a scrumptious dinner indeed!

so I was toodling around etsy the other night and ended up on the storque blog where their guest curator Ele of Kitchenist blog had posted a most delicious looking recipe for savory broccoli cakes. I vowed I would make them the next night with dinner.

 Joe was running a bit late getting home from work so I had plenty of time to get these all whipped up and have dinner on the table by the time he finished his paperwork when he got home. I felt like such a good little domestic wifey. Oh, and don't think for a second this happens all the time. In fact, Joe cooks far more than I do and had just made a very wonderful pork loin the night before accompanied by some perfectly cooked carrots and smashed taters (one of my most simple favorites from the time I was very little.)

I am terribly stressed out right now because of the once again lofty goals I set for myself and my current lack of motivation. Getting a little creative in the kitchen was just what I needed to ground me a little bit again. Plus I got to use one of my favorite mixing bowls! Usually this vintage beauty is reserved for looks only with its other two nesting buddies but I couldn't resist using is for the photo opps!

 I halved the recipe that was given because I knew the three of us wouldn't go through 12 of these "biscuits" in one evening. I don't like to stray from recipes the first time that I make them but I did make one small addition  to it with a good tablespoon of dill weed.

 I highly recommend this recipe, very tasty, especially when warm as it has been much cooler here. I've been quite ready for Autumn to arrive this year. Winter on the other hand could stay at bay for some time and I'd be pleased.

 Are there any recipes you've recently discovered?

Well back to the studio!

something has been bothering me for some time....

and I thought maybe making another piece would help.

You see about a year and a halfish ago, a friend asked me if I could make a necklace for his girlfriend for their anniversary. "Of course!" I said because he is an old friend and despite having only met his girlfriend a few times I felt totally comfortable doing it... at the time.  I had made my mom this pendant for her birthday.

This is the piece my friend saw which led him to commission the piece for his girlfriend. His only real specification was hearts because there was a significance in their relationship. It was their 5 year so he asked that there be 5.

So what did I do? I designed, I fiddled, I showed him a few ideas and chatted to him about a few. Unfortunately he is a ways away so he didn't actually see the work in progress. Because he had raved to me about this piece, I felt like the commission should have the same materials, so I incorporated an antler slice into it as in the one for my mom and came up with this.

I was actually thrilled with the finished product. I don't much care for hearts because they are usually so trite, so I made them kind of stylized and got creative with placement, not only cutting a tiny one directly into the antler slice, but cutting a hidden special one into the back.

Well, my friend seemed to like it a lot BUT, still did not mention one VERY significant thing about his girlfriend. SHE'S A VEGETARIAN! So a few weeks later when I spoke with him, of course I asked him how their anniversary was, how she liked it, etc. I knew by his tone it was not good. This necklace will never be worn. It will sit in a box because while a wonderfully sweet gesture from her boyfriend, she is put off by it. Special, but not to wear. I can't really blame her, but I still feel awful about it. I tried even to talk to them about it, to set things right, make a  new piece, or rework the current one with another material in the place the antler and received the, "No, no, you didn't know," " it is special still,"  "I don't want to put you out."  End of discussion.

 I have a whole bag of antler slices that have been crying for attention because these two pieces were such a joy to make but the aftermath of the second puts a pit in my stomach every time I think of trying something. It also made me think... ya know, it is a NATURAL THING for deer to shed their antlers, just as sheep and goats sometimes lose their horns in gripping headbutt battles or even just because they need to. I'm am fairly certain no animals were harmed to create these pieces. In the future if I purchase any more, I WILL BE CERTAIN THAT THAT IS THE CASE!  Needless to say it still bothers me.  A LOT.

Well not today my friends. Because I challenged myself. Here before you is a brand new one of a kind piece in my antler slice series of art jewelry and I adore it.

 It still needs a patina to "age" it a bit, but my liver of sulphur went bad so it will have to wait till the new gel type comes that I ordered (very excited to try that btw!)

Hopefully I can get my hands on some sheep horns soon, I think they'd make for really interesting mixed media pieces with some wool incorporated with the metal.

P.S. any thoughts would be welcome.

a personal challenge

Busy weeks coming ahead.

4 shows in the next two months.

Reroofing our house this weekend.

Starting teaching again at both the college and the art center.

So what am I doing?

I am implementing a self challenge. Every day unless I am away at a show, I will make a new one of a kind piece. It doesn't have to be extravagant. I just have some ideas bouncing around in my head and while I love my poppy and candy lines very much, they get to be a bit blah after I work on them all evening. So, every day I will make a piece and I will post. Hold me to it. Seriously. But not too seriously because I might have some double shares in certain posts. I really need to keep away from this computer so I can get some work done. I just keep falling down those rabbit hole searches on etsy that lead to more and more fabulous things. Inspiring, but doesn't really help me get any work done.

Look for a star tomorrow here. You are sure to find it... if not there is Thursday. :D

Best Day Ever

I had such a wonderful day today. My mom had been wanting to have a day out with "her girls" meaning my sister, Carley, Adele, and I. We had all been wanting to go see the Chihuly exhibit at Frederick Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids so we decided that would be the perfect destination. 

After a short sidetrip to the Fulton Street Artisan Market so I could visit my new friend Heather of the Paper Peacock (<---check that link for her etsy shop) to snag some more of her incredible hand sculpted porcelain buttons we wandered to lunch and finally to the gardens, but not before Carley popped a few wheelies in her stroller with the help of her mommy. :D

I was like a little kid at the gardens, so thrilled to finally make it to a Chihuly exhibit. I had been rather upset that I didn't make the short drive to Kalamazoo at the KIA a few years ago when they held one. All of that glass was incredible!

The children's area was great fun and also a wonderful way to cool down if you stood near the fountains the kids were playing in.

Of course there are other great artist's work exhibited there.  Some of Deborah Butterfield's horses were prominently displayed and a few of Tom Otterness's sculptures remained there from a G.R. wide exhibit a few years back.

Each time I go to Grand Rapids I think of my friend Hillary who is currently in Morocco as a Peace Corps Volunter. Seeing this sculpture made me miss Hillary even more because the last time I was this close to one of his sculptures was on a visit to see her. I do believe some silly pictures are floating about the interweb of us with our friend Julie and some finger puppets perhaps? Soon my friend will be home and I will be so glad to see her again.

Anyhow, a lovely day indeed. Such a rare occasion to be able to get us all together, it will definitely be a cherished memory.

Introducing: Batt of the Month Club!

I have been having a small internal debate about whether or not I could handle doing a Batt Club. This Fall I will be cutting down to four days a week at the store (thank goodness finally!) This was made possible due to the fact that I will be teaching another section of Art Appreciation at the local community college which happens to take place in the afternoon on Thursdays. I am so thrilled to have the morning time on a weekday when I'm all by myself at home to create. No distractions and then off to teach! I know I'm still going to have my hands full because I'll also be teaching at the Art Center of Battle Creek on most Thursday evenings. No complaints here though! A whole day full of art and teaching, two things I love. How could one be upset?

Anyhow, that brings me back to the point. Since I will have more time that I can use to create art, I can use that time to custom create batts for anyone interested! The clubs will be a 3 month "membership" where you will receive 3+oz. of fiber and other goodies each month. All natural fibers will be hand dyed almost exclusively by me using Greener Shades Dyes. I am going to start off with 10 spots and if enough interest is shown I may add a few more in the future. Immagonna post one to get it up there but please convo. me on etsy if you would like me to reserve a spot for you! You can find me here.

 After a bit of a fight with Gimp, I finally finished a batt club picture that I can live with. (to be honest this may have been holding me back starting a club more than the actual time it will take me!) After trying several different font colors I settled for these two because they were the best I could do. I know some of the text is difficult to read but I am just not a graphically inclined person. Give me something tactile and I'm all in though! :D

thank you blogger

for putting a spam comment blocker on. I'd much rather have no comments than 2-4 spam comments from Asian porn sites.

so thank you blogger, you made my blog night.