« April 2007 | Main | June 2007 »
"Schoolmaster"
Take a peep at the Schoolmaster. He's part of a teaching proposal I'm putting together for 2008. Imagine, having to get organized a year in advance. It just goes against my creative grain! Anyway, I'm hoping he'll be accepted and, if all goes well, I'll be teaching the techniques you see here. There's actually more to this piece but, in the interest of building some sense of suspense, I only showed a part of it.
| | | |
| | |
THE FALLEN SOLDIER
Don't weep for me
O' Land of the free
When it was my time to fall
'Twas for my country's call
'Twas for the land that I loved,
That I gave my all
And for the land that I loved,
I did freely give
And in her freedom
And her courage
I'll continue to live
c. 1993 Patricia Krull
O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
On Sept. 13, 1814, Francis Scott Key visited the British fleet in Chesapeake Bay to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes, who had been captured after the burning of Washington, DC. The release was secured, but Key was detained on ship overnight during the shelling of Fort McHenry, one of the forts defending Baltimore. In the morning, he was so delighted to see the American flag still flying over the fort that he began a poem to commemorate the occasion. First published under the title “Defense of Fort M'Henry,” the poem soon attained wide popularity as sung to the tune “To Anacreon in Heaven.” The origin of this tune is obscure, but it may have been written by John Stafford Smith, a British composer born in 1750. “The Star-Spangled Banner” was officially made the national anthem by Congress in 1931, although it already had been adopted as such by the army and the navy.
| | | |
| | |
I have a passion for beautiful earrings. I love to wear them and I love to make them. Because I also crave variety, I've learned to make my own ear wires. I never buy ear wires for my handmade earrings and I don't think you should either. Ear wires are very simple and quick to make and, creating your own will give you much more versatility when it comes to shape and size.
First, a quick lesson in measuring wire gauge. What you're looking at above is called a wire gauge. It's used to help you determine the gauge, or thickness, of your wire. I always use sterling for ear wires. Many people are allergic to other metals but most tolerate sterling well. Also, I always use 20 gauge wire, because that's what makes your earlobes do the happy dance. Heavier gauges are too heavy and smaller gauges aren't sturdy enough. So, get your wire gauge and I'll show you how it works.
Insert your wire into the slot that corresponds with the size wire you think you have. Or, I should say, you TRY to insert your wire into the slot. If the wire goes in, move to the next slot. When the wire won't go into the slot, that means you've found your gauge. It's that simple. The hole behind the slot is there so that, once your wire is inserted, you can easily pull it out without marring the wire.
Step 1: Measure the wire and trim each end so it's flush...nice and flat. I use cheap, diagonal cutters from the hobby store. Trim the very end of your wire, making sure to have the flat back of your cutters facing the long part of the wire. This will result in a flat cut on the end of the wire you're going to use.
Step 2: Lay your wire against a ruler (oscillating dinosaurs optional) and cut it to 2 1/2 inches, again, making sure the cutters are facing the proper direction for you to get another flat end on the piece of wire you'll be using. You can cut your wires any length you like depending on the type of earwire you're making but I find 2 inches to be the length I use most.
Use the length of wire you just cut as a measure for cutting your second length. That way, both pieces will be the same.
Make sure you're getting those ends flush cut.
Step 3: Use a nice chasing hammer to gently pound the very end of your cut wires. You'll need to do this on a bench block. I use a bench pillow under my block to soften the sound.
Step 4: Once you have a small paddle on the end of your wire, use your small, round nose pliers to bend a little loop in the end. Place the wire between the jaws of your pliers (actually, you should place the wire closer to the center of the pliers than you see in this photo) with just a tiny bit of the wire sticking up out of the top. (Objects and Elements carries pliers including a terrific set of Revere pliers).
Give the wire a firm, but gentle, twist, turning your wrist forward. This smooth action on your part should form a nice loop. As you're turning the wire, your left thumb should be supporting the wire directly behind where you're making the loop. I couldn't show this in the picture because my left hand was taking the picture!
Above, is what your wire should now look like.
Step 5: Place your wire into the jaws of a set of bailing pliers with the little loop facing you and the larger barrel of the plier away from you. The size of plier you use determines the size of the large loop of your ear wire. You can also use the back of a set of extra long round nose pliers for this step or a mandrel such as a knitting needle or ink pen.
Roll the wire around the barrel, again, with a smooth motion of your wrist. You'll be rolling away from your body.
Keep rolling until you get a complete circle around the barrel. Slide the wire off the end of the pliers.
Step 6: Using your flat nose pliers, grasp the wire right about the point where it criss-crosses. Gently bend the wire away from the loop.
Step 7: Use your chasing hammer and place the ear wire just on the edge of the bench block. Lightly hammer the circle of the ear wire right above the tiny loop. This will flatten the outer circle of your ear wire a little bit and give it a pretty bit-o-flash. Don't hammer the tiny loop and don't hammer the top of the large loop. Tip: only put the part of the wire you want to hammer onto the bench block. Definitely do not put your fingers onto the block. Anything that is placed on the block is fair game to be hammered!
Step 8: Place the end of your ear wire into the jaws of your flat nose pliers, lining up the end of the wire so that it is flush with the other side of the jaws. Gently bend the wire end just a little bit. Or, you can leave it straight if you like. They're YOUR ear wires. You can make them the way YOU like them!
A word about hammers: What you see here, from left to right, is a small part of my hammer collection. The one on the left is a rawhide mallet. Center, is a combination nylon/rubber head hammer. Far right is my fave, the soft-face, deadblow hammer. It has little beads or bb's or corn kernels or something inside that shake when I hammer and give the hammer weight. These hammers are used for hardening your wire. The materials on the faces of these hammers will stiffen the wire without marring it. Any of these hammers will do.
Step 9: Harden the earwires by gently but firmly hammering. This will stiffen up your ear wires so they don't bend out of shape at the slightest provocation. Hammer like this all up and down the ear wire, being careful to avoid that pesky, little loop again.
Step 10: This last step is extremely important. What you see in the pic above is a tool called a bur cup (also known as a cup bur or wire rounder. This tool is indispensable in creating comfortable, snag-free ear wires. Also, I have a small piece of 0000 steel wool that's been balled up between my palms.
Grasp the earwire firmly and insert the end of it into the bur cup. Hold the ear wire in the cup and rotate the cup 25-30 times. This will knock off those nasty rough spots that can cause unhappy earlobes.
When your finished with the bur cup, insert the ear wire into the ball of steel wool and squeeze while rotating the wire around; back and forth, up and down. This polishes off any remaining, stubborn snags.
Yes! NOW you're finished. And just look at those lovely earwires. Your mother will be so proud! And, if you're excited about these earwires just look what you else you can do:
These are just a few of the fun shapes you can create. You'll never go back to store bought again!
| | | |
| | |
I can't show you much more of this "top secret" project I've been working on but I'm not great at keeping secrets where it concerns my work so I'm spilling a few beans. This project has to do with lucky charms...personal magical juju and fetishes. I'm not at all suspicious and don't believe that objects hold any kind of power but there are certain things that hold deep meaning for me. These are a few of them (no surprises here!).
Isn't this the cutest little stone heart? This was another gift from Number Two son (number one and number two being simply an easy way to reference the sons...it's just their birth order, not the order in which I love them...I promise! Plus, it's better than calling them Thing One and Thing Two). Number Two is always on the lookout for stones, sticks, bones and stray rusty metal junk that I can use in my art. He's an artist in his own right (all three of my guys are very talented that way) so he understands the creative drive. Here's a piece of his work:
scratchboard "Elvis"
Isn't it terrific? I couldn't do this if I spent 5 years on a scratchboard piece! Not to leave anyone out, Number One presented me with this terrific pen and ink drawing recently:
"Elephant"
Again, so much more capable at drawing than myself! They must get it from Wife Whisperer. Number One's been exploring digital art lately. He may have a little more learning to do but this piece is nothing if not...interesting!
| | | |
| | |
"Divine" (sold)
I'm slowly but surely getting a few new pieces of jewelry finished (You can view the details here). These earrings are very delicate and lightweight; a combination of wrapped freshwater pearls and labradorite drops. The labradorite is a smoky grey color with flashes of blue/green...one of the prettiest and most interesting stones.
Speaking of stones, my 15 year old melted my heart last night when he dropped this heart shaped stone into my hand and casually stated "I found this on my trip". What could be better than an un-asked for gift from your own child? He had been on a scout backpacking trip to the Pedernales river in the Texas hill country and brought this to me from the river bank. Sweet boy...
Oh yeah, and speaking of backpacks...this bad boy (or should I say bad girl) was my anniversary gift from Wife Whisperer. Although, this is an awesome pack from REI, especially made for women, I'm starting to wonder if WW's confidence in my hiking abilities might be overblown. For my first tour with it, the pack felt great. It fits great and has plenty of space for all my essentials (although, I didn't find any special accommodation for my blow dryer). Ok, so my first tour consisted of a trip around the back yard with the pack totally empty. I might be in over my head here. But, if WW thinks I can hike the 129 mile Lone Star Trail then I'm willing to give it a shot, but I have a feeling he might have some serious whispering to do after about the first mile or so!
And finally, as I was frantically rushing to the car this morning, running late, loaded down with morning necessities and two sluggish teenage boys...watching the dog shoot out the door and down the street...the newly unfurling fronds of my sago palm caught my eye. The light was so perfect and the fronds so deliciously curly that I was forced to run back into my house for the camera. The thing I love about this picture is that I did nothing to it digitally. Click on the photo for a closer look. Somehow we weren't late for school. Probably it was my superior driving skills...ha!
| | | |
| | |
"Challenge"
spirit card
Ha! Let me keep my habit on and no one gets hurt. It's bikini season here in the far South and I'm just wondering...what help do I need? I need no help because I have no intention of exposing my flabby bits to the sun or anyone else this season! What's prompted these unpleasant ponderings? This was a spam subject line that came through my inbox. You just have to laugh at some of this stuff! Tell me, would this subject line prompt you to open this email or would you immediately jettison it into cyperspace?
Here's what I will be doing this bikini season instead: creating...in my studio...no bikinis in site. This weekend I finished two more cards for a swap I'm involved in called "Spirit Card Swap". I've posted about this round robin before but, for those of you who missed it, my artful friend Susan Tuttle is the hostess. She had the brilliant idea that each of us would create a folder to house inspiration cards. The folders are mailed round robin style and each artist choses a word for the theme of the card she will add to the folder. Each artist also decorates the folder. I can't wait to get mine back and see what creative alterations have been made!
"Ruth's Virtue"
spirit card
spirit card folder
spirit card folder close-up
This is one of the folders. This particular one is made of felt so I decided to sew my embellishments on. I added the leftovers from a sandwich paper transfer, a snippet from an antique book, a small piece of sheer fabric with silvery stars embossed on it, and topped it off with a layer of mica.
another folder
close-up
The cards and folders coming through are really gorgeous and will be a great inspiration to their owners. Thanks for the wonderful project Susan!
| | | |
| | |
I finished this new piece of jewelry yesterday and wanted to post some pics of it as it's a bit unique. I think it's fun to incorporate unusual elements and design techniques into my pieces. There's a lot to learn in this area but it's fun to experiment. This is a convertible necklace/bracelet set. It can be worn as a short necklace and matching bracelet or, by attaching the bracelet as an extender, it can be worn as a long necklace. I used the same idea awhile back with a very different looking outcome. The pic above shows the necklace in it's full, long glory.
short version
bracelet
I recently got these great, vintage brass lockets which have been a really fun way to incorporate my photos (and images from my vintage prayer card collection) into my jewelry. I also included a few other vintage religious pieces and lots of great beads including some gorgeous, faceted mother-of-pearl and some faceted tourmaline. Here are a few close-ups:
| | | |
| | |
"Balance"
Balance seems to be on my mind right now. I finished this piece awhile ago and have finally got around to posting it on my Etsy shop. I started with a base of canvas covered art board which I partially covered with masking tape and painted over. This makes an interesting background for collage and is easy to do. I added vintage ephemera from various antique books I have collected. I have a terrific, old anatomy book that I love to use. The focus of the piece is an altered cemetery photo that I took at Evergreen Cemetery in Galveston, Texas.
| | | |
| | |
