Here’s a peek at the progress I’ve made on my March journal page. I enjoy creating the texture of the tree bark. As I bead each twist and turn, I contemplate all of the twists and turns I’ve taken in my life up to where I am right now. I think I will make some fringy roots that will hang free. As I’ve only been in my new home for 3 weeks, I’m not feeling especially rooted right now.
I have a secret. I love coming home from a bead show, dumping all of my purchases into one big pile on the table and running my fingers through all of my new beads. All that beautiful color and texture! Even though I buy from different vendors, my purchases reflect ideas and images I’ve been thinking about lately and they all seem to match in one way or the other. Do you experience the same thing?
I’m thinking of a bead embroidery cuff for the face cab from Earthenwood Studio. Isn’t it fabulous?
My dumping/ooh-ing and aah-ing ritual reminds me of when my kids returned from trick or treating on Halloween night and all the stashes got dumped on the family room rug. First, Mom or Dad would go through to pick out any suspicious looking items (and the Butterfingers) and then the trading would begin.
Here’s some detail of a strand of unique snakeskin jasper and pearls I couldn’t resist along with amethyst and peridot. A lot of my stone bead purchases were made from Momminia of Cold Spring, NY. A husband and wife team, Marlene and Steve Goodrich are quick to share their in depth knowledge about any of their stones. So, buying from them is both an education and a treat to the eyes. Even though my daughter isn’t at all into beads like I am, she listened intently while they named the different stones and where they originated. Here’s some faceted rhodolite garnet. We couldn’t resist that amazing raspberry color. It will go fabulously with black, I think.
Last but not least, my yarn purchases from my Michigan trip in March. I also discovered a yarn store called Knitting Pointers, right down the street from my new home, and I visited there last weekend. I couldn’t resist the pale muted colorway on the left.
The brand name is “Poems”. What a perfect name for what these colors inspire in me.
“I want to make poems that look into the the earth and the heavens and see the unseeable.
I want them to honor both the heart of faith, and the light of the world;
the gladness that says, without any words, everything.”
-Mary Oliver
Where shall I begin?
I started bringing my art supplies over to my new home a couple of weeks ago. I was very lucky that I had time to do that instead of having to get it accomplished all in one weekend. However, now that I look back, it might have been a good idea to set up the structure – shelves, tables, portable storage – first before I dumped everything in the room. Now it looks like this.
The room is actually a downstairs family room in a split level house. There’s even a brick fireplace on the left hand wall behind where I was standing when I took the photo. I can have some nice cozy fires in the wintertime while I work. A couple of months ago this room was walled with dark wood paneling. I think the “slipper shell” color we painted it really brightens the room. My studio space is approximately 11′ x 12′. I’d like to have 3 work areas for beading, polymer clay and metalwork. This weekend I’m going to take a ride over to BJs to check out their portable tables. I’d like to purchase two 6 foot tables, one for beadwork and one for polymer clay. I’d love to find a jeweler’s bench for the metalworking area. A good friend suggested that I make paper cutouts of the components for my studio area and play around with placement. I love that idea and will probably play around with that this week before I get my tables. So, step one is to make paper cutouts to determine how the structure of my studio area will be setup.
Libby Mills has been interviewing artists and their studios in her blog posts, Studio Snapshot. You can read the latest one here. Knowing that I was setting up a new studio area, I’ve been avidly reading every interview. Two important considerations that have been consistent in each interview is lighting and the ability to face outside (if you can) while working. As you can see from my photos, I do have a sliding glass door leading out into the backyard. There’s a wooden deck over it so that does limit the light. Right now I just have one portable OTT lite so I’ll have to invest in more lighting.
Does anyone know where I can purchase a wooden jeweler’s bench?
I’m all moved into my new home here on Ramble Road. It’s a wonderfully quiet place, surrounded by woods in the back. The physical move was so amazingly easy, taking only about 3 hours. I’m very blessed to have 2 big strong sons who helped their old Ma out on moving day. What a wonder to watch them take over and methodically dismantle my apartment and put it back together at another place. We are definitely even now for all of those early morning hockey practices!
This morning I am sipping a flavored Sweet Almond green tea. The dry leaf is a blend of green tea, slivered almonds, cinnamon bark and lime leaf.
The liquor has a very sweet “almondy” aroma and the taste is the same only not as sweet. Usually, flavored and scented teas smell stronger than they actually taste which is fine by me because I don’t enjoy a strong sweetness. I like to be able to taste the tea notes underneath the added flavor.
This tea would go well with an almond flavored cookie or, my absolute favorite candy, chocolate covered marzipan. Marzipan is a delicious confection of ground almonds and sugar. When my brother lived in Germany about 10 years ago, I visited and found it right in the candy aisle at their local grocers. I was in heaven and brought home a whole stash of it.
Now that I am all moved in, it’s time to start putting together my studio. Right now the floor is covered with all of my art supplies. Stay tuned for the birth of my studio!
I’ve always loved citrus scents and flavors for their clean refreshing quality. In my efforts to use natural cleaning products, I have acquired many with lemon or orange oil. So, in all of my cleaning and purging for the move into my new home at the end of this month, I’ve been surrounded with a lot of citrus scents lately. This has inspired me to try an herbal called Australian Lemon Myrtle (Backhousia Citrodora). Grown in the Queensland rainforests, it is a wonderful source of citral essential oil, known for its anti-microbial action. I could probably use a solution of lemon myrtle for cleaning but right now I would much rather drink it!
The leaf is a leathery yellow green, chopped up into smaller pieces. Lemon Myrtle is a tree that grows to about 1 1/2-2 feet in a home garden but a lot larger in the wild. The aroma is fresh and lemony. I was expecting a tart taste but the liquor is smooth and sweet with just the right amount of lemon flavor. I bet this would make a great iced tea for the warmer months, either by itself or mixed with South African Rooibos.
I have been very busy with the cleaning and purging process so there hasn’t been much time for me to write lately. The wonderful news is that I will be living in a house once again which means my own studio space and a garden. I look forward to writing about their process and birth into my life again!
Art and Tea 