Soul Humming

Weaving wire

The other night, Ruth was working on wire weaving and I was getting the gist of it from her. She taught a class in Chicago last year with several different beautiful woven projects. As with many new things, it takes some practice. And, with practice, a girl has to remember to wear her new wrist brace. I forgot it and now my wrist hurts. But, I made a couple of cool necklaces so that's all good! Here they are...

this one features garnets. it is about 2" long from the top of the jump ring to the bottom of the fat cherry garnet.

this pendant is a little bit larger than the previous one. i was experimenting a bit with the size and how to hang the pearls. it is always fun to learn to do something then begin to change it all up and add your own ideas. i'm still in need of practice but i have a couple ideas to make this a wee bit different. it is a lot of fun to weave the wire. i'll be playing with this for a while. thank you, ruth! you always inspire me!!

Jesse Reno

Do you ever have the feeling that life is passing you by? Do you worry that you aren't doing enough, thinking enough, living enough? I have these days where I completely want to eat life with the mouth of a shark. Days where I can't get dressed fast enough, where I don't know what the hell to do with myself because I want to Do Everything.

Today is one of those days. Yet, it approaches 11:00 a.m. and I am still in my pajamas. I am planning and researching and thinking and giggling as I click, click, click across the black keys.

Part of my planning is because in August several friends are hurling their precious selves into my general vicinity so we can spend time at Carol Parks' studio taking a three-day class with Jesse Reno.

If you look at his work I'm sure you will see immediately why I am so excited about this. His work speaks to me on a cellular level. It is how I like things to be. It is guttural. It is true. It is not about pretty. It is about something else. And that's the main thing to me, that it is about Something.

So today I am thinking over-time. I am rushing in my head and looking out the window. I am curious and clinging to the idea that life goes on forever and ever and I can do anything.

What will you do today?

Katydid Designs

I am very fortunate and flattered to have been interviewed by the uber talented and effervescently charming, Laura Bray of Katydid Designs.

Laura is an "artist with an MBA." So, in addition to her whimsical cards and custom pet portraits, she publishes a free, monthly electronic newsletter geared towards helping other artists make money from their work. I think that is so cool! Check out the interview, which deals with publishing, here.

And be sure to sign up for the newsletter so you won't miss next month's interview with Kari Ramstrom. She'll be talking about self-publishing so be sure to check it out and get your questions answered.

Cheers!

"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. " - Picasso

On a mission...

Actually we went to the mission...

 

on Mother's Day

for the kids, the most fun of the whole day was watching this guy pull an entire plant into his hole.

but for me, aside from being with my precious family, my favorite thing was all the flowers...

 

Cold Sunshine

here's a necklace i made for mother's day for my mom. her birthstone is topaz so i added a 15+ carat lemon topaz to dangle from a fine silver pendant (made with art clay silver) and chain with chartreuse freshwater pearls.

i think i may have to make one of these for myself! happy day every day, mama!

portrait of a friend

i got it in my head to paint an 8" x 10" of my friend today. it made me laugh and laugh. then i emailed it to her and we laughed some more. it was quick and fun. and now my black wrist brace is covered with paint. i think it would be great to have a wall of my friend's portraits. maybe, maybe...

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Happy Mother's Day, Mama!
I love you bunches and wish we were together!

And Happy Birthday to my big Sister!

There I am, always looking up to you, and I still do! Love you!

brace yourself

my right wrist has been a small problem recently. when i spend too much time at the computer or painting or the jewelry bench it feels a bit painful and/or numb & tingly. this past week i really overdid it. i strained it trying to open the lid of a new tumbler. it was like the mayo jar from the underworld and i would not be deterred. but after my strained attempts to open it i went on to make three necklaces and a few pairs of earrings each with much metal work. so when i woke up the next day my wrist was in extreme pain. i think i'm pretty tough but using my finger and thumb actually brought tears to my eyes.

so now i have it in a brace (i'm holding part of a fetish necklace i made prior to hurting my hand. i thought i might as well hold something colorful to offset that ugly black brace).

so now no art for me. and writing this is taking far too long with my peck, peck, peck method.  i suppose i will just have to rest even though i really, really do not want to. tomorrow we are riding the train down south to celebrate mother's day. i am very much looking forward to it. i don't know if i will be able to carry my big camera around with this pitiful brace. i hope so as we are visiting the mission and i would be so happy to take photos there.

last bit i'll leave you with are a couple snaps from my last mother's day tea at the Lutheran preschool my son attends. between the two boys this was my fifth tea. they ask the mom's to bring a fancy cup and saucer and to wear hats and gloves (optional but you know I do!).

the kids make us delicious heart-shaped scones. and they make enormous painted and glitter covered flowers that decorate the walls of the fellowship hall. they make a great card and fill out little questions about us inside.

we dance with our children to It's a Wonderful Life (i sniffle through it every time without fail). and they make us a sweet gift.

this year i got an awesome key chain fob with striped beads and heart beads. love it, love it!

wishing all the moms the best day filled with laughter and lots of hugs from your dear children!

Work, work, work

I'm working like a little elf over here, trying to finish some gifties for Mother's Day. A piece of equipment I bought for such purposes ended up being the wrong sort of equipment. But I spent two days trying to make it work which resulted in learning a thing or two but being much later with my progress than I would like. Hence no new insightful blog posts.

Instead, I'll give you day two of the shopping extravaganza that was Maija's visit. These images are from a most delicious shop, Paris to the Moon, in Costa Mesa, CA. All the photos are from the front shop. There is also a deliriously dark and supremely scrumptious shop, Paris Underground, which is behind the front store. It is right up my alley with Gorey books and posters, religious icons, and all sorts of gothic goodness. I was too distracted by the amazing pieces to take photos there. Maybe next time...

this crystal covered tree was breathtaking! and they have individual branches that you can buy to hang your treasures from.

i really, really want this chandelier for my studio! isn't it just the best?!

i think these are fabulous. i think the big mushroom is a table. they also had a slew of wildly busy little gnomes. there was even a fabulous welcome mat with a gnome pushing a wheelbarrow. it had the words "marcel and his wheelbarrow" written in French. it gave me a laughing fit i loved it so.

maija and kerri judd (one of the fab authors of Crowns and Tiaras) who helps run the store. notice those Ice Cream glasses behind the girls. wouldn't those be awesome for a birthday party?

this was definitely one of my favorite discoveries of the day. danyell (the other fab author of Crowns and Tiara's) and her husband had rescued this baby squirrel. his name is Chip and he is so, so precious!

back to work! have a good one, people!

BFF Alert!

look what the cat dragged in...

my sweet friend, maija! she was in l.a. for an extra-special crafty, girlie retreat. from the tales i heard it was heavenly! so, last minute she decided to head south and stay an extra day and some at my house for quality girl time. so a couple girls hit the monthly antique flea market...

that's kristen, me, maija, mary, ruth, pilar, and down in front, that handsome little fellow is kristen's son, connor.

maija and her art retreat roomie, jessi. what a doll!

we spent a couple hours shopping at the market and taking in a beautiful day. the weather was sublime. it was in the mid-60s with a sweet breeze. most luckily, it seemed as if everyone found something special. i found several gorgeous, super shiny vintage rhinestone bracelets and necklaces for excellent prices. hurrah! mary found a beautiful big round tray with a painting of a hot air balloon at a ridiculously low price. we were happy girls!

but the day just kept getting better. next up, we headed to fullerton to visit Gilding the Lily. i can't even begin to tell you how fabulously nancy treated us! she pulled out all the stops (and all the heavenly prizes)! just look at the spectacular treasures waiting for a girl to take them home as her own...

i can't wait to see what ruth makes with her trinkets and baubles and trims

1920s showgirl headpiece - Spectacular!

a little sewing fairy high above us all

Swoon!

this hat was pure confection! the photo does not do it justice whatsoever. i wanted to wear it and never, ever take it off! perhaps that's why i look rather deranged. i've been hat hypnotized...

mary is deep on the treasure hunt

does this give you any idea how high the walls of ribbons are?

i am truly not a big shopper. so i was delighted that nancy's precious friend linda came over with a delicious bottle of white wine for us. i perched myself in a corner on the floor with my glass in hand to sort through drawer upon drawer of vintage Parisian feathers, boxes of mysterious old photos, and seemingly infinite shiny sparkling findings, earrings, and precious bijoux.

THANK YOU, NANCY! i tell you people, you need to go to this breathtaking haven of loveliness! you will be so delighted that you did! the addy is 305 N. Harbor Blvd. Suite 101, in Fullerton, CA

after we dragged ourselves away from The Lily, we headed out into the courtyard for lunch...

this is the same place i had lunch when i was here with ruth a while ago. and again i cannot remember the name of the place! but their tomato basil bisque is the best darn tomato soup i've ever had in my entire life. every single girl at our table had it and every single one kept saying over and over how fabulous it was. oh now i'm getting hungry...

this fig tree was magical. it was so tall and even had figs springing right from the dirt.

is she not just the prettiest blue-eyed girl? oh, i love you miss maija you crazy devil, you! i am going to miss you something fierce. who will i watch dexter in the dark with? no one will watch it with me here at home. i'm so glad you could come visit but it was much too quick. just keep the door open for mary and me. we'll surprise you soon enough!

i'm off to bed friends. my sister tells me she misses my long posts when i actually write something. ha! if she knew how long it took me to resize and post all these photos she would understand. and after all this girl time everything has fallen by the wayside (mom! i don't have any socks!). i have not one but two (sort of three) Pay It Forward posts to share with you as soon as i can grab a minute.

be well, friends. be happy.