me

at 1:30 am this morning i decided to get brave and take a few photos of the all growed up me to post here on my blog.....there are so many artists who do it.
i do not photograph well.....i am no beauty queen by any means, but the last time i took photos of myself i ran through the house asking the kids' does your mom really look like this?!!!!!' and thank goodness when they stopped laughing and regained their composure they would say 'no way'.....but for some reason 1:30 in the morning, most of my make up rubbed off and so tired i can hardly keep my eyes open these photos did not turn out half bad. and i keep reminding myself i am 43, even though i feel 18 still, and am shocked some mornings not to see that 18 year old starring back at me in the mirror. my daughter will be 18 the 10th of july, and i feel like i could be her friend and must remind myself i am the mom.

shushing the kids who are beating on my bathroom door, invading my need for privacy to do something terrifying....take my own photo. i feel very exposed......putting the comments made to me about my looks by someone who's opinion meant the world to me many many years ago and realizing that true beauty arises from within, from deep in the soul...........

plain and simple this is what i look like on the outside

here kitty kitty......

this piece will be a hard one to give up.....my daughter and i have fallen in love with it! i am sure there is someone out there who will love this neck piece as much as we do! the kitty comes from a vintage childrens book, in the middle is a ball of yarn, that has been wire wrapped with seed beads here and there and the bubble on the bottom is vintage text that says 'meow'. no matter how hard i tried i could not get the whole piece to photograph well......someday my fairy godmommy will bring me a new camera.......right?

the wire wrapped fiber was inspired from artful images that deryn mentock created.....a link to her blog is on the right side of the page. her work is beautiful. just my style!

well, i am off to bed. pretty early for me. since the kids have been on summer break we have all been staying up until dawn. once i start arting it is so hard to stop. i have sat so long today my butt has taken the shape of the chair....not a pretty sight....but it was not to begin with anyway! who knows maybe a rolly chair shaped butt is an improvement at this point!

well the bladder is screaming that i am one sneeze or cough away from an embarrassing moment, so off i go! chat at ya tomorrow!

soldered mirror

last month i came across a brief article in sommerset magazine that included a photo of a mirror with a vintage photo underneath. unfortunately there were not instructions, so off to the lab (studio) to figure it out on my own! i used nail polish remover to remove the coating off the back of the mirror, and a foam sanding block to remove just the right amount of mirror. i placed german scrap roses underneath along with vintage text and music and artfully soldered this piece. i used steele wire with the dark annealing removed so that the flux and cleaning fluid i used would cause a bit of rusting so that the wire would take on the look of branches or woody vines, added wire that i formed to look like a leaf and placed text with diamond glaze onto the wire, a few dots here and there to give the suggestion of thorns. the word on the leaf is 'branched'. the leaf was inspired from images of art created by deryn mentock.....a link to her blog is to the right. all i need to do is add a chain and i think this piece will be complete.

lots more soldering to do

bits and pieces for several jewelry pieces sit patiently in my little bowl on my soldering table waiting their turn to be soldered........the ideas are coming quicker than i am able to actually create them. it is wonderful! i love this! this is my drug.....arting my heart out! i was so excited yesterday to find the large oblong bubbles! some of them are quite straight and others curved like a rainbow and others curved at the tips. it felt like christmas yesterday when we found these! i bought 25 bags.....i don't think that is enough.....i am hoping my hubby will let me get a few more bags.....

last week we stopped by my favorite bead supply store and i bought some b-u-t-ful purple beads.....can not wait to play with them, and some more blue beads for my red, white and blue piece i am going to be assembling soon.

a few new soldered pieces
this one is a vintage movie ticket from a local movie theatre on natural bridge rd....i found it in an old book i got from a book sale, it was being used as a book mark. can you remember a time when movies were only .10 cents? it was not in my lifetime!

i found these long glass bubbles at the store yesterday and by last night had
several of them soldered! they are so neat! the text is from a vintage book and says 'chapel bells are calling'

i cannot wait to get a better camera so that the little details can be captured......at least ours is still hanging in there!

this piece says 'my heart is filled with' on the top and it is from a vintage hymnal.....on the bottom i stamped the word love on vintage paper. these are also soldered under the new long glass bubbles......ahhh.....the little things in life that make me happy!

german scrap, vintage book pages make up these 2 artfully soldered charms....

german scrap, vintage book and hymnal pages, and swarvoski crystal

vintage lace, 'love' from a vintage book, backing is text from vintage french book

charms made from pics from a vintage childrens book

baby doll with pin

my daughter is really hoping she sells at the art show sunday.......she thinks this baby doll is creepy .....i think she looks like she was loved very much in her day......

The cure for artist's block

with all of the gizmos and gadgets that i have found i can add to my blog, one thing  i have noticed is that many people seem to find my blog after googling 'artist block'.....maybe hoping to find the cure for it, so i started to feel as though i needed to share my cure for artist block....

Play.......Play every day.......creative ideas are all connected......once you put action behind your ideas they begin to multiply like bunnies.....one idea, a bit of inspiration, leads to the next, then the next.....before you know it you will find yourself always with pen and paper in reach to keep track of your ideas....

Give thanks, and give it often, for the inspiration, creativity,the talents and gifts you have been given .....whether it be to God, the universe, or whatever name you give it.....give thanks.  

the princess and the queen

the men and the women

all photos are from 1925, the english text is from a 1930's book, and both pieces have been artfully assembled and soldered.....
maybe for you?!
up for sale soon

this is a bit blurry, our camera is a caveman digital....if you click on the pictures you may be able to make out more detail.....
this is a 1925 picture and a piece of german scrap and vintage english text that reads 'pretty' all behind a mirror! part of the mirror has been removed to allow the art to show through!

dangles........

the back
up for sale soon!

1 necklace

2 looks.....the first side has german scrap, vintage hymnal, french and english text book pages

using the lobster clasp you can change to

the other side which has 1925 photos, german scrap, and vintage english and french text book pages
up for sale soon!

don't worry.....be

happy.....this is another up for sale soon.....1925 photo, word from 1930 book, decoratively soldered

1 charm 2 sides

from pages from an old hymnal....for sale soon!

2 more pieces done today for next weeks art show......

my studio table at the moment

i am trying not to panic......i have so much to finish before the art show......as you can see, lots of partially completed pieces..............

breathe...............
.....breathe..............in................ and out.......

i came across an idea in a sommerset magazine that i just had to try which slowed me down a bit, but i just had to give it a try and i am so glad i did. in the midst of the chaos i also decided to jump in and just make a few of my own chains and clasps......nope....i could not just stick with what i know....as hard as i tried to wait until after the art show to try these neat new things.....i just couldn't. it seemed fighting the urge was taking up more time than just going for it, so i did.

'a bunch of keys' another piece up for sale soon!

a 1920's game piece, 'a bunch of keys' and a piece of a 1900's hymnal have been soldered between
2 pieces of glass. antique keys with words from a 1930's book dangle from a hand made, and hand buffed stainless steel chain.