Copper - again!

                                                                                                                                                                         Here's the three latest pendants.  The one in the middle is probably my favorite.  They are made from sheet copper - formed & patinaed, pennies, washers and a piece of a drink can.

Learning - -

This is my art inspiration for the week.  Lerrn by reading, classes, or just by doing!  But try new things - take a class or teach a class.  Be inspired by your surroundings.  Just create!  My newest obsession is copper jewelry, especially pendants.

It's REALLY spring now

You can tell I'm really ready for spring & summer!  I'm even glad to see the weeds blooming!

I once heard an organic gardener say that a weed is only a plant growing where you don't want it.  So in our yard - there are no weeds!  We welcome anything that is green and blooms!

This bouganvilla blooms almost all year - and comes back strong and colorful after cooler weather or being trimmed.

This oleander is a real survivor.  The mother plant was bent and broken by a hurricane.  A branch that was placed in a pot rooted, broke out of the container & sent roots down into cracks in the patio.  I've nicknamed her Wendy (get it, windy?).

And tiny tomatoes for a future salad

GREAT BALLS OF - - - SQUASH!

Yes - round zucchini!  I found these at my local produce stand yesterday.  Never seen them before.  They were really good roasted with some red peppers, onion and garlic.

A new obsession

As if I needed one!  So here's the beginnings:

The first three are knit bags - before felting.  The ruler is 18" for a size comparison.  The last three pictures are drying after felting.  When dry, I'll post another pic with the ruler so you can see the size change.

DO WHAT??

You must be kidding!  While I do believe you CAN teach an old dog new tricks, this one is not for me.  But I read the suggestions on the back of this art inspiration card - It makes sense.  Look at things from different angles, in different lights, without preconceived ideas.  It's amazing what we can see - if we just look.

A camera is a good tool for this - a close-up, different light and shadows can give new perspectives. 

BE SILLY!

The art inspiration card I drew for this week says "Be really silly".  That's pretty easy for me, but there is a fine line between silly and ridiculous.  So I thought I'd share a silly story that happened last week:

Jack handed me two tiny flowers.  I carefully placed them in water in a shallow dish.  Two days later I marveled at how long they stayed alive.  Then he handed me another - that he pulled from his pocket!  As I carefully placed it with the others, I realized THEY ARE NOT REAL!!  So they still reside on the kitchen window sill - to remind me of my own silliness!

More copper pendants

Here's just a couple of pendants I did - One is woven of copper foil.  The other is copper sheet - folded and formed with dangles of sterling and beads. 

RAW MATERIALS

This week's Art Inspiration emphasized using quality materials in your art.  That's a real challenge since I like to recycle and repurpose found objects .  It's not always easy to decide what's trash and what's treasure.

ART INSPIRATIONS - TWO WEEKS WORTH

Here are the art inspirations for two weeks - I missed the one last week. It must have been about deadlines.  So, the first one - From the Heart, I'm not too sure of, see previous post about emotions.  But the deadlines - It really works!  If I have a deadline it works!  So, wonder how I can combine the two?  They seem to be counter to one another.  But perhaps not!

Hot Metals, Balls, and Weaving! OH MY!

What a fun workshop with Mary Hettmansperger! 

The Florida Tropical Weaver's Guild's annual conference had her as a workshop instructor.  We wove with metal and wire.  We shaped copper, colored it in a flame, formed balls of red and of black on copper wire, and did some pounding & bending.  Above are the results.  It was fun!!

Funky Fabrics

I saw a new technique - tried it and here's the result.  After painting interfacing & ironing it on, I'm not sure the process is worthwhile - maybe painting right on the fabric makes more sense?  But I do love the colors!

Adventure

Here it is - my last weeks art inspiration.  Although I feel I'm usually open to adventure, I'm going to seek out new ones!  An new outdoor place to walk & enjoy nature, a new art techinque - something!

Riverside Textures

Miscelaneous meandering.

While we were having lunch at a local riverside restaurant, these textures on the water's edge caught my eye.  Seeweed and Barnacles make nice art, don't you think?

Where is spring?

We've been overdressed here in Florida for too long!  Come on Spring!

Here is a flag I made for

Florida Tropical Weaver's Guild Conference:

And a gourd from a workshop at the local Weaver's Guild:

Emotional Hotspots . .

That's my "inspiration for the week.  I'm not finding it too inspiring!  It's not easy to identify emotions, and even more difficult to express them through my art - on words, etc!

Oh, well - I'll think about it!

DISCIPLINE - who, me?

Here's the "ART INSPIRATION" for the week.  I don't think I'll adopt the costume.  But sticking to a creativity routine might help.

Wine warning!!!

Deb warned me against buying wine with cute animal labels.
But I couldn't resist this whole stack of creatures.
And to make it worse, there's a screw cap on the bottle.

I'll give a taste test report later.

Inspiration . . .

. . . for this week:

Hmmm. . . . I'm not sure of my rythm.  Syncopated, maybe.  Anyway, this week, I'm determined to get SOMETHING creative done.

space for Inspiration!

Here's the art inspiration for this week:

Deb (my daughter) is always telling me we need space & a bit of order to create - she's right!  When re-arranging a few things I found space for my sewing machine & supplies.  Amazing, it's so much easier to stitch artsy things!So now - to carve out a bit of space for other endeavors.