July inspiration pic

Well, it's the last day before I start work. I know that I won't have energy for awhile to do all the blogger thing, because I really want to make art, so here's perhaps a final post till I start and finish July.

I'm so nervous about going back to work. I think my June piece shows that I'm all over the place. Yesterday in my studio I pulled out about three necklace projects and started a new embroidery on leather. I so want to hold on to making art, and not give that up while I'm working, that I'm getting a little cuckoo and really losing focus!!

Anyway, here's a photo of the African beads that I think will inspire my July journal. I realized I still want to make a necklace with them, so I don't want to use these actual beads on my piece, which is what I had first envisioned. I love the contrast between larger textured black and white discs and the small black/white and green/yellow discs. And some of the blue beads have vertical stripes so it's very pleasing.

Yesterday I also started beading a goddess shape on leather. I used a drawing from Marija Gimbutas' book, The Language of the Goddess. I'm not happy with the beads I've used but I'm looking at this first piece as a sketch, so they''ll do fine.

If anyone has any suggestions about how to keep doing your art when you're working at a professional level job, please share. I imagine it has to do with priorities and scheduling...

photo test

OK, so I'll upload the picture again here in this post, where it's never been, and see if it will enlarge now when I click on it. :-)

I've been playing with natural dyes and pigmenst, doing rubbings on trees and stamping with EZ Stamp that I've carved. This is a test to see if this image will enlarge on my blog site. My June bead posting is the next one down.

June Page Surprise!

It's done!! And I've taken a bit of a detour. I'm still working on the snake goddess / table piece, but couldn't rush it. I will show her later when she's done. So I went back to my original intention which is to use my semiprecious stone beads, Thai silver, African and antique beads - my most precious stash - for this project.

Since I will be working and receiving a salary for something besides my artwork, one of the benefits is that I'm no longer worrying about whether it's financially viable to embroider with these "expensive" beads. What freedom for me to use what I love, rather than what I think I "ought?" to use!!

This piece is definitely more feminine than my work usually is. I will use Robin's poem technique and Pat Allen's Art Is a Way of Knowing technique to journal about this piece. The piece is 3" by 4-3/8". I will probably put a pocket on the back to hold my writings, but may also print them on fabric to go in a book.

I also tried something new in fabrication of this piece. I beaded to the raw edge of the fabric, because I like raw edges alot. So to add support, I sewed biase tape on as I beaded the edging. I liked how that worked out.

I know what I will use for my July piece. A few years ago, I bought an African trade bead necklace at the Santa Fe flea market that is made up of blue, orange, yellow, black and white beads and discs. The colors seem to express the exuberance of July - fireworks, my birthday, the hot summer days with lots of vivid colors. And with a few more days off, I will get it going.


Thanks to Brenda for the Zulu concept of Wosa Moya embracing change. I will be reflecting on that over the next many days, and working with African trade beads will be reinforcing. I can't wait to see what happens!