cacoon

Isn't this painting of Max beautiful? My sister Sheila painted it. She captured his sweet sleeping face perfectly! Seeing this portrait really inspires me to finish organizing the studio (a job I started yesterday....) and get my paints out. Right now there are boxes of junk piled in the middle of the floor, pulled from dark closets and under dusty shelves. I love working in a beautiful space, with tools in easy reach, reference material close by and clutter at a minimum. Unfortunately, this blissful area lasts for a couple of weeks before it looks like a gang of kids ransacked it. My hope is that I get it in perfect order before my buddy Jessica arrives Friday. I have big plans for us and they don't include cleaning. Mostly, we make plans for projects and think of delicious food to make, then forget to eat, resulting in low blood sugar, forcing us to eat what's fast (crackers) then we start all over. Eventually we take a break from laughing to do something useful. I can't wait till she gets here.

All this space clearing has unearthed all manner of relics from my old life. I have a block of time after college that I spent floundering around, working too many jobs, aimless yet ambitious, trying to figure out if I was happy or not (which is a sure sign that one is not). I found ways to justify the importance of staring out the window for hours, watching sunlight move across the lawn. I think of this gray period and I'm hit with a mixture of relief and fear, thankful its over but afraid it could come back. I suppose that's the price of happiness, the knowledge that its brief, that it could be snatched away. I look at the portrait of my baby and think how fast they grow, too soon he will be grown with his own life. So I will gather another pile of remnants from the murky past, hoping I get it all this time.

new work

Hello! Here is a group shot of the new pieces that will debut in Tucson this spring! The owl and branches is a clasp Greg carved, along with the faceted bead and the rose with thorns pendant (a team effort- I did the text that reads 'life is a rose, beware the thorns' ). We were working in what seemed like synchronicity, carving side by side at the kitchen table, on nearly the same subject matter, pieces featuring owls and roses. It was a nice way to work, a little different from my usual hide in the studio with a book on tape method. We listenend to Food network, a channel we can all agree on and worked away, imagining the delicacies whipped up by the Iron Chefs. This year its been a little different, more relaxed. I like it.

This year I won't be attending Tucson again, since Max is too young and Azalea is in school. I'm disappointed, but maybe I'll go to IDEX (International Doll Expo) in Orlando next weekend. Its a long drive, over ten hours, but my mom can watch Max while my best buddy and I stare longingly at dolls all day long. Sounds like a good time to me! Not more fun than going to Tucson, but still exciting. Andrew and Greg will be leaving for the cross country journey next Wednesday. I can hardly believe its that time of year already. Anyway, I'm pretty happy with this latest batch of goods. I was thinking simple cut sunstones and shimmery andalucite rondelles would look nice with the rose blossom bead. The faceted nugget is one that could either look really amazing in shiny pewter, with all the planes to catch the light, or not so good. We will see next week! I can't wait to see what emerges.

baby bear

Look how sweet this baby is! He was being good at The Chocolate Lounge and letting his mama enjoy a maple and sea salt liquid truffle (a cup of super thick dark chocolate). We took him to get a check up and he's growing so fast, over 14 lbs already. I'm working hard and should have some pieces to show soon!

love never dies

A new polymer master destined for pewter pieces. I'm imagining this as a link, placed between faceted rubies, or myriad colors of nuggets for a festive quality. Lengths of drawn cable chain would look tough, but tempered with sweet pink tourmalines....I think the effect would be magical. The quote 'love never dies' seemed like a very apropriate thing to carve on the back, it felt right. I believe the sentiment, more now than ever. There are some bonds that never weaken, no matter how much time has passed. At this point in my life, I've only known a handful of people that have passed away. It seems like life is being generous to me, keeping my cup full of blessings.

I often think of my brother that disappeared 19 years ago and I still feel like if I saw him again, it would be like old times, as though nothing happened (after I knocked him on his ass for leaving for so long, without a word). Although now it seems like the chances of ever seeing him again grow slimmer and slimmer and that it would be easier to just let him diminish in my thoughts. I still hope, every day, that this will be the day that he walks back into our lives.

Sometimes its the simplest phrases, uncluttered and unadorned, that ring with the most truth. So, that's the idea behind this next series of pieces, heart shaped links with carved symbols, universal and to the point. The next one features a rose, with thorns, of course.

new inspiration

I love Mark Ryden. Dark and disturbing, his paintings resonate with brilliant color and Renaissance echoes. The Tree Show is a particularly good book, the plates are vibrant and the photos of the ornate frames being carved are amazing. I feel like carving frames again.

I'd never heard of Scott Musgrove and bought this book on the recomendation of Amazon. I like it. Its weird. His creatures are odd and characture- esque, with their stretched mouths and forlorn expressions. I like the good quality of the book, how the paper feels, not to mention how fun the paintings are! His pallette is right up my alley, lots of pink and green!

The illustrations by Nicoletta Ceccoli are dreamy and bright, like sweet confections. Azalea loved the pictures (she promptly asked me to make nearly every toy she spotted). I loved the style, sort of diffused and airy, yet the details tightly rendered.

I've been an admirer of Femke Hiemstra's paintings for awhile. I love how she tucks her jewel-like pictures into old tins and on beaten books. They are so small, so intricately detailed, so strange...I love them. So, I made out like a bandit, with my new stack of books. I feel my creative batteries getting charged every time I open one of them. I look at color a lot, but am drawn to the imagery, whimsical and surreal. Now I'm torn, should I paint or wire wrap? Well, both those will have to wait, I have to keep carving! The new pewter designs are slowly emerging, I have a new heart link with a dainty skull surrounded by swirls, a faceted bead that will (hopefully) look like silver pyrite and some tiny nugget charms that look like wax seals.

family pictures

A few days ago, we hired our friend Meg Reilley to take some family pictures for our album and one to put in the 'about us' section of our website. Meg shot our wedding and also the author portrait in Enchanted Adornments. Above is the 'Totem Pole' pic, as we like to call it. We couldn't resist using the beautiful sugar-soft snow, especially since it was surprisingly warm outside. It rarely snows like this in Asheville, so we were pleased to have such a lovely backdrop.


Azalea and Max.




Snow baby!




Woodland girl.



My woodland girl, pretending to discover a snow baby. She's quite the actor, she loves dress up and games of pretend.


Greg posing as the dreamy forest king.


Let's get a closer look of that business.


Here's Andrew, looking pleased about something, maybe thinking about painting our next collaboration project, or his presents.

I am so happy with how the pictures came out! I think I'll have Meg shoot us again this summer. It would be fun to make props and costumes, like painted paper wings for Azalea and a bird boat for Max. I better start sketching now!

snow bird

I finished this wax master yesterday, its about an inch long and maybe an inch and a quarter between the wings. It looks big, but its nestled in Azalea's plump little hand. Remember it will shrink another 10 percent in casting, so imagine it even smaller! We're planning on casting it in silver and shibuichi and maybe one in gold for me, if its not too expensive (I love gold!). Hopefully, it will be done for Tucson, but looking at how slow we're moving, it might be closer to Bead and Button!

Anyway, I'm calling it 'snow bird' because of all the birds that are at the window feeders (Eastern Bluebirds, Sparrows, Finches, Titmice and Pileated Wood Peckers). They look so bright against the wintry backdrop of snow covered trees. The term 'snow bird' is usually given to those who travel south for the winter months. My grandparents left Missouri in October and came down to Orlando until spring. Now that I'm huddled up inside the house, layered in sweaters and shearling, I can appreaciate the idea. In fact, Hawaii sounds pretty dang good right about now. Ok, back to carving!

happy days

Whenever the camera comes out, my girl makes sure she's in the picture!


Greg and Max posing on the porch before heading out for lunch to the Corner Kitchen Cafe.

Daddy snuggling his baby.
Its quiet around here, days spent cuddling near the fireplace, watching old movies and munching Greg's delectable banana bread. I suppose this is the calm before the storm of work that's headed our way. The annual trek to Tucson is just a couple of months away and we try to bring new beads, fancy samples and a few limited editions. I've worked on the same piece for a few days now, a bird in flight with a hole in the tail and through the side of beak (so it looks like the bird is holding something, in this case a jumpring). I'm imagining it in necklaces as a link between sky colored opals or as a drop pendant with a teardrop of clear pink tourmaline. Its in the last stages of detail, as its too difficult for me to leave anything gestural, with lots of tool marks - I tend to want to carve every feather. Tonight is the last night I will let myself noodle away on it, since I can spend weeks on one piece if no one stopped me! This slow pace suits us right now, sketching Max while he sleeps, building wooden block castles or sipping hot chocolate while making big plans. These are times I will remember as the best of my life, simple and relaxed, our cares seeming far away.

gratitude

Maximus Prime! (that's what Sheila calls him).


My babies napping on the couch.


Me, looking haggard and Max like a sweet sugar puff, also resting on the couch, which is easily the most comfortable in the world.

Andrew posing in front of my favorite place...The Chocolate Lounge! There are so many things I am grateful for in this world, Greg, my babies, Andrew, chocolate, books and my friends (both internet and local). That statement, which sounds remarkably corny even to myself, is true on so many levels. I find myself dependant on those things to keep me from 'gettin' crazy' as we like to say. Take today for example: I get maybe 30 minutes to respond to emails (its a pain to type with baby in one arm...like now) and I find the rude message I talked about in the previous post. I quickly wrote the reply, then sat there wondering what to do, the first thing I thought of was to blog about it. Initially I thought some glassworkers might be interested in making them, but as I finished, I realized it was almost like phoning a friend to set me straight. I am deeply grateful there are folks out there willing to spend their time visiting my little world and offering kind words. Reading the comments lifted the heaviness that threatened to bog me down.

Life is starting to follow a rhythm around here. I'm getting used to Max's ways and am working around them. I've spent every moment he's asleep on designing and carving waxes, which feels a little like guerilla art making. Most of my time is spent watching old shows on hulu while I'm nursing baby, which makes it easier 4 in the morning!

my apologies

I just finished writing an email to a very angry person that purchased my book. Apparently, they felt it necessary to tell me how 'ripped off' they felt since they couldn't find the hollow beads in the Time and Memory project. Our good friend Shannon Hill used to make them, but recently passed away from lung cancer. The book was already in production when he died. I think of him everytime I wear the necklace and it makes me sad, but the memories of cutting up and trading stories always brings a smile. I recall how pleased he was with how I used his beads.

I'm surprised by the comment that I'm 'dangling candy in front of a child and not allowing them to eat'. So, I wonder if others feel this way. Now, I'm not asking anyone to get critical and really let me have it, as I might show my aggressive side (yes, shocking, I do possess a tiny bit of ferocity). I feel compelled to be incredibly angry that someone would speak to me that way, especially since I haven't been criticized like that in years. That makes me sound lofty, but folks generally treat me like an adult. The really annoying part is that I feel like a kid that has been scolded after attempting to make a gift. I do not enjoy this feeling, as it sits awkwardly in my soul. I responded politely, nicely informing them that I was looking for artists to make them. To cheer myself up, I think I'll enjoy Gregs amazing fudge. It has astonishing powers to alleaviate most agravations.