Hope Springs Eternal Interative Art Piece

A while back I created a kinetic sculpture/moving meditation art piece called "Hope Springs Eternal Like a Slinky Going Down an Up Escalator".  It's decorated with buttons and beads.  You can turn it easily as you contemplate the saying.
You can make it with any saying with meaning to you and it could be any color or design that pleases you using this super easy tutorial. 
Check out all the wonderful projects on this week's Creative Every Day blog.
 

It's onyavenue, Hon!

Please allow me to translate: It's on the Avenue, Hon.  The Avenue in Baltimore is a neighborhood (Hampden) that is retro chic.  It's known for some of the chicest boutiques like Ma Petit Shoe which sells designer shoes AND designer chocolate.  Don't you just love it?

On the Avenue there's a cafe that is the epitome of retro chic - Cafe Hon.  Their egg salad on cheese toast is the bomb!  The spirit of Cafe Hon is so celebrated that the cafe's owner started HonFest, a weekend of 60's Hampdon culture.  There are huge beehive and super flip hairdos, 60's music, leopard skin, pink flamingos and horn-rimmed glasses.  This is the culture John Waters wrote Hairspray about.

Though I moved to Utah, I still get a post card for my birthday.  It's good and bad for me, because I though I LOVE seeing their fabulous fashions smiles and , there's a coupon for a free entree on the back and  I miss terribly!  Plus July is the perfect time to go downyoshun, Hon!

The harmony Crown

This is one of my favorite crowns!  It's the Harmony Crown.  It took just over 50 hours to complete.  It's filled with bits and pieces of Great Grandma's buttons, Grandma's jewelry, beads given to me from friends.  There are several of my hand made beads - the bird on the front, cookies, skulls, doughnuts,  all my favorite things!  The construction is electrical wire and the base is wrapped with sherpa fleece.

Do you make crowns?  I would love to see!

Creative Me Blog Party

New on the Bone Tree

Heaven and Earth Earrings

In my Etsy shop

Did I mention that I love asymmetry?  These are recycle earrings in that the polymer clay strips were leftover from another project.  In fact, they are leftovers from the leftovers.  

Craft foil on polymer clay is spectacular!  I love to foil both sides of a piece of black clay,  I cut out tiny shapes and make one or two holes so they can be used for anything you would use a bead for.  Some pieces may come out with only one foiled side. I use those for tiles in my mixed media work.

When I'm out of room to use the cutters, I cut up the leftovers and press them together showing as much foil as possible.  Then I use a cutter that will use most of the pile.  These make great pendants.

First Leftovers Pendant

Then I take what's left of that pile, push it together and run it though the pasta roller on the widest setting.  The shapes are organic and really fun!  Of course they are asymmetrical!  Yea! 

What do you do with your leftovers?

Soul Collage

I am the one who may or may not be following the rules today

Have you heard of SoulCollage?
"Originated by Seena Frost, SoulCollage^® is a process for accessing your intuition and creating an incredible deck of cards with deep personal meaning that will help you with life's questions and transitions."

My dear friend Beth Latture is a facilitator and introduced me to the process.  It's really a wonderful inner journey.  Each card is a collage of images and no text.  Why no text?  As I understand it, you want to be able to connect to the energetic expression of that card. What do I recognize as part of me in the images?  Each card has a name that begins: I am the one...

 

I am the one who honors artistic inspirations. 

So, for instance, if I were to have a question and drew the card above I would look at the images of my clay work and know that, even when following an artistic inspiration until that part of my journey intersects with another and the old falls away - It's about me, but it's not ME.    I made those hand built clay boxes for several years.  I did lots of art sales, and, though folks admired them, I sold very few.  In my view they were not successful to anyone but me, but I followed it all the way, loving every moment of creating.

What does that mean?  I would allow the images to speak to my question.   And they will.  It might not have anything to do with making art, but it will have to do with honoring inspirations.

I am the one who understands attachment

Creating the cards is a natural high - pulling image after image from piles of them - acting on pure instinct and the results are stunning, when you see what you've put together and understand how it plugs in.

I am the one who grieves

This one is a digital collage from a series that I called "Going Home"  It combined whimsy with things that represent comfort and a cemetery background.  It may seem odd, but this card is my view of the death of the physical body. Whimsy is my life line, when I let it be.

Have a wonderful, whimsy filled weekend!

Welcome Wednesday - Cakeronauts

Yes, these are dogs from outer space.  I imagine a planet of cupcakes and puppies!  It would be delightful and delicious!

Wordless Wednesday

Merista

Morning coffee is my favorite ritual.  Monday mornings in my house are Sparkly Cup Mondays! Hubby and I try to get out for afternoon coffee every day.  It's not just the coffee, it's the whole experience.  So it's not surprising that many of my drawings are coffee centric.
Merista is one of three coffee goddesses.  The original is done in opaque gel pens on black paper.  She is in a friend's collection.
Merista on Etsy

Friendship Friday - Summer Beverage

Create With Joy's Friendship Friday blog is about sharing your favorite summer refreshing beverage.  Well, water is my favorite, but many moons ago, Hubby and I would indulge in an occasional crazy wonderful cocktail - The Flaming Volcano!  It's lots of fruit juices and rum - yum!
Thanks to 35yoAlcoholVirgin for Pinning this photo!  What's your favorite summer beverage?  Click below and join the fun!

The pink crown is coming along!  It has been beaded all the way around at the top and mid-line.  I've attached the pink heart strings which I just love!  It makes wearing the crown extra fun!
A little more of this and that and she'll be finished!

Building a Portfolio

I've been working on the idea of visiting local galleries to present my work for consideration.  One idea that I'm leaning toward is putting my digital portfolio on a thumb drive to drop off with gallery owners.  It's an intimidating thing, putting yourself out there.

Are there dos and don'ts for approaching gallery folks? 

And, I generally use materials that I can get my hands on quickly and cheaply - Are there specific materials to avoid when searching out a professional venue?

I'd love to hear your feedback and ideas!

Fuzzy Chocolate Chip Cookie Flip Flops

Okay, think about it for a minute, but who wouldn't want to have chocolate chip cookies on their fluffy flip flops!

I knitted a scarf with this lovely eyelash yarn and just never used it, soooo...I used some of it on the pink crown (still in progress) and some of it was used on these shoes.  Why, you ask, would I do such a thing?  Well, these are a pair of Speedos that I bought a few years back when they were making the supports hard enought so they didn't flatten out.  They were awesome shoes that didn't hurt my back.  Yea!  But, the straps stretched and they were hard to keep on.  Do you see where I'm going with this?  I knew you would.
I wrapped the scarf around the straps.  Now, I didn't want them to look like slippers, so I sewed the cookie button on.  Unfortunately, the fluff was too long and hid the buttons.  They got a hair cut today and I think they are much better!  I don't know if I'm finished yet, though.  They may require some sparkle!

Lori Anderson Giveaway!

 
Ooh!  Ooh!  Ooh!  Bead giveaway over on Lori Anderson's PrettyThingsBlog!  You must go check it out!   There's more than beads in this giveaway!  Hurry!  Go see!

They're here! The coffee cup sleeves that I designed for our local coffee shop chain are finally here!

       I've had wall shows at two of the shops and the owners approached me with the idea of designing the cup sleeves, coffee bag labels and a t-shirt. One of the owners, Suzie, bought the drawing below. It's called Matisse's Misbehaving Dogs. I was just thrilled that someone got my humor!    

  I was so excited! The sleeve is the first to go to print. My sister-in-law frequents one of the shops and has been dying to show her group what the sleeves were going to look like, but we held back sharing (yes, I've been dying to share it with you, too) until they were in the shops.  

 All of the drawings are done with opaque gel pens on black paper and coffee cups are a huge part of my designs!

 Our Lady of Lattes is one of my favorites. 

 I am over the moon!

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