January | 2014 | Camryn Forrest Designs

Yeah, it’s like that.
Random. Thoughts. People say, how do you come up with these ideas, and I have to make up an answer. Are they saying I’m a little “out there?” or is that a compliment? The truth is, I don’t “come up” with thoughts, so much as I feel bombarded with thoughts. Rapid fire ideas zipping in and out of my head. Bing! Bang! Boom! Zip!

I sit at my workbench and I have a sketchy list in mind. To do. List. What was I going to work on? Yeah, “Tesla Mends a Broken Heart” … I started that piece. Special request. It’s been months, hasn’t it? Where is it? And that lady dancing. Nah, I don’t like the guy in the tuxedo with her, I want her dancing with a bear. Black bear, not grizzly. Black bears are omnivores, meaning they are mostly vegetarian but they’ll dine on roadkill if it’s convenient. Didn’t I have a bear around here somewhere, ready to go? Oh, wow, look! The Nautilus, that’s right. I was making another steampunk submarine. That nose cone looks like it needs whittling, the proportion is off. And this space is getting crowded. What’s this? Right, Da Vinci’s prairie dog. He’s got spunk. I have to get working on those wings, that is going to be so … wait … Okay. Stop it. Now pay attention. Armoured heart. You were going to finish the support on Armoured Heart. It looked a little heavy last time, and you were going to add support. Hmmm, maybe should call it, “Protect this Heart” … is that too obvious? An armoured heart is a strong heart, a warrior heart … oooh! Warrior Heart, now THERE’s an idea. I should make a Warrior Heart … what was that song? Love is a Battlefield? who was that, Pat Benatar? Some eighties warbler. It wasn’t Debbie Harry, not Stevie Nicks. Probably … Should my dancing lady and her bear be atop a heart? Is that cliche or out of the box?

And that poem I was working on, “I live in a cave that is under the sea …” that would make such a neat globe … “Locked in a Room that Has no Key…” Hmmm, a lot going one, hard to get inside a small space, “Hidden in Darkness you Cannot See“ … darkness, really hard to show … “if you Really Loved Me, you’d Find Me.“ Can I even fit that on an engraved plate? I mean, it’s a LOT of words … and cave, sea, room, lock … that’s a lot. Why does that remind me of that dragonfly globe from last spring? You didn’t know if the show director meant dragons who fly, or the insect dragonfly. It was a 50/50 call. It — the insect – came out pretty good — maybe you could do a better one now, filigree wings and … wings, yeah, back to Da Vinci’s prairie dog. He needs wings. Mechanical wings. Some kind of harness. Da Vinci used a leather ball joint on his wings, what would work in 1/144 scale, more or less? Size of a pinhead? Remember that saying about angels dancing on the head of a pin? That would be cool, angels dancing … where IS that dancing lady I was going to put with the bear? Is it under my journal? What was that idea that woke me up last night because I had to write it down, anyway. So middle-of-the-night important! I hope I can read it.

Here it is: Last entry. Gray Minds Think Alike… No, that was last week, skim a few more pages. All Roads Lead Home? Nope, keep going. Right Heart, Wrong Time. That’s an interesting thought. Wonder what I was going for there? Hmmmm, Friction Makes Sparks, and then, in lower case: the road less oiled, A call to Arms. A blank page. The Apology. The Button Pusher. Dancing on Clouds. Another blank page. Then a sketch: Safety Hat. Safety Hat? What was that about? There are tiny men holding a top hat like a fireman’s net. Oh, okay. Middle of the night random thought.

Yeah, it’s like that.

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I made this snowglobe just for fun: it’s what I imagine it looks like inside my brain some days. The entire sculpture is less than 3 inches tall – and even though I made it, I still find things there I’d forgotten. The Where’s Waldo of snow globes. Hey, Where’s Waldo? that’s a thought …