A Full Cycle

I am very happy to begin showing my new series of cuffs in my etsy shop. The back story to my crocheting is quite personal. The maternal side of my family was very old school about how "ladies" needed to have "handicraft activities." My grandma was a Slovak immigrant and landed on Ellis Island at about age 12 from Bratislava with her older sister. She continued to learn and practice that wonderful lacy crochet that was once so fashionable as doilies, bedspreads and other items for the "well dressed home." It was her "thing" and she was really good at making these intricate patterns with a tiny crochet hook and cotton thread. I have a few of her doilies in my collection of "precious things."

My mom crocheted, too, but went for big colorful afghans and worked in wool and acrylic. But her main "thing" was sewing and when I was really young, she made most of my clothes...even made matching things, like skirts, for herself as a big person and me as a tot. So cute.

I started sewing and embroidery by hand earlier than I actually remember details. I do remember it took forever to do this big embroidered sampler in cross stitch and french knots. It got framed (big wow for me then!) Then on to doll clothes and a tiny "starter sewing machine." By junior high, I was crocheting, sewing, doing anything I could think of....or any new thing my mom could think of....and making many of my own clothes. It wasn't really a "budget" thing...it was my own little "fashion statement" thing, and this insatiable drive to create things.

By the time I was in university and art school--most of those activities plus my years of studying music, etc.--all took a serious back seat to painting and sculpture. And that was all good, and all consuming, even as my work evolved and changed for many years. But here I am, contemplating another one of life's "full cycles" as I come back to finding new pleasure in things I did "back then." The medium is waxed Irish linen--a wonderful, full bodied fiber that is as tough as nails. The mixed media (glass, stones, metal) is mostly captured right on and in the fiber so can't fall off. No guide, no pattern...they just kind of come together and bloom like a flower, singular and kind of fresh.

One of my muses is watching me now....

Mariah, my 5 year old rescue kitty, always needs to know what I'm doing. In fact, she likes to participate whenever possible. Together with Red and Dakota--another cat and an American Eskimo dog--they all keep things lively around here. It's been such a long, cold stretch outdoors that the cats just aren't getting their regular dose of "outside." So they compensate. And race around like maniacs. And sometimes, sort of mess up the best laid plans....





But they are my muses...isn't love grand?

Playing with Copper

Sometimes, it all just starts with lots of bits, lots of units or pieces or whatever word fits best. And the past week or so, copper was in my focus.

There's just something enthralling here with my new found experiments in copper. I have no idea if anything is quite adding up yet, but pushing around the wire, the bits and pieces has been such a great design assignment.

The mix of these amazing peach tinted baroque pearls with the warm, firey, coppery metal is really inspiring to me.

What happens when I use discs? Flat discs, discs that I pounded into sort of curved cups.

And taking 20 gauge wire, forming into different ear wire shapes, laying out all these bits and trying to put them together.

And finally, my signature heart, done many times in silver but quite satisfying in copper, too!

And while I'm on the subject of experimenting...getting the hang of basic "layout" in this Google blog program is quite challenging. Somehow, it just doesn't quite do what I expect it to do yet. Well, January's theme is, apparently, "experimentation."

Pearls of Wisdom?

During this wonderful, intensive work period (going on almost 2 months now!), I seem to get fixated on a specific form, to create related pieces. I don't just do one, I keep trying variations on a theme. One thread has come together in the past few weeks to produce the series below. The pearls, the waxed linen, the structure of the pieces. Repeated with different sizes and colors just to see how it would look? My favorite old game of "What would happen if....?"

White Pearl Buds Necklace

Alpenglow Pearl Necklace

Pretty in Pink Pearl Necklace

Red Pearl and Garnet Necklace

Ivory Pearl Necklace

Rosy Pink Pearls and Silver Necklace

Busted Busts Bugging Me

Well, since those neck pieces all sold (I'm thrilled and kind of shocked!) I decided I had to keep that whole direction going and growing. Newer versions of that idea were posted in my Etsy store, mostly as they were made between late December and sometime last week. I'm grouping these together for a side by side pearly piece that's coming up shortly.

And another experiment: I decided I really didn't like the look of those molded "busts" for display...and I didn't have a "necklace model" available so I just rigged up a way to do it myself. There's something about those busts that's just not right. Neck pieces just don't hang on them as they do on a "real neck." It was bugging me a lot. Compare:

Asymmetry Rocks Necklace

Thaw Necklace

Winter Crab Apple Tree Necklace

Blues Riff Necklace

I don't see a lot of "live bodies" showing wearable art on Etsy. At least not for jewelry pieces. Mostly, live folks are used for clothing, some hats and so forth. I'm happy when a piece can be used to make a nice "object" photos....but to show how the piece fits, hangs, wears? I guess I'm experimenting with better ways to communicate that here. Somehow, those busts just aren't doing for me after my month long infatuation....

And so it begins...

I've been working on these pieces for about a year now and finally got them into an Etsy shop (WillOaksStudio) right around Thanksgiving of 2008. Didn't have experience in selling things on the internet, definitely needed to learn the ropes of better "product" photography, so much to do! The journey begins...

Pearly Vine , 2008

Peachy Pastel Pearls , 2008

Winter Rose Hips, 2008

Blooming Branches Necklace, 2008

Pink and Gray, 2008

Winter Moonlight, 2008