[TheForge] Nightshade and conservation, and oops!

[lee robbins]

As an ER doc and student of plant toxicology i
couldn't fail to comment on the life in 1500 treatise
and its weakness.s Lead does leach from pewter goblets
due most likely to acidic wine contained therein. 
Tomatoes, members of solanaceae, the deadly nightshade
(Atropa Beladonna) family all of which have
idenitically-shaped  flowers and rank foliage.
Bittersweet nightshade berries go from green to yellow
to orange to red just like tiny tomatoes. THey all
containing contain atropine and other bitter alkaloids
that can lead to temporary blindness, rapid
palpitating heartbeat and the hallucinogenic imagery
of halloween with fuzzy halos.This is why supermarkets
throw out green potatoes though i think the atropine
risk is overrated. It is funny that many of the
vegetables we eat now, eggplant, potato and tomato are
all in the same family,  

To state some social history however jimson weed, the
corruption of Jamestown Weed which killed settlers as
a potherb, has seed that has been smoked for its
effects by errant teens on Long Island.   In the
teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Castaneda,  the Yaqui
indians ritually feed teenagers the extract of devil's
weed containing the same alkaloids fightening them
through a "bad trip"  as adults they learn the secret
of Devil's weed.

 It was fashionable to place atropine drops in the
eyes to dilate the pupils (also unable to focus) in
the 1920's to make women dark and seductive, 
reflected in the song lyric "with belladonna in my
lamps, i'll look like all the movie vamps"

Thank you Elizabeth Meadows for that great exhaustive
article on dissimilar restorations. 

TOday i had a great lesson. i forged hooks which i
welded onto angle iron arms on a 7 foot rack of 1 inch
square rod which rotates on 3/4 inch stand base
upright.  three arms on the same plane. I built a
sail.I caught it on the way down once 

the prints were framed with a 1/4 inch square rod
rectangle pegged into the center of a routed hardwood
frame Oil on paper prints were tied to the steel frame
with 6 lb test monofilament line. Unfortunately the
hooked ends of the stands ate the picture hanger wire
and several wires ground through due to wind. Luckily
the circumferential track prevented any glass breaking
from the fall. 
nothing like a test run on the day of the event. Now
to change the rack into a balance christmas. Damn,
picture wire loves to stretch and i wired them at the
event. there's a learning opportunity at every corner!

Lee Robbins
flying tortoise forge studio



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