Cape May, NJ. - Stormy Day - post-tornado skies, 6/21/16

Cape May, NJ. 6/21/16 - Stormy Day - post-tornado skies

Emmett and Ellery 

Micro Worlds

Making coastlines and seas. Fun with water and chunks of, well, the patio, on the patio. Photos taken with 100mm Canon macro zoom lens.

New Work, Changing Rhythms, and The Weston Craft Show

I have really been enjoying making new work in the months leading up to this year's Weston Craft Show, which starts this Friday. I think the changing seasons, transitioning both kids into school or day care, and the general change up of the daily rhythms around here have fostered a great rush of creativity and inspiration.  I think it must be true what they say, change is, in fact, good!  Here is a little selection of some of my favorite new pieces which will be debuting in Weston this Friday.

I first made the earrings in the photo directly above, inspired by the little maple spinning seed pods, called samaras.  And it is such a fun shape, and so reflective of what I am seeing outside my studio window, that I was impelled to run with it, and now have a series of pieces incorporating and building on this fluttering hammered v-shape.  And I feel that there are still more designs to come, although I'm not sure what they will be yet!

The other direction this new collection has taken is in geometric and architectural bracelets, inspired by themes of varied symmetry and organic balance. 

And of course there will be the classic favorites to see as well, with lots of delicate geometrics intertwined with segments of chain and lots of mixed metal intricacy.  

I hope you can stop by the show this weekend!  It is a great place to support local artisans while you get a jump start on your Christmas shopping! And be sure to click on the link below to see the other wonderful Vermont Crafters who will be exhibiting. Here are the details:

Weston Craft Show

Weston Playhouse, Weston, VT

Friday Oct.10 - Sunday Oct.12, 10am-5pm

Once the show is finished I will be working on adding these pieces to my website, so if you can't make it to the show please check out my site next week for additional info and pricing on this new work. Of course sometimes life has a way of intervening before I get everything listed, so feel free get in touch with me directly for how to order anything you see here.

Out of the Tunnel

 Have you ever been so busy that you don't have a spare second to do anything but trudge forward, tackling one deadline at a time, moving from putting out one fire to the next?  That's how December was for me, and I am just now finally coming out of it.  And looking back at it now I realize that I had a kind of tunnel vision for the whole month, and my senses shut out everything non-essential. I know that this is a fundamental side effect of stress and anxiety, that the brain filters out and sets aside everything except essential information. But I have never consciously been aware of the phenomenon in myself before, and I only just realized how complete it had been yesterday as I was hanging out in the bathroom with Emmett as he was playing in the tub. I finally felt like my eyes were open again to seeing, I mean really seeing, and also appreciating the world around me, and the beauty in small things.  And everything in my sight sorted itself into little snapshots of things that I never would have even seen a month ago, let alone seen their texture and their beauty.

I suppose this type of tunnel vision is a pretty neat survival instinct, but I must say that it is nice to be out of the tunnel.

This is My Jam

Actually it's Patty's Jam.  Patty's bacon jam.  You heard me.  Bacon Jam.  Bacon, onion, maple syrup and coffee cooked for hours in the slow cooker until it is the consistency of, well, jam.  Unreal.  We have only just begun to explore the many applications.  Here it is below on a grilled ham and swiss with spinach and roasted red peppers.

Sorry this photo is partly blurry.  I couldn't back away from the sandwich long enough to take a decent picture. I'm not positive that this is the recipe she used, but here is a recipe to check out.

Happy New Year everyone!  I wish you all a beautiful 2013 full of love and inspiration!

Today's Inspiration

Ha. I saw this today on Melissa Loves and had to share.  And see more from the original source here.

New Inspiration Board!

Here are some pictures of my new inspiration board, filling up with new work and more plans for my booth at NYIGF next month.  This was a great and inexpensive project that anyone could tackle at home, so stay tuned for tomorrows DIY post with all the info you'll need to build one yourself!