Showing category "Creating by the Brook" (Show all posts)

Spring Has Sprung at Wabi Brook!

Posted by Julie Brown on Friday, May 25, 2012, In : Creating by the Brook 
I love the hustle and bustle of spring.  It's such a busy time of year here in northern Ontario, with the plants are coming out of their winter dormancy and sprouting up as fast as they can, gardens going in as early as possible - but not too early or the frost will kill the tender plants.  The birds are building nests, hoping to raise their young in time for them to be able to fly south in a few short months.

It's been busy in the studio, too!  So much has been happening I hardly know where t...
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From Chaos, Beauty

Posted by Julie Brown on Thursday, April 12, 2012, In : Creating by the Brook 
Out of chaos,
 

 

Comes beauty.

       
 



As promised in my last post, here are some of the pieces I crafted for the Art Gallery of Sudbury.  I will be delivering them in person on Monday. 

You can also see the effect all that rampant creativity has on my studio!  It's not usually the tidiest at the best of times, but now it's completely out of control.  Tidy the studio is at the top of my to-do list when I return home next week!



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Great Things Are Happening At the Sudbury Art Gallery!

Posted by Julie Brown on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, In : Creating by the Brook 
I have been invited to be one of the artists featured at the Art Gallery of Sudbury's big Spring Event Fundraiser!  My work will be on display at their dinner and concert on April 27th. I am honoured to be part of this big gala event, and have been hard at work in my studio creating new work especially for it.  If you are in the Sudbury area, you might want to save the date.  It sounds like it will be a fun evening filled with good food and great music by the Eagles cover band "Hotel Californ...
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Finding My Muse

Posted by Julie Brown on Friday, September 23, 2011, In : Creating by the Brook 

Muse:

a. A guiding spirit.

b. A source of inspiration.

I have often been asked from where I find the inspiration for my work. If you have seen any of my art or jewellery, I think it is obvious that much of my work is informed and inspired by my deep connection to the earth. I am so blessed to live in a relatively unspoiled rural area, so I am able to experience and be inspired by the land and all that grows and walks on it, the rivers and everything that swims in them, the wide-open sky a...


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Art Jewellery Challenge Finished and Another Lovely Surprise!

Posted by Julie Brown on Friday, May 13, 2011, In : Creating by the Brook 
As promised in my last post here is my Aspiring Metalsmiths Art Jewellery Challenge piece.

 
  

 

A mixed media pendant created from sterling silver, copper from my scrap box and a broken agate I found in a box of odds and ends while spring cleaning my studio.  This design stretched my skills quite a bit, but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process.  Interpreting a painting in metal was the perfect marrying of the artist me and the metalsmith me.  I can definitely see myself developing this challe...
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A New Studio Assistant and an Art Jewellery Challenge

Posted by Julie Brown on Wednesday, May 11, 2011, In : Creating by the Brook 
I had a very productive day in the studio yesterday, working on a piece for the Aspiring Metalsmiths' April Design Challenge .
For this challenge, we are to design a piece of wearable art with a favourite artist or style in mind.

I have many favourite artists and styles, but I chose to focus on Lawren Harris, a Canadian artist who was one of the founding members of the Group of Seven.  I love the lines in his abstract landscapes.

Painting of Mt. Lefroy by Lawren Harris, 1930 

 
Unfortunately, the photos I took of my work in progress didn't t...

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I'm Sketching Outside So It Must Be Spring

Posted by Julie Brown on Friday, April 8, 2011, In : Creating by the Brook 

While walking up to my studio yesterday, I saw my first flock of geese flying north.  There have been robin and killdeer sightings, too, but not yet by me.  These are fairly good indicators that spring is truly on its way, although it is not unusual to see robins looking for worms under the snow.

Getting back into my studio to work on the backlog of portrait commissions and other projects feels wonderful.  Even though I was fretting the whole time I was away, thinking about all the work I had ...

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Inspired by Trees

Posted by Julie Brown on Sunday, February 27, 2011, In : Creating by the Brook 
Across the road from our farm and house are gloriously tangled thickets of hawthorn trees.  
 


I am always struck by the lacy, abstract patterns created by the branches and long, spiky thorns.

Beyond the hawthorns stand groves of poplar and birch.
 
  
Their linear, upright trunks contrast beautifully with the hawthorns.
 


These trees inspired the copper and sterling cuff I created for the Thing a Week Jewellery Challenge on Flickr.  

This is a view taken last autumn, looking from the stand of poplars...
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Jump-starting Creative Flow with theThing-a-Week Jewelry Challenge

Posted by Julie Brown on Sunday, January 30, 2011, In : Creating by the Brook 
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, ...

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Creating by the Brook - Inspired by Cranberries

Posted by Julie Brown on Monday, December 13, 2010, In : Creating by the Brook 
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


See these,...

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A Bit About Julie


Julie A. Brown, Wabi Brook Studio I'm a full-time artist and metalsmith following my own path. I live 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, or collaborating with my Spirit of the Arts partners, you will find me in my garden under my favourite tree, lost in a good book.

                                                                     

2014  Winter Workshop Schedule:


Wednesday, January 26: 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. -  Ring Making
Friday, January 31: PD Day Art Adventure Camp: 9:00 a.m to noon - Exploring Texture and Colour
Tuesday, February 4: 10:00 to Noon -  Earring Making
Thursday, February 13: 10:00 to Noon -  Chain Making
Tuesday, February 18: 10:00 to Noon - Introduction to Metal Stamped Jewellery
Tuesday, February 25: 10:00 to Noon - Metal Stamped Jewellery Part 2
Tuesday, March 4: 10:00 to Noon - Metal Stamped Jewellery Part 3

I am also available for art and jewellery lessons by appointment. Contact me for more information about the workshops or classes.

All workshops and classes are held in the studio at Spirit of the Arts on Lakeshore Road in New Liskeard, ON
                                                                                                                   

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