recent acquisitions and diversions + the haircut

It's a gorgeous first day of fall ... cool and crystal clear.  And what have I been doing?  Grocery shopping, laundry and making juice.  The laundry is close to being done so it seemed like a good time to share some recent finds, personal trends and diversions.

My most recent acquisition came on Friday and what a yummy deal it was ... 9 yards of vintage indigo homespun hemp or kaya/mosquito net from Japan ... forty bucks!  Okay, so the color is not very deep, but it's a lovely steel blue.  No idea what I'll do with it, but I knew I would surely regret not getting it.

Also in the fiber world ... my regular person stopped selling sari silk and very graciously suggested a different shop - JMozart.  The espresso and deep ocean skeins are even more gorgeous in person.  And I was relieved to find a couple of cones of my dark brown EuroFlax linen at a yarn shop in Maine.  It's a smaller size fiber, but much better smaller as I can easily ply it to the thicknesses I need.

Yes, I'm still deep into my chocolate and indigo obsession ... but there are certainly worse things to be obsessed about!

Another vintage treasure is this sweet little bottle I found at the same antique mall as the kaya - seven bucks!  It has a wonderful patina and will make a great little vase or prop for my jewelry photos.

I've also scored some good finds at the local used book store (Downtown Books & News - DBN) - especially nice as we still have a trade/credit balance.  Years ago, back in the early days of the Nick Bantock craze, another author put out a sweet little volume that is still one of my favorites ... Barbara Hodgson's Tattooed Map.  I knew she'd done other things since then, but none had crossed my path until this one ...

... The Lives of Shadows is now waiting patiently for me to dive in.

An ongoing interest has been sacred geometry and DBN had a couple of books to get my inquiry started - Drunvalo Melchizedek's Flower of Life books.  Then I remembered one I'd seen a while back and found one of those Amazon threesome deals - Quadrivium + 2.  Thinking a full perusal will be a winter project ...

Then for some further inspiration, I went on a Kiki Smith binge.  I found a copy of the DVD documentary, Squatting the Palace for a whole lot less than it's listed right now.  She's such an inspiration ... definitely an excellent role model.  The film is short, but really well done ... leaves you wanting much much more.

So I've been having a really hard time settling in to work.  I thought it was just me, but I've read a couple of fall astrological reports and it seems the universe is having an equally crazy time.  When I sat down to my worktable yesterday, I decided to consolidate my desktop juju.   Not an arrangement for the long haul, but it feels pretty good right now ...

And for an extra challenge, one of my shops wants a pick box of the Urban Primitive steel pieces.  It's been months since I worked with the steel.  I threw in the added challenge of trying a different version, made up a bunch of pieces and kept my fingers crossed with the firing.  Well, the first few pieces I fired did not sinter at all ... not one piece.  They all crumbled.  I went back to Hadar's blog and her insanely long instruction booklet and may have figured out the problem.  I'll try again tomorrow.

And then there's the haircut ...
So, this is from one of our staycation hikes in the beautiful Panther Town Valley.  Even with the hat, you can see that what I had was basically a fat triangle of hair ...

I didn't take any pictures of the between cut.  Nothing against the stylist, but it just wasn't what I wanted.  So here's the after ...

the side view

the back view

and the front of lil' ol' me

Like I was saying before, it's not so much a hairstyle as a haircut.  And since my hair has a fair amount of natural curl, getting it to look chopped up is not easy - it ends up just looking layered.  But, it's a whole lot closer to what I want and as it grows out, I'll chop it up some more.  You see, it's actually quite a bit shorter than I originally intended.  Thing is with that razor - you can cut a lot of hair really fast ... before you realize what you're doing and golly, if I didn't just take out a sizable chunk from the left side and then have to cut everything else to go with that empty space by my chin.  So, it's a start.  The fear is gone and, as I transition into fall, I'm looking forward to tackling a few more of my fears.

Okay, the last dryer load is about done and I'm heading out to sit on the porch, enjoy this nice afternoon and maybe finish my novel - for the second time - Shadow of Night.  This is #2 of a trilogy and I don't think she's even started on #3 ... gonna be a long wait for the conclusion. 

with deep gratitude and heartfelt blessings ........

l i g a - kvk

morning delights

Some Wednesday morning radar sightings ...

It's always a banner day when I find an interesting magazine that's new to me ... ORIGIN, conscious lifestyle + art.  Amazing - found it at my WholeFoods market and it looks very promising and not outrageously expensive (6 bucks - and for me, that's a deal!).

I'm weaning myself off of caffeine (again) with Bija Deep Cleanse tea.  It worked before ...  My local sources dried up and now I have to order it online, so the link is where I found it for a pretty good price. 

I'm really getting inspired by some documentaries we've been watching ...

I AM, the documentary - an absolute treasure

We watched the Wavy Gravy movie again - Saint Misbehavin' - believe in the power of ONE.  Everyone should watch this at least once a month!

Carbon Nation - a call to action if ever there was one

And Fat Sick and Nearly Dead was hugely inspiring!  That's what got me motivated to upgrade my juicer and make a better effort at cleaning up my act.  They're all about helping people get healthy and succeed and their websites are absolutely loaded with information and help and, well, let's just say - I'm now a big fan and doing pretty well with my juicing.

And I saved the best for last.  This is a teaser and I'm going to track down the specifics about the film, but it will be a must see for sure ... Advanced Style ... truly a labor of love. 

Okay, off to work for this little peep.  Got lots to do ... email replies to write, talismans to make, orders to fill, veggies to juice, magazines to peruse, an a couple of errands to run.

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

radar sightings

Just a quickie, 'cause I've got so much to do today .......

Just discovered Spencer Herr at the American Folk Gallery ...

And this is in beta, but The Cools looks like a potential alternative to Etsy.  Not a lot of jewelry on there yet, but I like the aesthetic  .........  we'll see.

Always forget how much I like Sydney Lynch .....

And Terri Logan is doing some interesting new work with more nuggety stones set in concrete ... the link's for her work at Bellagio ....

And of course I love her pebbles in any form or combination ......

And I needed a small dose of Aurelie Alvarez this morning before I get to work .......

And don't forget our Trunk Show on Saturday!

ciao for now!
l i g a - kvk

scurrying about + radar sightings

Hey ho!  What's up?
As for me ... I'm still catching up from being gone for a week.  I've got a stack of debit receipts that would choke a horse, my worktable looks like an explosion, I've got a stack of new magazines I'm dying to dive into and, the most important thing on the agenda ........ our second trunk show to work on.

But before I dive into all that, I've got some radar sightings to share.

First on my list is the clothing line Hannoh.  New to me, but of course Cara's been following him for ages. 

And I've really been enjoying my daily dose from Trendland which is how I found out that Bjorg has a new collection and lookbook.  See if you can figure out why I love her work ... silly me.

Cara sent me the link for Pip-Squeak Chapeau, which I have had very little time to peruse.  And WeTheUrban looks like it has some potential.

Pretty funny that I found my way to Apparet, a site for international contemporary jewelry designers, and I went straight to one of my favorite jewelry designers, Darcy Miro.  I want to just call it a day and be done when I look at her work.  Here's her website with an extraordinary video and her full range of work ... makes me swoon.

And for a fun little educational break ... my friend Cindy sent this link this morning.  Really fun, really well done and as Cindy said, essential viewing ...

Okay, back to work for this little peep.

l i g a - kvk

p.s.  two more sites for some information that's actually useful ...
How To Raise Your Vibration , Healing your shadow and Earthship, tons of cool information.

full moon, radar sightings and good news

On this day of the full moon, I'm feeling satiated, fully awake, engaged and tingly with anticipation.  The only mystery is how to fit everything in, but I do love a good mystery.  There's just so much!  I've been saving up on my radar sightings - got some gooderns..........

Obsolete - a gallery of exceptionally cool artists and antiquities.  Two of my favorites:

 artist, Dennis Manarchy 

 and from the antiquities, this marionette

Lady Grey Jewelry - especially like the archive. 

 image from Rackk and Ruin blog

Gots to read more about this image from the NYT article ...

And from the current issue of Selvedge, a gorgeous article about the exquisite home of Chinese designer Ma Ke.  Her clothing is just as amazing.  She's got two brands, Exception de Mixmind and the couture side, Wuyong (useless).  It takes forever to load, but has a switch for English and an equally cool look and work.  The Mixmind site is mostly in Chinese, so it's fun to click on things and see what they are, the music is very cool (techno opera?) and the clothing is heavenly.  Here's two of my favorites images ...

And on a different note ... a while back I had the thought that someone should do a "good news" broadcast or program.  Turns out there's a good news blog - Daily Good: news that inspires - yes, that is very good news!

And some really really good news - Sterling Silver Precious Metal Clay!!!!!!!  I have 75grams of PMC Pro sitting by my worktable.  I've hesitated to use it because of hallmarking issues.  Why on earth Mitsubishi came up with this mystery metal 90% alloy is curious and pretty much annoying.  Turns out I'm not alone with my concerns.  The issue is a big deal in Europe where there's actually a system in place to monitor precious metals and alloys.  So there's an article in the new issue of Metalclay Artist Magazine on how to make and fire sterling silver metal clay.  It's a mix of PMC 3 and PMC Pro (an Artclay version is also in there) and is looking fairly labor intensive, but I'm okay with that.  I'd much rather have a product that is a recognized alloy than a product that requires endless explanation. 

So that's it for now.  Except for one more image ... I love this one of Ma Ke, designer/maker extraordinaire.

sending celestial light and full moon blessings - kvk