Saint & Sinner

In early spring last year I began a body of work based on our own duality...good & evil or what I call Saint & Sinner. These are some hollow fine silver charms I made for this theme. I was recently watching LA. Ink and smiled when I learned that Kat von D was using this same theme for a new book based on her tattoos.

One side has a banner that reads Sinner for those moments when you're naughty.....

The flip side reads Saint. I love the old, kicked around quality I've given the silver too. Visit my etsy shop where I have this on sale later today.

Toggles

I really like my large glass & silver toggles. I've been creating these for maybe a year or so and each one has been more exciting to me than the last. At this point, I'm fixated on a more organic earthy quality to the glass work. To me it looks fitting for the silver that is at the core.

I like that both sides are nice to look at and that the glass also has silver embedded into it. The reactive glass provides another level of interest to the toggle too.

Since these toggles have some weight to them I use them as focal closures. You can see some example of this under Necklaces on my website.  I'm also considering offering these in my etsy shop. Do you think this is a good idea?

Plumb

These are a few of my newest beads....Plumb Bobs. I continue to use a more muted palette that includes some reactive glass, fine silver and silver leaf. The center one didn't photograph great....in real life its much more vibrant.

   

I really wanted to play with the idea of allowing the glass do its thing balanced with a certain amount of control...if that makes sense. Part of the beauty of reactive glass is what it does on its own.

I was inspired by Klimt's work, his color choices and the use of gold. Although there is no gold in these beads, there is a metalic luster.

Just having fun exploring a different side of me and pushing myself to do new work. I don't know if I've arrived anywhere yet but I'm on the road.

3 Beautiful Things

I'm going to keep my Beautiful Things post short & sweet this week.

1. Knitting. Last night was at a knitting class filled with about 12 women. Just the collection of all of us together focused on the same task and enjoying friendly converstion was great!

2. On Wednesday mornings I host a before school art club. Its an early start to the day for second graders but it soooooo wonderful to have a room filled, there are 45 students, with energy, excitement and focus. They love being there and I love hosting this creative club.

3. Young again. Today I had a student ask me how old I was. She said I looked like I was 26. What a beautiful thing :)

My Monthly Challenge~February

I like the idea of having a challenge of some sort. At times, the creative muse needs a nudge to get inspired. I really like Art Bead Scenes monthly challenge and I have tried my hand at posting challenges (I think I did it twice) but I always burn out....BUT, a monthly challenge sounds better than a weekly one as I had pathetically attempted.

So here it is, I am starting my own Monthly Challenge for myself and anyone else who would like to participate.

Here is How to Enter:

1. Create a bead or piece of jewelry that is based on the image/theme of the month. If entering a peice of jewelry, please don't just string beads but push yourself to explore new materials, techniques and ideas. Beads can be made from any material such as paper, clay, lampwork or seedbeads. Or anything else I may have excluded.....Its all about the beads!

2. Post your creation on our flickr group.

The purpose of this challenge is to find inspiration and to then inspire others by what you have made.

February challenge

Since I missed the January challenge I wanted to pop over to Art Bead Scene to see what the February Challenge was all about. I actually find this piece a bit more inspiring. Althought I did have ideas for the winter landscape from January's challenge, I was just to caught up in my dog's state of health to act on that one.

I hope to be out in the studio this weekend and I plan on creatiing some beads with this painting in mind. I also have to work on my bead soup project.

Whack Your Head Wednesday

Take A Whack At It

#49 You can't hit a home run unless you step up to the plate. You can't catch fish unless you put your line into the water. You can't make your idea a reality unless you take a whack at it. If you want to be a singer, go sing. Sing in the shower. Sing for your friends. Join the choir. Audition for a musical. Start now. As adman Carl Ally put it, "Either you let you life slip away by not doing the things you want to do, or you get up and do them." How can you take a whack at your idea?

~Take from Roger von Oech's Creative Whack Pack

3 Beautiful Things

This week has been particularly challenging. As I've mentioned in a previous post, our dog, Winston, has been and remains to be sick but there has been small improvements. All of this has been an emotional rollercoaster ride for us. But, when you stop and look, beautiful things remain to be found. Here are 3 from yesterday:

1. A kiss. When I returned from work I could tell that Winston was feeling a bit better since I was greeted with some wet kisses.

2. Dinner. My husband made us dinner last night and allowed me to take a break by relaxing on the couch to take a breif nap.

3. Snow. The ride home from work last night, although difficult, was actually very beautiful. On my way home I drive along the lake shore and then thru a park.....the fresh snow covered scenary looked like a painting.

Enjoy your beautiful day!

Whack Your Head Wednesday

See the Obvious

#16 "Only the most foolish of mice would hide in a cat's ear," says designer Scott Love, "but only the wisest of cats would think to look there." Don't miss the obvious. What are you overlooking? What's the most obvious thing you can do? What resources and solutions are right in front of you?

~Taken from Roger von Oech's Creative Whack Pack