the silent stars go by…

My obsession with the Christmas hymn “O little town of Bethelhem” continues…

This year I made some votives in varying sizes for an art fair in Midland.  After creating my ancient city & star roller stamps, I  hand-built these guys.  I glazed some all-blue, all-white, and just a few mixed.  After adding a few battery powered candles they flew off the table at the fair,  I have just a few left in the shop.   I am currently making a few more and a few special ones for a Christmas centerpiece. I also made an 18 inch platter, which sold before I even got a picture!  It is always so humbling to make something and sell it, these especially because I feel so connected to the inspiration behind it.

I just LOVE how these turned out!

hacienda by the sea

 

I saw a yahoo article this week of “places to sleep on the beach”,  hacienda cerritos was not on it but maybe it should have been…  We gambled on a groupon and this is what we got!  Our mornings started with coffee overlooking the pacific, with the continual sound of waves, and even better sunsets.  We had a private infinity edge pool right outside our bedroom door.  The house was artsy (just the way I like it!) and quiet (a rare treat!)  You could see the ocean from every angle since the home was built on a rocky bluff jetting out over the water.  The setting was first class, the hacienda was not perfect but close!  The beach nearby is the best around for surfing (we didn’t try, the waves were a little intense for us), and we spotted some breaching humpback whales.  The nights were so clear we could see millions of stars and the milky way. How awesome the views and nature and falling in love with my husband all over again!  

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We try not to vacation in the same place more than once but looking at the photos again – I want to go back!

 

 

daily trappings

A shot from earlier this week. It contains all I had going on that day, a sketchbook of new ideas, BSF notes, new candle “spiced pumpkin” which so puts me in the mood for fall, one of my few remaining pumpkins from the show,  a leaf rose I made while walking back from the post office and a new stamp carving of a pomegranate in red & violet.

Once I started thinking about pomegranates I saw them everywhere, including in this painting that hangs in my kitchen from my college friend Kelly.   She is such a great artist and  just opened this new shop.

fresh from the kiln… (sneak peak)

Very excited about these….  I hit this little side interest in geometric shapes and gems this winter and ran a test kiln with some new forms & glazes…  yes!

seeds

I am loving looking through design seeds palettes for a little inspiration.  Hopefully these seeds will sprout into some much needed motivation, I have quite a few projects in limbo… or maybe a few afternoons of sunshine would do the trick!

drawing on clay

I took a moment this week to check out the drawing clay exhibit at Central Michigan University.   Showcasing pieces on loan from artists all over the country such from Jenny Mendes, Beth Lambert & Woozel, Israel Davis and JustinRothshank, see more here. I took my nut along and she made a little art of her own, of all the slides on the wall she chose a frame of the Guggenheim  museum and drew her own rendition.

It was so refreshing to see art in 3-D,  I have been looking at lots of images lately but appreciated experiencing the pieces from all sides and getting to see the spectrum of colors of the unglazed portions of clay, earthenware, terra-cotta, stone-wares and porcelains.  I am encouraged by the realm of possibilities in the different firings (wood, gas, electric) and the  different types of surface design on clay.   Many prints, decals and  layers of slip & glaze.  Inspiring for sure, it runs until Saturday.

sparkle gems

It happened slowly over a few months and then full obsession hit – I am in love with gem shapes!  I found these sweet little patterns for geometric shapes on mini-eco, she has a pdf on her site or you can find it here.  I made these from a thick paper in a  mono-chromatic color scheme and just couldn’t stop adding glitter.  These little natural crystal forms are popping up in some of my new artwork for this spring and I have dedicated a growing idea board to them on pinterest.  I haven’t immersed myself  with x-acto knifes and glues like this since art school, which coincidently I just received my 10 year alumni postcard from – yikes.

ambition

am·bi·tion  noun. An eager or strong desire to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.

This week in BSF we blew through 1 Thessalonians which highlights Paul’s message of faith, hope and love.   I have so many verses underlined in this book but this one really stood out to me this week.  It’s kind of a good motto for me, yet easier said than done.

 

And for those of you wondering, my three “wishes” did come true.  I left my camera case and battery at my in-laws over the holidays and found my favorite gloves under a certain 5-year-olds bed.  Now that I think of it she doesn’t really like those gloves due to the “scratchy” leather on the palm that itches her when we hold hands. Hopefully I can get back to taking photos next week with warm hands!

pin it

I should have stayed away…  I have been putting off joining pinterest but this week I caved!  Its kind of like a creative overload for me, and I can’t believe how many of my friends are on it!  Honestly I already have files of images on my computer and folders of magazine clippings, so this is nothing new, just addictive.  We have one of those houses with a floor to ceiling wall of bookshelves, but my husband just got a kindle, in theory to minimize the actual books to digital files.  Perhaps pinterest is my craft kindle???  It sounds good in theory  but I know we are set in our ways.

Here is an idea that I re-pinned and tried.  The theory is to make a tie-dye effect sans the dye.  Using permanent markers,  I used *gasp* BIC markers, which is totally against my sharpie loyalty.   You simply draw on the fabric then use a dropper to add drops of rubbing alcohol which diffuses the marker.  The girls and I tried two different fabrics stretched over embroidery hoops and cookie cutters to see if this method could hold a shape – NOPE.  Here’s the thing, this method makes it look like it is cleaner than tie – dye  but it’s really not. #1 you are using permanent markers, which if you trust your kid (or some adults :) with could become a big mess #2 The rubbing alcohol makes the markers run on your fingers everything it touches (with permanent ink),  #3 The alcohol has a VERY strong odor.

So it was a cute idea, simple and most of the items a typical household has on hand. But, given it takes the same amount of time and the smell,  I think this family will keep the camp tradition and just dye fabric the old fashion way.   And pinterest?  I hold my review for a while, I am having too much fun finding new ideas to try!

Hark the glad sound!

One of my friends stopped by this weekend to show me her completely unique Christmas cards she is making this year.  She saw my Bethlehem print and when she heard this song it inspired her own design.  Each card was quilted using patches of different colored fabrics and she hand embroidered the letters! Wow, way to go June-Marie! I want to be on that Christmas card list :).