Studio Time: Sedona Lariat

The part of Southwest style that really appeals to me is the organic, uncluttered, clean look and feel it has. As I meander along this journey of making glass beads and jewelry, I feel like I started with crazy, vibrant, and...ahem...cluttered jewelry. I'm trying to learn the lesson that "less is more."

Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't.

My last home in Texas was decorated in southwest style and I went through a year-long process of getting rid of things. When my house was finally ready for showing, I had a really limited set of furniture and I learned how to make it look to advantage...it must have worked. My house sold in a month. In a bad economy. But, the point of this story is that at beginning, I had a lot of "stuff" and was more cluttered than I realized.

I've brought that lesson with me to Hong Kong where everything is shrunken in scale (especially relative to Texas). 700 sq feet is HUGE here. There are apartments, 500 sq feet in size, where they fit 3 (yes, that's three) bedrooms in that space. Don't ask me how. My mind still can't wrap itself around that concept. People asked if I was going to bring my furniture to Hong Kong. I checked into shipping, but decided against it (even though the cost would have been equivalent of buying new furniture here), because the furniture in the US doesn't fit the scale of the HK apartment. I notice homes that are furnished with western style and size furniture here in HK feel more cluttered. I've furnished with furniture built locally (or in China) and it fits and makes my smaller apartment feel more roomy. I've really tried hard not to buy too much stuff. I still probably can get rid of some things. (After all, I moved with 2 suitcases.)

Anyway, the whole point of all that blathering about clutter is that sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't. And Southwest style is sometimes clean and uncluttered, sometimes not. And sometimes in between. That's what this piece Sedona Lariat, feels like to me...somewhere in between cluttered and clean...but interesting, nevertheless. Just like the woman who should wear this necklace.

The Sedona Lariat fits a woman who is a study in contrasts.

She's urban and refined.

She's a cowgirl at heart who happens to love and live in the city.

Sometimes she's classic.

Sometimes she's western and earthy.

Sometimes dressed up.

Sometimes casual.

The girl who can go hiking in the mountains for 3 days.

The girl who can wear heels and a little black dress to a wedding.

comprised of

Twisted silver rings in varying sizes on one side of the neck

A stout leather cord on the other side

Finished off in a cluster of Sedona glass beads in vibrant reds and light and dark turquoise

As I've matured, I've turned into a person that likes options. I'm starting to create necklaces that give options, like this one. The lariat style gives you many wearing options which lets you wear it with different styles of shirts with varying necklines. This can be worn at a conventional length by connecting the clasp to the bottom loop. It can be worn as a choker by clasping it around the neck. Then it makes the remaining length a daring waterfall of a drop.



I could see this being worn with a gray, classic suit, with a plain turquoise, light blue or red top underneath the jacket. Then, swap the suit for a jean jacket and khakis or a leather jacket and jeans and you're ready for a casual evening.

Studio Time: Sedona Ranch Necklace

This piece has been waiting in the wings for over a month. It's adorable. I love it for the connection it makes me feel to the Southwest U.S. And yet, as I offer it here, I realize I've grown in my skill. I see little bits and pieces that I've already learned to do better. But, I think it's a beginning of a foundation of my style that is evolving and growing and it makes me quite excited.

For a saucy cowgirl...laid back at Sedona Ranch...swirls of light and dark turquoise mixed with deep Sangre reds, evoking the southwest...rich, colorful hues in a swirled floral disk on twisted sterling silver wire hanging from a stout cord of leather.

The leather is unfinished and meant to be tied off at the back to vary the wearing length according to whim. All glass beads are hand-made by me and properly annealed in a digitally controlled kiln.

A Marketing Lesson: I recently had some of my friends stay with me. They saw my pile of jewelry and I started talking about glass, jewelry, and silver. Simply explaining the process of how to make glass beads was actually fun. I have a bunch of jewelry I had made before I was able to get my lampwork station setup. However, when I offered each one a gift, they wanted the one with the glass beads I made. Here in HK, beads and findings are common...you can pick up jewelry very cheaply...but the lampwork and handmade glass is less common, and therefore, more special. The marketing lesson: art becomes important when it has a very personal connection to the artist. Jewelry is common. You can buy that at a store. A connection to the heart and the ideas of a piece gives meaning and connection. It moves beyond a piece of jewelry. When you create that personal connection, it becomes a piece of art with personal meaning...whether it's with the artist who created it, or because it evokes a sense of feeling and being that the art wearer wants to feel with that piece.

Urban Primrose got tweaked and sent off as a gift to one of my old roommates...in fact, she's the roommate who inspired my "urban" theme. She had requested silver with clear beads. It took me awhile to finally do some clear beads...I did faceted beads and a tiny floral. Photos can't capture the light refraction, but it is very dreamy. I like it better than the original...

I wish I could afford to give all of my jewelry away...but I can't...

Note: I'm on a lampwork hiatus due to the untimely demise of my kiln. May it rest in peace. (I put that little machine to work! I think it got tired.) So, I need to order a new kiln. I had all the glass laid out for the Designer's Inspiration Challenge for this month, but I'll have to keep you posted on when that will actually happen. So sorry! I finally had energy, but my kiln didn't.

Lastly but not leastly...do you like the new backgrounds, blog banner, poster at the beginning of this post? Yes? I can thank Marina H. for all this work. She achieved my vision I had in mind for my Southwest theme. I have much more in mind for her in the long run. Thank you, Marina!

Studio News: It's been six months

It's been six months today since my little guy on the right, Bijou Bear, went to forever sleep. I miss him every day. Some days it aches more than others. He never lived in Hong Kong, but we had routines that included both Molly (left) and Bijou (right). He was only 10 1/2. It's just my Miss Molly Dolly right now and she gives me joy. I'm working hard to enjoy every day with her instead of dreading the day she will leave me, too.



Ok, I just had to share something along these lines that made me laugh. I know...it's a little demented, but I have to say I understand what he's saying.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/15/charlie-brooker-pets-death

But, unlike Charlie, I still wouldn't change it. I love my puppies. They're teaching me not to focus on the anxiety of tomorrow. And I have the joy of coming home to furry cuddliness. I just wished they lived longer. Like a parrot. Or a tortoise. Or a sequoia.

I miss Bijou's shameless clumsiness and his willingness to always get snuggled. You were a funny, bright, snuggle spot in my life. Miss you, Little B, my little HunnyBear!


And to my fellow animal friends at Bijou's Whimsy and Rustic Urbanity, I'm thinking of you, too!

Studio News: Blooming in June Designer Challenge - Emerald Dragonfly

Yes, I gave a few sneak peeks in my newsletter...here is the full-blown version! I participted in my own designers challenge for the Blooming in June theme. (Sorry, I'm posting 3 days late! The next post will be southwesty!)

Anyway, the winners of the Designers Challenge were:

Kristin @ KS Jewellery Designs

Mel @ Kookie Designs

We each had one of my swirled floral disks and a set of swirled beads in different colors. We're all quite different designers, so it's fun to see what we all come up with. Both are pretty busy this summer, so they will be submitting their challenges later this month

.

(And...psst...we need more players! Just to let you know, I have some Southwest Theme Inspiration Challenges coming up...keep your eyes peeled!)

Emerald Dragonfly Inspiration Challenge

Florals are a comfort zone of inspiration for me. Usually, it's just been picking up on the color. I challenged myself to take it a step farther and combine the swirly request from Kristin and see if I could do floral disks. I did! My first ones were quite organic (and I think they still have loads of potential in the right piece) and I'm improving in my execution.

Swirls of many greens, a dragonfly perches on the flower

A shadow of a dragonfly...just the idea...

emerald meadows of every imaginable green

a picnic basket

a bottle of wine

some time spent talking, whispering, wondering

a dragonfly flits, perches,

a brief glimpse

and away he flies

verdant, lime, nile, emerald, petroleum, celadon

drawn together with a light chain of maille

reflections of peace, serenity, togetherness

Artfully Meandering: Southwestern Soul

I have relocated to a place I’ve always wanted to live…Asia. As I go through culture shivers and culture shocks, I realize…I’m a Southwestern Soul. There is something about the Southwest in which I felt “at home” and “me.”

I still haven’t been able to identify exactly what it is about the Southwest that makes me feel this way. I think it's a combination of factors.

country music, southern manners, cowboy hats, cowboy boots, prairie skirts, jean jackets, longhorns, constant sunshine, big sky, wide open spaces, bluebonnets, firewheels, Indian paintbrush, poppies, turquoise, silver, armadillos, geckos, rusted farm implements, adobe homes, stone homes, leather furniture, rawhide furniture, rough-hewn Mexican furniture, cactus, town squares, desert mountains, Louis L'Amour paperbacks, ranches, oil derricks, arched adobe windows, adobe fireplaces, scraped wood flooring, scraped wood tables, punched tin, pick-up trucks, hay bales, loyalty, independence, interdependence, individuality, artistry, crepe myrtles, live oaks, mesquite, Texas barbeque, fence posts, barbed wire, horses, cattle

I have moved all over the place in the US. I love physical features about every one of those places. Whenever I moved away from those places, I missed certain physical features. I miss the food. But, what I missed most were the people. Texas is the first place where I’m not only homesick for people but I’m homesick for the place. There were definitely things I could live without—the wild thunderstorms, tornadoes, and fire ants. I could also live without the suburbs. I’ve lived all my life in suburbs save for a few years in small towns in Maine and Indiana. Small town living made me realize I really dislike the suburbs...they are so anonymous.

Something I think I like about Texas is the culmination of the culture and the place. Southern courtesy is rampant—every man allows a woman on the elevator first or opens a door for a woman. It’s really inefficient, but it’s oh so nice to be treated politely. I love and adore Southwestern style…the eclectic mix of modern and old, organic and urban. In particular, the sensibility of southwestern style that appeals to me is the hand-textured, simple, clean, and uncluttered aesthetic.

Although I mentioned I don't care for suburbs, I have to admit, that living in a suburb of a large city provided access to the broad range of people I was able to get to know. There is a certain independence and interdependence that seems part of the culture. I have a diverse set of friends: some who are farmers, some who raise longhorn cattle, some who have a little land for their horses and dog, and some who are the ultimate urbanites. And the artists! Tucked into this anonymous suburb are writers, playrights, actors, painters, graphic artists, jewelry artists, woodworkers, musicians, soap-makers, seamstresses, photographers, poets, to name a few. The people who I have the privilege to call my friends are the best part of Texas for me—fiercely loyal, independent, individual people who are themselves. I have friends who represent almost everything that is “me.” I’ve made some really wonderful friends in Texas. Texas is also where I learned who I was, where I didn't feel afraid to be my genuine self, and released my creative self to explore with happy permission. I’m still not brave enough to be myself at all times. So, that’s why I think I have a special affinity to the place that is Texas …it's the place where I’ve become comfortable with who I am.

So, this month is for enjoying my happy memories of my previous home in the Southwestern United States...Texas.

Post Script: Just in case you’re worried about me living in Hong Kong, I’m a glass half full person and tend to live on the positive side of life. I have learned the joy of blooming where I am planted. Yes, the culture shivers and shocks put little dents in the tender little roots of establishment I'm putting down. But I'm a stubborn plant that overcomes transplant trauma to become hardy, well-rooted foliage. (Sometimes I need to say that last point out loud to remind myself...but, I am. I'm a Southwestern Soul who lives in Asia.)

And one more thing: thank you to Marina H. for helping me with my Southwestern Soul theme this month. She did a poster for the Noisy Plume as a result of Nancy McKay's blog party...and well, I just had to commission to create my version...isn't it COOL!