new additions

to the my mom pattie etsy shop... marsha neal has a special etsy shop set up in honor of her mother pattie... the funds generated from the sales at this shop are used for non-profit donations... 


i gave you a progress report at the love my art jewelry blog yesterday... i have a love of marsha's shards and try to think of special ways to set them off... recently i purchased the book 'wrap, stitch, fold & rivet' by mary hettmansperger and in it i found inspiration galore... 

these earrings have a lot of movement... the shards are the wonderful color that some of the leaves are now turning - a beautiful pink-orange... the torched copper reminds me of old new england barns... they have been sealed properly in two ways to preserve the finish on the copper... 

'when you take a flower into your hands and really look at it,

it's your world for the moment.'

~ georgia o'keeffe

etched copper discs cup beautifully delicate cut out porcelain flowers by marsha... hand dyed silk fibers from lisa jurist...

'if we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly,

our whole life would change.'

~ the buddha

layered pendant - patinated large copper disc... marsha neal porcelain charm with a floral pattern... and a clear resin drop to magnify the wonder... hangs from leather cord wrapped in hand dyed silk and fine copper wire... 

'the winds of change are always blowing

and every time i try to stay

the winds of change continue blowing

and they just carry me away.'

~ willie nelson

the winds of change are filled with surprise and beauty... they may not always be desired, but they are a part of life's inevitability... the pendant made me think of a wind chime of sorts (look for this to be revisited)... so i filled it with different and wonderful things... no matter how much things may shift, we are still rooted... we remain ourselves... with family and friends who love us... the double strand of tied small earthy beads and copper chain represent how we still are grounded even while we evolve... 

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... 

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...