Blue Tuesday

No, not the kind of 'Blue' my grandmother seemed to be the majority of the time when I was a kid, but faux Lapis blue. Since finishing the Creche piece, I have been quite busy tying up some loose ends, taking care of 'stuff' on the computer, actually for a day and a half and still working on things.

But I'm usually working in between, and wanted to show you this morning the lovely blue that I'm using in making pendants and beads. Isn't that wowful? I love it. I mixed as many shades of blue that I could find in my stashes, gold leaf, and translucent clay and a few others. I can't wait! I'm ordering small gold beads to use in a classic Lapis necklace. This is a block of the clay, just waiting for me, and some beads I've started. I have a pendant in the oven. This will be a deeper tone when baked.






There's a lot of gold veins in it...just not showing up well. But isn't that going to make beautiful beads?


Remember to stop by tomorrow for my guest blogger for Veteran's Day. I'm excited! Hugs and warm smiles for your wonderful day! Kiss someone....not a frog!

Time to Start Scurrying About..

Remember all those beautiful trees I've been showing you??? Look what they're doing to us!!! LOL A very small part of it...we've had a leaf storm instead of a snow storm!!!

Well.......have you begun the maddening, frustrating, invigorating, adrenaline pumping, loathsome job called holiday shopping? Wonder who started that?

Oh.....that was different...celebrating our Savior's birth with gifts from afar doesn't seem to compare with the onslaught of a card sliding, dollar twisting, elbow digging, madcap racing to 4 a.m. sales, event we try to call celebrating Christmas that puts struggling families in debt for the remainder of the year, leaves some kids puffed up over not getting everything on their lists, starts family arguments because everyone is stressed out over life in general and just so they can have a catharis an old disagreement might resurface.

If we quit all that, if instead we visited hospitals and nursing homes, sang carols, spent our money on a wonderful meal and even spent it on airfares for family we've not seen in years because they can't afford to come home, shared our food by taking a few meals to the less fortunate, enjoyed the camaraderie of our families and friends, watched the kids play with the toys they've received all year long, played cards and games in the afternoon, munched on leftovers, watched old movies, learned to pray again and give thanks, and bedded down on pallets a house filled with people in love with each other and with life, I believe our lives would be better all year long. What a celebration that would be!!!

Could that happen? Could we go backwards a bit to days of long ago and pattern our holiday celebration after a kinder and gentler time? Do we have to be so exhausted on the day after that we begin immediately dreading next year? Why does it have to be that way? It would only take a couple of times for kids to understand that companies don't make all of those toys for their pleasure; they make them to empty Mom and Dad's bank accounts for their pleasure.

What if that money wasn't spent on stuff and the family took a wonderful vacation each summer to see this grand country that we call home? I guess it would wreck our economy! That's a laugh!!!!

Just rambling thoughts from Scrooge I guess. It's really not even about the money. So many little kids don't even know why we have a Christmas celebration. So many big ones don't either. And many never take the time to even pause on the day and remember. Perhaps the two could be combined. Perhaps we could make it a point to make everyone aware of the true meaning of Christmas and still have the gifts, the craziness, the insanity of it all. I love Christmas! It's my very favorite time of the year. I love the decorations,to give gifts, to make gifts, and to get gifts, to make people smile over their gifts....notice my Etsy listings in the sidebar!!! LOL

I worry. What if they continue to try to take Christ out of our lives....what if they take Christ out of Christmas? How hard is it going to be to do that when so many don't know He is Christmas. Why would we celebrate Christmas then?

I'm having a guest blogger on Wednesday for Veteran's Day. Please, please come by and prepare to be so proud. Hugs! Hope your week will be so special that you will remember it for weeks to come!!!

Wordless Sunday

I present to you......

my probably one and only creche...well, maybe not. I loved working on it...found it to be pure joy and the most difficult of anything I've attempted.

A friend says that with each new sculpture I do the complexity grows, but that's what drives me, challenges me, pushes me, keeps me awake at night, and I hope makes me grow in my art. I want a fullness that I've not yet obtained, not achieved but can feel it growing closer and closer, sometimes actually making me shiver a bit as the excitement grows.

I can't put all of the pictures here, but am including the link to my website, so please click on it and on their picture on the first page and that will take you directly to their page where you can see all the beautiful pictures that my wonderfully talented photographer, Jami Birdsong, has taken. She did such a job. Wow! Her lighting actually looks as though a star was beaming down on them. Please go take a look.

I used washes of Jacquard paints, including Lumiere and Dye-Na-Flow for their garments. I didn't want shine, but a soft glow...just a tiny bit of glimmer, and they worked beautifully! To me, light would have literally bounced from these three. Thank you Marie for your confidence and inspiration. A finishing touch of dry brushing with a tad of white gave the softness I wanted. Joseph's headdress is dyed cheesecloth treated with a hardening solution, Paverpol, that even though giving the softness it needed leaves it hard and almost as durable as the clay.





Have a wonderful weekend! Our weather is so beautiful. I may take a break, get out of this room of mine, go outside and work in the yard....clearing my mind and my flower beds and garden. Love and hugs to all!!!