Monthly Archives: September 2024

1″ x .75″, found objects

A friend invited me to a bodypump class at a local gym 6:00 AM this week. That’s pretty much the antithesis of anything I would ever do.  I’ve only stepped into a gym when coerced, I get all the sleep I can these days, and the term ‘bodypump’ scares me silly.  For a variety of reasons that were only partly my fault, I didn’t go to the class, but it got me thinking about pushing my limits in other realms.  I decided to take a flameworking class that’s probably well beyond my skill set, I’m applying for some projects that are long shots, and while it may not seem like much of a push, this pendant is yellow.  Yellow!  I never use yellow.

1″ x 1″, found objects

Can you tell what’s in the middle of this pendant?  It’s a decorative paper clip.  If I look at it as a tiny maze that resembles what I try to make it through each day,  it’s a good reminder that all of the obstacles, all of the twists and turns actually take me on a path that holds things together. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether I’m on my way into a stuck center or out to the exit, but either way, each turn gets me closer.

1″x1″glass and found objects

Technically. this isn’t my best work.  It’s messy on the edges, and the arrangement doesn’t have the grace and consistency that I try to create.  But it’s like a quick glance inside my head these days: all the tools are there, and there are flashes of brilliance, but everything’s just a bit stuck in the mud, and I have to work hard to pull each piece up and out so that it’s not buried anymore.

1″ x 1.5″, found objects

I love the idea of copper nails because copper is so soft, you’d have to be more concerned about beauty than strength to choose them.  And beauty they have, with a want glow and a patina as they age.  But these copper nails could be combined with the pin back at the bottom of the pendant to create a strong connection, if only for fabric, without depending on the strength of the metal.