Sep 05 2008
today’s flickr find:
This one is from Zsaj, one of my favorite photographers on Flickr. I’ve shown her work before – the entire set Brown is Beautiful is breathtaking. As I struggle with the idea of summer’s end, Zsaj reminds me just how beautiful autumn can be. Nice.
Sep 05 2008
Time to kick some proverbial butt? JoAnne Bedient has boots that will get the job done. The ceramic artist’s playful side is in full view with her large collection of whimsical shoe and boot sculptures.
Want to go-go with Van Gogh? These Gogh-Gogh Boots might be just what you are looking for.
Bedient’s site offers up a different kind of shoe-shopping frenzy and I think I might just have to indulge my alter ego…how does that song go? “Wild thing, you make my heart sing, you make everything…groovy”.
Hope you find something to make your heart sing this weekend!
JoAnne Bedient
I wrote about her shoes here too.
Sep 04 2008
Pick a tag, topic, subject – heck, pick a word, any word. Pop it into the Symmetry Explorer search bar and Flickr will find pictures and automagically create mirrored pairs. The results range from interesting to downright weird. If you don’t have time to waste, do not click on the link! Symmetry Explorer
This looks like an interesting idea for a ring, yes?
Here is the original image from Arwen Abendstern’s Flickr photostream – a coffee mug with a single stem of chrysanthemum.
Might be a way to explore unusual shapes and patterns – take a look at the results from the word ‘felting’.
Sep 04 2008
I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m drawn to materials: glass, ceramic, metal, polymer clay, fiber, found objects, recycled bits and pieces. Each time I happen upon a new discovery I’m convinced anew that it is THIS particular material that I love, that I long for. And then I realize that I love all of them - for their potential, for their properties, for their challenges. And so it is with paper.
Liz Hamman shares my love for paper and her work lends itself to the stories I imagine about the paper’s former life…a piece of sheet music once perched on a student’s music stand…a map that helped a family find their way to a new home…a book whose pages are worn and weathered from a young boy’s eager page turning as he surges to the end of the story. Hamman proves that the end of the story isn’t always the end.
Paper may not seem like the obvious choice as a material for jewellery due to its fragile and ephemeral nature. I am interested in the idea that these qualities reflect the nature of the human form itself and also question the nature of `value` in the society we live in, especially when making use of books, maps and other pre printed matter.
Sep 03 2008
When we last saw Julie Picarello she was starting to incorporate metal into her work. I asked for ‘more, please’ and I see that she heard me and the rest of her loyal fans. More metal and clay from Julie:
These flowers let me combine all my favorites…textured clay, imprint MG, and mesh and sheet copper that has been patterned, hammered & torched.
Sep 03 2008
I’m intrigued…Naoko Serino coaxes jute, creating intricate, airy sculptures that look like a cross between microscopic plant cells and embryos or cocoons. Serino covers simple shapes with jute and paste, removing the form after it dries. She creates the final structures by combining individual fiber elements. Click on the pictures to see larger images. Striking.
Generating 3
Aroused
Generating 7
via La Cameleone
Sep 02 2008
More of the shape and feel that we saw this morning, this time with plastic shavings. Studio 1am’s Industrial Blooms, crafted from the discarded shavings that are created when machining the high tech thermoplastic Hytrel, are a fresh and fun way to keep the plastic out of the landfills.
Industrial Bloom Necklace
Single Bloom on rubber cord
More about Studio 1am here. Love the packaging for this cork cuff.
Sep 02 2008
I can’t let go of summer just yet and Moira K. Lime’s fiber and metal jewelry is a nice reminder that the sea and salt I crave is never very far away. It looks like the 24 year old designer is mixing silk cocoons, fibers, pearls and metals. The combination flatters multiples of basic shapes and luscious colors. Lime’s rich colors on seaworthy jewels are the perfect transition from summer to fall.
Barnacle Necklace
Fiber and Pearls
Take a look at the whole fiber series on Flickr – she’s coating some with polyurethane.
As for me, the time away from blogging was just what I needed. I soaked up some inspiration with the last of the summer sun and I’m back in the studio working on a few new ideas. I missed being here, but clearing the cobwebs from my head and finding a fresh direction was the right thing to do. It’s good to be home with all of you!
Aug 26 2008
I’m still having my fling with summer’s end, but I’m popping back in with a real treat for you (then back to sun and fun until September). Tonight I’ll be joining everyone online for Seth Savarick’s Transfer That! Masterclass on Craftcast – there’s still time to sign up right here! On Thursday I’ll be in the Craftcast studio with Alison and crafty genius Joy (whose name is a perfect fit…she is a bundle of joy) for one of our inspirational ‘play dates’. Saturday I’ll be in Chicopee Massachusetts for a day trip…Northampton too. Tell you all about it next week – for now I hope you enjoy these spectacular beads.
Garden
Anastasia hails from Germany and started making lampworked beads about four years ago. I just discovered her work last night and couldn’t wait to share them with you – some of the most beautiful glass beads I’ve ever seen: classy, pictorial, beautiful colors…oh my! I knew they would be the perfect ‘fix’ of your Daily Art Muse to get you through until next week. Click on the pictures to see her eBay auctions. Hot stuff!
Triple Tree
Fall Garden
Aug 18 2008
I’m taking some time to smell the flowers, kick back and relax, continue my hunt for a new place to live, sign up for fall classes/workshops and soak up the end-of-summer sun. I’ll miss you…see you in September?
| Etsy Buy Handmade notjustwool |
