i'm here...

'inspiration exists,

but it has to find us working.'

~ pablo picasso

i have been busy lately getting ready for 3 rather big deadlines that will arrive within a week to 10 days... this is not said to solicit sympathy - i made the choice to go after them all... but the timing is tricky... and the anxiety is building... i have been reading your blogs, though i may not be commenting... am trying to limit my time on the computer... because while i sit here and wonder at times what i will do, picasso is right - the best inspiration can come when we are actually at the task... 

this piece is for a festival that i am in and it is going to be auctioned... i thought that using words like 'imaginative' (there was no word 'imagination' in the dictionary from 1877 that i used for the paper), 'passion', 'create' & 'art' were fitting to the occasion... garnet, pearl, amethyst and raspberry amethyst are used... 

i also did another set of the almond blossom earrings from the abs challenge last month... as i didn't have any more emeralds, this time i used green garnet... 

there is one more in the works - we enter an inventory which is able to be edited... turns out the system went down - ok, yikes... while i know i should have printed it out, i did not... and i now cannot do my tags! but i know there is time until monday - so i have my fingers crossed...

on the home front, we got down to the beach on sunday - i needed that so bad... the sand was warm on our feet and there were piles of sand that have been created to prevent erosion from storms... 

and what is it about the water that pulls at you?

in addition, em is back to posting and has updated her blog... i really like to read what she has to say and how she says it... to see that individual who i have lived with for 18 years standing on her own... and to know that i am a part of it... 

thoughts, words, ... destiny

as a follow up to yesterday's post, i am beginning this one with a smile! this beautiful, mona lisa -type, filled with contentment but suppressing a giggle smile came in the post yesterday from the studio of lisa peters... i just love it so very much ~ and i couldn't think of anything better to show it with than a buddha stamping from cindy at alchemy of life... 

'watch your thoughts for they become words.

watch your words, for they become actions.

watch your actions, for they become habits.

watch your habits, for they become character.

watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.'

i love working with words, resin and metal etching have really freed me to explore this... so yesterday was an earring day, because a few days before were a resin paddle day, and so on and so on!! so i did the work i am not so fond of - making ear wires... i really admire people who do this with such proficiency... i think my free flow style runs right up against the precision and sameness required for these... i can make things match, i can... i just often choose not to! 

for the haiti by hand shop i created these earrings ~

lespwa/hope earrings #1

#2

for my shop ~

'everything you can imagine is real.'

~ pablo picasso

now i don't know if that is true or not, but i am not going to let it stop me! it all just comes down to keeping in touch with the authentic self... i picked 'nascent' as my word for the year and things just keep coming up to reinforce that ... like being here as my authentic self... and allowing things to flow and happen... purple seemed natural for these earrings, floss from myfanwy at sassalynne was used as well as labradorite... this stone is known for purging negativity and giving insight... 

'i do not seek. i find.'

~ pablo picasso

what do you find when you listen to the song in your heart? do you hear it any longer? is there something you want to share with someone else? these earrings are meant to remind you to do just that... 

'difficulties mastered are

opportunities won.'

~ winston churchill

turn corners with confidence (one of my personal goals)... you have everything to gain... these earrings are made with gaspeite, a stone known for aiding in assurance and opening the mind to new possibilities... 

'i have found the paradox,

that if you love until it hurts,

there can be no more hurt, 

only more love.'

~ mother teresa

hammered copper discs, rhubarb colored pearls and fiber by sassalynne... 'the paradox' unites  different textures, materials and colors... these ones are nagging at me a bit, i don't know whether they need some words glued on to them... 

your thoughts lead you to your destiny, be mindful of patterns... and keep looking forward (while being present)... 


- and thanks for your not asking me if i am on something as i continue to change my template, i am feeling skootchy with it, unsettled... and so i returned to the calming brown i like! until i can find something else  :0)  -

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...

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!