Category Archives: Inspiration

Studio Wednesday

ripplescarf041509

This past weekend was a quiet one. With nothing scheduled, I spent it relaxing at home, taking a long walk in the woods and then working on art projects. It doesn’t happen too often but when it does, I sink into every peaceful moment with gratitude and joy for the opportunity to connect with myself once again.

I finished my blue Ripple scarf and started another one in a pink/peach colorway. This is a wonderful way to get a taste of some of the more expensive yarns before committing to a big project. It’s like getting a sample of a high end tea and then, if it’s positively fabulous, getting a larger packet. Now that I’ve had my sample, I’m beginning to dream of a bigger project like a vest or a cardigan made with these luscious yarns. I love the whole concept of the “yarn overs’ because of the lacy organic look it lends to the piece. I found this helpful video on Youtube. I’m a visual learner so watching this works wonders in my understanding of the stitch.

I’ve recently discovered the Ravelry website, an online knit and crochet community. You have to be invited to join but that’s really easy to arrange. Just click on the Request an Invitation link on their homepage and enter your e-mail address. In less than a week, I received my e-mail invitation. I haven’t had a chance to explore the site thoroughly but it looks like a wonderful resource and a great way to connect with kindred yarn and fiber spirits. In the profile you set up, you are able to keep track of your projects and yarn purchases, favorite patterns and designers. I stumbled upon a designer, Jane Thornley, whose beautiful patterns took my breath away, especially this beach vest.

beachvest

It reminds me of free-form beading, only with yarn.  Described as an “experience combining simple stitches to create textures that evoke the blue sea frothed with ocean latte and sand hues of a summer beach.”, I feel this pattern whispering to me.

I also love the “Come Spring” vest. In these colors, it’s so earthy looking.

comespringvest

I was fashioning the loop clasp on my free-form bracelet when my thread broke. I’m not sure what happened there. Now I have to pull out beads so I can get enough thread tail to weave in. Then I’ll attach a new thread and finish the clasp. Once that’s done, I’ll post a photo of the completed bracelet.

I worked on the second page of my art journal entitled “Soul Armor”. The prompt is “What protects and nourishes my creative spirit?” This journaling exercise was so helpful for me to get in touch with what nourishes my creativity. Some of my favorite things include walking in nature, gardening, kindred art spirits, taking photographs and visiting the local bead and fabric stores.

artjournal041509

I’ve recently joined the 2009 Creative Everyday challenge, a very laid back commitment to do something creative each day whether it is cooking, writing, taking photos or working on art projects. You can read more about it on Leah Piken Kolidas’ website. Thanks for encouraging and inspiring our creative spirits, Leah!

citruscanesonmytable

The April challenge is “Color”. Last fall I created polyclay citrus cane beads in lemon, lime, grapefruit and orange. This month’s challenge is perfect for starting a vibrantly colored fringe-y bracelet with my cane beads.

Stay tuned for another fringe-y bracelet journey!

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for”

~Georgia O”Keefe

The conception and unfolding of a piece of art

crocus1040509

“Enlightenment is not separate from washing dishes or growing lettuce. To learn how to live each moment of our daily life in deep mindfulness and concentration is the practice. The conception and unfolding of a piece of art takes place exactly in these moments of our daily life. The time when you begin to write down the music or the poems is only the time of delivering the baby. The baby has to be in you already in order for you to deliver it. But if the baby is not in you, even if you sit for hours and hours at your desk, there’s nothing to deliver, and you cannot produce anything. Your insight, your compassion, and your ability to write in a way that will move the other person’s heart are flowers that bloom on your tree of practice. We should make good use of every moment of our daily life in order to allow this insight and compassion to bloom.”

~Thich Nhat Hanh

When I read this quote, I feel that anything is possible if we are mindful of the present everyday moments in our lives.  It is those moments that enrich our lives and make our creative expression deep in meaning and spirit.

Saturday Morning Tea

bogaceylondry041109

It’s a grey day here in New England, perfect for staying inside and curling up with a good book, cup of tea by my side. It’s supposed to rain all day, wonderful nourishment for all the newly growing plants and flowers.

I’m stepping out of the box today from my normal tea choices. I’m sipping a black tea from the Bogawantalawa estate in Sri Lanka. Boy, those Ceylon names sure can be a challenge to spell let alone to say. My colleagues and I have a lot of fun at work  practicing pronunciation before we have to talk about them with a customer.

bogaceylonwet041109

This is a broken leaf tea. While the tea is being processed, some of the leaf breaks up into smaller bits. The leaf is then run through various size sieves to separate it into piles of the same size leaf bits. This is because a broken leaf tea has a shorter steeping time than a whole leaf tea. If the broken and whole leaf parts were mixed together, you would end up with either under-steeped or over-steeped leaf in your tea.

The Bogawantalawa tea estate is in the Dimbula region of Sri Lanka, located to the west of the central mountains at an elevation of about 4,000 feet. The island of Sri Lanka (old name Ceylon), located off the tip of India, has a highland ridge running right down the center of the island. This ridge blocks the monsoon winds that come in from the northeast in December to March and the southwest from June to August, creating a perfect climate for growing tea. Warm days, cool mornings and infrequent rain are perfect for producing the most flavorful leaf.

bogaceylonteapot041109

As there is more surface area on the broken leaf that is exposed to the water, it brews up quickly in 2 1/2-3 minutes. The tea liquor is a dark amber with a fragrance that I can best describe as a “tea fragrance”, full bodied, lemony and brisk. It is the aroma that most people would identify with a cup of tea.

bogaceylonteacup041109

The flavor is smooth yet brisk with citrus notes. While I am very much enjoying this tea hot, it would make an excellent iced tea with its lemony nuances. To enhance my citrus experience, I have spread some orange marmalade on honey crackers. This tea would also stand up well to milk but I recommend trying it without milk at first so you can taste its wonderful flavor notes.

artjournalpg1041109

Continuing my work in my art journal, I filled 3 pages with journaling using the prompt “Today I feel…”. I then gessoed over the pages with a dry brush. The next assignment was to write my name all over the first page. I brought out my watercolor pencils and had so much fun doodling and coloring.

I created a little spring tulip garden.

“How does the Meadow flower its bloom unfold?

Because the lovely little flower is free down to its root,

and in that freedom bold”

~William Wordsworth

Saturday Morning Tea

ffnamringdry040409

Spring is the most wonderful time of year in many ways.

One of my favorite happenings in Spring is the arrival of the very first First Flush Darjeeling. The term “first flush” refers to the brand new spring leaf buds, the first growth of the year on the tea bushes, highly prized.

In the 1800s, there was stiff competition to see who could build the fastest clipper ship, the one that could reach port with their treasured cargo first. You can read more about that here.

While the tea chests that the tea is packed in are not that much different from days of old, the method by which the tea arrives is radically different, of course. This tea arrived by plane, shortening its long journey considerably from bush to cup.

ffnamringwet040409

My morning tea just arrived this week from the Namring estate. It is their very first plucking of the season, lot EX-1. As you can see, there is a lot of green-ness to the leaf even though it is processed as a black tea. I’ve spoken to many customers inexperienced with first flushes who thought that they had received a green tea in error.

ffnamringsteep0404091

I steeped the leaves for 3 minutes in 212 degree F (boiling point) water. I noticed a lot of movement of the leaf while it was steeping.

ffnamringteapot040409

The liquor is a soft glowing amber. The incredibly fresh aroma filled my senses as I poured my first cup.

ffnamringteacup040409

The flavor is bright yet smooth with barely ripe fruit nuances and a light sweetness that lingers in my mouth.

Now, to sit back and savor this long anticipated moment…mmmm…

Something opens our wings

Something makes boredom and hurt disappear

Someone fills the cup in front of us

We taste only sacredness”

~Rumi

Studio Wednesday

swirlpendantnecklace104109

This week I finished the crochet chain necklace and attached my polyclay swirl pendant to it. I fashioned a hook and eye clasp from 18 gauge sterling wire. A little liver of sulfur dip made it a cool bronzy color to match the bronze crocheted wire.

swirlpendantnecklace304109

I crocheted 6 chain segments in all, 3 for each side, and left long tails for wrapping. I threaded the tails through the pendant and then wrapped around the chain on the other side to secure them in place.

swirlpendantnecklace204109

I am so enjoying bringing my love of crochet into my jewelry creations. I recently purchased a skein of Berroco Seduce yarn, a simply luscious blend of silk, linen, rayon and nylon. I’ve got some ideas floating around in my head of crocheted bracelets using this yarn and some polyclay beads.

Who knows what women can be when they are finally free

to become themselves?

~Betty Friedan