Studio Time: Color Crazy Necklace

I describe my style as organic, colorful, rustic, textural, and primitive. What makes my design rustic? I strive to show “the hand” in my pieces from the texture, rough shapes, patina, dings, hammer marks, fingerprints, imperfections, and organic lines.

I was particularly excited about the striped, organically faceted tube beads in the middle. I've done beads like this before, but they were a little sloppier. This version turned out better. 

It took me 8 hours on Friday to create this piece. I'm out of the habit of making things, so I'm excited I was able to finish this piece just in the nick of time to make it into the monthly art show. Go check out the other artists submissions - such cool art out there!

I did a test wearing of this piece. For those who are color addicts, it's definitely a look-at-me necklace! If you're not so color crazy, it's a bit over the top. 

Are you a color fanatic? Work with me on custom colors for your core wardrobe colors! I'm taking custom orders on this style or variations on this style.

Creative Finds: A Mixed Media Event - Dara Dodson

My mom hosted a small mixed media show for our friends last weekend featuring six artists who sell their work. I asked permission to share their work and links to their online presence. 

Dara Dodson

Instagram @ daradodyahoocom

Website: coming soon!

Highlights from her artist bio: Dara is currently working on a series of "Scenes of St. Augustine" of local architecture and historic sites. She says, "I realized I wanted to be an artist when I 'painted' my first mural in crayons on my bedroom wall at the age of 5. It took hours to clean it off and I cried the entire time, thinking I was destroying a 'masterpiece.'" She continues to study under two well-known artists and has taken several workshops under one of them. She is a member of the St. Augustine Art Association because she loves art and hopes to continue for an eternity!

I am also now a collector of her art! These two Florida scenes capture exactly some of the things I've come to love about Florida. 

#1 thing I love about Florida: the clouds. Oh, the clouds here. The land is flat, but the vaporscape is magnificent! Florida is called the sunshine state. I would think southwestern states like Arizona or New Mexico could claim that being desert states. But, after living here nearly two years, I've learned that we usually have sunshine every day. And we can have rain every day. The winter is the dryer season, the summer is the rainy season. But, even with rain and storms every day, there is also sunshine every day. There are breaks of sunshine in between the storm clouds. It's being able to see that breathtaking slice of clouds up to tens of thousands of feet up into the air that make the heavenly tableau so stunning.

When an artist can capture what how I see the clouds in a painting, I'm very drawn to their work, as I'm drawn to Dara's work. 

#2 thing I love about Florida - the light. This is often tightly wrapped up with the clouds. There is something special about the light, usually as a result of rain or sunsets, sometimes both. Dara pinned this aspect of Florida down in the perfect picture of a lonely mangrove in the keys at sunset. 

She just started her Instagram account and is working on her website. Please follow her Instagram to watch her work progress.

Studio Time: Time to establish my art habit

I had an art session for the first time in. Um. A really, really, really long time. I had done some polymer clay as small gifts when I went to Australia in 2014 (just purse pulls and book mark tassels and a few pins, nothing fancy). They didn't have to be super artsy or sales worthy. But, it's been over a year since I've made any art. 

Wow. 

I hadn't realized it had been that long. I started buckling down on my business last year, getting foundations laid - working with an attorney, setting up my LLC, filing copyright, getting registered properly, etc. That took me a lot longer than I expected. 

Then, I decided I need an inspiring space to work in. I feel like I moved in three times to the place I'm renting. It's taken me the year and a half of moving things around until I finally feel like it really fits the way I live and work. I also spent six months KonMari-ing my home and I swear by her method. Although, I have to admit I ended up getting more stuff - but I only got stuff I loved and I did also get rid of a lot of stuff. It really did take all of the six months she said it would take to get everything done. 

Now I feel quite settled in my place. It just needs a good scrubbing now. A home tour will be in order possibly next week. 

Anyway, this is the first thing I've made in a long long time. I was hoping to be able to make some simple earrings. It started off promising. But ended up as a fail because I didn't make it strong enough. I see potential. And I always learn from my failures. But, I also have to remember... it's okay to fail. This is just a springboard for learning what not to do! 

Artfully Meandering: Resident Adventures - Florida Edition

Lately I've been delighting in resurrecting the idea of being a Resident Adventurer. After I had lived in Hong Kong for a year, I was in a state of "in-between"...I wasn't a native, I wasn't a tourist...I was a Resident Adventurer. I've been continuing to move and am now living in my 10th state. I've been trying to bring the idea of becoming an adventurer in my own back yard. 

It looks like I'll be sticking around Florida for a while. It took me a good year to settle in a feel like home. There are elements that made me feel at home immediately because it mixes elements of two places that I have very fond memories of - Texas and Hong Kong. Florida has the flatness (even flatter) of Texas and the weather of Hong Kong. Who knew Florida could be my version of a TexKong? (It's really hard to make up a compound phrase out of Texas and Hong Kong. Texarkana or Texhoma are a wee bit easier.)

These beaches make it easy to adventure. I mean, seriously? How cool is this? It's October!

And my favorite part - my little buddy that adventures with me. This little mischief-maker who likes to take herself on her own adventures if she can escape the fence in the yard (scared me half to death two weeks ago... grandpa fixed the fence so she can't do that anymore), will walk for 2 hours around the beach with me. After the first wave scared her a wee bit, she'll walk in the shallows with no issue whatsoever. 

I thought I wore her out.

But after a 5 minute Trix-nap, she was fine. Too bad for me.

Where are you Resident Adventures?

Artfully Meandering: Pivoting

Ain't that the way it goes,
Always stumbling into something,
Life's an open road,
You gotta take it,
If you just let go,
Lose your way to find that one thing
You've been missing
You almost missed it all

- "The Way it Goes," Gloriana

Songs that Speak to Me

There is something about the lyrics in Gloriana's 2009 song that really speak to me about my life's journey and my creative exploration. Sometimes getting lost leads to the best breakthroughs!

Texture & Patina - Where I Started

When I started the Texture & Patina collection, I took my cue from the colors in the photographs I took. Then I modified the colors a bit to capture more of what I really wanted. The core design that really struck my fancy was the textured plaid. 

I then added fruit designs with Zentangle inspired doodling in them. My mom thought the fruit made it country-ish. I think I agree.

I'm really torn between the above plaid and the Zentangle inspired background below.

Pivoting

And then I moved to Florida and wanted beach inspired decor. I started with the plaid that I loved so much and just fell in love with the coloring. So, I kept going and created a total of 8 color ways to expand the Texture & Patina Beach Bright collection. There are 12 designs in 8 colors coming over the next three months.

Your turn:

Have you ever "pivoted" creatively? Were you happy with the results? Or disappointed?