Tag: challenge

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

2 Comments

Standing over a cauldron, tossing in snippets of this, portions of that – brewing up a potion, a recipe in a cauldron. You imagine them, sisters three, over a large smoky steaming cauldron, aged, gnarled and bent – Shakespeare’s Three Witches. Or perhaps you imagine a younger more contemporary potion maker – young Hermione sitting, small cauldron inher lap, brewing Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. (I DID just get back from vacation to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando…)

Cauldron are symbols of creativity, inspiration, transformation in Celtic myth (see the myth of Cerridwen I blogged recently.) So I find it apropos that I am participating in a creativity challenge/bed swap dubbed “Bead Soup Blog Party”. I have been sent the beady ingredients and I will start brewing up a creation of my own – little of this, pinch of that…and what comes out will transform the disparate parts into a wearable piece, or two, or three…

Jelveh's box

This lovely arrived inthe mail from my talented partner Jelveh of Jelveh’s designs. Eager with anticipation…

BS box 3

So full, so many treasures… 

BS box4

…irridescent beauties….

BS box5

…a riot of color…

BS box6

…metallic medley…

coral and clasp

Sterling and coral…

lampwork and focals

…and the focals! WooHoo. Oceanic landscape and a goddess? Sweet! The detail on the Oceanic treasures necklace is stunning. I want to do that bead justice, and really show it to its full glory. And of course I love the goddess bead for me; and she has a little flower on her bottom… Not to mention the gorgeous colors in the lampwork beads. They range from pinks, mauves, lavenders, blues -and are so harmonious together, just my style. 

Many thanks go out to my Bead Soup Blog Party partner, Jelveh, for this fantastic generous package! And to Lori at Pretty Things for masterminding this whole event! I have to say – I started working with my soup last weekend. I have the focal planned, and have already created a few other pieces since my soup was so bountiful! Stay tuned for the big reveal on September 17th! (There are 362 participants around the world!)

 

 

BTW and The Sketchbook Challenge

Leave a comment

I was listening to a podcast recently, and I am sorry to not give credit, but I forget which one… ( Craftypod? Craftcast? Art and Soul Radio? ) But the artist was musing on electronic social networking. For an artist working in solitude in the studio, chat groups, discussion boards and the like are a great way to combat the alone-ness. Sharing ideas, posting pictures, discussing materials and techniques all feed and fuel the creative machine. I do a bit of this. Facebook is my social network of choice, I dont tweet often… but  I love Flickr. And this year I have become involved in 2 Flickr groups that I find highly satisfying, keeping me linked to my colleagues, and seeing what else is going on out there…

The first is BTW – Bead Table Wednesday. Created by Heather Powers of Humblebeads, it is a peek into your space, on your table, that day. No tidying, no glam shots, just “What are you working on today? ” Over a hundred members, crafters, professionals, glass, polymer, wire, clay… a diverse group. Here is my BTW shot this week: ( Yup, a day late. )

BTW waiting for resin

Miscellaneous pieces waiting for resin. The lockets are almost done – The outsides have elements added, the insides were resined with items, and the inside cover has vintage dictionary text, the last element. The deep open bezels  – I won them at Art Bliss  last Sept. I have found shells that fit inside…

This picture is tough to see, I know. Some of the stamped copper components have been antiqued and not polished, making them dark and moody. These pieces will all be pendants with gemstones and charms, ready for RenConII: THe Mythic Faire in a few weeks. 

copper components

 

The other group, I found in January, a wee bit late. Called the Sketchbook Challenge – its so simple it is brilliant… A group of collage and mixed media artists decided to create a group. Each month a theme is posted, work in your sketchbook as inspired by that theme, and share your pages via the Flickr group. Each month there are posts by the host artists, and a give away of materials from the sponsors. And it is free. For me it is the perfect mix of incentive and relaxed schedule, of freedom, personal interpretation, and community. Again – it is a group ranging from novices to professionals, with support not competition. A few years ago I was working on an artist’s journal – and by that I mean a journal of art, collage, doodles, paintings not my normal journal of reference notes, planning sketched, project ideas, article snippets… That artist’s journal – I was doing a 2 page spread weekly, and it was a very rewarding experience. When it ended I attempted another, but the spark was gone. I think the Sketchbook challenge is rekindling that spark nicely…

February’s theme was “Opposites”. I was thinking large/small and one/many. 

Feb sketchbook  FEB detail

Is is refreshing to just play. To not wonder if this will turn into an idea worth pursuing, just to make marks and use materials, and play. It actually makes my art work time more productive…