Something about Purple-Wednesday Treasuries

No time to make a new treasury today. I'm in the countdown here to some big deadlines and am a part of 2 local shows opening this weekend (yay!) The weather has really gone bad quickly so not sure when I can try for more photos on nature walks. All by way of presenting a couple of fine treasuries that showed up in my Etsy activity feed today, both incorporating shades of purple (which I just adore, and actually, wear quite a lot, especially in the winter.)

Without further ado....



curated by Jayne of White Oak Room.
I also recommend you take a look at her shop--delicious textiles for your home and who isn't thinking about a bit of nesting when the weather turns on us and the days grow so dark?

And the next one



curated by Christy of Poppy and Purl whose shop features pretty handmade flowers and knitted lovelies.

Have a humpy hump day and thanks for dropping by!

I'm a Shopping Fool...

...but only on paper and in my head. I must admit though that there are a lot of people in my family and so yeah, I'm just starting to think about Christmas presents. So I got this idea, to sort of oil up my old thinking cap, and based on yesterday's treasury fun: I thought I would try a few more of these beautifully illustrated "shopping lists" with different themes, and see what might happen.

So today, my theme is one of my favorite things: Bird Watching. Anyone care to join me? The Audubon annual Christmas bird count is right around the corner--December 14 to January 5! I wonder if we'll have snow by then?

Wednesday for Treasuries

Remember how I used to get all excited about Etsy treasuries*? Well, then they sort of got all watered down because they weren't difficult to get anymore--anyone can make them any time and a very tiny handful of chosen artists and treasury makers eventually run on the Etsy front page...same ones, day after day after day.

But never mind that! I find my work in a lot of them even if they don't get seen beyond Etsy, so I just discovered a new way to show them here on my blog, a million times easier than in the old days of screen shots, copy, crop and upload/paste.

It's a widget created through Craft Cult and I think with some practice, I can eventually get the size and placement a little better, but this is a good beginning!! When I ran a search tonight to figure out what my choices were, they gave me 100 to choose from that include my work. That sort of put a spring in my step, if you know what I mean (Sally Fields moment: They like me, they really like me!)

So I picked the most recent one: "Chartreuse"-- it is a color I just adore! You'll see some other new work using this color in my new pearls here soon. Meanwhile, my new cuff is on the bottom row, furthest on the left, in case you didn't catch it! Enjoy!

*"Etsy Treasuries: curated collections that anyone can pull together for show and tell. Usually, they include the work of 16 different artisans or other Etsy shops that all revolve around some theme, concept, color, look or? The unifying principle can be simple or very elaborate. They are a very fun place to browse some of the best of Etsy shopping!"

A Lot of Different Things....

....but mostly art related. I've been behind in posting here and you'll understand why in a moment or two. So I'm sorry if I'm jamming too much into one post, but my goodness it's been busy. Ironic that this will fall on a wordless Wednesday, but once again, I take responsibility for a bit of stupid timing...but not stupid news!

First, especially of interest to my Chicagoland friends--I've now got a nice collection of my work in a local gallery! I joined an artists' coop in Barrington and this past Monday, installed a good number of pieces here at the IceHouse Gallery of the BCAC (Barrington Cultural Arts Center) http://barringtonculturalartscenter.org/ I'll be part of a larger group of artists for this endeavor and am very excited by lots of new possibilities! To be continued....

So that took a lot of time and effort over the past weekend, but at the same time, I was also listing new work online, including these new pieces which finally all came together with some lovely silk ribbon, dyed by artisans and used to make the hanging length fully adjustable. This soft, 1/2" silk ribbon has been dyed like water color painting, and I found it in shades of gray and shades of a warm brown. A limited edition, but I'm always looking for new things to try, so we're used to my moving on and changing often.

I showed some of these earlier, but wasn't happy with the hanging ribbons and so have changed and improved them. Now, as you can see here, they can adjust from about 16" to as long as 28 or 29", which is exactly what I was trying to do! I'm just thrilled with how they finally came together.

Plus the "Made With Silk" series continues to grow, and I recently added a lovely stylized cross to my pendant mix, so now can offer a choice of the Om (or do you say Aum?) pendant or the cross pendant added to a variety of colors and material mixtures on long silk crocheted chains...fun, eh?!
Next up, a lovely new treasury that the curator named after one of my bracelets (above) called "Seashore Echos." She says that my piece inspired her treasury collection!


Lisa, the curator, also makes bracelets...with wild abandon...using many of my favorite things...especially Czech pressed glass flowers. You may visit her Etsy shop justCharming to see more. So flattering to learn my piece inspired her choices and her title for the treasury, which is Echoes. Thanks Lisa! Please visit her shop and treasury.



And finally, last but not least, I'm in the final countdown for a major project which will begin this weekend. Quite awhile ago, I was honored by an invitation to join a select group of artists and scientists to be part of the project introduced below:

Art Lab: Border Biosphere Exploration
November 14 - 21, 2010.

Art Lab: Border Biosphere Exploration (AL) will bring together ten
artist educators with scientists and researchers to explore the Sonoran
Desert Bioregion and be inspired by the unique environment that
surrounds them at the Biosphere 2 and Tumamoc Hill Research Station in
Tucson, Arizona, and Cuenca los Ojos' El Coronado Ranch in Pearce,
Arizona. Artist participants will learn about how climate change is
impacting the environment along the international border region of
Southern Arizona, and they will create artwork in response. Their work
will then be presented on the Rillito River Project website and in
related exhibits and presentations.

Readers who may be puzzling about how the work I've been presenting here has anything to do with my participation in a project such as this should not dismay. You didn't miss a thing. I just haven't shared quite yet, on this blog, the work I've done the majority of my art career as an installation artist with a primary focus on aspects of ecology and the environment. I'm getting to that!

And over the next month or 6, I'll begin adding some aspects of my past work with some new things coming into focus in response to this Art Lab experience. But I'm getting way ahead of myself.

For now, you can preview more information and past projects from the Rillito River project, of which this is a new chapter, here. And you can watch this blog over the next couple of weeks for breaking news as this adventure begins to unfold....did I mention that I just got a smart phone and will try to add current bits here as I am able? I didn't? Well, I hate to commit just in case the technology eludes me and my best laid plans.....but I hope I can use a bit of different technology to add to this blog as the new adventure takes shape!

IF you have read this far, I'll bet you're saying "Darn you Karen, can't you sort of post all this stuff bit by bit instead of jamming it all into one thing?" To which I must answer, "Yes, that would be most ideal wouldn't it? To bad I'm not really that organized!"

OK, I've got a zillion things to finish yet this evening...thanks for dropping by and more later!

Golden in Passing

The magnolia tree has beauty in all seasons, but I adore
the fuzzy golden buds of November as she prepares for the long winter.
Golden fur coats for the flowers to come?

And speaking of all things golden, today's treasury, Golden Season by jewelry artist Betsy Benson tends toward luxe (while the WillOaks studio aesthetic is more towards rustico)....and if you take a peek at her shop, you will see the elegant, refined pieces that define her aesthetic! And if you could, please take a moment to click, visit, and comment on this treasury! Many thanks....

And while you're at it, go ahead, browse around Etsy! You need to reward yourself with some original, artistic and handmade "somethings" from Etsy soon! I guarantee you'll find stuff for every need, every want, every price range and every taste: their search function has really really improved! So you can casually browse...or zoom right into the object of your desire! Clothing? Mittens? A hat? Jewelry? Vintage goodies? Cool supplies to create your own special projects? It's all there and more...

Have a happy Saturday!

The Gray Season Moves In...

Shorter days, longer nights, gray skies, cold rain, foggy weather, gloaming vestige. So many shades of silky, pearly, subtle gray...

...better to express that touch of depression that can settle in than to succumb to it...besides, gray is so beautiful!

"Stormy Season"
And with those images in my head and thoughts in my mind, I ranged near and far over the Etsy catalogs, searching for things that helped portray this mood, these feelings of grayness. In the final form, "Stormy Season" was born and my quest for making treasuries for expressions of moods and feelings takes another step....


On another note, the (mostly) black cat Mariah survived another Halloween just fine, thank you. She didn't even hop on a broom or do anything wild or crazy. Fearsome Dakota protected her from any misfortune....

A final word, on this fine Tuesday, November 2....
REMEMBER TO GO VOTE--IT'S YOUR PATRIOTIC DUTY
(and you can't complain unless you do ;-)

More Fun With Treasuries - Assignment: Color

"I've Got the (Electric) Blues" by WillOaks Studio submits this treasury to a treasury challenge...visit the treasury to learn what the assignment was and to look at this lovely blue collection. (I'm having so much fun - what took me so long?!)

Over the weekend, after I had created my first treasury with Primary colors, I got this thing about RED going, and here's the result! "You Red My Mind....when you realized I needed Red in my life."

Over on Artfire, Maria Palito curated this elegant gray treasury--and the monochrome theme continues!
"Pumpkin and Spice" is a warm, seasonal treasury curated by apmemory. in shades of orange that really evoke the shades of autumn harvest and holidays.

So how was that for "like minds?" All these monochromatic treasuries within a couple of days? I think this treasury feature on both Artfire and Etsy is going to be so great for assembling gift ideas for the coming holidays! If any of my readers has any basic themes or requests in mind (like: I'm searching for gifts for the woman who loves purple; for the guy who loves music, etc.) leave me a note and I'll see if I can put up a treasury with ideas that might solve your problem...or at least give you new ideas....all from the realm of HANDMADE!!

Happy November everyone!

Busy, Busy, Busy....help!

When it comes to color--I'm changeable like the weather. When asked, I say "It just depends...."

So when I decided to take the plunge and curate my OWN treasury, my very first one, I decided that my very first theme would be Primary Colors: RED, YELLOW, BLUE.

Pulling it together wasn't as hard as I feared so now, dear readers, I invite you (beg you) to please, Please, PLEASE click on this image or link, to visit my actual collection (and leave a comment if you desire.) I really appreciate your support!

But I'm just warming up! My studio is strewn with "experiments" from this past week since my move back to my home studio. Being back with all my "stuff" I'm like a kid in a candy shop and need to calm down my ADHD here soon, focus, solve a few problems, and follow through. But I'll do that later. Today, I'm jumping the gun to share more of my "in progress work" here....

New experiments: Knotted glass beads focal on silk.

You know, I just never ever know where an idea will come from and when things are going well, they just sort of pop into my head. Then it's up to me to decide if it's worth looking at further, or if it's better filed away for later...or if it's a total dud.

I'm pretty excited by this new necklace invention though there are still a few bugs to work out.....Can you imagine this with a holiday dress, blouse or sweater? The way they work right now is the silk side straps are adjustable for a necklace that goes from 18" to about 28" all with sliding beads and knots on the sides.

More views: Crocheted artisan silk and dyed quartz multi-strand necklaces.

I hinted at this new form the other day and wanted to show other views and colors....I'm pretty sure I've got the side straps figured out and so, hopefully, after I add a few more colors and work out the last critical details, these will be ready to offer. My challenge was to make these necklaces really adjustable in length, so that they could really be worn different ways. It wasn't quite as easy as I had hoped, but I'm almost there!

So best wishes for a fun and safe weekend of Halloween parties and pranks--watch out for the werewolves! Thanks for dropping by....

Autumn Treasuries

The two sides of autumn--brilliant color and subtle, textured neutrals. We experienced an elegant neutral treasury here a few days ago, juxtaposed with my photos of dry plants (weeds). Today, we are treated to new ones that celebrate a more colorful side of the season (plus a collage of some of my colorful foliage fall photos!)

"Copper Creations" curated by Etsy seller Rebecca of MountainMist Fiberworks celebrates that wonderful orangey-coppery-russet-brown color which is found in leaves, in metal and (obviously!) in the palette of many Etsy artisans right now. In fact, when I peeked at Rebecca's shop, there were many lovely knitted hats and scarves--in wonderful copper shades!

So "Blue is Beautiful" (a definitive statement) and without the blue sky behind these russet fall colors, would the contrast be as exhilarating?? Of course not! and this very blue treasury, curated by PaulaArt, trends toward a deeper, darker collection of blues. Visit her Etsy shop for a very different collection of surprises: wonderful recycled materials turned into whimsical objects.

"Loving the last day of autumn" gathers a collection of mostly subtle colors with dots of brightness, much like the landscape now in the Midwest. It's curated by Etsy Seller CurlynChic whose shop specializes in craft supplies including seasonal rubber stamps that are very cute.


I invite you to click on these treasury images to take a closer look at these lovely collections. Visit the shops of the curators, too. After all, it's never too early to start planning your holiday gift giving....with an emphasis on HAND MADE, of course! Have a great Monday!

Walk With Me - Weeds and Seeds

A perfect autumn day, bright & crisp. Let's stroll around the WillOaks Farm!

Milkweed fluff is everywhere, like flying fairies.

The "bones" of the plants are easy to see this time of year.

The seeds for next year are unmistakable.
Weeds or wild flowers? It just depends of where and how much!

It's magical how the afternoon light plays on the delicate natural forms.

Most of the color of summer has faded away, leaving neutral textures.

Except in a few cases where very unexpected color pops into view!

A new treasury really captures the season for me:

Au Naturelle...creamy taupe with hint of caramel

Please click and visit this lovely collection, curated by NestHavenStudio, who curates many lovely treasuries, listed on her page.

Isn't is sort of uncanny how these colors and textures echo the weeds and seeds we just looked at on our autumn walk? The changing seasons can be a very real source of artistic inspiration.

I think this should be on the Etsy Front page so I'm asking my blog visitors to PLEASE click here to visit this treasury--and comment if you like! It's a numbers game to get to the Etsy front page these days, because although the curators may put very beautiful and worthy collections together, unless they can motivate viewers to visit, these collections barely get seen...while some pretty awful ones, who get the tweets and the visits even without much artistic merit, get to the front page of the web site.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful Friday!!

And the Girl Just Keeps Tryin'....

....but it's time for a brief time out while I pack up the summer studio and move all this stuff to the winter studio. True to form, I'm working to the bitter end! I'm being a tad pissy--I hate moving and I hate to take time for it right now, but the camper goes into storage on Monday, so it's time to go. It's a busy final weekend here at the old campground, considering it's mid October, so Dakota and I have tonight and possibly one more night out here until next Spring rolls around. It's quite chilly and there are campfires burning everywhere tonight even as the 3/4 moon is quite bright.


But these two new pieces, are an interesting experiment. The top two images here show the slide lock form and style of cuff, and the 3rd one down is in long chain form shown wrapped as a cuff....but they are both essentially the same design, same stuff strung and crocheted on the same silk.


This one is an 83" plus long chain. I'm still trying to get a better handle on each of these multi-strand structures, and am seeing the barest inkling of why one would chose one form over the other. I did decide that the slide lock cuff needed an new embroidered bone medallion while the long chain is a new setting, with stars and a bone bead with a floral design, for an Om medallion. The first version of my Om medallion is nearly sold out so I figured making a new version might be a good idea. Time will tell.....

More lovely treasuries to enjoy! "Leather and Lace" was curated by apmemory. Her shop is very seasonal for autumn and Halloween right now including some adorable scrap booking bits.
And I mean, who can go wrong with leather and lace, right ladies? (...and gents?) I like the way bits of white and blue help pull it all together.

Curator ArtByAmarose has put a sort of moody collection together called "Horses and Cats and Feathers and Things." I really like the horse wall hooks--and her collection--all taken together--feels very seasonal to me in that melancholy, autumnal sort of way that I've mentioned here before. Anita is a photographer and has a broad selection of prints in her Etsy shop.

OK, time for just a bit more packing and I'm hitting the hay here at midnight strikes on Saturday night....have a lovely Sunday everyone!

More Treasuries

I'm slipping this in here at the end of Thursday because as part of the ArtFire blog carnival, I plan to post my Autumn surprise for Friday. Time got away and I didn't plan very well apparently...Meanwhile:

The treasury Evolution was curated by Lisa of JustCharming. I really like the wide range of objects included here, the darkness they all embody, and the way she used my cuff image.


Next one up Big, Bold, Chunky Bracelets for Fall curated by Megan who has the Etsy name "Buy Lovely Stuff" which, as I repeatedly repeat here, on this very blog, is a wonderful idea--especially when it's Handmade! All my readers know how bracelet crazy I've been the past couple of months...so here you go (it's NOT just me after all!)

Fall is Falling....and More Treasuries

Although my main focus the past few weeks has been new cuffs and bracelets, at another end of my studio, new necklaces are beginning to take shape. I'm really excited by multiple, cascading layers, especially on longer necklaces. This early piece was an effort to see what I could do with these really unusual, and very textural, bronze brown keishi pearls. These little pearls are so organic that I really will have to experiment a little more to feel like I've "nailed it." But I did shoot this piece because it also includes a new approach to "chains" I've been trying, that brings a subtle mix of different colored silk fibers together to echo the color of the pearls or stones. Some of these will tie in order to adjust the front length, and others just slip over the head.

A couple more new seasonal treasuries showed up today. "Like a Rollin' Stone" was curated by ZiBagz who has her shop here with all kinds of cool sewn constructions like bags, pouches and wristlets.


"Glowing Fall Colors" was curated by Gencards who is introducing her newest little card shop here. Momgen has another shop offering clear bags and other supplies that has been very successful on Etsy for quite awhile.

I love the colors, smells and things particular to this time of year and I enjoy how some of the new treasuries are collections of how different artists are responding to this season.

And do consider finding some new blogs through the Blog Hop link here-Happy Friday everyone!

Wordless Wednesday - Treasury of Treasuries

Beautiful Insects in Brass curated by Stone Feather

Dalmation curated by Designs By Shauna

Millefiori Bella Gorgeous Millefiori curated by Jessica Speake

Keepin' It Green by Fairy Lynne

Salmon Pink Anyone? curated by Crystal Glow Design

WillOaks Studio has been very fortunate the past few days to be included in a number of very different treasuries. (Many thanks to all curators!) Click each image to visit the actual treasury and click the curator to learn more about each artist.


And to visit more cool sites...follow the link here to visit other blogs.....