Clay. Creations. Friends. Fun…

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pendants

Wow – all last week was a blur. Getting ready for Wicked Faire, firing the kiln multiple times, packing, prepping. Phew. (Wicked Faire was fun. No, there werent many pictures taken. Yes, I saw Gumby, Santa, Papa Smurf, Jesus, demons, a faun, pirates, and so many more characters. But what happens at Wicked should stay at Wicked…)

So this week – already Thursday? Show applications, paperwork, etc. Doing quite a bit of catching up…Working on Fall themed submissions for magazines, mailing my charms to Ornamentea for the “Lucky charm swap” and thinking/sketching for my Music blog hop…

Exciting news…I am one of the newly selected members of the Suburban Girl Design team. Suburban Girl Studio is owned and operated by Diana Ptaszynski – who I met last fall at Beadfest in Philadelphia. (She organized a bead swap that went from fun to epic. Friends were made, hijinks ensued.) Diana makes ceramic beads and components in stoneware, porcelain and raku. Like these: 

Suburban girl beads

And these: 

Suburban Girl raku

The design team will receive a piece – seasonally, and we will create using that component, blog the results and share the love. You know the results are going to be radically different,and extremely creative. It will be interesting to see especially as the team members all have different packgrounds in art, clay, design, metal smithing. I am looking forward to the creative challenge. 

I had been thinking perhaps I would go out into the blog world, and see if there was interest in a design team of my own. My pendants are one branch of my body of work, I do quite a bit more. (Tiles, shrines, collage…) Perhaps after this design team experience, I will launch my own. What do you think? 

Stay tuned for the music blog hop next week and new tile designs in the works. 

A dream-y collaboration…

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Last December I received notification for a show called TWOgether, a collaborative exhibit. Held at the Center for Creative Arts in Yorklyn, DE – the call was for a pair of works by 2 artists. I immediately thought of Betsy, my partner in crime, and many artistic undertakings. (We have had multiple exhibits of our show Imago Dea – envisioning the feminine divine.) So we sat at her kitchen table after the holidays and brainstormed. Until now we have always exhibited collages. Betsy’s are digital, using her photographs among myriad other items, textures, locations… She exhibits them as stunning giclee prints. Mine are paper, fabric, glue, paint… more traditional style collages. This time I wanted to do a mixed media piece, bring to life ideas I had been sketching. And I had to deal with surgery and recovery. So I sketched this to show her my basic assemblage idea…

working sketch

(The moon was to illustrate that some image would be framed by the vintage Mother-of-pearl buckle…. Thats were we left it. For Betsy to take the threads of an idea, and a handful of found objects I presented to her as my potential materials. And run with it. And run she did!

Betsy's "Oceana"

Ooh – the textures, nacre of shell, ripples of water, sand… The colors. That ammonite – which she scanned from my original. Oh! This is going to be good. 

filigree links

Sterling and copper links echo the sea foam shapes. The sterling is actually the positive and negative of the same curl. 

WIP dreams

River rock and enameled copper for color. The same ammonite – tab set in copper. And putting it all TWOgether…

Detritus of dreams

Words from her poem (included in the print) under mica, framed by the MOP buckle. The layers are micro-bolted, and riveted. 

dreams detail

I couldnt be more pleased with how it came out! The show is opening tomorrow, with a reception on Friday the 10th from 6-8pm. If you are in the area, please stop by! It will be on exhibit until the 24th. 

 

 

B is for Brigid – Happy Imbolc

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Brigid

Imbolc – the Feast Day of Brigid – goddess and saint. Marking the halfway point from mid-winter to the coming of spring, days are a bit longer, early blooms are soon to bud. Brigid, the goddess of fire, of inspiration, healing, poetry, smithcraft. St Brigid – keeper of the flame, Abbess of Kildare. 

The above image is from my Encyclopedia of Goddesses – my submission for the Sketchbook Project. I included many of Brigid’s symbols – the snowdrop, the Brigid’s cross…and of course a triskele design to reference her Celtic nature. To me this marks a time to start things anew. Sweeping out the old, coming out of the winter hibernation to clean, refresh, and become ready. A new outlook, a new fresh start. Time to undertake new projects and endeavors, time to come out and start to blossom. I spent today with my attention on hearth and home. Cleaning and puttering around the house, neatening, organizing.  And I spend a good bit of the morning in the ceramics studio – purging, sorting, and making ready. Ready to do new work, ready to make the magic happen. Here’s to a fresh month, a dose of inspiration – the fire in the head of the Celtic bard! ( Yeats used the phrase to reference a visionary experience. I use it to refer to the fire of creative inspiration.)

Here are a few links if you are interested in more information or celebrating Brigid’s Day today…

Brigid – Celtic Goddess

Brigid of Kildare

Imbolc 

The Wild Hunt – Brigid article

Montage video for Brigid

And let me close with this lovely peom by the wise and wonderful Caitlin Matthews: 

HEARTH OF BRIGHID PRAYER by Caitlin Matthews

Brighid of the Mantle, encompass us,
Lady of the Lambs, protect us,
Keeper of the Hearth, kindle us.
Beneath your mantle, gather us,
And restore us to memory.

Mothers of our mother,
Foremothers strong,
Guide our hands in yours,
Remind us how
To kindle the hearth,
To keep it bright,
To preserve the flame.
Your hands upon ours,
Our hands within yours,
To kindle the light,
Both day and night.

The Mantle of Brighid about us,
The Memory of Brighid within us,
The Protection of Brighid keeping us
From harm, from ignorance, from heartlessness,
This day and night,
From dawn til dark,
From dark til dawn.

Convalescence and care packages

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So I mentioned that I was recovering from surgery. Here are some images of my convalescence and some fantastic care packages I received…

Burton

Burton was my constant companion the first few days when I lived on the couch!

SD care pkg

Christmas and bonus from Cooky in San Diego! Books, treasures, and home made cookies! Divine!

Snowmen

Snow quintuplets – from San Diego of all places – to stitch and embellish. 

Nina's treasures

Nina’s Treasures – this was a treat to myself. Nina Bagley – the soulful, poetic, mixed media and jewelry artist was doing a bit of a de-stash late last year. I purchased a small box of mysterious treasures – that I managed to NOT open until after surgery. I havent created anything yet, but the wheels are turning. Its a fantastic assortment of treasure. 

flowers

Who doesnt love flowers? 

felt pouch

My triple spiral pouch – I felted a thrift store sweater for the first time and stitched up a few pouches from the sleeves. It was great fun to do a little freehand embroidery. My mother taught us when we were little girls. Some skills never get lost! I prefer to have my hands busy if I am watching TV or a movie, and I am not so handy with knitting needles… What do you occupy yourself with as you bask in the glow of the magical electronic picture box? 


 

Year of the Dragon

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Gong Xi Fa Ca! Wishing you prosperity! ( In Mandarin Chinese)

Yes, technically Chinese New Year was celebrated on Monday the 23rd. But it does spread over  a 15 day period ringing in the new year – so I feel I am still in a timely manner. For the beginning of January I was home recovering from surgery, so this really marks my new year as I get back to work and look forward to what 2012 will bring. 

Dragon 2012

According to Chinese astrology, people born on the year of the dragon are said to be strong, self-assured, eccentric, intellectual, and passionate, among other things.


I have been hibernating. I decided when my surgery was scheduled that I would take the month of January off. By necessity – to heal. And as that process progressed – to hibernate. I will admit – it was a major surgery,a necessary one and  a smashing success, yet a tough road, one that I am glad is behind me. The timing has been perfect – to hole up in the house, warm under a blanket, sipping tea – and reading. I have been reading like it was my job… And as January comes to a close, I am ready to get back to work. I have shows to plan, applications to mail, designs to sketch, artwork to create. Healthy and rested – 2012 I am ready for you now!

I did devote a good bit of time to 2 projects over the last two weeks. I had the pleasure of collaborating with my friend Betsy Molina Motenson for a show at the Center of Creative Arts in Yorklyn, DE… and I am participating in the 2012 Sketchbook Project sponsored by the Art House Co-op. Look for details and images on those in the coming days…

For now, I wish you long life, and prosperity…(As I hear Spock in my head…) I eagerly await the adventures and experiences that this new year will bring. Hope you will follow along with me. 

New Year Dragon

Ornament Swap! Make new friends and keep the old…

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OK – Good morning! Sorry I wasnt “here” sooner. This is the first Saturday in over 2 months that I haven’t rushed off early to teach Ceramics classes at the studio. But I can’t think of a better morning than coffee and a blog hop/swap!

 I met Sally Russick at ArtBliss in DC. Can I just pause here to rave about that retreat! Close to home! Fantastic national teachers? Great hospitality! Fantastic hosts – Cindy Wimmer and Jeannette Blix! Ok – back to the blog post… Sally posted about an ornament swap – a million years ago – it seems. Of course I was interested! Make a pretty and recieve a pretty? Yes! Meet new friends? Yes! Keep in touch with old freinds? Yes!

When it came time to make, and mail said ornament, I realized time had crept up on me. What was a generous time frame, well – I procrastinated a bit. I usually work in clay. Earthenware and stoneware. Now with drying time, firing time. glazing… it wasnt going to work. So, I turned to polymer. I like it. I want to experiment with it more. I respect it after taking a class with Christi Friesen. The most frustrating thing is weeding out the old and crumbly in my stash that frustrates me every time I try to work. Fresh polymer is quite nice!

I wanted to do a winter theme. My preference in decorations are seasonal, and having email-chatted with my partner  Christine Altimiller and perusing her blog – I thought this would be a good fit. ( Enough chatter – pictures please!) 

my ornament

I went with the shrine shape as that is a style I work with often. A reporoduction of an antique postcard shows a winter angel decorating a tree. She is framed in polymer and stamped copper. 

ornament detail

For the dangles I knew I had to include river rock,  a fav of Christine’s and an artist’s bead – one of my stamped ceramic eucalyptus charms. The pod print recalled snowflake shapes in my mind. 

The ornament I recieved, you ask? It was as if Christine had been in my house! So perfect! She must have super mind reading powers…

Christine's ornament

Driftwood, ethereal beautiful seed beaded snowflakes in icy blues and lavendars! Delicate and gorgeous!

details

details 2

I was completely stunned. I am so appreciative of the delicate seed bead work done here! The time and patience it takes! Mad skills! Thank you to my ever talented and creative partner for sharing this sliver of winter magic with me!

So – refill your coffee and please head over to Christine’s blog – One Kiss Creations! And definitely check out the other ornaments. I am feeling festive already! 

 

Thank you for stopping by! I would love to hear from you… 
Happy Holidays!

 

A cup of joe? NYC installation/inspiration.

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If you know me, you know I love coffee. If you have met me, even if you havent met me, you probably know that about me. While we were in NYC last weekend, we literally stumbled upon this great installation. No, really. We came up on the Flatiron Building from its less iconic side…

Flatiron art space

installation 1

install 2

This is what I saw first. What is this pile of markers and cups? What is going on here? 

Oh heavens! I love it! Each one an individual work of art, suspnded, slowly turning…

install 3

I wish I had been able to see the artist working; interacting with, or ignoring passers-by. Would regular New Yorkers stop, and notice? 

installation4

There were designs, landscapes, portraits, street scenes. I could have remained captivated for hours, coffee in hand…

The artist’s name is Gwyneth Leech. She works in the space Tues. – Sat from 11-2 pm. The exhibit/installation, titled “Hypergraphia: The Cup Drawings” began in September, and runs through the end of this month. I haven’t had a chance to check out the website yet, but I fully intend to. So glad I chanced upon it. It was refreshing, and entertaining, and visually pleasing to be sure!

 

 

 

New York adventure – part 2

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Sorry I didnt bring you part 2 of the trio yesterday. I got a little waylaid wrapping holiday gifts!

So to rejoin or intrepid travelers…after reveling in the Frouds’ mastery and magic – we headed uptown. Now we love New York, and had no desire to see it crawl past from the confines of a cab. So GPS ap in hand, we walked: ( I couldn’t get the map ebbedded. Will consult with computer guru/husband later. Suffice to say – we walked from Madison Square Garden in Midtown – to Soho and back! Sure we were tired, but it was an amazing day…)

Purl Soho

Holiday tree at Purl Soho. 

Purl Yarns

Dazzling display: Purl Soho. 

Puck Fair pub

Pub lunch at Puck’s Fair: Soho

Blick NYC

Marbelized paper demo at Dick Blick NYC: NoHo

(Here there was a brief interude at The Strand books and Forbidden Planet Comics…)

skyline

Macy's Steampunk Magic

Macy’s! Winter wonderland, Steampunk style, Magic!

Macy's windows

Macy's magic

Library Lions

Literary lions, as twilight falls…

Rockefeller tree

Yup. That is one humongous tree! : Rockefeller Center. 

Times Square

Happy to end the day here on December 11th. Think I will pass on a trip in for December 31st!

Stay tuned for the final installment: an amazing instillation at the Flatiron building…Until then…

 

 

I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps…

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The Garden

OK – so technically I didnt wake up in NYC. We took the train up for the day. This was a belated trip for my birthday. Happily – the belated time frame meant we could see the Frouds’ exhibit at Animazing Gallery, and perhaps a festive holiday window or two? 

Wendy's window

“Faerie Tale” and “After the Party” – polymer and mixed media by Wendy Froud. 

Toby's window

polymer and mixed media sculpture by Toby Froud

Labyrinth sketches: Brian Froud

Concept sketches for “Labyrinth” by Brian Froud. 

Brian's sketches of Ludo

This detailed sketch of Ludo was incredible. so detailed in the face, yet so loose and fluid in the figure.

Animazing Gallery

The exhibit is a must see if you are a fan of the Frouds’ work. (It runs into February.) I was excited to go – naturally. I have my original copy of “Faeries” by Brian Froud and Alan Lee – dog-eared, tattered, and well loved. I cannot think of another artist who influenced me more during my adolescence and early teen years. To know that there were working artists, creating fantasy artwork, seriously and successfully was huge to the fledgling artist in me. I feel fortunate to have met Brain and Wendy at FaerieCon, as I have discussed previously. But this exhibit was simply outstanding. Original paintings, in luminous color, that reproductions sadly do not capture perfectly. Sketches – the doodles, thinking out loud, as it were – the look of “Labyrinth” at its inception. Sculptures in the round, textures, fabrics, leathers right there in space in front of me. Images that I know well from the Heart of Faeries Oracle, seen framed on the gallery walls. 

Recently I borrowed and watched Wendy’s Faerie Figure DVD (available at Gnomon Workshop. Thanks to Sarah!) I dont sculpt figures very often, but I do create 3D work. It is a phenomenal video, and her hands work magic right in front of you! But to have seen the process, and heard her tricks and techniques, which she gladly shares – and then to see the originals! Simply breathtaking. I am humbled and amazed. 

Story Teller and Listeners

Listener detail

Listeners detail2

“Story Teller and listeners” Wendy Froud

And always humor mixed in with the magic and the mystery: 

window peeper

(He was a tiny wee fellow. The reflection of buildings, the angle, the cropping – do give him a sense of grandeur, do they not?)

Please stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 of the NYC adventure. Wait until you see the Macy’s windows…and the Flatiron art installation. Come back tomorrow. 


 

FaerieCon m.a.g.i.c -C is for costumes

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And finally we come to this. The final FaerieCon post, long overdue. The event ended two weeks ago, and we all try to maintian a little of the FaerieCon magic in our mundane lives. For me, back to the ceramics studio in my standard uniform – jeans, Dansko clogs, a tee shirt. 

I don’t dress up very often. Even when I go out, I wear comfortable, stylish clothes – nothing extreme, just plenty of jewelry. FaerieCon give a person a chance to go for it – to exceed the normal. There are Steampunk explorers and chrononauts, faeries of every shape and size, djinn, trolls, ogres, elves… The clothing is creative to the extreme. And there is Good Faeries Ball and Bad Faeries Ball, remember. You have opportunities to showcase your ego, your alter ego…. Items are purchased over the course of the year with costumes in mind. Full ensembles, components, mix and match…with such spectacular results!

Gnome wee one hitches a ride...

gnome baby

Gorgeous djinn allows a photo. 

djinn

Pirate in training with his lovely wench/mother!

Wench and wee pirate

Myself  – in Threads of Time bodice – with Megan and Mmy. 

JDR, MMy and Megan

The Wizard from Dover… 

Wizard of Dover

Squee! Posie and Teasel stop by for a visit!

Posie and Teasel

Melissa in all her finery! 

Fae Melissa

I love my Threads of Time bodice. Reversible! Shame you cant see my Xylem skirt. It was my jester inspired look. 

JDR and Megan

It is with sadness that I confess I do not have a picture on my Moresca outfit. Next time. I have wanted a Moresca outfit since i was a teenager and saw their gorgeous clothes at the Maryland Rennaissance Festival. And now I have a reason and a place to wear them!

Ravishing in Reyen

I mentioned Reyen Designs in my “G is for good neighbors” post. Isnt she ravishing?! And yes – she IS wearing satyr furry pants, complete with hooves and tail. 

And so – my FaerieCon posts are coming to a close. Back to the realm of artwork, teaching, and tending to a pair of crazy canines. Please stay tuned. To my Fae friends – please stay in touch. It is nice to know you are out there. Until next year…what will you wear?