Yesterday my Delf Clay casting ‘kit’ arrived and I’ve spent several hours experimenting with it!  I’m finding there is a bit of a learning curve, and I’ve had more failures than successes at this point.  However, my successes are getting more consistent as I continue to experiment.   Try, try again seems to be my motto so far!  I have a handful of silver seashells for my effort

This link will show some videos on the process (and it’s also where I bought mine):  Delf Clay Casting

Yesterday we (Dave and I) took a brief trip to Tybee Island’s beach.  I took some photos and collected a few shells.

The water and weather is still too cold for much typical beach enjoyment, in fact, we avoided getting our feet wet!  It was a rather nice trip though.  The views at the beach are always beautiful, and we found many shells to bring back.

Why did I bring back shells?  Well, I guess you’ll just have to wait and see! 

My new custom fonts are here!!  They arrived last Saturday while I was teaching a class, would you believe that my husband (knowing how excited I am about them) hid them under the bed?!!

The picture above shows all the different options I now have for stamping.  I haven’t yet had a chance to use them fully, actually have only had time to do the stamping in the photo, but I hope to be able to play with them more tomorrow.

My favorite is the third one up from the bottom.  It is based on medieval characters, which is appropriate to the history of posey rings (often given as engagement rings during that time period.)

Bacon and chocolate.  Together.  It might sound weird or even gross, but I tell you it is fantastic!!!

Seriously give it a try, it’s not cheap, but it is worth every penny!  Order online or check in a local gourmet grocery store.

THE BEST CHOCOLATE BAR

Back in December I ordered some new custom stamps, and now they are only a few days away from being in my hands!  I can’t wait to play with them–it’s truly torturous to have to wait 2 months!!

Keep  your eyes open for my new fonts, as they will be making their dabue very soon

2009 is here and already off to a great start!  This year I promise to be more active with my blog, work on more one of a kind pieces, and to participate in more art shows.  (I also have some other less fun resolutions such as getting rid of clutter and becoming more organized.)

So my first show of the year will be the Savannah Market Bazaar, held tomorrow 1/10/09 in downtown Savannah.  The location is at the top of the Robinson parking garage overlooking the downtown.  The hours are 9am-2pm, so stop by to say hello!  There will be a handmade section of the show (where I’ll be) and also a section full of flea market finds.  I had a lot of fun at the Dec event and learned one big lesson:  gloves are good to have, especially convertible mitten gloves!!!  I had to go buy some after the show so that my hands don’t freeze again.  These are the ones I got.

Here is a picture taken at December’s show:

I don’t often have sales, but this year I decided I would offer one!  This offer is good for use on my website here or in my etsy shop here. 

~~SALE~~

Friday 11/28/08 - Monday 12/1/08  All orders over $40 will receive free shipping and a Lucky Penny Keychain!  Shipping will be refunded through paypal after your order has been completed.  Thank you and happy shopping!!  

…is that you actually have to start on it!  It all goes by much quicker after you take that step

Those are just a few things I’m inspired by right now.  Little handcut flowers seem to be popping up on my pieces, and so I’m creating more and more things to put them on!  I’m also doing more stonesetting.

This is a piece that embodies several of my current themes:   Overgrowth

So several fall art shows have come and gone, my fall quarter classes have ended, and I even have a new baby kitten!  With my new time to breathe I have also found new inspirations and the time to create.  One collection I’m particularly fond of is a series of landscapes.  Most of these landscapes are based on local coastal scenes (such as Tybee Island and Skidaway Island)  A few of these pieces will make it into my online shops, but largely I plan to have them in my co-op gallery, Gallery 209.

(Morning Fog on the Marsh, sterling and 18ky)

(Tybee Sand Dunes, sterling)

(Tybee Sunrise, sterling and 18ky)