You guys- I made it to 50! Yessssss!
This is another boiler illustration- the steam gauge- so cool and covered in rust and precipitate!
I took a little break because I got super involved in this restoration project! I cheated and said it was 51-53 “Salvaged.” Hey, I did paint it! This poor built-in china cabinet had been left to us by our college professor who sold us the house. It had been in her previous house that had burned. It was stored in the carriage house for over 10 years because we didn’t know what to do with it and we were waiting on our kitchen floors to be done (this thing is huge!). Anyway, the finish was ruined in the fire, the leaded glass ruined, it had water damage from the fire being put out and leaks in our carriage house (we have fixed those leaks), plus termite damage. It was a dumpster fire of a project! But it kept me sane- having something to focus on and save during the initial outbreak of the pandemic craziness.
These doors were completely eaten by termites. We found a great wood worker who made us new ones!
Here it is finished except for the glass. I don’t know if I will be able to save the leaded glass. Probably not. 😦
After working like crazy on the cabinet it was nice to settle down again and just draw. I did the boiler in our basement, prepping to paint it the next day.
All the steampunk people on Instagram were loving this boiler and its parts. Me too you guys, me too.
Yep, we found it like this when we moved in- with an anchor on the bottom and an ancient wire dog muzzle hooked over the thermometer!
Original servants’ buzzer and brass button plate (with missing button)- so cool.
57-58 was us finishing the giant cabinet!
This last picture is fascinating! I found it only a couple of years ago- a washout between the library chimney and the foundation in the basement. But, shoved in there- a piece of a wooden tobacco crate from Blackwell’s Durham Tobacco (this later became Bull Durham’s). This crate is at least 121 years old. My house is 113 years old. How long has this been there? So rad.
I’ll be back with more art soon! I’m thinking of making this into a 365 day project! I have so many ideas! If I do that I’ll probably post 20 at a time. See ya soon!
-Jaime
Life on Kansas Street 