tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58843621517294410782024-02-07T00:15:49.901-08:00Circus Meets BoardroomRachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-47385056458435225472018-02-18T16:53:00.000-08:002018-02-18T16:53:31.195-08:00Art Bead Scene February ChallengeEvery month the amazing group of talented artists over at the <a href="http://www.artbeadscenestudio.com/">Art Bead Scene Studio</a> challenge their readers to create a piece of jewelry using art beads inspired by that month's featured artwork. And girl, can they pick some beautiful works to inspire! I know you are probably wondering what an art bead is, so let me tell you. An art bead is defined as a one of a kind, or small batch of beads that are handmade by an independant artist. I decided to dust off my polymer clay tools and half a dozen other supplies, and accept this challenge!<br />
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Here is February's Inspiration Artwork titled, Star Lovers, by Warwick Goble</div>
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I loved the colors, the stars, the movement, and especially the birds in this piece! I used a whole laundry list of things to create these beads, including polymer clay, resin, acrylic paints, alcohol inks, embossing powders, crackle glaze, and StazOn ink. I layered and fussed and massaged them until my hands were covered in all kinds of probably carcinogenic goodness! I am rather pleased with the results after not making beads for several months, but you can judge for yourself. I found the perfect sari ribbon to string them on too!<br />
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Until Next Time...<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Challenge Yourself!</span></b></i>Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-88712814665748910372018-02-06T12:58:00.003-08:002018-02-06T12:59:13.545-08:00Santa on the Rocks They say the first step is admitting that one has a problem...Hi! My name is Rachel, and I am addicted to the feeling of Christmas morning. You know what I'm talking about? That feeling of excitement, of anticipation, of does Santa really exist, kinda jitters that you had as a kid? Or as an adult do you get the equivalent feelings of "I wonder what's in this box that rattles like broken glass when I shake the bejesus out of it" or the "I wonder what's in this expensive looking box that appears to have been professionally wrapped by the Junior League president herself" kinda feeling? Oh make no mistake, if by chance that box WAS wrapped by a Junior Leaguer who was raising money for St. Judes outside of Dillards, then it WAS professionally wrapped! But I digress...you see, my friends, for the past year I've mastered the art of recreating that Christmas morning feeling! And would you believe that all it took was some ice, a few carcinogenic dyes, a little soda ash water, some Hefty storage bins, and lots of cotton items! Well to be fair, at this point in my addiction I've purchased several hundred pounds of ice, more than enough carcinogenic dyes and soda ash to be on the ATF's watch list, and the very kind folks at Dharma Trading know me on a first name basis! And I know what you're thinking, and NO I'm not cookin' up some new form of crafty meth! I am ice dyeing! It's super easy and never fails to give me that Christmas morning rush! Let me show you...<br />
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Step one is to gather dyeable items. Cotton is the best and other combinations of materials will result in some pretty awesome things too, so experiment! First, you need to wash the items in a professional laundry detergent and then you soak them in a mixture of soda ash and water for at least 30 minutes. The soda ash water preps the garment by opening up the fibers so that they will take up the dye. Don't skip this step. Now, please note that soda ash water will eat the gel clean off of your fresh manicure, and will leave your hands looking like they belong to an 80 year old who is in dire need of a few boluses of lactated ringers (aka severely dehydrated) if you do not use gloves! And the stuff will put your eyes out if you get any in them. No kidding. Invest is some serious safety glasses and thick rubber gloves for this part of the process! You can find all the supplies and a good tutorial <a href="http://www.dharmatrading.com/">at Dharma Trading Company</a>.<br />
Now gather up an old storage tub. You probably already have one that's missing a lid, or if not just dump out those few Easter decorations that are hogging up a perfectly good ice dye bin. You can put them back in the new one you will buy later. While you are at it, you will need something to set your dyeable thing on so that it doesn't become contaminated by the dye runoff. Confused? Hang on, things are about to make sense. I like to use some metal shelf like things I found in the organizer/kitchen section at Lowes.<br />
So while wearing your rubber gloves and sexy protective eye wear, take the garment out of the soda ash water and twist or scrunch it up and place it on the rack in the storage tub. Here is an example of some napkins I'm about to dye. They look like Cinnabons, don't they? Perfect for Christmas morning if you ask me! They are in a clear tub-yeah I know, I'm fancy like that :)<br />
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Now here comes the fun! You get to pretend you are Darth Vader for this part! You will need a respirator for this. Know why? CAUSE THE DYES ARE CARCINOGENIC AND ARE GROUND FINER THAN FROG HAIR and you will inhale a lung full of color so fast that your Pulmonologist won't have time to say ventilator! Get a good respirator, because trust me, you will want to do this again! These are Procion dyes and they come in lots of colors!<br />
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I have found that you can do this two ways and get the same results! Yep, its that foolproof! One is to put ice on the garment and then sprinkle the dyes on the ice, or you can sprinkle dyes on the garment and then add the ice. Either way, the action of the ice melting is what pulls the dye through the material. The twisting of the garment and the trickle of the dye through the garment is what results in the marble effect that is the outcome of this process. It is like tie dying but without all the rubber bands!<br />
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This picture shows the first way: garment, ice, then dye..</div>
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This is the garment sprinkled with dye prior to adding the ice</div>
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ice added on top of the dyes</div>
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Now whichever way you decide to go, you must give it 24 hours to melt. I like to put a batch under ice before I leave my studio for the night, so when I come down the steps in the morning I have that Christmas morning feeling! Look what I got!<br />
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Did you notice all the blackish water that is left over? That is why you have the shelf system in place because you don't want your garment sitting in this muck! Now you get to put on your gloves again and rinse the dyed piece with COLD water until the water running out of it is fairly clear. Then the final step is to wash this rinsed garment in HOT water with the same professional laundry detergent you used earlier. This final wash sets the colors. Once you've rinsed and washed your dyed piece you are ready to strut around in it like a proud peacock!<br />
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This is a freshly washed batch</div>
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I spy with my little eye a...</div>
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The colors are simply amazing</div>
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And if you are lucky enough to have enough snow, you can use that instead of ice! </div>
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Here are some finished pieces</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8MetFyWuBAkPvdbNBGXcA6CFBnJ9cAOyAI5m6MAdphon0Z8MMAKrHjPMZmEDn70A3HWigt5xXJ_Sq0lo2mzvKks-THi-BZxMQQHiLLlrufN6yt-AkAdNe_hXipqSmGPr9KDfc4nAeKDz/s1600/SCARVES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1216" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8MetFyWuBAkPvdbNBGXcA6CFBnJ9cAOyAI5m6MAdphon0Z8MMAKrHjPMZmEDn70A3HWigt5xXJ_Sq0lo2mzvKks-THi-BZxMQQHiLLlrufN6yt-AkAdNe_hXipqSmGPr9KDfc4nAeKDz/s400/SCARVES.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>
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Until next time..<i>.<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Merry Christmas!</span></b></i></div>
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<br />Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-29465099323813730712018-01-16T15:42:00.001-08:002018-01-16T15:55:19.248-08:00My Nose Is So Raw...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
From the giant grindstone I've had it stuck to this past year!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZ0-wtpLxH6JQdB2AqwCcVlibSKWrKZdHfQ2lIy7kFNXBQv9vriMixFquYYtosNMzv98OPaDjE3h55myYBwpT8CgAiD68j5q9UlR_4Oz3PcmC_bw8yPklF-PvOc38ABgaKMJfPplwr6p2/s1600/work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="1600" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUZ0-wtpLxH6JQdB2AqwCcVlibSKWrKZdHfQ2lIy7kFNXBQv9vriMixFquYYtosNMzv98OPaDjE3h55myYBwpT8CgAiD68j5q9UlR_4Oz3PcmC_bw8yPklF-PvOc38ABgaKMJfPplwr6p2/s640/work.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Apparently the practice of choosing a word for the year to serve as your mantra, really does work! I've been so busy this year working on my art, and raising my two beautiful creatures, that I sat down to blog and discovered that it had been a whole freaking year since I last posted! I guess that comes with the territory of choosing the word "work" for 2017! So here are a few things I've been working on this year...first, an updated photo! I'm trying to get a head start on my crone years!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJkh_z-LKXET1ObpzgzBkWBI0Dx5wy7LTGImins5fUbN6Reh0-R4ryLzBUKKoOnjNa2NVA3GWJkXzkyO0fRDuXUHaMr6iNqZc81g0F_L9vMhpLGVVx1uzpOnndAkRfN7KhfmYy3yoe1g3/s1600/IMG_E2241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1465" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJkh_z-LKXET1ObpzgzBkWBI0Dx5wy7LTGImins5fUbN6Reh0-R4ryLzBUKKoOnjNa2NVA3GWJkXzkyO0fRDuXUHaMr6iNqZc81g0F_L9vMhpLGVVx1uzpOnndAkRfN7KhfmYy3yoe1g3/s400/IMG_E2241.jpg" width="366" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">I've created new lines of beads and expanded into ice dyed clothing </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAIA_DXNJZYZgj6KTNp1a1-1sdfXxg_WMc7oGeRim3usEifHRm1YTxUbCOGlDMJNyjI2vCbzBB_Y9HxBLr58AqEQJo44Zz8DuquQj8u1iM9s-J9CP9tF_rWuiHT-wwxW-uak1Zgf9dpG9/s1600/IMG_2005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1510" data-original-width="1600" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAIA_DXNJZYZgj6KTNp1a1-1sdfXxg_WMc7oGeRim3usEifHRm1YTxUbCOGlDMJNyjI2vCbzBB_Y9HxBLr58AqEQJo44Zz8DuquQj8u1iM9s-J9CP9tF_rWuiHT-wwxW-uak1Zgf9dpG9/s400/IMG_2005.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">I've taught several workshops</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZEJ2yPhnjLMjxve_2s_qvWcSlcU4DW_obOaJGCK7ddBV7W1q3rh9Wjwou4W3V-ZBD1L884ova2eZVN3FIR42C1aAlbZhJ2kNKlWTAYh2YpZRTEYH5Fj-4oI793YXpsbwvfe1gX0eFLoP/s1600/IMG_0395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="967" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVZEJ2yPhnjLMjxve_2s_qvWcSlcU4DW_obOaJGCK7ddBV7W1q3rh9Wjwou4W3V-ZBD1L884ova2eZVN3FIR42C1aAlbZhJ2kNKlWTAYh2YpZRTEYH5Fj-4oI793YXpsbwvfe1gX0eFLoP/s400/IMG_0395.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">I've vended at several shows too!</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBc-ACcB8NIgJXQM5zTXL34QmFhgYjE5bha1vseQFIBTIHRriX2CHRLS89Av1B5AGFifhCTXcOP8Kbvy3xikW5KleD7v3bXGHnpCx40ecBMrAEJz_JgcL6O-h9h0FDR0kPVuA1anIXBTzI/s1600/IMG_1845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBc-ACcB8NIgJXQM5zTXL34QmFhgYjE5bha1vseQFIBTIHRriX2CHRLS89Av1B5AGFifhCTXcOP8Kbvy3xikW5KleD7v3bXGHnpCx40ecBMrAEJz_JgcL6O-h9h0FDR0kPVuA1anIXBTzI/s1600/IMG_1845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: start;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="1600" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBc-ACcB8NIgJXQM5zTXL34QmFhgYjE5bha1vseQFIBTIHRriX2CHRLS89Av1B5AGFifhCTXcOP8Kbvy3xikW5KleD7v3bXGHnpCx40ecBMrAEJz_JgcL6O-h9h0FDR0kPVuA1anIXBTzI/s400/IMG_1845.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>And I've been busy with my two beautiful creatures!</b></span></div>
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I chose <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">FOCUS</span></i></b> as my word for 2018! What did you choose?</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until next time...<b>get on your grindstone! </b></span></div>
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<br />Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-10378883643488617952017-02-15T17:24:00.000-08:002017-02-15T17:25:20.970-08:00Art Bead Scene ChallengeDon't you just love a good challenge? Now, I'm not talking about dumping perfectly good ice water over your head, or wasting expensive cinnamon by the tablespoons, or even trying to out plank your fellow barre friend (ok this one is a secret one, but let's be honest, we ALL do it!) No, I'm talking about a great creative challenge, complete with awesome prompts of masterpiece paintings and topped off with a Pinterest board! I'm talking about the monthly art challenge for jewelry designers created by <a href="http://www.artbeadscene.blogspot.com/">Art Bead Scene</a>!<br />
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This is February's prompt: An oil on canvas, titled "The Two Crowns" by Sir Francis Dicksee<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj663o7uSjybckMI5PJMEBd3o5TyMFZx1SygendJtbZ8yKn_BS3a3n4VLDCk1wEBjUJmwv8WdovLksM-7roVITpakCuiI-WXQvhmY5EvamWgUolklUj9fn8EGMWLxpHeobcdkg05crzBKKx/s1600/FEBart-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj663o7uSjybckMI5PJMEBd3o5TyMFZx1SygendJtbZ8yKn_BS3a3n4VLDCk1wEBjUJmwv8WdovLksM-7roVITpakCuiI-WXQvhmY5EvamWgUolklUj9fn8EGMWLxpHeobcdkg05crzBKKx/s640/FEBart-4.jpg" width="518" /></a></div>
I decided that with all that wonderful color, that I would make one of my paper Dragon Beads. They are crafted using well over 100 circles of paper that are then inked around the edges and adhered to a 16 mm wooden core bead. They are finished off with Ice Resin for durability.<br />
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Here is the other side of the same bead</div>
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What do you think? Do you think this qualifies as an art bead? I can't wait to start on next month's challenge! I'm thinking that one will involve polymer clay...<br />
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Until Next Time.<b><span style="font-size: large;">..Challenge Yourself!</span></b>Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-44526731065937431512017-02-07T18:07:00.000-08:002017-02-07T18:08:02.650-08:00Wanting Walden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Henry David Thoreau once said, "Man wanted a home, a place for warmth, or comfort, first of physical warmth, then the warmth of the affections." I'll agree with that, but I want mine to be nestled into the mountainside with great wifi reception, unobstructed views of the stars and a natural gas supply! Seriously though, for as long as I can remember, I've had a love for cabins and barns...log cabins, stone cabins, shacks, horse barns, tobacco barns, barns in various stages of implosion, and more likely than not, kudzu covered... I look at them and wonder about the lives that have subsisted both in and around them. Oh the stories these vessels must hold...joy, sadness, triumph, grief...hopes for the next generation, lives lived with both grace and grit...meals shared, unanswered prayers and unconditional love...</div>
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So what does a girl do when her own life-size Walden is currently out of reach? She makes her own- in miniature! I found a really good online tutorial by <a href="http://www.polymerionline.blogspot.com/">Isis Mishly</a> and created these little rustic vessels. Did you know that Thoreau spent about $28 total to build his cabin? Well, I spent more than that, but then again, a set of forty-eight soft pastels hardly qualifies for simple creating!</div>
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This little cabin reminds me of a house I might find in the hollows of South West Virginia. </div>
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My favorite red barn, complete with kudzu crackle vine, and rusting tin roof</div>
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This is an old tobacco barn made of weathered Locust wood</div>
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Abandoned hunting cabin, I imagine being surrounded by old hardwoods</div>
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Until Next Time....<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Discover Your Walden!</span></b></i></div>
Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-59839864142684658532017-01-28T12:48:00.001-08:002017-01-28T12:48:43.920-08:00In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I thought I'd hit you with a big, 'ole box of happiness right out of the gate! I mean really, once you start a blog post with crayons, how can you NOT keep reading! Am I right? Crayola does have a way with making the world a very happy place, especially when its packaged in 152 wonderful colors along with a sharpener AND a caddy too! And yes, they are great for coloring but I discovered a new way to make some pretty awesome beads with them!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiId1FbhCoNdZxlWW40eTAb-rlUGRToHN1nrWRMnFaffkOPeIu4nJGaK-L_s7kiUkxIh_mNUBWiWZxOj3SxllNOBGeKXKnxmHDcpmEuimf2zxUTEUbVqNlhn-Y7ZLgag2I28JvqnIl69v2K/s1600/CRAYONSHAVINGS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiId1FbhCoNdZxlWW40eTAb-rlUGRToHN1nrWRMnFaffkOPeIu4nJGaK-L_s7kiUkxIh_mNUBWiWZxOj3SxllNOBGeKXKnxmHDcpmEuimf2zxUTEUbVqNlhn-Y7ZLgag2I28JvqnIl69v2K/s640/CRAYONSHAVINGS.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
First, I shredded a few crayons using a fine grater. You want the pieces to be very small so that they mix well with your polymer clay. I used Premo clay in both transparent and Opal colors. The crayons will melt and will color the clay to a degree depending on how much crayon and what colors you use.<br />
I simply smushed my conditioned clay onto the pile of crayon shreds and then worked the clay into beads. You should follow your clay manufacture's instructions for baking times. <br />
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These are all in the pre-bake, aka gumball or bouncy ball stage. Aren't they fun!? After I bake them, I add a bit of my own mojo to them! They turn out looking like tiny galaxies which thrills me to no end!<br />
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What do you think? I love learning a new technique and I can't to see where this will go next!<br />
After all, I still have well over one hundred colors to try!<br />
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Until Next Time...<b><span style="font-size: large;">channel the Force and get out your crayons!</span></b><br />
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<br />Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-28811644681329378762017-01-07T16:40:00.003-08:002017-01-07T16:40:53.498-08:00The Ringmaster Is In!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy New Year! The Ringmaster is in, and I am very excited about this upcoming year! I have a <b>HUGE</b> list of goals to accomplish, projects to tackle, places to see and tribes to assemble! It's going to be lots of hard work and loads of fun, and I'm sure there will be some cussing involved too!<br />
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Work is my word for the year. Yeah, I know...boring, yet highly effective. Did I mention I have a HUGE list of goals? The word "play" or "believe" wouldn't really match...I could "believe" in my goals, but that list isn't going to just get accomplished on belief alone, now is it??!</div>
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I plan to continue the pursuit of knowledge...not only my craft, but life in general. Did you read <u>Big Magic</u> by Elizabeth Gilbert or <u>You Are A Badass</u> by Jen Sincere or anything by Brene Brown this past year? May I suggest you start there...</div>
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I will continue to count my blessings, keep my gratitude journal, and assemble my tribes. I'm sure this year will be full of many things to be thankful for...</div>
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I will try new products and techniques and get in the habit shipping my work...and I don't mean dealing with the postal service...I'm referring to tackling my habit of perfectionism...and so far, I'm winning this battle i.e. this blog post ;)</div>
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This is going to be a magical year indeed! Grab a ticket and enjoy the Circus! I cannot wait to get started! </div>
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<i>Until Next Time</i>....<b><span style="font-size: large;">Start working on your list!</span></b></div>
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<br />Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-8790246134636963652016-10-20T17:48:00.001-07:002016-10-20T17:49:22.627-07:00My ArmoryI don't know a single creative that hasn't swooned over the pages of that beautiful, glossy magazine, Where Women Create. The photos are gorgeous, the vignettes so perfect. Not a paint drop on the floor or an overturned glitter jar anywhere. No half baked project strewn all over the place. No real fucked up painting sitting in the corner while the artist contemplates gessoing over the whole thing because its a 24X36, and its way too expensive to just chuck. And there are always stories of how the artist picked up their fabulous supply or featured storage piece in some exotic place while on some life altering adventure. I guess a utilitarian treasure plucked from the Goodwill on your way to pick up the kids, isn't really print worthy. And don't get me wrong, I have a whole stack of those wonderful magazines right here in my studio. And yes, occasionally I do covet. I mean seriously, I would have never thought to use vintage sterling salt shakers as a way to store and display my copious amounts of glitter. I have to admit, they are beautiful AND they work. Now that tip was worth the huge price I paid for it, even if my frequent shopper card didn't get me any discount.<br />
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But it got me to thinking about how fake and sterile those studios appear and why there is a need to hide the real things, the life altering things, the messy things that happen in them. And I will be the first to admit I'm just as guilty when it comes to my own space, as evidenced by the scrubbed photos below. I have a huge space that's arranged like a small sweat shop so I can move from one project to the next without having to clean up one to start another. I like to couch that in saying that I'm trying not to mix medias, i.e. clay on one table, paper projects on another, or that I'm working on multiple projects at once, but in reality it is because I'm kinda lazy and I never work on multiple projects. My insane penchant for finite details and perfection just simply won't allow the willy-nillyness of jumping from one project to the next! And everyone that comes into my studio talks about how organized it is. When all I want to say is "no bitches, what you are looking at is my need to control being manifested right here, out in the open!" And have you ever noticed how those sterilized photos never feature the artist's true stash? I think that's because we really do covet stashes way more than spaces. And I think that's because of the endless possibilities one has with a great stash...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUgu0bRhtUQnjVgjZVRSzBDRAeZgRn6l321_eGCiVhWS_ZX8K1lBV9Dzl5qo5GvsrnrNnxs66vcX_EEOnqAYsivq4YegFZ0LHFa9zRepIDqBCNw8u3zcx5AeK_tR69TDGuxFz7ZMr8WSnr/s1600/studio+wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUgu0bRhtUQnjVgjZVRSzBDRAeZgRn6l321_eGCiVhWS_ZX8K1lBV9Dzl5qo5GvsrnrNnxs66vcX_EEOnqAYsivq4YegFZ0LHFa9zRepIDqBCNw8u3zcx5AeK_tR69TDGuxFz7ZMr8WSnr/s640/studio+wall.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Have you ever asked someone to tell you about their studio or describe their ideal creating space? Well, I have yet to see a fellow creative not transform into her whole self whether she is in her studio or just talking about her studio. Magical things happen in those spaces that are all ours. We surround ourselves with things of sentimental value, odd collections, pieces of our childhoods, evidence of both dreams deferred and dreams manifesting, things that make us laugh, rocks our kids collected, pictures of our grandmothers.... physical reminders of belonging.<br />
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Our studios are our sanctuaries, our places of refuge and safety. Places where through the creation of art, we confirm our self worth, expose our vulnerabilities and become brave. We find new beginnings in each fresh watercolor page. There is hope in glitter and comfort in the well worn rusty findings. We get lost in our art and find our best selves. And here in our studios we form connections and build tribes. Our studios are our armories, providing us with weapons and armor to defend ourselves against the wear and tear of our worlds. So maybe this is the reason for all the glossy pages. They mask the revolutions that are happening inside. And by camouflaging these revolutions, it allows us to become skilled warriors in our own time, giving us resilience for our journeys. And for that, I will renew my subscription and edit my photographs.<br />
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Until Next Time..<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">.spend time in your armory...</span></i></b>Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-15293281817855628902016-08-29T11:51:00.002-07:002016-08-29T11:51:39.308-07:00Time To Cut The Thread...Meet Atropos, the oldest of the Fate sisters! Being the oldest, she was of course the inflexible one. And once you met the other two sisters, meeting her was inevitable. Guess what her job was? She was the sister responsible for both the mechanism and time of your death! I wonder what she did for fun? I wonder if she had a sense of humor? I wonder if she had a favorite pair of Fiskars that she just dared her sisters to touch?<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">My version of Atropos</span></b></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I first covered her in obituaries from the local paper, and then I went in and highlighted words that I thought were important and symbolic, such as loved, wife, was, home, sister...</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Her eyes are vintage train tokens that represent both the payment and passage of the soul through the underworld. Her mouth is stapled shut with waxed linen thread, a practice still in use in modern day mortuary science. And since I am a jewelry artist, I had to make her a necklace out of vintage watch faces and ceramic </span>skull beads, both of which symbolize the passage of time. Her hair is made from matches, representing the ritual of cremation and the moss around her neck represents burial in the ground. I decided to cover her in a glass cloche to symbolize our modern day mausoleum trend. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Until next time...sharpen your scissors!</span></b></div>
Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-28004968673436197762016-08-12T12:39:00.000-07:002016-08-12T12:40:05.795-07:00Rolled A Seven....Are you a middle child? If so, are you flexible and diplomatic? Maybe the mediator between your siblings, as so many psychologists have reported you to be? Or are you an attention seeker and ultra competitive because your parents are too busy dealing with the other life sucking bookends in your overlooked existence? The middle child can run the gamut...a game of dice personified.<br />
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The three Fates in mythology were no different. In my last post I introduced you to the first sister, Clotho, the spinner of the thread of life. She was the over-responsible one. The controller. She managed to get your life going, being the high achiever that she was. Now, meet the middle sister, Lachesis. She was the allotter of life, the determiner of your destiny, the assessor of your thread. Oh yes, she was THAT sister! She was always negotiating lives and tried to keep the peace between her other two sisters, a difficult task that even Zeus wanted no part of. Yeah, I'm betting she was often misunderstood and that she didn't get many dates at Mt. Olympus High either. Now, depending on what kind of day she was having when she measured your thread with her fatalistic tape measure, you may have a long, joyful life or a short, painful one. I'm hoping when she measured mine her sisters were nowhere around and she was having a good hair day!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">This is my version of Lachesis</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The steampunk gears represent the constant motion of life, and the notion of one being a cog in the wheel of humanity. I took the literal representation of measuring life with the tape measure choker. Her ears...don't really need explanation...</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Here's a tip for you-if you are going to use a gazillion screws for hair, paint them BEFORE you adhere them! </span></b></div>
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<b><i>Until Next Time</i>...quam mensurae ad te? (How are you measuring up?)</b><br />
<br />Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-60740646589447803662016-07-12T11:59:00.003-07:002016-07-12T12:00:04.802-07:00Girl Next Door...NOT!Want to know a secret about me? I can conjugate verbs in Latin! Impressive, huh. Yep, 'cause when I had good intentions of going the medical school route, the thing to do was take Latin to prepare for that. You know, to learn all the "roots and meanings" of words, to give myself the competitive edge...Do you know how many times THAT has come in handy during ANY of my careers? NOT ONCE! I wish I had taken way more Spanish or ANY other <b>spoken</b> language for that matter, so that I could actually converse with my patients and give myself some real job opportunities...yeah I'm a bit salty over the lack of a <i><b>real</b></i> guidance counselor back in '87! Oh and guess what comes along with learning how to read a dead language? An <i>inordinate</i> amount of mythology! Oh yeah, small talk with me, at a party you didn't really want to attend in the first place, is a real ball of fun!<br />
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However, I am amazed that the general education of most "educated" people leaves them with knowing very little about mythology at all, save for Zeus or Medusa or possibly Poseidon, now thanks to Disney...And it further amazes me that we use terms in our everyday language that we don't know the origins of. How many times have you heard things like "fate brought us together" or "fate worse than death" or "seal someone's fate" or my personal favorite, "twist of fate"? Ever wonder where we came up with those idioms? No? Well, maybe I'm the odd one... anyway, when I was preparing for Artomatic, I really started thinking about <i>my</i> fate, which then got me to thinking about THE FATES. As in the three sisters in mythology that control your life and the lives of the gods. Yes, those powerful women! Not familiar with them? Well, let me fix that now.<br />
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The three Fates, also called Moirai, were the three goddesses who personified the destiny of every man, as well as the gods. Their names were Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. For us mere mortals they determined when life began, when it ended, and everything that happened in between. For the gods, they declared their divine privileges and functions. Yep, there was no glass ceiling for these girls! It is believed that the three Fates were sisters, and each had her own task when it came to determining one's fate. In this post, I will introduce you to Clotho. She was the youngest of the sisters and was "the spinner" of the thread of life. She spun the thread of destiny with a spindle, determining the time of a person's birth.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">My version of Clotho</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I used doll arms and legs to symbolize her role in the birth of a person. I wanted her to be as minimalist as possible to further symbolize the idea of a blank slate... of endless possibilities... </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A close up of the nest used to symbolize the security of home. The yarn is used to symbolize her role as the spinner and the multi-colored yarn represented multiple paths in life...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I used fiber paste to create her textured face and then inked it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's a tip: fiber paste will suck up/attract/ (whatever annoying verb you want to insert here) any and all pigments that are <i>remotely</i> close by. Wear gloves and make sure your workspace is pristine or else you may end up with fiber paste that isn't the color you want it to be!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Creepy, I know! But oh so much fun to keep ogling!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> And here she is in the process of having her own yarn spun!</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Deinde usque ad tempus </span></i></b>(until next time for you non Latin speakers)<span style="font-size: large;"><b>...be in charge of your own fate!</b></span></div>
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<br />Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-73881848605650232612016-06-29T17:12:00.000-07:002016-06-29T17:12:26.182-07:00Art Sparks and Artomatic!Ever join an online dating service or just call an Uber 'cause it's the cool thing to do? Yeah, me either. And you want to know why? Well, cause I'm scared that whoever answers the ad or pulls up to the curb will snatch me up and proceed to make a nice coat out of my velvety smooth skin! Oh, and the fact that I'm married might make that online ad a little awkward, but I digress...So you can imagine the angst I had signing up for a Meetup group for artists, but I was desperate to find a tribe in this new place I now call home. Well, I can happily report that after some vetting (the likes of which I haven't seen since my job with the VA, and much appreciated due to the above mentioned paranoias) my new tribe is called Art Sparks! And girrrrrl, they are a talented and fun bunch! And you know how tribe pressure can make you do things you may not normally do...alone...well, these sisters talked me into doing Artomatic. Now, let me explain that. Artomatic is a huge, nonjuried show. You pay for your wall space and you hang up your art. Easy enough, right? Except it wasn't. See, the show was in thirty days and I had NO work ready. NONE. And besides that, I'm primarily a jewelry artist and my work generally doesn't go very well in those types of shows. So what did I do? I summoned my muse back from her six month sabbatical, handed her Steven Pressfield's, <u>The War of Art,</u> and told her to get to work. And work she did! I drank lots of coffee and I think she smoked meth (I would say crack, but we're both from the South, and you know how we like to cook..) And in the end we turned out a whole wall of wonderful, edgy, thought provoking, colorful, controlled chaos...totally Circus Meets Boardroom! But I wasn't the only one to do that! Several of my tribe members participated too, and they all created fabulous spaces! It is truly amazing what you can achieve when you have a supporting tribe and a muse that's high on glitter dust and resin fumes!<br />
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Until Next Time....<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Seek Your Tribe!</b></span></div>
<br />Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-8952388715611798332016-03-07T10:06:00.001-08:002016-06-29T17:13:49.989-07:00Surprise-Out Of The Oven!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What? Not what you were expecting? A Girl Scout Surprise rarely is...</div>
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This is what happens when you mix paper, punches, inks, paints, beads, and resin! The possibilities are endless really, but currently I have an obsession with paper and a large set of patterned hole punches to play with. The petals are made of various forms-circles, stars, hearts and even butterflies. </div>
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I layer them over precut floral embellishments and then trim the edges so that you can once again see the petal shape. Then I ink the edges, add a dash of paint and coat them in ice resin so that they are durable enough to wear as jewelry. Finally, I layer them together and add beads to make the pistil. Not a bad surprise, huh? They aren't hard to make, they just take some time. I encourage you to grab your supplies and start mixing. Create your own surprise! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB54ED14yU2YiFA3LBs4tzAlRTIY0WI-keye21tJp1dTdJ8W21MuWMKyK8avPCoCVyJpD0zjytmAHw8EHP32DdfcmNQtrTZ19wpIWSpSs4uBgxomka9hFmV1SUEGyb0-CuoSkUXyWyGoGW/s1600/closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB54ED14yU2YiFA3LBs4tzAlRTIY0WI-keye21tJp1dTdJ8W21MuWMKyK8avPCoCVyJpD0zjytmAHw8EHP32DdfcmNQtrTZ19wpIWSpSs4uBgxomka9hFmV1SUEGyb0-CuoSkUXyWyGoGW/s640/closeup.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>So until next time....<i>Get Cookin'!</i></b></span>Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-90368169828482205652016-02-29T08:37:00.001-08:002016-02-29T08:37:47.717-08:00Girl Scout Surprise!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Growing up we had some interesting dinners in my house. I'd love to report that my mom was a great cook, but she miraculously didn't acquire her culinary skills until <b><span style="font-size: large;">after</span></b> my brother and I left the house! I remember one time we had strawberry rhubarb pie. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? And I'm sure it would have been if the rhubarb<i> <b>had been cooked down and not left in its celery like form! </b></i>Have you ever had your mouth set for a delicious piece of hot, sweet strawberry rhubarb pie topped with vanilla ice cream, and instead cut into a stringy hot mess of what looks like strawberry mush and celery? That kind of experience will scar a child! To this day, my brother claims he is allergic to rhubarb! Another time, my mom served cheesecake. I grabbed the plates to help her serve it, and she clinked the pieces onto the plates. Yes, you read that right. They clinked. I said "Mom, these are frozen!" and her reply was, "Well, it says keep frozen until ready to serve, and by God, I'm ready to serve it!" I kid you not... </div>
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So you can imagine the horrible things that went through my mind when mom told us that we were going to be eating Girl Scout Surprises for dinner. I thought most of our dinners took a horrible turn and ended up surprises, so surely this couldn't be good. I will never forget the first time she placed that hot, aluminum package on my plate. It smelled so good! My brother and I took turns opening ours up, much like presents on Christmas morning. Inside we found a hamburger patty, onions, potatoes and carrots all bathed in this wonderful au jus. They were incredible! </div>
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From then on anything that had great ingredients and the possibility to turn out unexpectedly fabulous became known as "A Girl Scout Surprise". This applied not only to dinners, but life in general. There is something very comforting about approaching things with the idea that even if things look bad, they may just end up being a Girl Scout Surprise. Here are the ingredients for my version of a mixed media Girl Scout Surprise. It takes about a week to cook, so you will have to come back next week to see the end result.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Start with great paper</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZH_eFLHzXrC3hVT1CC16NilrAJifhJgioaogqC4Fwxtrhi8cd4LOm5eusYPbgexKL2nmONzef7GOpD2vfdSb9Gp1Uxo1F818fVS6Gmj2i85p9oJEtKBb2LMAhpxyNFKTtRlqdy-RRMbF/s1600/good+paper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZH_eFLHzXrC3hVT1CC16NilrAJifhJgioaogqC4Fwxtrhi8cd4LOm5eusYPbgexKL2nmONzef7GOpD2vfdSb9Gp1Uxo1F818fVS6Gmj2i85p9oJEtKBb2LMAhpxyNFKTtRlqdy-RRMbF/s640/good+paper.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Mix in these ingredients</span></b> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0s3a5xV6LmwngteK2j-NL31WDerMfQ8P8oCV_wfqlj7XWlnJC6rKMx5yv4WLdtznN3Sk_SkXSCk1NWlhxvnxQ4rB2rtqBImfIf2vhoolET6CYhqLQhcFab7Ro2AwYxVpBZ1UJ9Ji981P/s1600/supplies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC0s3a5xV6LmwngteK2j-NL31WDerMfQ8P8oCV_wfqlj7XWlnJC6rKMx5yv4WLdtznN3Sk_SkXSCk1NWlhxvnxQ4rB2rtqBImfIf2vhoolET6CYhqLQhcFab7Ro2AwYxVpBZ1UJ9Ji981P/s640/supplies.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Top with beads</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcff5IDxI7OZxcKcUmP0yuB0M99eLnmz-MrP_R6jwQjQiMDA-rve_93zPeNahbrk4pQcxRjcZqd5hTAoJfI6rDflPPKL8gdHSrMOo1FRRPC-yNzJv1FMwNf_wjfiEnleTiklbiKboAe8cQ/s1600/beadpile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcff5IDxI7OZxcKcUmP0yuB0M99eLnmz-MrP_R6jwQjQiMDA-rve_93zPeNahbrk4pQcxRjcZqd5hTAoJfI6rDflPPKL8gdHSrMOo1FRRPC-yNzJv1FMwNf_wjfiEnleTiklbiKboAe8cQ/s640/beadpile.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Until next time, gather your supplies and don't forget the Samoas!</i></span></b>Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-74612078103357120702016-01-28T13:16:00.000-08:002016-01-28T13:18:41.410-08:00Running in CirclesYou know what they say, "When life hands you a blizzard...make beads!" What do you mean you've never heard that?? What's a snowed-in girl supposed to do when she can't decide whether to bead or create something with paper? The only thing I could think of was to combine the two, and if I tweeked it just right I could work in my love of all things miniature too! So first I grabbed some cardstock and punched out tiny circles...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXa2OLKcMTJSAfhRaLiEzrMsZKoKXguuMkk2wPKa9dxZ2tiRdlLWao89o2c-e5IR3aDGkRipwFfnViADRZETaLVIsXPE9mnEOYDM0Z5-ZIU_1BnUynUx4LUNUyqBTX-rsOYS3I88KdKCcA/s1600/IMG_5390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXa2OLKcMTJSAfhRaLiEzrMsZKoKXguuMkk2wPKa9dxZ2tiRdlLWao89o2c-e5IR3aDGkRipwFfnViADRZETaLVIsXPE9mnEOYDM0Z5-ZIU_1BnUynUx4LUNUyqBTX-rsOYS3I88KdKCcA/s400/IMG_5390.JPG" width="398" /></a></div>
Then my AR brain just <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">had</span></i></b> to ink the edges! Thanks to <a href="http://www.thealteredpage.blogspot.com/" style="color: #660000;">Seth Apter</a> I am obsessed with inking the edges of <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">everything</span> </i></b>now! This involved tweezers and was <i>very </i>tedious to say the least, but was more than worth it in the end!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV1aomZcEe450MX38z2_trTzuN5rQSEyV-n5P2oEUqgFXsEGBwZez7BlRjEDJupG2ywci3Af-GaVJnnFsNgMXrfM-kfGtEuxObXMdJfC9gkzxk4BWvVXcAh4WJoHx6vDoEOsQNDuZOFAkM/s1600/IMG_5386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV1aomZcEe450MX38z2_trTzuN5rQSEyV-n5P2oEUqgFXsEGBwZez7BlRjEDJupG2ywci3Af-GaVJnnFsNgMXrfM-kfGtEuxObXMdJfC9gkzxk4BWvVXcAh4WJoHx6vDoEOsQNDuZOFAkM/s320/IMG_5386.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcV37ReKAeYHMU3Kqzqx6WZyZB9VJBVZWZPee9bu6YQ9OngpKmRNdRiAeWjEe6-I8r-RoswATqZ6tHrSKwavN5J6UC3pEMYa5ZxQL2JTqkwhbNecybQbP8ppOkp5v2bwCR8vFhhAbUnX9R/s1600/IMG_5388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcV37ReKAeYHMU3Kqzqx6WZyZB9VJBVZWZPee9bu6YQ9OngpKmRNdRiAeWjEe6-I8r-RoswATqZ6tHrSKwavN5J6UC3pEMYa5ZxQL2JTqkwhbNecybQbP8ppOkp5v2bwCR8vFhhAbUnX9R/s320/IMG_5388.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next, I grabbed my wooden bead and proceeded to layer the inked circles over the core. Not that I <b><span style="font-size: large;">counted them</span></b> or anything, but each contains 110-125 carefully inked circles of cardstock! What, do you think my AR brain would just let me ink them all and NOT count them? I wish....</div>
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Finally, I gave them a good coat of <a href="http://www.iceresin.com/">I<span style="color: #660000;">ce Resin</span></a> so that they would hold up well during wear, and then I added some Swarovski crystals, seed beads and bead caps and strung them on head pins for later use. </div>
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All were made from the paper they are sitting on. The above bead is inked in silver metallic. </div>
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And this is what I call the "money shot" for size reference...</div>
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Until Next Time.<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>..try combining...</b></i></span></div>
Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-9991795702922937262016-01-14T07:13:00.000-08:002016-01-14T07:13:17.985-08:00All Fired Up!Inspired by Barbara Lewis' book, <u>Torch-Fired Enamel Jewelry</u>, I decided to take on yet <i>another </i>endeavor and teach myself how to enamel beads! And once again, I misjudged the depth of THAT rabbit hole! And like all new art adventures, this one required new supplies and of course, more space! Who knew that there are like a gazillion colors AND different opacities of enamels?! And those tiny jars of enamel aren't cheap, so you have to choose wisely! I started out putting all my enamels into cute metal cans-just like in the book-but those suckers get <i>very hot</i> when you have molten metal beads being dunked into them...so I then had to hunt down and purchase small glass jars for my<b> ever growing</b> enamel collection..by this time I have several colors (more than I need) but how can a girl pass up peacock blue and ALL of its possibilities? Could you? So by the time I'm finally set up and ready to work, I have enough canning jars of enamels that I'm fairly confident that if this enamel thing doesn't work out, I'll just rinse them out and start a small scale jelly operation that would probably rival Smuckers! And then there was the torch dilemma...No one would think that since I've traveled around with huge propane tanks and hot gas forges in my truck when I was a farrier, that I would have one bit of trouble with a tiny MAP gas tank, right? WRONG! See having those compact, potentially explosive devices just being handled willy-nilly by the yahoos at the unnamed big box stores where I purchase them, threw my AR and paranoid mind into motion! What if they dented the tanks, messed with the pins, stripped the tops? So of course I had to have the pristine, top shelf, untouched box of MAP gas tanks from the upper supply shelves! Now here's a tip for you-wear heels when requesting those-they tend to climb the ladders a bit faster...You're welcome!<br />
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Have you ever seen two enameled beads made with multiple colors of enamel that look alike? Me either? You know why? <i><b>'Cause its FN impossible to make two alike, that's why!</b></i> I thought it was just me and my fledgling skills, but an online search turned up a whole bunch of other souls like me, just out there rowing the same boat in circles, trying to make two perfectly matching beads! Now, you can make matching beads all day long if you use the same color, but who wants to do that when you have peacock blue in your stash?! </div>
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Now if I had to do it all over again (and I'm still talking about enameling beads here, not my life in general, 'cause that's a whole other blog in itself..) then I would start out by enameling flat pieces on a tripod first and then move onto round beads! Seems like I never do things the easy way...</div>
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I did manage to get quite a few that I really like and you can purchase them <a href="http://circusmeetsboardroom.etsy.com/">HERE IN MY ETSY SHOP</a>.<br />
<i>UNTIL NEXT TIME</i>...<b><span style="font-size: large;">LEARN SOMETHING NEW!</span></b>Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-5739589113371326172016-01-04T13:57:00.000-08:002016-01-04T13:58:43.982-08:00Step Right Up and Grab A Ticket To This Show!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello and welcome to my new blog and website! If you are joining me from my old blog, Blue Finch, then I hope you will decide to follow me over here now, and if you are just joining me, then <b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">welcome</span></b>! I decided to change things up this year to accommodate my ever expanding mixed media interests! Circus meets Boardroom, much like my own life, is a fabulous blend of rich color, whimsical layers and eclectic themes bound together by precision handiwork! I still plan to do jewelry, but will also probably add in some altered books and sculptural pieces as well. <br />
I hope you will grab a ticket to this show, as it has been far too long since I've blogged, and I'm super excited about sharing my work and this upcoming year with my new tribe!<br />
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a peek into my happy place!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9xJlj1lwjh44YhnZ_2udiYQiEOKeIE8EU-qPPkeY_Alxa3Jk7MVdo5SqXL_cTQaJC6ciJwzt99TTYba_oJPW-HYkUEEr070UD4YIHX0b45DCn6nkoLmY3OLCMtUEwH-ap6jT6AXKBDjx/s1600/studioabout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9xJlj1lwjh44YhnZ_2udiYQiEOKeIE8EU-qPPkeY_Alxa3Jk7MVdo5SqXL_cTQaJC6ciJwzt99TTYba_oJPW-HYkUEEr070UD4YIHX0b45DCn6nkoLmY3OLCMtUEwH-ap6jT6AXKBDjx/s320/studioabout.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Until next time...Happy New Year!</span></b><br />
<br />Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-78164950375557500002015-03-13T08:25:00.000-07:002015-12-17T05:16:29.016-08:00Inspired by Reading Book Club: Geek LoveThis month's selection was Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, and boy was it a great read!<br />
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I only post this cover because there are several ones out there, and let me say, it does make a difference as to orientation. Let me explain. Normally when I start a book I usually don't read the back covers or synopsis so as not to be biased. But girl, let me tell you, I <b>DO</b> judge a cover! And there will be no apologies here for that! So when I picked this one up, I was thinking that this was going to be some hot and steamy, 50 shades of Geek Squad, (as in Best Buy techie help) trash novel. Yeah...NOT! I had to literally read the first page five times because I was soooo confused! Finally, I had to break my own rule and read the back cover just so it made sense! Did you know that a Geek is not someone who routinely helps computer illiterate 40 somethings (and I'm referring to personal experience here) with their (so simple that a five year old could operate it) gadgets, but is actually the title given to someone who bites the heads off of live chickens? LIVE CHICKENS! And let me tell you, this is only the beginning of this crazy, wonderful read! At times I found myself saying "Oh no they aren't.." only to be followed by "OMG they did"! It has been a long time since I have read something this imaginative with such great character development. And yet at the same time, if you grew up in the evangelical South like I did, it is still very believable. During the summer months growing up I can remember seeing the revival tents springing up and thinking that the circus was in town! Same type of big tents, same time of year, same large crowds, and usually the smell of BBQ at both places. See how confusing this might be to a child? Hell, it's still confusing as an adult! Although I can say now that it's usually the age of the crowd that helps you decide which is which. And have you ever been too polite to say no and had to make good on your promise to attend your boss's/coworker/rotary club member/spouse's boss/friend's church service on the <b><i>first</i></b> Sunday of the month? Well, let me tell you, <i><b>that</b></i><i><b> in itself</b> </i>is a circus midway game! Step right up ladies! Roll the dice! Say "no thanks" to that invitation and you will either be a social pariah or treated to a wonderfully exciting snake handling service! Now which will it be? Make sure you blow on the dice for good luck before you roll! And have you ever attended said rural church service only to be lulled into thinking it was going to be just your average "go out into the world and do good" service by the nice welcoming congregation? Only to be fooled once the doors shut for the service to begin, by a whole <i>other</i> congregation leaping into action? Then you look over to your spouse, who is also trying to fake smile their way out of terror, to see if they have counted the pews to the nearest exit. And then you turn to your "friend" that invited you there in the first place, and look her right in the eye and give her that "thank you for inviting me" polite smile, and at the same time you <b><i>think</i></b> REALLY LOUDLY "if there are going to be snakes involved and you knew that, and if you failed to tell me such snakes would be involved because you knew I'd politely decline your invitation, well, there are going to be problems between us right after this service!" But then<b> three hours</b> into said service, you are like "bring out the snakes!" because at this point you are just waiting to see if anybody gets bitten and how the congregation will react. You want to see a SHOW! You want to see a test of faith in ACTION! You want a ticket to that CIRCUS!<br />
Well go read Geek Love, because it is all that and a few more layers too.<br />
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I started to make a charm bracelet with some beads and polymer clay severed hands, but when I started my design all the red, white and blue beads, together with the hands, spoke more of Americana applause then the more sinister effect I was going for, so I stopped and just took a picture instead.<br />
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The next piece I created was in homage to Arturo and is a polymer clay torso that is painted with acrylics and inked as well. I chose the green and black colors to symbolize the gangrene that had to have been present in some followers! I added the yellow sari ribbon because it reminded me of the bandages of those patients. Can you image the smell of that midway? The hand tattoo was added to symbolize the stages of faith-starting with the digits and ending with just a torso. And just to follow up on the symbolism, I put the piece on an actual cutting board to shoot it. </div>
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And then I decided to create a resin pendant to showcase the whole book. The back image is a ticket to a circus, complete with a freak show advertisement! </div>
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I hope you will join this incredible group! You can find all the other participants <a href="http://www.andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/">HERE</a>!</div>
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Until Next Time....<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">be the star in your circus!</span></i></b></div>
<br />Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-72942780034198882492015-01-28T21:39:00.000-08:002015-12-17T05:17:18.136-08:00Inspired by Reading: Into the WildIt's been a few months since I have posted anything on my blog and more than that since I have participated in this wonderful book club. It is good to be back to both! This month's selection was <u>Into The Wild </u>by Jon Krakauer. This engrossing narrative is the epic story of one charismatic Christopher Johnson McCandless. He was well educated. He was well read. He was engaging, and made friends wherever he went. He was adventurous. He had a deep stubborn streak. He was a romantic. He was spoiled. And yet despite all of this, he was lost in <i>soooo </i>many ways.<br />
The hardest part of the book to read for me was the epilogue. I'm glad there was nobody in the customer waiting area of the car dealership that day I was reading and trying really hard not to break into an all out sob! There are no words to describe the pain his parents must have felt to see his things still sitting in that bus just as he had left them. To know that their child starved to death. To know that he felt like he couldn't or didn't want them in his life. To know he needed help and nobody was there for him. To know that they had failed him.<br />
I feel for the Alexander Supertramps that are trekking through our great country even as we speak. I'm sure you won't have to go far to find one either, as there are millions of children out there seeking a safe place to sleep and something to eat on any given night.<br />
I decided to create a piece that would reflect the many stages of his struggle and also incorporate the different textural elements that seem so prevalent in the book.<br />
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I created the clasp and center piece out of polymer clay. The toggle clasp is textured and painted to resemble fire wood. The stones at the top are actually amber nuggets which for me conjure up both sap<i> and </i>evergreens for some reason! I really wanted to use some leather in this piece because I was so fascinated by the story of Chris' belt. I actually went to some thrift stores looking for an engraved belt to use in place of this suede/ faux leather, but was unsuccessful in my quest. The main polymer piece represents the snow and ice and the rough terrain, and I knew I wanted it to be both deeply textured and asymmetrical. </div>
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Next, I wanted to represent the physical life of both Chris, and the animals he had to kill to survive. I crafted a cage out of wire and wrapped a thin piece of transparent polymer clay around it and then inked it to give it a worn look. You can see the cage through the clay, almost like skin stretched over the ribs of a starving human or a decaying carcass. Coming out of the cage are a number of symbolic items. The resin paper represents the graffiti and journals Chris kept. The .22 caliber bullet casing represents his having to resort to hunting game and his emotional struggle in doing so. The yellow enameled bead reminded me of his trusty Datsun. The river rock is worn smooth by the raging waters as I am sure were the rocks of the rivers he had to cross. The coyote tooth-well they are the same everywhere I suppose. And the silky blue sari ribbon I imagine has very much the same texture as everyone's favorite childhood adventure sleeping bag....</div>
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Please check out the other participants' blogs! They can be found<span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><a href="http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">HERE</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">.</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span>You can also join us in this fabulous book club too! The books are great, the creations are beautiful and the tribe is welcoming! </div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Until Next Time....Call Your Parents!</span></i></b></div>
Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-45190414266839298642014-06-27T21:15:00.000-07:002015-12-17T05:17:50.148-08:00Shredded BroochA few months ago my best art friend, <span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://www.pattiedmon.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Patti</span></a>,</span> and I went on a road trip to Saluda, North Carolina to the most amazing art destination EVER! If you are any kind of creative at all (and who isn't?) you should by all means put <a href="http://www.randomartsnow.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">RANDOM ARTS</span></a> on your bucket list! The owner, Jane Powell, stocks the shop with all kinds of wonderfulness, and she offers lots of really great workshops too. Patti and I went to spend three blissful days creating and learning from <i>the<span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span></i><a href="http://www.thealteredpage.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Seth Apter</span></a>!<br />
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If you've been a member of my nest for very long, you know that I am a jewelry artist that likes to take elements from other art arenas and mix it in with my creations. I may create a small collage from paper, ink up some polymer clay, stamp or paint some fabric...but a canvas girl, I am not. Don't get me wrong, I love mixed media, it's just that I had no idea where to even begin with a canvas or sheet of paper! Not to mention the plethora of paint types and brushes and paint additives! Wtf does one do with glazing medium, gesso, or matte fluid medium anyway? Now take all of this, combined with the fact that even my stick people look like they have a few chromosomes missing, and you can see where this is going. So when my very talented painter/mixed media friend, Patti, suggested we go to a three day workshop with Seth Apter, how could I refuse?! I've never backed down from a challenge yet, so why start now, right? So supply list in hand and over fifty phone consultations later (Patti finally started saying "don't worry I have that too...") we packed up our stashes and headed to Saluda! </div>
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And that's when the magic started...</div>
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First let me say that Seth is a <b>wonderful</b> teacher! He discussed all of the different products and explained how they are made and how they react with each other. I now know what to do with glazing medium, and <i>girrrl</i>...well, you're just gonna have to find out for yourself! Then he walked us through his techniques and gave us some great tips on how to create textures within our pieces. And most importantly he showed this non-canvas girl that she <i>could</i> create a real, honest to goodness piece of art that she would <i>want </i>to hang on her wall! </div>
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The first workshop was called Shredded Silhouette and this is the piece that I made.</div>
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I won't go into the multiple steps it took to create the whole piece, but you can go <a href="http://www.thealteredpage.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">HERE</span></a> to check out his workshop schedule and gather some goodness for yourself! Now riding home on the high that one gets while <i>away from home </i>communing with other creatives, and not to mention all the wonderful things the good doctor says about you and your artwork (which by the way is another added benefit, and he says really nice things about<b> all </b>of his students) I decided to take my new found knowledge and apply it to making jewelry! The finished brooch measures 2" across. </div>
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<b>Shredded Impressionism</b></div>
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<b>Tiny masterpieces</b></div>
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<b>Half baked</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyD03AaRDmwL3k751YXVFBTB7rYh1-4kMcKy3b6Jl4yepol_fe9zfO0lctytHCbbUuCmydS9ybhyphenhyphenzj2OpFi1ibhUZ_QKtMa2jrlW46j0r8cOTZrIKhNTcOiHY4lBNmpiMrcVWWOZWZIg/s1600/step3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyD03AaRDmwL3k751YXVFBTB7rYh1-4kMcKy3b6Jl4yepol_fe9zfO0lctytHCbbUuCmydS9ybhyphenhyphenzj2OpFi1ibhUZ_QKtMa2jrlW46j0r8cOTZrIKhNTcOiHY4lBNmpiMrcVWWOZWZIg/s1600/step3.jpg" width="371" /></a></div>
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<b>Wearable Mixed Media!</b></div>
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So thanks to Random Arts, Seth Apter, Patti Edmon, and the other wildly talented artists there too, I now understand the excitement of Golden and can't wait to try fiber paste and glass beads (and no I'm not talking about lampwork!) And if you are reading this and have no clue what I'm talking about then let me encourage you try something new!<br />
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Until next time.<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">..Leave Your Nest!</span></i></b></div>
Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-32709486617524868612014-05-10T03:46:00.000-07:002015-12-17T05:18:20.263-08:00Soup Is Served!I have had the great pleasure of taking part in the 8th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party hosted by the amazing<span style="color: #3d85c6;"> <span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.prettythingsblog.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Lori Anderson</span></a>!</span> </span>My very generous and talented partner,<span style="color: #3d85c6;"> Rana Wilson </span>sent me the fabulous soup below! Yummy!<br />
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We had to use the focal bead and the clasp in our piece, and I chose to use most of the rest of the beads she sent too! Aren't these colors <b>beautiful</b>! I decided to do something asymmetrical so that I could work the lampwork focal into the necklace and have it hang correctly. My first thought was to use it as a focal tassel of sorts, with strands of small seed beads coming out of it. However, it is drilled so small that would have been impossible. I think this turned out better anyway!<br />
I love the texture on this toggle clasp! I think the weight of it balances out the focal quite nicely.<br />
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Please hop over to see what Rana created with the soup that I sent to her, and then I</div>
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hope you will hop on over <a href="http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2014/05/welcome-to-8th-bead-soup-blog-party.html"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">HERE</span></a> to see what everyone else has created! </div>
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Until next time,<b><i><span style="font-size: large;"> create something beautiful!</span></i></b></div>
Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-9320570158558882242014-04-30T15:57:00.000-07:002015-12-17T05:18:54.282-08:00Inspired by Reading Book Club-Interpreter of MaladiesThis month's book selection was <u>Interpreter of Maladies</u> by Jhumpa Lahiri. It is a beautifully written book of short stories illustrating the many emotional and physical journeys of her characters as they deal with different types of loss. Lahiri does a wonderful job of pulling the reader inside the stories with her use of lush details and creating an overpowering feeling of empathy. Unlike other books we have read, no one particular story or character spoke to me to create around. I did however, finish the book overloaded with sensory details. The beautiful colors of the saris, the slick feel of fish, the smell and sounds of hot and crowded Indian streets, the taste of curry, and the overwhelming sense of the loss of the familiar, all came together in this mixed media piece that I created.<br />
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If you want more information about this book club, click <a href="http://www.andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">HERE</span></a> and our host, Andrew Thornton, will be glad to give you our book list. Please check out what the other, very talented participants created.</div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.jdaviesreazor.com/blog"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Jenny Davies-Reazor</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Sarajo Wentling</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.gemsbyjeannemarie.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Jeanne Steck</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Mary Harding</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://ginkgoetcoquelicot.blogspot.fr/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Karin Grange</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Ann Schroeder</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://www.mkaymac.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Mary K. McGraw</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="http://storiestheytell.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Christine Damm</span></a></span></div>
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<a href="http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Andrew Thornton, Laurel Ross, Alison Herrington, Terri Greenawalt and Karen Hiatt</span></a></div>
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Until next time, <b><i>CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL!</i></b></div>
Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-38755261563954066552014-04-02T09:32:00.000-07:002015-12-17T05:19:21.627-08:00Inspired by Reading Book ClubThis month's selection was An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor. It is a charming, easy read filled with wonderful characters! The story, set in the quaint Ireland village of Ballybucklebo, centers around the internship of Dr. Barry Laverty with the town's seasoned general practitioner, Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly. Throughout the book, Dr. O'Reilly teaches Dr. Laverty that one has to use a variety of ways to treat not only the patient, but the community as well! By the end of the book the two are settling into a very good routine and we see that Dr. Laverty is well on his way to practicing the art of medicine! I can't wait to read the next book in the series to see how he continues to progress, and of course to keep up with all the other characters as well!<br />
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This book is so full of inspirational characters and settings that I had a hard time choosing one to focus on! I decided to create around my favorite supporting character, Miss Maggie. She is elderly, eccentric and wise, and maybe suffers a touch of dementia. I can just see her sitting outside in her garden, sipping tea, wearing multiple cardigans and petting her cat! I found these felt balls and immediately thought of those cardigans and so I had to turn them into beads! The multicolored glass beads remind me of her flowers. I used the leaves because they remind me of her strong tea, probably made from dandelion leaves at times! The yellow beads are for General, her cat. </div>
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I hope you will take time to see what the other participants have created! Click<span style="color: #3d85c6;"> <a href="http://www.andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/">HERE</a> </span>and you can get the other links from our fabulous host, Andrew Thornton!</div>
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Until next time...<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Read a book!</span></i></b></div>
Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-89624497759096659822014-03-20T16:35:00.000-07:002015-12-17T05:19:48.978-08:00Simmering Soup!I am so excited to be participating in the 8th<span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><a href="http://www.beadsoupblogparty.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Bead Soup Blog Party</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">! </span>I just received my <i>amazing</i> soup from my very talented and generous partner, Rana. Click<span style="color: #3d85c6;"> <a href="http://www.ranaleadesigns.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">here</span></a> </span>to see more of her fabulous work!<br />
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This is the focal bead she sent! Isn't it beautiful!</div>
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And check out this fantastic soup! It is just brimming with possibilities, don't you think? I cannot wait to start working on my creation(s)! Stay tuned to see how this soup turns out...<br />
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Until next time, <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Create Something Beautiful!</b></span>Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5884362151729441078.post-91702860182856492802014-03-04T17:44:00.000-08:002015-12-17T05:21:00.329-08:00Got Books? Got Beads? Inspired by Reading Book Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Let me begin this post by telling you how excited I am to be taking part in <a href="http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Andrew Thornton's Inspired by Reading Book Club</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">!</span> While the concept is simple, the book selections are anything but that. And this is why, after reading the list of books he selected, I knew I had to be a part of this!<br />
February's selection is a collection of short stores by Italo Calvino. I must admit that for a minute there, I wasn't really into it. A couple of the first stories I read were, shall I say, odd and depressing. But when I found myself thinking about a particular depressing story two days after I had read it, I knew he had done his job as a storyteller. You see, in just a couple of pages his intense character development, tone, plot and imagery will have you thinking about his stories and their outcomes for days. In this book Calvino transports you from the beautiful, innocent fantasy world to the ugly, wartime world and then back to the ordinary world of everyday schlepping, and you go eagerly because you have empathy for the characters. Whether he delights, shocks or saddens us, Calvino does a great job of showing us the many difficult, and sometimes nitty-gritty sides of love. <br />
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I chose this short story to work with because it spoke to me so loudly on so many levels. How so, you ask? Well, maybe its because I am in my 40's and surrounded by selfie taking tweens and I just don't understand this whole FB/Instagram/put all my business out there world, hard as I might try. Maybe its because I grew up in a house with so many paintings on the walls there wasn't any room for photographs. Maybe because my parents were too busy coaching our teams and holding our horses for tack changes that we (my brother and I) were hardly ever photographed at whatever we were busy doing. I've always <b><i>lived</i></b> in the moment, or tried to. But enough of that already. You came to see my creations. So I hope you enjoy my slightly altered pics that my very talented daughter took. I am, by admission, too chicken to pick up the camera because I know all to well where that new obsession will lead....<br />
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Want more eye candy? Well, here are my fellow participants' blogs. Please show some love and go check them out too!<br />
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<a href="http://sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Sarajo Wentling</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.gemsbyjeannemarie.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Jeanne Steck</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Mary Harding</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Ann Schroeder</a></div>
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<a href="http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Andrew Thornton, Laurel Ross, Alison Smith, Terri Greenawalt</a></div>
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<i>Until next time<span style="font-size: large;">...</span></i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Check out this great book club!</span></b></div>
Rachel Stewarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10703687539250354941noreply@blogger.com7