Bargains in Art Jewelry!

It's that time of year, when the artist is preparing many new things for the coming season, and wanting to send along some things to new homes.  My Etsy shop has a Bargain Basement (shh!) with free shipping in the US.  You might want to take a look.  Here's a sampling -- check my shop on Etsy (link to the right) for prices.  How can you lose?

An Edwardian style layered necklace in honor of Lady Shackelton, who braved the husband who braved the South Pole. Antique bugle beads and a pendant cobbled from an antique furniture escutcheon.

A big statement assemblage necklace, featuring a 50s era enameled crest and two Spanish coins, along with vintage rhinestones, a drawer pull, and quite a bit of attitude.

I can't believe I put this piece on sale; it is quite special, even if I say so myself.  The focal point is a fine, handmade highly detailed volcanic clay bead, set in a reliquary of upcycled tin.  Theese beads were carved of very fine black volcanic clay and fired to a matte sheen, soft reflections, and deep black color.  Along the leather chord, you'll see more of those beads, plus some antique African beads and one rectangular 1920s brass costume bead with engraved Egyptian motifs.

Autumnal Morning Mist, Bittersweet

Here in the Pacific Northwest, autumn brings not only new colors, but the fog we all know and love.  It dampens everything, even sound, so that things become quiet-still.  A brilliant maple tree can cut through the fog, though.

I love the way the misty air makes trees vanish into fading silhouettes, receding into an unseen, mysterious world .

The fog is a gift of the sea, coming in with moisture laden air, and sometimes you can smell the tangy sea-smell on the air, when the breezes are just right.

The fog condenses on everything and drips watery jewels from vines of fruiting bittersweet in my back yard.  Good night, Summer.  It's time to sing a lullaby to the trees, as they undress themselves for sleep.

Now you can see a network of branches and appreciate the moist texture of lichen.  Welcome a new beauty in the woods as nature settles for a winter nap.

There are things to love about autumn and the fleeting light of shorter days.  I'll start with the foggy maple tree and the dripping bittersweet vine.

Hummingbird Caught Sitting Still

Here's a fine Anna's Humming Bird in a rare pose:  sitting perfectly still,
with a tummy full of nectars of salvia and late summer roses.

Innocence Rewarded: A Boudoir Doll

She should have suspected when Herbert, second cousin twice removed, next in line to inherit the mine, invited her to dine al fresco on a windy moor, that it would not go well.  He claimed there must have been something wrong with the mushroom pate.  Alas, another case of mistaken mycological identity.

Chloe is approximately 27 inches long, all cloth and ragged remnants of hand dyed lace.  Her face is hand drawn, and I do beg you to take a look at her pretty little hands and feet as well.  Of course, children should admire her from afar; she is intended only for the boudoir of an adult.  She may be acquired in my Etsy store, link to the right.

Tinkham Tarns

The glory of living in Seattle is that it takes only about 45 minutes drive time to reach a trailhead that can take you to a place like this!  During the holiday weekend, I joined friends Paul, Sami, Jeanne, and Daisy (one year old the day before, making her about 7 in human years), for a glorious 5-lake hike up to the last of the Tinkham tarns, just below Tinkham Peak.

Here you will see the cliffs of the northeast face of Tinkham Peak, with talus slope and the remains of snow shed from their sheer heights.  It is this snow that feeds the tarn.  The tarn in turn, hosts a nice population of trout, most likely humped up there in a barrel on Drunken Charlie's back years ago.  Charlie was a sort of Johnny Troutseed, you might say.  I have tried to find more about him, but so far, no luck.  He's a legend around here and my brother tells me he stocked a lot of these mountain lakes.

The water was so clear you could see them, looking as though they were flying.

Such a thing must drive the fishermen absolutely nuts, to have to watch the while the smart ones turn up their noses at one's flies.  I think that day, though, they were eating mosquitoes, which is the only justification I can think of for mosquitoes.  Trout must be fed.  We humans were happy with light, cool breezes blowing mosquitoes away.

Sami, who likes to take a dip in cold waters gave the tarn a toes up rating of quite cold, and got out quickly to dry in the sun.


What a beautiful day!

Prepare Early for Halloween

Well, they moved in and just took over; they are noisy, untidy and they won't be budged. They don't get along even with each other. We'd evict them, but no one has the guts to go in there and kick them out.

Two ghoul dolls (they were once called "Hershey's kisses gone bad") occupy a thinly veiled cigar box with bones, rusty tin, and a tattered lace curtain. The assemblage has been finished so that it may stand on a shelf or hang on the wall.

Nasty, nasty little boogers -- I don't know why you would want them in the house, but I am trying to get rid of them.  You may inquire further at my Etsy shop, link on the right!

Tins Just Waiting for Upcycling

Shh!  Don't tell those commercial thrifts, they'll jack up the prices again and make these things too expensive to use for resale.  This is a closeup up of my stash, just waiting to be scratched up, cut up and upcycled into things quite unexpected.  I prefer to use reclaimed metal, which sets me free from the worry about waste and preciousness.

Now the next thing to consider is how not to do the expected, as in just cut out motifs.  I like to do as Jenny and Loran do, use the metal structurally, for my own imagery.

I don't think I can cut up the salve and toffee tins, though.  Those are too wonderful just the way they are!