Uncle Eli’s Enormous Craft Problem

Episode 40 - Skepticism, drug addiction, Nan Goldin and the Sacklers

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

Episode 39 - Framing a 2x4 wall, clams, musuems.

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 curations, so that might disturb your sleep. My apologies in advance for that.

Episode 38 - The importance of wood

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.

Episode 37 - Stained glass

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 this episode is.

Epsiode 36 - Beverages

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 just take a nap. You earned it. This episode is just too weird.

Episode 35 - Cane and murrine: The roll up

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 weird ones. Send me an email at tacomaeli@gmail.com and tell me how confused you are by all of this.

Episode 34 - Cancer craft

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, but it's still a big part of my life and something I've learned an enormous amount about, so this week I'm sharing about my cancer journey and the things it's taught me.

Episode 32 - Drill bits

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.

Episode 31 - Adhesives

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.

Episode 30 - Electricity and grandmas

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!