Sooooo, next thing I know our friend and local podiatrist, Dr. Charles Oehrlein, who had a great sense of humor throughout, was helping us get the ball rolling.\u00a0 And, it was always fun to tell people that our Podiatrist is sponsoring men walking in high heels, and next we have a peanut brittle eating contest sponsored by the local dentists.<\/p>\n
Really, my part was easy.\u00a0 I was just the eye candy<\/a> for the event<\/a>.\u00a0 We actually had people who work better in groups than me doing all of the hard stuff.\u00a0 No, I just put on my shoes like a man, and posed for the photographer.\u00a0\u00a0 Lora had the hardest part of the whole event.\u00a0 She had to give her testimony, which brought a few tears to the crowd, and it was not an easy thing to do.\u00a0 We were all proud of her, and it gave a little insight to why we are so driven to help with this issue.<\/p>\n We managed to raise $22500, and had hundreds of men showed up.\u00a0 Marines, vets from Afghanistan, several police departments, Senators, Reps, Firemen, business men, artists, and “real men” from all over the county.\u00a0 Men who wanted to make a stand against the scum of our gender that feel the need to control and harm our fairer sex.<\/p>\n Repunzel's Escape: Copper, sterling silver, and turquoise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n So, when we were going over things that we could do to raise awareness during October, I started planning this cuff.<\/p>\n I started with the idea of using the form of a shackle, a cuff-like restraint used to enslave people.\u00a0 I knew that this would mean hinges and a hasp-like clasp for it, and I was excited to get to make a more mechanical piece.\u00a0\u00a0 I also included etching, forging, lapidary, soldering, and rivets for an interesting weave of techniques.\u00a0 The most time consuming was surfacing the piece.\u00a0 I use different grades of sanding and polish to give a variety of light plays on the surface, similar to working with paint surfaces, high-gloss, gloss, matte, etc…<\/p>\n The piece was also coated with a micro thin layer of Renaissance Wax.\u00a0 This is merely to seal the surface.\u00a0 In watching the discussions of copper and sealants on Ganoksin’s forums, I know that there is absolutely no way to permanently seal copper to prevent tarnish 100%.\u00a0 I make no claims that it won’t tarnish.\u00a0 In fact, I have planned for it to tarnish with the way it is surfaced.\u00a0 However, the wax works amazingly well in slowing down this process.\u00a0 In fact on some of the pieces that I have that are five years old that were treated with this wax, still retain their bright penny-like surface, but I also know that these pieces have survived because they haven’t gotten the wear and tear that they would get from constant wear.\u00a0 But, this doesn’t matter to me.\u00a0 As soon as any metal piece is finished, it starts its slow decline back to its source, and I make no pretense to stop it.\u00a0 It’s a living thing, and all I tell my patrons is to treat it as such.<\/p>\n The form of the shackle is very cylindrical, which reminds me of a section of a tower, so I pulled back out a theme that I used to use, Repunzel, the captured dame with amazing\u00a0cysteine residue growing abilities.\u00a0 The filamentous biomaterial queen.\u00a0 The long-haired captive of that little troll-like man Rumpelstiltskin.<\/p>\n The window in the tower has the bars bent back, showing that she’s escaped.\u00a0 And, using a symbolic device from stories as revealed in Japanese woodcuts, the flowers signify that she has escaped while still in full bloom of life.<\/p>\n I and many friends and family members have been affected by domestic violence.\u00a0 It is a contagious disease in our culture.\u00a0 And, it is our job as human beings to do what we can to stop it and prevent it from spreading.<\/p>\n One in four women will experience domestic violence(DV) in their lifetime. As men, we should not tolerate this behavior, as it tarnishes the way society sees us.\u00a0 Let’s clean up our neighborhoods and help rid this disease from society.\u00a0 And, get involved.\u00a0 We can all make a difference.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/cosmicfolklore\/files\/2011\/10\/walkthewalk.jpg\")
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\n1.3 million women will experience DV at some point in their lifetime by an intimate partner.
\n85% of DV vitems are women, and men, strong men, can fall victim.
\nWomen, 20-24 are at the greatest risk.
\nMost cases of DV are never reported to police.
\nThe cost of DV on society is around 5.8 billion dollars a year.
\nPhysical, mental, and sexual abuse all fall into the range of DV.
\nFor more statistics on DV, go here.<\/a><\/p>\n
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