every day awakening

mjd - 2014

every day contains the opportunity 

to awaken.

we think of spring as earth's awakening,

but it occurs each day

whether or not we take notice.

there is a season for all things in nature -

and all deserve our attention

and wonder.

the same applies to you -

days of questions

days of answers

we don't always know what we are going to get.

but we can make the effort

to be sure we are present

so as to know the difference

and to learn whatever lesson

each holds.

so long as you breathe,

it's never too late. 

spring beckons

pin - mjd - 2014 

spring beckons.

beneath the snow

tendrils of green

seek the warmth of the sun

and the nourishment 

of the earth.

mjd - 2014

like us,

requiring the balance

of that which enlightens

and that which grounds.

revitalized by the stillness

and peace of winter,

yet challenged by its physical nature,

as seekers of light,

we are reawakened 

and ready to stretch.

mjd - 2013 awakening

this is your life.

you stand inside the arena

whether you wish it

or not. 

some people move

in leaps and roars

others

on tip toes and in whispers

most of us

fall somewhere in the middle. 

mjd - 2013

it matters not

how you do it,

only that you do it.

that you participate

and you add your voice. 

that you share your living

your loving

your self.

at this moment

you stand inside the arena,

don't miss out

because you were asleep. 

mandalas and growth

fragile strength talisman - awakening - mjd 2013

you are a part of something much bigger than yourself

but it wouldn't be complete without you.

never stop working to stay open -

let your heart space be a portal
from which love can pass freely.

you say you are afraid?

may we band together in this mark of our humanity
and gain strength,

marching forward
and 
experiencing the bittersweet
that life has to offer.

for only then
can we fully know
what it means to be compassionate
and understanding,

and to fully participate
in that which is bigger 
than ourselves. 

going deeper

leaf - mjd 2013

one of the things i love best about maturing as a crafts person

is the understanding you gain about yourself

and how you relate to others.

leaf - mjd 2013

which is naturally also the insight you gain

as a maturing person,

with the application of different materials 

but not necessarily different methods.

doodling

i very much admire the work of alexander calder - 

he created adornment as well as mobiles and sculpture... 

i had been wanting to start an initial pin for my aunt, 
but hadn't yet as it will be of a heavy gauge wire &  i needed to figure out the shaping and hammering sequence - so it is a serious project which i naturally have to get right the first time i do it. (go ahead, you can laugh at me, i do these dumb things to myself all the time... if i am lucky, i catch myself, then just shake my head at how i hold myself back.)

peace

love

joy

om

it's kind of funny how things can get you moving... 
beth hemmila posted this the other day - 
it took the pressure off and got me back to experimenting... 


i played with steel in a smaller scale, with a lighter gauge and less hammering...

heart space

heart space - 2012

my heart space aches, 

it yearns to be open -

painfully, vulnerably and honestly.

it's as if the years of pulsing earnestness

are finally breaking through the fortifications -

not completely,

but enough to see a glowing, growing light.

heart space - 2012

leaving the nest

111 pieces travelling with the postal service to a new place... i will share it with you as soon as i can... 


some of you can produce this many pieces in the blink of an eye...  a completely new experience for me, a different way of working... i have great respect for those who can... 

and i was so pleased to receive my contributor copy of this in the mail... 

thanks again to erin and lorelei for the opportunity... 

alba nelly urbina

a.k.a. sparkafarian of moxie metal - 

as we all know, the work doesn't stop just because you have a finished product sitting in front of you - 


staging and photography come next

and alba has been helping me for a couple of years now...

i wanted to share her with you - 

earth day work

leaf earrings in brass - 2012

leaves with heavy verdigris application - 2012

the day was spent making leaves in different shapes, colors and sizes... 

we had some very much needed rain

and saw 'chimpanzee' at the movies... 

bits

(that's what my friend barry calls the pieces he works on... )

i love making bits... they feel very complete to me all by themselves - and i can leave them sitting on my bench for weeks... just looking at them as i pass by... but one needs to help them move forward... 

bits can also help to jump start a brain that has too many things it wants to do all at once... and the brain trips itself up... and then doesn't know what to do... 

so it was a torch fire week... there are lots of ways to play with fire... 

ways that i am so happy i am learning... 

i also realized that i am feeling very influenced by the koi tattoo designs i have been looking at - the fiery reds and golds are oh so far from my usual choices... but i do love working with them and appreciating the whole process - enjoying each step of the way... 

and then there is my grunge-y comfort zone... 

i love the grunge-y comfort zone... 


happy friday...

elemental

earth and sky

 fire and water

kinetic

while the world is ever in motion, on this blustery autumn day that fact is gloriously apparent... leaves falling like rain, dancing along the road, flying overhead, forming piles that we sink our feet into...

'climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.

the winds will blow their own freshness into you,

and the storms their energy,

while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.'

~ john muir

everything dances

'everything has rhythm.

everything dances.'

~ maya angelou

metal 

wind, water, clouds

two hearts

unconventionally you...

'dwell in possibility.'

~ emily dickinson ~

a journey

'the soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty,

to think, feel, do just as one pleases.'

~ william hazlitt

and so i entered susan lenart kazmer's metalsmithing class yesterday - i had been plaguing myself with wondering if i should plan ahead or just go with the flow... i knew the outline of the class and so could have had a personal project in mind, but i decided not to... instead to see where i would go if i dropped the anxiety over 'looking stupid' and decided just to be... 

an incredibly giving teacher, she shared so much of her work style, her self, her TOOLS! i got to use a flex shaft (never had - and needless to say, loved it)... she taught her prong style settings and i chose to do a ring first (thinking that in 7 hours i would make more than one thing... some people did, i didn't)... 

so where to start when one is given sheets of metal, access to fabulous tools, a table full of found objects, beads and fibers & a new technique to pull them together with? well, the first piece naturally... 

this is faux bone, able to be engraved, cut into, etc with great ease... i chose an ancient tibetan symbol that i found by way of nancy schindler... 

i picked my way through the piles of goodies she had brought and came upon some resin paper - on it i found the words 'have a good journey'... hmmm, this was coming along well...

prong setting created with cuts in the edges for our journey often feels interrupted, but the pauses are where we learn some of the great lessons or just regroup to take them on... i used the word 'sisu' also come to me by way of nancy (who i happened to see with lorelei, kelley wenzel and cassandra procopio as i bolted in from the rain on the way to the class) ... 

please note the mistakes on the bottom, those holes are not supposed to be there - i misjudged the size of my conus shell... luckily they are covered up... and yes, i know that sisu has a '1' in it... the 'i' was missing - in fact, i am glad that it was... i like how it reminds me of class... and besides, i am a deep follower of wabi sabi... 

susan has an affinity for conus shells as they are symbolic to the women of new guinea, i used one that she offered to us... and why the crazy looking little wonky square? functionally it was needed for the rivet, compositionally it repeated the shape of the bezel, and symbolically it represents many things that come in fours (elements, seasons, directional points)... 

end of class projects - she very nicely gave a big break at lunch, some people ran to shop for things to finish their projects with (smart)... i really just wanted to work, so i ran down, grabbed 3 cabs for home and came back... 

one prong was left up in philly, knowing i wanted to add my own fibers at home... which i did!

this is just to show that the faux bone was raised off of the conus shell... 


a huge thank you to susan for a wonderful class... it was good for me in so many ways... one of the biggest was getting over fears i had... this was the first project for which i completely used a saw ... and using her power tools with her guidance... 


the journey continues! so i am left wondering, if she is sharing this information then she has moved past it - and i wonder what is new to her? and what will i do with this technique that is new to me?

completion

'there is no way to peace.

peace is the way.'

~ a.j. muste

i love when things come together... another piece centered around fragile strength...

and after a few days of prep for resin and with a bit of assistance (the assistant found the work lamp and fell asleep in the warmth)

'you can't look at a sleeping cat and be tense.'

~ jane pauley

well, yes and no... normally i would agree wholeheartedly, but when you have resin curing beneath said fur baby, it adds a slight complication... luckily, everything had set enough that i had no residual fur in my pieces... so i wasn't tense (after i checked)... and had gone back and forth with the 'it's only resin' and 'but it took me a long time to get all of this together' argument in my head... 

and was able to make these... 

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

our whole life would change.'

~ the buddha