8/30/10

autumn nocturne chatelaine necklace

in between completing some orders i managed to finish this necklace. it's been sitting in pieces on my table for ages. i've always loved creating pieces with leaves and pods. this time i've added them to a modern chatelaine. women used to fasten chatelaine's on their belts.  their essentials hung from chains that attached to a central element...keys, notepads, change purse, small scizzors, smelling salts, etc were made use of throughout the day...





in my version, this chatelaine necklace holds the essentials for celebrating autumn--enameled leaves, pod, night bird and coral branch, hanging from a moon shaped hollow locket-like form. the necklace ends with a twig toggle clasp and hangs long--at the solar plexus-- keeping nature's energy close to your core. the necklace is long enough to wrap around twice to wear at a shorter length, for when a lady has a change of fancy.







 i 'll list this in my etsy shop by mid week...

8/26/10

September Vintage

i've been loading up wonderful vintage finds in my vintage shop  5gardenias vintage-- i  had a great time photographing this bunch-- creating settings for my finds is always my favorite part of the process. --aside from the searching and finding! please be sure to stop in the shop and poke around....
  1. victorian leather pocket mirror case
  2. japanese luster ware tea set
  3. tippi hendren fur w/veil hat
  4. victorian horseshoe hat pin
  5. morning star crochet necklace
  6. wooden shoe mold 
  7. antique aqua glass invalids and infants food bottle
  8.  cotton and lace camisole
  9.  same as above
  10. eames era melamine tea set
  11. nurses medical bag
  12. flower cluster necklace
  13. long lace necklace
  14. pyrex coffee carafe
  15.  london iron
  16.  cinnamon girl suede boots

8/20/10

Finally!!!

well it seems like ages since i've been able to post.

i suppose as with all things it's good to take a breather. summer certainly calls for kicking back when possible.  i showed you pictures of our trip to seattle and portland, and now finally i'm  happy to be able to show you some photos of my new home studio. it was one of those things that i'd thought about and then talked about for years-- this summer i finally gave myself the final push. i cleaned out the front space of our home, which was cluttered with junk ( we don't have an attic or a basement for storage)-- of course once you move one thing a domino effect takes place--- so for days i was scrambling to find corners and odd spaces to move things to. some things went in the dumpster and a few more off to donation.
then, while i went and packed up my old jewelry studio, a couple of days of sorting and boxing in heavy humid sticky weather ( still keeping my ceramics studio there for the time being)-- my sweet pete took the paint roller to task and gave my walls a fresh coat of nimbus grey and talc white--- was that a labor of love or what?! -- i was so exhausted when i got home around 9:00pm from finishing up packing on the last day-- and there he was, nearly finished.
so after a day of hauling heavy equipment up to the second story ( son home from college offered up the muscle!)-- and a few more days of unpacking, organizing, and setting up-- i finally finally finally have my studio at home!!!

 it feels wonderful to have it done-- to be able to look out my windows on to the city street below and watch the neighborhood and all of it's hustle while i'm working. to have great light and have an intimate but comfortable and efficient space. to be able to get up and walk around my home-- pace my day. take photos right nearby when i finish a piece. to take photos of work in progress.  to avoid  trips in the car everyday.  to have my cats hang out with me while i'm working. to be able to get work done when my son is home from school -- to be able to show him what i'm doing. to work any time day or night if i'm so inclined. to get up and throw in a load of laundry while some pieces are soaking in the pickle.... to hunker down when a winter storm hits and still be able to work!--- it's all good.
below are some pics of the space somewhat empty--dora comes to inspect, some of my ceramic sculpture hanging and resting on ledges,  my refurbished raleigh yard sale find is parked and waiting to go for a ride... then voila-- the space magically filled with  work tables, cabinets, rolling mill, press and tools--
now i'm off to work... thanks for stopping in!