corn dogs and racing pigs

Izzy

I just got home from four weeks in North Carolina and am still in adjustment mode.  "How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all???" (Firesign Theater, if you're old enough to remember them.)

This time of year, there are fairs and festivals on the Piedmont Plateau every weekend.  Succulent (just writing the word makes my mouth water) apple dumplings at the Bethabara AppleFest, corn dogs at the Dixie Classic Fair, pig races at both - PIG RACES - can you believe it?  Racing around a little track for Cheez Doodles and Oreos in the Fall - served up as barbeque in the Spring.  A fleeting season of glory.  What more can anyone hope for?  And wonderful music everywhere.  I'm such a sucker for Appalachian fiddlers.  Two notes into "Shady Grove" and my eyes are brimming with tears.

During the time I was gone though, I did not make one single solitary thing.  Not an earring.  I crawled around on the floor after an eight month old speed demon.  I crocheted her a serape in the softest, silkiest purple yarn.  I did some tie-dying with my two older grandchildren and I bought some lovely old keys at a country flea market that will be appearing in some future creations.  I was not what I would consider to be productive, but there were times when I succeeded in being fully present in the moment and for me, that alone was quite an achievement.

august just goes on forever ...

I am not a patient person.  I'm always ready to move on to the next thing.  OK, we've had summer. Enough already - let's get some leaf action going here.   In my ongoing efforts to "Be Here Now", I've been experimenting with finger weaving cords for necklaces.  Rhythmic repetition with the goal of reaching some kind of meditative state.   The local craft store had some bamboo fiber that was cheap enough to toss if the results were really awful and I found a long-running, multi-episodic British mystery series on NetFlix (this is MY version of meditating.  There are many paths up the mountain, after all) and got my fingers busy.  I tea-dyed the cord and I really like the softness and the texture of it.

A Prayer for Ausangate

a look at the prong-diddy from the back

It's a necklace for grounding, with a black garnet (from a previous post) a jade cicada, a little faceted citrine, and a beautiful stone that a friend picked up on Mt. Ausangate in the Peruvian Andes.  Ausangate is one of the apus, the high glacial mountains that the ancient Peruvians believed were the homes of gods.  The glaciers on the high peaks are melting and within a couple of generations, there will be no more sacred glacial water for the people to bless their crops with.

Then I figured I'd better have some lower price point items in the shop, so I made a few pairs of earrings.  The top pair has lapis lazuli beads with Turkish evil eye beads, lucky horseshoes, bone mala beads and little deer antler tips that my brilliant and beautiful friend Janet brought me back from her summer travels (you remember Janet).

The second pair have quartz crystal points, lampwork, recycled African glass beads, blue kyanite, and lovely little silver medals of the BVM.  I've never been a Catholic (in this life anyway), but I've always loved the Blessed Mother as one of the few representatives of the Divine Feminine that we have in the Western world.  I used to stop off at a church that I passed on my way to school to light candles to Her on test days, so She and I go back a long long way.  These particular medals are from Corsica (also courtesy of the aforementioned brilliant and beautiful Janet), so that makes them extra special.  I have a couple more goodies that she found for me that I'm saving for a special piece.

I also submitted another article proposal to Belle Armoire Jewelry with pictures of the charm bracelets that I made to keep for myself.

Do other people make jewelry for themselves (primarily)?  I only sell the pieces that I can bear to part with.  Which kind of segues into the current bloggers discussions begun by Sparrow Salvage and continued on Fanciful Devices :  how do you price your work so that you get a fair return on your time, unique materials and creativity, but still manage to keep customers?

This is such an important discussion to have and I'm grateful to Sparrow and Fanci for being brave and honest enough to address it. I think that as women, we are accustomed to undervaluing ourselves, and by extrapolation, our efforts.  You don't see Keith Lo Bue worrying about whether or not he's pricing his work reasonably enough, I'll bet.  After September 1, when the Belle Armoire Jewelry Fall issue comes out and I become incredibly famous and sought after, I will be raising my prices.  Fair warning.  So if you managed to read this far and want to buy something dirt cheap, I'll also give you 10% off if you pay before September 1.  Just use the coupon code AMULET2013.

So act quickly before I wake up and realize my own value.

grounding ...

I picked up a few goodies a couple of weeks ago at a local gem and mineral society show. I remembered to bring my reading glasses - the prescription pair, not the drug store ones - which is always a good thing. Fewer regrets. My budget was very limited, but there were a few things I felt compelled to pounce on and worry about paying for later: some little drilled quartz crystal points (I use 'em all the time); some very pretty faceted turquoise that I haven't used yet; some yellow opal rondelles that I just love ( I had used up the last of my stash and had despaired of finding more); some gorgeous blue kyanite; faceted amethyst beads; and (be still my heart) some raw black garnet crystals (dodecahedrons, in fact). I could swear they called me from across the room. One second I was looking at some leather cord and the next I was in front of this tall young dreadlocked hippie guy with these amazing beads in my hand.

That's the black garnet on the top

Turns out, black garnet, also known as Andradite or Melanite is a pretty intense stone. This is what I read on the Internet: "Metaphysical Properties: Black Andradite Garnet is a powerful grounding stone, which can also be used to ... evoke the mysteries of the Earth. It can help one attune to elemental forces and engage their aid. "

http://www.crystalvaults.com/crystal-encyclopedia/andradite

Grounding is one of the first practices you learn when doing magical and shamanic work. Putting your roots down deep deep into Mother Earth; looking for balance and tapping into that primordial energy.  Some people really need help to stay grounded, so the black garnet, if nothing else, is a reminder.

That's a black garnet all the way on the left...

A Prayer for the North, Earth Amulet Necklace

This piece is really all about Earth energy.  Stone, bone, clay, copper.  Very grounding.

And here's another necklace using some beautiful hand-dyed silk sari fabric I just got from Flea's Fibers on Etsy -
www.etsy.com/shop/FleasFibers
I'm in love with the colors in this piece - they remind me of that beautiful color that old newspapers become.

I've avoided taking a shower and getting dressed long enough.  It's overcast here on the South Shore of Long Island - perfect for getting more photos taken.  I've gotten a little too grounded to this computer chair.

new pieces

I am trying to convince myself to type something to the effect that this has been a challenging week when actually the week has sucked.  Big time.  Monsoon rains and a root canal.  The highlight of the week was discovering a new app to go along with PhotoToaster - TitleFx.  Now I can put watermarks on my photos with my business name.  I have the idea that this makes them look more professional.  Not like I took them on my old picnic table with the cheapest digital camera Costco had.  At least, I think so.

These two are pretty normal for me, but then I did this one -

The challenge with this one was putting it together so that the wearer could still open the ghau amulet box to put some keepsake or affirmation in.  The solution I came up with was to use a vintage lanyard clasp.  I think I may have grunged up the faux cinnabar bead and green Tara on the ghau amulet a little too much.  When I see it, I want to run it under the faucet.

I'm working on re-doing a neckace display bust I got half off at Michael's.  Some of the necklaces really need to be photographed on a neck, real or otherwise, and believe me, nobody wants to see my neck.  NObody.

(See the watermarks?  Is that cool or what?)

grey skies

Grey skies - too cold to get the peas planted but perfect for photographing my latest pieces outdoors.

I've been home from the Land of Barbeque and Hush Puppies for a week now, missing my grandchildren terribly.  I found out that airport security doesn't seem to care how much wire and beads of all persuasions you've managed to pack into your carryon, as long as you have nothing in a liquid state, they are not interested.  And also - even though you've brought everything you thought you could possibly need, there will be some essential thing that's sitting on your worktable at home.

And then of course, there was this slight distraction:

Here are my latest offerings:

green man amulet necklace

close-up of green man

earth & bone charm bracelet

amethyst peace charm bracelet

the deer shaman's necklace

close-up of deer shaman's necklace

red jasper warrior's amulet necklace

close-up

Taking the big leap...

After spending most of the day writing my first blog post, I managed to hit "delete" instead of "edit" and sent the whole thing off into hyperspace oblivion.  How come every other program on this computer asks me a minimum of sixteen times if I really mean to do that before it actually erases anything? "Are you sure you want to delete that?  Maybe you should think about it a little more." That will teach me not to do anything of importance at 1:14 in the morning.  Sometimes my brain is not my best friend.

So let me start this rewrite by saying that I never expected to be writing a blog.  Although I really enjoy reading other people's, especially hearing about their creative processes and seeing their work, it feels a little self-indulgent to be doing it myself.  Why do I think anyone else might possibly be interested in knowing what I'm up to?  (Subtext:  Who the hell do I think I am???)  Well, I'm doing it because Etsy says so.  Etsy also says to link my blog to my FaceBook page, my website and my Etsy shop.

Right.

Detail of "The Empress" ,
quilt - hand dyed  fabrics

I've been collecting beads and buttons and little sparkly things ever since I learned to walk.  I still walk along with my eyes on the ground so I won't miss some treasure: a shell, a stone, a fabulous rusty runover bottlecap.  (And I'm still smacking my head into police call boxes and low hanging branches.) I take my goodies home and lovingly sort them and put them into those wonderful plastic boxes with all the dividers and sometimes in those plastic containers takeout food comes in.  And then eventually they find other things that they need to be with so they can have a conversation together.  Sometimes they want to be part of an Altoid tin shrine (I call them mojos).  Those are sort of like the art quilts I made in another life, reduced down to their essence and concentrated in pocket size.  I learned from quilt-making that if you want to be able to realize your visions, you need to have acquired the yardage to start with.

Amulet bracelet

So after several years of buying cool beads and things on E-Bay and Etsy and at every bead show within driving distance,  I've assembled more earrings and necklaces than I can possibly wear in a lifetime.  I've been inspired by Connie Fox's "brangles" and by ethnic jewelry of all kinds.  I've bought beads and pendants from refugees from Tibet and Afghanistan and from glass beadmakers all over the U.S.  Now I find myself unemployed and able to devote a big chunk of my time to developing my own style.  As I figure out the photography side of all this, I'll be posting more of my work.  I'm so inspired by the jewelry artists out there who are pushing the envelope and making pieces that look like artifacts from another civilization.  Some of their blogs are listed in my profile.  Please check them out - they are amazing.  My biggest inspirations are Dawn Wilson-Enoch and Susan Lenart Kazmer.  If you haven't tried Susan's Ice Resin yet, do yourself a favor and order some.

Thanks!

No ladybugs were harmed
in the making of these earrings
(but I had to rough up a 
spider a bit...)