enter fall

ps disclaimer

PS just for the record....any pictures posted on my friday's obsessions...aren't necessarily my photos. but, other than these posts or unless otherwise noted, all photography is either that of my husband or myself.

oh...
one more thing...

:)

friday's obsessions

ahhhh friday.
it's been awhile.
but here it goes:

5. wild horses

"don't fence me in..."

i would love to see them run,
windy manes, shiny flanks,
tails raised like freedom flags...
kicking up some dust.
no saddles, only sun on their backs.
calling out to the clouds and the canyons.
painted hide.
red like clay.

.

oh, and seahorses...
they're wild aren't they?
i think so.
they make me smile,
the way they cling and float.
i do a great seahorse voice...
it makes paul smile.
you just might smile, too.

4. ikat

how fancy!
it seems so warm
and full of character.
i think it reads like a story
&
speaks like a painting.
(even if it is from pottery barn...)

3. cow skulls & antlers

so very Georgia O'Keefe.
so very southwest...
so very...natural?
i haven't figured out exactly why i am drawn
but i am...and,
now that i think of it,
have been for awhile.

{{ quick interjection: when i was young, my best friend and i would walk around my grandparents' cattle farm and gather up sun bleached animal bones. we would then go up on the hill to the cliff were there happened to be a nice, shallow cave that made a lovely hangout. we would take the bones out and assemble them into a mysterious creature with hope that one day someone would later discover the remains and think it was an intact animal not yet discovered. i haven't decided yet if we were really bored...or really onto something. }}

and i'm not into killing per say-
but yea, i like antlers, too...

just not as much as this guy does.

2. aurora borealis

aka - the northern lights.

aka - i'm planning a trip...a loosely planned trip to check them out.

any suggestions?

i feel like everything God creates is spectacular in its own right,
but i imagine seeing these lights dance and flash over
a blackened treescape...
WOW.

1. peacocks!

i say they are extraordinary creatures-
i'd love to have one living in our backyard...
strutting around, its tail shimmering in the light.
they way they move.
their loud, obnoxious cries.

i say i'd love to have one live with us
so i can watch it and draw it
and paint it and have it creativity inspire me...

paul says...NO
too aggressive.
too smelly.
too loud.
(we don't live on a farm by the way)
too expensive.
maybe one day.

i love peacocks,
or at least the idea of them,
but i love paul more.

but maybe if you know one that needs a home...
:)

oh, and speaking of peacocks,
check this out:

Preen Luxe Peacock Feather Clutch
by the superbly talented Allison...aka SunnyRising

{{photo courtesy of Allison at sunnyrising.etsy.com}}

HAPPY WEEKEND ALL!

the fox and the hound.

daily shananigans

lonesome winner...

but the loser gets the girl!?

{{ just like the movie, huh? }}

i am in love. oh, gem!

well...you may or may not know
{depending on how thorough of a blog reader you are}
but i just recently attended my very first silversmith workshop
taught by talented artist Mike Trembly.
the class came and went like a gust of flamey wind and silver dust.
now, a month later, i am finally digesting everything i learned that week..
not just about silver and jewelry,
but about who i am and what i want out of this short existence.
i would love to pursue this.

i am going to pursue this.
i have already purchased some equipment.
i am hooked, i'm afriad.
the metal sang a song...and i knew the words.
they were just there.

so, i have decided to share with you a little of my work...
it's not everything, but it's a start.
keep in mind the craftmanship is not exactly desirable.
but by the last day i was rushing it all out knowing
i wouldn't have access to tools for quite some time.
also keep in mind some of these designs have been inspired...
by other artists or what materials were at hand.
just to be fair.

now i present to you...
my first setting!
a little baby carnelian pendant.
it was our practice assignment.
i also took the liberty to experiment with
creating those tiny silver balls....such easy, wonderful magic!
and the texturing...my, oh my!

Birds of a Feather Shield Pendant

because that's what us jewelry makin' ladies were that week...
and, well, we were quite a gaggle of silversmith'n lady friends!

>> a tiny montana agate and sterling handcrafted feather<<

He Tells the Ocean Where to Stop Ring

" and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed' "
Job 38:11 ESV

i could write so much about this passage...
He tells the ocean its boundaries.
God is sovereign.

>> a beautiful ocean jasper with a little drusy pocket
& some silver bubbles <<

Armchair Ring

well, this is one doozy of a ring.
and i like it. a lot.
and it matches the vintage velvet chair
living in my studio.

>> a generous helping of crazy lace agate, off set,
with an...ummm...experimental bezel <<

Nervous Energy Ring

i am a nervous person.
sometimes.
about some things. silly things.
namely around homeless bandaids
and mysterious fluids.
anyway.
the branches in this stone scream to me...
neurons, neurotransmitters -
such a delicate balance between crazy and sane.

>> dendritic agate with wire wrapped bezel <<

an unnamed ring....
intended to look like a satellite...a flower...a nest.
organic silver.

>> a tiny calibrated coral droplet <<

and...
last, but not least...oh definitely not...
a little...well, umm....big something i dreamed up:

Woods Belt Buckle Ring

big enough to hold up mother nature's britches!
strange enough to garner a few headshakes
and eye rolls from mr. trembly!
heavy enough to clock someone upside the head!
not that you should.

i wanted something fun
and edgey.
so i added antlers to this cab of petrified wood.
and so much silver that i believe i scorched my eyelashes.
(ok, ok - all you pros out there, creating your 30 piece wonders must be thinking i'm a tad dramatic...
but it turned out to my everest as a fledgling silversmith!)

fit for a lumberjack, aye?

there were a few others who didn't make the blog cut...
a copper bird pin which didn't get finished...
a silver wrap band i cannot claim...
and a two-tone family tree i gave away to my mother
before i thought to photograph it.

all-in-all:
i learned it's easier and harder than i thought.
easier in that i actually know how.
harder...in...well...everything else-
it requires such craftmanship and attention to detail.
and patience.
a hefty dose of patience.

i melted a bezel or two,
broke enough saw blades to keep Rio in business,
pulled out the superglue,
got silver in places silver ought not be,
went to bed dead,
skipped a few meals to stay in the studio and play
(because 9 hours a day wasn't enough, obviously),
met some amazing people who deemed me Rock Star,
saturated my soul,
and sang the song.

almost Heaven.

perhaps you've heard of john denver?

i thought so.

have you heard of tamarack?

it's in beckley, wv.

here's a shot:

(courtesy of wvtourism.com)

it's such a grand place.
i've wanted to go for a long time...
it's only about an hour or so from my home.
a dear friend took me on wednesday

because she knew i would love it.
and i did.
and do.
it's a place filled with spectacular arts and crafts,
all from wv artists.
some mind blowing work.
i mean, wow.
it's an honor to have your work for sale there...
and on display there.
maybe some day.
if you haven't gone,
go.

let me brag on my home.

here's a poem from wv writer lewellyn mckernan
i found in a book i picked up while i was there entitled

And Now the Magpie

:

The Unicorn on the Picture Postcard

is about to take off.
He looks back once, erasing
the footprints that took him.

to this beach, where the sand
turns dark just before it's
lifted up into the white flower

of a wave. He reduces the sun,
stuck in the upper left corner,
to a lollypop licked to its edges,

his diamond-hard eyes glancing
off the rainbow the rims
the china-plate sky: gold, ruby,

sapphire burst into a thousand
champagne pieces. The unicorn
blinks, pawing the pink sand

with his woven black hoof, shaking
the pale dream of a mane that
whips the circuituous wind to

whipped cream as it sends the tide
on its hummingbird rounds
all glittering gutter and green.

His ears perk as if suddenly he
hears a voice just outside the
vision of the artist that made him

that makes him so excited his black
tails curls up and his orange lashes
sing. He neighs, a sound not unlike

goodbye in every language. He leaps
to the edge of the card, kicking up
his heels hard, and with a dazzling

softshoe that rivals the best Broadway
tapdancer, he exists: leaving behind
the most beautiful landscape, ringing

with absence. Somehow, somewhere
a bigger better landscape called
to him. And he answered.

-by Lewellyn Mckernan (1985)

...GO

clean.

clean.

rinsed.

washed.

fresh.

i haven't felt good upon my arrival home in the states...

mostly cuddled up beside my fan

and avoiding the steamy heat of outside.

today i have felt significantly better.

maybe because of the rain.

a rhythmic cooling.

a simple trip down the hill to check the mail...

and i got caught in the rain.

it was more like a fine misting.

my clothes didn't even seem wet.
a sticky, feather-light, refreshing rain

piercing the invisible heat.

and i was reminded of sunday morning

during the worship set.

when the tears just fell.

i consciously didn't try to stop them.

i let them roll and hang on my cheek.

their warm and salty presence did wonders for my soul.

and i wasn't embarrassed.

even though i felt the mascara

might tell on me.

i was encouraged

and hoped others would know.

tears of bottomless happiness

&

unbridled love

&

unimaginable sacrifice

&

deep personal regret.

changing tears.

revitalizing rain.

forgiveness.

renewal.

recovery.

wet.

clean.

bonjour!

SHOP UPDATE TOMORROW!

stop in and take a peek...

please :)

thanks, friends!

xo

mr. & mrs. smith

aye carumba!

it's been too long.
you would have thought i had forgotten how to type!

it has been a whirlwind month...
trip to the lake
followed by a week of camp
followed by a week long silver smithing class
followed by 10 days in south america
followed by a cold?
whew!

back in july we were graciously invited on a relaxing trip
to a lake in SC courtesy of our dear friends...
our newly married dear friends...
(did i mention it was their honeymoon?!)

that's right ladies n' gents-
we will crash your honeymoon if you so desire!

it was a much needed, low key, breezy,
partly sunny, partly warm stormy,
friend-filled kind of trip...
including a pair of gossipy gal pal duckettes,
a perfectly located hammock, painted skies,
minimal time away from the lake house,
the tiniest frogs i ever did see, hearty rain drops,
tasseled hair, tubing...
and love.

always love.