Keum Boo Cool!

This past Monday I took a PMC class with Nancy Millerhttp://www.nancymillerjewelry.com
,of Saratoga Springs, NY, using keum Boo.I have learned everything I know about PMC from Nancy. She is a marvelous teacher and makes the most amazing jewelry. I have not been able to work too much on my art. We are moving and most of my things are in boxes. It was a wonderful break taking this class and I am in love with the results. I wasn't thoroughly impressed with Keum Boo until I actualy saw it myself. The gold with a liver of sulfer patina, makes me sooo happy! I had this skeleton key and wanted to make a silver heart to put behind it, or a star. My drawings did not come up with anything I was thrilled with. So I decided on wings. The "winged key" will be part of a necklace I want to make for myself. I have an "idea" in my head. Lets see if I can bring it too life. Also in the photo are Celie Fago inspired lentil beads I am making earrings from and a geometric bead I will use in something else. The square piece, made from scraps, has an impression of a horses head I made for my horsey daughter.

I am just starting to think of myself as an artist and seem to be growing into the role slowly. I have always known I could be creative but it has been suppressed for all my life. I just wouldn't or couldn't let it out. Once I started to let myself feel and see, the possibilities seem endless. I am inspired by other artists and follow what they do and what inspires them. I have not yet created my own style, but my guess is that will come in time. Right now I am learning new techniques and appreciating others style in hopes someday it will begin to emerge in what I do as something unique and beautiful. My confidence hopefully will build as I continue to grow and I will not feel so awkward calling myself an artist. My new home will have a studio ( I even feel weird saying that) for me to retereat to. My plan is to fill my spare time creating the visions in my head. Then I will be a true artist and not just a wanna be.

Things that inspire me. Nature, animals, vintage jewelry, old photos , landscapes, the sea

Meet "Zoe"

I introduce you to "Zoe", my kitty angel who watches over me. Also known as "Zozo, Beautiful girl, Princess Cat or anything else that happens to pop out of my mouth. I saw her picture through an adoption rescue years ago and HAD to have her. I was at Petsmart's door as soon as they opened hoping to be first in line to adopt "my girl" Another young girl had beaten me to the cage where the kittens were sitting and I held my breathe as she reached in and , Thank God!, picked a little black & white boy. I asked my then, 7 year old son, to grab that kitten before anyone else does and hang on to her. Who would steal a kitten from a child's hand, right? Well , after lots of paperwork and $80.00 later I held this tiny dewdrop of a kitty under my coat for her trip to her new home. She has grown to be one of my best friends. She is waiting when I get home to give me her famous tail hugs and is asleep right next to me when I wake in the morning. She knows I adore her and I can almost hear her say "I know", as I tell her how wonderful she is everyday. She just listens to all the adorations and seems bored with it all. As I sit here writing this blog she has walked over my keyboard numerous times in an attempt to get me to adore her, which she feels I need to do every waking moment. She has finally given up and is curled up next to me on the desk waiting for me to move on to something else. Today I am grateful for "Zoe". I have had a hard day and she helps me forget the rough day and take time just to adore her. She will assist me and follow me in all I do until I lay down in bed and call her name. She will then jump up and walk over my head, stepping on my hair (ouch!) and then curling up purring in my face, She washes my forehead with her rough tongue and I will tell her I love her before I fall asleep. I am sure once I fall asleep she leaves and prowls the house but she is there when I wake in the morning. Thank God for my beautiful "Zozo", she helps keep me sane.

Inspirations

These are some pictures of simple things that bring me such pleasure. For whatever reason they inspire me to be the best I can be, see the beauty in small things and live each day like it is my last. These photos take me to special places in my mind. Places I have been or wish to go. Some of them are mysterious and others just beautiful. Enjoy!

A new home, a new life , & hopefully , some peace

Very soon, my family & I, we will be beginning a new chapter in our lives. We are moving to a new home in the hill towns of NY. A brand new home, in the middle of nowhere, but yet , not too far off the beaten path. The air is cleaner, it is quiet and peaceful. We will be close to the barn where our horse is boarded ( another sanctuary for me). The drive to work will be longer, but the time in the car is my thinking time. I will have time to think about the coming day on the way in, and what needs to be accomplished. On the way home I can de stress from a hard day and enjoy an evening in a quiet, setting. I am looking forward to making this space my own, unpacking all my belongings that have been in storage way too long. It will be like Christmas! My children are excited about the move and a new school ( who would have thought????). I will be farther away from my family, however when we lived close, everyone was still too busy with their own lives. Our visits together will mean more now and we will appreciate each other more. Change can be scarey, and change can be wonderful. We will never get anything wonderful unless we take a chance and change our lives as they are now. We are all going to take a deep breath and take a plunge. My hopes it will be a wonderful adventure. I will keep you posted as time goes on. Photos show you the beautiful views that we will be blessed with every day. Enjoy!

Today's a new day

After an extremely stressful day at work yesterday I am looking forward to some quality time with my family today. It is a beautiful spring day and Jordan, my son, has soccer practice and my daughter, Mariah, has a riding lesson. I hope to expel any leftover stress from work and enjoy today. Maybe this evening I may work on some PMC earrings I have been making in my head. My days never go as planned so we'll see. I made everyone a good breakfast and all is well for the moment. My poodles are extremely dirty and desperately need a bath. They need to go to work with me tomorrow to become white again. My posts seem few and far between but I never have had a journal before and I'd like to use this blog as one. I am not where I want to be in my life. I am not where I should be and am not quite sure how I got here. All I know is that I want it to change. I enjoy what time I can with my kids ( like today) and do the best I can each day. I have faith that a better future will come my way because I do deserve it. I have attached a picture of my favorite boy and his poodle ( "Star"), just because it makes me smile.

excited, inspired

My artwork has been put on hold. My mind can only focus my attention on 1 interest at a time. Usually my mind buzzes with ideas I have for jewelry or collages. I even had an order of supplies come in and I still have not dug into them. I spent last weekend with my daughter at a natural horsemanship seminar. Horses are very important to me. Spending time with them is like going to church. there is something so spiritual about them. All my stress just goes whenI am with them. so learning to work with them in a way that makes them a partner to you and treats them with dignity & respect is exactly what I was looking for to work with our 5 yo thoroughbred. All these techniques we learned have been playing in my head over & over again. I can't wait to go and start applying what I learned and see what the horse thinks of all this and see if I can pull it off. We board our horse so I only see him 1-2 times a week. As the weather gets better we will go more. So my creating gets set aside until I am inspired to sit down again. But at least my mind is not idle. Hopefully it will not be too long before the ideas start flowing again.

My head is in a fog .

I am sick of being sick. I have had this virus for 8 days now and I am ready for it to be over with. I do not even have the energy to work on my jewelry or anything else productive. Oh, I did complete a collage I was working on last week. I titled it "Blue Boy" I think it is OK. I wish I had more confidence in my work. Being self taught I have no one to get feedback from. I do take pictures and show them to friends and they all say, "How nice." I have a small ETSY shop that possibly I can sell some of my work. I just started it and have not sold anything yet. I would like to get good enough that I can earn a some extra money after I retire. I enjoy the creative process very much and sometimes I can't sleep with all the ideas spinning in my head. I do have a small journal that I have sketches but not all these wonderful ideas I have get in there and many are gone forever. I haven't yet found my niche . I am hoping something will click at some point and I can take all the ideas I have and come up with something truly unique. But today is not the day. My head is in a fog and I cannot think clearly. I am going to rest the majority of the day. Nothing good on TV so I decided to check out this BLOG thing.