La Luna – June’s theme

June 1, 2023Leave a comment

I literally don’t know how to start this post. How to briefly introduce a topic that has fueled my creativity since I was a teenager? Do I start with the moons of the year, the phases of the moon? Do I start with LUNAR Deities from the world over? Do I start with myth and magic and lore?

I will say that the Pinterest page for this lesson will be chock-a-block full of inspiration. I work hard to correctly pin art from the artists own site – and attribute the work correctly. So please check that out when you are done here.

The Moon is so evocative. It changes – ebbing and flowing, increase and decrease, its cycles mirroring our own. La Luna rules the tides of the ocean and the menstrual tides of women. Who hasn’t felt her pull as she beams down on us – on a crisp clear moonlit night? Even better if the ocean reflects her radiance.

Artemis, Diana, Luna, Selene, Hekate. Chang’o. Ix Chel. Chandra. Khonsu, Thoth. To name a few! Deities – that is. (Greco-Roman, Chinese, Aztec, Hindu, Egyptian)

Let’s not even start with the Lunar hare! Or the “moon rabbit” !

Or does the present speak to you? The horns of the moon. The thin sliver of glowing light that floats in the sky?

“Spring scattering Stars” by E. Blashfield

I hope this tiny sliver of a blog post has illuminated some creative ideas for you! It’s a great wealth of ideas and motifs – something is sure to “spark” for you. As I mentioned – check out the Pinterest page!

Please stay tuned on my You Tube channel for these art journal pages as they unfold during the month of June!

Its a phase… the Art Elements moon theme reveal.

January 31, 2019January 31, 201921 Comments

Welcome to the first theme challenge of the year! And the first blog post of the year – a habit I plan to revive…

This month Lindsay selected the Moon as our inspiration. The moon is frequently my inspiration! I rifled through my stash and pulled out a few moon and crescent pieces:

1.Diane Hawkey 2. me 3.Nikki Thornburg and Lesley Watt 4.Staci Smith 5.Lesley 6.my stash 7-9. me 10. Caroline Dewison. 11. Lisa Peters Russ. 12. Anne Gardanne

I was completely overwhelmed. So I turned to something completely different. Laney Mead gifted me with the most adorable lamp work hare! ( It was Secret Santa a year or so ago.) Since he arrived, he has been living on my beading table in a wee tiny wooden box – waiting for assemblage! SO here he is – my lunar hare !

Now he is sitting on my desk as I write this!

Back in the studio – I have been missing metal. Last year was fraught with challenges, both personal and professional. I made work show by show… This year I am focusing on what really speaks to my heart. SO I plan to incorporate more metal. This piece is still a WIP – the sterling hare needs tumbling. The faux bone needs antiquing maybe?

Faux bone – heated, stamped, painted, sanded. It will tolerate anything!

Linoleum printmaking is also on the 2019 want-to-do list. I plan to have limited edition cards featuring motifs that are showcased in my ceramic pendants and tiles. But as a warm up? Moon phase stamps for my art journal!

So all was gong along rather nicely – until Lindsay there me the BEST curve ball! She surprised me with a few leather pieces and some vintage treasures! ( I sent her something for this month’s give away.) These pieces are drawn/sculpted/painted by her friend – and I for one think they are fabulous. The moon over the (iridescent) water makes me so happy!

But you know which one I started with, don’t you? And then I found this mini star cab that Sue made… There may have been a snow squall – but I was happily beading! I think it will be a lapel pin for my winter coat…

Beaded lunar hare – in progress.

Thank you so much for reading my ramblings. Please take a look at the creation from my team mates at AE and our guests this month! And stay tune here for a resuscitated blog!

Guests:

Art Elements Crew:

Jenny ( you are here)

Jen

Lindsay

The November COM reveal: lunar hare

October 31, 2017October 30, 201711 Comments

What a month! This month the challenge was truly challenging. The fabulous component is a clasp, a coin clasp made by Niky Sayers. And its an Irish hare coin.

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Niky’s COM offering

Now I love this as the hare is “my” animal. And I am of Celtic/Irish descent. And it looks like a full moon, and brings to mind the lunar hare that is my icon, and new logo. SO clearly this is destined for me to keep!

I knew I waned to make a bracelet – as that best shows off the clasp as focal. And there I got stuck. Because there e are SO MANY options. OK _ something I can wear daily with my Fitbit. ( I like my Fitbit, but MUST accessorize/disguise it.)

A few of my favorite things, including related pieces by Niky in my stash!

Or do I want to go chunky?

I debated so much… my favorite stones? chunky statement stones? symbolic stones chosen for their attributes to make it more of a talisman? And my favorite stones won!

I know that this is an exceptionally simple, dare I say boring design. But I it means a lot to me and I will wear it all the time!

On a side note, here are some of these gems attributes:

Garnet: unyielding strength, increasing willpower, vitality.
Moonstone: the magic of the moon – encourages communication by promoting clear thinking, inspiration and receptivity
Labradorite: For self-discovery, it is excellent for awakening one’s own awareness of inner spirit, intuition and psychic abilities.
Smoky quartz: endurance, fostering serenity, calmness and positive thoughts,to protect and ground one physically and spiritually

Thanks to Niky for a lovely piece – and thanks for understanding my simple design choices…

Please visit my team mates and our guests! Enjoy!

Guest Designers

Art Element Team

Over the moon about my new Maker’s Mark!

May 12, 2017Leave a comment

This post has been a long time in the making. The making of this Maker’s Mark! My Graphic Designer and all around gal pal Betsy Mortenson has been working with me for a year or so. While the process isn’t that long in and of itself – working around her schedule, my schedule… you see the time frame now!

I had long wanted a mark/stamp that I could use on tiles, on packaging, across the board. But I am working in so many mediums, and with so many themes… the question was how to find one clear and simple icon that summed up “ME”? Enter Betsy – who has talent, skills and experience in this field. Here is is:

Half inch initial stamp for pendants and 1′ makers mark/initials for tiles & tags

2″ designs for muslin bags and boxes

Betsy was divine! We would lunch, I would ramble, she would extrapolate real info from y over caffeinated musings. She anted to know whose packaging I liked… my first thought was Rachel of Dida Metals. Her logo is clear, and uniquely hers. It related to her personally, but you do not need that background info to appreciate the clear graphic quality. Rachel uses this logo on all her cards and packaging – as a “brand” should be!

Dida metals: my packaging inspiration and metals friend.

We played with a goddess motif and a hare motif. Clearly the hare won. Not a bunny – thats cuter, whimsical… and that is not the brand identity I wanted. Hares are more mythic: from fables to tall tales, to totems. Betsy had me pinpoint specific hare shapes:

Selecting the specific tilt and shape…

Evolution of an idea. Images (c) Betsy Mortenson.

From my chicken scratch in m y notebook, and from my Lunar hare tile… the idea was born! Its so wonderful! I have a gross of muslin bags to stamp as my new jewelry bags. ( Where I put them safely in my studio is another question. ) I have happily stamped my most recent tiles with my mark – and even these lino print cards! In the future I will glaze the marks on the tiles – it was so new to me I forgot! And the 1″ size is great for jewelry hang tags. The overall look was partially inspired by Asian “chop” marks. These two can be stamper with overlapping corners as well, for a more unified presentation.

All in all I couldn’t be more thrilled. This is really a soft launch of my new brand identity… but one step at a time. You will be seeing more of this in the future. When I can – I plan to have the initials made into a custom metal stamp for my jewelry pieces. I would love to hear your comments!

Jenny Davies-Reazor

artist, teacher

Tag: lunar hare