Ant Reprisal

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A couple of posts ago, I talked about the book Two Bad Ants by VanAllsburg. This weekend my grandson and I had a chance to put some of that story into action.

First, he discovered a trail of ants leading to a sugar bowl in my studio.

Inspection of the sugar bowl revealed that there were indeed 2 bad ants in the container. In the book, two ants stayed behind instead of following the other ants back to give the queen a crystal treasure.

I asked my little buddy if he would like to put the ants in a brown lake (coffee) an action that occurs in the book. He said “No – a red lake.” So, we made a red lake and many more than just those two ants were plunged into it. Actually, a good deal of the sugar also went into the lake.

We discussed the rest of the book, but decided against putting our ants in the toaster or electrical socket as happens in the story. Eventually, we just laid them out on waxed paper to rest. By the next morning, we had true SUGAR ants, but we DID NOT eat them!

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Variations on a Theme

Filed under: Bracelets, Creativity, Philosophy, Techniques, Wire Work | Back to: Homepage

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know that I make many analogies between jewelry design and music. This is yet another. Variations on a theme bring to mind classical music in which many of the great composers embellished their own basic motives to create numerous variations. Some contemporary musicians have also taken short snippets from classical music, varied these and employed them in new music.

Variations are also a big part of training in creative thinking wherein we ask participants to think flexibly and change an original idea. Sometimes the ideas that follow are better than the first and sometimes this exercise simply serves to reassure the thinker that they had the best idea in the first place.

The same is often true in jewelry design. I try many different versions of a “theme” or design to see whether it might be improved. Sometimes I initiate this process out of sheer boredom when I’m tired of the same design, yet it is still popular with customers. The following is an example of this.

You will likely recognize the bracelet on the left above that is a design I’ve been making for at least five years. I also sell the tutorial for it in my etsy shop and it has also been popular there. (Thank you customers!) https://www.etsy.com/listing/91729421/dimensional-cuff-bracelet-tutorial

When a boutique customer called to she needed more of the same, I realized it was probably time for another variation on this design. I’ve made it with square and rectangular faces in the past, but wanted something new. After experimentation with shapes, I created the bracelet shown on the above right – a variation on the theme. I plan to make this one again using more colorful gemstones that will show up better against the weaving.

Another popular bracelet, the wave, that initiated so long ago that I can’t locate a photo, also needed revamping. I changed the initial bracelet shape to triangles as shown below.

Finally, still considering the wave bracelet theme, I made a new “cursive” bracelet that proved to be a bit tricky. This one required plenty of wraps to help the 14 gauge wire hold its shape. I think this one holds further possibilities.

This was an interesting and somewhat challenging exercise and I continue to think “what if” regarding variation possibilities. But for now, I think I’ll just go play some classical music on the piano with a score that someone else wrote.

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Ants

Filed under: classes, family, Philosophy, Teaching | Back to: Homepage

There are several things you can always count on here at Dreamcatcher Ranch when the month is May. These include Summer weather, Spring pollen and ANTS! It seems no matter how hard we fight them, those ants are more determined than we are and we lose the fight.

Last week, however, I got a new perspective on ants from my three-year-old grandson. He actually seems to like them! At the least, he finds them very interesting. During our visit, we checked out online information and videos and talked about the little critters. I couldn’t help but tell him the story of Two Bad Ants, written by Chris Van Allsburg. It’s one of my favorite books that tells about ants coming into a home. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the book with me, so I just told the story of how a couple of ants lingered behind in the sugar bowl while the other, more disciplined ants, carried their treasure out of the house. The entire story is told from the perspective of the ants and it was difficult to get the real effect without the pictures. Yet, my grandson was intrigued.

Tonight, I decided to dig out that book and take with me on my next grandmotherly expedition. At first I couldn’t find it. That meant I had to dig through the many picture books housed in my closet and that’s when I realized. Those books were my old friends. I touched worn copies of Winnie, the Witch, Roxaboxen, Rabbit and the Moon, The Last Dance and other familiar works. My reaquaintance with them didn’t even require page turning as the memories flooded back from the mere sight of them.

I could tell you that I read these to my own children, but that wouldn’t be right. I read these to teachers and university students in my classes. No workshop with me was complete without story time after lunch. While some thought this was silly, others looked forward to this part of our day. I usually told, rather that read, the story as I showed the pictures. At times I used a prop or two such as the shawl I wore in various ways for The Last Dance. I not only remember the stories, but I remember the people and the situations wherein I used them. Those books are like little capsules of my past that hold more than I ever realized until this evening.

Lest you think I neglected my own children, I should tell you that the pages of other books like Drummer Hoff and Where the Wild Things Are have well worn pages as well from our family sharing. I’ll bet my adult son can still recite most of the verses in Drummer Hoff.

I believe in this new period of publishing where many books are ready electronically, but wonder what will remain from these to help hold the memories of sharing books with others. My hope is that we will always share real copies of picture books and that these will be passed from one generation to the next as treasured gifts, not just relics. For now, I’m just anxious to share with another little person . . . hand-on.

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Charity

Filed under: Necklaces, Philosophy | Back to: Homepage

I’ve been working on something for a silent auction for a charity this week and have attempted to discern what the word “charity” really means. My mind goes in different directions when considering the term.  Initially, I remember my days in Rainbow, an organization with roots in Masonry. I can still remember the teachings about “faith, hope and charity.”

Now, the word makes me think about charitable events. Often these are occasions where people get dressed up and socialize while being enticed to donate sums of money to charity.

My other thought revolves around those individuals who benefit from charity. The dictionary indicates that charity involves “generous actions or donations to aid the poor, ill, or helpless.”  Those who make donations to charity often feel good about their efforts to help humanity.

I must admit that as I worked on my auction item, I was more interested in making a good showing than in the charitable part of my efforts. Would my piece look OK amongst the other offerings? Would it contribute well to the auction?

The first piece didn’t fly with the two men who looked at it. Neither indicated that they would bid on it. If the men wouldn’t bid on it, I decided it wasn’t right.

Late the evening before the piece was due, I started anew. Working late and picking it up again the next day, I did finish at the appointed time. As I designed this piece, I thought about the title of the charity event, The Cattle Baron’s Ball and the idea of a rope or lariat seemed appropriate. I don’t know if this piece is better or not, but it IS finished and has been delivered. The gemstone is a beautiful piece of amethyst from Magpie Gemstones.

Another of my pieces was donated by a boutique I serve for a charity event in a west Texas town. I was especially pleased that the boutique owner chose some of my work. I’d been calling this “ethnic”, but she termed it “tribal”.

I have to say that I’m a bit unhappy with myself over my concern for how my work would show up at these auctions. I think that’s pretty selfish. My focus should have been on how I might solicit the most money for the charities. The products would probably have remained the same, but I would have felt better about them. I think it all stems as to whether my charitable donation was for the needy or for myself.

Either way, I’ve learned something. I would appreciate my own efforts more if I focused on charity as love which is the term used in some of the newer versions of the Bible (faith, hope and love). Next time, I want to make that auction piece for the right reason.

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