fanciful devices

I feel like I've been derelict with the eye-candy-providing, what with making tutes, being sick, applying for Art & Soul. And then stopping to sleep or eat, pee and such.

  So I thought I'd do some more previews.

I got things and I made them, yup.

But see those long square wood things? They're antique Japanese stamps. I couldn't resist them. But they were too perfect, so I chipped off the edges with my wire cutter, hammered and sanded and poked at it with an awl a zillion times....

Anyways,  I'll let these be all mysterious so you're, I dunno, anticipating?

Anywho, I wanted to share some gorgeous bangles by readbetweenlines.
 Of course, all these sold already. She's including a lot of macrame and nautical knotting, which looks amazing.Everyone should consider what they already have in their bag of tricks that they can combine with this (and any other) project. Clearly she didn't need my tute to teach her anything! So there's fifteen of her hard-earned dollars down the drain...

Beatnheart said "ok, so you have a pendant, then what?"

That really is the question. Ideally you imagine what you might do with it before you get it. Or, look through inspiring jewelry (such as this pintrest collection) and think about what you have in your stash which could follow that pattern or ape those colors or something. Also, when you see interesting connections on line, you can take a minute to doodle them in an inspiration memo pad or just on your hand, or put that pic for later studying in an inspiration file you keep next to your keyboard or stapled to your forehead or whatever.Little by little you build up a repetoire of techniques as well as others you want to try, so when you go to your workspace and lay out all the odds and ends which you are lately interested in- next to your pad of doodles- something will pop out. 

For example, I recently saw these:

And they led me to making these:

I also saw these by Kathy VanKleek:

And believe it or not they led to this:

But the process of struggling and feeling stuck is a huge part of being an artist, too. I had to go through it, everyone does.

While I'm at it, ages ago someone mentioned the way I always double over my jump rings.

 
 I don't know if you can see... so just in case I thought I'd show 50 examples.  Well the reason is I just can't believe a jump ring won't come open at the slightest pressure. So I press them down to overlap, then twist to flip them so each end is putting a little pressure on the other. Did that make any sense? Ok, there's where a video would come in handy.
But I'm not saying this is the right way to do it! In fact, it certainly isn't according to everyone that talks like they know. But by not paying attention to anyone but me (which is to say, 'assuming I know more than the experts') I've found my own right and wrong way to do things. So nanny-nanny boo-boo.

This horse is studying to be a chiropractor. How many
American horses get secondary educations?

Next topic: the horse! That is one clean, well-fell, healthy horse! All that leather-work is seriously expensive- that guy dotes on his horse. Now, these are working horses. They're not papered pets but they are seen in public. Any cruelty would be instantly exposed, see? Unlike oh, I dunno, the U.S. meat industry where millions and millions of animals are bred in stalls and boxes. Or the U.S. milk industry, where the majority of cows live with permanent udder infections. In fact, in Uruguay they don't have words like "free-range" because they couldn't imagine any other way. And you can taste it. The milk has layers of flavor- even the skim. It, like, takes longer to swallow because your mouth is going through an experience. The meat is like- have you ever tasted crazy expensive wine? Like how it tastes one way the first second then keeps changing and developing even after you swallow? It's like that! Cuz cows are allowed to graze on grass- not grain- and roam freely. (The flavorfulness also means you feel more satisfied with less food. Tons less obesity in Uruguay.) And no animal that's sick and in pain is kept alive just because of cost benefits. Because the public would see it. They are not coddled like pets. They do endure branding and having their testicles chopped off, hot summers and cool(ish) winters. But, like, horses- that are super smart? They have a serious sense of purpose and love to go out everyday. The blinders keep them from getting startled when they see things out of the corners of their eyes. Horses are very high strung so just seeing forward keeps them really calm. Also, the more leather and straps you see on them, the more distributed the weight of the cart they're pulling. Notice the straps around their necks are always padded.
Phew. Ok, lecture over. As you were.