Tuesday, May 29, 2007

test bead trick

"two of anything make a great pair of earrings" - jacqueline levine

when making test beads i always make two, that way i always have beads for earrings.

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raku frit on light silver plum test beads

my friend margaret and i are going to hostess a bridal shower. here's a peek at the invitation.

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yes, the bride's pet name for her intended is 'gumby.'

Saturday, May 26, 2007

rare fire rainbow - circumhorizontal arc

look what was in the sky over the public market early this afternoon - a fire rainbow.

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it is very rare, known in the weather world as a circumhorizontal arc. the arc isn't a traditional rainbow - it is caused by light passing through wispy, high-altitude cirrus clouds.

the sight occurs only when the sun is very high in the sky (more than 58° above the horizon).

but why?

the hexagonal ice crystals that make up cirrus clouds must be shaped like thick plates with their faces parallel to the ground. when light enters through a vertical side face of such an ice crystal and leaves from the bottom face, it refracts, or bends, in the same way that light passes through a prism. if a cirrus's crystals are aligned just right, the whole cloud lights up in a spectrum of colors.

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it was amazing - and it lasted about a half an hour. everyone was using their cel phones to call people - telling them to look up, it was really funny.

and, as an anti-climax, more new beads...

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a mashed base of periwinkle rolled in a little bit of iris blue frit. then a transparent lavender blob and another smaller blob of dark silver plum pressed with my circle 'bump' tool. finally, a little piece of silver foil in the center of the dot.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

plum bumps in the jungle

more new beads...

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plum bumps - mashed bits of light silver plum, silver foil and a pressed blob on each side of dark silver plum.

those of you who know me - and fear my shopping - know that i junk up some stupid stuff.

bolstered by the response to to the weirdsville paintings i think i will occasionally post some of my best finds. and here is one of my all time favorites -

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a novel, "Congo Song" by Stuart Cloete, 1943

from the cover:
"Alone in a society of men on the equator, Olga Le Blanc is occupied by her lovers, her tame gorilla, and her own good looks."

a little something from the book:

Chapter 5, The Gorilla

"The mind of a gorilla is the mind of a gorilla. But the mind of a gorilla that had drunk woman's milk is the mind of a gorilla that had drunk woman's milk. It is conditioned. Not only by the heredity of the forest, but by circumstances that are human.

Also, Congo was male. Not yet fully, but approaching maleness, aware of an unease that caused him to flex himself, to extend his arms, to test his strength by lifting objects, by breaking them. He was unaware that he belonged to Olga. In his opinion Olga belonged to him. She was an extension of himself, of that personality which existed within him. When he was with her, he was happy. He felt completed, though restless. Alone he was unhappy.

His eyes were on the prodder that leant beside the bath. To him the prodder was GOD. It was power. The prodder and the snake were the only things he feared.

If it had not been for the prodder, he would have lifted Olga out of the bath. He did not like her to be in it. It might hurt her. He did not know why, but there was a memory of water. Water was dangerous. This extension of himself should not be immersed in it. There were many memories in his mind, half-formed pictures of hanging lianas... of branches, of great leaves dripping with moisture, of fruits, of nuts, of fat white grubs. Sometimes he had a pain in his chest. It seemed as if it would burst. Then his eyes were suffused with blood and he beat upon it with his fists, That was at first.

Later her had come to enjoy the sound he made as he hammered at it. One day he know what he would do. One day he would tear down those posts that closed in his windows. One day he would catch someone passing by the arm. One day... His strength was mounting; he was gorilla, almost a man. How nearly he had missed being man, no one would ever know: some accident some million or so years ago: a sport, or the lack of it. But he came near. No one knew how near. No one know anything of him: of his emotions, his pains, or of his desires.

He loved Olga, an extension of himself. His mother.

He liked the smell of geranium.

His belly was full and his heart, and he was strong, happy in his fullness and his strength.

Soon she would dry herself. He did not like that either. She might get hurt.

He did not like the prodder or the snake. Sometime she frightened him with the snake. There were memories of snakes in his heart.

He took off his cap and twisted it in his hands. Olga said "No, Congo." He put it back on his head."

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

foil blossoms

on a recent trip to the corning museum of glass i saw this art nouveau vase...

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isn't the transparent colored glass over foil luminously lovely?

i finally got around to a first attempt at this technique.

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these two beads have a transparent cobalt blue core that was rolled in silver foil. then, at the top of each an encasing layer of grass green, below that pale transparent lavender with a transparent cobalt ruffle at the bottom.

wolfmother - 'white unicorn'

Sunday, May 20, 2007

overly decorative earrings

remember these?

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more earrings.

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the dangles are yellow rice pearls with glass long tube seed beads & sterling silver.

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of montreal - wraith pinned to the mist and other games

Saturday, May 19, 2007

back to beads...

sorry i wandered aways from beads for so long - this is afterall - belvedere beads.

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remember these little blue beads?

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they're back with some added pearls, blue austrian crystals, aventurine beads & sterling silver.

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i have some new spring earrings.

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bryan ferry - just like tom thumb's blues

Thursday, May 17, 2007

weirdsville

this is some of the best outsider art we have ever found.

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they came from an estate sale this morning - the artist's name was carl spezio.
all of these were done in the late 60's thru 70's.

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these 'masterpieces' are oil paint on cheap-o canvas boards.

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and sadly, none of them are titled.
wouldn't you love to know what he called them?

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kiki p. oodle gets into the picture.

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we think this one is about the barbarians song "are you a boy or are you a girl?"

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the barbarians 'hey little bird' 1964

(sorry, i couldn't find a clip of are you a boy or are you a girl?)

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napoleon p. oodle doing his best impression of robert hughes.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

creative lull

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sometimes, just before a burst of new work, i have a lull.

i'm thinking about what will be new in my paintings, and jewelry, this spring.
and while i'm pondering i just putter with other things.

like making cupcakes

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and messing with my macro lens.

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Sunday, May 13, 2007

dandelion day

what could be more sunny & beautiful than a dandelion?
i will never understand why my neighbors think they should be obliterated.

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right now my lawn is full of them and white violets and some sort of little blue flowers.

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In german it's called a pusteblume, translated as "blow flower."

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a new party dress bead - red ruffle - red, white filigrana, pea green filigrana

Saturday, May 12, 2007

fiddle dee dee

fiddle heads in my jurassic yard.

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fiddle-dee-dee, fiddle-dee-dee,
the fly has married the bumblebee.
said the fly, said he,
"will you marry me,
and live with me sweet bumble bee?"
fiddle dee dee, fiddle dee dee,
the fly has married the bumblebee.

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oh no, yesterday was the gem show, and my wallet was wide open.

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right about in the center (above) - look - carved soapstone fly beads.

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my favorite thing - the tumbled onyx hearts - they look like wave worn beach stones.

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my mom, who thinks our yard full of 4' emperor ferns is weird, is the one who christened it "the jurassic yard." happy mother's day.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

new earrings

new overly decorative earrings.

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venetian bells - flameworked glass beads, tigers eye, hematite, glass seed beads, agate & sterling silver

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yellow moss - flameworked glass beads, carved soapstone scarabs, glass seed beads, carved bone & sterling

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deep sea - flameworked glass beads, glass seed beads, mother of pearl & sterling

the tiger lillies - crack of doom

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

garage sale report

last friday & saturday was the first big, warm weekend here for garage sales.
we rode around in the sunshine van with the windows down and our heads hanging out like a couple of dogs.

here's the loot i found to take apart and make new jewelry with.

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stoneware, rose quartz, ebony, coral, coconut shell, mother of pearl, agates & nuts & more.

feist - mushaboom

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

evil blossom

a poisonous looking blossom

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a core of cim's meringue rolled in a homemade mixed green frit, then a wrapping of pea green filigrana and a red ruffle.

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who's that sleeping in my bed?

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it's the wee wolf - napoleon p. oodle.

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