Okay, the State seal is a little weird. It appears to contain two men gazing longingly at each other over the picture of an oxen… I’m just saying….
“I want to upholster the inside lining of my nostrils with leather, to have that “new car smell” all the time.”
― Jarod Kintz, I Want
I just love all thing weird. Unfortunately, Delaware is not exactly known for the weird and unusual. You reeeealy have to search to find anything that doesn’t look like a photo spread from “Southern Living Magazine.”
If I wash out my mouth with this, will my language improve?Wow – Watch out Hilton Head – We are quickly becoming the new golf capital of the Eastern Shore.
It has taken a while, but I did take some pics that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Delaware, too, can joint the ranks of the weird.
The landscaping leaves a little to be desired, but I hear the condo fees are very reasonable.
And my personal favorite, located only minutes from Downtown Rehoboth! Beach living at its best.
I’m off to clean up the studio and get ready for the Silver Threads show this weekend. Instead of looking at my somewhat addled creations, why not look at someone I admire greatly. Barbara Briggs is a jewelry artist who’s work is so incredibly original that she inspires me to to move beyond the mundane and search for something that really challenges my talents. Her blog is always interesting, and I’d love to share it with you. Just click here to go directly there. http://barbarabriggsdesigns.wordpress.com/
“The seaweed is always greener in someone else’s lake.” – Sebastian “The Little Mermaid”
I can’t seem to help it, but lately all I want to paint are mermaids. I just love an excuse to give a woman some real hips, even if they end in a flipper. I got this little piece of driftwood from a neighbor, and before too long …
She will be for sale along with a few other painted pieces and much of my jewelry at the upcoming Silver Threads convention this weekend at the Sands Hotel in town. Geri Dibiase will also be there displaying her wonderful wares. Hope we get to see you there!
“You know you are getting old when it takes too much effort to procrastinate.” ~Author Unknown
I’ve been putting off completing (okay – starting) a commission I took long ago. I finally gave myself a deadline, and actually told the client what it was. Then I was stuck – I had to do it. I had a lovely pic of Esme the cat taken by her owner, a highly experience photographer and journalist, so I had a great place to start.
Esme – Carefully perched on a copy of the New York Times.
I then rounded up my pastels, and went to work. Here is the work in progress, along with the final result. Now I just have to deliver it to Philly – maybe next weekend, or the one after that…
Do you have a good story of procrastination, or of conquering the procrastination devil? Leave us a comment and share.
Sound pretty counterintuative, doesn’t it. But I think every artist should watch this Ted talk. Hell – everyone should. Embrace the limitations, whether it be a limited palate of colors available, too little time for art, or a perceived lack of talent. Embracing limitations leads to creative solutions within those limitations which , as this young man says, let you conquer your world. Enjoy.
So yesterday I finally tackled that piece of driftwood I picked up this spring while looking for seaglass. It took hours just to knock most of the sand out of all the wormholes. I eventually got the the fun part – figuring out how big to make the tushy on a mermaid! In the end (forgive the pun) I cheated and had her tukhas finish up off the edge of the wood.
When she was finally finished, I did what I usually do and set her in the kitchen to look at her for a while. I decided I liked everything about her but her face. I just had not taken the time to do a face I really liked. So today, I spent some time redoing the face and I think the difference in the two versions is actually pretty startling. Let me know what you think.
Before – Not so much…
After – much sexier!
I’m thinking I should connect the eyebrows and go for a Frida Kahlo/mermaid look? Or not. Anyway – look for this newest creation, along with all the lovely Barking Dog Gallery jewelry, for sale this weekend at the Spring Delaware by Hand Craft show at the Zwannandal Museum gardens in Lewes. Amazing Delaware craftspeople and artists will be there so come on out!
That question is really important for any instructor to know. Do you want to learn to draw so you can impress others? Do you want to sell your work? Do you need a relaxing way to blow off steam? Do you want to feel creative? Do you just want to find out if you can do it?
I’m planning on teaching a zentangle/watercolor class soon to satisfy the needs of my friends and students who want a way to feel fulfilled artistically that is also relaxing. They don’t need to create great works of art, or be recognized nationally for their talent — they just want the feeling we “artsy” people get when we are completely in “the zone” with our art. The Zentangle part of the class is great for people who don’t think they can draw, and who don’t really want to take the time to learn. (Although I firmly believe that almost anyone can learn.) The watercolor part is to show students how they can get wonderful results with pen and ink drawings and watercolors.
I remember going on a garden tour, and there was a watercolorist painting the house and gardens. Someone asked her how she did it, and she said, “Well you draw the house, and fill in the color!” It seemed so simple to her and so difficult to the rest of us.
This is a great example of a totally abstract zentangle.
Zentangles take away all the worry about drawing – they are whatever abstract shape you want them to be.
All you need is a fine tipped black pen and some plain paper. Heck – you don’t even need plain paper since they also look really good on yellowed old book pages:
They are really just elaborate doodles that M.C. Escher would be proud of.
My favorite technique by far is taking a shape, like a bird, and heart, etc, and filling it in with different zentangle shapes that sort of kinda recreate shapes of the original image. In this piece, I took the basic bird shape drew in and then masked off the wing area, and used a huge old clock stamp that I had to decorate the body. Then the watercolor fun began. Watercolors are perfect for adding the extra shading that really makes the zentangle pop.
After my recent surgery, I had to wait a full week for test results which would determine my quality of life for the next year. Although I am primarily a metalsmith, for some reason I craved watercolors and black pens during this tension filled week — although now that I think about it, it may have had more to do with the Percoset I was taking! Although the test results (which were wonderful) are in and my health issues resolved, I still find myself drawn to this medium. It relaxes and fulfills me and I really want to show my students just how enjoyable it can be.
I’ll post the date for the class soon, but until then, “google” the word zentangle and look at all the fantastic images you can create.
For Lewes locals, Barking Dog Gallery will be at the Women’s Fest Art Show this Saturday from 9-3pm. Come out and see my latest jewelry creations, and give me some suggestions for dates for future classes. Wanna do some shopping online, click here.
This recycled and reused post is dedicated to the biggest waste of Precious Metal Clay out there – the Certification Course! Don’t think that I don’t recommend that newbies take the course, or that it has not paid for itself in discounts to Rio Grande, but dang – you use up a lot of clay on fugly projects. I was in the class that had to create a silver pen in order to be certified. A pen! Then – to teach us construction and polishing techniques, we had to make the huge triangle – remember those. As jewelry, I can only hope to sell it at a Star Trek convention as some type of odd communication device that can be attached to your clothing. I think the current classes are a little more reasonable and participants make more usable pieced – but not then.
Today’s recycled piece was one of my favorite pieces from the class, but I never quite figured out how to turn it into jewelry. We learned to carve the clay in its greenware state, and played with Liver of Sulfur as a patina – the result was pretty but required some wirewrapping skills to complete. I’m glad to finally have this piece as part of my collection, and not languishing on my bench.
BTW – I think I should get extra points for posting on New Year’s morning! Happy New Year to everyone out there. Start the New Year right and make something wonderful that is just outside your comfort zone.
I just took these pieces out of the kiln this morning, and they finished up in the tumbler about an hour ago. No patinas yet, but you can get a good idea of the results.
You can bet that no one else has jewelry with these textures.
I was surprised the holes turned up in the big piece, but I rather like the way it looks anyway. I may add a few more holes before I finish it. One of my hoops broke, but I’ll just turn it upside down and add it to its twin to make an interesting pendant instead. Mistakes are so much fun, aren’t they.
Don’t forget that you can still order from my Etsy shop and get it by Christmas if you act quickly. Click on the link at the very top of this blog above the words “Barking Dog Gallery” to get there. Happy Holidays.
Donna
“Friends Don’t Let Friends buy Department Store Jewelry”
BARKING DOG GALLERY 