August 2012 Artwork

Extra weird hello again, again, because a couple of months ago I couldn't get this to be right or to post, so I'm trying it again. It's not exactly new any more, but it's new to the blog, any way. Happy October!

Hello again. I can't believe it's August 

already! 

I went to a collage group and actually 

made some stuff.

It felt great, even though I don't think 

I'll be giving Picasso any competition 

any time soon.

Here are the small, five-minute collages I made, although by consensus we agreed that nobody could make a collage in  five minutes, so we gave ourselves ten for each.

This one doesn't photograph well, because it has a lot of texture, some of which is over the words.  
Part of the lyrics to the music say "joyful words".

This is my theme song as a memory loss sufferer. Was I there?
Did I have a good time? lol., mostly.

This turned out to be one of my favorites, even though it was completely
random and serendipitous.



This may be the pick of the day. I was trying to put it at the bottom of the page, but this blog program isn't cooperating with me.  Once again, an issue of letting go of control. Really, what does it matter? I love the flapper image, and I like the simplicity of the piece.

This is just a random shot of my workspace; I thought it looked pretty cool.

I just can't stay away from the 1920's images.
It felt really scary, then daring, to cut the face images.

This one was pretty random, but I discovered that, when I stopped trying to make the tissue paper lie flat, it made a really cool texture. Letting go of control and letting the process happen is a great thing with art.



As a sign-off, I thought it might be sort of cool, for my own sense of posterity if nothing else, to keep track of what the bracelets de jour are when I make a new blog post. So here they are.

My left wrist

                              My right wrist

I'm back--kinda

Hi everyone.  Yesterday I made the first thing I've made since my medical woes started in June, so I thought I'd get back on here and show you.  It's not jewelry.  I went to my book/art club (I love those guys!) and the project was a black and white altered photograph.  I used a photo of my gorgeous daughter Alicia which was originally taken by Sergeant Pepper's in Littleton, Colorado.  It's not a masterpiece, but it's something.

Otherwise I have been busy because I finally decided it's time to become what I'm going to be when I grow up, so I have gone back to college.  Quite an adjustment after 23 years!  I have to take 4 undergrad classes before I qualify for the Master's program I have my eye on.  This semester I am taking sociology and Biology.  It's keeping me off the streets, that's for sure. 

Here's my latest artwork.  Thanks for stopping by.

 

Here are a couple of more recent pictures of me, just for the heck of it.

I am forever trying to grow my hair into a bob.

It's impossible for me to talk without my hands.

Technical Difficulties--Or, Why I Haven't Made anything cool in ages.

On Friday, June 3rd, 2011, I went out to Karaoke with my family and a good time was had by all.  Life was normal.  On Saturday, June 4th, 2011, I was awakened by crushing chest pains that radiated into my shoulders, back, and abdomen.  I thought I was gonna die of a heart attack on the spot.  Never one to leap into untried waters, I called my hubby who was working Saturday and had him look up symptoms of female heart attacks on the internet for me.  He called an ambulance for me since I was far from lucid by then. 

The rest is mostly a blur.  I remember a little about the paramedics, a bit about the ambulance ride, my ex-Catholic guilt coming up because I wanted to stay still for the CT scan but couldn't stop my body from moaning in pain....it turned out I had an abdominal rupture from a stomach surgery two years ago.  Thankful for the news that it was not a heart attack, I was happy though still in pain, until I found out what the treatment woud be.  Total "rest" of my stomach, meaning I couldn't eat or drink anything for at least a month.  Also an aggressive drug treatment protocol of IV antibiotics and antifungals was started.  After a few days they started feeding me through the IV.  I spent 2 weeks in the hospital, some of it in ICU, and now I'm home learning from a home nurse how to manage my own IV treatments and feedings.  Right now it feels like a full-time job, but I'm sure as I get a few more days under my belt, it will seem more manageable.  Unfortunately I will still be starving and coveting food and drink with an intensity I couldn't have anticipated.  I am so emotionally addicted to food!  This will be a learning experience, that is for sure.  So far, all I have had energy for is managing all the IV meds, sleeping, and reading.  Hopefully I can make some jewelry soon. 

I want to say a big sappy thank-you to all my hospital nurses at Skyridge,  in ICU and unit 6, who were wonderful, and to Dawn, who is my visiting nurse and who has the patience of a saint.  Nurses rock!  They work so hard and take such good care of people....wow.  What a noble, hard job, and how admirably it is being done!

Sorry for the boring post, but I thought I should explain my absence recently. 

What's New? Jewelry!

This piece is all about Industrial Chic from Michaels'



and some cool chain I found.





It would be impossible not to come up with something cool.
(No, the five is not a tattoo--it's a charm.)



Cool color-changing mood beads





See how the colors get brighter when you wear them?



This is one of my pieces that gets the most attention--vintage bottle caps with crystal beads.



Bottle caps in the back, too, with a big clasp.



That's all for tonight.  Be well, and I'll see you around the internet.  Thanks for checking out my blog.

RIP Tigger

Our beloved Devon Rex girl kitty had to be put down on March 14th, the day before my birthday.  Tigger, we will miss you! 



Tigger is on the right; Pooh (L) is actually looking backward, so it looks like Tigger's head is on Pooh's body.  Best I could do.



In celebration of the one cat standing, I give you--

An homage to Piglet: 



Piglet gets some beauty rest



No paparazzi, please. 

Piglet investigates a Tokyo Joe's bag.

Who, Me?  I was nowhere near that Tokyo Joe's bag!

I don't have any new jewelry I've made lately to show you, so I'll just show you a couple of my favorite vintage pieces.

You know me--if some bling is good, more is better!

Another view of the vintage bracelets

And finally, I will close with a photo of my coolest tights, just cause I got a new camera and I've been taking lots of pix.

Pretty wild, huh?  I like to walk on the wild side sometimes.

So, cheers for now, and I will post pix soon after I make the jewelry that's in my head.

A minor setback

Well, it's official.  I broke my pinky....it was a pretty ugly break, so they had to go in and put pins in and everything.  Naturally it's my right hand, and I am the least ambidextrous person you've ever met.  There goes jewelry making, and art journaling, and even just being able to type with two hands.  Some days it's hard not to feel like Charlie Brown, or Ziggy.  Remember Ziggy?  It's SO frustrating, because I was finally getting to be somewhat competent with my shoulder replacement I had in June and now this had to happen.  I promise, I'll start looking for a silver lining.....tomorrow.

A Few New Designs

Just a quick blog-and-run today because I made some new pieces and I wanted to show them to you.  They are a continuation of my first blog post, about Making Memories' Vintage Groove components.  I was so excited when they started carrying these at the Michaels in Brighton, Colorado.  It's a bit of a trek, but it is such a superior Michaels, with such great stuff (like Vintage Groove) that I don't mind the drive. 

I finally had some time to play a little more, and this is what I came up with.

I really like these, with the crystal pendants and the text charms.  I'm wearing them right now, feeling just that little bit more sophisticated than I do with unadorned ears.  Gotta be the dangles.


Okay, crank your head to the left because, no matter what I do, this picture shows up sideways.
These earrings have big gray pearl pendants with light, sort of lime-green glass charms.  A
definite walk on the wild side for me, but I like them.

Here is part of the "Joy" Designer's Pack, used in a necklace with some turquoise and some chain.
Definitely a fun look!

Here's a closeup of the dangly charms and pendants.



And I just wanted you to be able to see the "Joy" piece, because--well, joy is such a big deal and such a big part of
creating and wearing jewelry. 



Oh, and just to end on a happy, seasonal note, I'd like to present a vintage picture of my daughter.


 

 Hopefully she won't mind, as she is 20 now, and quite a good sport about such things. 

Thank you for checking out the new stuff.  I hope to have more soon.