Rick Magley Design

The Ridiculous Optimist

2012-01-27T07:16:00.000-08:00

The Ridiculous Optimist

There was once a man who smiled 

…Because the day was bright,

 …Because he slept at night,

 …Because God gave him sight 

To gaze upon his child; 

…Because his little one,

 …Could leap and laugh and run;

 …Because the distant sun 

Smiled on the earth he smiled.

He smiled because the sky

 …Was high above his head,

 …Because the rose was red,

 …Because the past was dead! 

He never wondered why

 …The Lord had blundered so

 …That all things have to go

 …The wrong way, here below

 The over-arching sky.

He toiled, and still was glad

 …Because the air was free, 

…Because he loved, and she

 …That claimed his love and he

 Shared all the joys they had!

 …Because the grasses grew,

 …Because the sweet winds blew,

 …Because that he could hew 

And hammer, he was glad.

Because he lived he smiled,

 …And did not look ahead

 …With bitterness or dread,

 …But nightly sought his bed 

As calmly as a child. …

And people called him mad 

…For being always glad …

With such things as he had, 

And shook their heads and smiled.

~ Samuel Ellsworth Kiser

Organ transplant

2012-01-18T08:03:00.001-08:00

The Organ Transplant

I found an organ donor before Christmas and last weekend we completed the transplant. This particular organ had been stored in a warehouse for many years, but was still in amazingly fine condition despite lack of refrigeration or heating. It was made in 1879 according to the label in side and the case was hand carved from cedar wood. The only other Smith American pump organ like this one I can find online is in a museum in Australia.

This organ was left behind in a storage building and the new owner, as he was cleaning up the shop and “organizing” just wanted it out of the way. Some friends helped with the loading and unloading process and the man who owned it actually made the delivery. We only lost a small piece of trim along the way and he stopped and picked it up.

Now you might wonder, as did my wife, why on earth I would volunteer to be the recipient of this instrument, allow me to explain. A few months ago as I drove down Highway 16, I saw what appeared to be a piano in a pile of trash put out for collection in the Fall Cleanup our city conducts each year. I turned around to see what it could be and found part of a piano (the hammers) and an ancient Epworth pump organ in deplorable condition. My son, Jonatan and I borrowed a pickup and took it home to my studio. Sadly, the organs pedals were missing so I couldn’t pump it, but reaching underneath, I pumped the bellows by hand. It sang for me, a deep melancholy melody as if glad to voice its sorrow of years of neglect. But without pedals, I really couldn’t play it properly. Something in me just wanted let it sing!

So I searched the internet and found a pump organ museum just sixty miles from Mom’s house. I contacted him and he said he might have some pedals I could use. But when he saw the photos, he suggested it was beyond repair. He offered to give me one so the next time I went to Kansas, I made a trip with my brother to Sharon Springs and visited one of the few pump organ museums in the world. After we completed the tour, we went over to his shop and he showed me an old pump organ that had been painted white and all the stop knobs were removed. It did seem to play fairly well, though the bellows leaked some air. We took it to Mom’s house and hauled it to the basement. Much scrubbing revealed a slightly lighter ivory paint, cracked and yellowed from years and painting over an oiled finish wood. It sounded beautiful, in its airy, clunky way. But it was too far from home and the van too small, so it stayed 643 miles away.

I cleaned out my studio, moved all the book making leather and paper into it and set up work benches and lighting. Then I got the call from the organ donor and we completed the transplant last Sunday afternoon. Certain members of my family found little amusement or joy in my new acquisition. In fact, there was a bit of a row after the organ was implanted safely in the studio. My participation in the disturbance fell sadly short of the expectations of the other familymembers and in my joy I accidentally whistled the as I walked away, a very bad idea in hindsight.

As I scrubbed layers of years off my “new” organ, as it sat under the sunny window, beautiful hand painted detailing began to shine through. Close inspection of the stops revealed graceful hand-lettering and I found more hidden featuresthan I knew could exist on an organ. But the best part is that this baby can sing! What amazes me most is that something made 133 years ago can still perform its intended function with finesse. With fourteen stops, strong, tight bellows, and efficient pedals, it lifts the rafters with its voice. I wonder what the neighbors think!

I’ll have to reorganize the book binding area again, but what a contribution the new addition makes to the room! Not only do my outlets for creativity fight for space, they fight each other for the hours of my day. They devour my life with their sweet gnashing teeth and I enjoy every minute of it.

Hand bound books

2011-12-12T17:45:00.001-08:00

Hand bound books for sale now.
We now have hand bound books for sale $20-$30. They have leather covers, long stitch bindings and coordinating handmade papers inside.

We also do one of a kind custom journals starting around $50. I'll be posting individual prices and photos.

Christmas 2011

2010-08-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

Just finished up a Christmas gift line for 2011. The theme was "Love Came Down" and a section of the products all used the same graphic theme:Tiered memo pads
Giving Plate
Gift bags:

I built all the files including the repeat patterns in Illustrator CS4

Some gift bags that were not tied to the theme.

This bag will have gold foil around "JOY"The light cream trees will be covered with flitter

Back to school designs for 2011

2010-08-09T08:41:00.002-07:00

I worked up several proposals for back to school products a couple weeks ago for 2011.

These are some of the designs I did last year that are in Walmart and other places right now:

Springtime

2010-04-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

The "Gathering Place" at the office has a beautiful view today. Thanks to Matt for the photo.

Love this blog!

2009-08-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

http://architectureandmorality.blogspot.com/

Cowboy Hat Birthday Cake

2009-08-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

I had a special request to publish this photo of the cowboy hat birthday cake.

The cake was made in a Pampered Chef Batter Bowl. The brim is made of illustration board.

Stained glass fabric

2009-07-28T12:15:00.001-07:00

Our local church is built high in the Ozarks overlooking a beautiful valley so we have clear glass windows. However, for Christmas we wanted to add a sense of "sanctuary" with stained glass windows. Rather than make them of glass, which would have been expensive and permanent, I thought we could try fabric instead. Sunlight shines beautifully through and for Christmas eve, the dimmer inside lights will illuminate the fabric better than glass.

The base panel is black flannel (which turns out to be very hard to cut all those little spaces out of) with patterned fabric (printed tone on tone) for the "windows"

Although it isn't "high church" the design is influenced by traditional windows. The face of Jesus in the center is just a placeholder for now.

Almost a year later....

2009-07-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

Its been almost a year since the last post and I've hardly bound a book (did do 2 small ones last night) but I've been preoccupied with architecture again. This is a plan for a small guest house on our property or elsewhere. Mom talked about building a little place for her but she wasn't so keen on the curve of the roof.

It would be good to have good foam insulation (http://www.tigerfoam.com/) and I found a great deal on the shell at Steel Master (http://www.steelmasterusa.com/). Also, this isn't exactly a new idea. I found an article on the history of quonset huts here: http://www.quonsethuts.org/huts/index.htm and an in-depth survey reports of quonsets in Fort Collins, CO. http://www.historitecture.com/projects/quonsethuts.html .

I think most of the historic ones look pretty sad, like the neighbors would throw rocks at your kids if you lived there, but if it looked cool like the Hummer dealership it would be ok. Southern living also featured an article about one that was converted into a really cool house.

New blog site.

2008-10-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

To see newest books, go to my handbinding blog.

Book Binding; some books I made a while back

2008-09-04T11:28:00.001-07:00

A recent design for a DaySpring journal. You might see it in Barnes and Noble.
Book cover made from an old Eddie Bauer Bag

A binding I dreamed up one day. It took some tricky sewing to keep the thread from putting too much stress on the paper.

My very first hard cover handsewn book. And by now its completely full of journal entries, sketches, and memories.

Vacation in Montana

2008-08-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

A photo from vacation in Montana last week.

Etched Glass Coffee Table

2008-06-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

I have a glass top coffee table that constantly looked dirty because of fingerprints. I wanted to etch the glass to get around that problem, but didn't just want it solid. I found a pattern I liked for the middle, then wrapped the 23rd Psalm around the edge. I ordered the design cut in vinyl from e-cal.org and etched the glass with acid. This is how it turned out.

Morning at my house

2007-11-28T14:04:00.000-08:00

Morning in my back yard.

Romanian Book Cover Design

2007-11-28T13:27:00.000-08:00

I just completed a FREElance project for OM, Vienna. The book cover was for a Max Lucado book being printed in Romanian. I had limited fonts but two good friends; one a photographer and one an upstart model. Pick it up in your nearest Romanian bookstore!

Photoshop Pattern Play

2007-11-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

A Copper Doodle

2007-06-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

For my introductory blog, I'm just doodling... in copper. I bought copper flashing at Lowe's and made some tin-punch lamp shades for lawn lights. It also works great for embossing doodles.