Jewelry Muse

I have spent the last couple of days creating some new pieces of jewelry for my new PayPal Store. Needless to say my jewelry muse is in the house and hard at work. lol

Today, I’m working on the “unique one of a kind pendulums that I make, and some new meditation beads & rosaries. Go here to see some of the pendulums I have made in the past.

One of the pendulums I made this afternoon is similar to the Amethyst Pendulum Necklace at my Gaia’s Garden Blog site.

thought for the day: “Help me to find my happiness in my acceptance of what is my purpose: in friendly eyes; in work well done; in quietness born of trust,  and, most of all, in the awareness of your presence in my spirit.” – Alistair MacLean, Hebridean Altars

Mixed Media Collage Assemblage

What a great Collage Assemblage Video! This could be one way of recycling old paintings & sketches, and a creative way to use all those old frames stored in the garage. I love it!

thought for the day: “Creating a collage from parts of paintings is like keeping a diary of certain incidences of your vision.” – Louise Cadillac

Horus and The Crow

After many days of very hot weather it finally cooled down today and that makes me a happy camper.

I’ve been playing around with this piece for a couple of days. The inspiration for it came partly from watching crows in our yard and partly from a dream I had about a crow reading aloud from a book about the history of Horus. I was told by someone standing next to me, that I was there only as an observer. About midway through the dream I woke up and couldn’t remember a word the crow said. lol

Anyway, I had fun creating this painting. I will try to research the connection, if any, between Horus, the hawk-headed Egyptian god of the sky, and crows. That should be interesting . . .

The Observer – Acrylic Art – Mixed media Collage – 9 x 12 inches on paper

“Hear the voice of the Bard! / Who present, past, and future sees; / Whose ears have heard/ The Holy Word / That walked among the ancient trees.” – William Blake

Happy Earth Day

Here’s wishing everyone a wonderful Earth Day!

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.  Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.  The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”  – John Muir

Monday

Here is a wonderful video featuring Maggie Ayres thoughts and techniques behind her beautiful cocoon creations. Amazing!

To find out more about Maggie Ayres and her artwork go here.

“To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.” – George Kneller

Butterflies in the Garden

There were butterflies in the garden this morning . . . .  So beautiful and so fragile! They inspired me to want to do something creative. I have been so busy with other projects, I haven’t had the time or inclination to work in the studio.

At times when I am feeling blocked, but feel the need to create something, I pull out my stamps, watercolors and various papers and create whatever comes to mind. I find it helps me to get the creative juices flowing again.

When I had finished this piece, I took it into Photoshop and added one of my favorite  quotes.

“Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.” – Arthur Koestler

“You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star.” – Nietzsche

Chakra Meditation Bracelet

Today, I got my beading supplies out and made another Chakra Meditation Bracelet. This one has both an amethyst bear and a lapis bead for the third eye. Reason being that the bear represents the person’s favorite animal spirit. I also added pink quartz dangles  to symbolize  love & the compassionate heart.

I used a hematite heart for the first chakra, carnelian for the second chakra, and amber for the third chakra. For the fourth chakra I chose a beautiful hand carved rose quartz bead, and an aquamarine bead for the fifth chakra, for the crown chakra I selected a rainbow quartz bead.

Each bead is individually wire wrapped by hand.

Chakra Meditation Bracelet

Made with 925  Sterling Silver Wire & finished by a  Bali Sterling Silver Toggle.

I love making sacred jewelry and it was a perfect way to spend my afternoon. Happiness for me is being surrounded by a sea of beads, drinking in all their vibrant colors and energy.

Monday

I spent most of the day cleaning our mud room. I put away all the umbrellas and raincoats, and removed all the little odds and ends that seemed to have made their way there.  It felt really good to get rid of all the clutter!

Here are a couple of preliminary sketches for an illustration I am working on. I will share more of the story behind this project later on. Right now, all I want to do is eat dinner, watch a movie and then go to bed.

“This is a work of fiction.  All the characters in it, human and otherwise, are imaginary, excepting only certain of the fairy folk, whom it might be unwise to offend by casting doubts on their existence.  Or lack thereof.”  – Neil Gaiman

New Work in Progress

Nature Talking – Acrylic- Mixed media Collage – 9 x 12 inches on paper

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”  -John Muir

“If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking.
Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.”
–   Raymond Inmon

It’s a Rainy Day

Well it has been a rainy day today in the bay area and it came down hard at times. I snapped this photo as the rain water gushed down our driveway.

I spent the day finishing up an acrylic painting I have been working on, and later I’m going to finish reading my book “The Artist’s Quest for Inspiration” by Peggy Hadden. This book is absolutely wonderful and very helpful!

thought for the day: The spirit, like the body, can be strengthened and developed by frequent use. And  for this reason it is necessary for the artist to know the starting point for the exercise of his spirit.” – Wassily Kandinsky