Students

faith in life

I have yet to pack and I leave first thing in the morning... its strange how I can get a burst of creativity when I have no time!

I made these cuffs and this bracelet today... they just started to unfold.

Its funny I have been taking a sewing class the last few weeks and for some strange reason all of my ideas are for jewelry... I guess its because when I am learning something new it always takes a little time for it soak into me before it comes back out... I am existed about all the things that I have been learning about sewing its a really changing my views on how I can put things together.

I etched brass to create the cuffs, then riveted silver to the tops. I have more ideas but they will have to wait until I get done editing my fabric book ~

"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." -
-- Diane Ackerman

Desk view 8:28pm

Eched cuffs just about done!

Desk view 7:39 pm

Love the peanut butter whoopers!

Desk view 5:11pm

Sawing away and a scarey desk view.

Desk view 11:36am

Getting ready to etch.
(learn about the process here.)

Bachan's button box (one a day)

‘To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.’ — Thomas Alva Edison







Its one of those slow start mornings for me... I just got the kids off to school and I am contemplating working in my studio or packing for ZNE (I leave on Wednesday)

My mind is a little shut off and disheveled after my day of travel down to San Diego with Kelly to try out the marvels of bronze clay (not so sure if I am a fan or not, I would need to spend more time with it to decide) Nancy Johnson was a kind and generous instructor and all the lady's in the class were a delight

Today's Photos are from a project that I did in December for "with one stamp" and you can find it in the current may/june 2009 somerset studio page 62 & 63

I used the top from a wooden cigar box as my base the stamped image is Puccini's Muse by Lynne PerrellaI. I was very happy when I received this stamp as I adore working with Asian imagery and instinctive knew just what I would do! I went right to the corner of my studio that house family mementos and snatched up two pill boxes that were my great grandmother that she had written on. I also incorporated pages from her Japanese to English dictionary. This piece was strongly influenced by the amazing colors on the spools of silk thread that I combined with vintage buttons and thread castoffs... you may be interested to know that I drilled many holes into the lid of the box and sewed all the elements down with thread and wire and no glue was used in this piece. ~ happy creating! I am off to work in my studio now!

‘Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences than other people.’ — Steve Jobs

Desk view 4:01

spring time delight.

I have been busy in my stuido working on jewelry to sell at ZNE.
Here is a peek at one of my completed pieces.
I will try to take photos of the others soon! have a fun weekend!

Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.
~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain

Look who is on my desk!

Desk view 11:01am

Still working on jewelry, lots done... Many new ideas starting to flow!

Desk view 6:18pm

Silk may have to stand in for the leather.

Looking for

The light brown leather cord.

Heading in the right direction...

I will try to do a real blog post tomorrow.

Fibers

Looking for just the right one!

Desk view 12:58pm

It will all turn out just fine ( I hope!)

happy earth day and free stuff!

Interweave is celebrating Earth Day by offering two free digital issues of the most current Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors magazines for a limited time. So head on over to get your self inspired to try something new!
(and if you want a extra special treat you can always order or downlaod one of my dvd's)

There is hope if people will begin to awaken that spiritual part of themselves, that heartfelt knowledge that we are caretakers of this planet.
~Brooke Medicine Eagle

upcomming class in Pleasanton, California.

I will be teaching WIND COIL AND CURL at ZNE
in Pleasanton, California on THURSDAY APRIL 30, 2009.



Join me as I show you how to work assembly line style as we learn how to create six different jewelry components. discover how to embellish a metal shape with mixed media techniques that will in turn become the centerpiece of a coiled necklace .

(if the current economy makes it impossible for you to attend this event at full cost, ZNE has two amazing programs: The Mano Amica Scholarship. And the Pay What You Can Plan.)



There will be a Art Faire May 2 and May 3 that is is open to the public.
On May 2 I will be singing copies of a charming exchange and I will also have a few things for sale.

I hope to see some of you there!

Working on at 2:06pm

5:20 desk view

Making jewelry ( I think I still know how)

Courage and Faith

"She could not fail."

this is a small journal that I made.
Its for publication so I can only share a small peek at it.
The last few months have been hard on my family as my mother was diagnosed with Brest cancer. she had a double mastectomy 5 weeks ago, however the cancer has moved to her lymph nodes.

the night before My Mother started chemotherapy I sat down to work on my projects for "With One Stamp" its a column that appears in each issue of Somerset Studio.


(spine detail: the small ties on the threads that bind the book are to represent the unity and support between my mother and her three children)

the challenge is that we are to make something with the stamp that is given to us.
the stamp was actually a set of stamps and we were directed to focus on one image in particular... I started to play with the image but was lost as to what direction to take with it... I was more intrigued with the other images that were on the rubber set so I stamped out the whole set and started to play around...

My mother has been so much on my mind and I soon found that on the eve of her first chemotherapy treatment that I was instinctively drawn to the image of the bird as my grandmother always called my mother "Birdy". Once I allowed my self the freedom to move away from the the main image, the bird became center strange and soon the stamped piece of art turned into a journal filled with hidden sentiments of growth and rebirth that I was sending out to my mothers body to heal.
the words:

"she could not fail"

kept repeating in my head like a mantra.



as I scratched the words onto the page with a pencil...
I was trying to let go of my fears.



The upcoming mouths will take a lot of courage for my mother and our family...

But I believe with all my heart and soul that the truth is LIFE and how we live it. One glorious day at a time!

Desk view 8:26 pm

Desk at 8: 24 pm

5:20 desk view

Pocket detail

Reads: with out you

Neck detail

Thanks for the lace Martha!

Working on now

This is a dress that I am making for my self, it's still in the design stage and only pinned on to my dress forum. I have found the most stunning sheer linen and incorporating vintage lace to the dress. It is still evolving as I am trying to decide how I will add stitched words to the dress.

Tattered fragments: wrist cuffs

" Bohemian Splendor"






"Midnight Harvest"







"Sepia Princess"





A collection of hand-dyed fabrics combined with vintage lace and buttons that are cobbled together to create these bohemian influenced cuff bracelets. They are backed with a piece of stamped cotton fabric and closes with a a button and a elastic loop.
You can view more details Here and if you would like to learn how to make your own fabric jewelry you can take a two day workshop with me here or if you want buy one Here!