Winter Morning at Stillwaters

I wish that my photography skills could capture this sunrise. I tried to alter it to show the colors, but did not succeed in duplicating it. These cold winter days make for great studio time. The outside warm sunshine is not beckoning me to play.
These are a couple of things that I have finished lately. The heart brooch above is copper and brass stitched together with copper wire. It is at Heart and Hands in Franklin.

This is a necklace that I made from one of the polymer clay pendants that Steph gave me. I think it looks like stone.

This colorful bracelet can be found at Cliques in Columbia.

Faces

I was recently inspired by an article in Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine to create this little house necklace. I chose a Paper Whimsy face to look back out at the world from inside the little house and the word "secret" from an old child's reader.

After finishing that, I spied this little spoon on my work table and having the faces close at hand, was inspired to make this pendant. It would also be possible for me to do custom pieces for people with their ancestors or children and make them look vintage as these photos do.
The necklace above was the first thing that Steph gave to me as we waited for her luggage at the baggage claim at the Nashville airport. It is a cowgirl in resin with ribbons and lace. It always is a conversation starter when I wear it.When we got home, she opened her box of goodies that she brought and out came this gorgeous necklace that I had seen on her blog, but had no idea that it was intended for me. I love the colors and that I can wear it with just about anything.

She and I are planning a necklace round robin for the new year with a couple of other artists. I can't wait to see the results!

A Little Whimsy

I had a blast making these necklaces for Studio Thursday this month. The crowd there is mostly animal lovers so I chose these collages that I made for a swap a couple of years ago to use for the pendants. The sale was a great success! I feel blessed to get to sell my jewelry despite the slow economy. Thanks always to Shawn for including me in her fun and unique sale. The next Studio Thursday will be in February.

The next necklace is made from beads that Steph showed me how to make when she was visiting. They are polymer clay faux turquoise and cane beads. It looks like chunky, substantial stone beads, but it is very light and comfortable.All of my spare time lately is spent in the studio creating new work to take to Cliques and Heart and Hands. More to come...

Finally Face to Face

After two years of corresponding by email and trading jewelry by mail, I finally got to meet my friend Steph (aka Vladthebat) face to face. On the Thursday before last I picked her up in Nashville at the airport and with sadness dropped her off this past Friday morning. We spent a week of creating in the studio and exploring Middle Tennessee. The weather was on its best behavior, as we had a whole week of sunshine and warm temperatures.
She brought goodies along with her... a wealth of interesting raw materials for creating, two really cool necklaces (I'll post the necklace pictures next time), and enough Belgian chocolate that should have last me for months. The supply of chocolate is now dwindled to a handful of pieces. I shared a little, but it should be declared a controlled substance. I can't stop eating it. One morning she even made Belgian waffles for us.
In the studio, it was so interesting to see someone take the same materials that I have been looking at for months and take them in a totally different direction. I had a bowl of flat stones that I picked up while kayaking and and she picked one up and immediately started carving a design in it. So then we both started carving stones. That night I got the idea that we should etch some of the copper to match the stones so the next day we spent several hours experimenting with etching. Here is a bracelet in which I combined Steph's stone and my copper etching.
And another piece where I stamped a face and etched it. I have to experiment more with my etching solution recipe to keep from getting it too strong.
Throughout the week my creativity got a much needed boost that hopefully will last a while. I needed it to get ready for Studio Thursday coming up this week. It will actually be 3 days this month for the holiday sale. Check it out at Silo Studio's website.

Our lives are so much richer now that we have a new friend and I am planning a visit to Belgium in the not too distant future.

Busy Summer

I don't know why I always think every year that summer will be less busy than the rest of the year. I've been so busy that the time is flying too fast. My favorite time of year is going by in the blink of an eye. There's never a dull moment though.

After getting back from our trip, I painted a mural at church for the children's classroom area. There is a stage with windows where there will be puppets that is supposed to look like a ticket window for a subway or train and a guy just hanging out by the phone booth reading a newspaper.


Gardening takes up a bit of the time too. We have tomatoes, squashes, cucumbers, chard, corn, okra, beans, peppers, and lettuce. Also, we have some fruit. Our blackberries are ready to get ripe and one of our paw paw trees is loaded with fruit. So you've never seen a paw paw before? Here they are. They taste a bit like banana pudding when they are ripe. The trees were a gift from my very generous sister. :-)


I've been making jewelry when I get a chance. A bit here, and a bit there, mostly commissions for local people. Here are a few pieces that I made for a friend who brought me some pearls and leather to make into necklaces and earrings for her.

I've been entertaining nieces also for the last two weeks. Last week, we picked up one of our nieces who was homesick at camp and brought her home with us for 3 days until my mom could come and get her and take her to her parents. This week I had a niece and a great niece for three days also. It was like Camp Stillwaters for all of those days. We did art, played pool, and fished and swam. It was great to get to spend some time with them.

I was surprised when I went to the mailbox one day to find a package from Steph in Belgium with this beautiful necklace and other goodies. She always sends such wonderful surprises. Please check out her blog and Etsy shop to see more beautiful jewelry.

Well... now for a relaxing weekend...I hope.