visited their neighbourhood and they fled.

Like so many who’ve lived through big history he’s nostalgic for the past. “Under the British we felt enormous pressure but we were innocent then. Now the people have freedom but we no longer love each other.”

But his old-testament face lights up when his grandchildren appear, they’re educated and will live a different life. He props a favourite onto his knee, “these little ones can choose their own lives and of course I’m happy for that”.

Finally, after the curious crowd have drifted away from us he leans in close, “you asked about my arms? My wife told me she always felt safe in these arms”. He rocks back and sweeps a hand over his children, his workshop, his little empire, “and she was, she always was”

These and so very much more can be seen at Amos Chapple Photography. Have a wander! And you won’t want to miss his feature on The Shepherds of the Tusheti Mountains, a gorgeous pictorial of a dangerous job:

Every autumn, a spectacular animal migration takes place in Georgia’s Tusheti region in the northern Caucasus Mountains. Radio Free Europe photographer Amos Chapple recently joined a group of shepherds and their dogs on what he refers to as a “deadly, boozy journey” from the steep mountains to the plains, as they brought their 1,200 sheep down to their winter pastures.

All images © Amos Chapple.