A New Inspirational Book by Kelly Rae Roberts and Repurposed Necklace

Over the holidays I received a Barnes and Noble gift card and went to town looking for some art books for inspiration and instruction in my art. I ordered this book "Taking Flight Inspiration and Techniques to give your Creative Spirit Wings" by Kelly Rae Roberts and started reading it a couple days ago. With  a soon to be two year old I only get a couple pages down a day but how inspiring they have been. She writes like she is talking to my heart. I feel like a friend is talking to me and urging me to push myself more. Sometimes it's hard to know if other people feel like you do, if they struggle with things like you do. She has written and expressed so much about how I feel and what I think it's almost scary. As I explore more into this world of creating I have come to realize there are A LOT of women out there that feel like I do. I would recommend this book to everyone that wants to know more about themselves and where they want to be with their creative lives. I think our hearts sing when someone understands us and your heart will sing with this book. I was inspired to create a couple paintings that I will share over the next week or so.

Here's my jewelry work area, I don't know how I get anything made. I remember a quote that says " Creative people are seldom tidy". Hello that is me once I get started.

Well at least something came out of it here's my newest creation.

I love the colors in this necklace. This may be a keeper pretty much like almost everything I make.

My Red Bling

I've kind of gotten into this red thing lately so I thought I would do a little "show and tell". I made these last week and have fallen in love with them. I've worn them with everything and they add a little pop of color.

The stone is a faceted rice shaped ruby with a cultured pearl and vintage ab rhinestone spacers.

This pair has small cultured pearls, faceted rubies with a vintage brass finding and a small pink bicone at the top, that I can now see is almost impossible to detect in the picture. I used smaller pearl head pins I bought a month ago on both pair. Love the Victorian feel these have.

Anyway here is a call for info. I desperately need to go to an artist retreat over the summer. This would be my second year to go to something. Last year I blogged about a retreat I took in Durango and I had a great time but want something different this year. I need something sort of in the state or near it. My Dh is a Principal and only is available in the summer to watch our son. They need some boy time and I need a vacation. I think it really helps me stay sane and him understand what it takes to take care of a child pretty much 24/7. The last one I went on was three days and when I got back they couldn't get enough of me ;P I know a lot of women think they couldn't leave like that but believe me it makes a huge difference in our lives when I return. Everything I do is more appreciated and I love and adore my time with them more. So please HELP!!! LOL

Repurposed Adornments

I've recently started to do more jewelry. I love the books that show how to re-use items that you no longer wear into new items or to take vintage pieces and re-make them into more vogue pieces. Here is a necklace I made from a vintage glass brooch. The beads were recycled from a vintage necklace with vintage buttons, brass findings and glass pearls. 

I wholesaled this assemblage to a chic store upstate for re-sale. I've been listing some creations on my etsy site too.  I've married new pieces with vintage to make some very pretty items. 

Recycled Art

This has been a crazy two weeks I found out about a Recycled Art Exhibit in Alamosa Colorado about three weeks ago and decided to enter a couple pieces. Because I have never been to this show before I really was worried about what to create. This show is usually only open for people in Alamosa to enter pieces too so I was so excited to be able to enter two pieces. So in order to enter pieces you have to send digital photos before they are due and the "jury" decides if they are accepted into the exhibit. Each person can enter 3 pieces and they will let you know if they are selected. Well, the deadline was just two weeks away and I had no idea what I wanted to do also the pieces had to be 90 percent recycled material. The picture on the front of the postcard I found advertising the exhibit was of some plastic bags weaved together as a wall hanging. Nothing against that type of art but that is just not me. I love assemblage and altered art and decided to do two wall hangings and one drawer which I had never attempted before. The first one here is a cupboard door re-purposed as a background canvas for the piece. I has found some horseshoe nails (I believe) at a re-store shop and loved the look of them and wanted to use them for a project and this is what took shape above. I also added a vintage padlock on the bottom of the heart not shown because I found it on the way to the exhibit at an antique store. This one was accepted and is to be on display all of August.

This piece was also accepted for the exhibit. I had a lot of fun making these pieces I haven't worked on larger creations for awhile everything has been jewelry and smaller fabric collages. The funny thing is I've been harboring most of the materials I used in this project for awhile. I hate to throw things out and am trying to reconcile being a pack rat with trying to keep the house decluttered enough to be able to sit down and eat and watch t.v. You may laugh but sometimes and especially last week we almost didn't have a place to sit. I used to have a plaque that says "Creative people are seldom tidy." I thought it was funny and made for me but I have seen some other artists homes and studios and have heard some stories and I think it's true for creative people. Try as I might but by the end of the week the house looks like a bomb has gone off and with

a 16mo old that isn't exactly a good thing.

Anyway this was also done on a cupboard door sanded a little but mostly left as it was and things glued to it. If you can make it out it says "2 Grow and Learn is Key" with all the elements and words.

The next project I did wasn't accepted ;( I think it was because it was too girly! which I thought was funny. Who cares if a couple people on the jury didn't like it as much but if it sells and they get their commission why should they care if it doesn't meet their taste. My dear husband was very upset that someone didn't want my work. He doesn't really understand my altered art and assemblage sometimes but he didn't understand why they would not accept it. I do love the man!!! He doesn't get my mad and sometimes crazy need to create all the time but he supports me and puts up with the mess (most of the time). Occasionally I agree with him it does get old having a wiped out house. Our solution... we are gonna move! Hopefully we can get a large house and turn a basement into a studio for me :) ! I have been dreaming about a studio for years.

Anyway here's the pic of the third piece. After the exhibit is over if they don't sell I'm listing them on my etsy site for sell. Right now I am living with the "Soar" piece before I can part with it. I tend to be a girly girl even if I don't really dress like one.

On the next post I'll be showing some jewelry that I've started to created from vintage pieces that are re-purposed. Cia

Artist retreat and such

It has been forever since I've been able to sit down and write. This is a new piece I made the other day. Jewelry has been my passion of late. This is a rose quartz pink carved rose with glass pearls, seed beads and Czech iridescent pressed glass beads. The chain is double rings of antiqued brass. I have been drawn to the antiqued brass because it doesn't tarnish or change like silver and isn't expensive to work with. I making a ton of pieces to take to a store in Denver where a lady is interested in my creations.
When I was out yesterday I ran across the book "Rejuvenated Jewels" by Amy Hanna. I love this book! She makes such beautiful things. I love the fact of reusing items to make something new. She mixes metals and mediums. I love antique and vintage items and rarely buy them because they're usually beat up a bit and now I think I can find ways to incorporate them into some of my jewelry.

I went to an artist retreat a little over a week ago in Durango Colorado. This is the wonderful place I spent the retreat in. Obaro Cabins is on the Florida river . The cabin has two sides with a dividing door. There is an upstairs bedroom and a pullout sofa in the living room. This is such a beautiful place I am looking forward to returning with my husband. It was a four day three night retreat with about eighteen women I had never met. This worked out great for me because I hadn't been away from the baby or my husband for 15months and I needed somewhere fun and safe to travel by myself. We worked in watercolor, inks, collage and also did some writing and acting. The instructors talked about getting into areas you've never done anything in before to re-start your creative abilities and think of new things. The writing exercises were a little challenging for me but they brought up all kinds of feelings and new memories many of the women hadn't thought of in a long time. One of the exercises was to think of an article of clothing you had worn and when and why it had a strong memory. I loved the inks section, we did a mandala which is a circle cut into sections and everyone takes a different section. In the section you look at some pictures and a word is written to embody the mandala and you're suppose to ink something in that represents that word. I had fire and the blue gold and red section to the upper left is mine.

I became so entranced by this I had to work after hours to finish it one night. I'm looking forward to getting my own set of inks and starting a mandala myself. The pictures that weren't finished the instructor was going to finish and then all of the twelve that we started are going to be printed into a calender for all of us as a keepsake. We had full days from 8:00 a.m to about 5:30 p.m. The breakfast and lunch were provided and appetizers and wine for the evening. The caterer was great. She made a feta, butter, thyme and lemon spread that I fell in love with and lemon usually isn't my thing. We had a roasted red pepper dip also that I could have eaten on anything. The most unusual was a lentil and beet salad that was really good and light. I enjoy pickled beets in salad but haven't ever had lentils except in soup.

Anyway every night I sat out on the deck and read "Pride and Prejudice" and loved the cool nights next to the river with some wine then went inside next to the fire and worked on a collage I wanted to do to take home. I'm still working on it a little slow going but it should be done and I'll post a picture. The picture down below is the river not twenty feet from the cabin.

What a beautiful view!

Textile Collage

This is a textile collage I created from re-purposed fabrics like clothes etc. I used a broad cloth for the substructure and built upon that. The fabric on the right is upholstery sample fabric from a garage sale. I was able to purchase several boxes for a couple dollars from a lady that was getting rid of old hobby stuff. I have a huge box of wool yarn I haven't found projects for yet. Most of what I create with is from thrift stores and garage sales. I found a package of wooden beads with only certain letters and was able to use some for this piece. The picture is from a collage pack I bought 8 years ago. I love the velvet leaves,  I found those on a dealer's site on etsy. I have just realized recently a lot of people have no idea what etsy is. This site is like ebay but for artist and crafters. People also sell vintage items and supplies for creating art etc. This is a wonderful site for inspiration. Sometimes I go to the buy section and click the button for "pounce". Pounce is for seeing something that is newly sold which is helpful to see what is selling. I "favorite" several shops and try to see what they're selling new.  My shop is http://www.repurposedbeauty.etsy.com/ and from my site you can see what shops I like and items I'm selling. I always keep an eye out for vintage lace.  I love these collages so much. I just started working on them after seeing examples in Somerset. I'll be showing another one soon, I'm thinking about changing it a bit before showing it. Most of the piece here is embroidered with some gluing here and there. A section of an old torn table cloth has been tea dyed and applied on the right side. Hand painted vintage buttons are in a handmade nest on the left. This collage kind of goes into the mixed media, assemblage area of creating which I find fascinating.  I am amazed at assemblage artist sometimes and how they re-purpose items. I laugh because my husband doesn't quite get the assemblage aspect of art but he is very supportive. Hope those that see this are inspired. Let me know what you think.

More Wrist Cuff Bracelets

I am loving these wrist cuff bracelets. Last year when I was doing my garage sale thing I found a ton of fabrics in clothing and unused upholstery fabric swatches. Now I have found a way to use some of these and create some beautiful works of wearable art. I am using some jewelry findings that are new on some of these if I can't find something I like to add otherwise. I have starting seeing these in the celebrity circles even on the men, but they are really basic and plain. I love the more vintage, romantic feel of jewelry. I'll be continuing to make more and list them on my etsy site. http://www.repurposingbeauty.etsy.com/  I have been thinking about some kits also but haven't taken that too far yet. Enjoy!