Round Robin - Suzanne

This is my addition to Suzanne's round robin necklace. Her theme is natural beauty which I interpreted very loosely. I'm fascinated by the naturalists and archaeologist of the late 19th and early 20th century who traveled the globe in search of who knows what and I finding just about everything. Admittedly, they got most of the ideas about what they found slightly wrong but somehow I've seriously romanticized this period which morphed into this little jewelry collage. The bird reminds me of all of those overly stuffed animals found in the libraries and studies or stuffed (no pun intended) into the glass cases in Victorian decorations. The shell and faux etched bone seemed like pieces that someone might have picked up in their travels. I hope she likes it, I'm really happy with the results.

Inspiration

I've been finding that I'm lacking inspiration lately. I'm contemplating settling in this weekend for some sure fire inspirational favorites like this and this and also this. I may also start working through this one with the exercises. I bought a new journal that just needs to be broken in and filled with lots of pretty things. I've also had a necklace sitting on my desk that I've been working on for 3 months now without noticeable progress. The sad part is that I know exactly what I want to do and it's simple wire wrapping and wire looping but so far, still only two sad beads have been attached. :)

I just got in some new beads perfect for earrings... see I think the books are working already!

Sparkly Saints

I needed an art quickie the other day and finally got around to making some sparkly earrings with swarovski rondelles and a matching pair of religious charms I've had stashed away waiting for the wire and sparklies. I took a short cut and used some sterling earwires but I'm happy with the result.

On the non-art front, we've been super busy at our house lately as we've made some substantial lifestyle changes and have been trying to work it all in. This hasn't left as much time for playing in the studio as I hoped but I'm still working on finding the balance. We're trying to be healthier and more fiscally responsible which means time at the gym and at the stove. I've decided that I'm going to chronicle the health stuff over here just to have a sort of separation of church & state. If you are mostly interested in the art stuff and assorted fluffliness I'll still be delivering it on this blog but the hardcore food, gym and other assorted heath things will be going on over there.

Scotty Charm

This little guy I made a couple of weeks ago but wanted to share him with you guys. There's just something about this illustration that I found adorable like he's just about ready to pounce for a treat or kisses. He hasn't completely decided yet. I added instant age with my favorite charcoal pencil and a favorite number grouping just because I love typography and can't stop myself. Now, I wear him whenever possible! He's inspired a few new things I need to get up in the etsy store fairly quickly or I'm not going to make the monthly addition update goal I set for myself.

In other non art news we have lost all internet and cable at our houses for reasons AT&T have been unable to explain. Hopefully someone will be providing answers between 4-9 tonight. Yep, that's perilously close to my bedtime! We're hoping they mean close to 4. In the meantime, my internet access from home will be pretty limited but I have ways around it. :) Without cable or internet to entertain me, I've been perusing Amy Hanna's new book and I love it. She's such an inspiration and just generally an awesome women so I encourage anyone who loves vintage, jewelry or pretty things to grab this one at the first opportunity.

Royalty Necklace for Round Robin

This is the piece I made for my Charmsters group round robin. I quickly decided on royalty as the theme but had been puzzling over what to do with the actual piece for a long time. Finally I just sat down and knocked it out. I was required to do a little re-thinking once I ran out of gunmetal rondelles. Turns out, this is not something you can quickly pick up at your local Michael's! I was also extremely disappointed to find out my favorite bead store is no longer open on Sunday. Luckily I was saved by pack rat ways and I added an extra lenght of chain - I know love the addition of a new metal to change it up.

After my burst of creative energy in the last few weeks, I've been hit with a miserable cold. Here are a few recommendations if you find yourself trapped on the couch or in bed. Keeping Mum is an awesome British black comedy for viewing pleasure. If you're like me and want to soak in the bath for achiness then these books will help pass the time. This is the latest in the series and I loved it! They just get better and better.

Tagged

I was tagged by my soul sister in all things soldered Melissa Merrill to post the 4th photo in my 4th folder but my 4th folder doesn't have anything postable but this is the 4th photo in my photo folder. :) Such a great pic of my puppy Abby - she's incredibly cute and loves to snuggle especially when it's storming!

I love that I was tagged by Melissa with Michelle who I met at Silver Bella when the hotel valet very nicely put Michelle in my rental car which she thought was a really weird (PT Crusier) extra shuttle so while it seemed odd she hopped in. Love that amazing sense of adventure! We had a terrific time circling the airport trying to find the car rental return, I couldn't have done it without her so fate really helped me out! I'm also incredibly jealous she's going to the Art Nest gathering. Candice and Julie are two of the most incredible and wonderful women I've met and would love to hang out in the snowy cabin again playing with fun art supplies and eating all the yummy food!

Now, I'm off to bed to try and sleep away this cold that has set in. I had been persistently ignoring it but now it will not be ignored any longer and the paper towels I'm using for kleenex are extremely unpleasant!

Slow moving Saturday

This is one of the favorite groupings in the house. It's got a great mining photo I found at the flea market (framing made it gorgeous but not quite a bargain), lovely prints from The Black Apple and a photo I got at the artists' market in Portland. I've been inspired by lot's of decorating blogs so decided to do my own little decorating update.

I did manage to get a few updates to my own Etsy shop today. One of my resolutions was to add to the shop monthly so I made it in the nick of time. I'm working on a couple of larger shrine pieces and may add one or two of those. I do have a tendency to get attached to the things I make probably because I tend to make things that I specifically like. Go figure! :)

I've been frantically trying to catch up to the latest in the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig. They are the perfect historical romances and I find I stay in the bath tub far longer than I intend when reading them! These books also have lovely covers that I find really yummy.

Sunday's plan involves leaving the house for breakfast and a movie. We're thinking Taken looks like a good choice for the movie. I'm not sure we've seen a movie since this fall, we've become quite the homebodies!

Bad desk new shrine

This is how my desk looked when I came into work in the studio this morning. Yet, it seems like I need the mess to get things done but I think this was the breaking point! I did manage to create this shrine in the chaos and now have several pieces that require glass and soldering so more pics later once I can get to the workbench past the Christmas decorations!

The little bottle is filled with Bombay ink (teal) that swishes like a snowglobe when you shake it.

Only half-dressed

This one is still in progress. She definitely needs a little something to perk her up although I'm very happy with how the charcoal pencil (thank you for the awesome tip Sally Jean - and if you could send the pendant I ordered in Sept or reply to my email I would be overjoyed!!!) really adds dimension and instant age/grit to the box.

I'm thinking of adding in some crayon coloring but have to admit I'm concerned about jacking it up but I just need to try it and add until I have a final result that I love. Tolerate. Don't mind. But, I have to tell you guys that I slam into the giant brick wall where I get nervous about experimentation. I have no idea why since it's just a fun kind of piece made with a broken doll, a $3 ornament, a cardboard box, paint and glitter so not a large or expensive cash output here. Still I hate to admit that the two months I've been working on it slowly were a waste but somehow everything feels like an art project that's getting graded by a super strict art teacher at the end and I really want that "A" and a gold star damn it! Okay, I'm just going to add some color, numbers, whatever I find on the desk and get over it.

Well, let me sleep on it.

Love Box

I've been working on this box since last week trying to get the paint layers right plus all the layers of paint and collage. I can't even say how happy I am with the results. I've talked about my love of Lisa Kaus here before but I really appreciate how open she's been with her work and techniques so I was able to create my own interpretation of her pieces since it's unlikely I'll be able to attend a class soon. Although it's definitely on my wish list for 2009!

The photo shows how I started with a few layers of paint. I wished I had taken step by step photos but I would be working on it then remember I should've taken a pic! Here's my step by step process. The base was two round wood chip boxes from Michael's that I gessoed then used absorbent ground on the entire piece. I coated with a few coats of red/pink/iridescent silver mixed with glazing liquid. Next I added a glaze of iridescent stainless steel (golden) and glazing liquid then started on the finishings. I discovered a nice trick of creating the scallops and circles with charcoal pencil so when I went in with the white paint the charcoal created a nice aging effect. The entire pieces were aged with charcoal pencil and I sealed them with workable fixative so the charcoal doesn't smear. Finally I added the collaged text, glitter and 3d elements (like the washers I keep on hand just for such purposes!). The final step was to use epoxy (this holds like magic) to connect the boxes together add the green handle, dice and doll head. Now, the entire piece is going to the mantle!

Sybil Shrine

I posted a while back about the multitude of German dolls I've stockpiled. I finally finished a shrine I started a few weeks ago that focuses on a doll. The name of the piece is "Sybil's Shrine" based on the ancient greek seers who were called sybils. She's also got some text inside that says "Sybil, keep her secrets". Like my previous louvre shrine this was also inspired by the British Museum and my previous life in which I was an antiquities student.

This is a pic that always inspires.

Somehow when I think of shrines, I'm drawn to the museums with incredible antiquities collections or natural history museums. I would love to visit the Field Museum in Chicago again (summer road trip?). I always feel bad that when visiting the art museums I really do admire the incredible pieces but really just long for giant Egyptian statues or massive Babylonian doors. Like these:

Faux Jade and Baccarat

My necklace thought process summed up in the following. :) I picked up these beads a while back at Michael's and decided they would look great as a simple necklace with natural stone beads linking them. Since the stones are pretty hefty I used annealed steel and wire wrapping to make sure they were super secure and I was mostly happy with it but then came across something that remained me of Vegas which then reminded me of the Baccarat store at Caesar's Palace and the incredibly fabulous chandeliers they have (all with a red crystal signature) which, finally, led me to add this little red stone to the clasp. I love the bright burst of color and touch of whimsy that it adds to an otherwise fairly sedate necklace. And there you have it, my stream of consciousness necklace! :)

Tomorrow is back to work and I wish everyone a smooth return to post-holiday life!

Dolls, Dolls, Dolls

That's the theme for at least January in the studio! I finished the doll box I have been working on for a few days and have decided I'm pretty happy with the result. I had intended to do lots more to the outside of the box (homage to Lisa Kaus sort of thing) but in the end I just loved the antiqued finish and slight touches of sparkle.

Now, I have to work on projects to reduce down the German dolls a little bit. Thoughts? :) Also, if anyone has any terrific ideas on how to incorporate them as necklace centerpieces without them appearing to be hanged I welcome your input!

I had a terrific New Year's with the family in Kansas, although snow would've been perfect at least it was chilly, we've returned home to 70 degrees and sunny. Nothing left to do but fire up the grill and enjoy the new patio. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Mid-Afternoon Update

I decided I didn't have enough projects going so I'm starting on a necklace I've had in my mind for a while. This pic shows the madness that is my desk this afternoon. Clearly I thrive in chaos! :) My new favorite thing is peeking through which is my sigg bottle. This one is my favorite for home. I've really tried to give up the bottled water and filtered water in these bottles is actually pretty yummy.

I had to run an errand this morning and was able to listen to the Diane Rehm show. Today's show was about a guy who raised Akitas in Japan. As the owner of an akita I was hooked! This book sounds awesome and it's definitely being sent in the next round of Amazon purchases. Checkout her show online if you've got a chance. I've included a pic of Maya in case you need some inspiration. She's just too sweet - I'm not bias at all!

In Progress

This is my studio work top as it stands at 1:01 am (cst) and I'm considering trying to sleep again but it's probably hopeless. I've reached the tired but not sleepy stage and these couple of projects are helping my mind to race since they clearly need something but I'm not sure what and I can't move on to all the jewelry projects I want to work on until I clear at least a little space.

I am, however, thrilled to have found a product called "bangle bling" in the $1.00 bin at Michaels. I picked up about 7 packages: gold, silver and mixed colors. They're tiny sequin like things that I think have the perfect vintagey sparkly bling quality (similar to vintage swaravoski but nowhere near as pricey) that I'm convinced all pieces need. All was not well at Michaels as I was horrified to discover that they don't carry crepe paper. This is inconceivable (yes, this word means exactly what I think it does!) to me so that's my quest for tomorrow.

My other comfort, besides bizarre craft finds, is Abby who is never very far away. She's such a sweet girl, to me anyway, and is just a giant snuggle bug - except to the UPS guy (another cutie!) who she's convinced is storming the house with every delivery and requires her to go into full attack mode. He delivered something fairly late last week and we happened to be home. Abby got away from me and made it to the porch. He smiled the biggest smile and said he'd always wondered what she looked like since she always "talked to him" when he had something to drop off. Seriously, how cute is that? She sounds like a 500 pound ferocious beast with her hackles up and the "don't mess with my house" growl and bark but he just looks at as chatting. That is clearly a sign of the holiday spirit at work people.

Tomorrow, I hope to have pics of all the german dolls Rolland and I finally got settled. We did a little bit of eBay craziness and I think I've cornered the market on vintage white german dolls. I do become slightly obsessed with the idea that if I love something I need to have hundreds of that thing just in case catastrophe strikes and they're no longer available. Yes, this is a storage problem and I'm seeking help; mostly at IKEA. :)