Celebrating her birthday with an art exhibition today is @GroveCanada http://t.co/EYYDvkt5LN Happy birthday Sari!

— Alyson B. Stanfield (@abstanfield) September 18, 2013

Visioning within Blender 3d animation software:

So I've been trying to create a vision for a 3d animated movie about The Grove Body Part Chart...My Medical Arts research...Been learning 3d animation using cool software called Blender...But I still don't have a vision for the movie...Here are some recent sketches...

Grove Body Part Chart:This is the basic theory that I have developed, that I want to explain better...11 organs, each organ has two elements that are opposites, the diseases of imbalance in each, & examples of where to find elements in the real world...ie: Iodine is an element, but to cure cancer you need something edible that contains iodine like Vinpocetine supplements, which are easy to buy...Take some of those & the Calcium heavy adrenal gland goes back to normal & cancer is cured...(yes it is that simple!)....

So I have been trying to make an animated movie to explain my theory...

But movies about medicine are just so, boring...

So I've been trying to vision a more exciting way to explain everything...

A glass full of organs?

Bubbles in blue?

Gooey organ tissue? 

This is just a creature I like, maybe my lead character?

More pink goo...Maybe travelling inside the body...

Here is a raw version of some of the content...There are several other versions on our Scribd channel...I even did a 2d animated film which is on Vimeo (or Youtube)...(look for Grove Body Part Chart on Google to see many different tries on many different sites of ours...)

(Below: I updated the Grove Body Part Chart file on Scribd-here it is...June 27, 2013)

Grove Body Part Chart:June 23, 2013 by Sari Grove

I love you Mum, card:

If you are Mum, then the first movie is just a card, a singing 3d animated card I made using my Blender 3d animation program...(I am still learning, so I cannot do much yet)...
  Below that are 3 pictures of the sculpture called "Spring" which is right now sitting at your back deck...It is made of homemade marble on a copper pipe armature with chicken wire, & adorned with grass & moss & flowers (none of which are real by the way, so it won't decompose...)
  You can easily lift "Spring" carefully holding it around the body, not the tail...try not to displace the moss on the underside & sides when lifting, though if you do that is alright...
  Happy Mother's Day!!! love Sari & Joseph & the cats (B'Elanna & Jadzia)...

Depression...

Ok, so my brother told me about fasteners...

1) http://www.siouxchief.com/ContactUs Link to where to buy fasteners...

2) http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/plumbing/proper-fasteners-copper-pipe-straps-89136.html Link to blog post about fasteners...

Lo & I behold I am perhaps not the genius I thought I was to be...

Been using copper strapping...On my Dragonfly sculpture & other sculptures as an armature basis...Thought the use was my own invention...

  At the Papermill Gallery show my brother mentioned the word fasteners...

  The next day I quickly sent a photo showing how my way of using the copper strapping was so ingenious...

 Skip to this morning when I Googled copper strapping & how it is used...At Link 2)(see above) someone explains that you should really use brass screws & bolts with your copper...

At Link 1)(see above) is a whole cornucopia of things you can use with copper strapping...

So anyways...Anyhow...

Apparently sticking rods or screws through copper strapping holes in order to join two rods together is not exactly new...Well, so what they were doing is joining copper pipes together, using the strapping as a tool...

  I was using the strapping as a primary to join two rods together, without using pipe at all...

 Which is maybe a new way of using the strapping? A change of focus...

  What I find interesting is maybe one could use both ideas together...Join pipe together using the strapping, then add rods into that join for detail decor?

Fashion designers stealing from Visual Artists:yet another case

Another artist has had her work stolen by a fashion designer...here is the link to the story...


http://www.sweeteventide.com/2012/11/14/chris-benzs-spring-2012-line/#comment-2882

Here is my comment...

  Well, looking at the original photograph which is truly beautiful, & looking at the oversaturated high contrast lower quality fabric print-making technique that was used on the clothing, it does indeed make the two look significantly different...I would buy that photograph in a minute, but the dress for example in that photo of the couple is quite garish looking- the orange colour is too prominent & the navy tones look black...For me the fabric print reeks of Hallowe'en costumes-orange & black...Now in a court of law this could work against the original artist, because a work has to be significantly changed to be allowable...The photograph would appeal to the highest classes of aesthetics, whilst the fabric really goes well with a bad pink hair dye job & a guy wearing a cheapsuit that doesn't fit...I'd be angry too except for the dude you are fighting with looks like somebody who needs serious help...A charity case...I sort of feel sorry for him & his lack of ethic as well...You do have to pick your fights...I wonder how much of his crappy printing of your work has actually sold & made him a profit? Bottom line? God knows...Maybe alot, maybe nothing...The printing really is not appealing, the colour changes... Don't know if it is worth going further...I mean, the internet publicity alone about this is alot...Going to court is tiring & expensive...perhaps there is another way? Hmmm...Steal one of his designs? Leave dog poo on his lawn? bring a bag of bugs to one of his fashion shows? You could get creative? Why always lawyers? Maybe there is another more esoteric way? (By the way those suggestions are not really serious)... :)

Dragonfly is going to be in a show March 13 to the 24th of 2013...You are invited to attend, here are the rules...I mean, advice, I mean, details...

http://mad.ly/6ffc83 Show Notice: March 13 to the 24th, Sari Grove is showing Dragonfly at The PaperMill gallery...The public reception (party-like thing) is on Thursday March 21st, 2013 between 6:30 pm & 8:30 pm...Please No Flirting with the Artist if you go...She is very married & her husband is large & territorial...However, compliments are acceptable...Please dress in your finest chic but cazh- (Casual)(how do you write cas. phonetically, cage?)...Anyways, please look wonderful...You will be amongst a group of people who all they care about is how things look...Be prepared to be looked at...Studied...or come completely unprepared in defiance...I have no idea if or what food will be served, let alone alcohol...So please eat well beforehand...I'd say drink well, but many of you will be driving, since , let's be honest, walking to 67 Pottery Road is kind of far & dangerous...probably not a good idea...Please be aware that Fantasy farm is across the road from the Todmorden Mills heritage site...The animals will be sleeping if you attend the night reception, so please whisper instead of shouting...bringing them gifts might not be allowed...But bonus points for those who consider that...If you forgo the party & come on another day that is good...Why? because light tends to be better during the day...Light is pretty important to how you see art...Plus the animals across the street will be awake & then you can visit them, which is your real goal...Um, I mean mine...If you don't see me at the art show I will be across the street in the barn looking at the animals...The link above tells what all got accepted into this show...Very prestigious show I might add...Bye, Sari

Architecture: Comment by Sari...(here's the original article I am commenting on...

http://www.pps.org/reference/toward-an-architecture-of-place-moving-beyond-iconic-to-extraordinary/

(Note: I am reposting my comment, because I saw a typo in the first, went to edit & it got snared in some approval loop...I need to go & do something else now & I do want to make sure that my labours in writing were not in vain...So sorry for reposting...But I don't feel like checking every 5 minutes for the rest of the day whether or not somebody bothered to approved my comment or not, depending on how long their lunch hour is...) :)

  1)Height...How can a human feel empowered when the building behind is taller always? To feel empowered, build me a mountain that I can sit on top of...With the mountain beneath me, I no longer feel dwarfed... 2)Fashion...Watch a fashion show...Watch the ridiculously skinny women walk in more ridiculous high heels while wearing make-up & hair products & garments that are silly for anything but a runway photography shoot...How can architecture, which springs directly from our current society not also be ridiculous in its worship of form? Until we change the details of our influences, the nature of our philosophies on a small level, the big things cannot change either... 3)God...God creates...God is the best architect of all, especially when it comes to public spaces...I think when we forget that nature is the most beautiful of spaces we drown in our own hubris...What we have been given was already perfect, mostly we have just ruined it...Perhaps, when in doubt, we should just leave things alone...4)By the nature of it, building a building is encroaching upon public space...The very putting up of something that was not there before splices the space into have & have not...The have is for those who go inside...By this conversation, I am to assume that public space means outside? So by putting up anything, one is subtracting from public space...Which leads back to my last point perhaps, that nothing, not building, is better for public space in an elemental way based on just size of space allotted...5)Which brings me back to the question...Why must public space be only outside?  or am I wrong & have missed the point? Can the parameters of public space include interiors? What makes a space public? 6) http://goo.gl/maps/OQAIO ( I don't know how to make the link hot, sorry, copy & paste if you feel like it)...(I don't want to use someone else's photo without permission, sorry-hence the link...) *This is The Todmorden Mills Heritage Site..."Todmorden Mills Heritage Site is made up of the Papermill Theatre and Gallery, the Brewery Gallery, two historic houses and 9.2 hectare wildflower garden ..." This site is very successful with the public...Across the street is Fantasy Farm where there is a barn with farm animals that one can interact with...The theatre has great plays...The Art gallery within the theatre is hugely active within the community...The size of the wildflower garden, is well, you know, really big...Is this a successful site from the parameters of this article? I think so...How much did it cost to build? How much did the architects get paid? To maintain? How much do people love it? (Alot actually)...I guess I am saying that old things are nice...Maybe architects should spend more time on fixing up stuff that is already there rather than making the next new thing...? Restoration...Heritage work...Stuff people care about & use alot...The content of what is inside the buildings there are key...The Arts...The people in the arts...I'm not going to show a picture of the animals in the barn across the street...But I love that place...

Joseph brought me breakfast from The Whole Foods market this morning: (Plus the Spare Hand project, step by step)...

The breakfast buffet at Whole Foods market could comfort Cruela De Ville's cold heart...Joseph brought back a selection including: turkey sausage, cinnamon french toast, tortiere, & scrambled eggs with peppers, some fried onions...So good that one of our intact lady bengal cats came by for a visit...She chose the tortiere like the good carnivorian that she is...(her name is Jadzia, a Star Trek name)...Cost was $16.00 canadian currency...

The Spare Hand project: idea is to make a spare hand that can carry light grocery bags or hold a dog leash...A simple, cheap, easy to make, prosthetic for people missing a hand...It could be put on or taken off quickly, just for short errands in the winter...Only for some simple tasks, not intended to replace a full motion prosthetic...

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=RX436DCSPC-BLK&cat=16 Ok, so I found a magnet that can fit a number 10 screw...My idea is to make a new index finger & thumb, like the one above, & screw the neodymium magnet on the end of the index finger & then another on the top of the thumb...The combined pull if you put the index finger magnet to the top of the thumb magnet will be about 20 lbs...This means you could carry up to a 20 lb. bag of groceries by making the index finger touch the tip of the thumb...My thought is that people missing a hand, but wanting only basic function of carrying a bag of groceries, could use this very inexpensive to make, magnetic prosthetic...You could also hold the loop of a dog leash, another useful function...Of course, the more Plasti-Dip that I put on the prosthetic, the more cushioned it will be...But that is for when I am finishing the piece...For now it is helpful to be able to see how this is made...because theoretically, people could use this idea to make their own prosthetics...Wouldn't that be more fun than paying someone else?

revised design above: 

This is what I've been doing today...trying to revise the design to make it lighter, & simpler...Now I am going to wait for the neodymium magnets to arrive, then I am going to screw then onto the tip of the thumb & the tip of the index finger...At some point, a dip in Plasti-Dip will coat everything & make it hold together better...The clear pipe in a flex material is so that when the prosthetic rests against the stump of the left arm, that it will feel comfortable...

Note: Monday night at 11:48 pm... The locking nuts, because they sit on the end of the screw( instead of   more in the middle where regular bolts have to sit with a washer) are tenuous in my opinion, for strength possibility...They are neat & great but I realize that any weight on them might cause them to nick off...

I don't know either whether the decision to use screws instead of custom cutting threaded rod was the right decision...Sure it is easier to use pre-cut 2 inch, 1-1/2 inch & 1 inch screws, but when I cut the rod with a bolt cutter, my weird by feel lengths feel more organic when the whole thing gets put together...

The clear rubber pipe really works well though...That was a totally new innovation that happened today at Canadian Tire (hardware store)...I was looking for tiny rubber bands, to cover the copper strapping at the bottom & create a nice rubbery bottom, but they didn't have any so the store employee suggested plumbing washers, those black rubber circles...So I stood looking at rubber washers, looking for ones big enough to encircle the 1/2 inch copper strapping...

Found two...But I needed like, well, a whole lot of them, & for 1.49 each pair it was too expensive...

I noticed some tubing...I asked for help...Someone else came & I asked if there was any tubing to fit the 1/2 inch copper strapping inside of it...So we looked...Together we decided that the 1/2 inch tube was too snug a fit, but the 3/4 inch diameter clear tube was gorgeous...She cut a foot for me...Delighted, I now had a way to cover the copper & rest the prosthetic comfortable on someone's stump where the hand should have been...

Of course, if I ever get to the point where my idea actually works, then I will have to create a strap to swing around the tube like a U, & then attach to an arm cuff...This would be the way the "hand" would attach to the person's arm...

Honestly, at this point I just want to say that art is usually what you call a real thing that fails design quotas...Ok, I am being harsh...But what I mean to say is that if this thing fails as a real prosthetic, it will be relegated to the world of art, which is far less judgemental than the real world...

I try to admit failure on some sort of regular basis...It keeps me humble & keeps my work pure...Once failure is admitted I can move on...The work often gets kept by me as I reminder of my toil & trouble...Failures often represent far more work time than successes...

Let's give this some time...prosthetics are hard...

Ok so here are some refinements I have come to for now...

Tuesday: Above in the photo, my little tape measure, the pink thing, flexible & with Imperial & Metric, size 10-24 screws (10 is the diameter of the screw, the 24 means the thread count like does it have many little threads or just a few), locking nuts-these are bolts that have a little circle washer attached to them that has little tiny spikes on it-if something presses up against the little circle washer with the spikes it rotates freely, so then the bolt doesn't come loose-the only thing is locking nuts won't thread UP a rod or screw, they just sit at the end only...To the right is a bolt cutter-that is what you use to cut a 10-24 rod or screw if you need a custom size-they are easy to use surprisingly...Notice I string cord through cardboard & paper to make a sketchpad-I write this because people forget that used cardboard makes a great backing for paper...I use nylon string, it is strong...

I have come to think that if I boil down the whole prosthetic hand idea into something essentially functional to the essence of the function of a hand that it may just be the ability to carry a grocery bag or hold a dog leash that would provide a slight upgrade in functionality for someone missing a left hand without the burden of having to carry a whole prosthetic hand around...There is something about the lightness of movement that amputees or people born missing limbs like...They don't like prosthetics often because they are not accustomed to the extra weight of the limb...

My idea was to design something so simple, so inexpensive, so easy to use, that it would add a little bit of bonus to someone's life without a whole lot of problems...

When I was boiling down the essence of hand in my mind, I started thinking about the opposable thumb idea...That the opposable thumb is supposed to be this such great invention...If that opposable thumb is so darn important, then it must be grabbing that is what is key...Because with an opposable thumb you can grab...

So with that in mind, the grabbing, & after observing our friend's needs, I decided two main things would be helpful to him...One to be able to carry two grocery bags of food, one in each "hand" instead of just one...And being able to hold the loop of a dog leash in either "hand"...Seeing as he has his right hand, the device for the missing left can be a manual...Manual as in, if the grab mechanism was manual by magnet, that the grab could be executed by using the right hand as a helper hand...

I am now down to just a thumb & index finger...But even more pared down, the index finger is now just a 2 inch screw & a 1-1/2 inch screw, held together by a copper strapping joint...I am going to add bolts to those, seeing as my idea of going boltless leaves the strapping kind of too loose...

things I have to get...bolts & separate locking nuts that can ride up the screws to hold the copper still...

http://www.myrdalorthopedics.com/ I am adding this link here because, well, you can buy prosthetics of course in Canada...This is one such provider...I'm not giving up, just saying that these things do exist...I just thought maybe I could bring some fresh thinking into it, that's all...

Ameliorated: added some bolts & washers to make it all more secure...trimmed the clear tube...Am awaiting the neodymium magnets that will screw onto the tip of each...

You can see here what bolt is what & the other materials I use...In case you want to try your own...

My next step is I think I am going to 2 part epoxy around the bottom screws...Not sure...

Got this great idea this evening to also cover the "fingers" with clear tube too, flexible but sharp edges won't bite you!

Comment: Wed. Feb. 6, 2013 at 7:34 pm evening...

So, I made this Carry hand, this time, with the thumb & index finger the same length...Did alot of deep thinking about this...I decided that a longer thumb would be an extra benefit to a person...Imagine if your thumb was as long as your index finger? When picking up a bag with handles, you wouldn't have to make sure your thumb got a grab, because your thumb would be the same length as your fingers...This would give people who use the "Carry Hand" an distinct advantage over people who have hands...I think that is ok...

After I made that decision, I left it alone in my mind...Later when I went to re-evaluate the idea I thought of something even better about this! If both the thumb & the finger of the "Carry hand" are the same length, then handedness doesn't matter!!! That means that the same device will work for people missing either a right hand or a left hand...This drives price down & makes it way easier for the seller...Neato Coolo! 

Ok, attachment ideas: My uncle made an off the cuff remark about taking a glove & filling it with foam...But it was smart! from there, I was thinking a custom to whatever your skin colour is, skin coloured glove of sorts, of sorts 'cause only a thumb & index finger glove, but the shaft of the glove goes up over your wrist & up your arm, not sure how to make that secure, that will come...

So theoretically you could just pull this prosthesis on like a glove, & remove it like a glove...Like just cause you are going grocery shopping & want to carry 2 bags or you want to walk your dog with the "Carry Hand" & talk on your cellphone with your hand that isn't missing...(Yes, this design began with someone in mind who was only missing one hand...But you could totally get 2!!! Use them for both hands!)

carry hand is inside the glove now...first 2 fingers...

http://sarigrove.com/2013/02/11/sparrycarry-looking-for-a-name-for-a-prosthetic-hand-that-helps-you-to-carry-things-a-spare-hand/ Hi, if you want to see the further progress on the "Spare Hand" please visit this link at our other blog...

the glove ( a winter glove with a wrist strap that tightens)

the basic design, without all the bolts & washers though...One 2 inch screw (10-24 size), one 1-1/2 inch screw (same size 10-24), 1/2 inch copper strapping(comes in a box in the plumbing section, on a roll)...clear rubber tube...3/4 inch diameter...

before dipping in Plasti-Dip,  I put on the copper strapping with some locking bolts and copper wire so I could dip without getting dirty...Ended up pouring instead of dipping cause my tube was too wide for the mouth of the Plasti-Dip jar...

before I screwed in the neodymium magnets...washers help bolts to not slip...

after pouring on plasti-dip...drying, hung from something...

here are the magnets...careful they are very strong & can injure fingers by pinching...learned the hard way...

magnets...neodymium...from KJ Magnets online...bolted in...

here is the spare hand, with the magnetic device inside the 2nd & 3rd fingers...stuck to the fridge holding an empty grocery bag...Handy place to store the spare hand!

this is how the magnets come together...inside the glove...

you should know that magnets can seriously ruin a computer, iphone or ipad or ipod...so keep them AWAY! (yes, this is a design flaw...sigh...) The spare hand should probably be used for outdoor applications because of the danger to computers...Oh well...I tried...

me, Sari Grove 

Please do not jaywalk...Please...

This is Sari in Burlington at Lasalle Park marina there, with the Trumpeter swans...(they are getting wild bird seed)...

 



Two weeks ago, my mother's boyfriend, crossed the street in the middle at Marlborough & Yonge street in Toronto...

  Behind him, making a left hand turn onto Yonge from Marlborough was a taxi...

 The taxi cab, turning left, saw the pedestrian, honked, but continued to drive...

 The taxi struck my mom's friend...

 He got hit & ended up on the hood of the cab then fell backward onto the street, hitting the back of his head...

 At Sunnybrook hospital, they stapled his head back together again...They put him on a breathing tube & a feeding tube...

 Two weeks later his heart gave way & he died...That was on Tuesday...January 29th, 2013...

 His name was Arthur Brugger...He was from Germany...I think he had been my mum's boyfriend for more than 16 years (after my Dad died by the way)...

 It is a very sad sad thing...

 For those who knew him there is a reception at the Visitation Centre at Mount Pleasant Cemetery at 1:00 pm this Sunday...

I am writing this for anyone on this planet who might ever considering crossing the street in the middle...

Please don't do it...Please do not jaywalk...The loss to your family & friends is not worth the time or energy saved...

Please just take the extra 5 or 10 minutes to wait for a light to change, to cross at a crosswalk...

Please do not jaywalk...Try...Tell your friends not to jaywalk...Reprimand teens you see doing it...

This loss is so pivotal to our concentric circle...It alters our reality...The ripple effect of this loss will be huge...

I guess that is all that I can say for now...Oh, the taxi cab driver was charged with careless driving, even though the pedestrian was jaywalking...Little comfort now...

http://yongeandroxborough.blogspot.ca/2013/01/yr-resident-arthur-brugger-killed-in.html Link to a photo of Arthur & short new story from the locals...

I've been working on ways to make a prosthetic left hand...This part is just the index finger & the thumb....My next try, I will use locking nuts on the end of the rods instead of regular bolts so the locking nuts can sit right at the end of the rod...I chose the black Plasti-Dip colour because I find that flesh coloured prosthetics are too scary...This is cool looking & is very open about it being not real...I wonder if it is too heavy...My new thought is to put magnets on the tip of each finger & one big one on the palm...So, theoretically you could grab something & pick it up...The kinetics will take a while to figure out...

Getting it up, & then, how is it hung?

(Above is a short look at what I did this Friday afternoon...(feed trumpeter Swans wild bird seed...) This is what makes my winters great!)

Semillon grape with noble rot...sculpture...

the dragonfly sculpture...

me...just before Xmas...



We hung the show yesterday...yesterday was 12/12/12...

So, I decided, since the number was close to the lowest price I could offer, that I would make the price for each work exactly $1,212.12 ...

The solo show, (me), is titled, or called "Magnolia & Tempesta"...& that is what you will see when you go...

The painting Magnolia & the painting Tempesta...

You see, these are very good paintings...They took me a long time & much work both inside & outside the art world...

Maybe you want to see a plethora of work...But that is not what I want you to see...

I want you to be able to just look at one work...Then the other work...

What makes them different...What makes them the same...

How do they make you feel?

What do you think about the price? The number $1,212.12? Is that neat?

By the way, 20% of that number goes to the not-for-profit Scarborough Arts...

The library where the works are is called Agincourt Library...It is on 155 Bonis Avenue...There is free parking...There is a bathroom...It is the busiest most popular probably the best for books & resources library in the entire city...Yup...In Scarborough...But Scarborough is now part of Toronto, so that includes Toronto libraries...

Semillon Grape with Noble Rot...12 inches deep to wall, 12 inches wide across, 19 inches long with strands of Mason's line nylon dripping to 40 inches down(picture does not show drip)....Other materials are copper strapping 1/2 inch, 10-24# galvanized threaded steel rods (galvanized means that the metal is covered with a zinc dip so that it won't rust)(threaded means you can thread bolts or nuts or couplings on it), 10-24 galv. coupling bolts, galv. locking bolts, galv. acorn bolts, galv. washers, elbow grease...All thread is a Mason's line type of nylon thread...(Mason's line is what stonemasons use to ascertain whether their brick line is straight...)(I get my nylon from Creative Yarn Source in Ohio & they are awesome!)

still working on the marble raccoon...

made the grape better...

Update jan. 24, 2013: I added these 4 pictures...

The first is the prosthetic thumb & index finger for the left hand...The MorezMore store on Ebay.ca sent me a free sample of skin coloured polymer clay with my order of artificial moss & grasses...So I made a thumb of it & tried it on the steel model...Wow, looks so realistic! Should I do more?

This was my first try at the left hand prosthetic...It got covered in marble...I was going to cover it in flexible Plasti-Dip...But the material was stinky & I didn't feel like working with it...Turned the thing into a sculpture instead...Actually it is two pieces one on top of the other...What I learned was that cooking my homemade marble a bit makes it more like porcelain...Which may lead me to a new medium...Homemade porcelain...?

My grape below...The stem got turned brown...I also took another free sample of grey polymer clay that Morezmore sent me & used it to cover any copper strapping that was sharp...

I joined this sculptor site called Sculptsite.com & have been using this app called InstantMask to isolate images then lay them on different backgrounds if I want...Mostly just to isolate images...Here is the Dragonfly in a field of grass...

Saturday Jan. 24th, 2013 below:

I am adding mosses & grasses (artificial but natural materials) to the marble wolverine...This is a sort of day by day detail work, which may take a little while...