- We got through about half the NGA. There is just so much to look at. We ran afoul of the art police. Due to spouse's employment, he is authorized & encouraged to carry almost everywhere. There are practical reasons why he does, like for instance if someone broke into our apartment and stole his official stuff it would mean BIG TROUBLE. I assumed people who felt the need to carry all the time were super insecure and paranoid, possibly power tripping (I still think this for hobby shooters), but for spouse it's about knowing exactly where his important things are at all times. In other museums/official places carrying hasn't been a problem, typically it means a short wait, showing official ID and signing a logbook before bypassing metal detectors. But the art cops at the NGA were like, nope. Denied. Unsure if policy changed due to 1/6 or the NGA has always been that way. So we had to backtrack to a secure place to store his stuff, and I'm tee-heeing that it's dIsCrImInaTiOn against uncultured peasants! (it makes for a funny anecdote, having spouse's authority denied by the art cops) and then I remembered I was saving half my sandwich from lunch and the art cops probably wouldn't like that in the museum either, so while we're walking I'm trying to cram in my sandwich so they won't make me throw it out. Turns out they don't care about bringing in food, gave myself a tummy ache for nothing. In the smithsonian they check in your bag briefly for contraband. Not so at the NGA, walk on in. So we finally get back and they let us in no problem. Man there is a lot to look at, and we are slow lookers. Signs everywhere saying you're not supposed to touch anything, of course. I got yelled at for pointing too close to artwork because the actual rule is not to get within 12" of the art. Why don't they put THAT on the signs if that's the real rule?! I wasn't going to touch it, I was pointing at a tiny frog with an absurd expression (it reminded me of the frog Spike encountered while hallucinating in that episode of Cowboy Bebop). Why would the artist paint in a tiny frog if he didn't want it pointed at? UNFAIRLY SCOLDED BY THE ART COPS. DIDN'T TOUCH.

- Naturally I was browsing with an eye for engraving inspiration. There are rooms full of pieces from the medieval/renaissance, mostly religious with large areas of metal leaf (gold, presumably) ornamentation. The metal is inscribed with patterns made with what looks like repeating stamps. Like, golden halos on saints, decorated with hundreds of tiny circles. Textures made up of random stamped pindots, etc. It looked like something I could bring into my engraving - in fact I have wanted to dabble in an icon inspired style for a while. So I'm looking at all these little stamped circles and wondering if I can get bits with a hollow center so I can quickly zip-zip-zip engrave little circles (I've tried stamping letters with a hammer into the cup bottoms - that was a fail). Hey presto! I searched and found a set of different sized little circle bits on amazon for $7. Sometimes the internet really is magic. So I'm really excited to get those and see if they work how I want.

Example of ornamentation.

Cup burr set.

- We visited the gift shop in the NGA briefly, and I have some negative feelings about it. It is an excessively large area where they sell a bunch of artsy crap. A bit of it is related to the stuff on display, but most of it is just misc art related knickknacks at marked up prices. Oh is "starry night" one of the dozen famous paintings you recognize? Want a "starry night" purse? Pillow? Notebook? They had an entire wall display of these clear plastic cups with a rainbow glaze at the bottom. Pretty, but you can buy these glasses straight off amazon (search for "rainbow prism tumbler"), probably for way less. Oooh aaah, pride month, but what a blatant cash grab. What do plastic cups have to do with art masterpieces? Then they have worthless watercolor sets. It's like if michaels and hallmark had an expensive baby. I dunno exactly what gift shop standard I had in mind, but I thought the NGA (they have the only Leonardo da Vinci painting in the Americas!) would do better. Like, there's a dick blick a mile away that is an actual good, real art store. Not this pretend crap. I get so frustrated with the mainstream packaged "artist" caricature. It's the myth of the master artisan/craftsman with a price sticker on top. It's a perversion of the real intent and artistic process. It's destructive to actual artists. There is a disconnect between the way certain art pieces/artists are venerated, displayed, fetishized, and the spirit necessary to make the masterpieces. Like a taxiderm lion compared to the real thing. The taxiderm lion will pose majestically forever. He is a spectacular specimen. He will never be caught doing filthy cat business in the corner. He will never age. He will never escape the exhibit. He will never scare a tourist. But that's because he's dead. Yet people will observe the taxiderm lion and say they've seen a real lion. I feel like it's the same way with art/artists. Everybody wants the tame, safe lion.

I struggle to articulate exactly what ruffles my feathers so. Why do I hate michaels so much. Why does this gift shop seem especially insulting. Why I think my local art organization is snooty and opportunistic, and thus working against its stated purpose. Why POD companies like redbubble are awful. What is the root problem. We are hard-sold a version of what it means to be an artist, because it's the version that makes money (but the quiet part is, the money is mostly made off us, not by/for us). The more hopes and dreams you have, the more profit can be made from you. So being an artist is encouraged, with a gift shop of knickknacks and cheap supplies. As long as you're tame and safe and color in the lines.

Yeah, I guess that's it. I don't want to be anybody's fruit tree. I'm bothered that we're being cultivated as a cash crop. Domesticated.

- Noodling around with different business coaster/card ideas. Still like the business coaster idea, but how can I fancy it up? When I use up the block printing ink I will switch to some other application. How about embossing? How about a dark grey or black coaster? How about foil/metallics? Want to keep it under 20 cents per coaster, because these are destined for the garbage can sooner or later. But how can I make it super cool and super cheap?

- I think I've figured out how to do non adhesive price tags. I got some little neodymium magnets and some binder clips. The binder clips should clip over the edge of most of the cups with no lids, or to the top handle of water bottles. For everything else, the magnets will hold when paired on either side of the lid, etc. I'm going to make some wedge shapes out of polymer clay and glue the wedges to the clips/magnets. Then I'm going to make a small frame to hold a little price tag slip, and glue that to the wedge so the tag is held at a nice viewable angle. Theoretically, I will have classy price tag holders that will work for whatever cup style, no nasty sticky adhesive. I'm probably going to need to line the binder clips so they don't scratch the cup, and maybe glue the magnets to a piece of felt or something ... Anyway I am still fussing with display stuff.

- Brood X seems to be tapering off. It's hard to walk more than 10 feet without seeing at least one dead one. We had a few end up as cat toys on the balcony. Other Cat is quite the little huntress and I wondered how she would react. She likes when they flutter or crawl around, but gets scared if they make distress noises. They are too big for her to eat. So she had some fun but bolted away from the one cicada that squawked at her.