on the peace/prayer flags project and international peace day

tomorrow is international peace day - 

if you haven't yet, please do click over to the flags project blog to see what people have been sharing... tomorrow is our day to come together to post about the flags we have made - in their many interpretations... 

see their work, read their words, hear their thoughts... 

perhaps adding some of your own along the way -

it's all rather beautiful and moving when you think about it... 

quiet work

keeping the faith

'hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.'

~ george iles

as tiresome as sneak peeks may be for you, they mean (to me) that progress is being made! 

'never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. 

there is always something to make you wonder

 in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.'

 ~ albert schweitzer

new things for my speakingyourtruth shop::

noticing a lot of really rundown ladies out there - don't know what is going around, but i empathize... here's hoping the weekend allows you some time to do what feeds you ~

on things primal

i had the opportunity to work with components made by d'arsie at mamacita beads this week which made me really happy as i have long admired her work in pewter... a friend/neighbor asked me to make her something with a pendant and i got to pick out something too... she chose the good morning pendant for me to work with... having hit a rough patch in her journey, she is learning about herself by working through it, moving forward, being kind to herself... 


there is something about morning that brings hope and optimism... the birdsong that lets you know that first light is imminent... i decided to back the pendant with copper etched with an african proverb:

'however long the night.

the dawn will break.'

my choice in healing stones was howlite and green garnet... 

as for me, i chose the wise mama...

and she is divine... i knew i had to have her... she spoke to me on a deep level and needed to become part of a personal talisman... i had a couple of ideas in my head but nothing was feeling Right... and then, shannon posted her wonderful article on the abs blog - it had to do with creating neck cuffs... i hadn't made them because i thought i had to have a necklace mandrel... shannon freed me from that! my most favorite necklace in the world as a teen was a simple wire that i would put different things on... it got lost somewhere along the way, but i never forgot it... as i read the article, synapses started firing so fast that i had to run upstairs to get my visual journal... and just as quickly started pulling out components... this was a piece that surged out of me, demanding to be born... 


copper wire formed into a cuff... one wise mama... a hammered copper paddle with 'peace' stamped into it & adorned with gaspeite a stone believed to bring spirituality into every day life... a large drop of turquoise - master healing stone... the acorn known for strength, potential, patience... a resin paddle set with a small leaf... and an ethereal enamel bead by barbara lewis - made from glass and fire and metal, but exuding delicacy and earthiness...


fibers wrapping around one piece to represent the threads of life... and all intertwined with steel wire... fragile strength... 


and look at her back - she has the tree of life on it... 

and she's mine!!


* as i thought about this necklace last night and the placement of the wise mama being directly on the base of my throat, i decided to look up the throat chakra... it relates to honesty in expression - whether artistic or personal... hmmm, this is even better than it realized!


happy friday saturday! 

make your own ripple

'it is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief

that human history is shaped.

each time a man stands up for an ideal, 

or acts to improve the lot of others,

or strikes out against injustice,

he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.'

~ robert francis kennedy

this small stream running down my street is what is left over from the accumulations of a  blizzard and the storm of this past weekend... the ripples, though small, move significant amounts of water... their effort is steady... they move over and around obstacles... 

in any size, great or small, create a ripple today ~

lespwa means 'hope'

like the rest of you, i have been wondering what i can do to help the victims of the earthquake in haiti... 

i happened to be on rebecca sower's blog... she had been travelling to haiti long before the earthquake... but when it happened, she went into action... there is now a blog and an etsy shop called 'haiti by hand' where you can go to help...

i had seen in rebecca's blog that lespwa means 'hope' - a word near and dear to many... for this lespwa necklace i created resin components... the link says 'renewing' and 'time'... it is always the time to help, but when crisis arises we can renew our dedication to that cause... all copper wire, lapis, turquoise, recycled sari fiber, a fiber & fabric wrapped link... and a hand - to illustrate our reaching out... 


i encourage you to take a look at her shop... 

fragile

'courage is not the towering oak 
that sees storms come and go;

it is the fragile blossom

that opens in the snow.'

~ alice m. swaim

i love how different media lend themselves to adaptability... how they can be saturated with feeling and emotion... working with the strong metals - forging, hammering, filing, finishing, sanding - is physical work (but, naturally, thought filled)...  with resin i have found the perfect chameleon... with wet paper and fiber (here again from myfanwy at sassa lynne) one appreciates the delicacy... it is wonderful to create a balance... 


lately, i have returned to my bags of pearls... they lend a sense of the feminine, of thoughts, of light...  on a journey to remain strong - somedays putting one-foot-in-front-of-the-other until the end when i find myself still standing... yet things happen that can pull the rug out from under you... it happens to all of us... and we are left shaken... i think this is where the recent work that has its finger on the pulse of human frailty is coming from...

'hope is important because it can make the present 

moment less difficult to bear.

if we believe tomorrow will be better

we can bear a hardship today.'

~ thich nhat hanh

triangles of etched metal... some with ends curled, some with pearls dangling... emphasizing both sides of this bittersweet life... pain and beauty... sadness and love... but always hoping that love and beauty conquer all... knowing they always will... even in our most vulnerable moments, we will reach out, believing in the light, believing in the love...

you're braver than you believe...

'promise me you will always remember:

you're braver than you believe,

and stronger than you seem,

and smarter than you think.'

christopher robin to pooh

mellisa at chinook jewelry is participating in the susan komen walk for the cure... she has decided to have a jewelry auction to raise funds -  & what a great way to help... if you win, not only have you helped an incredible organization, you get to have a unique keepsake as well... as we have discussed a number of times on this blog, it is a disease that has affected so many of us or those we love... i worked with mellisa to create a number of pieces to add to her offerings...

'hearts aflutter' was made with mellisa's beautiful heart pendant... her work is very feminine and it was nice to switch gears a bit... vintaj always looks so great with pink, so we were off! mixed beads - pearl, ceramic, stone, embroidery thread, vintaj accents... 

'hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.'

- georges iles

'hope whispers' started with mellisa's matte pink button... i etched a vintaj blank and added an etched ivory lampwork bead by mika at pinocean with some raspberry delicas for color... pink czech beads and african trade beads... a wrapped circle link of vintaj wire ... everything about this necklace seemed soft... 

'hope never abandons you; you abandon it.'

- george weinberg

'hope will set you free'... when you are feeling like the world has you trapped, know that hope can liberate your heart... created a copper cage to hold a beautiful little heart charm by mellisa... etched 'hope' tag on vintaj and copper bird charm just outside of the cage to represent freedom... cherry quartz & smoky topaz... double vintaj chain... 

mellisa has also created some pieces of her own... please stop by her blog... the bidding has started at $10... the holidays are coming... if not for yourself, maybe one of these could be a gift for a loved one...

thanks to all of the incredibly talented beads-of-clay artists yesterday for their open house!

and promise me you will always remember... 

and this i hope for you ~

a very dear friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer last year... i made a promise to myself that she would receive earrings from me to help her feel beautiful even when she had lost all of her hair, was feeling sick, was feeling sad... last month she had her reconstruction, a year after her mastectomy... and i hope that this will be the last pair of earrings i give her with breast cancer in mind... 


a lover of quotes as well, she shared with me one of her favorites~

'in the depths of winter i finally learned there was in me an invincible summer.'

~albert camus

these 'double entendre' earrings are meant to be a play on breasts (or tatas)... and a farewell address, hoping so much for her that this closes out a chapter in her life's book... 

there are a number of women in the blogosphere trying to raise money for this disease... mellisa of chinook jewelry design and kelly snelling at 'a charming exchange' are two that i know of with auctions... erin of 'treasures found'  has shared information on blogging for a cause... 

hopefully, someday, we will be able to bid cancer itself 'adieu' ... 

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...

on becoming

this quote came to my attention as i was reading an article about social change and global warming:

'we must all learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools. we are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. for some strange reason i can never be what i ought to be until you are what you ought to be. and you can never be what you ought to be until i am what i ought to be.'

-martin luther king, jr.

i completely understand the ideas of relatedness and interconnectedness that exists between all living things... and i find this quote to be profound for it reaches further than the personal journey we are on to attain the highest level of consciousness we can... from our practice of working upon ourselves, and then reaching out with ever more to give, the great challenges of our time can be met...

but to be honest, 'i can never be what i ought to be until you are what you ought to be.' made me stop... what do you think? on the most deeply personal level, aren't we supposed to be able to gain great insights through our own diligence? do we need others to attain our own enlightenment? does it help to be surrounded by those that are like minded? of course... but is it necessary? i don't know, i am still thinking about it - and i still have a lot of work to do... i suppose that is why dr. king wrote, 'for some strange reason'... as applied to the species, this statement rings loud and true... we need to be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem... we can achieve more together if we are on the same page, working toward a common goal...

these earrings are about becoming what you ought to be... the lotus flower is one of the eight auspicious symbols in buddhism... the roots of the lotus are set down in the mud, the stem growing and rising up through the murky water until it reaches the surface, where the flower turns its face to the sun... the white flower is a symbol of enlightenment, of the purity of body, mind and speech... these earrings are made in 3 layers... the bottom is a paddled copper drop representing the roots... the center is a spiral headpin with moonstone representing growth and the flashes of insight gleaned with emotional understanding... and the dome shaped disc is stamped with the lotus flower itself... hammered and antiqued... i made all but 2 of the pieces - the split ring and the spiral headpin which was made by rocki at rockis supplies... in truth, i didn't realize how i was building these, how the 3 parts were symbolic, it only came later when i was finished...

imagine whole water gardens of lotus where each blossom represents an enlightened human
& what could be accomplished if those were to be...

all i know, all i know...

'...love will save the day'
- des'ree

'love is my religion.'- i have been ruminating over this sentiment written by tamekah & then reinforced by beth in the comments of that post... i have had ziggy marley singing in my head as well as des'ree... it's been nice, & expansive for my soul...



i think it is very easy to fall into thinking about love in solely the romantic sense... if that's not working out for you, & your heart is feeling a bit battered, it can taint your thinking... step back - i am surrounded by love... love of & for family and friends, love for humanity and the opportunity we have each day to make a difference... love for the creatures we share this planet with and love for the flora that also find their home here... i am a bona fide tree lover and i say that without shame!

i have been playing around with copper and trying to do more with it, as you know... having never been a 'heart' person, this is new and fun for me... i used a porcelain heart charm from nancy at round rabbit and made my own word charms - i love the way they sound when they touch, it's like music, a soft tinkling... then there are beautiful beads from bleu verre, maku studios, jubilee & linden avenue designs... the glowing labradorite dangle at the closure shares company with an open hand... keeping your hand open to both give and receive...

truly what else is there? what is the root of compassion, sympathy, forgiveness, charity? love... what are more songs, poems & plot lines for books, plays, movies about than anything else? love...

some people are easy to love, some more difficult... some you want to love up close and some we love from a distance... but we keep on because we need to & without it, no peace is possible...

don't worry....

'bout a thing, cause every little thing, gonna be all right...

- bob marley 'three little birds'

for a couple of months, i have been wanting to make a bracelet inspired by that bob marley song... 'legend' is my any time, any place album, always able to help me get centered... and some of the songs just get stuck in my head... i wanted to be able to present this message to yo-0-ou!

so i had the mental percolator going, waiting to figure out how to present '3 little birds' without be overtly obvious... desiring them to be beautiful and subtle... i was on mellisa's chinook jewelry design site and saw her birds in the 'things with wings section' ... so i contacted her and she ever so patiently worked with me, varying the shapes and colors and making these wonderful charms... the circle is also her creation... cindy pack works with metals and creates beautiful tags - this peace tag in fact! there is also lampwork glass by mika at pinocean and mary ann at linden avenue designs...

i was concerned about it finding a home because it was so intention specific, but i hoped it would eventually... hours later the bracelet was purchased by a woman buying a gift for her best friend... apparently her friend always tells her that everything is gonna be all right... it touched me because the message was received... she also ordered a pair of earrings, lucky me and lucky friend! the beautiful pond green glass is made by mary ann and cindy supplied the hand fused copper rings and ear wires...

these pieces are my first steps wading into the pool of greater involvement in my work... i did some wire working (besides the usual pigtailing) - making my own clasp and doing my own antiquing... very rewarding even doing these small things... although my boys would disagree with how rewarding it was bringing liver of sulfur into our home!

'hope is important
because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear.
if we believe that tomorrow will be better,
we can bear a hardship today.'
- thich nhat hanh

have hope, keep the faith, find peace...

who will you find in the sea?

maggie and millie and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles, and

millie befriended a stranded star
who's rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles; and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

for whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea.

- e.e. cummings

this is the creation that came from the beads by mika and the sand dollar charm by erin... i know my usual is chunky & the original plan was to have a lot of shiny silver... however, after finding out that mika hand sands each bead, i felt that it was a disservice to hide all of that surface area... and the flat sides of the discs are more like the sea glass that one finds anyway... erin's charm is so highly detailed that the same applied... keep it simple, natural, random...

so i began to think of the tide line left on the beach when the water retreats after a storm... piles of broken reeds, sea weed, skate pods, sand dollars, sea stars, all sorts of shells &, if you are lucky, sea glass... sea glass in varying shapes and sizes but having a certain color range - brown, blue, green, and clear... in thinking about it today, i realized that sea glass is the result of pollution - i guess it's the only kind i am ok with then (& i didn't think i was ok with any of it)... as you inspect the ocean's offering, you enter a kind of trance... searching for the perfect ____ (you fill in the blank)... and when you do, you treasure it - for you have found a gift that means more to you than anything material... and isn't it interesting how you are satisfied with just one (whatever you found)? in a world where people collect and look for more, you unconsciously stop and feel complete...

science tells us that we feel relaxed and happy at the beach because of the negative ions that are released by the crashing water... that may be true, but i think there is something to just connecting with nature... it takes us to a simpler place... a place where we can just be... a place where we can believe that everything will be okay, that our goals can be achieved and our challenges overcome...