Recycled Art

For whatever reason I decided to look up the definition of art today.  With the multitude of information on the web today a zillion things popped up in my search.  Here's the definition I'm going with...  

"the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power."

Like me, my art is constantly changing, however my source of inspiration always remains constant.  I have a few things that fuel my inner desire to create and spark my creativity...  Nature, color, culture, words, and music.  Of course my emotional state can fuel it too.

I love Sugar skulls!
This design is absolutely one of my favorites.

For the last few years I have been making these little beauties pictured above and below.  I believe in trying to protect the earth as much as possible by making a conscious effort to reduce, reuse and recycle.  I also believe in trying to make decisions that work towards sustainability.  And from these beliefs this creative idea was born.

Just in case you wondered what the process was, here it is.  If you don't care, skip this paragraph.  :)  Each bottle cap is definitely a labor of love because each one takes a considerable amount of time, energy, and work.  Each bottle cap is pinched to stretch the metal, then I pound each one with a hammer to make it flat.  After the bottle cap is flattened, the glue is scraped off.  Have I told you I LOVE tools?  Yep...  the more the merrier.  My dad purchased a little grinder for me and to say it's a little slice of heaven, is an understatement, not to mention it made my life a lot easier when making these.  I used to have to file each one with a hand file, which took FOREVER.  Now I go and get my little grinder and grind each one which takes about half the time.  The bottle cap is then sanded down to make it smooth.  Then a layer of white paint is sprayed on.  From there I design each one, drawing little designs on them or placing inspirational words, then painting them with acrylic paint.  I told you...  A LABOR OF LOVE.

Bottle cap earrings are actually one of my favorite creations and I enjoy making each one.  What I love even more is seeing them on the individual's that purchased them.  



I recently made the two on the left for a friend.  She had a couple pieces of jewelry that had broken so two of the creations seen in this picture are recycled- the metal spirals I cut from a broken watch and made into earrings for her.  The bottom pair of bottle cap earrings were made from a pair of earrings that had broke.  Instead of throwing them away she asked if I could make them into something else and Voilà!

     

These sweet little beauties I made for my lovely sister.

These I made as a custom order for a friend.

Creating art is a beautiful form of self expression, one that I enjoy and get a lot of fulfillment from.

If you would like your own custom designed pair please feel free to email me at whimsicaljewels@rocketmail.com

or 

call:  336-608-8637

Or visit my etsy shop:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/whimsicaljewels

Happy Fall feature

Fall is without a doubt one of my favorite seasons.  I am mesmerized by the beautiful colors, the smell of leaves in the air and the temperature...  not too hot, not too cold, just right.  Unfortunately, today isn't one of those fall days because the weather has brought very frigid temperatures and dreary rain.  I'm still grateful for the fall season though, despite the cloudy days we have been having as of late.

Nature in general is one of my largest sources of inspiration in my art.  With all the natural beauty surrounding me I am captivated by the intricate details and magical colors fall brings each year.  It's a feast for my senses.

I was featured in this lovely Fall Etsy treasury with several other talented artists.  So if you have a moment today, take a look.  For a look at my other work, click on this link:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/whimsicaljewels

Enjoy this beautiful season.  Be inspired and go create something beautiful....

Etsy Treasury features

Over the summer I have been featured in a few ETSY treasuries.  They always come as a nice surprise and I'm grateful to have someone appreciate my art.  Here are the 3 treasuries I have been featured in the last few months.

SUMMER

September Finds #63

September Finds #65

Whimsical Women Art Show

Have you been to this fabulous art show?  Each year there are two opportunities to partake in this fabulous experience.  In the fall, the art show is held in Pfafftown, NC, and then every spring, it takes place in Chapel Hill, NC.   This incredible show features a phenomenal group of women featuring funky, whimsical art.  It's a feast for the eyes and nourishment for the soul.

I have been blessed beyond measure to be a part of it for a few years now, both in Pfafftown and Chapel Hill.  It fills my cup to create art for the show, to be surrounded by a unique group of supportive women, and to see the amazing creativity everyone brings to the show.  The show's energy isn't anything I can adequately describe in words.  It's pure and wonderful MaGiC!

I hope to see you there...  stop by my table, say hello, and share your favorite part of the show.  I'd love to hear what you love about it.  It's a great way to shop for Mother's Day or to treat yourself with a beautiful and unique piece of art for your home or body.  

Whimsical Women have their own blog which features news about the upcoming art shows, events some of the whimsical women artists are holding, and posts leading up to the fall/spring art show, giving a sneak peak of art that will be at the show.  To receive their information, click the following link:  http://whimsical-women.blogspot.com/ and sign up for their mailing list.

Please pass the information on....  share the magic.  ;)

A new path

My blog continues to feel neglected, yet here it is, always waiting my return.  If it was a person, I would hope that by now they would have moved on.  Then again if it was a person I wouldn't neglect it because I believe in treating others with love.  I make feeble promises to do better about writing more regularly, in order to share my thoughts and feelings with whoever takes the time to read it, but I continue to fail at it.  I admit that when I write I feel better even if there isn't an audience, so why do I continue to neglect my blog?

There are most likely many reasons contributing to this futile attempt to connect with a world on the other side of my computer.  Recently, I have given it some thought and tried to consider a few of the reasons, in an attempt at rectifying this problem.  So here it goes...

1)  It takes too long.  Ugh, what does that mean?  For a patient person that seems ridiculous.  As ridiculous as it sounds, I get discouraged because it does take me some time to collect my thoughts, translate the idea swirling in my head and then push them out for others to see.  Writing has always taken me a considerable amount of time, which at times is very frustrating.  This is one of those areas in my life that I wish came easier, took less time, and wasn't so "painful".  Don't get me wrong writing doesn't cause me "pain" but because it takes so long for me to get to the end result, the impatience with my process leads to frustration.  I don't like feeling rushed in any thing that I do, so I tend to not write at all, making the excuse that I don't have time.  Even now I catch myself frequently looking at the clock...

2)  A neglect for self.  The last couple of years have brought some life changing events.  These events have led to a domino affect of change.  Like most humans, I resist.  Change is hard.  Change is uncomfortable.  REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE.  I remind myself, that change is needed...  for transformation, growth and evolution.  What if change didn't exist?  There wouldn't be the beauty of four incredibly different seasons, each alluring in itself.  Our life is the same.  I took a pledge to myself a long time ago that I would evolve, change and with each season of my life change to become beautiful in it's own way.  With that being said...the life changing events that have occurred in my life have really caused me to examine myself.  I am learning how much I neglect myself.  I am better than I was ten years ago, five years ago and even one year ago, but I have a ways to go.  Self-love, I have learned, is one of the hardest attributes I have had to change about myself.  What good is the love we give others if we don't love ourselves?  I've given myself love over the years, but not until recently, have I realized how much I neglect my own needs...  like writing in my journal, blog or doing something that will produce a result that feels good.  I'm learning to have a true love affair with myself and honestly it feels good.

3)  It is uncomfortable on many levels.  Exposing yourself is hard.  It opens us up for judgement and criticism.  VULNERABILITY.  Although, most people that are close to me, would say I share my vulnerabilities and that's not really a problem for me.  Even though I do it, it's still REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE.  Exposing vulnerability whether it's practiced regularly or not, is still difficult.  And as I mentioned in #1...  it's uncomfortable to sit here for so long, thinking and typing.  Did I mention it takes me a REALLY long time to write?  That's uncomfortable to me as well.

4)  I can think of a zillion things to do and this gets put on the bottom of that list.  Obligations, committments, etc. seem to take over.  Some of them never really benefiting me in any way and when I think about it, I know the benefits of writing, far exceed most of the things on my to-do-list.

I guess I'll stop my excuses/reasons now.  I am going to make a small goal and commit to writing at least once per week.  Maybe then I will have better results.  Maybe.  It takes 3 weeks to change something so hopefully in three weeks this won't even be an issue....  In any event if you want to read my entries don't look for them on this blog.  Which leads me to this blog entry's title...  A NEW PATH.

I'm on a new path.  A path of self-love.  A path of committing to myself first then to others.  With that being said I have started a new blog.  My Whimsical Jewel's blog will only be used for my creative stuff...  like when I have sales in my ETSY shop, creating new products, art shows, events, sharing my creative process or I'm sharing other people's art.  As for my thoughts, journey of self-discovery, events about healing, and exploring healing through art and writing as well as other healing modalities, you can read all about it on my new blog:  Artfully Healing.

In fact here's my first blog entry, written today!  WOW two posts in one day...  guess I can skip next week. ;)  Just kidding...

http://artfullyhealing.blogspot.com/2015/03/beginning.html

Thanks for being a part of my journey.