This was tricky. The iridescent film is a layer on top of the leather. Too much heat causes that layer to bubble up. But once I dialed in the settings, it turned out pretty great.

I don't know what to call them. Bead containers? Herb stash tins? Pixie pools? What would you store in a 1 inch round container with a screw on top?

Today was a record breaker for my art market. The booths were hot, the entertainment was wonderful, and Eugene showed up big time. Oh, and my spin coins were a huge hit!

Market for the Strange Creatures of the Night Lane Event Center 11AM-6PM Today (Nov 29) $5 admission (free admission after 5PM)

Don't miss XKCD's comic today. "Fifteen Years". xkcd.com

Really happy with how this pattern turned out. I designed it with the orientation on the right, making a mushroom shape. But the other orientation looks like a tongue or a pair of kissy lips. What do you see?

Here's my spin coin process, from laser to shiny spinner in under 3 minutes. (Real time: ~150 min) www.youtube.com/shorts/_qsT1...

It's almost harder to get a bad spin that is short enough for a social media video.

The collection is growing!

Yeah, Geno. That'll do!

I haven't been this overflowing with ideas in a long time. It's great to have a tool that can keep up with me. I love the idea that these coins will still have these fractals on them a hundred years from now.

A maze is made with walls or ways, and a wary wanderer. This idea is inspired by The Stanley Parable. A game without a player is just rules. A player with no game is just a dreamer. A maze isn't a maze until someone is inside it and unsure of which way to go.

These might be my favorite. Hefty, shiny brass coins with a secret that turns them into tops that spin for minutes!

After Geno is done carving the metal with photons, it's up to me to make it shine. Here's my process. #laserengraving

Exactly how I see it. "Look how stupid/evil this person is" posts are just part of the propaganda.

My love for the color orange is rooted in this gnarly Japanese Maple that grows outside my window. Every year, it undergoes a stunningly vibrant transition before losing its leaves for the winter. I've enjoyed it since childhood, but this year I recorded it so you can enjoy it too. #TreesAreCool

I discovered they have a secret use as a flow toy.

Took a risk and ordered a few spot rugs with my art on them. The vibrance is fantastic, and the details came through reasonably well. We'll see if they're popular enough to do again, but if not, I think I'll be happy to have them around the house. So will my cat. 😅

"Wiggy" is a word that means "I'm feeling weird, but I know it's because of the substance I've consumed", and implies "I need to change my setting, but communicating is difficult". It's an alternative to attaching those feelings to more important things, and a reminder that the discomfort will fade.

This is so much fun!

I found the feature that changes the angle of the laser's approach each pass.. Whoops, I mean Geno learned Geno Whirl! This coin is a map of how I see emotions. Each emotional state has its counterpart on the back. We oscillate between each pair (and others), and the combined result is our "now".

Laser Fractal Space Wizard isn't just a silly title. It's also a map of my creative phases. In Laser phases, I'm chasing a specific result. In Fractal phases, I'm exploring possibilities. In Space phases, I'm creating big ideas. In Wizard phases, I'm performing. Phases often overlap.

Hello, laser! I think it needs a name. Probably something with a prominent G, inherited from its model. Geordi? Gali? Oh! How about Geno? Inspired by my own personal childhood Boba Fett, ♡♪!?. Hello, Geno!

Laser upgrade! It took a lot of fractals and a lot of Plotboxes, but I finally saved up enough to get a 30w fiber laser setup I've been eyeing. Soon, even the finest metals will be subject to my photonic ablations through the power of Ytterbium-doped silca fiber. (And a hefty HEPA filter!)

Scientists Finally Reveal Biological Basis of Long COVID Brain Fog. Patients with brain fog may have disrupted AMPA receptor (AMPAR) expression—key molecules for memory and learning. Imaging of Long COVID patients showed elevated AMPAR density tied to more severe cognitive impairment.

"Night Cats" Flam3 fractal + poetry

OG Computer Nerds: I need a dedicated key that prevents the console from scrolling so I don't miss a single letter of information. Every computer should come with this by default. Modern computer users: Ugh I have to actually scroll all the way to the bottom to accept this legally binding contract?

"Snug" Flam3 fractal I've updated my website gallery with a bunch of highlights from this year. It's a great place to grab a new wallpaper image. www.complicatedreality.com/fractal-art

Night of the Living Dead, Oct 4th @ The Grand, Salem OR. We're going all out to kick off haunted season. Tickets and details at marketforthestrange.com

Some products create value through convenience. A spork, for example. Let's come up with silly opposites of that. Fusion products that aren't any more convenient than their constituent products. Like Diaper + Firework, Bicycle Pump + Protractor, or Toothbrush + Dog Collar.

Ever get that feeling where you encounter a work of art, music, performance, or whatever, and it's so captivating and wonderful that you don't want to learn anything about how it's made because you don't want to be able to see the flaws that people learn to focus on when they're taught how to do it?

After 20+ years of listening to it, I noticed that the first two tracks on the album Signs by Badmarsh and Shri have opposite perspectives. The first implores "You gotta make up your mind to face reality all the time". The second starts with "Run. Free. Reject reality!" Great album regardless.

Ill Fated Tattoos does flash at most Market for the Strange events. He finally got me to sit down for this rad frog wizard. If you're around Albany, Oregon, come see us at the Linn County Expo Hall from 11-6.

My spidey-sense has been haywire all day, and I finally realized why. New @beefyness.com and @tanner4105.bsky.social album dropped today. Beefy is a long time fav of mine, he brings such a fun energy to nerdcore. beefy.bandcamp.com/album/feelin...

Bid a number. You win if you can list that many names of real people from your own memory. No fictional or hypothetical people, and only one name counts per person, nicknames /screen names count as names. No phone, internet, notes, just braining it. What number would you confidently bid?

"Cave Vibes" Flam3 fractal One way to define fear is as a resistance to change. Especially change in things we love. This can be subverted, you can learn to recognize fear as an arrow pointing out the things you love the most, and cherish the reminder.

"Infinimint" Flam3 fractal How it feels to chew ∞ Gum

"Flire" Flam3 fractal Healthy IWX levels range from 3.4 to 3.7. The average internet user has an IWX level of 4.8 to 6.1. To lower IWX levels, experts recommend a reduction in exposure to internet numbers as a source of self-actualization and unspecified experts as a source of authority. Stay safe!

"Quangle" Flam3 fractal My rendition of a #TimeQuangle, a silly plot device that gives my partner countless giggles.

"Friend" animated Flam3 fractal Look with open eyes, see them as themself. Look with open mind, you might find yourself.

Preparing my first move since my art career started. Cleaning out drawers of old supplies and hardware. Kinda wild excavating through the layers and remembering old projects. Promos for Fritz Fleet, Riddle Rush, dozens of laser work prototypes, Toker and SitD proto decks, and so many art prints.

Oh hey, this cool write-up about me and Path To Elda came out today! www.orartswatch.org/elda-calriss... #music #art #politics #trans #queer 🎧🎶🎵

Market for the Strange: GET OUTTA MY SWAMP! Today at the Salem Convention Center 11AM - 6PM Come see some art, eat a hotdog, meet costumed characters, and maybe get a new tattoo?

"Carriwitchet" Flam3 fractal, recolored No flip, no sway, no tilt. All stay. No when, no may, no wait. All day. No fight, no fray, no blood. All may. No more? No way. No way. No way.

"Glitter" animated Flam3 fractal I really need a laser ray that ablates a metal plate. I think about it every day I delay dreams, I'm up too late. Photons scrubbing bits away in patterns I can calculate. Engravings I can give away for players who can puzzle great.

"Glitter" Flam3 fractal I recently realized that many of the foundational assumptions about how people think of me and even how I see myself are based on the opinions of the couple dozen kids I went to grade school with. Part of me wants to prove myself to them, but what a silly idea. (More)

"New Garden" Flam3 fractal Building in a bubble, but I'm burning under atmosphere. Trying to make tomorrow, but there is no map or atlas here. Smoke foreshadows fog of war, I breathe it in and disappear. Justice always in arrears, weird, the cause is always clear.

"New Garden" Flam3 fractal in jWildfire Swan Swan is the fractal animation editor I've dreamed of since starting. I can bind parameters to curves with keyframes, and render on my GPU. That means I can do things like this popcorn effect, with a slow tense up then a quick pop and settle.

Calling all our sisters, star gazers, hidden path travelers, third-eye beholders, and fantastical friends. We're summoning the strange ones to Albany for the last time this year, and we request your presence. Vendor applications are now open! www.marketforthestrange.com/vendor-appli...

If you want a weird but true fact to talk about: Dexter Holland, lead singer of The Offspring, was instrumental in this. His doctorial thesis in molecular biology was sequencing mRNA in HIV. The paper was also heavily cited in creating the COVID-19 vaccine.