this is what started it...

this unassuming intake valve that most people never see... it's all my brother's fault! he brought us pieces of his vw van's engine that he rebuilt/restored so that the kids could understand the engine hands on... yeah, he's pretty cool! i saw that original vw symbol and wanted to be able to make an imprint... it distracted me most of the day...
my stream of consciousness way of thinking led me to luthien and cindy pack... luthien has been posting about her work with polymer clay - i really love tutorials and appreciate the time it takes to put one up... she has even gotten to the point of opening another etsy shop for that work... good luck, luthien! cindy and i go back - thanks to blogger i now have the privilege of knowing her - i was a customer and really admired her work... the picture above is from my stash... don't you love that medusa head? i worked with the clay about 10 years ago or so, making stuff for my kids that they could play with, creating number pins for them to wear to school on their birthdays, teaching them how to use it for school projects...
but now... i admit, i am wanting to see what i can do for my designs... so, i went to a craft store last night 'just to see' ... and i found this awesome stamp that has so many different textures on it... i am envisioning making cubes with different patterns on each side - i don't know if this is going to work or not, but i will give it a try... of course, then there's the whole getting-the-right-color thing ... always the details! :o)

this is of course occurring during a visit from my brother who i haven't seen in a year... and also having to get ready for a show on the 12th (for which i want to do some work with silver like i have been with copper)... but, as leann's post was just about, perhaps the pressure will yield rich rewards...

thought this was a great quote regarding inspiration-

'the artist is a receptacle for emotions that come
from all over the place; from the sky,
from the earth, from a scrap of paper,
from a passing shape, from a spider's web.'
- pablo picasso