4x4 Friday - Punchinella

As the new year quickly approaches, I've been looking for different challenge blogs/websites that will help me to keep creating even when I don't think I have the time. One of the sites I found is 4x4 Friday. I decided to get a jumpstart on my New Year's Resolution to create more art and do this weeks Friday challenge. Here is my first 4x4 challenge entry.
I had so much fun making this. It was one of those creating experiences that fed on itself. As I thought about the punchinella (the waste product from making sequins - for those of you who didn't know), I thought of using it like a fence with an animal. After that, it was just a matter of following the various associations that my mind made. I love when things like that happen! And I'm ready for the January challenges because I cut enough 4x4 pieces of matboard to do five more challenges. So bring it on!

Open for Business

I couldn't just let this time of the year go by with the normal holiday busyness. I had been thinking that I needed a bigger studio space for quite awhile but didn't seriously pursue it until a couple of weeks ago. We had some excess furniture that needed to find new homes and I called St. Vinnie's to make a pick up. That was when my brain went into hyperdrive on the larger studio idea. After bringing the subject up with Kurt, we discussed the various options and decided that moving from my current studio in the basement to the other basement room that was twice the size was a good plan. Little did he know that my plans called for immediate relocation. The discussion took place the weekend of the 8th and last week I became the Energizer Bunny, painting walls, moving furniture, cleaning out excess stuff and everything in between. There are still a few bins of supplies that need to be put away but as of last night, my studio is "open for business". I have my work table cleared and all the main supplies in accessible areas. I have been craving some creative time (and although, getting my new studio space ready has be creative, it is not in the way I want) and now I can actually play. For now, you can see my studio pictures and hopefully soon there will be new work posted as well.

Did you notice my affirmations that I painted on the walls before the actual painting began? So many people talk about the need to believe in your dreams and the power of affirmations so I just couldn't resist to put my own mark on the world (or the wall) when I was making my new work space "home".

Building a better Mousetrap

Okay, maybe I'm not building a mousetrap, but I have been building. After having reserved my domain name over a year ago, I decided it was time to actually do something more than have a page that said "Under Construction". Last week I decided to move my domain to a new server and have been actively working on building my website. I'm feeling pretty happy with the overall design that I have set up so now it is time to get down to the nitty-gritty and add actual content. Since I am a novice website designer, I welcome all comments and critiques of my site. The site is StoneAngelArts.com. If you get a chance to stop by, please let me know what you like, what you don't like and any other suggestions that you may have.

What do you do between answering the door on Halloween?

You make jewelry, of course! Okay, maybe not everyone does but that was what I did between doling out candy to the cute and creepy trick-or-treaters prowling my neighborhood. I have been wanting to improve my beading skill of making bead dangles and I decided it was the perfect activity for when you get interrupted alot. The result of my Halloween handiwork is this Cha-Cha bracelet.

I had posted this in my gallery at ILove2Create.com and I had a request for directions....so here they are (from a newbie beader). The items I used were the following:

• Needle-nose plier
• Round-nose plier
• Wire cutter
• 7.5 inch large link chain w/clasp
• headpins
• pre-mixed Czech glass beads (66 grams-but I have some left over)

Since I was using a pre-sized bracelet chain, all I did was make the indivdual dangles that are on the bracelet (which, if you remember, was why I decided to make this in the first place). Each dangle is between 1/2 inch and one inch long. Each link on the bracelet has two dangles attached to it. One is longer and one is shorter. Each dangle is made by threading the desired number of beads on a headpin and then the headpin is cut and the end shaped to form the loop that allows the dangle to be attached to the chain link. For my dangles, I simply started with a larger bead directly above the head and then added additional beads, alternating colors. The tricky part to the process is forming the loop. Here are a couple of links that show the process: Bead and Button magazine and WigJig.com. I particularly like the example in the second link but since I didn't leave a neck on my headpin like they show in the example, I wanted to include both. The process is really the same. Here is another picture of my bracelet that shows it in more detail. Also, I made sure to add the two dangles that were on each link to the opposite sides of each link. I think that after making more than 50 dangles, I feel much more confident in my wireworking abilities. The unexpected benefit of this bracelet has been the soothing sound it makes. It has been compared to the sound of a rainstick.

The Creative Process

I have been thinking a lot about this lately. Mostly because I have been reading "Fearless Creating" by Eric Maisel with a group of fabulous artists that I met through Meetup.com at the beginning of the year. We were all interested in working through "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron and started meeting twice a month to work through her book. We have since finished that book and decided upon the Eric Maisel book to continue our journey for a more creative life. Last Sunday we discussed the first chapter, which I had a really hard time reading and relating to my creativity issues. We are meeting again tomorrow to discuss chapter two, which deals with choosing a project. I don't know if I am just the odd-man out with this subject but I just don't seem to be finding the exercises meaningful. One of the big topics in the second chapter is not discounting the difficult project ideas. Maybe it is the type of art that I do, but I never eliminate any of my ideas. Sinced I have been working on more assemblage and found art pieces, I tend to "see" the start of a piece when I find an object. It may take months before I find the right combination to actually begin a piece. But other times I can see something and know immediately where to start. I may not know much more than the start but the first step has such a strong pull that I "know" it is it right. The perfect example is a piece that I finished about two weeks ago.

This shrine began life as a capiz shell bowl I bought on clearance at Target. I actually bought three of them because I thought they would make lovely candle holders on some black bookshelves I have in my living room. It wasn't until I got them home and was removing the labels that I found that one of the labels was actually embedded in the finish of the bowl. I decided it wasn't worth the $1 or less per bowl to return them to Target but I just shoved them in a drawer and forgot about them. That is until about a month ago when I came across them and immediately had a vision of cutting the part of the bowl with the label off and using the remaining part of the bowl for a shrine. I'm sure part of my "vision" came from my recent acquisition of a Dremel tool and my discovery of all the wonderful things it can do. But anyway, the point of my story is that even when I first started this project, I had little more envisioned than a piece of a bowl on its side. The rest of the piece grew as I worked. So I don't think I ever "give up" on a project. I just haven't found the right starting inspiration. I truly hope that my enthusiasm picks of for the book. I am to be the discussion leader for chapter three, "Belligerent Commitment: Starting Your Work", which I chose because it seemed to encompass my feelings for the book at the time.

Can't wait for the weekend

The design team and I at ILove2Create.com are busy putting on the final touches to two amazing events. The first is our Girl's Crafting Weekend that starts on Friday, September 14th and goes through Sunday, September 16th. This is similar to the cybercrops we have held in the past but with a few new twists. Envision three days and two nights at a wonderful bed & breakfast with your best bunch of girlfriends -- there will be a goody bag waiting for you, along with scrumptious meals and fun challenges and games, complete with fabulous prizes. Be sure to check out the message board to get all the details.

The other event it the return of the Scrappin' Survivor Contest. This is our third season (in television terms) and it promises to be better than ever. You can sign up through noon EST on Sunday, September 16th and the contest is open to EVERYONE. The only requirements are to register at the website (which is free) and have at least 10 posts (which can be on the message board, comments to work in the gallery, or posting your own work in the gallery). I have been part of each of the Scrappin' Survivor Contests and have loved every minute of them. And we have learned from the past to make the contest more about scrappin' and less about surviving (because there were a few sleepless nights that first year :-o ). Did I mention that the top THREE winners of this year's contest get to be guest designers for the Scrapbook Society kits in the following months? Love that!!!

One last update...my jury duty was a bust. I sat through the selection process only to be eliminated. Oh well, maybe next time.

Time to get caught up

I know it has been awhile since I posted anything. Part of the reason was our scheduled vacation to Sedona, Arizona and the Grand Canyon. The other reason were the events before and after our vacation. First, a little background. We live in a neighborhood that is adjacent to a marsh and there had been a lot of rain the week before we left on vacation. The one event that we weren't prepared for was torrential downpours with no power. Several years ago we had new drain tile and a new sump pump installed in our basement but on Wednesday, August 22nd, our worst nightmare happened. We had over two inches of rain in an hour and no electrical power for four hours. You can just imagine what that means for a mostly finished basement. We baled water from the sump pump as fast as we could but with the ground already saturated, we just couldn't keep up. This was certainly not what we needed before leaving on vacation. Luckily after removing as much water as we could from the carpet, leaving the basement to dry out for the week with five fans and two dehumidifiers was just what it needed.

Moving on to the vacation, it was the first time the boys and I had ever been to Arizona. Kurt had been to the Grand Canyon when he was a child and was really looking forward to showing it to the boys. We ended up going on Monday, August 27th. Before leaving Sedona, we knew that there were storms near the Grand Canyon but after looking at the radar, we decided to go ahead since it looked like it would be clearing out. We did run into rain on the way, between Flagstaff and the South Rim but by the time we reached the first viewing point in the park, it was clearing up. Our first view turned out to be incredibly special -- including seeing a rainbow below us in the canyon.

We had a great time in Arizona. The boys really seemed to enjoy hiking, even though it was pretty hot while we were there. I have to add one more picture from the trip. This one just cracks me up. You just never know when you will find a sign with arms!

Since we've been back home, I've been busy cleaning (and decluttering) the basement, working on plans for the ILove2Create.com anniversary celebration, getting the boys back into the school routine, and doing laundry. Things aren't going to be letting up anytime soon since I have been summoned for jury duty for the next two weeks. I am desparate for some creative time so I'm trying to think of what I can take with me to do while I wait through the jury process. Hopefully I will have something to show later in the week.