Thursday, April 30, 2009

If I was art, what kind of art would I be?

Threefold Goddess

I found the following on Beth Hemmila's blog Hint and was curious, so I tried it.




You Are a Painting



You are a passionate person. You see the emotional undertones that others miss.

Compared to other people, you are sentimental. You allow yourself to feel everything.



Believe that art should capture the beauty and mood of a moment.

The best art speaks to your heart. It makes you smile, dream, or even cry.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Flea market recap

Loving that early morning sunshine:

Captain

Kiki

Socks

And yesterday, I was at the flea market. Since the weather was predicted to be lovely, there were many, many sellers there. This particular flea market takes place once a month and attracts sellers from far and near. I love to listen to the conversations at the flea market, watch people, besides seeing all the wonderful treasures. I rummaged through box after box of odds and ends, scraps of vintage lace and tatting, jewellery pieces, this and that (I saw a beautiful old wooden spoon!!), bits and pieces. And everywhere I asked the price of something, I heard: oh you have picked the most beautiful and expensive piece ... oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, this is my booty:



And take a look at this! This is a vintage sample board from a whole sale supplier of jewellery components, long out of business. Man, do I wish I could order some of these filigree pieces!! So fascinating!



So, this expedition was definitely a success! It isn't always that way.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

The MEME and keeping the flow ...

I've been tagged by LeAnn of SummersStudio. She was one of my initial blog contacts, encouraging me right from the start. I love her porcelain work and she is a wonderful friend.

It is very early Sunday morning, so before I head off to the flea market, here is the chance to discover my dark secrets. But first

THE RULES:

Rules of the meme: Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your own blog; replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention; add one more question of your own. Tag some friends to keep the flow going, let them know they've been tagged.

THE QUESTIONS:

What is your current obsession?
Further develop my skills in jewellery making.

What was the last thing you bought?
More beads.

What is your least favorite color?
I’d have to say red and pink are the colours I relate to least.

What are you listening to right now?
The birds singing their spring songs.

Favorite vacation spots?
Tuscany in Italy and Andalusia in Spain. (Now take it easy, girls, they’re closer for me than Florida!)

What are you reading right now?
Wrap, Stitch, Fold and Rivet by Mary Hettmansperger. Waiting for: In This Garden by Angela Cartwright and Sarah Fishburn.

What four words would you use to describe yourself?
Self-doubting, difficult, compassionate, art-lover.

What is your current guilty pleasure?
Making jewellery and spending too much time on the internet.

What would you do if the internet was irreparably damaged and you had to find another way to connect?
OMG, what a nightmare! Maybe try a message in a bottle? Leave notes tied to branches of the trees?

Where are you planning to travel next?
No plans at present. It would be nice if we could manage a trip to Tuscany.

What flower are you most anxious to see bloom this spring?
Already blooming – my treasured trilliums. They don’t naturally grow in Europe.



What are you most happy doing?
Visiting a flea market with my wonderful husband; making jewellery and schmusing with my cats.

Care to share some wisdom?
“You must give birth to your images. They are the future waiting to be born.” Rainer Maria Rilke

I've tagged:

Debbie at Prairie Emporium
Doreen at Backyard Beads

I hope they will feel moved to share the love.

Have a wonderful day, I am off to the flea market, treasure hunting!

Friday, April 24, 2009

Photo blog today

unraveling ferns

Helleborus - I love how the flowers turn green and stay until the seeds are ripe

White violets - there are hundreds of them!

Lunaria - this was too much for my camera. Actually, the flowers are lilac coloured and the wall is a soft ochre ton; the combination of the two was more than my camera could take care of. Somehow I like this vibrant colour, wish I could find a flower that really looked like this!

Setting sun in the background, flowering pear tree in the front

Meet Casanova - a stray that stayed. He is the father of Captain, Kiki and Socks, who you will be meeting soon.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Getting excited and making things

GET EXCITED MAKE THINGS

I am busy at work making the pieces to send out to my particpants. No, you will not be receiving the pictured circle. I do have to finish waxing the new book shelf, but I will be continuing to work on my pieces. No, I will not let you know what they will be. You will have to wait and see. ;)

By the way, my new background is from Christi over at Christi's Creations.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

New work space

just moved my work space

I have just moved my work space into another room. Well, to be more exact, I have moved my jewellery work space into another room. First it was upstairs in the attic, which was fine during the summer. But it is way too cold to work up there in the winter!! So I took almost everything downstairs into my office, which isn't a large room to begin with, there with all my books and my art supplies and the computer and all my paperwork and whatever else ... well, you can imagine, I've been having a bit of trouble turning around, without knocking something over.

Now I have some real space (okay, this isn't a large room either) but I don't risk losing my beads between the floor boards and I can make collages in my office without all the dirt involved in jewellery making (after all, I do really try to work in metal). Anyway, that is why my work table looks all tidy, because I took the picture right after I moved my stuff. To be honest, soon it will look much more chaotic!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Share your art and creativity forward


Brave People Make Things so get excited and make things….

The first five (5) people to respond to this post will get something made by me.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations so please read carefully:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. Whatcha get is whatcha get.
2. What I create will be just for you, with love.
3. It’ll be done this year (2009).
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be weird or beautiful. Or it may be monstrous and annoying. Heck, I might bake something for you and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something strange.
6. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to your blog post.
7. Send your mailing address - after I contact you.

IMPORTANT: This offer is null and void if I do not see you post your own blog to pay this forward. This text was used from http://2ifbysea-cristi.blogspot.com

Play nice and make things! It’s going to be an adventure!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Happy Easter to everyone!!!

Friday, April 10, 2009

More signs of spring

fragrant violet

They're here, the violets are blooming! Tiny little blossoms in the grass, vibrant with colour.

Helleborus

These are now in full bloom. I just love those little freckles.

Anemone

I don't even know what these delicate little flowers are called in English. They grow wild in the woods and where they do, they cover the ground like a carpet of lace.

Kiki

This is Kiki, one of Captain's two sisters. She likes to follow me around the garden, talking to me with her tiny little voice and will lay down on her back directly in front of my feet, because she wants a tummy rub. She loves spring too, because the cat nip starts growing again.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

And yet another piece for the Jewellery Challenge

Stacked Spinner Necklace/Pendant

This is another project from Deryn Mentock's Jewellery Challenge. This pendant is made of bronze, etched copper, brass and silber. The pieces make a lovely jingling sound as they move. I etched the copper myself.

I can hardly believe it - last week we had snow and now it seems, it is already spring. Look what I found in my garden today:

Snowdrops

Helleborus

The first flowers of the season. I was looking for my violets, but not a sign of them yet. I did see a butterfly, though! And I can see the buds on almost all the plants or the first shoots coming up out of the ground. The columbines are just starting to put out their beautiful delicate leaves. Since the weather report is promising us very mild temperatures (17°-19°C), sunshine and maybe a bit of rain on Sunday, I expect to be hearing tiny explosions in the garden as all the buds burst!! ;) Welcome Spring, I am so glad you have finally arrived!!