Lately I've been on a real Alexander Calder kick. In fact, three of my five Thing a Week pieces have been inspired by his work.
Week two was this copper necklace:
Week four, a cuff:
This past week, I created another copper necklace, again Calder-inspired. I think I was channeling my inner hippy, too. Doesn't it look like something straight out of the 60's?
Maybe I've been listening to too much Bob Dylan lately. At any rate, I'm enjoying the challenge of creating something each week. The added challenge (that I put on myself) of recycling materials that I have on hand is making me stretch, and that is a good thing.
This is another painting I was working on before Christmas and couldn't show you because it was a gift. I painted this sheep for my husband from a photo he took of one of his favourite ewes before he took the plunge and sold our flock. He was finding the work involved in looking after over 100 sheep plus their lambs just a bit too much in addition to his full time job off the farm, and so made the tough decision to sell them.
I thought that this pastel painting was almost complete, needing j... Continue reading...
The last few months have found me floundering a bit creatively. Feeling a bit stuck and uninspired, in an effort to jump-start my creative flow I joined the Thing a Week Jewelry Design Challenge 2011 Flickr group. Each week we design and create a piece of jewellery, and upload a photo of it to the group pool. So, at the end of the year, we should each have created 52 new designs. I thought that participating in the challenge, with the accountability factor of posting something each week, ...
This was a Christmas gift for my daughter, so I wasn't able to post this before the fact. As often is the case with gifts I create for my family, I wasn't able to finish it in time (I have a difficult time saying no to last minute commissions from clients!), so I gave it to her as a work-in-progress. It is still incomplete, most of the individual images need finishing, and then it needs some tweaking to pull the whole thing together.
This mixed media portrait montage is of Tilly, my daugh... Continue reading...
And why wouldn't they? They are a thing of beauty. I love wellington boots the way some women love their Jimmy Choo's or Ferragamo's.
And these Hunter wellies are so red. And shiny. And sexy.
My old wellies (wellie wanna be's) are pink plaid. I loved them, too. We had some good, down and dirty times together, but after only two years, they are worn out. Faded and full of holes, they are finished. I've been wearing them anyway, because I could not find replacements in my small town, a...
We had our first great winter kick-off blizzard over the past three days. Snow, howling winds and -30 Celsius windchill. We will have worse storms throughout the winter, but this first one of the season always seems to hit hard.
The view from my front door in a brief moment when I could actually see beyond the porch!
The chickadees were hanging on for dear life! I am amazed that they could even fly in the face of the gale.
My wreath looks lovely with a bit of snow on top, don't you think?
High bush cranberries grow thick along the creek (brook) and road. The tart, deep red berries provide nourishment through the autumn and winter to the birds and animals that live nearby.
The berries are particularly striking against the white snow, and that vision inspired the creation of a series of pieces I call "Winter Berries".
"Winter Berry" Synthetic Red Jade and Sterling Silver Earrings
"Winter Berries" Synthetic Red Jade, White Freshwater Pearl and Sterling Silver Necklace
The Aspiring Metalsmiths team I belong to has a monthly blogroll challenge. I missed the one last month (I managed to take photos and start my post and then my computer crashed and I lost it), and I'm late with this one, but better late than never, right?
The topic this month is "What skill do you want to learn next?" I found it incredibly difficult to choose just one thing. I love learning new skills and, still being very much an "aspiring" metalsmith, I feel that I haven't really solidifi... Continue reading...
It's found a new home here on my website, with plans to stick around for quite a while. You should see more activity here, now that everything is in one place. Easier for you to keep track of what's new at Wabi Brook Studio, much easier for me to write about it.
The website has a new look, too. Among other things, shopping for art, portraits, and jewellery just became easier! Now you can purchase your favourite things directly from the website! I'm all for simplifying things, and this ha... Continue reading...
I'm a full-time artist and metalsmith living a creative life inspired by nature, and fueled by tea and dark chocolate. When I'm not in my studio slapping paint around or pounding metal, you might find me trying to tame my jungle of a garden, or playing a rousing game of Chuckit with the dogs.
Catch Me at Riverside Farmers' Market from 8 a.m. to noon:
I'm a full-time artist and metalsmith living a creative life inspired by nature, and fueled by tea and dark chocolate. When I'm not in my studio slapping paint around or pounding metal, you might find me trying to tame my jungle of a garden, or playing a rousing game of Chuckit with the dogs.
