Lots to catch up on this week, so get comfy! This is going to be a long one!!
Beyond Borders Mosaic Auction for DWB/MSF ends Friday, Sept 21st! There’s only a few more days left for the online auction. This is for such a great cause. Known in the U.S. as Doctors Without Borders (DWB) and worldwide as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), DWB/MSF is an international medical humanitarian organization that provides aid in nearly 70 countries to people whose survival is threatened, providing medical aid to those most in need. Please, if you haven’t done so yet, head on over and bid, bid, bid! My mosaic, “Syncopation” is in the Abstracts section. Click on the photo below and it’ll take you to the online auction website directly.
Last time I wrote an “In the Studio” post, I mentioned not spending much time in the studio doing mosaic work but taking photos of attic pieces going into the vintage shop. This time, all camera activity has been set aside, the new shop is not yet ready and the muse is busy at work on mosaics, primarily a goofy looking elephant. Most photos of the vintage items aren’t all that great according to my critical eye, so it was time to put it all away for a bit and get back to the crafts table. It will happen when I am ready for it. I have lots of time and patience for such endeavors.
Week-to-week, the creative spark takes a turn and each item is different; some mixed media, altered art, photography, mosaics in stained glass and dish shards and still some painting might be done. I played with polymer clay as I mentioned I would and enjoyed it so very much! New charms for mosaics are the reward! Yay! I allow the spirit to move me. I have found as long as I get out of the way and don’t push in one direction or the other, super cool things begin to unfold. I’m blessed with a busy mind filled with ideas. I truly feel it’s a gift although sometimes my brain goes from idea to idea quicker than I can process it. That’s why I love to dream about my crafts because that seems to get them to stay put until I’m ready to work on them.
polymer clay pieces I made for use in mosaics (the little bits look just like candy!)
word charms for mosaics
“Blue”
5×5 inches
Mixed Media Art
Acrylics, Millefiori, Polymer Clay Heart expertly crafted by my cousin, Laura
“Green and Copper”
5×5 inches
Acrylics, Mica Powders, Poly Clay Flower crafted by me, Porcelain Tile (gifted), Lotus Charm, Millefiori & a piece of Mirror
“Mauve, Pearl and Bronze”
5×5 inches
Acrylics, Mica Powders, Vintage Mother-of-Pearl Buttons, Fused Glass circa 1985, Unglazed Ceramic Tile (purchased from the extremely talented beadfreaky at Etsy), Word Charm, Millefiori
At some point these 3 pieces will be placed either in frames or mounted on something else and placed in the shop for sale. I have more ideas for more and will share them as I make them, I’m sure. You can find lots of cool charms and beads for crafts through beadfreaky on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/beadfreaky
******
This week I am celebrating my birthday which is officially on Saturday. I’ll be 58 and it will be the beginning of the New Year for me. Just as some celebrate Jan 1st as the first day of a new calendar year and many celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, I make new goals, dreams, wishes for my new year. Not as spectacular as those other things but just as important to me. “Resolutions”, if you will, are made during the week each year just before my birthday. I try to do what I can to accomplish them all before the next complete cycle around the sun. Many get added more than once onto the list, while others do indeed get crossed off! I believe more folks should try this. It’s all wrapped up with thoughts of renewal and new beginnings no matter when you celebrate your New Year, isn’t it? I have a really awesome list this year so far. It is mostly about more personal growth, learning more along the path of enlightenment and spirituality. I have come to a plateau with meditating and I’ve been unable to do yoga just yet, so adding yoga back into the daily routine and finding more ways to meditate, more often is on the list. And yes, the other things like: “lose 30 lbs”, “eat healthier” is on there too. It wouldn’t be a New Year without those on the list!
******
I mentioned in Monday’s post that I am having an Etsy sale but I’m also having a sale on IndieMade too. To recap: for one week only on Etsy use COUPON CODE 58BDAY to get 10% off. Expires at midnight on September 23rd. I don’t often use coupon’s or give discounts or even reduced prices on my mosaics so if you’re at all interested in making a purchase and getting a deal, now would be the time! http://www.etsy.com/shop/earthmothermosaics
Over at IndieMade I’m doing a BOGO with a bit of a twist. If you purchase a mosaic belt buckle for $48 you’ll get 3 pendants FOR FREE with it. The one that’s $46 will get you the buckle, 2 pendants and a ring! Also, if you buy a pendant, you’ll get a pendant. FOR FREE. This too, is only happening this week. It’s a great time to start thinking about gifts for the holidays. Handmade jewelry, wearable art, is the best gift to give someone or great to treat yourself with! http://earthmothermosaics.indiemade.com/
******
The next bit of news is that I’ve been chosen as 1 of only 19 people to be part of an Upcycling Challenge for “Birds & Blooms” Magazine! http://birdsandbloomsblog.com/ The emphasis is on recycling/upcycling and I’m so very honored and excited to have been given the opportunity to make something for this challenge. The finished item is due in November with a description of how it was made, what was used, etc giving the reader the inspiration and directions to make it on their own. I LOVE that!! Everyone should try to make at least one mosaic! It is the one thing I miss most when I stopped teaching. The best part for me was seeing the uncertain face in the first hour during the class always changing into a proud smile of accomplishment by the last hour of the class. Awesome. The voting for the challenge will be done online by readers in January. More on that as the time gets closer and I will share what I’m working on when I get going on it. I know what I want to make, I just have to gather up the supplies and get going on it! They generously send each of us $50. Half can go for supplies and the other half goes for shipping. This works out well for me because I do not have an income, and because I love using items I have sitting around or things I make from other things (in other words, recycling), it really works out well!
Here are some updated photos of the 3-D project. She is coming along nicely. I’m working on the left ear, the underside of the ear, the front of her face, down her trunk and front leg. I fill in the drawings using silver and gold mirror and then cut up small pieces of stained glass and add it within the glass giving me the designs. Sometimes I need tweezers to hold the glass in place and often it takes a good long time to fill in one small section. I also have no real idea what colors I’ll use until I use them. Makes for a colorful adventure that way! I’m fairly sure once grouted, the tusks are going to be wine corks. I happen to have a few sitting around. 😉
“Luna Nuren” in the sun – left side as of 09/10/12
Another shiny, razzle-dazzle shot outside – look at her shine!
Left ear and side of head and trunk as of 09/16/12
The underside of the right ear as of 09/16/12
I’m adding bling on the left front foot.
Left ear (star in the middle in gold), head and trunk as of 09/18/12
Left side view. Glass and nippers as well as things like bottles to help prop up the mosaic while I am working on it.
For those of you wondering when I’ll be making something different, possibly adding things to the online shops? Here are a few things I’ve primed that are waiting for me to mosaic and list. The cat seems to be waiting impatiently for me to come join her for a nap! I have a box full yet to be primed and lots of glass plates, vases and a few candle holders to mosaic as well. Where ever my creativity decides to go, there is always something here ready for it. How blessed am I???!!!
I hope you don’t mind waiting a bit longer, sweet kitty for me to join you! This could take a while …
Just a few things waiting for me to work on.
Be at Peace.
☼-EarthMotherMosaics
©2012 Cindy White, EarthMotherMosaics