Uncle Eli’s Enormous Craft Problem

A long and confusing ramble about skepticism and drugs. Probably not even good for sleep.

I took some time off for summer to rollerblade and ride bikes, but now I'm back to rambling in my car. I cover the basics of framing up a 2x4 wood wall, but first I have to talk about clams and go off on art institutions. I'm not sure about this episode, but it's better than nothing. Probably good for a nap, but I do get a little too excited about trashing art museums and their ridiculous curation...

A long winded ode to wood and it's magical properties. Plus more confusing drifts into institutionalism and it's hang ups. Best listened to while asleep or cutting wood loudly so you can't really hear what I'm saying. 1/10 for comprehension, 2/10 for clarity, 0/10 for objective reasoning.

A basic primer of how to create a stained glass object. The only problem is I ramble on about being a personal trainer, the benefits of taking psychedelics and rollerskating and aggressive snacking. Great for naps, not much else. If you're into stained glass, this will probably just frustrate you. If you're a weirdo crafter, you might get a kick out of how specific and confusing and disjointed thi...

In honor of my seven years not drinking alcoholic beverages, I decided to tell you all about how I make seltzer and cold brew. I probably say too much about myself, as usual, so if you're just here for the craft you can skip this one. If you're concerned about psychedelics or you don't think I should be your personal trainer, you should also probably skip this episode. Don't listen, you should jus...

An attempt at describing the very technical process of rolling up cane and murrine on a collar into a bubble, a very specific hot glass process. It takes me so long, I have to work three different jobs in between lectures, so I also have to describe my jobs and all the snacks I got involved with during that time. All my episodes are confusing and disjointed, but this is definitely one of the top w...

I am a stage 4 cancer survivor. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2010 and went through six months of chemotherapy. I was married to a woman with cancer for five years and went through numerous hospital visits and treatments with them. My father was diagnosed with a non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2017 and lost that battle in 2019. I don't love the fact that I've learned so much about cancer, b...

A brief overview of drill bits, chucks, mill ends and poking holes in things. Jobbers, spades, forstners, diamond bits, all your favorite ways to drill holes, plus some weird and confusing anecdotal evidence that's probably at least partially incorrect.

A long winded description of all the different kind of adhesives that I could remember. There are more than this, but I think an hour is more than enough time to ramble about glue. In case that wasn't boring enough, I try to explain my very confusing take on art institutions, The Arts and the role of the artist as adversary to it all.

I tried to make a straightforward description of basic electrical and wiring elements, but I got sidetracked by all the confusing parts of electricity and stories about my grandma. Plus more ranting about the impossibility of art institutions in actually supporting artists. Grab a pillow, this one's a snoozer!

I try to explain my wide angle view on art institutions and The Arts, then I focus in on the minutiae of welding. Listen to this while you weld for extra confusion.

I explain U-brakes, V-brakes and cantilever brakes in greater detail than you've ever needed to know. I do mention hydraulic brakes, but that is going to take another episode to explain. This is all about housing and the cable pull system of the standard bicycle.

I start to get into the specifics of cane and murrine work here, but I really only describe how to set up a pull. I thought I could get to how to roll things up, but it takes a long time to describe in detail the basics of cane and murrine setups.

Turning a simple shape on a wood lathe.

Have you thought a lot about concrete? I have. So much so that I thought it would be fun to talk for an hour about the technicalities of concrete, portland cement and aggregate. How silly! Now that I've recorded this, I feel like I could talk for another hour about all the things I missed. Advanced Concrete coming soon!

A very specific sculptural technique of wrapping hot glass in a hot shop setting. If you've ever wondered about the very specific details of wrapping 5 pounds of glass around a hot glass sculpture, this is the episode you've been waiting for. If you've never wondered that, now's your chance!

Have you ever wondered how to take care of donkey or goat toenails? No? Have you ever wanted to take a nap? Yes? If you get comfortable, you can probably fall asleep before I go into too much detail about carefully trimming and cleaning stinky goat toenails, then you won't have to listen to any of it!

I dig deep into my memory banks and describe the techniques I learned as a teenager to give myself and my friends tattoos. These are the tips and tricks you shouldn't copy, techniques that are not sanctioned, safe or sane. If you like good tattoos, you are going to be very upset when you hear this episode. Not recommended for sleep, unless you're already really sleepy.

Now that I've covered the basics of coldworking, I thought it would be fun to go deep into more specific cutting techniques like battuto and inciso. Very long winded and detail oriented, but potentially accessible to all levels if you listen carefully. Also good for naps.

This is a performance piece I recorded about being an outlaw and making pancakes. Very confusing and disjointed, but potentially the best sleep aid yet. I tried for my most sleepy time voice, so enjoy your nap!

We are diving into the specifics of the foundation of hot glass work: gathering and punties. This is highly technical, but I try to explain it so anyone can understand. It's probably way too detailed, so you might want to lay down and take a nap while I talk.

This is an attempt to speak about the craft of dealing with death. As an artist, I've created a number of rituals around dealing with death and dying. I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2010, and I've lost a number of close friends and family to suicide, drug overdose and cancer, so this is a very personal story. Very emotional, a great way to cry yourself to sleep. If you ever think that you...

This one is actually about coldworking. I got it switched up with the last episode, so things got a little out of order, but that's what you get for listening to a free podcast from some dude in his car. Very technical, but not as confusing as Chocolate Cake and Depression. The intimate and technical details of cutting and polishing glass. Way more reasonable than "Cast Iron", but still pretty unr...

Originally I posted this as "Coldworking Glass" but I got it mixed up when I uploaded it with "Chocolate and Depression". Very fitting though. You'll probably be depressed after coldworking glass and you might want some chocolate. I think I explain my chocolate cake recipe, but it's pretty confusing.