Is it truly almost 22 months since I posted here?
I suppose after things went so badly awry with my commitment to this project, it was hard to come back and look at how well it had started.
So, what happened?
In short, Life.
Life and Family and Loss.
Since early 2011, I had been caring on and off for my mother, whose health had begun to decline.
For the most part she was well enough to manage in her own place, despite a few minor setbacks which required extra support from me, and eventually, input from aged care providers. There were a few brief hospital stays and a couple of stretches when she needed to come and stay with me for a while, until she was able to cope in her own home again.
I won't go into the whole sorry story, but, as so often happens with ageing parents, her care needs increased, and after a few hospital stays, and longer and longer periods in my care, our lives required some readjustment.
I shelved this project, and other creative pursuits, apart from just pottering about in the studio now and then to give myself an outlet. Feeling burnt out, I also quit my casual job, so there was less money available for materials, etc.
Mum came to stay with me to recuperate after a spell in hospital mid-year, and despite her great wish to return to her own home, was never quite well enough again to be able to do so.
Sadly, she passed away in hospital on February 1st this year. One year to the day since my last active post here.
Before she went into hospital that last time, she had made me promise to get back on with my work.
I was able to tell her about a number of exhibition proposals and submissions I'd made, and she was so pleased to see me doing something constructive about my jewellery again. She was gone just a few days too soon to hear the news that all my submissions had met with success.
Working on my pieces for the four shows I've been included in this year helped to keep me going through the processes of grieving, and sorting things out. Mum would have been proud.
So, what now?
Well, I have a small solo show scheduled for the end of next year, and a few other ideas ticking over.
I may record some of that on my other blog (Betty's Shed) as things progress. In the meantime, just taking one day at a time. 366 in 2012 was an idea I loved, and one I will come back to at some point, perhaps in a slightly different form. Maybe next leap year - 2016 - maybe sooner. Who knows?
Watch this space. I have ideas brewing. When one of them is ready to share, this will be the place.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Watch this space. 29/32.
The long car trip home on Monday, followed by two sessions of paid work and a lot of sleeping yesterday got in the way of me finishing anything. I have made a lot of progress on the knitted piece I started while we were in Albany, but it's not nearly at the stage of having its fittings attached yet. A lot more knitting to do. It's in a fairly spectacular purple, and I'm thinking this one will be a bracelet. I expect I'll keep working away at it and you'll see it up here in a day or two.
Meanwhile, this is catch up day. I need to make three pieces to be back on track. I do have to work again tonight, so might only manage one or two, but will give it my best shot. If I'm not on target by tonight, then definitely will be tomorrow. I'm just casting around for ideas that are quick and simple. Off to the studio shortly.
While we all wait to see what I'll come up with, here's the knitting in progress, just to prove that I've actually still been making something. Apologies for the terrible lighting! The little hints of shiny bright purple you can see to the right of the photo are something close to the actual colour of this. The spool of wire caught my magpie eyes and I had to buy it! In fact, I bought two spools.
Right. It's get to work and start catching up time. See you at the other end......
Meanwhile, this is catch up day. I need to make three pieces to be back on track. I do have to work again tonight, so might only manage one or two, but will give it my best shot. If I'm not on target by tonight, then definitely will be tomorrow. I'm just casting around for ideas that are quick and simple. Off to the studio shortly.
While we all wait to see what I'll come up with, here's the knitting in progress, just to prove that I've actually still been making something. Apologies for the terrible lighting! The little hints of shiny bright purple you can see to the right of the photo are something close to the actual colour of this. The spool of wire caught my magpie eyes and I had to buy it! In fact, I bought two spools.
 |
| Tubular purple wire knitting. One day it'll be something wearable! |
Right. It's get to work and start catching up time. See you at the other end......
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Wind. Noun and verb. Bracelet. 29/29.
We drove up to the lookout today, near to the rocks I once scrambled down onto for that first close encounter with a Southern Right. It's not the season for whales just now, but the view from up on the side of Mt Adelaide and out across King George Sound is spectacular at any time. The wind made the surface of the water choppy, but it was a blessing against my so recently heat-stricken skin. I had the window down and my face into the wind on the drive into town, enjoying the cool and the smell of sea air, until the whistling of it annoyed everyone else in the car and I had to close the window again.
Today, as we enjoyed the view, there was a parting in the clouds and and a glorious display of multiple rays of sunshine in a band from sky to earth, shining like a benediction on Gull Rock, away across the water, and also onto the wavelets in Princess Royal Harbour, creating a sparkling patch of silver, that danced like my spirit did, just to be there. It was like Heaven had chosen to speak to my heart in that moment, to welcome me to where I belonged and to tell me not to stay away so long again. I swear I won't leave it so long between visits again. Seven years was far too long. It isn't time to move back here, not yet - and I don't know whether that time will ever come - but, if it is to be, the right oportunity will present itself. In the meantime, I know we need to take more holidays than we do - one every few years is just not enough - and this is the perfect place to come for rest and relaxation. Little wonder so many people retire down here. It's going to be hard to leave again.
Meanwhile, I had the joy of being able to work in cool conditions, but without access to my studio, I had to find something I could do with minimal equipment. A bit of wire work, requiring only pliers and patience, was definitely the order of the day. I brought a few kinds of wire with me, not sure what I would want. I opted for some enamelled copper wire from an electronics supply store. The coating is bright red. Unfortunately, the lighting where I am tonight is even less photo friendly than at home, so this is another I'll have to re-shoot later. You'll have to take my word for it that this piece is a bright shiny red, photographed on a white background. Yes, really! The style of wire work I've done here is known as Egyptian Spiral. I've finished with a sterling jump ring, but I think it would be better with a red to match the work. If I can find an anodised one to suit, I may swap it out later.
I've brought my wire knitting gear with me too, so perhaps I'll get started on a new project with that. I'll be back in my studio not so very many hours from now. More options open to me then. We'll see.
Today, as we enjoyed the view, there was a parting in the clouds and and a glorious display of multiple rays of sunshine in a band from sky to earth, shining like a benediction on Gull Rock, away across the water, and also onto the wavelets in Princess Royal Harbour, creating a sparkling patch of silver, that danced like my spirit did, just to be there. It was like Heaven had chosen to speak to my heart in that moment, to welcome me to where I belonged and to tell me not to stay away so long again. I swear I won't leave it so long between visits again. Seven years was far too long. It isn't time to move back here, not yet - and I don't know whether that time will ever come - but, if it is to be, the right oportunity will present itself. In the meantime, I know we need to take more holidays than we do - one every few years is just not enough - and this is the perfect place to come for rest and relaxation. Little wonder so many people retire down here. It's going to be hard to leave again.
Meanwhile, I had the joy of being able to work in cool conditions, but without access to my studio, I had to find something I could do with minimal equipment. A bit of wire work, requiring only pliers and patience, was definitely the order of the day. I brought a few kinds of wire with me, not sure what I would want. I opted for some enamelled copper wire from an electronics supply store. The coating is bright red. Unfortunately, the lighting where I am tonight is even less photo friendly than at home, so this is another I'll have to re-shoot later. You'll have to take my word for it that this piece is a bright shiny red, photographed on a white background. Yes, really! The style of wire work I've done here is known as Egyptian Spiral. I've finished with a sterling jump ring, but I think it would be better with a red to match the work. If I can find an anodised one to suit, I may swap it out later.
 | |
| Egyptian Spiral Bracelet. Red enamel coated copper & sterling silver. |
I've brought my wire knitting gear with me too, so perhaps I'll get started on a new project with that. I'll be back in my studio not so very many hours from now. More options open to me then. We'll see.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Whale of a Tale. Pendant. 28/28.
Back on track today and all up to date with this piece made in the early hours of the morning when it was still too hot to sleep. I mentioned yesterday that the heat was taking a toll on me. By this morning, I was feeling really unwell with it. What does one do when Perth is sweltering in 42C heat and humidity?
Given the opportunity, one heads South.
Albany, on the South coast of Western Australia. The place I spent the first 12 years of my married life and where all my children were born. Not my place of origin, but my spiritual homne in so many ways.
The place I discovered my creativity and first dared to dream I might one day be an artist. The seaside haven where I saw my first whale, up close and moving wild and free in the waters just alongside of where I stood looking out from the rocky shoreline. The only place I've ever lived where the climate suited me - and the first place I think of and inevitably begin to yearn for the moment the weather wherever I am starts to bring me down.
One can dream, or one can drive. It's a 5 - 6 hour trek from where I now live. So dear and close in the memory, so very far by road on a day of oppressive heat, when the sky weighs down upon the heads and shoulders of hapless humans who must for any reason venture out of doors, beating a violent tattoo on a weary and aching body. It's days like these when the humidity renders evaporative cooling ineffective, when the energy is at its lowest ebb and everything just seems too hard to deal with, that I long for that place I still think of as home, despite almost 13 years away from it, and even though I spent my first 17 way further North, in the sweltering WA Wheatbelt.
So, in the spirit of that place which calls to me in all my deepest dreaming, and in keeping with my pledge to try more circle based designs, I give you this stylised rendition of the natural totem of the place, with thanks to Rowan, who helped take my idea from a pathetic scribble I couldn't get quite right and turned it into something worth trying to replicate in metal.
The texture you see is from use of my chasing hammer, which I must confess was not part of the original plan. In hindsight, I probably should have started with at least 1.5mm wire for the outer circle instead of 1.2, and I could have been a little more careful with my soldering. The wire was slightly marred at one point on the outer circle when I made the last join. It was a ridiculous time of the morning and I was far too tired to countenance starting over, so I filed and sanded and hammered away, which covered the worst of the faults, although clearly the circle is no longer perfectly circular. Not to worry. This, as with all the others in the challenge, is a prototype piece. Perhaps I'll do it over, with some variations on the design, and with more appropriate choice of materials, at some future time. For now, it stands as my challenge piece for today, and the symbol of my longing for escape to someplace cool to refresh body and spirit.
Given the opportunity, one heads South.
Albany, on the South coast of Western Australia. The place I spent the first 12 years of my married life and where all my children were born. Not my place of origin, but my spiritual homne in so many ways.
The place I discovered my creativity and first dared to dream I might one day be an artist. The seaside haven where I saw my first whale, up close and moving wild and free in the waters just alongside of where I stood looking out from the rocky shoreline. The only place I've ever lived where the climate suited me - and the first place I think of and inevitably begin to yearn for the moment the weather wherever I am starts to bring me down.
One can dream, or one can drive. It's a 5 - 6 hour trek from where I now live. So dear and close in the memory, so very far by road on a day of oppressive heat, when the sky weighs down upon the heads and shoulders of hapless humans who must for any reason venture out of doors, beating a violent tattoo on a weary and aching body. It's days like these when the humidity renders evaporative cooling ineffective, when the energy is at its lowest ebb and everything just seems too hard to deal with, that I long for that place I still think of as home, despite almost 13 years away from it, and even though I spent my first 17 way further North, in the sweltering WA Wheatbelt.
So, in the spirit of that place which calls to me in all my deepest dreaming, and in keeping with my pledge to try more circle based designs, I give you this stylised rendition of the natural totem of the place, with thanks to Rowan, who helped take my idea from a pathetic scribble I couldn't get quite right and turned it into something worth trying to replicate in metal.
 | |
| Whale Tail Pendant. Sterling silver, rubber cord. |
The texture you see is from use of my chasing hammer, which I must confess was not part of the original plan. In hindsight, I probably should have started with at least 1.5mm wire for the outer circle instead of 1.2, and I could have been a little more careful with my soldering. The wire was slightly marred at one point on the outer circle when I made the last join. It was a ridiculous time of the morning and I was far too tired to countenance starting over, so I filed and sanded and hammered away, which covered the worst of the faults, although clearly the circle is no longer perfectly circular. Not to worry. This, as with all the others in the challenge, is a prototype piece. Perhaps I'll do it over, with some variations on the design, and with more appropriate choice of materials, at some future time. For now, it stands as my challenge piece for today, and the symbol of my longing for escape to someplace cool to refresh body and spirit.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Back Down the Rabbit Hole. Pin & Pendant. 27/27.
Welcome to my first catch-up day blog! Today you get pieces 26 & 27.
It was bound to happen sooner or later, and in the end, it was the weather that got to me.
Here in Perth we've been experiencing a heatwave. Days on end of temperatures hovering around 40C and it's also been humid. I don't do well in this sort of weather. The result of it is that I've been feeling tired and not especially well. That's the reason I finally went a day without posting an update to my project. True to my promise to myself and to anyone following my progress, that meant I had to catch up by making two pieces the next day. (Or, if I skipped more than a day, two or more a day for however long it took to catch up again). I was a bit worried about letting it go any longer, lest it prove too hard to get back into the swing of it. Besides which, I was already feeling disappointed in myself for skipping a day so early in the year.
My inspiration also seems to have gone into estivation, but I was determined not to let that get in the way, or to get any further behind, so I took a dip into my emergency supply and pulled out a couple of ready-cast pieces left over from a series I made a couple of years back, titled "Down the Rabbit Hole".
The casts were in rough state, so I had to spend a bit of time cleaning them up before I could do anything with them. I've soldered some findings onto them to turn one into a stick pin and the other into a pendant. With my apologies for the terrible photos, here they are:
It was bound to happen sooner or later, and in the end, it was the weather that got to me.
Here in Perth we've been experiencing a heatwave. Days on end of temperatures hovering around 40C and it's also been humid. I don't do well in this sort of weather. The result of it is that I've been feeling tired and not especially well. That's the reason I finally went a day without posting an update to my project. True to my promise to myself and to anyone following my progress, that meant I had to catch up by making two pieces the next day. (Or, if I skipped more than a day, two or more a day for however long it took to catch up again). I was a bit worried about letting it go any longer, lest it prove too hard to get back into the swing of it. Besides which, I was already feeling disappointed in myself for skipping a day so early in the year.
My inspiration also seems to have gone into estivation, but I was determined not to let that get in the way, or to get any further behind, so I took a dip into my emergency supply and pulled out a couple of ready-cast pieces left over from a series I made a couple of years back, titled "Down the Rabbit Hole".
The casts were in rough state, so I had to spend a bit of time cleaning them up before I could do anything with them. I've soldered some findings onto them to turn one into a stick pin and the other into a pendant. With my apologies for the terrible photos, here they are:
 |
| Rabbit Hole Stick Pin. Sterling silver. |
 |
| Rabbit Hole Pendant. Sterling silver, rubber cord. |
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Hippy Trippy. Floral Pendant. 25/25.
 |
| Hippy Trippy. Sterling silver, leather cord. |
A very simple one tonight. About an hour from concept to finished piece. Well, it was a single length of wire after all. I haven't even put a clasp on the cord, but have done a double slip knot arrangement so that it is possible to lengthen or shorten the dangle by sliding the cord back along itself. This is a large piece, spanning about 12cm across the flower at the widest points.
I started with 1.2mm round wire and after bending and soldering it, spent most of the hour in the studio adding texture by employing my chasing hammer on both sides of the piece, which also flattened and hardened it. I was going to use black leather, but opted for the red brown on a whim. This would look great on a dark, plain background like a black or navy skivvy or a simple shift.
I quite enjoy the simplicity of it. Sometimes less is more. I can't think where the idea came from. Maybe it was seeing a couple of episodes of The Young Ones on DVD while having dinner tonight. Nigel Planer as Neil the hippy always amused me back in the day. Still does. So perhaps it was a sub-conscious nod to hippiedom and flower power and the retro style of big pendants worn low on the body. It wasn't just me looking for a quick way out of the challenge today. Honest!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Scarified! Pendant. 24/24.
orI almost felt a little disappointed in myself today. I was tired - just about running on empty, and for the first time, I took what I felt to be the 'cop out route' - not actually skipping making a piece, but doing the big compromise and finishing off something I'd actually started making a long time ago.
Then I reminded myself that I had, after all, stated when I set out the rules for myself at the start of this challenge that this was quite permissible.In fact, here is a quote lifted from the 'rules' which I posted back on New Years Eve:
4. If I have time and inclination to do so, it will also be permissible for me to accumulate partly made items as an emergency supply to finish on other days. The item will count as the piece for the day on the day it is finished and documented. Again, the ideal would be to make something from scratch, and while I will attempt to do this as far as humanly possible, there are bound to be some days when I’ll need my emergency supply.
Okay then! There was more than ample reason for me to take this option today. I only had a little over an hour of actual sleep last night, along with about another hour and a half of disjointed napping.
This after several nights running of less than adequate sleep. Not good for me, or for my work. It would have been bliss to sleep in today, but I had to be at work by 8.45 this morning. I only had to work a couple of hours, but I had a whole series of appointments set up for the afternoon that I couldn't skip out on (medical stuff for a family member) and then I had my couple of hours work this evening. I didn't get home till quite late and it had been a long, very hot, exhausting day. The smart thing would have been to just skip it tonight and make two pieces tomorrow. I have allowed for that in the rules also - and there is a very high likelihood that I will have to make that choice at least a few times during the year.
Not yet. For tonight, pride and my stubborn streak just wouldn't allow me to do that. I felt way happier settling for a low effort piece and being honest about it here on my blog page. It's part of the process.
So, to the piece itself:
This is one of two almost identical items I started making in class at CIT way back in 2009 or maybe 2010 - during my three year course. We had been learning how to prong set faceted stones, using commercial prong settings. We were only required to solder the setting onto a piece of metal and set the stone into it, but my feeling was I might as well make jewellery as a sample piece, even if I only did something simple. I did two of these, to give myself a reasonable practice at it.
The shape of the pendant is something I'd been squiggling in my visual diary on and off for a while before I used it. Classmates thought, not unreasonably, that it was an arrowhead. Actually, farmers daughter that I am, I was thinking of scarifier points. These are, if you aren't familiar with farm implements, metal tines - 'teeth' or blades, shaped a bit like an arrowhead or a spade (well, both!) which are fixed in rows onto a piece of machinery which is pulled around behind a tractor to break up and turn the earth. It's primarily used in shallow cultivation. It's something I grew up with - the sight of the long rows of turned soil and the rich scent of it, especially after rain, coming up off the furrowed earth - you could almost smell the fertility of it. This strong visual and olfactory memory is one of those you could say helps bind me to the place where I was raised and informs my character. That really does make this shape a strong personal identity mark or spiritual anchor for me. Definitely NOT an arrowhead. I'm a hereditary cultivator, not a hunter gatherer, though I suppose that must also be in my ancestry, as it is in all of humanity. Certainly one could argue there are bits of both in my nature as an artist - and in general - but I digress. It is late at night and I am prone to rambling!
When I designed this, I set the stone off centre as I enjoy a bit of asymmetry in my work now and again. I suspect I may have had in mind to further embellish the piece, perhaps with some etching or engraving. When I looked at it tonight, I decided it was fine without that. I do still have another that is in about the same condition this was when I picked it up tonight, so perhaps I'll decorate that one to distinguish it from its partner. The piece was formed and the stone pretty much set already. All I had to do tonight was a bit of filing, sanding and polishing, including smoothing the prongs a bit. I'd already made the bail and attached it, so apart from the clean up, all that remained was to choose and put together something to suspend it. None of my ready-made cords were the right colour, so I cut some 2mm black neoprene and attached a clasp. I used a commercially sourced hook and eye set, in keeping with the commercial prong setting. I designed and cut the piece from sheet, formed it, soldered in the prong setting and cut the prongs to fit the stone. I also cut and formed the bail, which was a far better match for the piece than a jump ring would have been.
Actual 'making' time tonight was therefore probably about 20 minutes, though I was almost an hour in the studio, as I spent a lot of time cleaning up - filing, sanding and polishing. I know it took a lot of time to get the piece made to begin with, mostly because it was my first go at prong setting and it was a very fiddly job for clumsy, novice fingers. I could really do with some more stone setting practice, so expect to see more gems in future pieces. Not just prong set, either. There's several other types I've learned the basics of and need to brush up on, besides also feeling I should have another go at this, and at making more of my own prong settings instead of using bought ones.
I seem to have spent the time I saved making something tonight in rambling on about making things instead. It's high time I signed off and had a serious meeting with my pillow. Perhaps I'll dream up something exciting for tomorrows piece!
Then I reminded myself that I had, after all, stated when I set out the rules for myself at the start of this challenge that this was quite permissible.In fact, here is a quote lifted from the 'rules' which I posted back on New Years Eve:
4. If I have time and inclination to do so, it will also be permissible for me to accumulate partly made items as an emergency supply to finish on other days. The item will count as the piece for the day on the day it is finished and documented. Again, the ideal would be to make something from scratch, and while I will attempt to do this as far as humanly possible, there are bound to be some days when I’ll need my emergency supply.
Okay then! There was more than ample reason for me to take this option today. I only had a little over an hour of actual sleep last night, along with about another hour and a half of disjointed napping.
This after several nights running of less than adequate sleep. Not good for me, or for my work. It would have been bliss to sleep in today, but I had to be at work by 8.45 this morning. I only had to work a couple of hours, but I had a whole series of appointments set up for the afternoon that I couldn't skip out on (medical stuff for a family member) and then I had my couple of hours work this evening. I didn't get home till quite late and it had been a long, very hot, exhausting day. The smart thing would have been to just skip it tonight and make two pieces tomorrow. I have allowed for that in the rules also - and there is a very high likelihood that I will have to make that choice at least a few times during the year.
Not yet. For tonight, pride and my stubborn streak just wouldn't allow me to do that. I felt way happier settling for a low effort piece and being honest about it here on my blog page. It's part of the process.
So, to the piece itself:
 |
| Scarifier Point Pendant. Sterling silver, cubic zirconia, neoprene. |
The shape of the pendant is something I'd been squiggling in my visual diary on and off for a while before I used it. Classmates thought, not unreasonably, that it was an arrowhead. Actually, farmers daughter that I am, I was thinking of scarifier points. These are, if you aren't familiar with farm implements, metal tines - 'teeth' or blades, shaped a bit like an arrowhead or a spade (well, both!) which are fixed in rows onto a piece of machinery which is pulled around behind a tractor to break up and turn the earth. It's primarily used in shallow cultivation. It's something I grew up with - the sight of the long rows of turned soil and the rich scent of it, especially after rain, coming up off the furrowed earth - you could almost smell the fertility of it. This strong visual and olfactory memory is one of those you could say helps bind me to the place where I was raised and informs my character. That really does make this shape a strong personal identity mark or spiritual anchor for me. Definitely NOT an arrowhead. I'm a hereditary cultivator, not a hunter gatherer, though I suppose that must also be in my ancestry, as it is in all of humanity. Certainly one could argue there are bits of both in my nature as an artist - and in general - but I digress. It is late at night and I am prone to rambling!
When I designed this, I set the stone off centre as I enjoy a bit of asymmetry in my work now and again. I suspect I may have had in mind to further embellish the piece, perhaps with some etching or engraving. When I looked at it tonight, I decided it was fine without that. I do still have another that is in about the same condition this was when I picked it up tonight, so perhaps I'll decorate that one to distinguish it from its partner. The piece was formed and the stone pretty much set already. All I had to do tonight was a bit of filing, sanding and polishing, including smoothing the prongs a bit. I'd already made the bail and attached it, so apart from the clean up, all that remained was to choose and put together something to suspend it. None of my ready-made cords were the right colour, so I cut some 2mm black neoprene and attached a clasp. I used a commercially sourced hook and eye set, in keeping with the commercial prong setting. I designed and cut the piece from sheet, formed it, soldered in the prong setting and cut the prongs to fit the stone. I also cut and formed the bail, which was a far better match for the piece than a jump ring would have been.
Actual 'making' time tonight was therefore probably about 20 minutes, though I was almost an hour in the studio, as I spent a lot of time cleaning up - filing, sanding and polishing. I know it took a lot of time to get the piece made to begin with, mostly because it was my first go at prong setting and it was a very fiddly job for clumsy, novice fingers. I could really do with some more stone setting practice, so expect to see more gems in future pieces. Not just prong set, either. There's several other types I've learned the basics of and need to brush up on, besides also feeling I should have another go at this, and at making more of my own prong settings instead of using bought ones.
I seem to have spent the time I saved making something tonight in rambling on about making things instead. It's high time I signed off and had a serious meeting with my pillow. Perhaps I'll dream up something exciting for tomorrows piece!
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