minor obsessions and pools of rainbow light

Well, I'm still pretty much obsessed with these colors.  I just can't help myself.  Here's the assortment of gorgeousness that will be going into my next necklace.  I know she's going to be an Epic Ocean Muse ...

She's going to be  l o n g g g g - I'm hoping for at least 42" - hence the big assortment of treasures - pretty sure I'll need more.  I've been drilling out pearls, beach glass and gemstones.  She'll be strung on unbleached linen cord and have a lot of fine silver beads that I've rescued from a couple of my wholesale samples.  But that's all I know for right now.  Can't wait to see what she's going to look like.

Of course, I've been borderline obsessed with these colors forever ... just lately it's gotten to be even more so.  I had a follow-up session with Marilyn last week.  During part of the session I had a really strong visual of swimming and playing in an ocean pool - joyous and free and exhilarating - something like this image I found of the Amalfi coast ...

After our session ended, that visualization had me going straight over to my worktable to re-do my talisman.  The updated version has a moss aquamarine faceted nugget, a vintage carnelian nugget, a nice chunk of teal green beach glass, my small P4R medallion, a bronze life spiral with "I Am" on the back, bronze "abundance" text nugget with a watermelon tourmaline cylinder, my chakra pendant with a ruby at the heart center, a gem stack of blue aquamarine and apatite, my cross with LGLG on the back (let go let god), more blue aquamarine and a heart shaped teal beach glass nugget.  The blessing is still that bit from the Michael Beckwith quote, "a way will be made."

The other thing I was moved to do was pull out my "RLB" ... really long bracelet!  I wore this on my right wrist for years and years - never took it off.  At one point it was 16' long.  I remember once when it broke while swimming with my chocolate lab, Satchel, at Lake Fontana.  He got a little too enthusiastic, hit my wrist and beads went flying.  I said, "darn, I wish he hadn't done that."

I used to sell them by the foot for some ridiculously small amount of money ... they take hours and hours ... that's a butt load of beads to string.  I'd sit there with 30 or 40 bins of beads and dive in like an improvisation ... very intuitive and meditative.  Anyway, I pulled it out and put it on my left wrist ... very strange at first, but now it feels like it's always been there.  My RLB has a substantial visual as well as physical weight.  My favorite part - there's a ton of really beautiful ancient Roman glass beads - the expensive ones.  Plus, it keeps me from wearing my watch - a real test for miss clockwatcher me.  The idea is my right brain/left side needs even more nudging - retraining my brain to allow the analytical side to be less dominant. 

The other really strong visual I got from our session was of being behind the steel gates of a large dam.  On one side of the dam, I can easily see a brilliant pool of white light with rainbow edges - kind of like being in the middle of a complex prism of light.  On the side I am right now it's feels kind of dark and stifling and there's a huge amount of fear anticipating what would happen if those flood gates blasted open.   I know I want to be on the side of that pool of light, but the idea of being swept away in sudden release scares the bajeezious out of me.

So, I've been working on not being stuck behind that dam.  Subsequent meditations and breathwork and yoga and swimming have created a shift ... the dam has sprung a few leaks.  And, as of yesterday, the leaks were getting bigger.  I'm thinking a slow breach is just fine.  Looking forward to swimming in that pool of rainbow light ...

l i g a - kvk  

p.s. this week's FreeWill Astrology horoscope made me chuckle

Sagittarius Horoscope for week of July 11, 2013
Breakthrough will probably not arrive wrapped in sweetness and a warm glow, nor is it likely to be catalyzed by a handsome prince or pretty princess. No, Sagittarius. When the breakthrough barges into your life, it may be a bit dingy and dank, and it may be triggered by questionable decisions or weird karma. So in other words, the breakthrough may have resemblances to a breakdown, at least in the beginning. This would actually be a good omen -- a sign that your deliverance is nothing like you imagined it would be, and probably much more interesting.

the edge

Been in hiding for a bit ........
I'm pretty sure that much has transpired.  New samples were designed and made, put into a presentation for the rep and shipped off - that took up much of August.  There was our staycation which included beautiful hikes and some lovely day trips.  I did have a burst of inspiration hit, thinking that was a couple weeks ago ... not sure ... and made a handful of over-the-top pieces, a couple I listed on Etsy straight away, the last of them finally got listed yesterday.   They're not for the faint of heart .........

Many themes and ideas for blog posts have come and gone ...  But mostly it just seems like time has passed and I'm not sure what all I've done ... feels like my brain's been in a dense fog.   

I did make up and fire two big batches of bronze components this week ... that's one of the few things inspiring me ... making piles of nuggets and discs and cylinders.  But today, my intention was to work on Talismans ... I've got a slew of components made up.  They've been waiting patiently, but the inspiration wasn't flowing so they'll have to wait just a bit longer.  Some things I can nudge along ... forcing the Talismans would be a large mistake.

So to do something and feel productive, I started cleaning out my fresh haul of agatized bamboo ... oh yeah, I got a pick box from the vendor.  I still don't have tons, but I've definitely got more than eight.  Most of them have plugs of hard ol' red clay that I drill out.  It's a messsssy messy process ...

I got all of them opened up, but still need to do a final cleaning.  Red clay dust leaking out onto nice clothing would probably be a bad thing, so I'm soaking the pieces and will do some more cleaning, well, I guess I'll see when I get back to them.  It's that lingering foggy problem.

So about that bronze inspiration ... Yesterday's firing went extremely well - out of more than 100 grams of bronze, only one or two pieces didn't sinter.  Today's question was to polish or not to polish.  I do love the way they look straight out of the kiln ... ever so wabi-sabi.  As of right now, I'm going with not polishing.

What I keep wanting to do is make more big, over-the-top pieces.  I've got bits of ideas floating in my mind ... just bits and pieces, nothing specific.  But what got me this afternoon was this monochromatic palette ...... I've no idea where this will lead - maybe nowhere - maybe something amazing.  But I do love the look. 

Mostly I've had a pervasive and fairly strong urge to look for my ever elusive edge ...  do things out of my comfort zone.  I've been creeping along, testing the waters.  A big one was cutting my own hair.  I've always wanted to just chop the s**t out of my hair.  I just got a haircut last week, but it wasn't what I really wanted.  So I went to the beauty supply store and bought a razor and went for it.  I'm quite pleased with the results ... it's definitely more chopped up and, according to Cara, "it doesn't look like a hairstyle."  Exactly what I wanted. 

Now that I've conquered my hair cutting urge, I want to keep testing my boundaries.  Where I'm going with my jewelry feels like a total mystery.  Only a couple of things are very clear ... keep working on designing and making my own clothes and I'm going to finish designing my forearm tattoo and have it done.   

Moving through my fog ... to-do lists are useless.  All I can see to do for now is follow my inspiration and intuition.  Right turn or left, I won't know until I get there.  It feels like an ongoing leap of faith ... trust in the universe and look for opportunities to do good work ... in all aspects of my life. 

Resistance is futile ... take a deep breath and let go ......
l i g a - kvk 

as of right now ...

... I still need to do a couple more tweaks on the Maker's Mark - maybe later today.  But I'm close ... darn close.

Earlier in the week, I made a good start into my assortment of Danielle books and workbooks and audios and videos.  For all this study and searching and for all these changes to be lasting and meaningful, I plan to work slow and deliberate and not blast through (my normal m.o.).  There's a lot of work ahead, enjoyable and inspiring and enlightening work ...... 

But when it got to Thursday, I had to pause and get back to working on jewelry.  I got my table cleared and my strategy laid out and then the power went out ... a rare thing around here.  I still managed to do a bit of work, but it was one of those dark and stormy afternoons and it kept getting darker, so I just gave in and sat on the front porch, reading a novel, watching the storm blow in with even more force - an even rarer thing.  It was evening before the power was back on ... so much for the afternoon's work. 

This morning I'm ready to go.  My worktable is cleared and the sun is pouring in ...

I've got a steaming mug of PG Tips (thanks to Hillary's advice) and just inhaled the last few crumbs of a maple pecan scone (so decadent).  I've cruised around Pinterest a bit (total addict) then a short stop by FaceBook and, when I saw how lovely my table looked, all empty and shiny and sunny, I decided to snap a few pics to share ... and THEN I'll sit down to work.

Plus, I've got a couple of recent additions to the "Aspiring Eccentric's Reading List" ... just in case I need to take a visual juice break once I sit back down to some real work ...

I donated to HandEye Magazine's IndieGoGo fundraiser and just received my premiums - two lovely issues.  This is such a gorgeous publication.  I was especially pleased to see articles by India Flint in both issues.  There's also a nice little article on-line about amulets and talismans.  I'm savoring these and pondering a subscription ...

I pre-ordered this a while back.  It got delayed and then ended up coming a week earlier than I was expecting, and it's every bit as sumptuous inside as the cover suggests.  The Natural Home is full of dark, rich, luscious greys and unbleached linen and delicious textures and way more 'stuff' than I'd ever be comfortable with, but makes for such enjoyable perusing.

And speaking of natural linen ... for all those fabric junkies out there - I found a site for all sorts of European linen, all kinds of widths and weights.  I'm particularly interested in the 120", 7.5oz. from Spain and the 120" lightweight scrim from Belgium - Celtic Linens.  And then there's silk scrim here, 54" wide in nice earthy colors.  Who knew?  No idea what I want to do with any of it, but it makes me ever so happy knowing it's there.

I'm enormously pleased with the progress I've made on my various websites.  I have no doubt I'll keep finding little things to change and update, but I'm finally feeling like I've got most of the dots connected and I'm closing in on having an on-line presence that feels fully congruent, lacking in pretense ... a hoity-toity free zone.

Before heading back to work, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to comment on my last couple of posts and to welcome all the new members who've decided to follow this mining project of a blog.  I'm such a solitary creature and knowing my work and my words and images have an audience ... well, it really means the world to me. 

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

p.s.  click here for a good time

tabletop inspiration

assorted things on my worktable that caught my eye ... inspiration is right there all the time ...........

there's treasures from the sea ...

potential materials ...

and bits of creation by my own hands ...

........ I just need to remember to look up.

l i g a - kvk

sunday morning inspiration

Woke up thinking about our 2010 trip to Provence ... I'm still so inspired by our photos.  A while back I 'shopped' some of my favorites ... these are the ones that are inspiring me and my work on this bright Sunday morning .........

Bonnieux rooftops

Lacoste archway

Roussillon clock tower

Lacoste stairway

Bonnieux stairs

Lourmarin teal doorway

Ancient steps and craggy archways - still making my heart sing .......

l i g a - kvk

uncertainty and the evolution of a new collection

These last days have been something of a roller coaster ride.  I've been alternating between wonderful creative bursts during the day and nights that have bordered on "dark night of the soul" depression.

I go from feeling terribly uncertain about where I'm headed, what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, wandering around the house trying to do something productive, to sitting back down at my worktable, pulling out components, remembering bits and tucked away fragments, assembling prototypes and experiments, seeing potential and direction and focus and then realizing I've come around to something that feels like hope.

Here's where I am right now ...

As I sit here trying not to get lost in my feelings of uncertainty and inner confusion, trying to stay positive and know that it always works out, one thing I'm really looking forward to is the release of Jonathan Fields new book, UNCERTAINTY, Turning Fear & Doubt Into Fuel For Brilliance.  Here's the exceptionally well done and really inspiring trailer.



Could the timing be any more perfect ... I don't think so.  I had an advance digital copy that I only got part of the way through, so I know what's in store and I'm excited.  The timing is, well ... timely.

So while I'm still wafting around in my own uncertainty, I have been making some headway in putting together the new jewelry collection.  I thought I'd share some of my process and the unfolding evolution of this collection ...

You may remember, the gathering of inspiration started with the purchase of Cara May's sweater from Niche.  While chatting with the artist, ideas for jewelry started to flow fast and furious.  I got to thinking about that bag of fossilized bone I'd been hoarding and decided I needed more!  That led to putting in a request to my in-laws to see if they'd like to part with some of their stash.  Here's my massive haul of fossilized treasure.  The starting place for my new jewelry collection ...

The sweater is knitted in part with wool coated steel wire from Habu Textiles.  That led me to ordering Hadar's steel metal clay.  Okay, so the jury's still out on steel metal clay.  It's a total pain to fire and, while almost everything has survived, it's not a for sure guarantee that everything will fire properly.  Just when I was ready to hate it and chalk my $50 investment up to experience, I decided I actually like the look of the pieces.  I'm still figuring it all out and it's a pain, but I'm going to use the 150 grams I bought, turning it into a very limited collection.

The progression so far ...

One thing I had read but forgot, the steel tends to warp and curl, a very nice thing in my book.  Only thing, these pieces curled the wrong way.  So I wet them down and put some card stock over them to flatten them back out.  I really do love this shape - long, thin, curved and slightly textured.

This is my first batch of components ready to fire.  I've got some experiments happening here.  I've embedded raw rubies and sapphires in a couple of pieces and wrapped a bit of the clay around a couple of forged bailing wiring rings  ... all of which should survive the 1700 degree firing.  The pain part of the firing is that you have to fire in two stages, one to burn out the binder and the higher, sintering phase and then you can only fire a few pieces at a time ... these pieces took two firings.

I'm still trying to figure out the finishing of the components.  The pieces emerge black and crusty.  Here's the contrast between straight out of the kiln and sanded with polishing paper.  The rubies survived but the piece broke in half; I'm thinking I'll still be able to use the pieces. 

I tumbled everything in various ways ... steel shot for several hours gets rid of the crusty look, but my usual abrasive media is just not abrasive enough.  My 400 grit polishing paper seems to be the best follow-up to the steel shot, but I really want to try a steel brush and coarser sanding paper.  I've also put a coating of Renaissance Wax on everything ... just in case.

Now I've got the core components - steel and fossils ... what next?  That's been the big question and a contributing factor to my mood swings and ponderous navel gazing.  So I've been taking a few breaks to let the ideas rest, the juices mingle and stew.  Yesterday, after a short burst of cleaning and some de-cluttering, I headed back to my worktable.

I'm thinking it started with pulling out those luscious teal glass beads I bought in July.  Then drilling a big chunk of bone and remembering those other big Ghana glass beads I had stashed here and there and oh man, what about those vintage Venetian glass beads I've had for 15 years and can you believe it, they've got that same teal in them and oh yeah, don't forget those big chunks of Roman glass and doesn't this all look just amazing with the ochre of my sweater and lo and behold ... I have my color palette.

teal Ghana glass and bronze metal clay spacers

vintage Venetian glass, Ghana glass, fossils

 

Roman glass and ochre, rust and ruby bead drawers

figuring out how it's all going to go together ... flourite, Roman glass, fossils, steel

some prototypes against my sweater ... a very promising start

So that's where I am right now. 

Goodness, this has taken a really long time to put together and those beautiful components are calling me back to the worktable.  Plus I want to use up the other 100 grams of steel clay, 'cause it's going to take a couple of days to get it all fired ... still not happy about that, but I'm just going with it for now.

Let me know what you think!

l i g a - kvk

chillin' in my happy place

Since I was on my ocean inspired design burst, I pulled out some beach glass to make a few of my Sea Goddess components.  Here's the before ...

And the really excellent after ...

Interesting that one of the green pieces changed color a bit.  That's what I love about doing these, it's always a surprise!  I think I'll do finished pieces with the two pendants and I'm planning to list the other componenets on Etsy.  This coming week is going to be crazy busy, but I should be able to squeeze a photo shoot and some 'puter time in there somewhere. 

I've been working with my mondo pile of shark fossils and enjoying myself immensely!  My soon to be replaced cheapo drill has actually been cooperating and I've been able to do a bunch of drilling.  The only challenging part with the fossils - some are not so fossilized and crumble or break when I'm drilling them.  The good ones make a lovely ringing sound when they click together.  Happy sounds are always a good thing in jewels.  I'm having so much fun with these ... I can't believe it took me 3 years to get these out and start experimenting.   Gotta say, on the whole, they're looking very cool and I'm quite pleased.

I took a couple of days and made a bunch of teeny spacers and accent beads.  I don't know what it is, but I absolutely love making these tiny beads.  And when I've got them all sorted out, well sort of sorted, and in my little bins ... that's a sight that makes me ever so happy.

What I've started with is these really simple necklaces with stacks of silver alternating with the fossils.  I'm debating about adding some sparklie bits, but keep going back to the simpler versions.  These are on the nylon cord I'm making.  I'm liking the thinner version for my own self, but can see that thicker cords will be good for the guys and the heavier pieces.

I'm planning on spending most of tomorrow working on these.  There'll be earrings and bracelets as well.  Oh yes, that will be me ... chillin' in my happy place!

Sending out prayers to those in the path of Irene - stay safe!
l i g a - kvk

good morning, inspiration!

Welllll, I'm sure this is not going to be a surprise to anyone ... that where my mind has wondered and what my hands have plucked out to play around with are remnants of the sea - in particular, fossilized shark's teeth and bones from the SW coast of Florida.  Okay, so I didn't collect these.  My brother-in-law and his partner sent them to me, embarrassing to say - about 3 years ago.  That would be when we were still in Port Townsend.  But boy howdy they've been whispering to me since I got back home and since yesterday, it's been rather more insistent.

I've got lots to work with!  Here's some of the big pieces I culled ...

... from here.  A nice big zip-loc of inspiration.  There's a mix of fossils, shells and pebbles.  Some with lovely holes worn through - tailor made for jewelry!  Can't you just see a whole bunch of these tiny fossils, drilled and interspersed with my metal clay spacers and chunky bits?  I'm thinking an urban update to my beloved puka shells from the early 70's.

And here's some of the really big pieces - bones and teeth mostly and a few of the smaller, exceptionally cool pebbles and shells.

I'm seeing these paired with some of my jumbo gemstone nuggets ...

... or maybe with my metal clay/beach glass pendants ...

And if I get bored with any of that, it's September Issue season!  I've been buying the September issue of Vogue since I was in my early teens - a beloved annual tradition, my seasonal foray into absolute excess.  I did a quick perusal of everything on the shelf at B&N and decided to stick with my top two - W and Vogue.  Might have to check out the movie again - I can absolutely live without Anna Wintour, but Grace Coddington is a total inspiration.

Okay, time to do some drilling!  Which reminds me, gots to order more diamond drills.  And all my writing and introspection is back on hold ... inspiration calls and I must answer.  Like Andrew was saying in his current post, "I can talk about my ideologies and weave elaborate sentences to bolster my opinions... but without action behind those words, they might as well not exist at all."  Well said, Andrew!

Wish me luck!

l i g a - kvk