RAW 12 - nesting

with grass-filled beaks the birds fly past...


squirrels rustling through leaves, stuffing their mouths before scrambling up the tree... 


finding scraps from their world and from ours, a nest is built... 

entrusting the boughs with their carefully constructed homes...


preparing for the new life that arrives with the spring... 

repeat

'as a single footstep will not make a path on earth,

so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind.

to make a deep physical path, we walk again and again.

to make a deep mental path,

we must think over and over 

the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our minds.'

~ henry david thoreau

call it a practice like anything else, it takes perseverance and discipline to live the kind of life you want... to achieve peace, practice peace... over and over and over... 

i had thought i couldn't make anything personal this week - it felt too raw... instead, i found i couldn't engage in anything less... that art therapy thing again... and so happy for it...

lovely little bird by leann weih... these birds are really getting around - i have been seeing beautiful designs with them on many blogs... leann has made a connection with her handformed beads... and we are all so grateful! sorry that your studio has been so cold, leann - but not entirely...  who knows if these would have ever come to being? that old bittersweet thing again... 

thank you all so much for your thoughts, wishes and hugs this week... they meant so very much, and were very unexpected... my most heartfelt gratitude to you ~

fruits of my labor - like the hard birthing kind

you know how sometimes everything you need seems to come to your fingertips and mind with great ease?
and then you know how sometimes it feels like you are in labor? 
well, today was that kind of day...

maybe it's because it has been a couple of weeks since i last made something... i didn't even have the mental retrieval system of my inventory on board ... 
or maybe it's because i am getting more pieces to work with than i can keep track of... 
nahhhh! 
maybe it's because my head has been in places that are not conducive to  creation...


i finally opened up my bag from  bead fest in philly - yes, i was there on the 21st - & for 2 weeks my goodies have been awaiting me! 
first items i ogled over again were from marsha neal... i love the little pendants i got in the brown color from her... 
then i literally starting pulling stuff out and looking at it... i use a wine rack to hold different things... and now a lot of it is emptied on my floor... (did i mention i have a kitten? fabulous - i will begin to hear him sliding through the bags soon, i am sure!) i came upon a bird pendant by mellisa at chinook in a glaze color i am so fond of... the two needed to be put together... and doesn't the small brown pendant remind you of the color and texture of bark that was subliminal, i didn't 'think' about that...

'hope is the thing with feathers

that perches in the soul,

and sings the tune without the words

and never stops at all.'

-emily dickinson

had a lot of fun with this one...used mixed metals - copper and vintaj... very partial to greens with the copper but wanted the warm vintaj brown to be present as well... more wire working in the links, clasp and my drop for the small pendant... blues & greens on one side, browns on the other... lampwork glass from linden avenue designs and bleu verre...brown raku from keith o'connor...

'one love, one heart

let's get together and feel all right.'

-bob marley

then there are some other pieces i have had stashed away... cindy pack does really beautiful metal stamping and she created this 'one love' piece for me, it even has a nice curve for the wrist... barbara lewis makes sahara beads that i adore... i knew i wanted to create another bob marley piece... hence, 'one love, one heart' ... her work is so uniquely textured, colored & manipulated... this bracelet mixes copper and sterling... there are some heavy cast sterling rings linking the beads from cathy dailey... and mary ann from linden avenue provided the silvered ivory glass... we have been discussing the religion of love after all... 

so the beads are all over the floor, but the liver of sulphur is disposed of... it was a gorgeous day today & i know i spent it inside... but i was due!

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...

birdsong

'a bird doesn't sing because it has an answer,
it sings because it has a song.'
- maya angelou

it's 5 am, or earlier, and the birds begin to sing... how do you feel?

as i have gotten older, i have learned to just lay there and listen - it makes me feel peaceful... no more groaning because it's earlier than my alarm clock is set for, i now count upon the song to wake me (that and the kitten licking my face because he's up too!)... and i know i am lucky - afterall, it could be car horns or sirens...

this charm by laura flavin at modernbird sums up the whole experience of nature in such a beautiful way... everything is what it is - and is true to its nature ... birds sing, flowers grow, rain falls, there is balance and harmony... this charm and the natural order yearn to keep things simple and beautiful... we are the ones who botch it up... i love the modern vision that laura brings to her pieces - her clean edge is both aesthetic and symbolic (at least it seems to me)... that is then combined with the diversity and beauty of her metalsmithing... i am truly in love with the textures she applies...

i know that soon the symphony will change and added to it will be the small but demanding chirps of hungry mouths... so when i hear the birds sing in the morning, i know that a whole world awaits, a world that doesn't need me... that no matter how my day goes, things will be what they will be, and i find that to be comforting... i'm ready for the day...