Rose in Progress

I'm making some nice progress with a bronze rose.



Now I have to decide how to finish this one into a piece of jewelry- brooch? pendant? leaves?

Bad tree, good flower

See what happens when we leave the house for an hour on a grey Saturday.


One of the scattered severe thunderstorms rages by the house and knocks over a bradford pear.  We couldn't get in our side door, the one we use most often.


The kids wanted to help with the clean-up.


Sunday morning, I took the kids to church.  By 1pm on Sunday, our neighbors had come over and cleared almost all of the tree up for us.   We have such nice neighbors!
(No, those are not all my kids.)

In the studio, I'm starting to experiment with flower forms.  My first flower reminded me very much of the little red poppies from the Salvation Army's fall fundraiser.  I turned it into a pendant and have it up for sale in my Etsy shop.  The photos link to the listing details.



I had a rugosa rose in mind.  I am thinking that in metal, I may have to go for a more classic rose look.  A rugosa rose style may always look more like a poppy when it's in metal forms.
Back to the workbench for some more experimenting.  Yes, of course I could follow a pattern, but it's much more fun to explore on my own.

Celestial Beings

I finished another Man in the Moon piece, in 18k gold- a crescent moon with a face and a stylized star hanging off the bottom.



It measures approximately 1-1/2 inches or 4cm from the top of the bail to the bottom of the pendant and hangs on an 18 inch chain.

I also rephotographed a few angles of my sterling silver Man in the Moon necklace.  It's quite a bit larger and hangs on a handcrafted chain.

You can see the facial detail better in this new photo.

The photos link directly to their listings in my Etsy shop.

I'm a poet and I didn't know it

was griping to my brother today on yahoo messenger, and realized that my griping was almost poetic.  As you read, keep in mind that my dad is alive and well. 
 

unpacking more crap

going through dad's crap that he could never bring himself to throw away.

checking statements from 1963?

come on.

I sorted and tossed, but don't tell him I threw anything away.

He'll never notice.

old love letters between mom and dad that I can't bring myself to read

but probably shouldn't throw away

Do you want all his sports memorabilia?

fliers from games that he attended?

his old varsity letters from high school?

I kept those.

And No, my brother did not want any sports memorabilia or high school varsity letters.

Kunstfest in New Harmony

Perhaps not having arts in public schools, I am more conscientious about getting the family out to regional arts events.  Today we went to Kunstfest in New Harmony, Indiana, a celebration of traditional crafts and contemporary handcrafted work, along with plenty of good German foods sold by various churches and local civic organizations.

The kids drew and wrote their vision of Utopia on the wall of the Visitor Center.  Imagine the joy of writing on a wall, a big white wall!




making rope


stitching a broom

We also saw a potter, talked to a basketmaker and a woodworker, and picked up some fun wooden hammers.  After all, we can never resist a good hammer!

Fall Gardening

We brought back another load of stuff from Wisconsin, so I have boxes laying around the house again. I'm working on unpacking them all.
This week, I have focused my creative energies on creating a small flower bed. I couldn't go any longer without some sort of garden!


I picked a little corner close to the house. I dig slow. Here's the start of it.


All dug out, with weed barrier and border in place. I've left a very old rosebush and a new butterfly bush. The rosebush has been there as long as I can remember, from my own childhood. I hope it survives and blooms again next summer. The butterfly bush was a housewarming gift from my Aunts.


Here it is ready for planting. I had to get something! I planted some purple asters at the center, near the butterfly bush. I put in the yellow mums to get a border started at the bottom, something to hold in the mulch. I had forgotten about that bottom edge when I bought my edging bricks. I think a row of short plants should work fine there.

I've got bulbs to plant later this fall, and an order of yellow and red-orange roses arriving hopefully at the end of September. Yes, of course I am going to over crowd it!

A big thanks to all of the neighbor kids who helped me break up clay dirt chunks, spread sphangum moss, spread mulch, and carried plants for me.

Inspired by Vintage

Living a little further into the South has reminded me of how much I love early early and mid 20th century costume jewelry.  I get to hang out with women who wear jewelry and lurk in antique stores hunting for little treasures.  I get a chance to wear my own jewelry more often.

I think I took my first jewelry class with those type of pieces in mind.  I wanted to make amazing jewelry inspired by some of the vintage pieces that I'd picked up over the years from grandparents and flea markets.

I made these two ginkgo leaf brooches in bronze, keeping the spirit of those vintage pieces in mind.  You know I love to make these pieces, gorgeous designs in not-so-precious metals.





On both brooches, the leaf stems form into a loop, so the pins may also be worn as pendants.

These two pins sold quickly, but keep an eye out for more in my Etsy shop at http://www.knitsteel.com.

Silver Nugget Pendants

Remember nugget jewelry?  Well, here it is, reworked.  We've used broom casting to create silver pendants that look much like geological rock formations, like rock formed over the years by water and wind.  When I say we, I mean my husband and I.  He did the broom castings and then handed me the bits and said "make something with these."

They looked beautiful on their own, great for men or women.  I put some rugged silver links on them and set them up as pendants. 
Take a look at the great form and texture, ornate and simple at the same time.  









These are all available in the charm and pendant section of my Etsy shop.

Face Painting

I got to paint faces for the GCAA (Grayville Community Arts Association) children's activities during Grayville Days.



I had a lot of fun.  Kids love it no matter how good, or not-so-good, you are.  Kids just love it when adults are creative with them. 

The labors of Labor Day

I am completely worn out from Grayville Days, this town's Labor Day festival.  I painted faces in the morning, went to a block party for part of the afternoon, watched a parade, and then watched the kids ride rickety carnival rides.  I think I'll veg out tonight.

I got a few more pieces listed on Etsy, jewelry in my knitsteel shop and fiber art in my joyheart shop. 


a handforged sterling silver link necklace that matches the bracelets.


a detail of the handcrafted links and clasp.


a bronze ginkgo pendant on an 18 inch brass chain.


mixed media small artwork "Quantity"


mixed media small artwork "Heart and Home"


mixed media small collage "OK"


mixed media small collage "River of Gold"

Homemaking

At this moment, various children are running in and out of the house while others are skateboarding on the driveway.  I try to make sure everyone's toys get tossed on the appropriate lawns at the end of the day.


I've had a sweet little rosebush blooming down at the bottom of the steps.  There has been a rosebush in that spot as long as I can remember.  I don't know if this is the same rose or not, but I'd like to think it is.  The bush itself is looking spindly and will need a little work in the spring.


I love the house.  I am slowly adding a few old elements that anchor the home from my memory, like this Ericofon. 

There was always an Ericofon in one of the upstairs bedrooms.  I remember that it was such a strange design, true modern design.  I loved it.  Somewhere along the years it disappeared, but I still can't imagine the space without it.  So I found a similar one on ebay, and  now have it plugged in at the top of the stairs.  I had no idea a rotary dial would be so confusing to the kids, who've never seen one before.

Here are some views of the parlor, including a close-up of a little mixed art vignette at the end.

That's a David Pimentel copper wallpiece on the wall above the sofa and one of my own wallpieces off on the right side of the photo.


an eclectic corner in progress, with various small artworks, old and new, up on the wall


a closeup showing one of Xanthe's collages, over one of my own felted heart necklaces, and a fibula pin from someone that I can't remember.

I will definitely be putting many more little nails in the walls.