looking forward

when i began blogging i noticed that people chose words for the new year... this interested me a great deal... 

mary jane dodd - 'nascent' pendant 2011

i chose 'nascent' a couple of years back... but it was so meaningful for me that i kept it past the 365 days... and i find it has directed my life and work... by autumn 2011, i was using the word in my work physically, connecting it to a pregnant form... 

mary jane dodd - 'nascent' triptych 2011

i end this year working diligently on a project that stems from 'nascent'... 

mary jane dodd - 'nascent' triptych 2011

mary jane dodd - 'nascent' triptych 2011

taking on those silly fears we all have - trying the new... and so i made my first mold... 

mary jane dodd - 'nascent' triptych 2011

it will be a triptych - three is a significant number... birth, life, death... past, present, future... maiden, mother, crone... emerge, evolve, fly... three graces, three norns, three fates, religious trinities... and on and on... i didn't intentionally choose 3, it chose the project... 

resin has to cure for 3 days... so i am not sure what the cast will look like... and the deadline quickly approaches... 

and once the pieces are complete, there is the photography challenge - for that is what the jurors are judging on... 

my word for 2012 is 'daring'... 

'it is not because things are difficult that we do not dare;

it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.'

~ seneca

what ideas or words guide you?

are you ready to move on to a new one? 

points of departure

'if there were only one truth,
you couldn't paint a hundred canvases on the same theme.'

- pablo picasso

one of the things i find so fascinating is how people can do so many different things with the same components... it is fun to watch from a distance, it can feel like pressure sometimes when it's your toes on the line... because you don't want to overstep... i feel like the abs monthly challenges really highlight this - with theme, not materials as the common denominator... i love to see how each person designs something that really is reflective of their style...

then styles evolve... luckily the glass makers, ceramicists, metal smiths, etc. are changing too - and i find that pushes me... sometimes i intentionally buy pieces that i have no idea what to do with but am drawn to... some of my favorite designs have come from components that made me take my time... sometimes 6 months worth of time, just hovering around in my consciousness, waiting...

over the winter, i purchased a wooden tool called a lucet (the word is latin for 'is shining')... it dates back to the vikings and was used by them to make cord that is four-sided and flat... the effect can be changed by the threads you choose, how many you use, etc... i had also purchased some lampwork beads that i just couldn't work into anything in a way that felt right to me... the lucet arrived, i bought yarn & made a length... but i still couldn't figure out what to do with it... so i put it all away...

recently the lucet started calling to me, reminding me that it was right there patiently awaiting my attention... and those beautiful beads... so yesterday morning i decided to try something... this is a first attempt... i love mixed media & how the threads look with the brown vintaj... things that are woven draw me because that process is eons old...