coronal mass eruptions.

A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all-knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity. - Eleanor Roosevelt

I’ve been continuing my work on my freeform peyote stitch cuff. Here is a new photo:

I started working in the large Czech fire-polished beads. I’m very pleased with it so far, although there are a few areas I’m not entirely thrilled with. I had mentioned before that I was going to keep working on it through July and then put it aside to work on my Irina project, but I have more than half of it done already, so I think I will keep working on it until it’s finished. I didn’t think I would get this far so quickly.

I do love working in freeform peyote stitch. It’s fun and challenging to make it up as I go along. It does involve a leap of faith, however, in hoping that the piece turns out well, since I never know what the finished piece is going to look like until it’s, well, finished.

There are always areas of the work that I’m not entirely happy with, but I’ve learned not to judge the piece until it’s done. As the beadwork progresses it changes my perspective, and a section that I didn’t like much may turn out to be quite nice. Of course if you don’t like the piece when it’s done that’s unfortunate, but luckily that’s never happened to me.

I started reading the first issue of Sew Somerset, and of course I’ve already got ideas popping up. One is a bracelet made from individual small rectangles of fabric, each with a fabric transfer of a vintage photo, and embellished with beads, sequins and ribbons. The rectangles are then sewn together with beads in between. That idea was inspired by a similar bracelet by Yvonne Montano. Her bracelet is simple and rustic, while mine will have a more finished look, with printed fabrics and lots of embellishment.

The other idea is for a fabric book. This idea started when I was watching The Universe on the Discovery Channel (I think it was Discovery. I could be wrong though). I love anything - tv shows, books, photos - that has to do with the universe. I am fascinated by the universe and all it contains, and if I was any good at physics I would have become an astronomer.

Anyway, I recently started jotting down words and phrases that I find interesting or intriguing, with the thought of using them in my artwork. I wrote down a lot of stuff while watching The Universe, and one phrase was Ladies Astronomical Society. Now this I partially made up, basing it on my love of the cosmos and Rasputina’s alter ego, the Ladies Cello Society. I didn’t give it much further thought until I got to the fabric book chapter in Sew Somerset. Then it clicked, and I thought how cool it would be to make a fabric book about a fictitious Ladies Astronomical Society. I haven’t worked out all the details yet, or any details for that matter, other than the name and some vague ideas about using vintage photos and star maps.

That’s it for now. I’m trying to get to bed early tonight. That means 11 instead of 11:15.

fuzzy blurry and generally unfocused.

If you hear a voice telling you that you cannot paint, then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. - Vincent Van Gogh

Since Lily was born I have felt both driven and unfocused when it comes to my creative endeavors.

Driven because I have so little time in which to accomplish all of the projects I want to make and all of the techniques I want to learn. I keep lists, which I am constantly reviewing - lists of projects I am currently working on, projects I would like to do, techniques I want to try, and supplies I need to buy. I am very organized in that respect, and determined to make things happen for myself.

But then I also feel incredibly unfocused. I have all of these projects I want to make and all of these techniques I want to try, and tons of ideas swirling around in my head. I have numerous projects I’ve already started that need to be finished. I’m eager to start my new projects, but I really want to finish the old ones first. I feel that I’m not getting anywhere with my work. I feel like I’m always playing catch-up, and that nothing is in my control.

And again that comes down to a lack of time. I feel very frustrated lately. Maybe I should just stop complaining and be thankful I have any time at all for my creative expression. I’m just impatient. I tell myself that it won’t be like this forever, but that is small consolation sometimes.

So anyway Marc began taking down the wood paneling in the living room. It’s amazing how much lighter and airier it is now. That wood paneling was just sucking all of the light in. Underneath is several layers of paint and wallpaper. I think the wallpaper is probably pretty old; it has an old-fashioned pattern. I took some pictures because I thought it looked neat, and I have an idea to play with the pictures in Photoshop to make cool background papers for collage. Here are a couple of the pictures, untouched:

I love the way you can see the different layers, and the chipped and torn edges.

I’ve been so exhausted lately - this is all I can manage to write for now. Good night!

36 inches, 29 pounds.

There is time for work. And time for love. There is no other time. - Coco Chanel

Last Friday and Saturday I dedicated time to work on my freeform peyote cuff. I even sacrificed working on my green carnelian project on Saturday, although that was more because I wanted to be able to sit in the living room with Marc and catch up on some of our favorite tv shows.

I’ve gotten quite a bit done in the past couple weeks. Here’s a photo:

It’s a little dark in this photo. I have about 1 & 3/4 inches done so far. I probably will focus on it for the rest of July, and then switch to another project, most likely my irina bracelet. It is one of my goals this year to work out the design for irina and write at least a rough draft of the instructions, with the ultimate goal of submitting it to a magazine.

One unexpected consequence of visiting Longwood Gardens was some ideas for a new name for my website/business. I’m tired of sushimama - I don’t feel that it is an accurate reflection anymore, it’s old, people don’t know what it is, and my work is going in new directions and I want a new name that encompasses jewelry and mixed media/collage. I have some ideas but nothing definite yet. I better hurry though, because my current domain name expires in October!

bellflowers and beautyberries.

You don’t have a garden just for yourself. You have it to share. - Aesop

Here are some pictures from our trip to Longwood Gardens. Lily especially loved splashing in the fountains.

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french fries and funnel cake.

One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art. - Oscar Wilde

We had a rather busy weekend. On Friday evening we - me, Marc, and my in-laws - took Lily to the carnival. At first I was hesitant to allow her to go on the rides by herself. I was so afraid she would try to climb out, or start crying, or fall out (all those rides are deathtraps as far as I’m concerned!), but Marc and his mom eventually convinced me to let Lily try it out. And of course she did just fine. She was so funny though - she would not move at all while the ride was going, except once in a while her eyes would move in our direction. She went on this little “boat” ride and then a car ride, and she went on each of those twice, thanks to a kind stranger who walked up to me and gave me a couple tickets. As soon as we took her off one ride she immediately wanted to go again, so I guess she liked it. The last time she went on the car ride she was more animated and even moved a bit and smiled, just a little.

Here are some pictures.

Saturday we went to Longwood Gardens. I’ll have pictures of that tomorrow. I also worked on my freeform peyote cuff Friday and Saturday night, so I’ll post a picture of that too. I got a lot done, which I’m happy about.

i’m with my paints and my pens and my dry vermouth.

To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore, to love is to suffer; not to love is to suffer; to suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy, then, is to suffer, but suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be happy one must love or love to suffer or suffer from too much happiness. - Woody Allen

Last Friday I worked a little bit on the freeform peyote-stitch cuff that I started for my Freeform Peyote Stitch tutorial. I did a bunch of rows and wrote down a couple tips, which I will add to my tutorial at some time. And then I had some popcorn and watched Dr. Who. I love Dr. Who (the new one anyway). It’s a bit silly at times, but I enjoy it.

On Saturday night I had the house all to myself. Marc was away, my mom took Lily, and Julian was at his dad’s. oh joy! oh rapture! I was in heaven. I had some wine, played my music loud, and worked on my green carnelian piece for about 3&1/2 hours. And I loved every minute of it. I was able to add the rest of the cabs to the desert half, and I even started the bead embroidery around the cabs. The other half is going to be a solar system.

As far as this week goes I haven’t had time to work on anything creative. Tomorrow we may try taking Lily to a local carnival. We’ll see how that goes!

round and around and around i go

Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls, and interesting people. Forget yourself. - Henry Miller

Here are some pictures from Lily’s second birthday party, on June 7. I think everyone had a pleasant time. We hardly had any food left over, so I will take that as a good sign. Marc made a lot of the food himself - grilled vegetables and shrimp, bruschetta, and chicken wings.

This is Lily and my Mom, enjoying some of my Mom’s fabulous homemade ice cream cake.

Here is Lily opening a present. My niece Gwen is in the background. She turned two in March.

Opening a present with Daddy.

More presents.

Remember that frame I was working on? The one that was supposed to be a Christmas gift, then a Valentine’s Day gift? Well, it’s finally done! Yay! I am so very glad to have that project out of the way. It finally decided to be a Father’s Day gift. Here it is:

The picture is from last Thanksgiving, which would have been much more appropriate as a Christmas gift, but whatever. I’m pleased with how it turned. The only problem I had was when I glued the picture into the opening. I used Diamond Glaze, because it is very strong, but it’s difficult to control how much is squeezed out, so I ended up using too much and it ran through to the front. Diamond Glaze dries to a clear shine, and you could see shiny spots all around the picture, which I did not like. So I decided to run a line of glitter glue around the front and back of the picture to hide it, and that worked perfectly. I think the glitter glue added just the right final touch. A project is never complete unless there’s glitter glue on it somewhere.

I will have to take a photo of the back. There’s a peg sticking out from the bottom on the back of the frame that makes it difficult to scan that side.

I suddenly realized around 9:00 on Saturday night that I had neglected to buy Marc a Father’s Day card from Lily. I quickly threw this one together.

I did it in about 40 minutes, which for me is lightspeed. This sort of thing usually takes me hours, but I knew I had to make it simple to get it done. I think it turned out cute, all things considered.

Keeping in mind that one of my goals for this year is to learn how to solder, I have been compiling a list of the necessary tools and supplies. I find all the different types of solder and flux to be highly confusing. I don’t have a lot of money to spend, so I want to make sure I buy the right types, but I also know from experience that when I branch off into new territory I end up buying things that either I end up not needing or are just the wrong thing, simply from a lack of experience. I’m also planning to start making my own charms and jewelry components by cutting out pieces of sterling silver sheet and stamping them with words. Which of course has its own list of tools and supplies. It will take me a couple months probably to save enough money, but I am absolutely determined that I will learn to solder this year. I wanted to do it last year but of course never got around to it. My first projects will be microscope slide pendants, which seem pretty simple for a beginner.

I finished reading Somerset Workshop 3 and I loved it. I can’t wait to try out some of the techniques and incorporate them into my own work. I especially am eager to try out Rachel Emilie Jackson’s “romantic painting” techniques for making paper look aged. One of her projects was a handmade book from printmaker’s paper, with a ballet theme. I’d like to make that, except with a seashore theme. Here is her book:

I believe I said in a previous post that this issue of Somerset Workshop contained an article on using beeswax, and I wasn’t particularly interested in beeswax, but you never know. Well I still wasn’t interested…until I got to the part where the author, Olivia Thomas, mentioned that you could add embellishments into the wax while it was still warm. Embellishments like glitter and beads….Needless to say I’ve added the requisite beeswax supplies to my ever-growing never-ending list of art stuff that I want.