i'm not confused...

i'm just well mixed.'

~ robert frost

one can certainly be mistaken for the other - but intention is everything!

'the walls you build to protect you,

will isolate you in the end.'

~ me

walls, both physical and emotional, are often erected in the face of real or imagined danger... feeling vulnerable can cause one to fend off others in the name of self-protection... but what happens when the walls are left up too long? after they have served their purpose? isolation - from those you were warding off, but also those you love...  the time then comes to deconstruct... 

earlier this month, the fall of the berlin wall celebrated its 20th anniversary... are you up to the challenge of taking yours down?

the rusty crusty button from lisa peters had so much to say - and so much energy... it represents a crumbling wall... signs of things soft and beautiful are poking through... hard as the journey is to break them down, stone by stone we do... taking the tangled journey... leaving fragments of ourselves behind... moving from the hard to the soft, from the dark to the light... where love and openness live...   
beautiful lampwork glass by marie at bleu verre & a porcelain charm by marsha neal helped to demonstrate the evolution... 

wishing you plenty

i wish for you - 

plenty of:

love

joy

shoulders to cry on when times are hard

opportunity

hugs

understanding

nourishment for body and soul

ways to express yourself

i would like to share the iroquois thanksgiving prayer (thanks to patti lakinsmith)

We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us. 

We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water. 

We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases. 

We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and squash, which give us life. 

We return thanks to the bushes and trees, which provide us with fruit. 

We return thanks to the wind, which moving the air, has banished diseases. 

We return thanks to the moon and the stars, which have given us their light when the sun was gone. 

We return thanks to our grandfather He-no, .., who has given to us his rain. 

We return thanks to the sun, that he has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye. 

Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in whom is embodied all goodness, and who directs all things for the good of his children.
             

happy thanksgiving!

a very special new etsy shop

marsha neal has opened a new shop called my mom pattie over in etsy...  it is a neat concept, bringing together different designers and bringing them together for this cause... she is an incredible woman, great artist, devoted daughter/wife/mom... she has been sharing the story of the life and loss of her beautiful mom in her 'a blog in memory of my mom pattie' ... 

the shop is best described in her own words:

Welcome to the My Mom Pattie Etsy Shop. My mom always wanted to open a small specialty boutique retail store in Old New Castle here in DE, and I was going to help her once I was old enough. Since that never happened, this Etsy shop will be run by me in her memory...

My Mom Pattie passed away in September 2007 after battling Leukemia. Find out more information about her, memories, photos, and how I'm dealing with the loss of her through my blog to her: www.MyMomPattie.Blogspot.com. 



All of the proceeds from the item sales from this shop will be donated to a non-profit organization. Right now the monies are being collected to donate a room to "My Mom Pattie" at the Tri-State Bird Rescue (DE) annex project. My mom loved feeding, providing habitat in her garden, and watching birds. And with the help from your purchases, there will be a permanent place in her memory where sick or injured birds can be taken care of.

when shopping for yourself or for friends and family, how much more meaningful would a gift be than from this shop? please spread the word & help marsha realize her dream... 

playing with copper sheet

'at the center of your being you have the answer,

you know who you are

and you know what you want.'

~ lao tzu

copper sheet has been randomly stamped with om & lotus punches... hole at bottom is deliberately off center signifying the journey of working towards our center... faceted amethyst used for healing properties... a stone associated with calm, healing and peace... 

'all who wander are not lost.'

~ j.r.r. tolkien

a very favorite quote of mine... drifting, letting go, relaxing, going with the flow... the word 'drifting' has been stamped randomly along with leaves on the copper sheet to evoke the feeling of, well, drifting... like leaves being carried by a stream... lapis was chosen because of the properties it contains - balancing of yin-yang, bringing mental clarity... all things that occur when we let go and set our minds free...

'we all have our own life to pursue,

our own kind of dream to be weaving...

and we all have the power to make wishes come true,

as long as we keep believing.'

~ louisa may alcott

sheet metal here has been textured and punched in many places allowing for the weaving of fibers within it... a contrast in textures tied (no pun intended) together by the flowing line of each medium.. 

did you experiment today? 

on wisdom

'by three methods we may learn wisdom:

first, by reflection, which is noblest;

second, by imitation which is the easiest;

and third, by experience, which is the bitterest.'

~ confucius

i bought this beautiful message bead from diane hawkey... it has this incredible in-the-hand quality, like a worry stone - smooth and round... 

for becoming wise often requires travel down an arduous path... one must face the nuts and bolts of life - the challenges, the joys, the losses, the opportunities - hopefully resulting in growth along the way... hardware beads are from melanie at earthenwood studio... challenges presenting opportunities, doors closing so others can open... the nickel and copper links represent the harder aspects of life that are lined with beauty... 

there is also the quieter side of acquiring wisdom... 

'sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge

and lean over to watch the river 
slipping slowly away beneath you,

you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.'

~  winnie the pooh

'the invariable mark of wisdom 

is to see the miraculous in the common.'

~ ralph waldo emerson

mohair fiber in soft muted colors is wrapped around a copper bar... just above it is a copper disc that has been repeatedly stamped with the om and a lotus... from this hangs pearls - as in 'of wisdom', both taking time to develop and having high value despite coming in small or quiet packages...

'wisdom begins in wonder.'

~ socrates

i can save you money!

i cannot, it's a jest - but it is the best i can do with this ~


you know those beautiful texturizing hammers? the expensive ones? that we want? well, i was shown a way to get one without all of that cost... here's what you need - 


1 - a chasing hammer
2 - metal punches
3- a piece of practice sheet copper
4- a curious & bright child


i know you have this figured out already, but here's how it goes -
'look mom, i got the bird to stamp on the sheet!' 
me:  'that's great, let me come and looooooooooooooooooook. oh... great job hon, but how about next time you use the hammer that looks like the one that lives in the garage.'
breathe in & out...
ok, i have read that you should felt cover your hammer end anyway - it prevents any marking... so now i have this cool distressed looking effect - which i don't mind... who needs that raw silk texturing hammer? not me! :0)


onward and upward!


got 2 pairs of earrings made -

'what we think, we become.'

-the buddha 

dispelling the negative earrings made of turquoise and copper - naturals for healing and purifying... spiral represents the negative being drawn out, copper and sterling wires guide it away...

'life in abundance comes only through great love.'

- elbert hubbard

abundance earrings are made with a wheat sheaf motif... wheat being symbolic of abundance... beautiful green lampwork beads by mary ann at linden avenue designs are added because i thought of van gogh's wheat field paintings with cypress trees included in the composition... 

oh & p.s., i broke down and bought one the other day - when i was shocked at the shipping, i realized - i had ordered a HAMMER! i am very excited... 

winding

'winding'

'may your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.

may your mountains rise into and above the clouds.'

~ edward abbey

whether you agree with wishing this upon someone or not - the first part at least, i think we can agree that the most rewarding achievements and periods of growth come from times of difficulty... marsha neal's shard (this time) made me think of winding and movement... the subtle color changes on top of the chocolate clay flowed right into barbara lewis' enameled connector - both pieces had played with fire and come through it with great strength and beauty ... the ceramic and the metal, both with soft color, asked me to be joined... and so i acquiesced, because it really was such a great request! 

after manipulating a little metal myself, i had some etched copper rounds and findings... beautiful glass beads from mary ann at linden avenue designs and marie at bleu verre...

it became a bit elemental, greens, blues, ivory & browns... air, water, earth & fire all playing their role in the creation of each part... things that live & grow in the greens and spirals... masculine and feminine... 

all united in moving towards the most amazing view... 

which do you feed?

two wolves

one evening, an old cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside of people. he said, 'my son, the battle is between 'two wolves' that live inside us all. 
one is evil. it is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority & ego. 
the other is good. it is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion & faith.' 
the grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, 'which wolf wins?'

the old cherokee simply replied, 'the one you feed.' 

beautiful pendant by mary ann carroll ... i came around the long way to this pendant via  mellisa's post this am which linked to this blog and then triggered my memory of this story... goes right along with my stream-of-consciousness thinking... 

bittersweet

"may god give you...

for every storm a rainbow,

for every tear a smile, 

for every care a promise

and a blessing in each trial.

for every problem life sends,

a faithful friend to share

for every sigh a sweet song 

and an answer for each prayer."

~ irish blessing

i do not watch the news on television & only sometimes glance at my google news page - it all affects me way too deeply... the place that i seem to experience the news is in the blogosphere... because here events are attached to people... and they share their feelings... 

i think this week is a perfect example of the bittersweet of life... leann weih having her son at ft. hood and suffering a mother's worry... and cynthia thornton bringing home her sweet baby max and experiencing the throes of joy that accompanies a  newborn's arrival... 

why do we blog? to connect, of course... most of us though, do not completely wear our hearts on our sleeves... things trickle through... 

i think that one of the gifts of blogging is having an opportunity to connect with those we never would have met... and it is clear as one navigates around the 'blogs i follow' that deeper friendships have evolved... how lucky are we? in this chaotic world with so much pain and joy, to find people on the same wavelength... perhaps providing support or bolstering the spirits of those feeling a bit lost... perhaps providing new insights... or giving us moments of much needed laugh out loud tear spilling... (i think we know who this person is, and i have told her that she needs to look into writing a column)... seeing the world from a different point of view - particularly in photos of the natural world and families... for it does not only take a village to raise a child, it takes a village to navigate through life...

i love the insights that artists provide and how they share their creative process... the groups that get together to collaborate... knowing that you can share a 'look what i did' moment with people who get what it is you did...

my everything has been so expanded by this opportunity... and i am so grateful... 

can you tell me how to get, how to get to ~

the special anniversary/event marked today on google.com is sesame street's 40th anniversary ~ i grew up watching sesame, the kids did too! the jim henson studio is still alive and well...

early mornings at the beach drawing faces in the sand - 

ernie, bert, elmo, cookie monster to name a few...

videos we watched, songs we listened to

put down the duckie, lady bug picnic,

'c' is for cookie, i love trash,

ernie frustrating bert - so we could learn patience

mr. hooper, mr. handford, david & alan

super grover

kermit the frog here

big bird (a.k.a. boo-ah)

ernie (a.k.a. ee-nee)

martian cutie - #9

jim carrey doing happy feet

knowing that savion was destined for fame

a soft spot for sesame? gooey marshmallow fluff filled cloud soft spot ~ thank goodness for pbs... any other station and who knows what would have happened?

did anyone else ~

get up too early this morning? argh! my son and i got up, started the a.m. ritual and then i realized that it was only 5:14!  i leave some clocks set to the old time for a bit, to remind me that when people start acting cranky it may be because their stomachs don't know we chose to change our clocks & they are hungry, or tired, etc... 

'i am always doing that which i cannot do,

in order that i may learn how to do it.'

~ pablo picasso

a big thanks to heather at humblebeads for firing up a lot of imaginations with her 5 challenges... i have now completed four of them and the fifth is firming up in my head... 

'fun with focals' day 4 - assignment - chain up your focal... 

i was feeling like constructing... started thinking of calder mobiles... 

einstein's ideas about relativity came to mind as i worked ~ beginning with 14 ga. copper wire seemed substantial, but then the wire wrapping, chain, and additions of dangles made the focal feel like a miniature ... pond leaf was created by mellisa at chinook jewelry design... the sterling flower tag from cathy dailey... and the copper peace tag was made by cindy at cindy's art & soul... then the piece tinkled as i worked on it, so i thought of wind chimes too... 

'pacifistic calder chime'

'fun with focals' day 2 - assignment - to use ribbon, thread or leather as a bail...

last weekend there was an open studio tour among a good number of ceramic artists... it was wonderful - complete with discounts, giveaways, peaks inside the studios ... i was a giveaway winner at pam's indian creek studios and received some wonderful pieces... when i saw the hand charm i knew it was the focal for this challenge... the perfect oxymoron - hard stoneware, and a glaze that makes it appear so very soft... and, afterall, it did raise its hand to ask, ever so politely!

the hand, to me, harkened back to ancient times... something that could be unearthed in a cave where the floor was covered with the debris of ages - leaves, twigs, stones... and so i used wool yarn, cotton yarn and embroidery floss together, pulled it through the pendant and then wrapped it around a copper bar... over that i used brass wire to wrap on stone, semi-precious stones, a twig, clay beads from kristie at artisan clay... i thought of the copper age... wo/man using simple tools of stone or copper... so i hammered out a couple of long copper links as well... also including some leather and spiral forms which are ancient symbols...

 'relic of the copper age'

and now, some mom guilt... for the first time, my middle child decided to go out with his friends for halloween... our family loves this holiday so he had a hard time, but it was nice for him... so i didn't get a picture of him on my camera because he cut out while i was finishing up on the other kids...

the zombie

and a battling gladiator

used all of the tips and observations i picked up at the zombie walk!

and for those who may have been wondering - zombies do like candy after dragging around the neighborhood!

have a creative day! and check your clocks - all of them! (even the ones that have the signal image that tell you they are correcting from the keeper of the 'real' time!)