Jack's Rowboat

I listed the prototype of the rowboat for sale at etsy.com today.  I stated in the description that I had a number of associations with it, and that I would write them here:

• As I wrote in the description, the morning at 3am I woke up and had this powerful vision in my head.  A little rowboat, heading out into the ocean.  It was too far out to sea for him to hear me calling to him from the shore.  I started making the rowboat the next day.

• A separate association, there is a lovely old song, maybe Irish?, called "The Water is Wide" - here is a lovely version by James Taylor.  Part of the lyrics say,

"Build me a boat, 

that can carry two, 

and both shall row, 

my love and I..." 

• Around the time of Hurricane Katrina, there was a... what would one call it?  A story?  A fable? I'm not sure.  But it goes like this (this is how I remember it, it may be different in its original form):

A storm is coming.  A man's neighbor knocks at his door, "I have a car, let's go."  The man refuses - "No worries, God will take care of me."  The neighbor leaves without him.

The storm arrives, and the city is flooded.  Rescue workers come in a small boat, knock at the door, "We have a boat, let's go."  The man refuses - "No worries, God will take care of me."  The boat leaves without him.

The flooding worsens, and the man climbs to his roof to escape the waters.  A helicopter arrives, and the rescue workers shout down, "Grab the rope, let's go."  The man refuses - "No worries, God will take care of me."  The helicopter leaves without him.

The man drowns.  He stands before God.  "God, please, I was counting on you to take care of me."

God replies, "I sent you a car, a boat, a helicopter - what more did you want?"

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A Ramble from White to Whitney

So, just when I write a post about fashion and white coming back as a trend, I see this column by Linda Yablonsky in the NY Times entitled "Damn White".  This actually covers a topic I was thinking about at the time I was writing about fashion.

My art studio setup is atrocious.  I have far too much clutter, and not enough room to function efficiently. Most artists have too much stuff.  The real problem is the size of the room.  It is the spare bedroom, and it is small.  In order to switch from wax carving to metal finishing, for example, I have to put an entire set of tools away and pull another set of tools out.  Sterling silver charms and wax carving do not mix - one is supposed to keep the work areas clean.  It is very difficult to do in a small space.

I was at... class?  practice?  at the Tibetan meditation center last night, which is located at the Second Street Studios here in Santa Fe.  My mind wandered - it counts as meditation if I see my mind wandering, right? I hope so - towards two topics while I was in their space.  The first was the color of their walls.  They moved in recently, perhaps a year ago, and the main space has altars and this wonderful Tibetan artwork, and the background color is a delicious saffron yellow.  We were talking about dependent arising, and the teacher was using a flower on his desk as an example.  A lovely little daisy, and it too was the same sort of saffron yellow, slightly paler, maybe less orange.  I wondered in my mental wanderings if that yellow had any sort of symbolic significance, as it seemed to be present in the paintings and fabrics also.

Back to white... I also remembered that white has a spiritual significance, because that space is chilly.  I have taken to wearing a scarf - but I almost, accidentally, pulled out a white scarf to wear last night.  Then I remembered, a white scarf may not be appropriate, since this is a token?  talisman?  gift? that the Dalai Lama hands out.

Haha, this made me laugh - I went searching for a picture of the Dalai Lama with a white scarf, and the first one I see is with Arnold Schwarznegger.  I wonder if there is a certain white for scarves the Dalai Lama prefers?

My mind also wanders to using that space as a studio.  From what I have heard, quite a few artists and creative types live and work in the Second Street complex.  It would make a wonderful studio, the windows and the rooms are large.  There is lots of space for cabinets and tables and work areas.  I imagined a wax carving station over there, and a polishing station over there, and rows and rows of cabinets to hide away the clutter.  Or, at least to put the clutter away once in a while, I always seem to be working in clutter.  And multiple simultaneous projects.  There's a painting leaning up waiting to dry in one spot, piles of inspiration from magazines in another, the silver charm carving of the moment on the jewelers bench....

This column in the New York Times talks about what color white to view art in.  It is also important to know what color white to create in.  One of my first art teachers, Brett Barker, advised me to use a grayish white when I moved into this house.  I look at it now, it is fairly neutral, but perhaps a bit yellow more than grey.  I can't even remember if I painted it, or if it was this color.  It hasn't distracted me or thrown off my color sense, though.

The column "Damn White" agrees - gray would be better.  Some white is so blinding, and the light streaming in the studio, especially when combined with a snowfall, makes this room a little too bright sometimes.  The Denver Art Museum has some of their art hanging in rooms that are painted in the rich jewel tones that I love.  Ooooh, they have a bamboo exhibit - I might have to try to get to Denver.

That article covers an art exhibit I would like to see.  That looks very interesting.  I just finished a "treasury" at etsy.com about tiny things, and here is a selection of tiny things at the Whitney.  Be sure to look at the Whitney site to get a sense of the size of Charles LeDray's work.

Well, this post is quite the ramble - I hope you enjoy it!

Fashion

It is awards season again. As much as I no longer pay attention to the movies and television shows that seem to come and go like gossamer clouds, I do enjoy looking at the fashion of the red carpet the day after. I was delighted to see that this year, jewel tones are back! My favorite!

I had read in Vogue that bright colors against whites are the trends for the season. As a jewelry designer, this pleases me a lot. I always imagine my pieces against a white shirt. Katherine Hepburn's style is a favorite of mine - a crisp white collar, long flowy pants.

And I like to imagine my jewelry as the pop of color or organic shape to complete the outfit. But then, who needs jewelry when you have a face like that?





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011111

I saw the date yesterday, and thought it might be auspicious, so set to work - finally! - opening my shop on etsy....

Etsy beeanddew

The photography, as I have expressed before, was a painful process.  But the sun was shining brightly, and once I came up with a "scenario", a style, it went very well.  I am pleased with the results.  What I did was open up a book - in this case, Julia Cameron's The Vein of Gold - and stood it up, holding the pages open with rubber bands, and then used a knitting needle across the top to hang my work from.  So, the book pages are the backdrop.  I had a bit of trouble with some of my pieces, the camera would focus on the words behind the piece instead of the piece itself, but overall, it was very successful.  I am quite pleased with myself, and looking forward to the adventure.

I really like having the book as a background.  When I started thinking about opening a crafts business, I thought about doing bookmarks exclusively.  I love books, and my mother was a librarian.  I may still do bookmarks, even though books themselves are becoming obsolete.  I think we will always have books.  In any case, as something to set my photographs apart and distinguish my style, and as I am starting to think about branding, it is nice to have books included.

I do not yet have any of my silver work up for sale.  I took a small break over the holidays, and now as I approach my work I have found myself very attracted to the colors and varieties of beads.  Also, I made a few gifts from beads for Christmas, which were very successful.  But I am heading back to seeds soon, and beads will be incorporated in that.  I am also thinking a lot about future projects, and how to make components that can be used with beads.

Oh!  Over the holidays I received two requests for commissions!  A pendant to commemorate an engagement (there are some lovely romantic fellows out there, ladies!) and a cross for a friend for her teenage son.  It's very exciting.  I am wrestling as well, in part based on one of the commissions, about which class I should take this semester.

And... I am now studying lam rim, going further into Tibetan Buddhism after taking the meditation class.  I would love to talk more about it, but I have only had one class, and although I am very intrigued, I have to admit that I am puzzled.  I am starting the class in the middle, and the text is very dense.  But the teacher is wonderful, so I am sure I will learn.




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