Saturday Morning Tea

Mar15

I’m up before sunrise this morning getting ready for a weekend workshop by mixed media mosaic artist, Laurie Mika. I’ve been gathering bits of this and that all week for the theme of my piece, “The Way of Tea”. I’m thinking of a green, brown, red and silver color palette. I have a small envelope of Matcha tea that I’m going to attempt to make a glaze with.

I’m sipping a cup of an unusual Assam tea from the Sewpur estate. Unusual in the respect that it’s a green tea instead of the full-bodied, rich black teas I’m accustomed to from this district in India. It’s not like a China or Japanese green because you can still detect the malty thick quality. The aroma is slightly vegetal and the flavor is strong yet smooth.

I look forward to sharing my mixed media mosaic adventures!

My February Beaded Journal Page

Mar7

My February page is finished. In honoring of relationships and love, my page symbolizes what happens when 2 people love and nourish each other. Their hearts touch and a beautiful silver river flows from one heart to the other and back again in a continuous flow of love, sharing and nurturing.

Shooting the page in the sun reveals brighter color and texture.

Originally, my plan was to bead the background but I love the pattern of this fabric too much to bead over it. It’s like a fireworks celebration and so colorful. In my Synergy class, “Unconventional Polymer”, Karen Woods suggested looking for inspiration for your polymer art in fabric and textiles. Wouldn’t this fabric pattern make fabulous canes?

ACC Show and Synergy Wrapup

Mar6

There were over 700 artist vendors participating in the ACC Show at the Baltimore Convention Center a couple of weeks ago. Since we were a little pressed for time because we were meeting friends for dinner, we walked the show in an hour and fifteen minutes. There were so many beautiful art pieces that caught my eye but I could only stop and savor a few.

Carol Owen creates “Spirit Houses” from all sorts of ephemera and mixed media. “My Spirit Houses are shrines to family memories. They make sacred those shards of the past that have made us what we are.” I found myself so drawn to these little shrines, wanting to open the doors and peer inside. In our dreams, the house can be a symbol for ourselves and each room a different aspect of who we are. So, I think I loved her work so much because it reminded me of my dreams. I love this quote from her website:

“Every spirit builds itself a house, and beyond its house, a world, and beyond its world, a heaven. Know then that a world exists for you.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Karen Smith creates jewelry combining fiber, stones and metal. I found myself very drawn to her work because it reminded me of ancient tribal pieces. It spoke to something very deep within as I gazed upon the rich weavings encasing gorgeous stones. I was so disappointed to see that she doesn’t have a website or a blog because I wanted to read more about her work. I am so intrigued by the idea of incorporating fiber into jewelry pieces.

Kimberly Willcox makes the most amazing sculptures, as described on her business postcard “A Contemporary Spin on Primitive Form”. She shares with us: “My goal is to create a unique art form that shares a seamless integration between the world and the human spirit.”

I think that she accomplishes her goal quite wonderfully. Her sculptures seems to incorporate all sorts of materials including but not limited to wood and metal. I wonder what she uses to sculpt her faces.

To see the work of more ACC artists, you can read my friend, Amy’s, account here.

So, that concludes my account of all of my experiences at the 2008 Synergy Conference.

A huge thank you to all of the fabulous artists who worked so hard to make this event come true!

My Freeform Beaded Amulet Bag

Mar5

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a freeform peyote bracelet I created and referenced an amulet bag I had created years ago that inspired the bracelet. Here is the amulet bag. I did some experimenting with hanging the bag within my light tent. My kit came with some hanging clips so I hung the bag from the clips so I could take a photo with the fringe hanging naturally and freely. The sea glass I encased on the front of the bag was found on a beachcombing expedition when I visited Maui a couple of years ago. I added that on after the bag was finished. The ceramic fish and seahorse beads were purchased during a trip to Nantucket.

The strap is done in a spiral stitch. It took many hours to finish the bag over the course of 4 years, working on and off during a challenging time in my life. So, the freeform peyote technique and its meditative qualities will always represent healing to me. Maybe that is why I’m drawn to it so much.

My Synergy Purchases

Mar3

I totally love these earrings! I purchased them at the Synergy Gallery where over 80 amazing polymer clay artists displayed and sold their creations. My gift to myself. They were created by Sarah Shriver with her fabulous kaleidoscope cane technique. The cane design is so organic, like ferny tendrils. As I was taking the photos of my Synergy purchases, I noticed an interesting color theme going on.

These Stewart Gill paints match the earrings. I purchased the earrings first so I must have had those great colors in my mind when I picked out these paints. And this Amaco Fun Wire.