evening approaches

woven leaf - mjd 2013

the day draws to a close. 

a good day

fingers aching

from small needles

small pins

 & tweezers

used to coax fine threads 

in and out

in and out 

through

curving edges of warp.

i offer suggestions

as to how this form might take shape.

but in the end,

i am the one who accepts 

with appreciation

the beautiful curves 

that become

from the pact that is made

by the threads 

and my fingers.

an agreement that leaves

my will out of the process

altogether. 

it is good,

this learning of acceptance.

it can yield the most beautiful 

and unexpected of things.

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 ~ 

the forbidden 's' words

in our home, from the end of school (late june) until about now, there are a few forbidden words... 'school' and 'september'... well, the time draws near... we have been avoiding the back corner of target since july (what is it about stores not getting the concept of being in the moment?)... but i was there yesterday and saw these pencil boxes... i loved the name on them and the colors & figured/hoped those things would help to dip our collective toes into the waters of the inevitable! the bus pass has arrived for one child already... we don't bother to do bts (those commercials are changed immediately) shopping as it is always hot anyway and they just wear their summer clothes...

so i guess i feel like it's ok to officially begin making jewelry inspired by autumn... i live in nj, where we have full change of season and i love it... autumn is actually my favorite one (though i appreciate the others tremendously)... it was a little weird to be doing this as i had just gotten in from a walk in 1000% humidity - not.even.kidding. in nj summers are hhh or hazy, hot & humid - and i was sweating profusely, pretty image, right?

one of my new loves is antiqued copper... i used some pond green spacers from mary ann at linden avenue designs for these ones... they are meant to be like branches, with leaves spaced randomly... the ends are paddled for a more organic feel...

these porcelain charms by mellisa at chinook jewelry designs have been accented with mykonos greek ceramic beads in different colors of changing foliage... i realized that the color of the charms was rather like the deep red-browns that will be arriving...

'to be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind
than to be hopelessly in love with spring.'
- george santayana