All Wrapped Up...Well, Mostly!

I had the marvellous opportunity this last week to take several wire-working classes at The Alaska Bead Company from Dallas Lovett, the amazing designer and teacher. He is a soft spoken, calm teacher who makes everyone feel that they can "get it" and create his beautiful designs....and we could! I enjoyed getting to see his current work, and to get glimpses of his new directions. I find it very inspiring to see how such accomplished artists process the influences around them into something that has never existed before.

I had to walk to my own bassoonist, of course, so I worked in different wires and colors, but I got some items finished during class.

AND.......a couple I didn't quite get finished! (But I will, promise!)

Christmas Cleaning...um, Decorating!

My brilliant housecleaning moment today: Not so much! My sweetie brought up all the Christmas decoration boxes today. We are having a couple small gatherings here this season, so I am going all out on decorating the living and dining rooms for the first time in a couple years. Of course, decorating in my small-but-tall house means getting all the tchotschkes and doo-dads and collectibles down from way-high up, then cleaning and dusting rarely-accessed levels.

Being up on the stepladder puts me at eye-level with the chandelier, which has upward-facing glass cups. And I see dead bugs in the glass cups. Eww. So I had the oh-so-clever idea of using the canned air to blow them out. It worked. It worked VERY well, unfortunately! Dead bugs and bug parts fountained feet into the air and rained down on me, my hair, the workbench/kitchen table, on the floor. I now get to sweep and vacuum, and I will be finding bug parts in my beads for AGES!!

I am convincing myself that the chandelier is brighter now, and that bug-parts-surprise was worth it. Because I have another chandelier like this one in the foyer, and I'm talking myself into tackling that one, too. Maybe tomorrow!

My Poor Baby!

Tonight, my sweetie and I took our miniature longhair dachshunds for a walk in a lovely wooded area. The mosquitoes were fierce, but we didn't think much of it at the time. Half an hour after we got home, I got a good look at Maureen's face. She looks like the losing prizefighter after 10 rounds! Apparently, she is fiercely allergic to mosquitoes! Swollen eye, fat lip, lumpy nose. So pathetic and heartbreaking. We called the vet and were told to give her Benadryl. We're waiting for the swelling to go down in the next hour, or it's a trip to the all-night vet! I feel like such a bad mommy.

Creative Collaboration

My husband and I are prime examples of "opposites attract." We each have our own hobbies, and there is very little overlap between them. Until now. He was reading one of his magazines, and picked a metalworking project for our moms for Mother's Day. I looked at the pattern, and saw the potential for my adding to it.

The pattern is for a brass flower with 8 petals and a leaf, on a stem. The picture in the magazine has it all in brass with a shiny, smooth surface. The original design is by Walter Yetman in the April/May 2009-Volume 22, Number 2 of Machinist's Workshop.

My husband likes working with his machining lathe to make tiny, intricate pieces. I have been playing with copper and texturing hammers and metal stamps and patinas. So I suggested we both work on this. We chose copper for the petals, brass for the stem and inner parts and the leaf. He created the individual components, and I textured and patina'd and shaped the petal and leaves, he soldered the leaves on and fastened the parts together.

They turned out beautifully, and our moms loved them. And my husband and I found our differences still complement each other quite well!

My Wonderful Haven

It has been such an amazing week- I am behind on my posting, but have so many topics!

Here is one of the joys of my creative life, and it's currently CLEAN! Crafters may be aware of the elusiveness of open workspace. As I am working on a project, the creative components pile higher and higher, and the available space shrinks and shrinks. Then another project that just can't wait joins the fray, then the mending, then a handful of brand new treasures I don't have time to put away, then....chaos ensues. At that point, I have to stop everything, and put everything back where it belongs. And start the process again.

I remodeled the workroom just less than two years ago. I finally decided that my space shouldn't be dark, dingy white with piles everywhere and no storage. I emptied it out, painted it bright colors, and organized it within an inch of its life. I have been buying/collecting inspirational art, and this weekend, I finally put it all up around the room. I love it!

Now to play!