New beginnings...

In the grey early morning light, crow calls. Three calls, pause. Repeat. Repeat. I step outside. A buzzard flies close overhead. So very close.  Crow shouts...
A sign.

Last week, the solar eclipse and spring equinox marked a time of new beginnings. And so, I must begin. All my life, I have been afraid to walk the path - the path that has called since I was a child. Unsure of where the path will lead - no, that is not true. The path will lead to my true self - it is only the journey itself that is obscure. How to manifest my unique voice in my life and my work. For I believe, this is what we are all here to do. To manifest our unique gift in this universe - because that is what the universe needs us to do.

This is that beginning...

Prayer wheel - Peace

Peace on earth

First of all I would like to thank everyone that left me a comment on my last post - I was truly touched that you took the time. Thank you. Really. Thank you.

I wish you all a most joyous Holiday Season. May you have peace, love and joy in your hearts. Celebrate with loved ones and friends. Enjoy the time together. Be good to one another.

...hello? Is anyone still there?...

I wouldn't be surprised if nobody was... it has been an awfully long time since I posted. 

What can I say? Life got in the way, but mostly it was just me getting in my own way. I do that. Often. Feeling I had nothing worth sharing. And then, my muse left me - well, at least she wasn't here much.

I kept on making stuff - trying new techniques, learning - but never really finishing things. Always doubting whether it was finished, whether it was good enough... maybe you could say I was looking for myself. And then I got lost. In the forest of doubt.
And days run into weeks run into months...

So, did I lose my doubts, you ask? No, not really. My muse has been visiting more often, though. And I have finally finished a couple of pieces that have been lying around on my work bench for longer than I care to mention. As well as some new earrings. Nothing spectacular. But it feels good to have a few things labeled 'finished'. The 'studio' still needs to be renovated, due to 'new' (new to me, that is) old cabinets that have been acquired for storage - fantastic cabinets, I am over the moon about them. A couple of months (plus a lot of work and plenty of money) were invested in giving the house a face lift. So - things have been happening. And I have decided - yes, decided - that it is time I tried to find my virtual voice again and time to come out of the hermit's cave... now I am hoping that someone is still listening.

new work...

I know - it has been quite some time since I was here... but I have some new work to show, so I hope you will forgive me.

I have been trying my hand at a bit of basket weaving with wire. This was my first finished piece...

This morning I decided I was going to give it another try, but on a smaller scale - for earrings. Not that that pendant is big - the basket is maybe 2 inches high and less than an inch in diameter.
But earrings... I made a 'frame' of wire and then began to weave with very thin copper wire (approx. 26ga). After an hour...

I had this... another hour of weaving...

and then another hour...

finished baskets. These are not quite an inch in length.

Finished earrings.

The kittens are doing fine...

and mama looks pretty relaxed - after getting a bigger basket to live in... but wait...

there's more.... another litter, oh my.... well, at least they look healthy and happy...

Wishing everyone a great Sunday and hoping the weather is better than here where ever you are!

new kittens

She did it again....

9 days old...

Random spring Sunday...

Just random pictures - enjoying the garden. Wishing all mothers and those who mother a very special day.

earth day unfurling (every day!) and Sunday flea market

Unfurling - a word full of potential, possibilities, perhaps even promises. I like it. Unfurling. I like the way it rolls off the tongue...
I also like these, unfurling

I feel I have some ideas that are slowly unfurling in my studio and I love to watch the ferns unfurl. There is something so fascinating and mysterious about the process. And so archaic - ferns have been around for a very long time.

The sun was shining when I took the above photo. Today - well, not so much. It is April, after all. And the weather is determined to prove that. It looks like this today...

 Dark grey skies, heavy with rain clouds. But the pear tree is starting to open its blossoms.

I ventured out to the flea market, despite the weather - and yes, we do often have uncomfortable weather when there is a flea market - knowing full well it would be sparingly attended and despite the fact that it was 7° and threatening to rain. What can I say? I mean, besides: 'Hello, my name is Renate and I am addicted to flea marketing'... ? Well, I could tell you what I found, which is a much more interesting subject anyway.

A cast - not stamped - brass escutcheon and some delicate turned wood furniture finials. These are tiny!

A couple of interesting and unusual charms - a couple of religious souveniers, a very small animal horn that has been drilled through (don't know why that was done) and a tiny pocket knife - this is doll sized, less than an inch long, I think.

 

Silver plated sugar tongs - just look at those cool talons! Couldn't pass them up.

A very antique drawer from a sewing machine, which will need some TLC to retrieve its good looks. These are not easy to come by here. I think they are all in some elderly men's tool rooms, filled with tools and screws and nails and doodads that nobody can identify... and wouldn't I love to go poking around in those... ahem. 

Well, you know it is all about recycling, reusing, repurposing. Avoiding land fill. And finding treasures... Wishing everyone a wonderful Sunday and Earth Day!

Merry... err, no, that isn't right... wait a minute... oh yeah, that was it...

Happy Easter to you all.

So the Easter bunny likes practical jokes... I don't even want to talk about the white stuff...

Hope your Easter is full of sunshine and flowers and Easter eggs.

Finished! or maybe not yet...

So - here is the finished necklace. I really like the way the beaded necklace looks. But there is still something about it that I am not sure I am happy with... I am going to put it on Miranda - do you remember Miranda, my trusty dressmaker's mannequin? - and just contemplate it for a while. We will see.

Vintage leather, vintage linen, silk rod, copper, ostrich shell beads, peridote nuggets, carved citrine leaf bead, African recycled glas beads, African sandcast brass beads, small brass and glass beads from India.
Kind of like another prayer flag talisman...

Wishing everyone a beautiful Saturday!

work in progress - rework in progress - necklace version 4.1...

Many of you will know just what I mean. Creating a piece of jewelry does not always happen in a straightforward way. You have an idea or even a visualized finished piece and in the process of making it, things change. You may have a new inspiration. Something might not work as planned. Maybe you aren't completely happy with the finished piece. You start down one path, retrace your steps and go down another. New options arise. You retrace your steps again... and so it goes.

None of this is ever visible in the finished piece. So I thought it might be interesting to show some of those byways...

Heavy gauge copper wire for the top of the focal...

That ring at the top just didn't convince me in the end - off it went.

Smaller gauge wire with recycled glass bead inserted - much better, I think.

 

The gauge of wire I was using ended up being too thick, so new hooks needed to be forged. I wasn't happy with the result of using sari silk ribbon. Started a different version with waxed cord - not happy with that either...

See the final version tomorrow...

something in the works...

It has been awhile - sorry for the long silence. Seems I haven't felt I had anything interesting to share...

But - I finally made it to my workbench and have something in the works...

I am leaving you with these bits and pieces of my WIP, which will be finished soon (I hope)...

Sunday flea market - it has been so long...

We decided to check out the big monthly flea market today - as it wasn't snowing or raining and the temps were above freezing. There wasn't a very big turn out of dealers, but that was to be expected. Pickings were slim and prices were high, but I managed to find something that had to come home with me...

I found a dozen of these vintage drawers that once were part of an apothecary's shop - they are not antique and smallish, smaller than a normal sheet of stationary - and the apothecary glued the packaging of the medication to the front of the drawer (where the printing has faded to nothing at all), so it is going to be a challenge to get the stuff off - but they will be helpful in getting things sorted in my studio... and I just can't resist an old wooden box/drawer/cupboard... ehmmm, you get the idea.

But this find made my heart skip a beat - I have been searching for something like this for a long, long time... this is an antique brass stamped filigree band - not just a small piece of filigree stamping, but several meters long... wonderfully detailed. It was rather pricey, but this is a very rare find and I couldn't afford to not get it. The possibilities for using this are endless. Who knows if I will ever come across something like this again?

This is exactly the reason why I am so addicted to flea marketing... it is a treasure hunt... and you don't have to bother with trying to find the X on the map... because there are so many treasures...

Wishing everyone a lovely Sunday!

the s-word and winter inspired earrings

Finally, finally the cold is letting up some. The Eisblumen have disappeared from the window pane. The temps might even reach 0° during the day - sounds pretty good to me. And as predicted - we are getting the s-word - that white stuff everybody thinks looks so pretty... well it is, if viewed on a picture, I guess - like this maybe...

Especially if you are cuddled up like this?

We have had about 4 inches since yesterday, with more to come. So I will be spending lots of time outside in the fresh air, shovelling sn.. I can't say it. the s-word....

But my muse did find inspiration in the cold winter weather and this is what she prompted me to make:

Leaves - just the colour of the leaves still clinging to the hedge; with gems that remind me of frost and icicles...

Hope you are all warm and cozy, where ever you are...

Eisblumen

This is the view through my bedroom window - well not exactly through - I guess, 'of' would be more to the point. Or shall we say - this is what I see when I try to see the view from my bedroom window... It has been this way for two weeks. It's actually quite lovely - if it weren't so cold... we call this 'Eisblumen' = ice flowers. As you may or may not have heard - it has been extremely cold in Europe these last two weeks. They say the icy frost will let up a bit next week. Good news. But they also say, we are going to get a ....load of the s-word. You know, that white stuff. Not so good news. Although, if I had to choose - well, give me some of the white stuff. If it means bearable temps, I'm all for it... just for this once...

The rising sun. Interesting - the sky is apricot pink and the earth is still shrouded in blue tones.

The angel's wing is laid bare of sheltering foliage...

Interesting also how the snow makes the face of this garden sculpture more visible...

Frosty early morning impression...

I have the impression that all this icy winter is going to find its way into my jewelry soon - but for now, I have to go throw some wood on the fire...

Edit: just wanted to say - we don't have it that bad - although the temps have gone down to -20° some nights - but there are many people much worse off in the rest of Europe... there have been many deaths. We do have a roof over our heads and heating - the cats are getting their food warmed, so we are thankful...