I Heart Macro

I am a bird lover, for sure.  I have 9 bird feeders in my backyard and nothing gives me more joy than to see the feeders FULL of beautiful birds, feasting on a snack while on their way to their next destination.

But let's face it....it's January and the colorful gold finches are not rushing to my feeders lately.  So, my macro came from this cute little hand painted (not by me!) bird house that sits in my kitchen, next to my windows where the real birds are flying free.

Thanks for stopping by!

Art Bead Scene Challenge - January 2012

Trellis by William Morris, 1862

This is my first attempt at creating a piece of jewelry based on artwork selected by the Art Bead Scene.  It is a beautiful wallpaper design entitled Trellis and designed by William Morris.  I LOVE these colors together!  The beautiful moss green with pops of orange and yellow....well, just lovely!

The first thing I did was look at my ever-growing bead stash - I was searching for a bead with a bird, or an enameled bird.  The only birds I had on hand were dragonflies.  But then.... I found one of my lamp work eggs that I have been hoarding, made by the talented Kelley Wenzel. It is the PERFECT shade of green and it had flecks of yellow!!  How awesome for me! It was close enough because really, what DID come first, the egg or the bird????

As it so happens, I also found some additional lamp work beads in the same shade of green also made by Kelley. As my search for additional components continued, I happened upon the gorgeous clasp you see in the picture above, made by Cassie Donlen.  I have been waiting for just the right piece to use this clasp.  Personally, I could just keep it on my bead table and stare at it all day long.  I mean, she etched the copper, hand cut the form, added the awesome patina, and she even added riveted elements!  Such talent!  Here is a another picture of the toggle clasp:

I knew the piece still needed some sort of focal and I wanted to capture the leaves.  So, I wire-wrapped a few enameled pieces together, starting with the gorgeous brown enameled maple leaf, made by Anne Gardanne, an enameled flower charm by Sue Kennedy (more pops of yellow!) and an enameled headpin made by the Enameling Queen herself, Barbara Lewis.   I was a winner in one of her blogging book tours this fall and I was excited to use that head pin!

Additionally, since I did not have a bird bead or charm, I made the wired bead components in a "messy wrap style" to loosely resemble a bird's nest.  I DID say loosely resemble, as I realize that they are not truly a bird's nest shape! 

Finally, I HAD to use this awesome copper leaf chain by Ad Adornments.  I do love this fringe chain! Leaves!! Here is my finished piece:

I had so much fun with this challenge.  I hope to keep it up throughout the rest of the year!

Thank you so much for stopping by my little world!

I Heart Macro

I dedicate today's I Heart Macro to my favorite all time artist...Michel Delacroix

"La Voiture a Chevre" (au Luxembourg), 2002

The picture above is a macro shot of the original painting, below:

The macro shot above, is the bottom right corner of the lithograph below:

I cannot remember what Michel Delacroix named this piece of art (my bad!) but, it is one of the few he has created of scenes outside of Paris, this one in Washington, DC. 

To say I have admired his work for years is an understatement - I have several large lithographs scattered throughout my home.  Nearly every painting he creates includes his cute little spotted dog, captured in my macro shots above. 

"Michel Delacroix is known by collectors around the world for his ability to capture on canvas scenes of a time long relegated to the realm of memory; a time when the pace of city living was quieter and the quality of life was more intimate and harmonious" (excerpt from the book, Michel Delacroix, Eternal Paris, Axelle Fine Arts, 1998). 

When I look at his paintings....I feel like I am standing smack dab in the middle of an era long ago. Peaceful and calm.

Thanks for stopping by!

Better Late than Never?

So, today is January 5th, 2012.  I always seem to be a day late and a dollar short, but I have been pondering what my "Word of the Year" will be.  So many bloggers out there have written inspiring posts as to how they chose their Word.  There are so many words to choose from...

Patience...it is the perfect word to describe what is lacking in my life. I lack patience in almost EVERY aspect of my life.  I am an Instant Gratification kind of girl.  Because of this, I also tend to be a Fly Off the Handle kind of girl.  It can be very off-putting, especially to me.

Just some thoughts as to where I need more patience, listed in no particular order:

• My dear sweet mother moved in with me in November of 2010.  After many months of her saying "pardon" because she could not hear me, she FINALLY agreed to purchase hearing aids last year.  On those days/nights when we are sitting around the TV, which is already turned up too loud,  and I ask "Mom, do you want something to drink?", her reply is typically "Pardon?" , I usually respond - very loudly to ensure that she can hear me - with  "Mom, are you wearing your hearing aids?" She replies sheepishly with.... "No, I forgot" or "No, they hurt".  I want to find the patience to realize that she is 76 years old and someday, God willing, I will reach her age and not want to be reminded that it sucks to be losing ones senses, literally. 

•  My best dog-friend in the Whole Wide World is my boy, Sam.  This is how he spends much of his day...in between his walks and backyard play time.  He will be 11 years old on April 19th.  He lost his sister/litter-mate, Abby, my other best-dog friend in the Whole Wide World, on April 12th, 2010.  He still misses her...we both do.  Anyhow,  sometimes after our 30 minute walk in the rain, after I have spent 10 minutes drying off the mud and general yuck of the neighborhood from his paws and tummy, he decides "oops...I guess I should have relived myself on my walk" and he will stand at the door.  I want to find the patience NOT to call him an expletive at that very moment.  That's all I am going to say about that.
• I want the patience NOT to drive through McDonald's and gorge on their french fries, just because I crave them. I can't even stand to put a picture of them in this blog....it would require a fast food run. 

Photo by Wikipedia

• I don't know anyone who can tolerate traffic--especially in Northern Virginia--I am no exception.  I am so tired of glancing over to the driver next to me and noticing that he/she is talking on their cell phone, TEXTING, eating, shaving, or putting on their mascara - all while driving.  It absolutely infuriates me that "they" feel it is okay to put MY life at risk while they do whatever distracting habit they choose.  My blood pressure rises. My pulse races. Soon, I too, become distracted from being so angry at their distractions.  I want the patience to take a deep breath, and continue on my way without it ruining the next hour of my life as I vent in the car and put someone else's life at risk, or worse, becoming "one of them".
• I like routines.  I typically plan (in my head) my entire day the night before.  I rarely have a day where I have scratched every item off of this mental list I made.  I want the patience to know that it's okay....the world will not come to an end ...it all gets done eventually.  This feeling of "non-accomplishment" can sometimes affect my already low self-esteem.  I really need to pay heed to this bullet point.

The bottom line is I want less stress in my life, 99% of which is self-induced.  I feel that if I can attain more patience, there will be less stress.  I want to enjoy every day and make each day better than the last.

I won't bore you with anymore of my diatribe on "what sets Patti off".  But, if you have read this much of this post, I thank YOU for your patience.

New Year...New Work

In between un-decorating the house and simultaneous cleaning, I have retreated to my jewelry table.    The first item up are these cute earrings, with lamp work beads by Sue Kennedy.

I added sweet little sterling silver heart beads, as well as some sterling mirror-ball beads.

Next, I got to play with some heavy gauge (10 g)  sterling silver wire I have been hoarding and made these bangles.

These are my new favorites to make......lots of hammering!

Lastly, I very recently purchased a gorgeous porcelain pendant from Marla James .

Isn't that glaze awesome!  I knew I wanted to make a pendant and I wanted to somehow mimic the 3 circles in the design.  So I got out the silver wire and made some rings.

I really should have finished cleaning the rings before I took that picture!  Anyhow, then I went to my stash to find some coordinating beads and formed a pile to see how this might all come together.

I settled on lampwork by Kelley Wenzel, and the lamp work disc bead by Blue Seraphim.    This is what the completed pendant looks like now.

I am sucker for sterling silver, so I made a bail, hung the pendant from sterling silver chain, and made a silver clasp, as well.

I really like how this hangs from the neck!

Hope you all enjoy the rest of the week (it is finally cold here!) and thank you for stoppping by!