From Destruction to a Chessboard Bound for Ireland
It’s been a beat. Life has been full lately, beginning with destruction and ending with a newspaper article—and, in between, plenty of moving, organizing, making, and resin.
A home rearranged from the ground up
My husband and I—mostly me—took on the biggest rearranging project our home has ever seen. We needed to switch our master bedroom with the kids’ room so the kids could have more space, and so we could finally close our 10-by-15-foot storage unit.
It started with demolishing my king-size bed. I hated to see it go, but we simply didn’t have room for it anymore. Then I took apart the kids’ bunk beds, carried them through two doors, and rebuilt them on the other side of the house.
The days that followed were filled from morning to night with projects: organizing, cleaning, and moving furniture, clothes, electronics, and Skylanders. To say I was exhausted would be an understatement.
The very next weekend, we rented a U-Haul and emptied the storage unit in two trips. Wood scraps, clothes, work supplies, decorations, all of it had to be brought back home.
With the kids’ room mostly done, my husband’s work desk set up, and piles of clothes and work supplies still waiting to be organized, I received a message from Shawn, a fellow maker at Lowell Makes.
A last-minute chessboard project
Shawn was working on a collaboration project with a tight deadline. They needed someone to resin-fill lettering on a chessboard that was being sent to Cork, Ireland.
We got right to work testing fonts and colors. Resin takes 24 hours to dry, so testing was important. Our first pour seeped into the grain bad enough that we couldn’t sand it out. Thankfully, we found a solution: applying polyurethane after burning the lettering and before pouring the resin.
That adjustment worked, and we finished the board just in time.
Since this was THEE board. I really really didn't want to mess it up. I put as little resin as I needed while leaving room for sinkage. Made sure it was level so resin wouldn't slowly slide off. Put lots of tape, and was really careful to insure no voids or bubbles were in the final product.
The buyer was flying to Cork to gift the chessboard at a major tournament. All of us at Lowell Makes felt honored that she would trust us with the making of a quality item like that.
Why you answer when someone calls
I really wanted to meet her, so before dropping my daughter off at the bus stop, I dressed up. I’m glad I did, because I got a picture with her—and the project was later featured in The Lowell Sun.
They didn’t use that particular photo, but that doesn’t mean it won’t have its moment someday.
I told her it was an honor to work on the project. She said someone else from the club already wants one of there own.
This is why you answer when someone calls. Was it volunteer work? Yes. Did that deter me? Absolutely not.
I love making. I believe that if I do what I love, paid work will come on its own. Sometimes the best opportunities begin with simply showing up and saying yes.
Back to creating
There are no upcoming events right now, but I have some new projects in mind. After all the moving, cleaning, organizing, I’m happy to get back to creating, and look at that, I do resin work now.
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