aglow

i have always been (and still am) a green kind of girl... 


but lately

i find myself drawn to reds and oranges

relishing in their warmth and fire... 

in pursuit of peace

people i care about are struggling with different things -


big things... 


it leaves me feeling helpless... 


sometimes stamping words is enough,


but today it felt cold... 


so i heated the metal to glowing red


and folded it...


and heated it to glowing red


and opened it, gently...


creating not the crisper edges of most of my leaves,


but a soft opening form like a petal... 

as the night progressed, they began to turn into a small pile

like offerings... 

om shanti shanti shanti

bits

(that's what my friend barry calls the pieces he works on... )

i love making bits... they feel very complete to me all by themselves - and i can leave them sitting on my bench for weeks... just looking at them as i pass by... but one needs to help them move forward... 

bits can also help to jump start a brain that has too many things it wants to do all at once... and the brain trips itself up... and then doesn't know what to do... 

so it was a torch fire week... there are lots of ways to play with fire... 

ways that i am so happy i am learning... 

i also realized that i am feeling very influenced by the koi tattoo designs i have been looking at - the fiery reds and golds are oh so far from my usual choices... but i do love working with them and appreciating the whole process - enjoying each step of the way... 

and then there is my grunge-y comfort zone... 

i love the grunge-y comfort zone... 


happy friday...

elemental

earth and sky

 fire and water

RAW7

'eventually you will come to understand

that love heals everything,

and love is all there is.'

~ gary zukav

give and receive freely...

stay open... 

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... 

flaming color

'october's poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter.'

~ nova blair

'autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains,

a torch flung to the trees.'

~ faith baldwin

every one has a strength, something they do exceptionally well - i really feel that erin at every heart crafts has the market on leaves... it took me so long to get one because i just could not decide which color i wanted to work with... & when it arrived i was instantly overcome with a feeling of needing to place berries near to it... deep red/oranges... evocative of the season... and so i did... 'autumn's fire' features berries of lampwork glass, carnelian, ceramic and pearl... soldered rings in copper and sterling are connected with forged & paddled double ended sterling bars... vintaj brass chain with its warm brown color is paired with a length of lavic & picture jasper beads (there are so many jasper names)... 

'delicious autumn! my very soul is wedded to it,

and if i were a bird i would fly about the earth seeking 

the successive autumns.'

~ george eliot

a small antiqued bird charm nestles in amongst the cluster... 

hope the season is beginning to show itself in your part of the world!

on your sleeve

'you can't shake hands with a clenched fist.'
-indira gandhi

if one can wear their heart on their sleeve, then certainly you can wear your peaceful intentions on your wrist! mak of makustudios made some wonderful peace sign raku beads for me... and she is also the creator of the round raku bead as well... kristie at artisan clay made the smoke fired ceramic tube bead... i love the subtle changes of color and pattern in them... mary ann at linden avenue designs created the river rock lampwork glass beads... again, she has managed to create a glass bead that emulates stone, giving me another medium to mingle in with the others... faceted feldspath, mexican painting stone, a double drilled beach stone from stone me, and lots of bali, karen hill tribe and wax cast silver (from cathy dailey)... the beautiful raku buddha face comes from the buddha builder and i could not/would not/will not part with that!

sooooooooo - what do these components have in common? i hadn't really thought about it until i was ruminating over how much i love the smokey effect of mak and kristie's beads... smoke... fire! hmm... mary ann's glass beads were created with fire too... metals i purchase are worked with heat... how about the ceramicists who talk about glazes they use and how different levels of heat affect the outcome? enamel work on metal? polymer clay? pmc? and these are small scale pieces... torches, kilns... on a larger scale (i shall not use the word grander) i have been in the glass blowing studio my daughter works at... furnaces set to 1900 & 2300 degrees... it is beautiful, fascinating and daunting to watch the glowing masses of melted glass become bowls, vases, etc... it made me think of the blog posts i have read about how artists didn't know what the outcome of their work was going to look like, how it was surprising to them... i have read that numerous times from numerous artists working with different materials... it makes me wish i could be in a studio with them while they wait until the unveiling...

fire is so often associated with its destructive properties, but what of the transformative ones? the purifying ones? fire is know for its dichotomous nature... we are mesmerized by it... the power and destructiveness of a volcano is still entrancing... fire is one of the four elements - along with earth, water & air - & seems to be associated with energy and power... phrases using the words, 'fire', 'spark', flame' are abundant... they often refer to love, desire, freedom, life, creativity, spirituality... how fitting...

one of my favorite quotes has to do with this:

'in everyone's life, at some point,
our inner fire goes out.
it is then burst into flame
by an encounter with another human being.
we should all be thankful for those people
who rekindle the inner spirit.
- albert schweitzer

so wear it for all to see...