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Send Healing Energy, Prayers & Healing Wishes Please

Chuck of Crystals And Stones Haven, who ships out the goodies for me, has gotten a nasty case of the virus going around his part of Florida.  Even though he wouldn’t ask himself, he’s open to healing energy being sent and would also appreciate any prayers or healing wishes you can send. So far, in spite of this nasty virus, he’s still shipping goodies out,albeit a bit slower than usual. So it would be nice if we could lend him a hand along the way.

Catching Up Bit by Bit

After my recent hospital stay, I am starting to catch up. Yay! If you haven’t heard from me yet about something, please hang in there with me. I’m going as fast as I can without wearing myself out and ending up sick as a dog (or a Chuck :/ ).

Many Blessings to you all

 

Happy Valentine’s Day from me and the kitties!

Learn about the Valentine’s legend and love stones to celebrate

One of the lessons I learned when I was in art school that has turned out to be invaluable to me was taught not by a jeweller or metalsmith, but by a drawing teacher. It was my first year of art school, during the torture training period of art foundation that all freshmen had to survive go through. This particular lesson was taught during a critique of our drawings of a model that we’d worked on during several of the preceding classes. I hated it at the time, but it taught me something that’s saved my sanity I have many times. In the end, I became grateful for the lesson, which applies to making jewelry as well as any other type of art or craft.

The story…

Once upon a time a girl named Robyn went to art school. She had a drawing class where she worked very hard on a drawing of a model. She spent many hours on this drawing, and was very proud of it when it was finished. When the class gathered for the professor to critique their drawings, the professor instructed them to lay them in a line on the floor where we could all see them. With just a bit of nervousness about getting her precious drawing dirty, Robyn placed it in the line on the floor.  The professor commenced to critique the drawings at one end of the line. Much to the alarm of the student artists, as he moved down the line of drawings, he walked on the ones he had previously critiqued as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Eyes got round as the face of Big Ben, lower lips were chewed, fingers twitched, but not one student said a word. After critiquing and walking down the line of about half of the drawings, the professor stopped, grinned and said to us, "Yes, I’m walking on your drawings. Why? Because if you’re going to be a professional artist, you need to learn this now.  Reviewers and galleries will disrespect your work and pick it to pieces verbally and publicly, in front of you and behind your back, without caring about your feelings at all. Customers will do as the reviewers will do, and worse. They will stuff it in closets, hang it upside down, break it, throw it away, and anything else they feel like. Get used to the idea NOW that your work is just an object to most people, a lot like tupperware. At least, until you’re dead or very famous for it."

Moral of the story: Your work isn’t precious to anyone but you (and maybe your mother). Get used to it. Now. It will save you a lot of agonizing heartache.

This little tool that I put together myself is just one of the handiest things I’ve ever had. I got the idea to use a needle to move coils and make room for coiling wire from Eni Oken. But I kept losing my needle! I decided I had to find a way to keep from losing my needle constantly, or I’d end up walking on a carpet of needles. One inexpensive cell phone lariat and a bit of scrap silver wire later, I had my answer. My needle tool!

To make your own, get a cell phone lariat or other “handle” to attach your needle to.
Use some fine gauge (28ga is good) scrap wire of any type, and string it through your needle and your “handle”. That’s all there is to it. It’s very simple, but super handy for wire coiling!

I’m back home. With “doctors orders” to take it easy and rest this weekend.  That’s something I’ve never been good at, so I guess I’ll have to practice it. hehehe  I’ll give it a whack, though, and be back to work on Monday, answering emails and making jools and everything. It’s great to be back!