Wild and Wonderful

This past Thanksgiving before my daughter came home from San Francisco, I sent her money and asked her to come home with her pick of beads from The Bead Store. The only guidance I gave her is to pick out something she thought I would have fun with. As soon as she came through the doors and after the hug, I asked to see the beads she picked out and they were wonderful.

Not something that I would pick out but that’s what makes it fun! Give me a handful of random beads and challenge me to make something out of them.

In the mix were these beautiful blue glass beads with silver accents and two plum colored beads with an iridescent finish. I chose two of each and decide to make a silver wrap bracelet. Did you ever make something that was not only starting to get the best of you but decided that it was going to choose how it was going to turn out?

I envisioned a simple bangle bracelet showcasing these lovelies. But no…one more embellishment, now I have to balance that embellishment…then balance the colors and weight. This one was pushing me into corners where I didn’t think I was going to get out of. In fact, it almost ended up in the lake.

So I took a break…and a nap. After a few hours, I went back up and decided to give in to the creation and let it guide me to its final form. It did as it challenge me to go places and try techniques I have never tried before. It called to me to go outside my comfort zone and take a chance. It did and it won…but so did I.

I call it “Wild and Wonderful” for that’s what happens when we color outside the lines.

BTW – if you are interested in purchasing this lovely, I’ve listed it in my 1000 Markets Shop!

Tis the season

Every spare moment I get, I’ve been taking photos, editing and uploading to Etsy and 1000 Markets. I’m not done yet…so keep coming back.

It seems like this part of getting it online is harder than the actual creation.

‘Tis the season….

The shape of things to come

Today I was lucky to carve out some time to photograph my new pieces. They need naming, editing and descriptions – but I’m soooo excited to share them with you, I thought I’d throw out a little tease….

Angel hair…

Mermaid’s Tail.

Angel Hair.

Party Gras.

To add to the excitement, I’ve been accepted to my first juried show in February! More on that later.

Happy weekend!

Bold Color and Wine

The other day I was browsing in the wine department of West Point Market. As I was coming around the corner – BAM! – I saw this beautiful bottle of wine. The wine bottle was imprinted with rich, bold, colorful handprints. You could see and feel the texture of paint like a modern day fresco. The paint still looked like it was wet.

I was intrigued by the concept and held the bottle in my hands studying the color. I wasn’t so much interested in the wine as I was the brillance of the packaging. As I talked to the wine steward, he explained to me that they were featuring Meeker wines this weekend. This lovely bottle is Meeker’s Handprint Merlot which is selling for around $45 a bottle. Apparently, Mr. Meeker dips his hands in paint and as each bottle is complete, he puts his “signature” on the bottle.

Brilliant. But here’s my problem…

The day I was in West Point, I didn’t have my camera with me so I couldn’t capture this beauty myself. I wish I would have because I’ve had the darnedest time finding a decent photo to share with you. Come on, Mr. Meeker – if you are creative enough to make such a beautiful bottle of wine (and sell it for $45) – you could do a better job with your website.  You have a dinky little photo of this beauty on your website with no clickable links for me to find out more information – or to buy it.

I go to the West Point Market website – and guess what – nadda. Nothing on the wine events…at least, I could not find what I was looking for. The links were difficult to navigate and soon, I gave up.

I finally found a decent photo to share thanks to Google. It was on a wine tour website and I hope they don’t mind I’m using their photo. I’m giving them credit and kudos for knowing the importance of internet marketing.

Hey Mr. Meeker – I love the concept and I’m sure the wine is just as magnificent. But geez, at $45 a bottle – surely, you can hire a website designer.

A sandbox of color!

I’m a nut for color. It excites me, I seek it out, I relish in it. I can’t imagine my life without it. I would never drive a silver car. Although I always wear black and white, there is always a “splash” of color – whether it be a scarf or piece of jewelry. When we decorated our home, I painted the walls so that if you stand anywhere in the house, you see three different colors at the same time.

Yesterday we went to the Glenmoor Gathering, one of the finest gatherings of classic cars in this area. Gary is more into the appreciation of the cars than I am but with camera in tow, I had a great time taking photos. The paint job on these cars was so luscious that you could dive right into them and get lost in the color.

Speaking of color, I found this incredible website – www.colourlovers.com. It’s a website for color junkies like me. It has fun interactive tools where you can pull colors from a photo and create your own palette. From the palette, you can then create a pattern using many of their design templates. For example, I made this pattern from the photo of the hood ornament above:

Cool, huh? It also has interesting articles on color trends, interesting color observations and great photography.

Check it out – chances are, you’ll find me playing in there!

Beautiful Biloxi

We just got back from a mid-week getaway in Biloxi, Mississippi. We stayed at the beautiful Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino.  We love this part of the country. Mississippi is very dear to us as we built a home there several years ago. In fact, we purchased the property the spring before Katrina!

And then there was Katrina.

Having a house there, we were able to experience and watch from a distance the tragic touch of nature…but nothing like the folks that lived there and called Mississippi home.

This is not our house – our house wasn’t built before Katrina. But many beautiful ones were and left like this. I have to truly say that I have never seen this type of devastation at this scale before in my life and I still am in awe of what nature can do.

But this blog entry isn’t about tragedy. It’s about beauty – about rebuilding.

Driving around Biloxi we saw beautiful new buildings and homes going up along I-90. Not the beauty of the pre-civil war homes we saw in our first visit. This beauty reflected a renewed faith in the Gulf Coast and a willingness to invest to start over and try again. The homes we saw were breathtaking. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera with me for the drive. Maybe you may have to go there and check it out for yourself?

We stayed at the Beau Rivage, also destroyed in the hurricane. After the hurricane, the Beau Rivage was one of the first casinos to step to the plate and start rebuilding. And rebuild they did…

And oh – the colors! These colors speak to my soul…our house is decorated in the same color scheme…but not like this! Exquisite integration of color throughout like the carpeting….

But wait! There’s more. I was enraptured by the beautiful mosaic work in the lobby areas. It took my breath away. My photos don’t give the work the justice they deserve.

I’m inspired. My kitchen project seems so minimal now.

Nice work Biloxi! We’ll be back!

Wedding Dance

Now this gives the “first dance” new meaning. Good for them! I love creative people!

Happy Friday!

One piece at a time

I have a lot of things in my life demanding my patience right now. This is one of the ones I can talk about sensibly. Call it “Project Gone Wild!” Remember when  I thought a little splash of color behind the stove would be a great idea? I was not only saving money by doing it myself – I could use it as a creative outlet as well.

Well – my creative needs have been well satisfied. Now I’m just working toward the end. It’s no fun anymore. Too many pieces and I already had the end in sight.

That was always the problem I had in my artistic endeavors. I’m more from the immediate gratification camp. It’s my personality type and I make no excuses for it.

This one is pushing me. Typically in a situation like this – I would abandon the idea and start another project. But I can’t – it’s smack dab in the middle of my kitchen…in the middle of my house. It won’t go away.

So everyday at 3:00 – I drop everything and piece-by-piece, bit-by-bit, I work until Gary gets home. Sometimes, I even take advantage of an opportunity to work like last night when Gary wanted to watch the documentaries on the first moon walk. Saw it already once when it actually happened – why would I want to do it again?

There I was piece by piece with cement in hand. Gary walks by and chuckles – “How do you eat an elephant?”

If you see him and he has a mirror tile glued on his butt – now you know why.

Minnie’s Home

What’s better than white chocolate coconut cupcakes?

Having my daughter home making them in my kitchen.

Some Friday humor

Thanks Rita for passing along. Happy Weekend!