New designs

Here are some new necklace designs, I have been working on. My favorite is the first necklace with pink Tourmaline drops, a big Ruby bead, hammered sterling silver teardrop and chains. These new designs are for sale now at Freshly Cut, the gorgeous flower shop across the street from Monterey Market. And while you are there get yourself also one of their absolutely beautiful flower arrangements.

I delivered a bunch of earrings to Freshly Cut as well. Maybe you need a little something to complement your outfit? They also make nice little gifts.

Angel of celebration

My favorite project this Christmas was making clothes for my wooden Santos doll, turning her into an angel and setting her up on our sideboard. I used beautiful German crepe paper and gorgeous gold and silver Dresden papers, that I bought at Castle in the Air, to create her outfit. I sewed real lace on the bottom of her crepe paper skirt with the help of my sewing machine and used pins and glues to keep all the other trimmings in place. Vintage keep sakes, like the brocade table cloth and cherubs used to belong to my grandparents. The gorgeous dark red Amaryllis came from my favorite flower shop Freshly Cut, opposite Monterey Market.

Valentine's Vision in White

This morning when I looked out of my window there was a surprise: I was greeted by this vision of white. Puzzled I asked my husband, if he had noticed yesterday that the tree in my neighbors yard was in bloom. He was as stunned as I was by the occurence of snow white blossoms. The image was perfect with the morning sun high lighting the top of the tree, making it appear like a radiating halo.

Albina's necklace

I have been so very, very busy making jewelry. Here is a very special piece I made for Albina's birthday. This necklace has my beloved fine silver ginkgo leaf as a center piece and big iridescent Labradorite rondells. I think this is my favorite Ginkgo necklace I made and will offer two of them at my up-coming sale, for which I am working a lot.

The Red Display

I have a sideboard in my dinning room and always set up different objects and flowers. I change these displays every couple month or whenever I feel the need for change. This red display features 2 beautiful beaded boxes that my dad gave me, knowing that I am such a fan of everything beaded. They are real treasure boxes and I am actually keeping some lovely pieces of lace ribbon in the bigger box. Also on the table is a book about trompe l'oeil paintings borrowed from my mom and a strawberry plant, that did carry some little berries until recently.

Silver Ginkgo Leaves

I have been making these Ginkgo leaves for a while now. They are made of PMC (Precious Metal Clay). This is pulverized fine silver made into a clay-like substance. It has a higher silver content than Sterling Silver, which is 999, (meaning it is 99.9% pure) while Sterling is an alloy silver , containing 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper . It is stamped as 925.

PMC is just as pliable as clay and therefore ideal for impressions of textures. I paint 15 - 20 layers of PMC slip onto the Ginkgo leaves. Once the PMC is bone dry I fire it in the kiln at around 1650 F. The extreme heat burns of the binding agent and compresses the silver molecules. The piece shrinks a little bit. Also the Ginkgo leaf burns away. What is left is its impression in silver. Since each jewelry piece is made from a real leaf and each leaf is unique, each pendant is different. The texture of the veins on the leaf are as individual as our finger prints. The Ginkgo tree is prehistoric and its leaves have medicinal qualities.

James Hopefully

This is my daughter's cat James "Hopefully", who jumped up into this Dia de los Muertos backdrop that I had stamped with my hand carved stamps. He obviously wanted to be photographed. so I obliged and here is is portrait.

How I set the table for Papa Paolo's 80th

Patterned scrapbook paper was used as place mats and for napkin rings. I used the same paper and cut circles for a garland that spelled out "Buon Cumpelanos - Papa Paolo"

This Mother's Day I collaborated with my daughter in making my mom/her grandma a hand made card. We worked on the computer with a photo and some Dover Clip art
and then glued the result together with a variety of beautiful papers, some colored fish, a coffee filter and blue ribbon onto card stock. We also gave my mom a wonderful yellow vase that was filled with a stunning bouquet of peonys and orchids, arranged by my talented friend Ellen.

Display with Chirimen Sakuras

The sun was shining and the beautiful weather was calling out to me to change the display on my sideboard in its honor. Perfect time to set up the lovely little cloth flowers and frogs I had bought on my recent trip to Japan. These wonderful decorations are made of chirimen silk and follow a long tradition. Women would use left over kimono pieces to sew little toys and decorations from the Chirimen silk. The toys and decorations would often depict flowers and animals in accordance with the four different seasons. For example autuum leaves in reds and oranges, pink and white cherry blossoms (sakura) for spring or snails and hydrangeas as symbols of the rainy season in June. I love the idea of honoring the seasons like the Japanese do and have sometimes followed the theme of the four seasons in my decorating scheme.
Setting up the display on the sideboard is always great fun for me, it is after all like a small personal home altar. Kay Turner writes in her book "Beautiful Necessity - The art and meaning of women's altars" that the tradition of home altars dates as far back as the fifth milenium and that home altars were almost always tended to by women. Often these altars were called hearth altars, since they were located in the kitchen next or above the hearth. I guess my altar is close to the kitchen: in the dinning room, which is the center of our house. I have always been intrigued by the notion of altars and always created a little spot in my living area where I would display something of meaning - which always changes. It fascinates me to think that People have done it for ever without giving it much thought, just doing it because this act of creativity feels good and affirms what is important for them. That's the kind of art I love - people being creative just for themselves.