urban artifaks

New Items!

2010-08-23T20:09:00.011-04:00

I really have been working this summer...even if i havent posted much. This is my third batch of new pieces this summer. I generally do between 25 and 50 pieces at a time--it seems to go better, lets me get the juices flowing.

The dragon pieces are new. I made a few of them in the last batch, and they seemed to go over pretty well. The dragons are Tibetan Silver, a really good weight and feel, and I got them from fellow Etsyian, Leslietsy. She has some really great items! The leaves, peace sign, and Eiffel Tower are from her, as well. The other metal pieces are from Yomama, another wonderful Etsy shop.

The milky lime-green pieces up on top have an interesting beginning. When I did the Waterloo show in June, I was situated next to my friend Kimberly of Monaco Designs. She had beautiful pieces, and on the table had this artsy glass dish with her smaller items in it. While packing up, unfortunately, the dish went crashing to the pavement and shattered. She donated the broken pieces to my stash of glass. I've already made (and sold) a couple hearts and teardrops, here's another 5 pieces. It's such a unique color and texture, as well as being nearly flat which makes it easier to deal with.

So...this marks my official debut using glass other than bottles! It opens me up to other sources-vintage glass, art glass, contemporary glass...anything! That means now I'll be looking for collectible glass, vintage glass that maybe chipped or cracked and has very little value to anyone else, but I can make nice jewelry from it.

****This means I can stop drinking! Just kidding, but lately I've been buying more bottles just to recycle them into jewelry-does that still count?

But, a question for you...this is a new design I just did-a bit different, more sculptural. What do you think of it? Should I continue exploring this? Leave your thoughts in the comments for me!

ReDirecting

2010-07-05T00:47:00.007-04:00

i havent had the heart to post anything here this week. Sometimes when life comes at you too fast, it takes too much time to write it. So here's an edited version.

I know i just posted about my neighborhood and working to make it a place for artists to gather and work. I have another artist who is using my garage to do his sculptures in return for helping me with maintenance, and I'd love to be able to hold classes on fabric dyeing and fabric printing, papermaking, photography, screenprinting, whatever. Heck, I just want to be able to go there and do my own work!

However, I finally think I'm done dreaming about that. I think it's time to move on. Just the next day after I wrote my last post, I went to my house to take some photos of my jewelry to put online. As I turned the corner, that all-to familiar dread took root in the pit of my stomach as I noticed my screen door was open.

That only means one thing: someone was trying to break in again. I was confident that they couldn't GET in, for my back door was bolted and barred with a metal bar, and all my windows on the bottom floor were boarded up on the inside. Outside, the house looked innocent and open. Inside, it looked like Fort Knox.

Well, what can I say? If they're determined to get in, there's no way you can keep them out.

It looks like they took a crowbar to the back doorframe by the hinges because there was a dent in the door--did I say it was a steel door? The door was lying flat on the ground, still attached to the frame. They walked over it to get in the house.

It doesn't appear that they took anything important--i didn't live there, so there wasn't anything of value there, but they went through all my drawers and closet shelves, even the refrigerator, leaving everything open. I do know they took something, for my carry-on bag with wheels and handle that I pack my displays in for art shows is missing. I know they didn't want that for itself, so they must have used it to carry something out. I just don't know what-unless it was some of the wine bottles I kept in the fridge--I keep a couple dozen bottles in their to help maintain the coldness. Maybe they thought the ones that had caps on still were wine? Now, that would be so ironic, stealing wine bottles and then finding out they were just full of water??

Frankly, I'm tired...tired of the worry, tired of dealing with the residue. Tired of putting off painting the faded aluminum siding because I know that, as soon as I do, they'll rip it off for scrap. Tired of being tired. It's time for me to let go and move on. I may have the opportunity to do this again, but I won't go it alone. IF I get another studio, I'll have someone there to help me create it. And I won't be so torn between 3 different lives that I can't get any work done.

It's time for me to get ALL areas of my life together so I can focus on what I do best: making art.

Being Swept up in the Tides of Change

2010-06-30T09:26:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite songs was an underground band singing a song from the musical, South Pacific...I don't even know the band or the name of the song, I just know the phrase that stayed in my mind: 'If you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?'

Sometimes we get what we wish for. Sometimes, we put things into motion and before we know it, they are happening and we'd better wake up and get with it, or miss out and its our own fault!

A few years ago, my friend had a Manifestation Party where we made collages from magazine clippings, words and pictures that resonated with us and illustrated things we'd like to accomplish or do. I worked on mine for months after that, until I think I got a clear vision of what I'd like to be and do.

Then I let it sit.

Now, a few years later, I can pull them out and look at them, and I'm amazed at how far I've come and how much on that collaged list I've accomplished.

--> I wanted to do photography (I didn't even have a digital camera at that point) Now, I'm a professional photographer; I do school portraits as well as doing fan photos during Major league baseball games...and freelance work for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Of course, it helps if you've become good friends with their photographer! Dave has been so supportive and helpful in ANYthing I've wanted to do, its amazing. He's also taught me so much in Photoshop!

--> I wanted to sell my artwork and jewelry full time, attempting to supply a good part of my income with it. I had collaged 'online', 'galleries', 'shows' on my page, and I now have a website, an Etsy site, I'm doing shows, and am currently in 7 galleries.

--> I wanted to help re-create a safe and artsy neighborhood in the run-down, drug-infested area where my old house is--and now I'm living there, meeting people and starting to make contacts with others of a like mind and throwing some ideas out there. It was starting to work until I had to move in to take care of my Dad on the other side of town. I may or may not be able to go back and work again with them on that...it depends more on whether I've moved on or I'm still impassioned by it. It may just be time to let go. The point is, I did work on it.

--> I wanted to travel, and I have photos of planes, working on a laptop in different locations, lots of roadmaps. I'm not sure what that will lead into, but stay tuned because I'm seeing hints and opportunities that are just beginning. However, I did go to Florida for 4 days and came away with 3 gallery opportunities, one of which has become a very good venue--Back Alley Gifts in Bradenton Beach is a fantastically fun and active shop with so many things to do-its not just a gift shop, but a place to go, a place to have fun!

--> I wanted to have my morning breakfast/coffee outdoors on the balcony and typing away on my computer. I had in mind a balcony overlooking the ocean, but this is getting closer: right now I'm typing this on a patio on my laptop with my coffee in the morning sun, listening to the birds. It's a start!

I have other things as well, entertaining, exploring, learning, organizing, creating...all these things are beginning to happen as well. I truly believe, had I not done these pages, my life would be one long slide, drifting into nothing but missed opportunities.

I know my friend believes that doing these pages 'puts these longings out there in the universe' and then they are attracted to you. That's one way of looking at it, but my point of view is a bit different. I believe it's the same thing they tell entrepreneurs to do (goal-setting), or businesses when they want to grow (business plans). I believe it's more a matter of clarifying in your own mind just what you really want to do.

The example I gave someone the other day when we were discussing this was, when my children were little and we were on a drive, I'd start the game, see how many VW beetles you can find. Once they started looking, those darn cars were EVERYwhere! Now, by putting that thought out into the universe, did my children just attract these cars to our area? Or, were they always there but we just never noticed?

So, I truly believe that, call it what you will, if you take the time to Dream, to discover your desires, to put down on paper either as a list or a visual collage all the things you'd really like to do, then your mind will become involved and you will start noticing opportunities and you will start making headway in directions you never focused on before.

You just may have your own dreams start coming true.

Summer!

2010-06-14T12:34:00.003-04:00

I was featured in a treasury this week...one of yellow, cobalt blue and aqua. What a summery, wonderful color combination! Take a buzz over and check it out--there are some awesome selections here! Aqua, yellow, blue...who knew?

And, while you're off doing that, I'm off cutting more fantastic pieces with my New Taurus Ring Saw!!

Just wait til you see the hearts and cool shapes I can cut now--and the BEST thing is, the blade WON'T cut my finger (fingernail, yes but finger, no) meaning I can get in there with the tiniest of details...........

I'm trying to make other shapes for some new ideas I have (note the little green triangles and the brown squiggle shape...). These pieces are smaller than I've been working with in the past. I'm trying to get pendants more suitable for those of us who don't like wearing large pieces as well as trying for some earring styles.

Here I'm showing you just a couple boxes of my stash ready to play with...see the Crown Royal, the brown Cointreau and yes, that's a Fanta soda pop bottle!!

Here's a picture of my temporary workspace at the apartment. Normally I'd be working at my studio but I don't want to be gone all day today so I brought my saw here.

The saw does throw off little specks of glass, so you have to wear face and eye protection...my poor plant won't know what hit it!

I am Up and Running Again!!

2010-06-08T23:24:00.004-04:00

I did it!! took my computer in and got it cleaned out (2 gig of internet temp files!) but it still didn't run well when I got it home. The techie said I needed more RAM as I only had 512 mb.

So I ordered 2 1-gig memory cards. They came today in the mail and I installed them and Whoa Momma! now my computer is fast and responsive to my every touch!!!
Now I want to order some for my laptop as its been so terribly slow that I hardly use it anymore.

I also want to install my wireless so I can sit out on the patio and do my blogging, listing, or other internet maintenance...or at least sit in the living room with my dad instead of being so reclusive in my bedroom all night, every night.

So-that means pretty soon I'll be back updating my sites and uploading more jewelry and artwork!!

It'll be so nice to be in touch with the outside world again...

It's ShowTime!!

2010-05-22T05:59:00.003-04:00

The 41st Hessler Street Fair is this weekend (May 22, 23) and I'm going to be there!!
(stop by if you happen to be in the area--non-stop music, great food, and cool art! It's the original hippie street fair and hasn't changed too much! I'll be in booth 52.)

This is the fair that started it all for me last year--I applied at the last minute and they still had a spot and it was the first show I'd done in years, and the absolut first (oops, that's AbsolutE-you can tell I've been working with the liquor bottles way too much!) anyway, the absolutE first show I'd done with my jewelry.

It was so gratifying to see the response--and sales--from people, plus being found by Joe from La Lanterna Gallery in nearby Little Italy. It was this show that made me decide to Go For It with my artwork.

So, here it is, 1 year later...I'm in 6 galleries with a few more in the works, I have my blog (2 of them; this one and www.bohoexpress.wordpress.com for my wackier side), website, FB page, Twitter account, name is registered, vendor's license in place, I have my own studio, and I'm ready to pay taxes!

Now that's as official as you can get!

Magically Delicious!

2010-05-13T20:03:00.004-04:00

I've just posted another entry in my other blog, BoHoExpress...this is where I record things that inspire me, interest me, or in any way make my heart sing.

Now that that's finished, I need to get busy on making more jewelry. I've somewhat cleaned up my space-or at least enough to work in again-so I've no excuse!

My jewelry is selling at a nice pace, I'm happy to say. I love having galleries to work for me even while I'm concentrating on other things, but on the other hand, I tend to get discouraged thinking nothing is selling until the end of the month when I unexpectedly receive checks in the mail and I'm amazed at how well I did!

And I did do well this month...to the point I need to replenish a couple of the galleries.

Now, that's a happy day!

It's gonna be worth it, some day

2010-05-10T11:54:00.002-04:00

I think that's the name of a song we do at church, but if not, it still fits here.

I'm running into computer issues. My computer is sluggish (yes, I've decluttered and defragged) and as unresponsive as trying to turn the Titanic to avoid the iceburg. It used to be able to do 3 or 4 things at once; I had windows open all over the place. Now I can't even click on one thing because it takes forever to open up.

I want to post new jewelry for my shop. I want to post another entry here. I want to show pictures I've been taking, share what I've been doing but that will have to wait until I can get this cleared up.

But hopefully, when it comes, 'It's gonna be worth it'.

Where the fun stuff is...

2010-04-30T10:41:00.003-04:00

I've started a new blog called BohoExpress. It's theme is all the quirky, whimsical, fun and downright weird things that catch my fancy that I don't really want to put here...this blog is where I pretend to be artsy and intellectual (snort!!) and drink vodka (for the bottles, of course) and keep my nose up in the air (unless it rains).

That blog is more about my interest in others and what they're doing and will include some interviews and reports on cool (to me) things...this one is more about ME.

That blog is more about the internal me, this one about the external me.
So--do me a favor and check it out...tell me what you think!

And, while you're at it, check out Simpleelements' blog, where you'll find a series of interviews of artists and what inspires them...she actually asked me! and i'm up there with some really fantastic artists--but seriously, it's really so interesting to hear what hits people and urges them to create.
Thanks so much Simple, for the opportunity!

Success!!!

2010-04-26T09:26:00.006-04:00

I did the shows last week and it was fantastic! Even more than making sales, which is always wonderful as my pockets are feeling a bit lonesome lately, but I met some wonderful women. I even have plans to see them again in the future!

I received my daily Handmade Spark Today from Timothy Adam-who is the Etsy guru and on March 28 (I'm a little behind on my reading) there was a really great article from Joyous Treasure's blog, Etsy Treasure Chest about nice and affordable packaging for your Etsy sales-which are going to be many, right?? Some really great ideas, and I immediately got out my supplies to compare what I did with what they showed. I LIKE what I do, but it could stand some tweaking, which I'm playing with now. Here's what I do now:

1. Each piece gets its own little protective pouch made
from T-shirts that I sew up myself-recycling at it's finest!

2. Then they get put into a ziplock baggie along with my business card

3. Then I put them into a really neat pastel padded envelope with cardboard to keep the package stiff.

Changes: I'm keeping the pouch and the baggie, but I tried recycling one of my many, many, many paint cards that I can't stop taking--I just LOVE the shot of color they give me!--and write my 'Thank You!' on it, fold it over the top of the zip lock bag and staple it closed...then wrap the whole in tissue paper with a business card enclosed.

I'm working on adding a small giftie--either a larger printed business card/book mark, or a fridgie magnet. In the past, I've made a little match-book purse notepad and I may still do that...maybe I'll do all of them and you'll never know what you'll get!

It's almost time, and here's a preview:

2010-04-23T17:22:00.006-04:00

Here is a sneak peek at a few of the new pendants I've made in this latest collection. They range from soft and romantic with delicate beading, to smooth and sleek edges...from hearts and rounded teardrops to rectangles and squares.

I hope you like them!

A very pretty simple green heart. Sometimes its not all about the lacy romance, but just a clean, sleek look.
I've done a few very sleek, contemporary green pieces in this collection.

The heart itself measures 1-1/2" long (37mm), not including the ring.

This is one of my popular Absolut text pieces. It measures 1 X 3/4" (25X20mm).
It's fun to work with these pieces and see what types of phrases I can come up with...this one says, "...was in the...". They remind me of fragments of a love letter or an overheard lost conversation.

This piece is made from broken crystal stemware. I was so upset that the glass broke, but then all was well when I realized I could make it into jewelry!

It's a really nice heavy 1-1/2" faceted crystal drop accented with beads of silver solder.

Here is a 45 mm (1-3/4") heart from a Bombay Sapphire Gin bottle with just a touch of beaded solder on the one side.
It's always a nice change to make something from the beautiful aqua pastel bottles--so different from the usual dark green or brown wine bottle.

This is a nice romantic Victorian-like piece with its frosted glass, delicately beaded edge, and the silvery knot that holds the glass drop to the chain.
The entire drop measures 2 1/4" long.

So, there you have a preview of my current collection of pendants that I just finished. If you'd like to see more, stay tuned as I'll be uploading all the pieces to my flickr site for another Pre-Listing Sale!

The way it works is like this:
After I batch load them, you have the opportunity to see them all. If you see something you like and you let me know before I've taken all the photos and written all the descriptions for uploading to Etsy, I will give you 10% off the purchase price as my way of thanking you for saving me the work! I will then upload just a single photo and create a custom listing for you at the discounted price for you to purchase as normal through my Etsy account.

Once a pendant is uploaded to my Etsy site with its usual description and photos, however, the purchase price reverts to its normal amount. YOU NEED TO CATCH ME BEFORE I CREATE THE LISTING. The point of the prelisting sale is to save me the writing and photographing of each piece.
If you have any questions, just ask...and be sure to tell all your friends! I would SO love to just list pre-sold items and not have to agonize over the descriptions and photos!!!
Here is my flickr account. Happy Shopping!!!

Regrouping

2010-04-21T07:23:00.003-04:00

Now that I'm starting to recover a little bit and have time to take stock, I'm pleased with the success of the shows over the weekend. For not being "Art" shows but speaking events where the artists were an aside, the reactions were very positive.

The best part is, since I worked like mad to get inventory for a new gallery plus both the shows, I now have plenty of items to share and put aside for my next show May 22/23,

the Hessler Street Fair by the campus of Case Western Reserve University and right at the base of Little Italy-a great place to visit, check out all the shops, and of course, Eat! And, if you go there, be sure to stop by La Lanterna, where you can see my Urban Aritfaks in person!

Here is what 50+ necklaces looks like, awaiting their moment in the spotlight to get photographed and uploaded to my Etsy shop. Of course, since that will take absolutely weeks to do, I will once again have my PreListing Sale where I will batch upload pictures to my Flickr account.

The Prelisting Sale works like this:
I batch upload photos to Flickr just to share what I've been creating lately. If you see anything there that you can't live without, or you want more information on, then you email me. If you want to buy something before I get it uploaded to Etsy, then YOU get to purchase the piece at a 10% discount!! I will then list the item as a 'reserved for' at its reduced price, and you can purchase it there as usual.

The savings are in effect up until I get the piece uploaded to my Etsy account so be sure to check there before ordering.

I offer this discount because, if you purchase before I upload it to Etsy, you save me a lot of trouble taking all the detail pictures and writing up the description. I'll still create the listing for the item, but I can include the discounted price and I just need show the one photo. It's a totally win-win situation, and Oh, how I love those!!!

2010-04-19T09:06:00.010-04:00

Wow, it feels so good to have just slept and slept until I woke up, and woke up only when I was rested for a change! That can mean only one thing>I made it past another deadline.

I had a show--actually, *2* shows--Saturday (i need to carry my calendar with me at all times again) and I was focused on getting enough jewelry done for the shows. (How much inventory is enough??? No matter what you have, it's not the right color, the right size, the right style and we panic that we won't have what we need to do a show but when all is said and done, just do what you can and then trust that it will all work out just fine.)

I did a women's retreat from my church Saturday held in Lima, Ohio, out towards Toledo. I was hesitant about doing it as my jewelry isn't mainstream beads, crystals, precious stones or metals but its urban, made from bottles-liquor bottles, no less... Could I even say that there??? And my jewelry is, well, just different.

Did I stereotype and prejudge my market? You bet. But Donna Kephart, my pastor's wife and a fantastic lady, who is in charge of the district women's group assured me that they would love my work and that my story of creating something beautiful from the ashes of what could have defeated me would connect with them as well.

She was right. The women were fantastic, and there were a few of them that I sensed a connection with immediately like I've seldom felt before. What warm and welcoming women!

I think it hit me then that we are ALL on a rocky journey through this life, some rockier than others, but I feel like I'm among a unique band of comrades-and I like that...we have experiences in common. We are all working and striving, dealing with trials and problems but, instead of isolating us, it brings us together.

Together. I like that.

Hanging in there, One More Week!

2010-04-15T10:29:00.004-04:00

Taxes are DONE as of yesterday-with 1 day to spare, no less.
Inventory-nearly DONE, or at least enough to get me by

It must be spring...i found myself washing the coffeemaker! No!! Not yet!!! I can't do spring cleaning until next week, AFTER the show!!!!

I Got My MoJo Back!!

2010-04-15T09:03:00.008-04:00

My soldering nightmare seems to have ended!!! I can't express how thrillllllled I am!

I mean, LOOK at this! the solder globs up, which would indicate not enough heat to melt it, and it would spike into sharp points-again, not enough heat so the solder would cling to the tip...and yet,
if I tapped it just a wee bit harder or hold it a smidge longer, the solder would melt and run like water!

I'm not sure why or what happened or what I'm doing different...maybe it was just buying a new soldering iron (and eating the tip up in 30 minutes of use!!!) and maybe that just scared my little irons to pieces thinking they were about to be replaced?

I don't know but as soon as I unplugged that new, cheapie iron and heated up my old one, things were suddenly A-OK.

AND SO---

here are my 2 irons-the 50-watt one on the right was my dad's and is probably decades old--and i've put more use on it in one month than he did in all the years he's had it...the other one is my 100 watt iron that I bought when I started.

I've got 6 dozen pieces soldered, cleaned, polished, and on chains-giving me a total of *12* dozen pieces!! ready for Saturday's shows-yes, that's plural, as in 2 shows in one day.

They probably won't be big selling days, as the arts are more for display and inspiration, but there will be some sales, I'm sure...and then, next week, I can start uploading new merchandise to my UrbanArtifaks etsy shop!

And YES, I've started carrying my calendar around with me all the time again.

tonight was The night

2010-04-14T03:18:00.004-04:00

i finally had The Talk with my husband...it's been nearly 4 1/2 years that I've lived in limbo, married but not really, alone but not free. I've made efforts at this discussion before and while he admitted yes, we probably should just do it, no effort was made, no real closure achieved.

But tonight, after dealing again with the income taxes, married--but filing separately and married--but not living together, married--but... it's time. I'm tired of being married--but. I'm emotionally drained.

I wish him the best. I wish for him to find happiness. He's a good man but it hurts too much to linger, and he just wants to be alone. And me? Even though it's been over 4 years, I haven't been able to begin the healing process...that can only start once it's really Over.

So I have dared to think ahead, to dream a little. There are so many things I want to do with my life...places to go, people to meet, experiences to share, things to make. My future is somewhere out there now, and I want to be able to move forward and set goals and follow my path and see where life will take me. My cup has always been half full...now I want it to spill over.

I want to live for myself and not someone else now.

I want to live.

bouncing around my head

2010-04-10T17:13:00.009-04:00

I delivered 30 pieces of jewelry to Zocalo's Mexican Grill and Tequila Bar this week. I wanted to come up with a display that would show off the necklaces but where they wouldn't be easy to walk off with-something you need to worry about in a bar type atmosphere.

I came up with lots of ideas, but they were either a lot of work or not quite right. Sometimes the simplest idea is the best. This is what I decided on:

I found picture frames at our local closeout store 12X22" for sale, 2/$.99...fantastic!! They're even painted a nice silvery color-which is kinda Mexican. (I bought all 12 of them, BTW.) Then I bought a roll of galvanized hardware cloth with 1/4" mesh...

some lanyard clips, and some velcro strips.

I cut the hardware cloth 1" larger all around than the picture frame opening...folded the excess in like a hem and stapled it inside the picture frame.

I scattered the lanyard clips evenly and hooked them to the metal mesh so they could hang down; stuck velcro on each corner and its ready to install! I'll take this to the restaurant tomorrow, attach the other side of the velcro to the underside of their shelving, and it's done!

The jewelry will hook into each of the lanyard clips and will hang about eye level--perfect to catch the eye. To examine closer, the hostess will have to unhook each piece which needs two hands-easy enough but impossible to just grab and walk off with.

2010-04-07T08:32:00.008-04:00

I love the ocean. On one of our trips to Florida, our condo overlooked the ocean. The master bath was open to the bedroom and I could leave the balcony door open and the shower door open and shower while watching the ocean waves...then I would breakfast each day on the balcony-it was the most peaceful, calm-my-soul type of day. My goal is to start each day of my life like that.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs today, Low Tide High Style and they are having a giveaway. I don't generally participate in these but she is offering the most beautiful earrings made by Scarborough Seashells and I had to share them with you!
They are made of beach pottery of the deepest blue with white that look just like a deep blue summer sky and are finished with a perfect silver bezel. These earrings are the most wonderful way to keep a bit of summer memories with you all the time.
I'm sorry she's giving them away because I could buy them but I never win these things and, as one-of-a-kind pieces go, these are all there are.

Sigh.

But, if not me, then maybe one of you will win them and I can enjoy them vicariously through you.

Now, go over there and check them out!! Good Luck!

Views of The Golden Years

2010-04-07T07:28:00.003-04:00

One of the perils of living in an assisted living retirement complex is that they are prone to certain issues...such as last night, I was absolutely the only one in the building to be awaken by the most god-awfully, 'I'm-asleep-and-my-hearing-aid's-on-the-dresser' loud fire alarm going off.

I'm wandering the hall in my PJ's and scared the crap out of the girl from the front building who came running over to investigate--either she's not used to people actually waking up with this alarm, or I look that frightful; it's a toss-up.

So here it turns out that the guy in apartment D was sitting watching TV (I thought I heard something out there, he said to her) and had put a pan of dried prunes (I kid you not) on to cook and forgot about them, filling his apartment with smoke and stench-neither of which he noticed-and setting off the fire alarm.

It was nearly an hour before the fire truck had finished its investigation, written their report, and driven off, leaving those of us awake to finally try to sleep again, not an easy thing for me to do at any time, but when I'm over-exhausted, harder than ever.

There may be some benefits to putting your hearing aid on the dresser after all........

you know what they say, its the journey that counts

2010-03-30T05:12:00.005-04:00

I've just returned from a Very Important Roadtrip--a trip I can already tell is one of those life-changing events.

It wasn't just the destination that was so important, although going to an art opening was up there among the best things I've done; rather it was the journey. It was meeting with my women friends (that I've known nearly 10 years but have never met). It was HAVING women friends.

I've never really gotten along with other women when I was growing up. It was a feeling of not being popular or fashionable or pretty or thin enough to matter in the eternal competition among the female species to attract the male species. It was watching women flirt outrageously with my very handsome musician husband... women who, when our marriage crumbled, spoke sympathetically to my face and then I overhear them say, 'good, that means he's available' when they turn away. Women like the one my husband always criticized for her sleeping around yet she's the one he goes off with.

I gravitated towards the guys because they seemed easy to talk with, and, growing up with only brothers, I was used to them and the way they dealt with life (by not dealing with life).

Unfortunately, I carried that over into my adult years. One of the BLESSINGS of getting older is to be free of that emotional, soul-killing race!!! Somewhere along the way, women became allies and I never really realized it until now. I have many women 'friends', and while there are still many of them out there trying to attract a man--any man, there are so many more that are happy within themselves and have gotten on with the business of Real Life.

Meeting with Liz (for the second time) and Sue and Cathy, driving 8-9 hours to see Sue's solo show; that was wonderful! It was sharing a room and a couple days with Cathy and Liz...of eating together, shopping together and sitting in the motel room til all hours in the morning, sharing all that we'd bought and talking and laughing together...it was, as they say, priceless.

st patty's day

2010-03-18T00:47:00.018-04:00

My friend called and asked if I wanted to go downtown to the St. Patrick's Day parade. Having a dislike of intense [drunk] crowds where there is a lot of drinking [did I mention drunks?], I've never gone to it before but hey, there's a first time for everything and I had nothing else terribly pressing that day that couldn't wait til the next day.

I love going downtown if I don't have to worry about parking. I like walking around window shopping, people watching, and searching out unusual architectural details-of which there's a lot. Cleveland has more old buildings still standing and it's fun to search them out.

We arrived at Tower City, the refurbished building that once housed the train and bus terminals and still holds RTA-our cable car, transit, train, Metro-whatever you want to call it, they all end at the Tower City Terminal on Public Square. As we were walking out, the ornate windows framed the newer buildings outside and it made a neat picture but, try as I might, I couldn't get the inside and outside to expose at the same time. I knocked off a few shots of the different windows and we left.

Here's the photo of the inside of the terminal. I'm learning my way around photoshop lately and am getting pretty good at some things...to the point where I can take a person's smiling face from one shot and cover the one with their eyes half closed in the other shot.

In this picture, I took the window from the one photo and stuck it in the window of another shot. They were two different windows with two different angles so I had to play with the perspective. That turned out fine but there really should be just one light-I'm not good enough yet to clone out the second one when its in such a patterned area. I could have cropped the photo above the window, but then you'd lose the ornate ceiling, which is the point of the whole picture.

I would really like to go back and take the photo again-and this time, take the same window with both exposures.

After we left here, we were to meet our friends at the House of Blues where they were having free concerts all day.

This photo is of the pit in front of the stage-they were throwing beads and things out. It was loud and a bit crazy...no, it was LOUD and crazy. At one point, I had to move to around the corner as my chest hurt from the loud bass. I felt like my heart itself hurt from trying to beat against the pressure of those bass speakers.
I worked at the House of Blues last fall doing photography and I never saw it as crazy as this during any of the concerts. This was like a mini-spring break. One girl in the front row took her T-shirt off and tossed it to the DJ-a DJ for Pete's sake, not even a live band!-and kept dancing without a shirt on until he eventually tossed it back.
This shot shows the people (at a quieter point) but there were just so many people! (You can tell I haven't been out much lately)

After a while we left to watch the parade. No good pictures there, but I like the two I took of a couple vendors. Maybe that's more descriptive of what it's about anyway.

I love this last shot-the crowds of people streaming by, the look on the vendor's face...the hope of making a good buck and being disappointed..I so hope he made out later.

So that was my first St. Patrick's Day. And yes, I ate corned beef sandwich but no, I didn't drink any beer, green or otherwise.

But all I could think of was, all those empty bottles...

updates

2010-03-13T22:59:00.004-05:00

i havent posted in quite a while. I've been spending my time working on jewelry for my urbanartifaks.etsy.com site and uploading fiber art to my other site jacqm.etsy.com.

thursday i got a call in the morning that my dad had tripped and fallen while over by my mom at the nursing home...he'd gotten himself up in the chair but then he passed out. they called 911 and finally revived him but his heart rate was in the low 40's. he began vomitting and his heart rate wouldn't go any higher so they took him in to the emergency room.

after a few hours of tests and X-rays, EKG's and all sorts of other things, the doctor mentioned a pacemaker.

i left him soon after and left a message for my brother to go see him, and spent most of the evening with my mother, trying to keep her mind off where he was...with her dementia, she no longer remembered what had happened, she only knew he wasnt there.

After that, i went to a concert i had made plans for just before this happened.

Next morning, i went to the hospital to discuss the pacemaker with my dad but he was all ready for it. they scheduled it for that afternoon. I went to the nursing home to check on my mother, then went back to the hospital to be there while my dad went in for his surgery since my brother couldnt make it.

surgery went well, and i stayed with him a bit after that...then i went back to the nursing home to keep my mom's mind off him still not being there with her. i left my brother a message that he'd better go visit dad that night, and thankfully, he did.

i went home and fell asleep for a while, then woke up and worked online until 5:30 (am). Slept again until 8:30.

Doctor called about 10am to say all was well and he could go home so i brought him home around 2pm. he decided to go straight to mom's and when we walked in there, she was so happy!

so that was my couple days...now dad has a pacemaker and he should do fine for another 10 years at least!

i just hope i can keep up with him.

back to basics

2010-02-21T21:32:00.014-05:00

It's been a long haul these past couple weeks. talk about cabin fever, depressed. Normally I'm an upbeat, optimistic person who likes to daydream about the future who is always imagining going places and doing things.

Lately, its been hard because, for my situation to change, one of my parents will have passed on and i dont want that to happen. I cancelled the 2 weeks I'd planned to go to florida for a much needed change of scenery, which would also have been a working trip as i had 3 art shows lined up to do while there...but i couldn't leave my dad alone that long and my brother isnt dependable enough to come check on him. I feel so trapped-unable to go anywhere, unable to even dream of going anywhere, i'm dying a little more each day.

Thank God for friends...friends who have a life, who still go places, do things. Last year, I'd made an art piece for a favorite restaurant in Holmes Beach, Fl-Mr. Bones BBQ (http://www.mrbonesbbq.com/) and was able to deliver it to them in November. The owner was out of town at the time, but I knew she'd like it.

Well, i just got this image emailed to me from my friend who's in florida at the moment and lo and behold, there is my piece! She had it framed and matted to protect it but its hanging right by the main doorway.

Awesome...!!!

This last picture is because i begged for a shot of what i was missing most-the water. Ahh, now i feel better! Next Year.......

Anyway, NOW i feel good enough to get back to work...I have 2 special orders to finish, one order to mail out, and a third special order that just came in!!
On top of that, today was quite sunny and relatively mild-i believe it hit in the 40's!
Looks like i'll get through this afterall.

thoughts

2010-02-07T18:38:00.005-05:00

I was skimming through a couple new blogs that i marked to read later when i have more time. This one really had an effect on me: http://www.bricolagelife.typepad.com/. Check out her flickr account showing vignettes of her home, also.

It makes me long to go home again.

I'd like to be there a little bit each week to get it ready for my return, whenever that will be. But to know i have a space of my own, that i can paint and decorate, and then repaint and redecorate next week if i want-what heaven!

In the meantime, i can focus on reclaiming my space a little at a time and eventually regain the entire house. I can use it as staging for my photos. I have so many cool things that I love but I don't put out because there's no room, but I can rotate them.

I feel as if i wasted my time when i was there because i wasnt ready for it...i was still traumatized from all the break-ins and afraid but i feel so much better now...i'm truly ready to return, and yet i hesitate because that will mean one of my parents will have passed away and i DON'T want that. So, i think i will just start to visit there a little more each day.
(of course that will mean i need to clean up my glass cutting area-can't cut glass in the kitchen if i intend to eat there).

First on the list is to replace the 2 broken windows...then go ahead and make the decorative iron bars for the downstairs so i can open the boarded up windows...install the motion detector lights...replace the broken windows in the back porch and install the new back door. In the spring, i want to paint the house. I know they advised me against it because it attracts less attention when it's faded and worn but it looks so forlorn! I want something cheerful and hopeful to come home to...Buttery yellow with marigold trim...and a purple front door and porch railings with my wicker set on the porch and lots of plants-climbing yellow and red roses!!

Let there be change in my neighborhood and let it begin with me!

About those new years resolutions...

2010-02-07T09:07:00.003-05:00

I don't do new year's resolutions. I know it's the beginning of a new year and a great new beginning and all, but its smack dab in the middle of winter. Even the holiday diversion is over and now the long trek towards spring begins. On top of that, I'm also out of work at this time, in the middle of the 3 month lull between fall pictures and our spring program, which is never as busy as fall anyway.
It starts off good with good intentions and good progress and good hopes and good dreams...but, the long dark days and nights that blend together just drag me down. My money begins to run out, I become lethargic and depressed, unable to just Get Out and Do Something. This is a golden opportunity that I am letting slip through my fingers. Duh!

So...This is the day to begin anew. I feel as if I am turning a corner finally. Time to get myself in gear.
Forgetting what lies behind, straining toward what is ahead, I will press on toward my goals.

what do I do all day?

2010-02-05T23:21:00.009-05:00

People often ask me how I make my Urban Artifaks, so I thought I would take some photos showing what I do.

Since I now live in the apartment to take care of my dad, my home has become a working studio. It's 15 min. away-just far enough that when I go, I stay there all day. Takes too much gas to keep running back and forth.

This is my bottle stash (most of it). You can see all my Grey Goose Vodkas on the bottom shelf, then a couple shelves up are my Absoluts. On the other side, you can see my cobalt blue Skyy Vodkas, aqua blue Bombay Sapphires, the last of my turquoise Cabo Wabo Tequilas, my Patrons, and tons of wine bottles in every shape and color.

I know, I have a lot of bottles...and yet, I can't turn them down...And I'm always on the look-out for bottles I don't have. Like I posted on FB, I'm probably the only person who goes window shopping at the state liquor store!

When I go to my studio, I'll spend the whole day working on bottles. I generally work in stages.

The first stage is to cut the tops and bottoms off a LOT of bottles...I'll do about 60 bottles at a time. Next I cut them in half and keep only the parts I need. The rest goes into the recycling bin.

~a box full of treasures!~

I'll spend a couple days doing this because I use a wet saw and it's messy--and noisy. It's not bad once I get going, but it's probably my least favorite part of the process. (It's also when I cut myself the most. Right now it's difficult to type because of the cuts on my fingers and thumb.)

After I separate the fronts and backs, I cut them into sections. In this case, I have something particular in mind for the bowl of oranges on the back of the Grey Goose La'Orange, so I separate that section from the top and bottom.

Here it is, cut into sections.
Below shows the entire bottle back with the different sections and shapes. The top part will become frosted hearts. I like the slight concave shape. The middle painted part will become rectangular pendants, and the bottom with the text will become funky teardrops.

Here's a pile of pieces I've rough-cut.

I'll spend a few days just doing this stage until I have 2-3 trays of pieces like this. Not all of them will end up as pendants-sometimes the cut didn't come out just right, or it was too uninteresting or it just plain broke!

So, of the 60 or so bottles I've cut, about a third of them will be cut up into pieces right away and the rest of the bottle halves stored til next session. That way I can jump in and start cutting without having to get the saw out first.

I've never used all the pieces I've cut...partly because I cut so many, and partly because I don't always "see" anything in a piece right then. It might get picked out at a later session because that time I'm looking for something different.

Each time I work, I have a certain focus whether shape, embellishment, or design. (hmm, I wonder if in the future, you'll be able to tell which batch a piece came from, just like what year a wine was vinted?)

Enough work for one day: here's a small selection of what I accomplished:

Next visit, I start grinding the shapes into Shape. I might use tile nippers to chip away at the corners on the teardrops and hearts but I do this carefully. This is the time I often lose a good piece. Yesterday, when I was doing this batch, I had a beautiful teardrop from Three Olives Grape that perfectly framed the cascade of grapes...I nipped at the corner and it cracked in 3 small pieces. Gone forever...the only grape bottle I had, too. Oh well.

Here is 3 hours work--64 pieces, shaped and ground smooth, ready to foil:

When I finish this batch of necklaces, I'll post more pictures. See you then!

things I've learned

2010-02-02T21:46:00.004-05:00

Things I've learned:

1) do NOT, under any circumstances, carry a container of flavored coffee creamer in your checked luggage for under the plane once it has been opened.

need i say more?

whatever happens...

2010-01-22T20:20:00.006-05:00

alztheimers, dementia...they are horrid diseases. [the good side is, i can tell my mom the same news over and over and she doesnt notice. the bad side is, i get to hear 'you're putting on a bit of weight, aren't you?' over and over as well.]

my dad and i are here to try to keep my mother as mentally comfortable as possible during this time but sometimes, when her mind slips more than not, it gets hard. she just can't understand why he will not sleep with her anymore, why he leaves her there at night and goes 'home' and when that happens, she just goes off on him relentlessly. she can be pretty rough: why wont he stay with her; why does he treat her this way, what kind of husband is he...how about, the kind that walks over to spend 12 hours a day with her every day, rain, shine, snow, or ice--without fail. the kind that would love to go someplace else but won't because he doesnt want to leave her alone.

when that happens, i try to distract her by getting out the cards. we play 500 rummy. it gives her something to concentrate on and i think it helps her mind to figure out '3-of-a-kind' or '3-in-a-row'; what to keep, what to discard. sometimes we play for 3-4 hours, other times just a few games. the goal is to get her ready to sleep comfortably.

sometimes when i walk back from the nursing home, i look at the sky almost with surprise that the sun still rises and sets, the moon and stars still come out at night. it's hard to remember, is there really a world out there, beyond this nursing home facility, beyond this apartment? do people still go shopping, go to movies, to parties; meet with friends, have friends??

i wonder if it helps or hurts that i'm not working outside of the home right now, but am trying to make a go of it by working on jewelry and fabric...my etsy shops, my galleries. i sometimes talk to people on the phone, people with actual voices, not just online, and i enjoy hearing them talk but dont know what to say back. its like my world has shrunk smaller and tighter with each day until i exist just within these apartment rooms...until i am reluctant to even leave them.

yet, i dream of leaving, of going far away where the weather is nice and i can feel the warmth of the sun on my face. there are lots of people and i can walk the beach and hear the rhythmic waves on the shore and the birds crying, looking for food. i dream of selling my jewelry and artwork to people like these, people who see my work and like it and want to own it.

Every morning and evening during the week i can hear the planes at the airport with their jet engines roaring, getting ready for take off and i think about how it would feel to be on them. i think it would be a good feeling, except that i dont think i would want to come back for a long time. sometimes i go to the airlines' websites and punch in imaginary destinations and departure dates but i never choose round trip--its always one way.

i know this will pass, but i dont know what will happen then...what will my father do, where will he go, will he want to stay with me, or will he prefer to go by one of his sons? where will i go? back to my house? after all this time, i dont know if i want to. sometimes i want to be completely alone, other times i dont want to be alone at all.

whatever happens, it will be different. whatever happens, at least i have had this time, i did what i could for my parents, i did what i needed to do. whatever happens.

Let's get real here

2010-01-15T12:45:00.005-05:00

So much for my 1) walk each day and 2) photo of the day.
It ain't me, sorry; i just dont work that way. that implies moving forward on many fronts, doing a little bit each day on many things. Multi-tasking.

nah, not gonna happen.

I work in spurts, in phases. i will immerse myself in a couple things and live/breathe it day and night until i finished it or have gotten it flowing pretty smoothly. then i move on to the next thing on my agenda. That's it, secret's out...I'm a serial-aholic.

Right now i'm focusing on my jewelry shop, urbanartifaks. Once i get that up to speed and moving to where i can just do maintenance on it, i'll move onto my other etsy shop, jacqmstudios where all my fiber art and other work is. My mind is already working in that area coming up with ideas and things i want to make. Once that gets full and moving, THEN i will move on to my photography. If i do that like i do everything else, i'll experiment with different techniques and styles and build on what i do already.

Much of my experimentation is head work. I need to have a goal or result i want to achieve before i can do anything. that gives me a sort of direction or means of evaluating my progress. I hate to be aimless, as i dont usually end up with anything concrete. That's why all my efforts to learn Photoshop by "just go play around with all the buttons and see what they do" taught me nothing. I needed to have a goal, a desired outcome...it may change along the way, but i need to have that direction.

I need the "what if".

Most people think i should focus on developing 'good' habits so i can work better...but that's because certain methods are perceived as 'right' and everything else therefore is wrong.
I think we need to take the time to figure out how we personally work the best, and then find ways to maximize our results. We cant all fit the same mold...since we're unique people we work differently. i remember complaining to my daughter years ago because i would go months without producing anything. Her answer was, "yes, but you produce more in those couple months you DO work than most people do in a year" and that's true.

i guess i'm tired of reading all these 'self-help' articles telling me how to be like everyone else.

Popeye had the right idea..."i yam what i yam, and thats all that i yam."

i made it to the front page of etsy!

2010-01-13T00:15:00.004-05:00

This is exciting for me, because i made a sale, had an inquiry for another sale, and got a lot of EXPOSURE.
But, most importantly, it was great being included in such a neat selection.

photo of the day

2010-01-04T00:10:00.004-05:00

Since i was working on my etsy shop all day and uploaded a few new items i almost didn't get my photo of the day done. i may not have gone out looking for a shot (and i'm NOT admitting my 3 mile walk in the frigid 10 degree air last night has anything to do with it) and just set this one up inside but this pic is not quite a cop-out, i really did want to try out the macro setting.
So-here you have my little Christmas gnome sitting in front of my mini chiminea with the tiny rubber gecko on it. Not too bad.
On a brighter note, my etsy shop got picked as the EcoDiva's weekend pic on her blog!
http://theecodiva.com/uncategorized/weekend-etsy-pick-little-bits-of-recycled-beauty/
Now THAT is awesome!
so, i'm off to bed

dumb beginnings maybe

2010-01-03T09:53:00.005-05:00

Once i make a decision, i like to act on it. now. So, as part of my 'No Resolutions' year, i decided to 1) walk each day and 2) take a photo of the day. i can take more than one photo, but it has to be edited to one official POD.

and etsy doesnt count.

so last night, even tho i've been sick in this apartment since christmas, i decided to walk up to get my dad's pills with my new pocket camera-the camera i've been wanting so bad so i would never be without a camera ever because it fits into my purse. dont get me wrong, i LOVE my Nikon D60, but its so big it counts as a carry-on.

i couldnt feel my thighs after the first mile, but i made it to the store in time-although the pharmacy closed as soon as i was done.

on the way home, i played with my camera-as much as i could in 10 degrees-shooting a couple houses that were all lit up and playing trans-siberian orchestra's christmas carols.

it was the first time i'd really messed with the camera and i haven't used a point-and-shoot for so long it took a while to get around the auto-flash-you know how crappy lights look with flash-but i discovered a 'museum-mode' that lets you shoot with no flash and longer exposures. 'course, when i got home and looked at the camera, i found the flash button where you can trigger it on/off/red eye/etc.

oh well, i found another way. i think it worked, tho.

but here is my official picture of the day-oh, and as far as how i did with my walk, i got in over 3 miles AND i made it well worth my while--i also brought home a bottle of el cheap-o diluted rum and 2 boxes of swiss miss hot chocolate so if i DO have a relapse, I AM READY.

Here's JAN 2 P.O.D:

alright, i give

2010-01-02T15:42:00.004-05:00

this really isnt a post about new years resolutions. really.
but i spent a good part of my day today searching online, nothing really, just wandering, exploring whatever took my fancy.

i posted things here and there on my facebook page but it wasn't any one thing i saw that hit me. rather, it was just the tiniest of reactions i had to such a diverse range of styles and ideals. tiny meaning as if it were timidly trying to poke its head out of the dirt and into my conciousness. tiny like a pale fragile seedling just breaking through the seed pod and looking up to start its journey toward the light. yeah, like that.

i felt a sudden longing to be 17 again and full of wonder and facing the world unencumbered...but luckily that didnt last. i remember everything that came after being 17 and decided no, i would prefer to be over 50 and full of wonder and facing the world unencumbered...and i realized maybe i can do that!

my life has always been a bit stalemated because i could never settle on one thing long enough to make any progress...i love everything. but i think i would like to try to focus more on what it is i like rather than worrying about everyone else--just for a while.

maybe it's just taking care of my parents this past year has been wearing and weary-ing so maybe that's why the thought of picking up and moving to paris for a year just because holds so much appeal...or to the caribbean-that would be more like it. to leave this world behind-just for a while. i would come back and visit, i promise.

Even when its play its work

2009-12-10T09:22:00.000-05:00

Its like this...I have a gallon of the BEST home made cherry wine from a friend and I wanted to decant it into smaller bottles. I have so many of those huge Patron bottles...they are fabulous bottles and, if you can cut them apart they make the nicest jewelry pieces. Heavy and with hand-blown looking bubbles, I've cut them into rectangles and wrapped the edges with silver for a nice chunk of glam. I only used one of these bottles so far because they are impossible to cut by scoring; I had to resort to using a wet saw (which took a while) and going from there.

Anyway, to use them for food, they have to be sterilized, so I boiled this big pot of water until it is HOT and then I start pouring it in and I hear this loud, Crack! and this crack goes right up the side all the way to the lip!

'Wow, that's interesting' I think to myself, and start pouring again, just to see what happens. Another loud crack and I have a fault that goes all around the bottom! More water, and another crack goes up the other side.

So I now have a large Patron bottle in 3 pieces, ready to be cut down into some workable pieces-

I'm thinking rectangles-some with gleaming sterling stylized leaves, some with swirls, maybe even some with monograms.

And some hearts-gotta have hearts.

But I still have this gallon of cherry wine.

Does tupperware work?

A new beginning--creating art in small spaces

2009-10-28T12:38:00.001-04:00

Living in an apartment isn't the easiest way to create art but sometimes you just have to find a way to deal with things. I've been wanting to make another skeleton piece but ran out of orange fabric and really can't be dyeing here-we don't even have a kitchen as such, just a refridgerator-sink-stove along one wall of the living room. I decided to try painting the fabric instead.
I did 2 pieces; one I painted blotchy orange and then stamped over in red/orange paint:

The other i stamped also but wasn't as happy with the overall spacing so i restamped over it with a blue checkerboard. This piece will be worked on further; I'm thinking of dyeing it a medium blue to integrate the checkerboard into the background and make the red stamps stick out more.

For now, it felt good and I'm pleased with the start I made.

caffeine!

2009-10-05T01:07:00.000-04:00

I don't understand caffeine. It was a cool night and the hot chocolate seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe I shouldn't have mixed it with coffee instead of water...?

So here it is after 1am and my alarm is set to go off at 5:30. I have tried to sleep but no luck. I've edited pictures for my etsy account (http://www.urbanartifaks.etsy.com/). I've read blogs and threads. I've paid my bills online. Now here I am at my last resort, writing my blog entry.

Still my eyes are wide open.

Again, I don't understand caffeine. The other day I was driving from PA to Cleveland and I had coffee, I had Coke, I had sugar and I was STILL falling asleep on the road.

In 6 hours I will be setting up to photograph 750 children for picture day at a school the online reviews said "I wouldn't send a DOG to this school let alone a child..."

I'm really looking forward to work.

trains gone by / originally posted Feb 19, 2009

2009-09-22T03:13:00.000-04:00

I live close to the airport now...not so close that it annoys, but close enough that i can hear the roar of the jet engines preparing for take off. No matter how many times i hear it, I always feel a longing to be onboard. Destination is immaterial, I just want to be entering that 21st century magical carpet that will take you anywhere you want to go...to walk that narrow path between the seats looking for my own place by the window where i wait to be whisked above the clouds.

I have to have a window seat; only once was i in the second seat and luckily for him, the person in MY window seat was sleeping because i spent the entire trip nearly on his lap looking out the window. No matter how many times i've flown since, i still love peering out, trying to decipher the ground beneath me and identify the towns, the rivers, the mountains as I pass over them. Even at night, the sparkle of the lights as we pass over the cities is amazing.

I remember the first time I flew, only 10 years ago. We took off, heading out of the snowy Cleveland airport to the sunshine I thought could only be found in Florida but now I realize exists everywhere--above the clouds. No amusement park ride thrills me as the sensation of lift-off! We banked out over Lake Erie and then headed south...I had my nose pressed to the window watching the ground unfold before me as we gained altitude. I could see a river looping below and was excited--that must be the metro park--and then my amazement when the captain came over the loudspeaker to welcome us on board and tell us we just crossed the Ohio River! We had traveled the equivalent of 5 1/2 hours on land in just minutes!!!

The engines' roar creates in me the same longing that the railroad whistle must have done to others a hundred years ago. However, an airport just doesn't look as romanticly evocative as a set of rails do. A few months ago, a friend took me around to some places in our neighborhood I never knew existed. Who'd have thought there'd be an abandoned railroad roundhouse in the middle of an urban neighborhood? I stood on the tracks and the rails stretched as far as the eye could see...the only difference is these rails eventually led to the steelmills rather than across the midwest plains.

Wait til next year.........

2009-09-16T18:03:00.000-04:00

I thought of another name to call my artwork: Second Wind. Most of my work is done late at night when--and IF--I get my second wind, so I thought it sounded good.

I'm at that time of year when ALL of my jobs and ventures are running concurrently...my full time job doing school portraits has started up for the fall and overlaps my summer job of shooting MLB fans at the stadium, which overlaps my replacement for that job shooting for the House of Blues and then all my artwork--I delivered the 5 new Day of the Dead Skeleton pieces (see below) for a show and then my jewelry--there's a gallery artwalk coming up the first weekend of the month (just 1 1/2 weeks away!!!) that I need to gear up for PLUS getting new work up on my Etsy account (urbanartifaks.etsy.com). I've been drinking a lot of wine lately from local wineries so I can make jewelry from them in the hopes of marketing local-to-local.
Add to the mix I'm supposed to be taking care of my 90 yr old parents...

Good thing I cancelled out of the 3-day show I wanted to do. My motto has become "Wait til next year..." Must be rubbing off on me from working at the ballpark.

Piece #5--Wait Til Next Year"

I submitted photos to Skull-A-Day, a really cool project where he posted a skull a day for an entire year in 2007. then he did another year posting skulls submitted to him or found by him on the web. You can find his story here:

http://skulladay.blogspot.com/2007/06/about-skull-day.html

What a way cool project!

http://www.skulladay.blogspot.com/

New work!!

2009-09-12T10:53:00.000-04:00

I was asked to do a show about day of the dead, one of my favorite themes.

I planned to do a couple new pieces because I only have 2 of the old ones left and I've been pulling them out any chance I got. It was time for new work.

I've had a list of ideas that I wanted to do 'someday', quirky little play-on-words or twists of old favorites like "Whistler's Great-Great-Great Grandmother" (a skeleton sitting in a chair just like the painting) and "Me and my Shadow", a remake of one I'd done as a gift--a skeleton walking a skeleton dog.

Here are my completed pieces:

1. "Don't Even Ask" for Mr. Bones restaurant in Holmes Beach, FL

2."Nude Reclining"

3. Trout Fishing

4. Demon Drop

I have one more I hope to finish....

where to start??

2009-09-10T22:33:00.000-04:00

What do people do all day? I remember reading that book to my kids when they were young. A fascinating book by Richard Scary about all kinds of occupations and what all they entailed. It was actually quite interesting.

When we go to school, we're taught to think in terms of a life's vocation. What do we want to be when we grow up? Why do we have to choose? And, why then?? That has to be the worst time for most of us to decide-what do we know at that time of our lives? We didn't even have the benefit of Richard Scary's book when I was growing up. All we know for sure is 1) we want to get out of our parent's homes and be on our own, and 2) we don't want to be like they are.

It's not until we get knocked around a bit that we finally figure out what is really important-if even then. Some people never figure it out. (I have heard some actually have it figured out right away but I haven't met many.) Luckily, by the time we have it down, we are at that time in our life when opportunities open up...the place I mentioned before, that "second half". Today's Over-40's are living longer, healthier, more active, and wealthier lives than ever before. They: * Own more homes than any other demographic age group* Purchase 41% of all new cars* Spend 74% more on a typical vacation than younger age groups* Enjoy more than $900 billion in income* Exercise at least three times per week (taken from "Secrets of Successfully Advertising to Seniors")

This is an exciting time of life if we just realize the potential and grasp it with both hands and DON'T LET IT SLIP AWAY, ONE BORING MINUTE AT A TIME. One of the reasons I stopped watching TV was because my entire evening was eaten in 30 minute increments, and I was left with nothing to show for it. There is So Much To Do, to Try, to Experience! (My kids learned early to never complain to me they were bored!)

By this point in your life, you know what kind of person you are--do you like being around people all day or do you prefer to be in your own world? Are you service-oriented, meaning, do you like helping others? Do you like working with THINGS as opposed to IDEAS? If you do something, what part of the process do you like the best-the planning, the execution, the marketing? For instance, I absolutely love planning new things. I have spent days coming up with brief, "wouldn't it be neat if--" ideas and talking about them to my friends, even going as far as drawing up business plans, just to put them away. People may think I'm a quitter, that I don't follow through, but in reality, I love the planning, not the execution. Let someone else DO the thing, I just like working out the kinks and knowing it would work. But...how do you find out what your passion is?

beginnings / Monday, April 2, 2007

2009-09-10T22:30:00.000-04:00

One year, three months and nineteen days ago, my world as I knew it came to a screeching halt. My husband of nearly fourteen years, out of the blue said he wanted a divorce. He had many reasons, yet no reason. This man--this man that I had devoted my life to--decided my all wasn't good enough and our marriage not worthy of the effort to work on it. I just didn't make him happy. So. Here I am, one year, three months and nineteen days later, bruised, battered, alone (but still married!) and STILL STANDING.....I have reached that mystical 'SECOND HALF' of my life. We all get here, sooner or later; some alone, some not. I just never thought it would come this way.Valentine's day, i took the plunge and quit my job. What had I to lose? My children are all grown and doing very well. My husband is on his own journey. Its just me. Should I keep at a job that was steady and secure, but draining me emotionally, just to pay the bills? A life that was more a life sentence, and that kept me wondering, is this all there is? But, I'm not ready to give up! I haven't even started!!!
This is where I stand now. I'm no longer just someone's mother, or someone's wife. Who, or what, am I??? What were all those dreams I left along the way, like so much debris? This is my journey, my search for balance and reality; my search for my Life. I have no time for husband bashing or a lot of introspection; this is to be a positive time of learning, trying new things, and DOING.

Someday....Sunday, September 14, 2008

2009-09-10T18:47:00.000-04:00

Reclaiming is such a better word than recycling...it implies rescuing, saving. Giving it a new purpose maybe. It may not be very American of me in our consumer-based society, but I believe in self sufficiency, Mother Earth do-it-yourself entrepreneural style living. There is something so satisfying about the natural cycle of things: ground is fed with compost to produce vitamin rich food, which feeds our body, and the refuse goes back into the compost pile to feed the next crop. Renewable, sustainable living.

I no longer struggle to live that dream of '5 acres and independence', but my urban lifestyle can accommodate other facets of reclaiming. When I moved into this house, I brought only my bed and mattress, my refridgerator, my wonderful under-the-cabinet microwave [bought on sale for when i would have a cabinet to put it under...in the meantime it was stolen], and my quilting/art supplies. The rest was provided from people's cast-offs found while cruising the streets on garbage day and from making what i need from materials on hand.

I find it so creative and infinitely more satisfying than hitting the local Target or Walmart store. Even the colors I choose to paint my home are from the "oops" shelf of the local Home Depot...I buy whatever they have that hits me knowing I'll use it 'someday'.

here is a picture of my living room: the mirror, picture, cabinets, wire candlestand, rug, all the decorative objects on the shelf and floor, even the rug itself as well as the paint all came from the treelawns of Cleveland...the only things i bought new were the lamp and the Italian wicker chair. Even the panes of glass leaning against the wall are cast-offs waiting to be turned into water fountains...

Marketing / Sunday, August 24, 2008

2009-09-10T18:40:00.000-04:00

I did a festival yesterday. I belong to a group called "Broadway Public Art" (a collective of people that make things...anything. OK, there's just 5 of us so far, but it's in its infancy and is part of the efforts to renew our neighborhood) and we had a couple booths at the neighborhood festival (thanks to Charles Gliha for organizing, who does the most fabulous woodworking and restoration work, BTW).

This festival, the 37th annual Slavic Village Festival, has shrunk from a 2-day, many blocks long street fair with 2 stages of continuous music and tons of vendors and food that attracted huge crowds to a one day, one stage, maybe a dozen vendors (both food and non-food) with hardly any people-and not the 75,000 they advertise as being there.

Frankly, it was sad, but not without potential. I know the demographics are changing, but that shouldn't affect the attendance as people will come from all over if they have a reason to come. I think the problem is that the festival planners are reacting to the changes rather than being proactive trying to accomodate it and grow. Right now the festival, which has always promoted Slavic heritage, has no face, no focus, no theme, no continuity, no real reason for exisiting.
It all comes down to basic business practises. What is your brand/identity? Who is your market? Does everything you do enhance or detract from that effort? In this arena, only the strong survive.

I really think business and marketing courses should be mandatory. Everything comes down to marketing whether it is getting a job (selling ourselves to a prospective employer) to getting your toddler to eat his peas.

Location, location, location... / Monday, July 28, 2008

2009-09-10T18:37:00.003-04:00

I did my green duty for today...cut my grass with an old push mower. Nice and quiet, no gas fumes and it qualifies as exercise, too...very satisfying. It helps that my yard is a small city lot.

So, here's another of my passions-urban renewal. I am thoroughly committed to revitalizing this old neighborhood. It may be worn and shabby right now-not to mention crime-ridden, but the architecture, the front porches, the rich dirt, (the cheap housing), the close proximity to downtown all make it a desirable location and isn't that one of the 3 top selling features of a home-location-right after location and location? And, did i mention cheap housing?

The prices are enticing if you want to invest...homes that were $80,000+ value 10 years ago can't be given away today. Some are asking only $5000-7500, and the corner house has a sign out front stating $500 down, $300 per month!!!

We even led the nation in foreclosures for a few months...fortunately for us (not for them) someone else has since taken that honor. Had i the money to invest, i'd like to get an entire block of houses and renovate them, then resell or rent them out for artists.

Artists............I truly believe that artists are the answer...I mean the old style starving type artists, not the fine art or married-to-a-spousal-income type artist (no offense, but do count your blessings!). We are like bridges between the worlds of poverty and affluence. Not afraid to live among the lower elements of society, we focus inward, creating and hopefully selling our art to the upper stratas. Not because we are any different inside, or any more creative than others, it's just because we put our art before other concerns...and our lifestyle is the price we pay for our indulgence.

Artists need cheap rent and generally don't have cars or belongings worth stealing, although, as i found out, anything is at risk in this neighborhood. Yet still, we tend to create our own environment; our yards are often an oasis of flowers, sculptures, of color.

We would never be accepted in a gated community where you have to paint your house certain colors, never hang your clothes out to dry, and heaven forbid fix your car in the driveway!

My house is going to be painted creamy butter yellow with Marigold trim and with purple doors and porch rails! Once i fix my garage roof, i am covering the side of the cement block with broken tile and bottle mosaic designs...i have an old fake brass headboard that i will freshen up with paint and sink into the ground to use as a flowerbed border...i've been saving round metal patio tables of various sizes to repaint and mosaic the tops...and just recently I saw brightly painted wooden chairs hung outside on the walls of a funky restaurant to hold flowers-so colorful!

Then I want to create a patio by my mosaic wall for a place to sit around my firepit, and i'm designing water fountains to create the sound of falling water for a peaceful effect. It'll be so much more lush than if i were still living in the suburbs.

I do love the look of some of these planned communities; they show a style of living that seems so relaxed and pleasant...sometimes i think i would love to live there, but in reality, i think i'm better where i am.

Jack of all trades / Thursday, July 24, 2008

2009-09-10T18:32:00.001-04:00

I wanted to call this blog, 'Jack of all Trades' but it was taken. I had thought, well, my name is Jack[ie] so it was fitting, and i consider myself a classic, jack of all trades and master of none...meaning, i know how to do a lot of things pretty good, but specialize in none of them.

Even though I'm personally happy being this way, i still thought of it as a defect. We're told everyone is an expert at something, and all we have to do is figure out what our talent or niche is and we will be successful. Well, I just can't figure out what my specialty is. I'm still trying to figure out what i want to be when i grow up, and ya know, i'm facing retirement in the next decade! I hate the idea of doing the same thing, day in and day out. How can anyone bear doing the same things for the rest of their life??? How can i pick just one thing from the zillions that are so fascinating? How can i know what i will still be interested in years down the road because, when i lose interest in something, there ain't NO WAY i can force myself to keep doing it.

I was at the library the other day, and on a whim, scanned the self-help section. There on the shelf was a book that asked, "don't know what to do with your life? Are you drawn to so many things you can't choose one? Do you ache to find the right direction so you can settle down and just do it?" The book is called, "REFUSE TO CHOOSE...a revolutionary program for doing everything you love" by Barbara Sher.

I started reading it the other night, and what a revelation! Did you know, there are millions of people out there right now, just like me...and history is full of them as well? People like da Vinci, Aristotle, Ben Franklin, Geothe--no one thinks they were indulgent, lazy, or unfocused. And, it wasn't until the 1950's when suddenly we all had to be specialists in our chosen fields and everyone, right down to the garbage collector (oops, waste manager) needed a special title to validate themselves but before that, people were encouraged to have a well-rounded education?

She refers to people like this as Scanners--people who seem to skim life, learning various fields of interest rather than digging deep into one area.

"Scanners love to read and write, to fix and invent things, to design projects and businesses, to cook and sing, and to create the perfect dinner party. " Then they move on. Its not an either/or thing with them, but All of the Above.

WOW! Its such a relief to know that i am OK and don't have to fit that other mold. Maybe i don't have to 'grow up' after all??

I've actually come to the conclusion that i'll never have a true traditional type career. I do know what i love to do the most but i don't have the education or credentials to do this type of work. I don't even know if or how it is done or what this position would be called...i guess it would be a type of business advisor. But--whenever i hear someone talking about their goals and dreams, i can actually feel my heart beat faster and my whole body become alert and alive! I immediately start asking questions and try to come up with suggestions on the spot of ways they can accomplish their dreams, start their own business or whatever it is they want...it always amazes me how i can generate a business plan--complete with marketing strategy--within minutes and if you give me a bit of time i will have the entire process mapped out. I get such such a thrill from the planning, the strategy, the troubleshooting...to do that for a living would be wonderfully exciting! Every day would be different, and to know you were able to help someone on their journey would be so fulfilling.

But, in the meantime, I do everything else.

In Hot Water / Tuesday, July 22, 2008

2009-09-10T18:30:00.001-04:00

Today I need to spend time making jewelry. I've a show coming up next month and i really want a good inventory, which is down now since i just sold 7 pieces. The show is urban, so i think a lot of funky stuff is in order. Talk about transferable skills...When my copper plumbing was stolen in January '06, i ended up doing much of the work to replace it myself. My husband got the cold water running but couldn't come back to finish for a week which was OK for him, but I was the one doing without hot water. I did get the hang of showering and washing my hair in the tub standing over the soup pot, but its not really something i wanted to keep doing any longer than necessary.

Watching what he was doing and asking a lot of questions, i managed to get the concept. It took a while, and a lot of oops's and trial and error, but i did manage to have hot running water that night. The pipes may not be straight as an arrow but water still flows through them. I also accidently connected the hot water pipe to the cold water for the washing machine, but that was easily fixed. (all pipes hanging from the ceiling kinda look alike, ya know?)The biggest pain is not knowing until its all done whether it still leaks. Once you turn the water back on and it leaks, you have to drain all the water out again before you can take the pipes apart because the water acts as a coolant and won't let the solder become hot enough to melt.
Water tends to flow downhill, so if you can open a faucet in the basement somewhere and let the water drain out-after turning off the main valve, of course--it makes it easier.

The two main things i learned are 1) flux every bit of where the copper pipes meet--the flux is what cleans the copper to receive the solder and the solder is what actually seals it...and 2) heat the part of the copper pipe with the torch where you want the solder to run to...for instance, when putting a pipe into an elbow, flux both pieces thoroughly-inside the elbow and outside the pipe, insert the pipe, and heat the elbow with the torch while applying the solder to the edge of the elbow where it overlaps the pipe. As it heats, the solder will be sucked into the elbow joint, thus creating a good seal with no leaks. When finished, quickly heat and then brush the melted solder with steel wool to make a nice, neat join.And that's how you do plumbing.

So, what's that have to do with jewelry???

Once you have the concept of soldering down, then soldered jewelry loses its mystery.

Just as in plumbing, the first thing is to create a clean surface to be soldered; in this case, I'm using glass so i clean the glass with alcohol. Solder won't stick to glass, so i wrap the edge evenly with a thin copper tape that goes all around the edges of the glass, just like for stained glass. Rub down firmly with an orange stick or other burnisher. This is where the flux comes in again, but brush it on sparingly. I don't use a torch for the jewelry, but instead a soldering iron. Coat the copper foil with a thin layer of solder. Flux again, and add a heavier layer of solder. Keep doing this until it has the look you want. I like a nice rounded edge but you may not. Solder a jump ring to the top and there you have your first pendant!

There is a lot more to it once you gain the skills, such as using a 1/8" tip on your iron, using a regulator to keep the iron temperature steady, adding charms and other findings, and then the soldering itself--to make really nice soldered edges takes a lot of practice. There are also decorative soldered edges that can be done to look beaded, lacy, or funky. Once you try jewelry, you can turn your talents to suncatchers, glass boxes, kaleidoscopes, and even stained glass windows. But i caution you, unless you live alone, be sure you have a separate working area for cutting glass...and, always wear shoes.

To see more of my jewelry and other art, visit my Etsy shop at http://www.urbanartifaks.etsy.com/

Time to Think / Saturday, July 19, 2008

2009-09-10T18:22:00.001-04:00

Ideally, we want all our time to be productive. We seem to need to keep busy. Too many ____, too little time...you fill in the blank. Why do we push ourselves so much? Why do we become slaves to our to-do list?

I've been reading the book by Dan Miller, “48 Days to the Work You Love”. The book is sprinkled with quotes and thoughts. Such as, Doug King: “Learn to pause or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you.”
He also relates how Henry Ford didnt want executives to always be busy at their desk. He wanted them to take time to prop their feet up and dream fresh dreams. Andrew Carnegie went into an empty room for hours at a time to “sit for ideas”. Thoreau wandered through Walden Pond.
How many of us have discovered going for long walks when we have a lot on our minds? And, why do you think your best ideas come when driving or in the shower? Sadly, those are the only quiet times many of us have anymore.

Speaking of which, I am going to take a walk.

Today is the day/combining my different blogs into 1

2009-09-09T21:14:00.002-04:00

Friday, July 18, 2008

So I want to start a blog about something I know and I can't think of anything I know enough about to write expertly on. Then I realize, that's not really true. I may not know tons about any one subject (other than fabric, sewing, and quilting), but I do know a lot about lots of things. That should count for something, for in reality, how many things do we need to be expert about? I had a chemistry teacher who didn't believe in memorizing the elements chart because he said, its always hanging on the wall where you need it so why waste the brain space? The key is knowing where to go for the answers.

I'm married, 16 years now. Most of that time, nothing got done in our home. My husband was a very capable, but extremely busy man and hey, it was his job to do the stuff around the house, not mine!
Well, that ended. We're separated 2 1/2 years now...not divorced, for I was hoping it would blow over and we'd work things out, but I've since come to appreciate my independence. No one but myself to worry about when i paint my living room, and if i dont like it, i repaint it (3 times in 2 years). No one to complain when I turn my entire downstairs into an art studio, prefering to use my kitchen to cut glass rather than vegetables. No one to be annoyed when I drape my laundered undies all over the house because i blew up the dryer and can't afford a replacement yet.
So what is this blog about? Its to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit, the pioneering know-how, the make do and never say die attitude of women today. We can do so much more than we ever dreamed of! I am NOT a feminist by any means, nor a man-hater. (I believe in the "men, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em! attitude.)

I hope to get a lot of feedback, shared info, and stories of how y'all have coped with your situations. This includes home repair, jobs and income, art, decorating, yard stuff, automobile maintenance (one area I have NOT gone into yet, although I did change a windshield wiper once), and anything else you can think of. I'd like to see help and support, questions and answers, tips and ideas. Stories of how we get along and not just survive, but thrive!

a new blog!

2009-09-04T00:52:00.001-04:00

OK, i'm starting new with the fall year...after all, its back to school and all that--although i'm a long way from being in school. yet somehow the feeling has never left me. its just such an intense time of year. the weather is crisp--hot and dry during the day yet cooling down at night and even the sunlight is more intense.

its a good time to start new things.

i'm starting many things...back to work with the school photography (my main job); i just got back from seven springs ski resort and may be doing some photography work there, and i'm shooting at the house of blues to fill in as the indians baseball season starts to wind down.
i also need to get some artwork done ASAP--there're shows to do and inventory to build up and new venues to seek out.

this blog will kinda be about my work, kinda be about how i find the work--how i will finally quit my 8-5 daytime job to follow my dream of doing many things and to share how they all seem to work out. its kinda about my new adventures in living.

but for now, its off to bed.