crazy busy week

Sorry that I have been out of touch. It has been quite a week.

Saturday & Sunday I finished, and listed on my Edsy store, my two latest Steamy designs. Check 'em out!

Monday I skied 15 miles. There was a group tour of a section of the Catamount Trail that I wanted to ski - the section is 11 miles. I had the choice of driving 30 miles to join the group, or skiing 4 miles to join the group - so I skied up and over Lincoln Gap Road (closed to vehicles in winter). I was realy beat Monday night.

Tuesday started with my submitting a proposal to sell a group of SteamPunk style jewelry to a new on line store. Wish me luck.

Later on Tuesday I had a doc appointment and learned that I need a new shoulder joint. The good news is that this proceture has a realy good success rate. The bad news, I need to do it!

Thursday I lead a ski tour; 15 skiers on an 8 mile ski that included 1800 vertical feet of up hill, and down. That is a lot of UP hill skiing. Thank goodness for climbing skins.

Friday I started some new Airship designs and did a bunch of catching up.

And this morning, I finaly had my chance to submit my application for membership to the Edsy SteamTeam. That team is a realy creative bunch and seriously active in the SteamPunk gente. Hopfuly I will be joining them soon!

Keep in touch,
Mark aka SteamSmith

another weekend gone

I have spent the weekend fighting a cold. Hate to waste weekends that way.

On Friday I finished my first pair of Steamy cuff links; airship theme. I am working on a new airship necklace now. Hope to have both up on SteamSmithWorks later this week.

Also in the middle of re-organizing inventory, etc. LOTS going on here.

If you have not been to Maries store lately, be sure to check it out. Lots of new product and a GREAT new avatar:

impulsiveart

I am back to work,

Mark aka SteamSmith

shoveling the roof

Just got in from shoveling the roof. I love living in northern Vermont and I love snow. But shoveling the roof ... not my favorite.

Would much rather be making steamy stuff. Have lots of ideas, limited time & energy. I will try to make creative work a priority for tomorrow morning. I am always at my most creative in the morning.

Sally, nice talking with you yesterday, hope that your computer is back in action by now.

This pic is from last winter, not quite

as much snow this year, but it is only early Feb!

Best,

Mark aka SteamSmith

back to work

Skiing "3030" aka Braintree Mountain, went well on Saturday. A jovial group, lots of exercize. One guy had a GPS and emailed the stats last night:

1720' uphill climb

2408' downhill ski

5 miles & 3940 feet total distance

Snow conditions were funky, nice powder on top, a crust that sometimes broke under our weight and sometimes did not was under the powder. So, the downhill skiing that should have been easy turned out to be tricky.

One of the folks in the group, Lynn Fisher, shot some vidio:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4319154988604228580&hl=en

I fell in the same spot seconds later.

Lazy day on Sunday.

Now it is back to work. Lots of routeen stuff to do AND I need to get to work on new SteamSmith product.

Best,

Mark

busy week

Lots going on is SteamSmith world this week.

Started a NEW airship pin. Hope to have it finished and up on Etsy next week.

Had a big ski on Wed - long solo climb with lots of trail breaking, in a snow storm. Lots more wind up high than I had expected. Home safe and sound, and lots of exercise.

Another big ski tomorrow. Will be skiing up & down "3030" (central Vermont) with a group of 20 or so other skiers. Lots of trail breaking expected - report is that there is 16 inches of new snow at the bottom of the route - probably means more at the top. Will be good to have a large group to help break trail.

And Nancys daugher, Dana Lee, has been staying with us this week. She is back from her 2 year assignment in China and is about to begin a 2 year stint in Australia. So it is great that she and her Mom get to spend this time together.

Dana promices to leave my new SteamSmith cards in the "right" places in Phily (her next stop in the States) and Sydney (where she will be working). It would be great for me to hook up with an urban market or two.

Meanwhile, lots of work to do, so I am off to it.

Best,
Mark aka SteamSmith

I'm Baaaack

I was out sick for three days; got behind with a lot of stuff, just catching up now.

Also trying to ski more these days as I have a big ski day the middle of next month, and need to be in shape for it.

Yesterday I discovered a GREAT steampunk website:
http://brassgoggles.co.uk/brassgoggles/

Definitely worth checking out. I already have 1 idea for a new design just from one short visit to the site.

Still catching up with stuff, back at it now.

Mark aka Steamsmith

CONTEST

I just put a new item up on my SteamSmithWorks Etsy store. It is the Avenger submarine.

When you read the story about this submarine, you will learn about the priacy problem in the Centeral Cost area. The little story mentiones a pirate leader who I do not have a name for yet!

Read the story in my Etsy store, then leave your suggestion for the pirates name here. If I select the name that you suggested, you get 10% off your next purchace on
www.SteamSmithWorks.Etsy.com

Good luck!

Mark
aka SteamSmith

third day as a blogger

I got a really nice response from Sally D. yesterday. Lots of folks have been real supportive of my new steampunk work. I have heard from several other steampunk artists with lots of great remarks.

I first discovered steampunk when I stumbled on WinonaCookie's Etsy store. She does great work! I love the stories that accompany each piece.

That was just two months ago. At any rate, since her work is what really got me into this genre, her opinion is important to me. In a message to me she said: "Your stuff *rocks*!!"

That was great to hear. Makes me want to get back into the studio!

Hope to hear from you......

Mark

second day

Yes, it is my second day as a blogger!



Some work and some play today. I strapped on the skis and headed out the back door this afternoon; about an hour of cross country skiing. Good for the heart.



Have been thinking a lot about the SteamPunk work. Decided that my next peice will be a submarine. Came up with a name and started to write the copy before I had a good idea of what it should look like, but I have that in my head now. All that is left to do is to make it!



Looking forward to my first visator comment.



Back to work,



Mark aka SteamSmith

Airships

Forgot to mention - a really fun part of SteamPunk is the whole idea of "advanced" airships!