Itching to Create

Lake Windermere

My muse has had to take a back seat this week, and I have had time out to spend with mum, showing her around the shops, with a short interlude spent with friends and family in Bolton and a visit to the Lake District. I took a quick class at In The Studio, to learn enamelling techniques, and am itching to get started - but no, I will wait till my mother leaves at the beginning of July, to get my creative juices flowing in earnest. In the meantime, I have played with wire and a few beads to put together a couple of little bit and bobs to satisfy the old fingers that I am still able to create a bit of magic, and haven't quite forgotten the art and that my muse and I have not parted company. 

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Before I made an unholy mess - the workbench at In The Studio

These are a few of the little bit and bobs I learned to make at the enamelling course - and am now raring to use my new found knowledge.
I made a pendant using a large pressed glass bauble shaped bead, which I had bought already made up as a necklace on a gunmetal coloured chain - I thought it would be fun to add a crystal studded beadcap, but when I finished, I felt it could do with some more shiny stuff, so I added another beadcap which I filled with dyed pheasant feather in a royal purple, and some yellow to contrast. The inspiration was Shangri La - the utopian Buddhist country which had the reputation of being a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world - evoking the imagery of the exoticism and riches of the orient. I think I succeeded with this pendant, which I then rehung on it's original chain, so that it would be wearable with a casual outfit. 

The bead cap covering the top of the pendant

My mother  brought me some pretty green glass rice shaped beads from India, so I added one of my faux ivory pendants, and combined the two with a multitude of gemstones - shiny haematite, dyed howlite flowers, which were ever so pretty, carved bone beads, jasper coins, and moss agate beads, added some wire and produced a very sweet two strand necklace which I called The Green Goddess - after the pretty greens in the necklace, although the more famous green goddess is the Bedford fire engine used by the British Armed Forces - I hope they don't mind that I stole the name.

I would have loved to make a few more little pieces, but I have been handed an interesting challenge for next week - a commission to produce a piece using the inspiration of 'stark snow capped mountains with a slew of colours' in a statement necklace. I decided early on that the snowcapped mountains would have to be represented by druzy and bought a few stones from a dealer on the internet - I have picked out two of the best and started to wrap them in wire, prior to affixing them into the necklace, the shape of which is yet to evolve. The slew of colours will be from a picture of a sunset - an afterglow, using knot less netting and Swarovski crystals, I think. This is how far I have got with the piece - I hope to have it more or less finished next week - am keen to make a fabulous job for this lady - she appreciates and believes in my Muse - I hope the old muse is listening to this, and working away to come up with the bestest, most stupendiferous idea. 

I hope they look like mountains to you - well if they don't, squint at them with your head to one side, and breathe deeply - in, and out - and hey presto! - they will - by the time I have finished with them, they will look like mountains in a mountain sunset scene. I am off now to torture some wire into behaving itself for me, have a nice week, and catch you next week, same time, same place, 
xx