You can try this too~ A New View

It seems that I'm trying to pack in a bunch during my last month in Arizona and looking ahead to the move back to Alaska. There are so many projects that I'm hoping to get done before I leave.

In the middle of that we just annexed our residence to a little co-op apartment in Tucson so that we'll have a little camp there too when we make our jaunts for groceries, gem show, whatever. The price was too good to pass up and a good Bisbee friend has the apartment above us too.

Just what we needed as we think about our journey north.

This year we're driving so that we can swap out trucks. The one we have here doesn't have AC and the one in Alaska does so it just makes sense!

We'll be making the ferry trip from Bellingham, WA to Haines to cut down on a little driving time.

We'll be doing it the old fashioned way of camping out wherever we find a couch since there are no rooms  left on the ferry...more adventure!

I've been trying to do triage on projects now as my season of selling is about to begin.

A few new shops on the horizon in Alaska, one in Talkeetna and one in Chicken!

(yes there is a town of Chicken, Alaska. Apparently they didn't know how to spell ptarmigan so the story goes)

Disc and dapping, headpins and bead sets on the roster and two presents that I have ideas for.

In the meantime it's going to be record breaking hot here and Im sending some to all of you that have had the tough winter.

.....And now to the main point of this post.....

Blogger has rolled out a new viewing feature that lets you view the images on anyone's blog by adding 

/view to the end of their url

Then you go to the sidebar feature and pick a viewing mode.

I rather like the mosaic!

www.numinositybeads.blogspot.com/view

now go to the sidebar dropdown and pick mosaic or any of the other choices

Enjoy! 

Discography

I finally got the disk cutter I ordered over a month and a half ago! I found out from the Beaducation folks at the Tucson Gem Show that you pretty much had to get on a waiting list for them. I had the Pepe disk (or is it disc?) cutter recommended to me by Kim St. Jean at the class I took at the Santa Fe Bead Fest last year.


Well I tell you it was worth waiting for and easy to use. I got the smallest one with five disk sizes.


I've been making up some lampwork headpins lately after being inspired by Cindy Gimbrone awhile back.


I had to try them out myself to make sure they held up for my designs since I'm putting them up for sale in my Etsy shop now. I've made some on copper wires and now on black annealed steel wire too. I have a special pair of cutters  dedicated for the steel headpins since the steel is rough on cutters.


I had picked up a box chock full of enameling supplies when I was setting up my studio two years ago and there were a few sheets of metal to play with- brass, copper and some galvanized tin that had me intrigued with it's possibilities. I must say I'm quite pleased with myself with this first run of new designs.

And now for the debut of my IndustrialChic earrings

I like the way this galvanized tin looks.

With the price of silver these days it's nice to find alternatives.

This copper from the garage sale was already nicely etched 

They can be reversed for a shinier look

more shiny

These have sari silk ribbon dangles

Magdelena de Kino y Rancho Penasco

The Virgin of Guadelupe on the road to Magdalena

I realize that I had promised this post after I got my camera back from my friend's car and suddenly time has flown by and I had better post before our next trip to Mata Ortiz pottery village this weekend. (this link is to my post about our trip last year)

When my husband told me that he was going of to Vegas to meet up with his sons for a weekend my friend Pam and I hatched a plan to go to Magdalena de Kino, a town in Mexico about 2 hours south of us. We had heard that it was fiesta time in honor of the death of Father Kino

It turned out we were a couple of days ahead of schedule but the town was ramping up enough for the event so we felt there was plenty enough going on for us and probably we'd be avoiding a crowd as well.

We stopped for  a lovely fresh lunch at a roadside stand in Imuris.

I just love the fresh roasted cebollitas (roasted scallions)

We stayed at this hostel just outside of Magdalena called Rancho Penasco

run by Wences Monroy and his  business partner Daniel. The ranch has been in his family since the turn of the century 

( you know what I mean 1901, not 2001!)

The community kitchen area

This is where they welcomed us and joined us in some festive libations

The outdoor kitchen.

The breakfast was amazing- fresh roasted salsa, chilequiles, beans and eggs. It helped that the sun was shining on us and warming us during our outdoor breakfast.

A nice idea for a step

Where the magic happens~ fresh roasted coffee beans cooked up cowboy style

Some ruins from part of the old ranch

Some nice old textbooks in the library at the hostel.

I would have loved to take this one home with me!

There's a little museum on the property where you can learn a bit of the old life at the ranch.

......mmm historical Mexican ephemera...oooh

....must satisfy self with photo only....

An interesting couple

Wence's parents were painting up these little maracas for their granddaughters wedding

We went into the town and stopped at some more roadside stands.

Chiltepin peppers and fruits and honey for sale.

The mission in Magdalena de Kino.

Father Kino's remains are interred in the city park nearby for viewing.

Pam, Wence y mismo

(not sure if that's correct Spanish grammar so please correct me!)

trying out some photo editing with yesterday's beads

Playing with Vintage Packaging

My brother Dan gave me the most special stash of images from packaging that he had collected in his travels mostly in the 70's.

I really felt that the collection was sentimental to me as well since I had lived vicariously  through his travels long before I started world travel myself.

He had gone off to art school at Instituto Allende in San Miguel while I was still in high school.

Some of these images are from his South American travels back then.

Then he went to Bali and lived for a year painting back when there was only one restaurant in Ubud.

He was a huge influence in my life in so many ways... travel, art and humor.

I realized that I couldn't really part with most of this ephemera for my art so I decided to combine it all on these stiff place mats that I got at the thrift store.

He told me that he had always meant to put them all together somehow and now I have.

Dan told me that this one was his favorite.

I'm keeping them all!

It Comes in Waves

It Comes in Waves 

by Kimberly Rogers

SOLD!

I made this found object assemblage in response to the earthquake in Japan.

The news of the devastation and impending effects of the nuclear disaster

is hitting me in waves.

Made with pieces of rust, a discarded squeeze tube, Japanese postal ephemera,

antique porcelain doll arm and button.

a mounted on a composite stone backing and framed in a used discarded frame of linen and wood. 

detail

detail of body

Outdoor shot

I am offering this piece for $100

All proceeds not including shipping will go to a Japanese  Earthquake relief fund of your choice.

I'll calculate shipping depending on where it's headed.

estimated minimum of $20

Thanks, Kim

My Little Mexico Trip~ Magdalena de Kino

 When my friend heard that mi esposo was going to be out of town running with his sons in Vegas, she shot me a message that she could be persuaded to take a drive south to Magdalena de Kino a few hours south of here in Mexico. She had heard that it was Fiesta time for the anniversary of Father Kino's death some 300 years ago which is a big deal for many Mexicans. It turned out we were a few days off from the actual celebration but got there in time to see some preparations for the event.


Unfortunately I've left my camera in her car and for now can only show you what I bought. (You see my moratorium on supplies doesn't hold across international borders) and I want to do my best at helping out the economy in Mexico since tourism has dropped off drastically with fear mongering news reports.
 My biggest fear on the trip was more about driving over the mountains with people passing on curves trying to pass semi's that were crawling at a snails pace on steep grades.

 We went to the shops that had religious paraphernalia and I found what I was looking for.

Milagros (miracle charms) that are used as votives in altars and shrines.

These are scapulars which were being sold in Magdalena de Kino

I was delighted with our visit to the ferreteria which is NOT a place that you buy ferrets but is a hardware store. How I love it when I go to less modern stores that have a selection of nearly vintage items mixed in with the new stuff. 

Some of these items are Chinese I know but I think they are certifiably vintage.

I was happy to find a great array of Mexican oilcloth at a decent price.

I'm thinking of sewing place mats and coasters.

I've got these hanging on the line right now though because there seems to be some serious industrial outgassing at the moment.

I promise to post more about the trip when I get my camera back.

I think I got some more great images that will warm those of you who haven't felt any semblance of spring yet.

Winter Themed Coolaborative Book Project

When Corrine from Dosfishes approached me about a collaborative book project I was intrigued with the thought of a three way book collaboration.

She explained to me that there would be three different books for the three of us participating.

The other gal is Lyle from Just A Note.

We would each do additions to pages so and would each end up with our own book that the other two had contributed to. Each page would be a collaboration and the theme was winter.

It was challenging to decide what might be the right amount to add to a page so that you would leave room for the others to do their thing.

This is just half of the pages I ended up with, I'm saving the rest for another post.

We also decorated a cigar box to keep out book in.

So I don't know if this is considered a Round Robin.

Perhaps it was a Triangle Robin.

And while I know that most of you have seen plenty of winter, you may have to endure some more winter imagery in these pages.

I would love to know which pages you like the best.

Thanks!

It was fun to guess which additions were made by whom,

each person displaying their own flavors and style.

Stampings by Lyle, I believe.

This one has more of a Corrine look to it.

I've had plenty of winter after all my years in Alaska and it was challenging

to portray what winter is for me now in Arizona.

This windblown crepe paper that was stuck to my ocotillo tree in the yard is perhaps 

a better portrayal of winter rather than a classic winter snow scene.

Some pages were obviously all mine!

Swirls before Pine

I love the surface treatments on some of these.

 I think this one was Lyle's Style.

I'll post some more soon if you can stand any more winter images!