24 February 2013

tenacious bits ...

tentacles
shreds
remnants
vestiges
remains

Those niggling bits are not letting go without a fight.
Dreams have been crazy and erratic.
Some 'letting go' efforts have been more successful than others.  
I've emptied out that bowl full of components that's been sitting on my worktable for months and sorted out fine silver bits that have been sitting in my supply bins for even longer.  Most have been listed on Etsy.  Some bronze elements I cut off the silver bails and chucked straight out.  

Some of the silver components that have been listed on Etsy ...

 

And some pieces from my All One Talismans series ...



I've also listed five of my eco-dyed silk scarves.  I'm really really pleased with my results and can't wait to use some of the plant stuff I've been stashing in a jumbo zip-loc in my freezer.   
This one's my absolute fave ...

But back to those tenacious bits ...
I guess I shouldn't be so hard on myself.  Behavior modification, breaking long-held patterns and habits, changing how I operate in the world ... this is big time stuff.  
 
Some days and nights are better than others.  A couple of days ago, I woke feeling like I'd been to war with my subconscious ... flat worn out.  I've been working on weaning myself off of the nightguard I've worn for the last 18 months.  The thing does nothing to stop me from clenching my jaw, it just keeps me from further cracking and wearing down my teeth.  It's a classic western solution - don't fix the problem, just use this really expensive gizmo and cover it up.  So that morning, I woke with my jaw in pain and a huge headache.  My mind was still reeling from layers of convoluted dreams.  The next night I wore the nightguard.  

But, that was it ... it's an ongoing challenge to stay aware through the day.  When I catch myself clenching my jaw, I try to stop and say "it's okay, let go" then take a minute or two to massage the joints, repeating my little mantra.  Needless to say, it's a process. 

One thing I keep coming back to ... it feels vitally important ... my work - all of my work - must be my own.  I'm down to my last few Basha beads, but for now, I'm not going to order any.  As much as possible, I want all the elements in my work to come from me.  Granted, for the most part I've been doing this for years.  But I'm finding this urge is spilling over into things like my clothing ... curious.

It's also why some of those bronze elements got chucked out.  Last year, I had what felt like a huge inspiration.  I have a very talented friend that has a singular artistic voice and style.  I had this idea to take some of her decidedly quirky images, translate them into rubber stamps and do a series of components and jewelry ... a collaboration of sorts.  I approached my friend and she very graciously gave me permission to use her images.  I spent hours and hours choosing images, photo-shopping them, laying out my proposed stamp sheets, pricing then ordering the sheets.  But the images didn't translate like I was hoping, I'd made most of them too big and should have done 'innies' instead of 'outies'.  I remained enthusiastic and hopeful, but the finished pieces just weren't working for me.

So they've been sitting on my worktable for months.  I wasn't really sure why my inspiration flagged and evaporated.  Surely, I could have revised the size of the images and had new sheets made ... but I resisted.  Now, and I feel this very strongly, I'm glad it didn't work out.  

As I'm moving forward, it is essential that I stand on my own.  It's enormously tempting to pursue a path where I can glom onto someone else - that "guilty by association' thing - get sucked into their wake and propelled along in their momentum.  I know it very well ... been there, done that ... and it's a nasty nasty habit.  I want to feel the exhilaration generated by my own momentum.  
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely believe in partnerships and collaborations.  
But for now, I need to see what it feels like - me, all by myself.  

My over-analytical brain keeps wanting to know "why" ... "what caused all this in the first place?" - don't I need to know all those "w's" to really let go and move forward?  I'm sticking with my current idea - don't try to figure it out ... just keep letting go.  
Yep, those niggling bits are indeed tenacious.  

l i g a - kvk
 

20 February 2013

promise

I've been watching the flowering quince at the end of my drive ... blooms and buds popping out ... seems too early to last.  Every time I look at those buds, the word promise comes to mind.  Today I was compelled to explore the idea of promise a bit further.

the promise of spring

the promise of growth

the promise and potential in raw materials ... silver

... gemstone slabs

 ... yards of vintage homespun linen from the Ukraine

But ultimately ... promise and potential and hope are within me 
... all that's left to do is open my hands and let go

l i g a - kvk

14 February 2013

wheels are working

A couple of weeks ago, I went to an estate sale and came home with a ginormous box of raw gemstone slabs and a cold chisel.  The pieces I'm really excited about right now are these translucent agate slices and the hollow and equally translucent, I don't know what it is, form.


But I've got a lot of material to work with ... mostly jasper.  There's a wee bit of chrysocola, a nice size slab of sodalite, obsidian - plain and snowflake, rhodochrosite (I think that's what that big chunk middle right is) and not sure what all else.  Oh and several slices of an agate that's blue and lavender - gorgeous!  Oh and that black piece up front is a slab of fossilized shells and little creatures.  Lots of absolutely delicious raw edges.  I'm thinking the box was about 25 pounds ... that plus the chisel for 65 bucks ... suh-weet!


I'm planning on making some classic KVK wonky bezels and settings out of steel with sterling prongs fired onto the steel ... well, that's the plan as of right now.  Doing some research on setting stones.  Plus I've been having a big ol' time wacking on some of the slabs and breaking them into smaller chunks, then smoothing off the edges with my diamond rotary tools ... like I was saying - classic KVK wonky stuff. 

very exciting, no?
I'll keep you posted.

once again - happy heart day!
l i g a - kvk

xoxoxo


with deep gratitude and light filled blessings .....
l i g a - kvk

12 February 2013

niggling bits and mixed metaphors

Question - is it possible to collect all the niggling bits of baggage, fears, karmic goo and miscellaneous ick and chuck it, en masse, right out?

draw a line in the sand and step over it
open the sluice gates and let it all flow away
shed the ideas and notions and beliefs and nasty bits like a heavy coat and step forward
untie the boat from the dock and let go into a new way of being in the world
flip the master breaker and be done


I say, yes.
further
onward
and beyond
l i g a - kvk



11 February 2013

transforming

and what I'm really working on is the nature, content and direction of my business ... 
reinventing
redefining
taking stock
transforming 
opening
continuing to listen

a major work in progress - my website - the landing page as I'm currently seeing it ...
stay tuned
l i g a - kvk

10 February 2013

progression

still kind of obsessed with images ... still life photos ... collections
of late, I've been collecting old bottles ... particularly clear or light green glass that's been buried, dug up and has acquired a lovely patina.  I found three more this past week and now have enough to make an interesting group.  They're nice in singles and smaller numbers, but I've been wanting to do a 'group' photo. 

So here's a series of basically the same image ... mainly interested in the progression of how the light changed over a couple of hours of shooting the same image.






Sending love and prayers and healing light to Maire.

Have a lovely rest of your day.
l i g a - kvk 

01 February 2013

white + 1

still hunkering ...
working on ideas for web redesign
decided to take some photos of my collection of white ... bones, shells, pebbles and one rusty object + one not so white - a tiny black clay pinchpot fired with pmc dots, now holding blue treasures








back to hunkering

l i g a - kvk