(red)

 'africa is bursting into flames

while we all stand around with watering cans.'

- bono

these hammered earrings have a double meaning... hammered as in the literal hammered sterling and copper wires... but also as in hamme(red), as in product (red)... this campaign was designed to use our purchasing power to raise monies to help eliminate aids in africa... money you would spend on an ipod, itunes gift card, t-shirts, cards, converse, etc anyway can go towards this wonderful program if you just pick a certain version/model... i love my red ipod and have lots of gap tees... i get cards from hallmark... it was kind of a big deal when it started... bono was on oprah to launch it... 

i know that so many things come and go as fads... i really just had such high hopes that this would stay big for a LONG time - not a fad... but a way to put consumerism to good use... the premise was sound, helping was easy... it requires one to make conscientious choices...  
let the businesses like gap and hallmark, apple and converse know that you care and want these products to be available... 

so even if you don't wear red, wear (red)!

warm spots on a rainy day

hoboken, 27 september 2009, was wet... very, very wet!

the festival ran from 11-6... there were people in the streets - with umbrellas and wellies... but i had to wonder if they were just the city's residents popping out for food so they didn't have to cook on sunday! which i cannot say i blame them for as i would have done the same thing... i myself had an awesome crystallized ginger scone from an organic bakery... and em found some fried raviolis...

i was fortunate to have my own sunshine with me - my 17-yr.-old daughter and friend - and we had a great time people watching... i thanked her for sticking out a yucky day with me - a sunday no less, and a long one... 

sales were between a slow down and dead stop...

'while we try to teach our children all about life.

our children teach us what life is all about.'

aside from em, one other little person absolutely made my day... a not-more-than-6 yr. old little boy whose face just cleared the table wandered up holding his mother's hand... he started looking for red & told me it was his mother's favorite color... i learned that his favorite color was green & he showed me his shirt beneath his rain coat... he pointed out that his mom was wearing one too... he was adamant about wanting his mother to have something... and asked me to put a bracelet aside for her while they went to get food... 'will you hold onto this for my mom?' awww! i mouthed to her not to worry about it or feel obligated as i assured him i would do as he asked... really, i didn't expect to see them again...  you know how it goes... but wouldn't you know that at the end of the day, he comes back with his whole family... 'i am back to get my mom a bracelet, she needs one.' ... so mom gets to choose the bracelet she likes and we show him how it has green in it... dad gave him the money to pay me... and he was so content... that little boy almost had me in tears with the sincerity he showed in wanting to give his mom something, you could tell he adored her... 
having a $ successful show is always nice... but the moments where you connect with strangers, or see joy in someone's face because they have purchased a gift are so special... 


despite the damp chill and drops on my head - i had my warm fuzzies for the day... oh, and the lighting allowed me to take a pic of a necklace i made with one of leann's copper pmc charms! emily has on a koi fish brass one... 

hope your weekend was great... 

shards

dictionary defintion: a piece of broken pottery, especially one found in an archaeological dig...
our definition: beautiful pieces of glazed porcelain or chocolate clay made by marsha neal...

she is having a september challenge to see how they were used, you can read all about it here...

at beadfest in philly i had the pleasure of meeting marsha... i got a centered hole shard and a few dangling ones... the word 'shard' takes me to a book i read called 'a single shard'... as an adult, i sometimes read coming-of-age books... and this is one of them... the word represents hope, courage, perseverance & growth to me ... so besides the pieces being so challenging design-wise, they evoke a powerful message...


marsha would also like to raise money to make a dedication for her mom at the tri-state bird rescue... the first shard i used in that vein, drawing on the emily dickinson poem 'hope'...

'hope is the thing with feathers

that perches in the soul,

and sings the tune without the words

and never stops at all.'

it is not yet finished, but i knew exactly how i wanted to set up the pendant...

 

 in this necklace i used pietersite and something my bead shop calls teal paisley - must be a composite... warm colors, varied textures are meant to surround the shard but not overwhelm it... 


the swirling in the clay makes me think of centering pots - when it is wet and malleable... how you yourself have to find quiet (or at least i do) and focus, or become centered, before you can ask the clay and wheel to cooperate and do the same... i think it's such a neat process... the potter who taught me said that if she became president, she would give everyone a lump of clay... i got that - it is relaxing to work with... not a bad idea!


if you are in my area, i will be at the hoboken art & music festival on sunday between 11 and 6...

ripples

'remember there's no such thing as 

a small act of kindness.

every act creates a ripple

with no logical end.'

- scott adams

this necklace was created with a set of beads from pinocean in gemstone colors... i chose to accent them with sodalite, apatite, lapis & labradorite... there are different kinds of rings & circles in the design which hopefully creates a nice flow... 3 metals in antiqued finishes... 

the companion earrings in apatite with deep blue glass... i like these kind of shots to show how mika's glass really glows from within... meant to be edgy - as comfortably worn with jeans & a tee shirt as dressier garb...

you smile or hold the door or say thank you to someone, and maybe they do it for someone else...  and so on, and so on... 

duality

'every one is a moon,

and has a dark side he never shows to anybody.'

- mark twain

this 'duality' necklace started with the raven bead from mak of maku studios... it had a mythical feel to me, as the raven has been surrounded by legends for centuries and from all over the globe... even carl jung wrote about this bird... unfortunately, the raven often gets a bad rap due to its superior job performance in the natural world as a scavenger... 

the norse god odin had two ravens that accompanied  him at all times... in welsh lore the raven is associated with wisdom... but i love the stories about how the raven brought light when it left the darkness of the cosmos... the light of understanding... and from this, jung came up with his teachings of the raven representing the shadow self, or dark side of the psyche... our dark sides must be acknowledged and examined in the light of our conscious selves... there we find balance...  

the center two rings of the pendant represent coming full circle in understanding... the spiral of the infinite, a beautiful bead by mary ann at linden avenue designs (all glass in this piece by mary ann) & a shimmering piece of labradorite which is thought to enhance clarity of thought... from there we find another glass bead by mary ann that you can see into the depths of ... a white crackle raku bead to counter the dark raku disc and glass on the other side... and a hammered, antiqued sterling blank with 'self' imprinted upon it... reminding us that all facets of the self must be acknowledged to be complete...

a breast cancer awareness bracelet made in sterling with rhodonite and ceramic... the words hope, love and believe are stamped on sterling discs... believe has a fluttering butterfly on it, representing the growth & change that only a struggle can provide us with... 

here, there & everywhere ~

'don't walk in front of me; i may not follow.

don't walk behind me; i may not lead.

just walk beside me &  be my friend.'

- albert camus

and to friends i am always most grateful!

'magic lives in curves, not angles.'

- mason cooley

was able to make some earrings with the etched charms i posted about... 'where magic resides' features copper wirework & antique looking czech glass...

when my daughter was little, we called dandelions gone to seed 'blowies'... and they have always brought us such delight... what other flower can offer you a wish each time you pick it? i decided to wrap a link with ivory embroidery floss because seed parachutes always look so silky to me...  & i am going to work on fraying them a bit more... the copper links are handmade by cindy at cindy's art & soul... she does beautiful copper work...

 some beautiful beads arrived from mika at pinocean today and the teal was perfect for another pair of awareness earrings... our local kaleidoscope of hope walk is on the 26th and it is always such a meaningful day... survivors, family members, friends & remembrances of those who died are all present - the energy is palpable... i guess that is inevitable with the level of emotion and commitment that is present there...

 and finally a more controlled study into etching... vintaj will etch, but loses its finish... it also did not seem to oxidize in los... the difference in copper (18 ga) discs between about 1.5 hours and 2 hours has to do with deeper relief and sharper edges... a pretty significant amount of metal comes off in that 1/2 hour... i tried writing on one with a sharpie marker... that was fun... and it opens up the door to so many opportunities - another way to get words into my work!

and so it is friday ~ enjoy!

home

'i long, as does every human being,

to be at home wherever i find myself.'

~ maya angelou

'where do you call home?'

for many, the house we reside in is home... for others it is not... or you can have more than one place that makes you feel that special way... when i am in the woods i feel at home - no demands, no electronics, no laundry or dirty dishes & hopefully people who just let me be... to me, home is where you can be vulnerable, be yourself, be accepted... i try to teach my kids that home is their 'safe place'... meaning (outside of the normal sibling stuff) there will be no intentional wounding of either the physical or emotional type done within these 4 walls... it is something that is very important to me...maya angelou wants us to be so comfortable within ourselves that we carry that feeling around... i think that is an awesome goal to work towards...

i made the bird and leaf charms and had been back and forth about what i wanted to do with them... figured that i would use some of mika's small etched glass beads... but what else? the meaning and expectation one should have of 'home' has been on my mind a lot... and so i decided to build nests (i know they might look like wreaths & am planning on seeing what else i can do to them) out of different elements - using sterling, brass & copper wire instead of twigs, string, reeds, grasses...

i would like to thank everyone that left comments on the etching experiment and the cancer awareness earrings! i am always touched when i see comments on my posts, but there were lots left for these... 

and i would like to thank those seasoned pros who patiently answer the questions posed to them by those who are learning... you know who you are! i always have the utmost respect for your time, your vision, your hard earned experience & the time it took you to learn what you have learned... 

as an alternative for the simpler things, i thought i would share a site i found that has lots of online video classes, some of which are free... www.beaducation.com ...  

feeling kind of antsy tonight because i found out there is still time to be in the hoboken music & art festival... it's only 10 days away, it costs more because it is last minute, but it sounds sooo cool! hoboken (birthplace of sinatra) would be my first non-local show... it just seems like an awesome opportunity... 

hope tonight finds you at home ~ 

transformations

'when we quit thinking primarily about ourselves

and our own self-preservation,

we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.'

~ joseph campbell 

change is in the air, confidence is growing and excitement is overwhelming at times... i decided it was time to stop wanting to try etching metal & to just do it after reading a blog the other day... these are small 18 ga. copper blanks... i used the book 'semi-precious salvage: creating found art jewelry' by stephanie lee as a guide... here i have used a rubber stamp & permanent ink to mark the blanks... they were allowed to completely dry... 

the book recommended leaving the metal in the etchant for a couple of hours... so i left them in for 2.5... i had a vintaj blank - that got eaten up, disintegrated... & a larger blank that didn't etch as much... but i didn't put it back in because i wasn't sure what it was supposed to look like... then i took the little guys out...  i really love the molten look they took on... very cool... but also very sharp in areas...

these are post oxidizing... i only had steel wool to work with and some small files... but i love the contrast... i do believe that i will need to get a dremel tool for brightening the raised areas and some sandpaper to help out with the smoothing...

when you want to grow, when you want to become 'more', it's a feeling that pulls at you... it can come into conflict with what you 'have' to do... but somehow it works out... and anytime you grow in one way, it seems to spill over into other ways... i thank lisa at lucid moon studio for so openly sharing her information and experimentation with this... it's always funny to me how the universe works... this was my next step, and as i was looking through the new posts this weekend, there it was! 

ooh - just remembered i have a buffing and sanding sponge... going to try that...

how and what are you transforming?

twist, turns, bumps and potholes...

life is filled with these... but for some, a life threatening illness exponentially increases the level of difficulty... 

september is ovarian cancer awareness month

october is breast cancer awareness month

we all know of women who have faced these diseases... their bodies may or may not have survived, but their powerful spirits never give up...

'in all things it is better to hope than to despair.'

- johann wolfgang von goethe

'twists and turns' were lovingly created to reflect the path of the disease and of life itself... love & hope are critical for anyone's survival, but definitely for these women - my wish is that they never find themselves short of either... sterling wire has been manipulated and antiqued... beautiful little lampwork beads created by jenn at blue seraphim... earring design loosely based upon the symbol for the feminine...

'things worth holding on to' were created in honor of breast cancer awareness... subtle faceted pink beads are a warm pink/brown... delicate ear wires created by rocki at rockissupplies ... the distressed and rustic look are meant to reflect the tenacity it takes to survive - emotionally, mentally & physically...

here's hoping the road can be smoothed for them in any way great or small... 

music is what feelings sound like ~

art is what feelings look like~

& when they 'come together'... (couldn't resist!)

i usually work in silence... i enjoy it, as it is a rare commodity in my home... but as you know from my blog, the beatles have been hangin' round here... and i like it! i really only take pics by natural light & today it was pouring... so the photos aren't the best...  but...

this necklace is called 'let it be'...

'whisper words of wisdom, let it be.'

 

a really fun necklace for me to make... sterling, copper & vintaj brass... rustic glass seed beads, a beautiful lampwork bead from bleu verre ... i stamped, hammered, wrapped, punched and antiqued the morning away... it is so rewarding to do a lot of this myself... the lotus flower, leaf & lapis are reminders and symbols of self-awareness, inner truth, the beauty of life and love... 

 

these earrings are called 'you say you want a revolution'...

'you tell me it's the institution,

well you know

you better free your mind instead.'

these are a sterling version of the ones in the last post... 

'while my guitar gently weeps'...

'with every mistake we must surely be learning.'

a copper drop with blue/green lampwork glass beads... they reminded me of drops of water or tears for all that is done in ignorance and hate... 

'the distressed feminine'... distressed - you get that part, hammered, antiqued... some bumps and bruises... aged to a fine patina... imperfectly perfect (aren't we?)... the pink beads do not match, are softly etched & are from mika at pinocean...and are a loose interpretation on the feminine symbol...

would love to work more but have misplaced my business cards for tomorrow and now i have to find them! yikes - oh yeah, and the kids are home from school! have to do the mom-thing!

enjoy your friday... 

new things...

'all life is an experiment.

the more experiments you make the better.

~ ralph waldo emerson

i can work with that! 

while i do not usually work with crystals, when i do shows i have noticed that they can draw people to a table... the sun sparkles off of them and people come... 

but i wanted to go at it a bit differently... the book 'a charming exchange' by kelly snelling and ruth rae was recommended to me and i cannot put it down... i want to try everything at once, but am trying to be practical... i adapted this link into an earring... and started with copper so as not to waste sterling... the swarovski colors are copper, brandy and chili pepper... i thought they stood out nicely against the antiqued metals - vintaj and copper...

hopefully will be trying silver this afternoon ... with some lapis or turquoise maybe!

(almost) reckless abandon

'8 days a week, i lo-o-o-o-ove you...'

that was me - singing to the beatles rock band...
just in case you didn't know, that came out today... i thought they should have it as we didn't go anywhere this summer or really do anything... the kids didn't complain... and so they have been waiting for it... i like this music... and my kids have come to as well... for all of the complaints about video games, one of the things i like about the music games is that my kids know songs (and like them) from the 60s, 70s & 80s... & they play together... truth -  metallica was grinding on my last nerve... i would bite and all but swallow my tongue so that they could play, knowing that just because i didn't like it didn't mean they shouldn't play it... 
but the beatles? that i can handle... it may even make a nice backdrop to creating... if i can get away from the microphone... i am a very shy person - and a bit on the serious side - i am sure you couldn't have figured that out! :o) but the kids insisted that i play... after beginning my 'but i have to...' list, i stopped... and i played... i didn't pick the mic because i am good... i picked it because i would have made them fail if i were to have used an instrument... and because i could actually help them get points because i knew the songs!
and i had fun! it has been a long time since i have done anything like this... things around here can be kind of serious so i feel like i am usually in vigilant mode... and it was nice... i haven't always been like this, it kind of happened...

the game progresses in chronological order - and you have to complete set lists... we got to 1965 (my birth year)... and there is so much great music to come! i am excited - and i have a show saturday - yikes! but it will work out... it always does ~
i highly recommend this game...

72*, overcast & breezy - perfection!

'autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower'

-albert camus

keep close to Nature's heart... 
and break clear away, once in awhile, 

and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. 

wash your spirit clean.

-john muir

i woke up this morning to incredible weather... the smog was lifting from my brain and i had ideas that i could clearly work on... i will never dispute the magic of summer, associations with free time & relaxation... but for me, nothing beats autumn... there is something about it that invigorates & awakens me... this necklace, 'autumn cleansing', was meant to be simple... a resin maple leaf pendant from artbeads.com, lampwork glass from mika at pinocean & some great spiral headpins from rocki at rockis supplies hang from vintaj brass, copper & sterling antiqued chains... 

'to receive everything, 

one must open one's hands and give.'

- taisen deshimaru

'finding your center' earrings feature tierracast copper henna'd hands, lampwork glass from mika and vintaj components... these green beads are soft, warm and representative of the heart chakra... green represents harmony/balance, compassion & generosity...

'when you get there, there isn't any there there.'

- gertrude stein

'transience' earrings feature carved bone skulls given to me by a friend... they remind us of the impermanence of life, the gift of the present moment... skulls hang from vintaj components...

i am truly enjoying every moment of this day... 
hope you are too!

fruits of my labor - like the hard birthing kind

you know how sometimes everything you need seems to come to your fingertips and mind with great ease?
and then you know how sometimes it feels like you are in labor? 
well, today was that kind of day...

maybe it's because it has been a couple of weeks since i last made something... i didn't even have the mental retrieval system of my inventory on board ... 
or maybe it's because i am getting more pieces to work with than i can keep track of... 
nahhhh! 
maybe it's because my head has been in places that are not conducive to  creation...


i finally opened up my bag from  bead fest in philly - yes, i was there on the 21st - & for 2 weeks my goodies have been awaiting me! 
first items i ogled over again were from marsha neal... i love the little pendants i got in the brown color from her... 
then i literally starting pulling stuff out and looking at it... i use a wine rack to hold different things... and now a lot of it is emptied on my floor... (did i mention i have a kitten? fabulous - i will begin to hear him sliding through the bags soon, i am sure!) i came upon a bird pendant by mellisa at chinook in a glaze color i am so fond of... the two needed to be put together... and doesn't the small brown pendant remind you of the color and texture of bark that was subliminal, i didn't 'think' about that...

'hope is the thing with feathers

that perches in the soul,

and sings the tune without the words

and never stops at all.'

-emily dickinson

had a lot of fun with this one...used mixed metals - copper and vintaj... very partial to greens with the copper but wanted the warm vintaj brown to be present as well... more wire working in the links, clasp and my drop for the small pendant... blues & greens on one side, browns on the other... lampwork glass from linden avenue designs and bleu verre...brown raku from keith o'connor...

'one love, one heart

let's get together and feel all right.'

-bob marley

then there are some other pieces i have had stashed away... cindy pack does really beautiful metal stamping and she created this 'one love' piece for me, it even has a nice curve for the wrist... barbara lewis makes sahara beads that i adore... i knew i wanted to create another bob marley piece... hence, 'one love, one heart' ... her work is so uniquely textured, colored & manipulated... this bracelet mixes copper and sterling... there are some heavy cast sterling rings linking the beads from cathy dailey... and mary ann from linden avenue provided the silvered ivory glass... we have been discussing the religion of love after all... 

so the beads are all over the floor, but the liver of sulphur is disposed of... it was a gorgeous day today & i know i spent it inside... but i was due!

oh, i get by

with a little help from my friends...

 

andrew thornton is having a giveaway to help a friend and fellow artist... check out his blog - and good luck!

grateful for a 64 color world...

life is like a box of crayons. most people are the 8-color boxes, but what you're really looking for are the 64-color boxes with the sharpeners on the back. i fancy myself to be a 64-color box, though i've got a few missing. it's ok though, because i've got some more vibrant colors like periwinkle at my disposal. i have a bit of a problem though in that i can only meet the 8-color boxes. does anyone else have that problem? i mean there are so many different colors of life, of feeling, of articulation.. so when I meet someone who's an 8-color type.. i'm like, hey girl, magenta! and she's like, oh, you mean purple! and she goes off on her purple thing, and i'm like, no - i want magenta!

- john mayer

this quote made me smile (it doesn't limit itself to partners in my mind) and  i just wanted to share it...

the blogging community that i have found myself now very attached to has really stretched me in so many ways... there are people doing awesome things creatively with their art, people thinking deeper and sharing insights, people allowing us to see the world through their eyes... it's awesome...

i find that my thinking is altering from 'can i?' to 'i can sure try'... and my kids do the same - one is involved in writer's realm & loves photoshop, another draws and does impressions (you should hear his mrs. doubtfire) and another is a creative thinker who is addicted to glass blowing... they inspire me... while the goal is always to be a great role model for my kids, i really do want to maximize whatever time it is i have here...

the final line of the song 'can't stop' by the red hot chili peppers (love their music - we were at the concert where they recorded their 'snow, hey oh' video) always leaves me mindful

'this life is more than just a read through.'

kids off to school this am, feeling a huge itch to get going doing something, but having too many ideas at once... inspired by what you all are doing and thinking... need to take a breath and center...

thanks for sharing your 64 color world!