A Little Mixed Media

Just having a little fun!

Etsy Shop Additions

I just got through adding several new things to my Etsy Shop. Just in time for CyberMonday

Two Shows

Busy, busy! I have two shows happening next week! The first is at Silo Studio in
Thompsons Station, Tennessee, and this one is a three day show. It begins on Thursday, Nov. 18th at 9:00 a.m. til 2:00 p.m., then Friday, Nov. 19th from 5:30-8:00 p.m., then Saturday, Nov. 20th from 10:00 a.m. until noon for a clearance sale.

The next show is at the Artisans Gallery on the square in downtown Columbia, Tennessee on Saturday, Nov. 20th from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and also on Sunday, Nov. 21st from 1:00 until 4:00 p.m.
I've still been busy with the polymer clay beads. I love playing with the colors and combining them with other beads.

Morning Inspirations

I just want to eat these colors! So I ate them with my eyes and my camera and they became beads.

Colorful Clay Fun

I was in the mood for something a little different. A while back I purchased a pasta machine for using with polymer clay and just hadn't gotten around to using it yet. It was time for a little experimenting. I was inspired by the beautiful beads that my friend Steph had sent me a while back. This is what I have come up with in the past couple of weeks. I'm having a blast!

Speaking of having a blast...this Thursday is Sudio Thursday again at Silo Studios in Thompson Station. Come out and join the fun!

Big and Bold

I had a few requests at the last couple of shows for some bigger necklaces. I tend to like them short, but apparently the style is trending toward larger necklaces. So....I perused the bead selection in my studio and had a fun time using up all of the larger beads in my collection. The colors are in the turquoise and fall color theme. Hope you like them.

Studio Thursday

It's time again for Studio Thursday at Silo Studio. The festivities begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m. Last month, there was an amazing rush of people at the beginning and choice items cleared out fast, so if you want to find the best selection, you may want to get there early.

In Living Color

Up at sunrise.

Lunch matches my skirt.

Wild and tame flowers.

Pink

Just in a pink mood.

A Peek Into My World

Here is a little glimpse into my studio. This is the only sane corner. The rest is packed with stuff. On New Years Day I decided to paint the walls, so I had to take everything out of the shelves to do it. I ran out of steam after a wall and a half. Someday it will be done. By that time I will probably be ready for a new color.
This is a painting of the path to the beach from our spring vacation to Puerto Rico. The colors in the photo didn't quite turn out true to the painting, but I can look at it and picture myself walking down that path to paradise.

Next week it will be time for Studio Thursday again at Silo Studio. After taking the month of July off, this should be a good show. As usual, your purchases help Shawn to rescue more precious dogs.

Creative Life

I love to try to apply creativity to all areas of my life. Sometimes we just go through the everyday routine of our lives and don't think about beauty. Every moment of our lives can be made more beautiful if we give it a bit of thought. It is fun to treat my husband and family and friends to a little bit of something special whenever I can. Even if I am preparing a meal just for myself, I like to make it pretty. Art isn't just for "artists." Everyone can use the talents given to them to make the world just a little bit better. In a world full of stress and mass produced monotony, put your unique fingerprint on something that you do.

Hay baling Time

Distant Shower

Pottery shards given to me by a friend. Take trash and make treasures.

Sky and Sea

I seem to be drifting back into painting. This is a view of Shacks Beach in Isabella, Puerto Rico. The photo that I did the painting from was taken as our family took a walk after dinner one evening. It brings back happy, peaceful memories.

A little bit of jewelry was done as well. This is a soft, fabric necklace of Vincent with vintage fabrics and buttons.

Camp Stillwaters

Well...it's not really camp, but kind of like it. Each summer break I get some of my nieces for a few days and do crafts with them. I had one niece last month for a couple of days and we concentrated on sewing. I had a niece and a great niece last week and our main project was painting chairs. Someone had abandoned some chairs on a lot where my son and his wife are building a house and I snatched them up and brought them home because I knew they would make a great project. I think they turned out pretty cute.
We also tie-dyed T shirts and made collages. They spent a lot of time catching tiny, baby toads that are hopping all around our house and we took several rides around the farm on our Rhino. We also took a field trip to a museum nearby and one of them went to the peach orchard with me.

Now it is back to semi-normal at our house...whatever that may be and I have been in a painting mood. Here is one that I finished yesterday.

I also found time to make a bit of jewelry too. The copper and silver toned necklace and bracelet
were inspired by a pair of earrings that I got from my friend and fellow jeweler, Sylvia McAlister.

It's Not Summer Without...

All of us probably have certain things that you can only do in summer that make the season come alive for us. My husband would probably say that first grilled burger of the season with big slices of homegrown tomato and Vidalia onion. I personally would skip the burger unless it was veggie. Some of the things that I look forward to every year are local experiences. In the town that is nearest to us there still exists a drive-in theater. We went there last night and joined the old fashioned fun. It is still a bargain in these days of expensive tickets and concessions. They always have a double feature, but this time of year, the movies doesn't start until after 8:30 so staying awake for both features is not something that I can handle. Where else though, can you see two current movies for $6 a person?

Just up the road from us a few miles are a lovely peach orchard and berry farm. I made a trip there on Tuesday and came home with such bounty that I felt truly blessed. The peaches will be coming in until the end of July. I'm not sure about the length of time for the berries, but if you are traveling a bit to get there, I would call for availability on both of them.

Can you believe the size of these blackberries?!!!

I did manage to find my studio one day this week and made this purse necklace. The vintage change purse was given to me by Shawn and I ordered the antique tintype from Australia from my friend Julie. I will tuck some interesting things inside once I decide what needs to be included. The words on the bottom of the purse are "seek the ancient paths" which is a quote from Jeremiah 6:16:
¹⁶ This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.

We all need rest for out souls in these hectic, troubling times.

Savoring Summer

"Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes - The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

There are certain things that take me back to my childhood. One of those is sitting outside breaking homegrown green beans. My grandmothers and aunts would sit outside on the porch where it was cool and break beans while we children would swing in the porch swing or stand around begging them to take us down to the creek to wade. Doing the work outside just makes a mundane task into something special. Dinner tonight is mostly from the garden. Even my husband, the carnivore, doesn't complain about a vegetarian meal when the garden is coming in.

A little something colorful in honor of summer...polymer clay with a mosaic of lampworked glass, turquoise, millefiore, and dichroic glass in a copper bezel sent to me by Steph.