Rust and Relaxation

When I'm walking to the gym I pick up bits of rusty things.

I found this rusted top that I thought would make a good base for this pendant.

I'm wild about the sari silk ribbon I just discovered recently.

this is photographed against some of the rusty objects we've collected.

Most of these bits were from the ground or the thrift store.

I aged the wood by leaving it outside for 6 months and applying a

  copper and patina treatment

As you can see I changed my focus this week back to assemblage and collage.

It called me back!

I found that wiry bit on the ground the other day and had to put it to use!

It was time to start using some of the items from my frozen charlottes collection too.

( sorry about the fuzziness here)

I took a different way on my walk to the gym and 

discovered some great surfaces

I love doorways

I was surprised to find this!

old rust and flowers

My worries and concerns are feeling like old rust.

Let the flowers take over.

Head Gasket

Here's one of my first altered art collages that I made last year when I first moved to my home in Delta Junction, Alaska. I was so delighted to find a "rust farm" nearby and thought that this gasket made nice frames for some imagery. I mounted it on an old cutting board that we weren't using anymore.  Someone else actually came up with the name "Head Gasket" when they saw it. I thought it was perfect.  Now my husband has insisted that we keep it for ourselves.

I plan to resume the courtship letters this Wednesday in case anyone is still interested in reading them. Clarence and Alice's love is beginning to bloom.

Meanwhile I'm awash in fresh caught salmon and blueberries, trying to package and freeze it all  up.

You can catch up with Candace's  new adventures in Utah on Kass's blog .

Numinosity Beads Meets Altered Art

"Derive" by Kimberly Rogers

I have been meaning to start using some of my beads in my altered art projects. I had just picked up a handy little metal hole punch at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show from the gals at Beaducation that were at the To Bead True Blue show at the Doubletree Hotel in Tucson.

I had a goodly batch of rusty bottle tops that needed holes punched for my bottle top earrings.

While I was at it I got inspired to fasten on of my beads to a rusty aged metal tile that I'd picked up next to our desert property near the Chiricahua Mountains.

So with some old coins, buttons, beads mounted over the smuggler's burlap and asphalt roofing I found last week, I fastened them and added a bit of text and framed it in a thrift shop frame. One of my first finished pieces using a Numinosity Bead.

Back to Business... Beads That Is

I used silver leaf in these beads and was playing around with some of the new CIM colors I had ordered from Frantz Art Glass

These lentils are a good size for earring sets.

These two didn't quite fit in with the rest of today's batch. The nugget on the right was made with the nub ends of some of my silver reactive glass that I couldn't hold anymore. I like to make some beads at the end of a session by using small pieces that are cluttering up the worktable.

It feels good to be back at the torch although my arms seem to be a bit sore from my first day back at the gym and yoga yesterday. I'm trying to get back into some of my pre-trip routines and keep the right balance of art and fitness for my well-being. In the past I've had to sacrifice one for the other and now that I'm "retired" I'm finally finding time for both.

Yesterday I went for a little walk for treasures. I didn't have to go far for some good rust pieces at the neighbor's vacant lot. A beautifully rusted lock and part of a red glazed ceramic figure caught my eye. Funny, I didn't see them last year when I was rummaging.

On down the street to the desert hills of ocotillo and cactus, I follow a trail, all within shouting distance of the road near our house. I find a stash (literally) of burlap and rags of Mexican blanket strips and rope, most likely from a smuggling operation. I find the burlap to be nicely tattered and aged and suitable for a future project. We're quite near the Mexican border so there's foot traffic occurring of different sorts occurring nearby. As my walk progressed I inexplicably start to find golfballs. I don't have any use for them in my art but I'm sure my husband might decide to put them to use one day.

Tale of Two Studios

So, imagine that you have your studio pretty much set up the way you like it and then you decide to enter the lifestyle known as snowbirding and you'll actually be living in two different places quite far away from each other, splitting the year. You'd find yourself pretty much having to double up on all of your supplies and equipment wouldn't you?

I can't feature spending half the year away from my "stuff" that I need to create. When we bought our house in Arizona I made sure that I had a space that I could set up another lampworking studio. Transporting a kiln back and forth wasn't an option and I didn't really want to trouble myself with shipping it either. That was one of the items I needed to double up on.

Because we were driving down the first year I was able to split most of my supplies in half and stock my studio up to at least have a good stash to begin with. My digital controller is a bit to spendy to double upon but luckily it's light enough to transport back and forth in my luggage. I sometimes wonder if the TSA folks are scratching their heads when they see a box with a digital readout going through. No problems yet! My presses are quite heavy and also not something I want to reinvest in so I'm finding that a flat rate box to ship them is most worthwhile. Some tools aren't so bulky so I'm bringing them back and forth as well.

A few things I'm going to have to live without such as my sewing machine which I'll dedicate to my northern projects. maybe I'll find a good deal on one this winter now that I'm back in sewing mode after many years of letting the machine gather dust.

I'm looking forward to revisiting some of my collections, supplies and ephemera that I left behind last April. It will be all new inspiration...again. My piles of rusty things are calling me as is the sunshine and warmth of my patio.