Time to Weave

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

I would like to believe that the verb “weave” implies compatibility. Woven garments and rugs come together with complimentary colors and fibers whose blend creates something of beauty. Tapestries and other wall hangings do the same as the threads weave together in harmony.

Families, communities and cultures are also woven and consist of unique individual “threads” that come together to produce the whole. I’d like to believe that the majority of these result in compatibility, but know this isn’t always the case. I do, however, appreciate the idea of being woven into a family where I can retain my individuality yet mesh with my loved ones to create the personality of the group. (We do have personality!)

I think it is interesting how our personalities and mannerisms may vary slightly when we are woven with different groups of people. Just as the other threads of a woven art piece can affect the look of the individual fiber, people influence one another. Some human tapestries bring out my better side while others do the opposite.

Many years ago we lived in Alexandria, Louisiana. There was a weaver in my housing edition and I could see her loom in a big window when I went on walks by her residence. I often thought it might be relaxing to learn this skill. It seemed the ultimate art form resulting from knowing just what fibers and colors should be brought together; yet I never felt this was my artistic calling.

I also admire those jewelry artists who do a beautiful uniform job of wire weaving. I find it to be a difficult technique to master, but refuse to give up. This week I noticed a bracelet design in one of the bead magazines at the bookstore. (Yes, we are lucky enough to still have a bookstore!) The bracelet featured a weave I hadn’t yet tried; so I read the directions and went home to make it. It’s true that I’m often refuse to buy the entire magazine for just one thing I like. Shame on me!

The picture immediately below shows the first piece I tried. It was going to be a bracelet, but I couldn’t ever quite get the clasp right, so it ended as a necklace. I used 6 copper wires as the basis for the weave. They wanted to curve and I let them.

I wanted to see if I might include beads in between the weaves and tried adding small blue seed beads on the second necklace. I would have liked using larger beads, but found they created too much distortion in the shape. You may note some of this even with the tiny seed beads.

After practicing on two necklaces I decided to try another bracelet and used nine base wires in this. Again I worried with the clasp for several evenings and eventually found that with nine wires, the bracelet really didn’t require a clasp. You can see from the photo that I simply swirled the wire ends.

There are many other methods for finishing these, but this seemed appropriate at the time.

There is a certain rhythm to weaving. I thought the repetition would be tiresome, but find it somewhat relaxing in its tedium. Wire weaving, however, lacks some of the personality of weaving with fiber. I’ve yet to discover any surprise regarding how the wire will come together; perhaps I’m too new to the adventure. I think, however, that my next weaving will include some colored hemp along with the wire in order to play with a broader spectrum of possibilities.

While I continue to practice this wire weaving, I likely continue considering what I bring to the tapestries in my life and will hope to add something positive to each. By doing so, perhaps I can influence another “fiber” to do the same.

What have you woven today?

Bracelets, Necklaces, Philosophy, Techniques, Wire Work 1 comment

Pickle Face

Filed under: Philosophy, safety, Torch Work | Back to: Homepage

Long time readers may recall a blog entry some time ago wherein I wrote about “pickle pants”. I was referring to the holes that I found in my shorts after dripping pickle across them after I soldered something. If you aren’t familiar with pickle, it is used after soldering to help remove fire scale. I heat my pickle in a small crock pot so it works faster than cold pickle.

Yesterday, rather than dripping the pickle across something, I managed to splash it. My copper tongs weren’t working well as I attempted to grab a small piece of wire from the crock pot and I bent over the pickle to look at it closely. Just as I peered in, the tongs snapped sending splashes of pickle onto my face. Although it only felt wet, I knew I should wash it right off. I wasn’t sure if any had splashed into my eyes, but ran upstairs and used my special eye wash to thoroughly wash my peepers. At the same time, I said a audible “thank you” to my son-in-law who purchased and mailed me the eye wash that I mounted above my sink. He said he wanted me to be able to “see” his son as he grew up. I think he’s a very smart fellow.

When my wits returned, I wondered why I take my safety goggles off following soldering and before I rescue pieces from the pickle. From now on, I’ll be leaving them on until I’m ready to leave the torch room.

I was lucky, the pickle on my face caused no harm – just a bit of excitement. It was, however, a big reminder about safety. When I rush around or when I’m totally comfortable with a potentially harmful technique, I think I tend to wave some precautions. This is just STUPID! If I don’t watch out for my health, I won’t be making jewelry or anything else. How about you? Let’s all be careful at whatever we are doing and stay safe!

By the way, if you don’t have a son-in-law like mine or husband like mine who makes me torch in a safe environment, get yourself a surrogate. We all need someone to watch after us.

Philosophy, safety, Torch Work 2 comments

I Know Who Moved My Cheese

Filed under: Bracelets, Cold Connections, gifts, Metal Work, Pendants, Philosophy | Back to: Homepage

I’m preparing for a few art/craft shows in the Fall and thought I would get a jump on making some small, inexpensive items that could be stocking stuffers. Last year, I made a healthy number of wire bookmarks. There were wire cats. dogs and rabbits. This year I had visions of other wire animals hanging from the shepherd’s hook bookmarks. I was happily working on these when I happened to glance across and see my husband who was reading. Then it hit me. Someone moved my cheese!

If you are not familiar with this phrase, it is derived from the title of the 1998 book by Kenneth Blanchard  Who Moved My Cheese? (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Who+moved+my+cheese) Companies and educational groups bought this book by the dozens and used it to make employees cognizant of the fact that times are changing and we need to be prepared to learn new skills and to problem solve. Many of us who were “encouraged” to read the book felt we could have gotten the idea with a simple memo, but hopefully it made a difference to others. The full-day workshops on the topic were a bit much.

My “cheese” realization” came when I noted that my husband was engrossed in a book on his IPAD II and no longer needed a bookmark. With the onslaught of electronic readers, I had to rethink the number of bookmarks I might need this year. Many of my friends and customers who are readers no longer need bookmarks.

It was fortuitous that I realized I might not need so many bookmarks this year before I made a hoard of them. I garnered my bookmark energy and set out to find something else small that I could offer at the art shows. I’m currently working on a few very small pendants/charms that could go on a chain, bracelet or a BOOKMARK.  (Surely, that cheese didn’t all move away.) Unfortunately, these little things take a bit longer to make, but I’m sure I will get faster as I make more and more.

The charms with a religious theme might work well combined on a bracelet or simply as a single charm attached to a beaded bracelet. Surely something will hatch before long.

In the meantime, I’ll be making just a few new bookmarks and trying to pay close attention to any other cheese that has been moved since last season. Of course, it would certainly be exciting if I had a clue what customers want ahead of time. But where would be the fun in that??? I’ve just got to follow the cheese, but in the meantime it’s important just to realize that it moved.

Bracelets, Cold Connections, gifts, Metal Work, Pendants, Philosophy 4 comments

Freedom to Play Around

Filed under: Necklaces, Pendants, Philosophy, Techniques, Wire Work | Back to: Homepage

Before I begin, let me assure you the above title is not a statement about marriage.

Do you play with wire? One of the most enjoyable parts of playing with wire is manipulating it in various directions just to see what it does. There’s something relaxing about the freedom of working WITHOUT a pattern or a set idea of how a piece will turn out.

Art is one of the few places where the guidelines for problem solving are so open. For example, we’ve recently had a problem here at the ranch and needed a prescribed outcome. There was absolutely No Freedom regarding how things should turn out. When your irrigation pivot won’t run and you have to problem-solve a solution, you want the outcome to be a pivot that runs! (0bviously!) In art, however, the outcome may be unexpected, yet appreciated.

I have worked with what I call “double wire” designs for several months. You may recall the necklaces shown on May 28 which were double wire designs. The Chaos Necklace series has pieces that also begin with the double wire idea.

Today, I wanted to show two of the newer pendant-type necklaces that have hatched as a result of playing with the double wire idea. Both of those shown below feature tourmaline that I purchased from Magpie Gemstones (www.magpiegemstones.com). I actually used just one strand of tourmaline to complete both of these pieces and have also used some of that strand for other things. It was a good buy!

It’s interesting to see how different this style turns out when the wire starts in the same manner.

I’m not sure why I call is double wire, since all the pieces are made from a single piece that doubles back on itself. The challenge is how to make that single wire into a pleasing configuration. Give it a try and see what you can come up with.

If you aren’t a wire worker, just play around with drawing the way the wire might go. By the way, if you come up with something exciting, send it my way!!!

Freedom to play around can be found through many venues. It might be the way you dunk the basketball or a new dance move. Perhaps you play around with a new configuration in arranging a shelf full of books or nick knacks. I think that freedom to play around is just as much an attitude as an action. Am I stuck doing things the same old way, or am I free to try something different? Am I free to let those around me try something new?

Lest one of you takes the above to heed and get’s fired, I should remind you that we need to choose appropriate routes to freedom. If your boss isn’t into it, take care. If you ARE the boss, why not give an inch? We could all stand to play around just a bit more.

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The Calico Cat & Lessons About Aging

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My Mom’s Calico Cat has lived with us at Dreamcatcher Ranch for the past seven years. I believe Callie must be at least twelve or thirteen years old, but my Mom assures me that this pet is still “just a kitten”. She’s a scrappy little outside cat who has always been good at catching her own bird supper. Callie used to perch on the second floor window sill of our house which is very close to a wonderful tree. For a long time I thought she was lovin’ the shade, but she was just waiting for a juicy morsel to fly by or land next to her in the tree. It’s been some time since I’ve seen her on the ledge. Lately she’s been much more likely to sit like a statue in the grass, probably hoping something would happen by. I think she must be getting a bit too old to perch up high.

Yet, it seems she hasn’t lost her touch. She left tale tell (of is it tail tell?) bird feathers at the front door a couple of days ago as if to say “I’m not too old for this yet!” Today I watched her exercise the ultimate in cat problem solving. She again perched on a window sill. This time, however, it was just outside my studio on the first floor. She waited and waited until finally I heard a “whop” on the window. and then a “thud”.  As often occurs here, a bird flew right into the window and whacked itself on the head. Callie grabbed that dazed bird in her mouth and pranced off to eat her fill. I know what they say about old dogs and tricks, but I do believe that this old cat has learned a new trick or two. She reminded me that even as we age, with a bit of problem solving we can still do the things we enjoy.

The same day the Calico cat taught me a lesson, I did a jewelry show at Mother’s nursing home. I am always well entertained when I do these, but this day was special. For example, one of the Alzheimer’s patients was in the living room as I set up. It wasn’t long before she located someone to unhook her oxygen and push her near my display. She rolled her chair directly under the middle of my tables and for the better part of two hours she sat intently looking at the jewelry. She fixated on two necklaces in particular and surely must have ask at least forty times how much each of them cost. By about an hour into this, I didn’t even need to reply because other people in the room would yell out “it’s twenty dollars” or “it’s thirty dollars”. I got so tickled I had to turn away. Once I looked up and she was wearing one of my copper rings. When she and I tried to remove it, we couldn’t get it over her knuckles. Every time I tried to pull, she hollered. Finally, I had to get a nurse to remove it. I thought I had it out of reach, but within ten minutes it was on that finger again!

I worked with another nursing home resident as she selected several items. She has shopped with me before and buys things for her daughter. Although she picked out a more expensive bracelet, we managed to negotiated a price she could handle for all the pieces she wanted. During this negotiation I was bent over her wheel chair with my face close to hers. As she started to retrieve her money from her purse, her legs began to shake which is not unusual for her condition. I quickly told her about a little boy in my class who often had the shakes and showed her that I liked to put my hand right on top of his head. I did that for her and she immediately quit shaking. We just looked at each other in disbelief and didn’t tell a sole what had happened. Believe me, I’m no healer, but the patient and I were both happy.

Finally, another resident rolled into the room and said “are you the one?” I replied that I guessed I must be. So she went back to her room and brought me her broken necklace for repair. Since “I’m the one” I’d probably better get it fixed for her before I go back to the home.

The question you might query is about what these episodes have to do with anything. It may be a big stretch, but they all say to me that we mustn’t give up what we like just because we grow older. An old cat can still adapt and catch a bird. Women can enjoy and manage to purchase jewelry and you can find someone to help you if you just look for “the one”. I’m actually relieved to know all these things as my years march on. I plan to keep doing what I like to do, look at pretty things and believe that “the one” is just around the corner ready to help me if I need it.

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Heavy Metal

Filed under: Creativity, Diversions, Earrings, Metal Work, Necklaces, Pendants, Philosophy | Back to: Homepage

The creative mind is a funny thing (not funny “ha, ha”, but funny “unexpected”). My day started with an early morning walk. Early for this artist is 9 AM when it’s already good and hot in South Texas. The moment I went out the front door, I spied my mother’s cat, Callie, who has lived with us for ten years. She’s a beautiful little calico who was lounging, full body, in the bird bath which was empty due to our drought. Can you picture her beautiful black, white and yellow body against the white concrete of the bath?

As I started down the hill, I was accosted by the loud sound of one of the hawks that is homing here at the ranch this summer. We’re not talking about a sweet little bird chirp here. We’re talking about a loud “caw, caw, caw” in a screeching tone as the hawk circled my head. I wasn’t sure whether I should run back to the house or hide under a tree. Eventually the hawk went on and I proceeded down the hill.

At the bottom of the hill and on down the road between pastures the wind brought a cool mist from the irrigation machine that was watering the land. It had that marvelous clean smell to it and reminded me of fresh rain. It was cooling for a while, but soon thereafter, my own mist was dripping off my brow as I trudged on in the heat.

The sights and sounds of the ranch engulfed me as I continued walking, encountering little birds, startled calves and lizards swishing through the grass. Just as I was thinking how pleasant it all was, I got to the top of the hill and there stood four of the bulls. They really are beauties in this own right, but the final sound I heard on my walk was the splat, splat as the business of those guys hit the ground. What a bummer!

Long ago, Dr. Sidney Parnes, taught me that one of the best ways to get creative ideas is to engage the senses. From him, I learned to bring fragrant tea or other natural aromas into the creative thinking process. I remember a tactile experience I provided for graduate students who, with eyes tightly shut, gently held a large strawberry in the very middle of one palm while touching it with one finger of the other hand. It sounds crazy, but they did some great descriptive writing following this experience.

With this in mind, I sat at the workbench and let the results of the morning walk wash over me. I thought I might produce something organic and natural looking, but I did not! I ended up with heavy metal jewelry. The pieces below started as foldformed metal and ended with chain. Even though I tried to put pretty beads on the pieces, they just didn’t work. How could the sights and sounds of nature drive me to this?

The piece on the left is a pendant hanging from leather. It started as a rectangular piece of metal and just kept changing. I used a ceramic bead on the leather.

The earrings below were planned as leaves, but that chain just kept getting on them and I finally gave in. They have a nice little swish to them and I’m pleased that they aren’t noisy little fellows.

So here’s the question. How can a morning walk end up as heavy metal jewelry? The answer lies in the nature of creative thought which often erupts from experiences. In this case the experiences were sensory. Those sensory experiences can open the artist to possibilities that were previously blocked. The idea/art produced may have no seeming relation to the experience; yet they are connected. I think it’s important to remember that when ideas cease to flow or your muse has gone home, there are many things you can do to find your way back home. The trick is to be open when creativity knocks on your noggin. A closed mind bears no art! 

You see . . . creativity really is a funny thing!

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Which Came First. . .

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

. . . the design or the beads? I’ll bet you thought I was asking about the chicken and the egg.

Something initiates most new ideas, inventions, problem solutions and designs. Artists who say they’ve lost their muse might benefit from the examination of how their art begins. With musicians, the question is often “do you start with words or with melody?” The fiber artist might query whether the fiber drives the design idea or the idea hatches and initiates the search for the right fiber. Does the author select a setting or environment to write about and then create characters or vice versa?

Jewelry designers might well consider the above question “do my better pieces start when I’ve become fascinated by the possibilities for designing with a particular bead OR do I develop a design and then search for what gemstones would compliment it?”

For example, the bracelet on the left started with the square bead. Although you can’t see it in the photo, it is not perfectly flat and I wanted to show off its character. This bead led to the adaptation of my previous dimensional design and required the development of a square, as opposed to oval, face. You may recall the former, shown below, from past blog entries. The tutorial for this one is in my etsy store.

The bead has come before the design several times when customers have brought me rocks or gemstones collected during their travels. It’s often a challenge to make the right design to show off their treasure.

Other times, the design comes first. You’ve previously seen the double wire necklace series. These copper armatures require just the right size and shape beads for elaboration. Since each armature is a bit different, the bead requirements vary from piece to piece. The necklace below, found in my etsy shop, features heishi shaped moonstones and garnet rounds. I played with other beads before finding the right ones for this design.

Of course the bead and the design may come together at one time. Is this the perfect marriage? Do your exciting pieces begin this way?

At this point you may be saying “who cares?” Art just happens. If your art flows freely, you don’t need this analysis, but what if it doesn’t. I think we all go through periods, whether long or short, of inactive inspiration. These are times when we wait for a great idea and it doesn’t come. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that a little analysis of previous work could prove helpful? It doesn’t work for everyone, but it might work for some. During those “dead idea” times, I’d try almost anything!

A careful analysis of my own work reveals that the design usually comes first. I spend a good deal of time playing with wire and that’s how most things hatch. The problem often occurs in the search for the perfect complimentary beads. Sometimes my impatience during this search causes me to use the wrong beads and then the design falls flat. I hope to become a little more patient during upcoming searches.

I’d like to believe that the artist’s muse doesn’t really run away, she just needs a little time to rest now and then. Yet, it wouldn’t hurt for us to give her a little nudge through analysis.

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Lucy at Dreamcatcher Ranch

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The past few days I’ve looked a bit like Lucy when she and Ethel had the candy wrapping job. I’m sure you have seen snippets of the episode of the I Love Lucy Show where the candy comes faster that Lucy and Ethel can get it wrapped and moved down the assemble line. You can see it on YouTube.

I’ve always tried to make the most of my jewelry design time. Often this means stringing one piece while metal components of another have their turn in the tumbler or dry outdoors after they’ve been properly sealed.

I usually prepare several pieces at once before taking them downstairs to the torching room. Therefore, while some things are annealed or soldered others dry or tumble and this creates an assembly line for the designs – I’ll bet you have the picture. It probably works the same way at your house whether you’re preparing dinner while washing clothes or feeding the cows while the flat on the tractor gets fixed. We all multitask.

This week, however, the tumbler seems to get finished before I’m through stringing and the wire armatures are ready for embellishment before I get the foldformed pieced annealed and into the patina. I feel like someone gave each instrument in my orchestra a different tempo and some are playing a nice andante while others are engaged in a runaway fugue!

OK, you say, just show us the problem. Where are the pictures? Well that’s part of the problem . . . I didn’t get any pictures taken before the pieces went right out. You’ll have to trust me when I say that 13 necklaces, 5 bracelets and 14 pair of earrings have left this Lucy show since Friday.

Tonight, I’m going to stop wrapping those pieces of candy just like Lucy did and take a break. Here’s the only problem. Lucy ate some of those chocolates and I don’t think I should ingest any of these copper components. I guess they are just going to have to stay in the tumbler a few extra hours or just sit and wait to be annealed. What I do know is that it’s time to slow down the assembly line and get control of the schedule. After all . . . who’s is charge here?

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Thanks Papaw!

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On Memorial Day we are reminded of the thousands of military men and women who perished for our freedom. I was touched this morning by the Today Show’s story about young widows of military men who have banded together to help one another and make the most of their now solitary lives.

I am among the lucky ones. I haven’t lost a family member through military service even though my father, grandfather and uncles all served on foreign shores. All of them came home whole. We were blessed. So today I honor my father for his service in the army. He fought in World War II and the Korean Affair, but he never spoke about either. There were no war stories and there was no mention of what he saw or felt. I was left to wonder.

I know he was among those enlisted men who was commissioned during the war and I’ve heard my mother talk of how difficult it was for him to adapt to the change from “one of the guys” to leading the guys. I also know that he learned to cook while in the army; yet her never discussed the difficulties or the true significance of his time. I never even knew how he managed to come home one night from a foreign town wearing the wooden shoes that eventually set on our fireplace mantel instead of his army boots! I’ll bet that would have made a fine story.

At the end of active duty, my dad remained in the reserves and each summer he spent his vacation with other reservists during two weeks of hot summer camp. I don’t even know what he did there other than sweat!

In 2000 when my dad knew he had little time left on this earth, he asked my husband to fetch an old shoe box from his closet. The box held a military belt with a leather holster inscribed with U S. The holster contained a well kept Colt revolver that I had never seen before. My dad told us that he carried this in war time and that his father carried it in World War I. Now it hangs in our locked gun case as an ominous reminder of what was and what remains today. We are a country that fights to protect humanity and continues to sacrifice for the common good.

I now believe that my dad kept his stories to himself for many reasons. In particular, he did not seek sympathy or admiration for what he had done. He just did what most other young men did during that day and time so long ago. I also believe that to talk is to remember and he didn’t want to relive those desperate war days. He simply went on with life and left them behind as best he could. He must have dealt quietly with his own hell of memories and perhaps it’s best that I never knew what he experienced.

Thanks Papaw. I miss you.

family, Philosophy 4 comments

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

Filed under: Necklaces, Philosophy, Wire Work | Back to: Homepage

No, I’m not practicing a witch chant; I’m just continuing my work on the double wire series. You may recall seeing some of these necklaces in a post several entries back. I continue to be fascinated by the myriad of possibilities that exist with this basic design. That’s the “Double, Double” part.

Then there is the toil. Each time I pull out a long piece of wire and double it back, I get excited about what may develop; yet, I toil over how to get just the right balance in the wire armature and the beads. The necklace on the right looks a bit off, but I turned it too much in the photo and it is actually OK in person. I would have taken another photo, but this one found a home yesterday. Part of the toil comes as a result of needing to think of both sides at once. I’ve learned I can’t just do whatever I want with one side of the wire and hope I’ll be able to do something appropriately balanced with the other. It just hasn’t worked that way. Yes, I know I should probably draw the design before I start, but I’m a hands-on designer, not a pencil artist.

A significant part of the toil is determining how many beads to use. Originally, I planned to use many more beads on these armatures. I had an unfinished double wire necklace with me one day while visiting a boutique and wanted to get the owner’s take on the armature shape. She liked it, but didn’t want any more beads on it. She appreciated the simplicity. In other words, she helped me see that less can be more.

Finally, as the title suggests, there’s the trouble part. This occurs when the boutique client calls to request another double wire necklace “just like” the one I sold her last week. “Sure,” I say while wondering what in the world I sold her last week. I often feel like quite the dim wit as a client carefully describes the pieces she wants replicated and I have no recollection of what she’s talking about. Obviously, I must do a better job of taking photos of EVERYTHING. I just haven’t been that disciplined. Yesterday, I went to a gift shop that sells my work and took a photo of the display. It should help me remember a number of the pieces that found a home there. By the way, this store, called Paper Bear, is in San Marcos, Texas. Visit this unique place if you have a chance. 

I apologize for the poor photo on the left, but wanted you to see just how different these double wire pieces can be. This one seems to resemble a cat.

I guess my conclusion from all this “double, double, toil and trouble” is that it will continue for me. In the sports arena, that would probably be stated as “no pain, no gain.” Maybe for designers we could say “no play, no pay.” If we don’t play around with our designs (or toil), they will be the same old thing and may not sell. I, for one, am going to continue to play, take lots of pictures and hope for the best.

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