Emerging Spirit

I have been absent from this blog for a long time due primarily to a lost (or stolen) camera. This week-end I am working on a beaded cab necklace that I started several years ago. I attached the necklace yesterday and am now trying to figure out fringe for it.

Making Placemats with Oma

Arts and crafts start young at oma's house.  Nineteen month old Jack creates placemats that are just the right size for his tray using coloring and stickers.  Now it must be said that his favorite part of coloring is opening and closing the crayon box and removing and replacing the crayons. (The crayon box is an exciting 64 color box left behind by his Great-Aunt Barbara.  And I remember being jealous growing up when sister Barbara received a coveted 128 color box of crayons that included gold and silver.)  He loved the stickers as they al represent words that he knows and can either say, sign, or make a sound for.  As a result, the mats are a great conversation tool for someone just discovering the magic of communication.

ATCs

Work has interfered significantly with my availability to do much art lately.  This morning I dashed off 4 ATCs for an online group I am participating in.  Fortunately I have made a number of background papers in the past and I used one of these for this project.  I cut the papers using my deckle cutter and then mounted them on a background paper.  Punched hearts and stamped letters made quick work of the project.  I did a final light brush and wipe using Golden's Metallic Copper Light Glaze.  I love this stuff which gives the pieces more of a finished look and adds just a touch of glitz to the piece.

Of course, when one has to hurry to complete a project, it comes at the expense of orderliness.  My art studio is not very big.  I had been working on wirewrapping over the holidays and then in the last two weeks had switched to glass, moving the silver to the other side of the table.  So in order to do the ATCs, the glass had to be shoved to the side.  And that is how my work table came to look like this.  But it is a happy mess!    

Earring making with my sister

My sister came for Christmas and we managed to sneak in a little jewelry making.  I had recently sorted most of my beads, making it so much easier for us to choose ones to work with.  For an early birthday present, she put together a light box, to help with photography and took these pictures of a couple pairs that I made.

The pair below includes fresh water pearls that I purchased in Mexico.

My sister and I look forward to someday living near each other so we can get together often for jewelry making and art exploration.

Santa Visit

We tried two visits to Santa with my 18 month old nephew.  We talked about Santa, looked at pictures of Santa and even watched Santa on TV.  When asked if he wanted to see Santa, he would answer 'yes' all the way until we actually got to Santa.  Turns out, the extroverted, out-going, friendly boy wanted nothing to do with this strange man in beard and red suit.

Elfair is coming

I have taken the plunge and am doing my first show selling jewelry that I have made.  I only found out a week ago that I was accepted, so the past week has been a flurry of making glass pins and pendants - my kiln has been pressed into service almost daily.  There have been long discussions on the phone with my sister Barbara in California, who will be sending me some of the jewelry she has been making.  She has been enjoying making silver bracelets, some with Swarovski crystals and some with natural gemstones.  I have been making glass pins and pendants of angels, girls, and butterflies.  My mom in Florida has sent a number of beaded necklaces that she has made, so it will really be a family affair. 

So come out this Saturday, Dec. 13 to Elfair at the Carrboro Art Center from 3:00 til 7:30 pm.  See you there!

What Helps You Snap Out of It

See you soon!

It has been a busy fall with much less time for art that I would like.  Work has been too busy as I am short staffed.  The bright spot has been time spent with my grandson.  We have enjoyed many playground and other outdoor outings on gorgeous crisp fall days.

Tropical Storm Hanna

Tropical storm Hannah has arrived in the Triangle area.  I was cautiously optimistic that I would retain power.  You see, I live I an electrical black hole.  I lose power frequently.  A gentle wind, a scampering squirrel, a snake curled up in the power station.  In August we lost power on three different days (including a 20 hour outage, during which I had to pack and leave for vacation).  On the last occasion, a falling limb caused a small fire bringing out the fire department,  The fireman kindly suggested that a call to the utilities commission (who knew) might encourage Duke Power to come and trim the trees and heavy growth hanging over the power lines.  Now I have lived in this house for 17 years and I have never seen any tree trimming activity.  But now for the past four weeks, we have had trucks in the neighborhood and vigorous tree trimming occuring.  Hence my short-lived optimism regarding Hanna's arrival.  Alas, the power blinked six different times this morning and then died (and in my blind cup half full optimism, I had not yet dried my hair).

Sooo, I thought what of the many things I need to do around the house this weekend, can I do without power.  I decided I could spend some time going through emails and clearing out my inbox...all I need is a WiFi connection (and I am so thankful that I upgraded to a laptop a couple years back).  I headed to Borders (because I had a $5 off coupon).  Found a seat with a plug, plugged in my computer and discovered that Borders does not offer free WiFi (very unfriendly!!).  Bought a magazine with my coupon.  I owed $2.11 after the coupon.  I handed the cashier a $5 bill and he handed me $2.11 in change.  I said, 'since the price was $2.11, shouldn't I receive more in change' - I mean it is printed right on the receipt  not like it required any math skills.  Anyway, change corrected, I decided to head to Panera's as I know they offer free WiFi, even if it did mean spoiling my diet with a poppy sead bunt cake :).

My second tropical storm Hanna problem is leaking in my art room.  I had an art/laundry room added to my house, which was fianlly finished in February, however each time there is a significant rain there seems to be a new leak.  This time through the overhead light fixture, which seems a little scary (mixing electricity and water just doesn't seem wise). Thankfully it missed my work table by about 2".

So that is how my weekend has started.  Hopefully electricity will be restored before the end of the day as I don't think very many people have lost power (unlike Hurricane Fran when I had no power for seven days).

Shaker Postcard

For my postcard group, the suggestion for September's Postcard was to use recycled materials.  I decided to use a couple of envelop plastic address windows to create a double shaker card.  An easy way to make a little bit of mail magic.