Medallion

Finishing off another old piece from years ago....when I've finished the edging, I may sew it onto a bag.

Seal

Just a little piece I'm playing with...too soon to start the august bjp and I can't seem to get inspired by the large summer piece....
Had a dear friend come and visit today, so we beaded and chatted and had an all-around good time...thanks, gail!

WIPs from Washed Ashore

Works in Process that we will have at the Washed Ashore exhibit....thanks to angela for sending me the photos to post!

Washed Ashore

That's the title of the next show at our visual art center here in Newport. The show is going to run for three months, opening on the 13 of August and running through October, so if you're in the area, stop on by, it's going to be an amazing and interactive installation!

Instead of trying to explain the concept behind the work, I'll just add this LINK to the website about the show, done by the artist, Angela Haseltine Pozzi.

Summertime...

and the fog is rolling in...must be HOT in the valley again....on my way in to work, there was a long line of cars coming in from the east, escaping the heat of the interior no doubt!
Don't know if I've shown this before, but this is where I sit while staffing our upstairs gallery....every now and then I take a break and turn around and spend a few minutes just breathing in the ocean...

I've just started a new piece...too soon to show photos since I don't know what it's even going to be...so far just a little seal and a few charlottes...

oh...and this is my first blog from the gallery...we just got wifi, so I can bring my laptop to work and have all my photos, etc. to hand...fun!

Class Project

Here's the sample for the class I'm teaching next week...it's a felt cel phone case...lined with fleece, embellished with felt bird, button and MOP button closure and using the blanket edge stitch. I think anyone can finish this project in 2 hours as I will be cutting the case and lining out ahead of time and threading all the needles with perle cotton thread. So they will basically be designing their own image (bird, heart, flower, etc.), sewing it down and stitching the edges. I never know how many of the students have any stitching skills, so have to figure out something that I think will work for an absolute beginner without being too boring for any experienced stitchers...tricky!
This class is for cancer survivors and their families and/or caretakers, so it's very dear to my heart.

Yesterday

I've been a bit restless lately...trying to practice taking it one day at a time...and it's easier to achieve that state some days and harder on other days. I find that making something (beaded, photographed, written) is very meditative and often helps to calm me down, but it doesn't work all the time. Probably nothing will work all the time, I just need to keep practicing...
So yesterday instead of getting any beadwork done, I found some old pieces...ones I'd finished but didn't want to pass along from some reason or another and some that hadn't been quite finished when I abandoned them.
I also went into the garden with my camera to look at some flowers and take a few photos to share. Sumi is making the most of the shade...it must get quite warm with her black fur soaking up the rays!
This week is filled with meetings with friends, art fairs and extra hours at the gallery and I will practice enjoying every second of it.

PS. Jane Dunnewold wrote an interesting post on creativity you might find helpful HERE.

Pause

Just a little bit of a pause between the july bjp and a few larger pieces...might be a pendant or one of a pair of earrings....

Cool Work

After my burst of creativity yesterday, I had to take this morning off and I spent it (big surprise!) surfing the web.
I found this artist's wire work really speaks to me....take a look and give yourself a treat if you have some time! Here's a photo from her blog to whet your appetite...;)

(and she has an etsy shop (link's on her blog) if you just must have a piece of her work...;)

July BJP and Low Tide

We had a minus tide this morning combined with no fog on the beach, so a friend and I took our cameras out and had some fun!
A few years ago a lot of sand got shifted and some ancient tree roots were exposed for the first time in many years on one of our beaches north of town. Most of the them were eventually covered up again, but there are still a couple left and you can see one of them in my photo. Because they're very dimensional there are a lot of pools formed by the roots that have partially filled with sand and/or rocks and that is what is in the close up photo. I photographed it as I found it....the ochre rock just as you see it.
I was so jazzed, when I got home I finished my july bjp, even to the framing, so now I can concentrate on my big summer piece and the sample for the class I'm teaching in a couple of weeks. I do wish I had a camera that could give you some idea of how the swarovski crystals and margaritas flash in this piece!
Hope you're all having a lovely day...I'm so excited our summer has really arrived, I'm almost giddy, lol!

Sorry

it's been so long since I posted, but last week I had a nasty reaction to some codeine I'd been prescribed and ended up flat out for about 24 hours and I wasn't up to much the next day either! My new rule...no more codeine, not even half a dose!
In between the nastiness, I've been working on a new class for our Surviving to Thriving group, enjoying the sunny afternoons on the porch (even a few handfulls of berries we managed to keep the deer away from!) and a senior recital done by the son of some friends, who is an awesome pianist for a young man just 18 years old! He played a piece by Chopin that had everyone riveted in their seats...awesome! The concert was being filmed by a local television station, which is why you see the videographer standing behind him.
Since I don't have any progress photos on my work, I thought I'd just add another shot of a veiw from yaquina head, where I often sit. It's the same place I took the surfer photo from but looking in another direction.

Summer Daze

Since it looks like we're heading for some really hot days in the valley (which usually means fog for us), I thought I'd take advantage of the clear weather yesterday and spend it outside.
In the morning I drove up to yaquina head, a national park at the north end of town and did a bit of journaling, photography, beading and watching the surfers try to surf on the tiny waves, lol.
After lunch chuck and I headed down the coast 50 miles to florence...a drive that includes what I consider 25 of the most beautiful miles you can drive anywhere, from yachats to florence. Along the way are the sea lion caves and heceta head lighthouse...one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. The the dunes of florence from a view point south of the town...
Got home and had dinner outside under our willows as it was quite hot in the house by then. A little reading and then to bed...opening up the house to get ready for today, which is supposed to be even hotter...yahoo! I wouldn't want weeks of this, but a few days sure would be nice!
I sure hope the folks who are having 100+ degree days can keep cooled down!

Fireworks

I took about 200 photos of the fireworks and culled it down to 150 but I will cut more tomorrow. Tonight I'll leave you with one of my favorites....it's not the clearest one, but it shows not only the reflection in the marina but you can see the outlines of some of the sailboats and their masts as well...

Early Fireworks

July journal is coming along...

July BJP

The fabrics have been chosen and the patterns cut...