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Strictly speaking this is not a stash tackler - it's a let me rip something up and then use the stone in something else tackler. Of course there are pieces I'm not that happy with anymore or I have a better idea for a stone or beads. Those pieces are almost as dangerous as WIPs because they need attention that you don't always have.
From time to time, however, I manage to do a little spring cleaning that can actually be kind of inspiring, too. At the moment there is one or the other cab that has wandered back into my stash drawer.
One of them was this little moss agate that had been sitting in a pendant before which had been asked for by someone who then disappeared. It happens. The pendant stayed, but when I looked for a small cab for some wire weaving, I remembered it and didn't hesitate to rip it up, after all it had been quite a while.
When I fitted the cab into the weaving, I suddenly noticed something. A long time ago a friend had told me a story about how she was in Greece once and about tiny octopuses - and there he was. A tiny octopus with the name Barney both of which came to me out of nowhere, with tiny tentacles and a big head.
That's the reason why the bail is not sitting in the middle. Barney insisted on swimming to the left. No idea what he will find there. Maybe his friend, the fish, is hanging out there waiting for him to go see the Arielle movie or have some, well, seafood together? (Oh, bad pun, bad pun, I know, don't hit me!)
Barney can be found in my shop now, why don't you go visit him? ;-)
Yes, it's me. A few things have kept me from being online much and even more from blogging, among them the need for a new computer. We all know how hard that transition can be. At least I didn't lose my pictures!
So here we go with a brandnew Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge, this time with the topic "Ceramics". Judging from the entries it seems ceramic beads are not necessarily what any of us use often, except one heroic member who came to the rescue when the challenge was practically over. Otherwise I wouldn't even be able to show you a real collage.
I wonder why that is, and who knows, maybe it's an incentive for us other JAC members to look out for ceramics beads more. Actually I didn't even use a bead myself, but a bit of a tile edging that was cut off from some leftovers for me. You should have seen the face of the man who worked on our hallway tiling when I asked him for that favor and told him I wanted to make a pendant from it ;-)
Time for some pictures.
1 MC Stoneworks
2/3/4/5 VMCdesigns
6 Cat's Wire
This time our Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge had the topic "Celestial" in honor of the solar eclipse on the 21st of August.
While Europe hardly got to see anything of it, there were some stunning pictures from North America.
I remember the total eclipse of 1999 here in Germany and I still feel a little cheated. It was in August, too. I took off from work and my sisters and I stood outside, but all we got were clouds. I have to say, however, that when it suddenly got pitch black, it was a somewhat creepy feeling (one that my sister's cat shared judging from the way she ran).
Unfortunately I doubt that I'll make it until the next total eclipse here that is supposed to be in 2081 ....
You don't have to wait that long for this week's entries, though!
1 and 6 Cat's Wire
2 and 5 VMCdesigns
3 and 8 Jewelry Art by Dawn
4 and 7 MC Stoneworks
"Found object" comes from the French "Objet trouvé" which describes something that is usually not used in art. Found objects can be all kinds of things. The idea made it into jewelry making as well. Washers for example or keys are often seen in jewelry, one can hardly imagine a steampunk piece without some watch gears, and it's not unusual that something that has actually been found in the street or in a drawer inspires an artisan.
Welcome to this week's Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge!
1 and 6 VMCdesigns
2 and 4 Cat's Wire
3 and 5 Jewelry Art by Dawn
A few days ago someone mentioned Koko, the signing gorilla, which brought back some memories. I forgot which year exactly it was, but it must have been in the late 80s because my ex and I were still living in our first flat then.
Although I liked our street with its beautiful trees and our flat, I always kept feeling a little homesick for my hometown and my family during those years, especially at the beginning. My little brother visited us for the weekend every, now and then, we took him to the zoo, we played mini golf, or we went into town window shopping.
It was one of those occasions that I saw Koko in the toy department of one of the big shops, well, not herself of course, but a plush version. I don't even remember if I knew Koko's story back then before reading the description on the tag, I just fell in love with that stuffed gorilla. It was expensive, though, and thinking of our finances I did the responsible thing and put her back (it must have been before the Steiffs made us collectors). After all this was just a toy, even if she fit on my hip so perfectly.
I sighed a lot that weekend because I really wanted this gorilla badly. Finally my ex told me that we didn't always have to be grown up (boy, was that a preview on later years) and that I should go there after work on Monday and just get her already.
So that's what I did. I went there ... and she was gone. I even asked about her and was told there had been only one.
That was a sign, right? It wasn't meant to be. And still I wasn't happy about it. You have to remember that we didn't have internet yet. I didn't even know what brand it was (Dakin 1986, it must have taken a while to come to Germany because it was definitely some years later than that).
Fast forward to at least some months later. It is early Saturday afternoon in my hometown, and the stores are starting to close down for the weekend when my friend and I are walking by the toy store. Just this moment the owner is stepping into the window to put a gorilla there. Koko! I tell my friend I have to go in there. Now! The owner comes to greet me, and before he can even ask, I tell him I want that gorilla. "Oh", he says. "How funny. I just put it in the window." "I know", I say. "I saw you. There's one problem, though. I don't have enough money on me at the moment. (Paying with your card was not that common yet.) I'll run to the bank and be right back." He's obviously amused by my determination and he's even more amused ten minutes later when I come back just in time before the store is closing, put my money on the counter, refuse a bag and walk out with Koko sitting on my hip.
Can you believe that several people thought I was carrying a real little ape? o.O
Koko is still sitting on top of a book cabinet and makes me smile when I look at her although it has been almost 30 year.
For the picture, however, she came down from her cabinet ;-)
"The archaeological surveys and discoveries that accompanied Napoleon's
campaign in Egypt, and the battles between France and Britain that took
place there, aroused great public interest. Ancient Egyptian art and
architecture provided designers with a whole new range of motifs, such
as winged sun-discs, hawks and crocodiles." (From the Style Guide: Regency Classicism of the wonderful Victoria and Albert Museum in London)
Egyptian art does still fascinate us today. I admit there was a time I thought my head was going to explode if there was one more documentary about ancient Egypt on TV although I love watching documentaries. There can be too much of a good thing ;-)
This week's Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge is also about the fascination of ancient Egypt. I hope you will enjoy my little selection.
1 MC Stoneworks
2 Violetmoon's Corner
3 Cat's Wire
4 Jewelry Art by Dawn
5 RioRita
Two weeks ago I made - something. I couldn't even decide what it was, and when I asked around, I got several opinions on it from dragon lady to bat mermaid.
Although the lady didn't have a fin and I had never thought of making a mermaid - the decision against two separate legs had not been deliberate at the time as this was my first wrapped figure - and although I realized eventually that she had been subconsciously been inspired by the succubus in a computer game, the thought kept following me whenever I looked at her.
So I finally did it. I added a fin. She does look more complete now, doesn't she (see the picture at the end of the post)?
You are free to decide yourself if you see a dragon mermaid, bat mermaid, succubus mermaid or fairy mermaid now ;-)
As promised, "pre-fin" ...
