Litter Critters!

By: ornamento.blog
Art, Art Education, City Street Scene, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Mural Arts, problem solving, recycling, repurposing, Urban, Urban Landscape, Whimsical, , , , Leave a Comment on Litter Critters!

The City of Philadelphia invested in some solar powered trash and recycling units a couple of years ago.  But I knew something was up when I was walking on South Street recently and saw they had mysteriously transformed into brightly colored animals.  Litter Critters are a product of  the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program’s   Big Picture Program in which artists work with kids aged 10 to 14 to give them visual art training and to  promote social responsibility.       I’d say the Litter Critters fills the bill.  Hey, I’d rather feed my trash to a happy critter than a trash unit, even a solar powered one, any day in the week. Wouldn’t you?

Here are some pictures.

For more information on this program, press here and here.

Nattering Nabobs of Negativity

By: ornamento.blog
Appalachian Trail, Art, blogging, Humor, Outdoors, Personal Growth, Personal History, Whimsical5 Comments on Nattering Nabobs of Negativity

A dear friend died in May, 2010. He was so supportive when his close friend and our friend Ray died and during Shari’s illness and death soon after.  The fact that he died so soon after they did seems surreal.  But he loved to laugh and he loved the outdoors.  He took to the Appalachian Trail in Spring of 2009.  He sent out the pictures  you see here when he returned.

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There remains the matter of the skunk.  Before he died, he gave me permission to post the video (see  below)  on this blog,  provided that I  identified him by his stage name,  Raoul McCool.  He sent out the video to  friends who knew his secret identity with this note:

“Please recall that, among the photographs of his Appalachian Trail hike that he sent to you in May [2009], were several that clearly showed [Raoul] in close conversation with a small black and white striped creature that many of you correctly identified as a skunk.  Unfortunately, [Raoul] was profoundly saddened to learn that some of you expressed doubt as to the authenticity of the said skunk.  Some of you went so far as to opine audaciously that the said skunk was, in fact, a stuffed skunk that [Raoul] had carried with him for some 50 treacherous miles over the mountains.  Some of you even stated that you would not be convinced of [Raoul’s] near supernatural ability to psychically commune with our little tuxedoed terrorists of the terai unless you saw a video of him conversing with an real independently moving skunk.

Well, you nattering nabobs of negativity.  Cast your doubting eyes upon the attached video file, oh ye of little faith, and thence go forth and doubt no more.”  -Raoul McCool

Goodbye Raoul.  You were a good friend and you made us laugh.  We will all miss you  terribly.  Especially the skunk.

Make Mine Mosaic

By: ornamento.blog
Altered Art, Art, art from recycled materials, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, glass, Hand Made, inspiration, Isaiah Zagar, lampwork, mixed media, Personal History, problem solving, recycling, repurposing, stained glass, Tile, Whimsical, , , , 1 Comment on Make Mine Mosaic

My latest project is covering the countertop between my dining room and kitchen with a tile mosaic. I cut lots of glass tiles, tumbled some to get a matte finish and left the others shiny. I have plenty of cut up ceramic tiles, dishes, glass baubles, some fusing failures that still look pretty, lampworked beads that cracked in half before annealing and a bunch of mirror tiles I cut. I got sand colored grout because I thought white would be boring. Much like when I got married, I don’t have a plan. I will wing it and see that I get. I’ll post pix here when I’m finished. Wish me luck!

Amulets, Talismans, Polymer and Wire

By: ornamento.blog
Altered Art, Altered Curiosities, Art, art from recycled materials, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, Craft in America, Crafting Traditions, Family History, Faux Bone, Hand Made, inspiration, Interweave Press, Metal Work, Metal Working, mixed media, Polymer Clay, Robert Dancik, Ronna Sarvas Weltman, Step By Step Wire, Tool Making, Whimsical, Wire Working, , , , , , 1 Comment on Amulets, Talismans, Polymer and Wire

There are two new books that will enhance the library of anyone creative.  Both  show you how to elevate non precious material into art imbued with special meaning.

The first one is  Amulets and Talismans by Robert Dancik.  I took Dancik’s class on cold connections last year  and put the book on pre-order as soon as I could.  I was not disappointed.  The book is crammed with information on cold connections techniques,  and full of ideas on how to take ordinary objects and showcase them in original, one of a kind pieces of jewelry that  tell a story that could be about the wearer, maker or materials themselves.

If you are a tool junky like me, you will relish Dancik’s ideas for making custom tools.  He shows a nifty little jump ring cutting gizmo you can make yourself.  I made one.  There are no directions, but one look at it is all you need. (If Truman Capote had met me when he first came to New York, his book would have been entitled Breakfast at Harbor Freight.)

The next gotta have it book is Ancient Modern: Polymer Clay + Wire Jewelry by Ronna Sarvas Weltman.

Weltman’s  designs have an inimitable   primitive sophistication that’s fresh and inspiring.  Her projects and instructions will stoke your creativity and have might change the way you think  about polymer clay and wire.

This time last year

Make Clasps from Found Objects

By: ornamento.blog
Art, art from recycled materials, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, copper, Craft demonstration, Crafting Traditions, Design, Dumpster Divers, dumpster diving, Hand Made, inspiration, jewelry, Materials, Metal Work, Metal Working, Patina, recycled art, recycling, repurposing, Silversmithing, solder, soldering, Urban, Whimsical, , , , , , , Leave a Comment on Make Clasps from Found Objects

I’ve been thinking a lot about jewelry made from found objects lately, probably because I have been asked to give a talk on the topic at the April meeting of the Main Line Bead Society. So this morning as I was brushing my teeth, it hit me: Why couldn’t I make a clasp from those cool copper washers I got at Harbor freight? I always get my best ideas in the morning. I had to wait until I came home from work to give it a try.

I took two washers about 18 gauge thick  and sawed a slit in one just big enough for the other one to fit through. Then I made jump rings from 18 gauge copper wire and soldered them on the washers. Then I pickled, cleaned, punched a pattern on the clasps, gave them liver of sulfur bath, and polished them up. The placement of the opening relative to the jump rings is critical; you want your necklace to stay on.  I don’t recommend this clasp for bracelets.  It has kind of an old Roman feel, don’t you think?  Here are the pictures.


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This last clasp is from an object I found on the street- a sheaf of 10 gauge copper wire encased in black electrical tubing. You can take off the tubing and use the wire. I made a clasp out of mine. Here’s that picture.

martha15

Fantasy Runs in My Family

By: ornamento.blog
16757159, Art, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, blogging, Design, Family History, Happy, inspiration, Ken Bloomhorst, Midwest, Personal Growth, Personal History, problem solving, risk taking, WhimsicalLeave a Comment on Fantasy Runs in My Family

My cousin Ken Bloomhorst sent me some pictures of his newer work recently, and I love it! My last post about him talked about his art as a product of the Midwest. His new work comes from a vivid imagination probably stoked by embellishing stories for grandchildren. Or maybe we have a fantasy gene in our DNA.

Ken is at an age where no one can tell him, “Don’t you know elephants don’t wear glasses and rattlesnakes don’t have pink and orange stripes?” We all need to get to that place, no matter what the calendar says.

pokadotsnakeellefuntloopneked
Ken also did the illustrations for a soon to be published children’s book Dragon Tales The Three Sisters. You can see more of Ken’s work at The Bridge Kids site.

Dancik with the Stars

By: ornamento.blog
Altered Art, Altered Curiosities, Art, art from recycled materials, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, Brass, Charles Lewton-Brain, Cold Connections, Community Art Groups, copper, Craft demonstration, Design, Faux Bone, inspiration, jewelry, Materials, Metal Working, mixed media, Personal Growth, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Polymer Clay Guild, Polymer Clay, Polymer Clay gatherings, Polymer Clay Guilds, recycled art, recycling, repurposing, risk taking, Robert Dancik, Sculpture, Silversmithing, Uncategorized, Urban Artifacts, Whimsical, Wire Working4 Comments on Dancik with the Stars

 
 

 Dancik was Riveting

 

I mentioned last week that I took a two day class called Forming Lasting and Meaningful Attachments with Robert Dancik and sponsored by the Philadelphia Area Polymer Clay Guild. We learned all about cold connections in jewelry making including riveting, tabbing, gluing, fold forming, and fastening with miniature hardware. We also learned about different types of resins, epoxies, alternative art materials, and how to use them.

Want to learn more about cold connections? Some of my favorite books on this topic are Wrap, Stitch, Fold & Rivet by Mary Hettmansperger, Making Metal Jewelry by Joanna Gollberg, Making Connections by Susan Lenart Kazmer and a book on the Godfather of cold connections, Alexander Calder, Calder Jewelry by Mark Rosenthal.

And here’s a good illustrated article on how to make rivets by Patty Fleishman.

To see more pictures from the Dancik class, go to the Philly Area Guild’s Flickr site.

DVD’s from Kato, Miller and a Calder Article

By: ornamento.blog
Alexander Calder, Art, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, Brass, buna cord, Craft demonstration, Crafting Traditions, Design, Donna Kato, Ethnic Groups, Ethnic Jewelry, glass, history, inspiration, Interweave Press, jewelry, Kato Polyclay, Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist, Materials, Metal Working, Patina, Personal Growth, Personal History, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Polymer Clay Guild, Polymer Clay, Polymer Clay tutorials, Sharilyn Miller, Silversmithing, Uncategorized, Whimsical, Wire Working1 Comment on DVD’s from Kato, Miller and a Calder Article


 

Donna Kato Presents: Tips, Tricks & Techniques for Polymer Clay  is three and a half hours of Donna Kato demonstrating caning, transfers, mica shift, finishing techniques and more. The gals at video night (you know who you are) gave it a five (out of five) pasta machine rating. A bargain at $34.95. To order, press here.

I love everything Sharilyn Miller. (To see my review of her Tribal Treasures video, press here.) I just got finished watching her Ethnic Style Jewelry Workshop video, and all I can say is “Wow!” Another three and one half hours of valuable information on wire working, and instructions for making four bracelets and two necklaces. A steal at $39.95. To order it, Press here.

I wrote about the Alexander Calder Jewelry Exhibit at the Philadelpha Museum of Art in an earlier post. The latest issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist has an article on Calder’s jewelry well worth reading: “Calder’s Mobile Jewelry” by Cathleen McCarthy.

I Love Glass

By: ornamento.blog
Art, art from recycled materials, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, beading, beads, Bronwen Heilman, Bullseye Glass, Design, history, jewelry, lampwork, Materials, Paul Stankard, Personal History, recycling, repurposing, Sharon Bateman, Stephanie Sersich, Uncategorized, Wale Apparatus, Wet Canvas, WhimsicalLeave a Comment on I Love Glass

Did I ever tell you I love glass? Any glass except windows I have to wash, that is.

This glass in the slide show comes from a number of sources: recycled bottles, fused Bullseye glass, scrap stained glass, and dichroic glass. Some is from bottles I smashed into shards and put in a rock tumbler to simulate beach glass. I have not made anything out of these babies yet; I am waiting for them to talk to me.

In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite glass and lampworking sites: Warm Glass, International Society of Glass Beadmakers, Paul Stankard Website, Wale Apparatus, Stephanie Sersich, Wet Canvas (lots more than glass on this site-you could spend days here) Bronwen Heilman, Kim Merriman and Sharon Peters.
 

My New Hat

By: ornamento.blog
Altered Art, Art, art from recycled materials, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, Blogroll, Design, Happy, Hats, Personal Growth, Personal History, Philadelphia, problem solving, repurposing, Sewing, Uncategorized, WhimsicalLeave a Comment on My New Hat

     Life has its ups and downs.  Sometimes a girl’s just gotta get herself a new hat.  I got this great hat from The Hats You Want Then I decided to dress it up for the summer with ribbon and some fabric flowers. I love it because it is crushable, packable and so very me.