Art Jewelry Elements --January Component of the Month -- Use your stash!

The end of January?!  How does that happen?

The snow continues, everything is covered in ice from freezing rain yesterday.  I was looking at blogs--posts from other artists mostly--and debating whether to brave the weather.  Then, I found the reminder that tomorrow is the reveal date!  

Thanks for making my decision for me!  Back to my studio in a hurry.  It was all clear, since I finished a sketching/painting project just yesterday.

So there's plenty of room for me to frantically plow thru my stash . . . opening the baggies, boxes, envelopes of GREAT STUFF!  Sorting into little 'idea bins':  exotic combinations of beads, metals, and stringing materials.

OH!  I found a pair of treasured bronze mental clay earring charms from Lesley Watt!  They are reminiscent of the sea -- what could be better on a wintery, cold day in January?!   And then, I found their perfect match:  a pair of lampwork beads from Daneal Hansel.  I found these while spending a wonderful afternoon with my girlfriends just after Christmas.  She and her husband have a wonderful shop in Burton, Ohio, right next to Quintealia's Tea Parlor.

Quintealia's Tea Parlor

Without further ado, here are a few hasty photos of the earrings I created:

Bubbles, shells, light, and a bit of metallic leather cord to tie it all together.  Thanks for the challenge!    (Now, do I go back and play with the other wonderful stuff I unearthed, or make dinner?  Choices, choices!)

While I decide, please follow this link to the list of other participants in this challenge:

The Gossiping Goddess -- AJE Blog Hop 

Snow dayz (again)

My morning awareness:   it is a healthy thing to call a halt and say "no" to some things. 

There are mountains of snow around the yard, the result of my neighbor plowing the wet, melty-on-the-bottom, unmanageable snow that fell all day yesterday.   I shoveled little paths to the bird feeders and refilled the treats.  I listed to the hairy woodpecker chatter at me that he had plucked all good the nuts from the suet cake, and wanted a fresh one.  So I complied.  I mushed out thru it all, slogging thru slippery parking lots filled with deep slush to take care of a business appointment.  At least the temps were above freezing!

But today, I will watch the big, fat flakes from inside the house.  The temps have plummeted (12 degrees, -11 windchill) and it has been snowing again this morning.  Cleveland weather folks just don't get that Madison Township in Lake County, Ohio usually has much different weather than they predict for the 'big city'. 

So I say "no."  I won't bundle up, get wet boots and soggy gloves from going out and fighting with the snow.  I'll just crank up the space heater, hang out in my bright studio packed with all sorts of stuff to create with, listen to some get-up-and-dance music, and stay relaxed and warm. 

Choosing to enjoy myself and pursue simple pleasures is my only job today.   I'm brewing a fresh cup of coffee and heading back to my room now.  I'll check again later, when I surface to cook up a pot of jambalaya for dinner this afternoon.  Maybe I'll feel more like going out then.  Maybe not.

January - Below zero

I do not love blowing snow and below-zero wind chills.   There have been hazardous driving conditions, closed schools, and dark, grey days this week.  But here are a couple of sketches I produced; just finding beauty where I am, rather than trekking out to find it.

Just to loosen up, playing with watercolors; for color and joy.

And then, just for kicks, sketched the candlesticks and lace runner on top of the piano, while watching (well, listening to) TV with my hubby.   A quiet, dark winter evening at home.  Discovered that the Uniball Vision pen I used isn't water-tight; so I left it in black and white.

Finally, I got going, ready to bundle up and head out (with winter storm warnings, again), on Friday morning.  But the sight of the blue spruce, covered in show, thru my bathroom window caught my attention.  So I stopped, pulled up a chair, and sketched again.  Took a couple of hours of pen drawing.  Then today, added color, with watercolors, Derwent color pencils, and Staedler watercolor pencils.  (Again, the uniball...  I'm a slow learner.)  Have been using a new Cotman 90# multimedia sketchbook, 9x12, for these more detailed drawings.   Feels well-suited to my style.    Why -- oh why -- do I have so many lace curtains to sketch, tho?!

Next week is predicted to be drier, and around 32 degrees; so I'm planning a day out at a museum for a change of scenery.

Something New for 2015

For the new year:  I traded my NY Times Sunday subscription for a Y membership.  Instead of sitting and reading the paper, I'm going for aquatic therapy for my tired old, sedentary, arthritic body.  If I can't move so well on land, going for the water!  After all, I'm a Pisces.  

My new doc said it in a way I could (finally) understand:  "I know it's expensive.  But, it's your body.  And it costs less than a cell phone."  Yes, I have to pay:  Anthem BC/BS here will not cover the Silver Sneakers (free) program.

So I toughed it out yesterday.  Went over to the Madison Y, signed up, and met a couple of new friends there already.  [Jeez, the young gents in the weight room. . .  a little intimidating.]  

I absolutely REFUSE to be too old to change, right?!    Are you making any changes for the new year?

What next?!

What to do when Sketchbook Skool online class is over?  Why not something entirely new?  So answered the invite from a few friends to try glassblowing class, making simple Christmas ornaments, of course.  Had a great time, enjoyed the HEAT of it all.  Thanks to The Glass Asylum artisans for their patience, guidance, and enthusiasm for making it a great experience.  Even managed a few quick sketches while waiting my turn... studio folks concentrating on creating glass art.  (Yes, I took my sketchbook with me!) 

The Challenge

OK.  I admit, I tend to "lurk" rather than blog.  But this was the coldest, snowiest, November week I can remember.  I didn't want to go out, so I resorted to my studio to gather supplies, determined to complete a lesson in Sketchbook Skool.  Instruktors (yes, they spell everything they can with a "K") are some really inspiring artists, many of whose blogs I have followed for some time. Felt in need of inspiration, direction, and guidance.

So this week's assignment was to 'draw your kitchen.'  Sounds kinda dull, right?!  Well, not when the talented and whacky Tommy Kane is demonstrating how to see details, commit them to paper, and especially not to start over or give up.  Here's the feedback I wrote to him:

Challenging.  Inspiring.  Thought-provoking.  And, in the end, incredibly satisfying.  I tend to get overly sketchy, critical of myself,  frustrated, and usually give up when I start a big task like this.  But I watched, and re-watched, the video.  Reverted to quick-sketching from previous lessons.  And finally, in the end, I sat down and focused on the work -- for 6 hours!-- and completed the damn homework and followed the rules.  Lo and behold, my best work in many, many years!  My hubby kept carrying it around the house with him, saying how amazing a work it was.  Hunting for a frame, even!  Lots of compliments from Klassmates--well over 100--and friends (yeah, I posted it everywhere ;) ).  Feel so satisfied.  Satisfied.  Now there's a word my Monkey has kept from me for a long, long time.  Giving me permission to sit still for HOURS was the best gift.  EVER.

This week: sketching LIVE

Chinese kite; inspiration in my studio on a rainy day.

Best of the week:  learning to use color to capture the shape, single pen 'serious' composition and a big, blank sheet of watercolor paper and pencils and erasers, and techniques, and brushes, and . . .
line to suggest detail, and getting it done . . . one simple sketch a day.  I'm finding it really (really) energizing to just flip the page and create again.  That quiets my critical monkey, who tends to arise when I'm faced with a