TURN THOSE SPEAKERS ON...or not...

Hi all!

Just wanted to warn you I added a Jimmy Buffett Playlist to my blog! If you are a Parrothead, turn up the speakers!!! If not, well then, turn them down, or go to the bottom of the front blog page & pause it! Just wanted the option for myself! Gotta have my happy music!

Fins to the left!

See you in Margaritaville!

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere...hey, it's always 5 o'clock here!

Oh, and you can pick different songs down there too! Have a fun week!

March BJP Rune - Man

OK...before anyone says anything, I chose my beads & colors WAY before I knew the meaning of each of the runes!!! I NEVER would've picked these colors for this particular rune if I had only known!!! But that said, here is the basic meaning of the Man Rune for March.

The Man Rune is an extremely old symbol found in variations in most cultures. It is the inversion of the woman's V symbol. The Germanic sign is victory, the Anglo-Saxon, Kaen, means to open, & the Nordic sign, called Tac, represents facing down the enemy. The bottom line is defensive action. It's time to defend your own interests. (Perfect timing for me in alot of ways!)

This rune is about action, energy, effort, confrontation, aggression & force. This rune represents a time of rapid changes & situations. Be be prepared to be bold!

The stone for the month is aquamarine, & this was the closest I had to it. Used it for the background, with a complementary shade of peach for the symbol itself.

As always, info on these runes comes from "A Witch's Runes" by Susan Sheppard

Happy Earth Day!

So what do artists do on Earth day when their DH's are in the garden? Well, this one went out to the garden, got a couple different leaves, & made leaf prints for the swap with my pal. You can see them above.

Here's a couple close ups:

I found out that cucumber leaves are very fuzzy on the undersides!

Makes a very different kind of print!

And finally, Earth Day wishes on the back!

Hope you all had a wonderful Earth day!

Living on an Island

Living on a small island in the middle of the Pacific, with not alot of stores to choose materials from, artists develop into a tribe of traders! You learn to share your stash of goodies! Whether it's paper, fabric, beads, pens, sequins...whatever...you share! This was the latest batch of fabric snippets I got from a fellow artist pal! Wonderful colors & inspiration! PLUS, she also made me a dress out of the fabric on the far left!!! Now that is a true pal!!! And so multi-talented! Can't wait until she can do her work full time!

Watercolor Pencil Travel Kit

Getting ready to do some travel & needed to decide on some things to bring with me in my backpack. So one day I made a chart of 31 watercolor pencils, plus some gouache, & then saw what else I could fit in this little pouch. I was amazed that all the pencils fit, let alone my water brush, pen, pencil, eraser, rag, etc!!! Now, on the next page of my moleskine, I'm gonna do a chart of about the same amount of regular colored pencils to fit in a different pouch. Two pouches & a moleskine should be enough for me!

The Strength of Hemp

So, hemp...what a material! In the pic above you can see on top a washcloth I made for myself like 10 years ago! I knit the center, crocheted a shell border around it, & have used & washed it for years! It's starting to fall apart, so I took it out the other day to mend it. At the same time I've been working on a new crocheted hemp project. You can see it under the wash cloth. I wonder what it will look like in 10 years? One thing to keep in mind tho' is that it is very scratchy to work with...much more so than yarn. But for the length of time you can use your end product, it sure seems worth a little difficulty in the making!

Quick Notes

Every year in Hawaii, there is a special festival/competition called the Merrie Monarch Festival. You can see some info about it here. It is a time where hula halaus come from around the world to compete. Some ancient dances, some more modern. It goes on for days.

So I decided to watch it again this year...mostly to see the ancient dances & costumes. I kept my "idea sketchbook" next to me with a pen & some colored pencils. I made some quick doodles of colors, words, stories, meanings, etc. This was just a quick exercise, 'cuz I really wanted to experience the dances & chants. Here's a few pages from my fave "keep it with me for everything" idea sketchbook! It will give me some immediate impressions of color, placement, texture, etc. Sometimes all you need is a line or two to remind you!

On the Home Front

So, Farmer Ron has been busy with his garden. He hadn't been able to grow cucumbers here 'cuz the bugs on the ground got 'em. But, he planted them to climb up the sunflowers & TADA! It worked!!! So here's one of our first cukes & a little tomato to go with it! The cuke was so good on crackers with a little melted Swiss cheese on it! Yummm...

Now, just so you don't think all we eat are greens, here's a pic of some ham-barley soup he made for me when I wasn't feeling well. I think the barley really helped! And he made some fresh cornbread to go with it! Yummmy!

P.S. Someone asked me what my DH & our home garden have to do with art...well, besides the fact it helps feed the artist, it gives me a chance to work on my photography & editing! :)

EDM 019-Draw Something You Made

OK...so I can't follow things in order!!! I just finished EDM challenge #4, but didn't feel like doing the next one. So I picked out one I wanted to do which was this one below:

I didn't realize that it would be harder to draw all those beads than it was to bead the project!!! But it was...so something to keep in mind in the future! ;)

Above is a close up of the sketch without all the journaling.

And above here are some samples bits I did to see what process I liked doing the best. I guess it all depends on what I'm working on! I like whatever gives me the effect I want. I'm also reverting to my regular brushes 'cuz I'm still having problems with my waterbrush. I think I just got a lemon!!!

More Mini Tags!

For our swap this week I added tags to the mini book we started. For these I tried to use just near complementary colors. I used ink and colored pencil. And I attached string like you'd use for a balloon or a kite this time of year! :)

Spring Time Colors

The colors of spring here on Kaua'i vary so much! Above is a fern unfolding up in the mountains of Koke'e!

And down here on the coast are the gorgeous colors of all the bougainvillea near our home with the beautiful sky above our neighbors home!

And a close up of the brilliant colors!

Mountain of Harvest!

OK...so DH is getting a little crazy about his harvest!!! Look at that mad gleam in his eyes!!!

Here's a mountain of beans of various sorts...yep, that's one day's harvest in our sink!!!

And the greens...beet greens, chard, arugula...

Someone stop him!!! :)

New Moon Garden

Like a good farmer following the Farmer's Almanac, it's always good to plant on the new moon. So my DH did just that. The following week, here was the moon (click to enlarge & see):

That's one week, and already the babies had come up!

Holy Cow! Gonna have alot more goodies soon!

What? Happy Blogoversary???

I had no idea there was such a thing as a Happy Blogoversary! Apparently people keep track of when they started their blogs! So I looked back & my blog was born 5/24/2007 at 12:11p.m.!!! It was a Thursday & I was nervous!

Now here it is almost 2 years later & I know how to transfer html to make that little button on the left side that tells me how many days it is until my Blogoversary! 55 days from today!

AND I find out that people celebrate this in different ways! Hmm...how will I celebrate? I'm not just sure yet, but know it will be a fun day! So I posted this little pin I made for a pal just before I started this blog. I guess I still like all those brilliant, fun colors! LOL! Well, since the blog will be 2, I guess that makes sense! Go Inner Child!

Beaded Purse from India

One of my pal's here has a mom who just got back from visiting her family in India. She brought my pal home some of these beaded purses, and my pal gave one to ME!!! She knows how much beading I do, so knew I'd really appreciate it. And I do! Thanks so much, Sweetie! And thanks to your mom too! I'm blessed!

Here's a close up:

My Pal's Gift

I'm reading this book when I realize the bookmark that my pal in Malaysia made me goes with it perfectly! I'm not sure you can tell how beautiful it is, but it is all handmade & has a beautiful sparkly fabric under those cut out hearts! And the beads match so perfect! I just had to share. She also makes handmade cards, & you can see some on her blog here. You an scroll down to see her beading blog, or her bookmarks here.

She was recently written about in one of her local papers, so she's as busy as a bee right now! I'm really proud of her & just wanted to share! Check out her work...it's really impeccable!

EDM 004 Draw your mug or cup

OK...so the last "mug" I put in here for the EDM challenge was an old one! I cheated! So I figured I better get myself back to it, & do a new one. It's above.

As you can see by the pic below, I was inspired to get back to the challenges after re-reading one of Susan Branch's keepsake books that she illustrated. I'm not sure if it's the formality of doing something in order, or what, but I sure am having a hard time doing these! I will sketch ideas, designs, etc in my regular sketch book, but the idea of putting something into my moleskine seems to be more "precious". I know I'm the only one who thinks of it that way, but it stymies me! Hopefully I'll get past that block soon!

ATCs & Swap

So for my swap this week, I made some totem animal ATCs. Gave a couple to my pal, & kept the rest. It's always is nice to have some extra hanging around.

Here's a couple close ups...recycled catalog images, stamped images, feathers, artificial sinew, some turquoise nuggets, etc. Ended up with 11 total...until she got her 2! I'll have to check to see which ones she chose! :)

When inspiration hits...

So if you read my previous post, you know I've been working on hearts. But the particular fabric you see above, that was given to me by a pal, just stopped me in my tracks! I had to bead it somehow! Not the images, or even the particular design...but some impression of it. I have no idea what it's gonna turn into, but here is my WIP!

Hearts Galore!!!

I think by now everyone knows my favorite motif is the heart! I just can't stop making them! To the left is a bunch of soft flannel ones, & on the right are some puffy embellished ones I'm currently working on. Not sure where they'll all end up, but it sure is fun making them!

How does that garden grow???

We have a small garden that Ron cares for so well it is thriving!!!

Below are some of the bounty from the garden...lots of beans every day, as well as different kinds of baby greens!

And more sunflowers just came out...the bees are busy, as well as the butterflies!!!

In fact, this year we think is gonna be a bumper crop of avocados! Yahoo!

You make an ono garden, Farmer Ron!

Hand Carved Koa Bowl

A few years back my DH was given a hunk of koa. I'd asked him to make me a bowl to put in the middle of our table. Here is the start of it:

And here it is this year...obviously a "spare time" project...but alot of work!!!

I love all the different colors in the wood! Can't wait to see it done!