TIGER EYE STERLING SILVER EARRINGS

My studio is a mess!

What does that have to do with earrings?  This:

My studio is a mess (!) because I'm out of bookcase space.  I'm out of bookcase space because I'm out of bookcases.  I'm out of bookcases because I'm too broke to buy more.  I'm too broke to buy more because I spend my time making stuff but not selling it.  I'm not selling it because I forgot I even had it.  I forgot I even had it because it's been packed away in boxes.  It's been packed away in boxes because I'm out of bookcase space.

See how that works?  It's a vicious cycle.

I made these earrings years ago when I was learning jewelry-making basics and wanted to make something for a local fundraiser for breast cancer awareness.  I had a few pairs left over afterward, threw them in a box with other random jewelry stuff, and proceeded to forget about them entirely since The Move three years ago.  Rediscovered during an archaeological dig in the Cardboard Mountains of Watdehek Island, near Oohiforgotabouddis Bay.

Sterling silver wire and details

Fiber optic "tiger's eye" beads in various colors

Handmade by yours truly during my "think pink" period

Getting posted today on Etsy!  Buy some--it'll help clear about 2 inches of shelf space so I can put away something huge, like . . . a book or a tin of safety pins?  

BABY MOBILE W/ HUNGARIAN MOTIF

I've been buried up to my neck in Hungarian motifs since the end of June, looking for various patterns and what-not that could be used in stencil designs for a room that doubles as a (current) guest room and (future) nursery.  This post is not about that stencil design (but here're pictures of it anyway).

Stenciled the curtains and the ribbon ties, plus made and applied the design on the wall.

Done with white over a very pale green (practically white) to give it an embossed effect.  It looks great . . . it's just really hard to get a picture of!  Had to take this on an angle while pressed into the wall like I was giving myself a home-based mammogram: highly uncomfortable, yet necessary.

The afore-mentioned research and stencil work was actually my gift to the new parents, but since an enlightened modern gal should never go to a party without a gift (that's just good manners!), I decided to put all that research to good use and use some of the other patterns I'd found in a baby mobile.  In keeping with the rich embroidery heritage of Hungary I used embroidery hoops as my ring tiers and made the pendants of cut-felt with embroidered accents.

This actually does hang straight (I swear!), but this shot had more pendant detail.  Apparently I was too busy taking pictures to pay attention to my subject.  D'oh.

The red poppy is the national flower of Hungary and everyone was so pleased I'd included it in the mobile. . . but that's not a stencil of a poppy (it's just a generic 5-petal flower).  But if anyone asks, it's a poppy, okay?

Extra floopy-boos I whipped up to balance out and fill in the smaller tier.  I love these and want 235342 on my Christmas tree this year.

Between the stencils in the nursery and the home-made-ness of the mobile, I was (inwardly) concerned that these were a touch too raw, but everything ended up being just perfect for a mom-to-be from a rural village.  (FYI: She has a degree in textile design with experience in international businesses, so let's not go thinking she's a country bumpkin!)  And as long as she's happy with the gifts (which she is!), then I've hit my mark and all's right with the world.

I love it when all's right with the world.

I'm currently making sets of these felt medallions (both large and small ones) to sell on the Etsy site, so keep watch there if you'd like to have a few of your own.

ZEN-TANGLE SIGNATURE MAT

One of the few commissioned pieces I've worked on recently (erm. . .that's actually finished) was a signature mat for a baby shower.  I just love it when folks let me be an artist and give me something loose and basic like a theme and then just let me run with it--I always end up with something more amazing than what I initially thought I'd do (which works out for everyone!).

So this started out with the theme of jungle animals to match the party-themed doo-dads and boo-floopies.  And since the mother is Hungarian/Romanian and missing the little touches of home I was angling for something that would appear embroidered as a nod to the rich decorative needlework of those countries.  Plus the father is part English, so you really can't go wrong with embroidery however you look at it.

Anywho.  A couple hours to figure out the overall design, make a template, and transfer it to the mat, then on to laying down the lines and filling it all in.  Obviously I couldn't duplicate the intricate stitching of actual needlework when working in monochrome, but the same effect can be achieved by filling in open areas with detailed patterns.  Thus, I did some quick research into zen-tangle patterns (Google Fu!) and 5 hours later I was done (and headed for the nearest collision between my neck and a heating pad because no drafting table = ow).

If you're wondering how much something like this might cost for future commissioned work, the answer is: "Enough to buy a drafting table."  Heh!

Here's the 11x14" mat (it was presented framed, of course) and a few detail shots.

5 points to whomever can name the "bird" flower in the background!  :P

This little dude was my favourite.  I just want to poke him in his belly like the Pillsbury Doughboy until he giggles.

YE OLDE BLOG UPDATE (AND ORANGE CHICKEN CRAVINGS)

So you know how sometimes you can have all these things to do to reach a particular goal that you DO work on but there's so many things it just feels like a never ending path of drudgery and boredom?  And you slug it out day after day (or, in my case, for about four hours every weekend if I feel like it) feeling like you're in over your head and nothing will ever get done and there's NO END to it all and you're tired of slaving away (for four hours every weekend if I feel like it) with no sense of accomplishment?  And then one day they all start to wrap up at the same time and you feel amazingly productive and awesome and the birds sing and the sky is bluer than it's ever been because you are just that fantastic?  

Well, bully for you, 'cause I'm still stuck somewhere on Drudgery Lane.  Near the end, yes, but still.

Though I do admit I naturally nail fantastic on a daily basis, so maybe I do know what that feels like.  Excuse me a moment, I have to toss my hair.

Anywho.  Thought I should probably check in with a few updates and hereto-fores before I forgot I had a blog in the first place (like I frequently do): 

1. The Pencilated website is "New & Improved" but still mostly broken.  HA!  I'm in beta--had to upload the whole thing to check some mail functions so there it is, under construction, with all its busted contact page and unfinished photo albums hanging out for the world to see.  And not even recent photos in the test phase, too, so my apologies.  Nofunphotosforyou!

2. Why YES, I have been working on stuff, thanks for asking!  Witness the bag-o-yarn in the living room that is sloooooowly evolving into a sweater that some lucky Canadian child will wear long before she (or her sister) graduate high school.  Poor kids have had to go through their infancy without this amazing sweater (and it's differently hued twin)--you gotta feel it in the heartzone when kids have to deal with that kind of poverty.  Witness also the pile of embroidered cut-felt medallions littering my desk--made a mobile for a friend, decided to make about 6 more to sell (reserve yours today!  Because it is just that awesome.).  Created some stencil designs over the July 4 weekend and will be bringing versions of that to a throw pillow near you later this summer--I can't say more lest other Etsy-folk are thinking to snag the idea.  There's more, but already I see your eyes glazing over with the sheer potential delightfulness that awaits.  That's what I'll tell myself, anyway.

3.  What else?. . . Um.  ?

3b.  Several weeks ago I came to the conclusion that I needed a regular job--it had something to do with paying the bills and eating regularly.  You just never know what drives people to do what they do, right?!   (I'm driven by pot-stickers and orange chicken, FYI.)  The art stuff is limited to about 2 days a week, but I'm not giving it up.  Just . . . gotta get more momentum with it while kicking some of these student loans to the curb.

4.   Someone suggested I needed to find a way to make it (the art stuff) fun again--keeps the fire lit under my arse with the drudgery.  So, no more of this announcing what I'm going to do, or what I'm currently working on, or whatever.  (Um, from this point forward that is. . . ignore all of #2 above!  Crap.)  It will just be a surprise to everyone (including myself, thank you Project ADD) what I have to offer from week to week.  Now on sale: Nothing!  Surprise!

5.  Pencilated is now connected to Facebook, see the button link on the bottom of the web page.  Probably connecting a Pinterest account soon, too, gawd help us.  (Want to see what a research scientist/artist/crafter with Project ADD looks like?  Like a Pinterest pinner on crack.  5417094583 new albums each week, guaranteed!)

6.  Mobile browsers: sorry about your luck, the website is loaded with hover and active panel features and some hotspot goodies.  Though I will say it still manages to work just fine on most smartphones and iPads I've used, so your mileage may vary??  Coming soon (er, relatively soon--like maybe by Christmas 2025): Pencilated mobile site!  

And, since I have to include a pix of something related to the contents of this post but I'm too tired to make something new, I present to you one of my favourite MSPaint sketches-in-5-mins-or-less:

And now I'm craving orange chicken, dammit!  (sigh)

SHOW & EVENTS CALENDAR

Check here for upcoming events and places you can see my work in person!

 (And since I take crapulous photos that don't do justice to my work, you should definitely try to see it in person.  Really.)

NO, REALLY . . .

Okay, so in my previous post I mentioned I was trying to get into the habit of posting on a regular basis.  At the time I was defining (to myself) "regular" as meaning at least once a week. . . but obviously in real life "regular" translates to something more closely approximating every three months.  Gonna have to set an alarm or something.

My apologies! I have no problem spouting off about random stuff for hours on end given the opportunity, but I am actually trying to limit the blather on what is supposed to be a "professional" blog.  I doubt very much anyone wants to hear me go on about constructing a web site from scratch (it's tough but I actually enjoy it), or spending a day learning how to make computer graphics and shiny buttons, then do it all over again four more times for each button to cover various phases (hover, down, disabled, etc).  Let's not even get into coding for captcha (because I really don't like the one that comes with the software and because I'm a glutton for punishment and insist on having things my way on my own website) or mobile website functions.  Okay, maybe some people out there might be interested, but frankly there are resources on the web for it and reinventing the website wheel is not what I'm here for.

Anywho. . .

So the New & Improved! website is coming along--last week I was so close to being done I could taste it!  Then I decided I wanted to switch from a portrait layout to a landscape layout, so here I am reconfiguring.  It goes a little faster now that I've done all the hard work, but sheesh, I'm ready to have this behind me and actually work on something fun (that I can sell).

Be on the lookout for some updates to the blog, namely an events and location calendar--got some benefit shows coming up I'm participating in--and generally paying attention to my sites again.  It's become an imperative . . . it's sooooo embarrassing to tell folks I'm an artist (still getting used to that, by the way) and then be all "um, yeah, but my website doth suck and hasn't been updated with anything since last July, so don't look at it?"

What WAS  the final draft of the website's landing page (green lines indicate hotspots)...

...but clearly I felt the need to sabotage my own success for a little while longer.  Back to draft!