Already...Really?

Every once and a while I hear someone say it..."It's over", and I try not to get too excited.

I don't believe it.

Anyway, "Winter" in Florida, ha!

Who are we to speak of weather...
...but you know what it seems there are signs of Spring everywhere!

Inside and out everything seems to be bouncing back to life...

Our little lime tree that gave us no fruit last year...

Our Ruby Red Grapefruit tree that has been very tentative for the past TWO years is overloaded with soon to be sweet smelling buds!

 My beloved Ms. Figgy.

We planted her late last year and she bravely hung onto her tiny unripened  figs through the first three frosts!

She's coming back strong!

The temperature jumped right into the high 70's then 80's this past week. Jeff and I took the kayak for a walk down to the lake and braved the winds for a morning out, it was wonderful to have the warm sun on my back again! 

After the lake I was so full of solar energy I began a new round of etching...

Here are my results and am I ever happy with these!!

The first round of earrings went to the the Market this weekend,

 none of them made it home.

This is a good thing!

More to come by the end of the week, promise!

How Big are Your Dreams?

How big do you dream?

Are your wishes and desires big enough to carry around with you always?

Do you keep them someplace special?

Can you see them?

Do you take them out and show your dearest friends or do you keep them in your pocket for only you to know they are there?

How about a special way to carry them?

Big enough to fill your world but small enough to keep in the palm of your hands!

My Amulet:

I think I will carry mine on my second finger on my right hand...soon to be a ring!

Have a great Sunday!



Days Like Today

All I see is fog and rain...

I love days like today...not just that it's Friday...

Partly it's the weather, it's also simply lazy.

Things will get a little crazy later but for now I'm wonderfully slow.

I struggle with wanting to be in the studio or just hanging about puttering.

The boys are so different from each-other,

I get to see a little bit of both in my indecision.

Roger NEEDS to be outside.

No matter the weather. 

He is only still when he falls asleep and he fight this until he can't sit up any longer.

Houdini on the other hand, well...

...he'll take a window seat or blanket, any-where, he knows what to do!

Although my days have been mostly busy with my FTG and seem to be getting busier things have been progressing in The Studio. After the holiday crunch I took some time for me but soon classes were starting up again and TNWJ have begun again. Photos will probably begin this up coming week.

The Market has been good, steady and with Valentines day coming up I thought I'd better get moving.

Calling All Swans

Crystal River

Guardian

Sprouts

Secrets

All items will make it to the Silver Lining shop in just a while.

Until then, enjoy what-ever Mother Nature brings you, since there is nothing we can do about it anyway!

Trying to Stay Ahead of the Curve!

Yea, I realize it's well into the middle of January but this holiday season was chock full of festivities for us!

My folks came up for my birthday while Jeff's were here for their month long respite.

We took some road trips and spent some great time together.

Studio work was on the agenda but limited! 

Before I began my "resin session" I spent some time fishing around the 2011 fashion forecast searching for colors!

My results were exactly what I was hoping for!

So far they have been a hit at the Market! Some "Honeysuckle, Russet and Lavender" will soon be on their way! 

 My bezels are all hand fabricated sterling as are all the earwires!

Ice Resin was used along with some basic oil paints to create these amazing colors!

Light as dew drops on your ear!

All headed to Silver Lining later today!

Last Call!

Holiday Elf hard at work!

It's been a crazy two days here in The Studio. Monday is officially the end of the holiday season for the jewelry business and the beginning of my holidays. I spent all day today finishing off the last of my holiday orders just in time for delivery at the Clermont Market tomorrow. 

This is a reminder that tomorrow (Sunday) will be my last Market day

until January!

After 2 pm tomorrow you will have to contact me directly or go the

 Das Shoppe!

A sincere "Thank you" to everyone that supported

me again this year!

It still watch in awe when customers come into my both and move to a piece that catches their attention. I am grateful, to my very core, for all of you that have trusted me to express myself and grow in my art. In the past year I have begun to hang a sign over my booth that says:

"Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends"

I can tell you that sign tells more truth than I could have ever imagined! Over the past 4 years I have met more people that come in and have shared a bit of themselves as have taken a bit of my art home with them. I am grateful for each and every one.  

Monday will begin my frantic race to catch up to everyone else out there in the "normal" world. I have done very little in the way of preparing for the holidays, heck, we just got the tree decorated this evening...with a little help from His Majesty.



May all of you celebrate the holidays with a full heart and enjoy good health in the coming year!

'Tis the Season...

Last weekend was the Lake Eola Fall Fiesta and the weather turned on us.

Not that I'm complaining, it was in the mid 40's in the morning and got up into the high 60's during the hottest part of the day, it was quite spectacular!

Jeff was able to join me for setup and all of Saturday, it was nice to have him around for a change!

One of my favorite aspects of the Lake Eola show is the view. This is the show that I always take photos of my booth for submission to other shows, I love not having another booth behind me! I have a tendency to keep my back wall up during this show and love to look at the lake...when there are no customers in the booth.

This weekend I'm at the Lake Ridge Winery and there are a bunch of reasons I love this show, most importantly it is only 3 miles from the house, even closer than the Farmers Market.

I love the views and the music is always great. Mostly it's the other vendors I like at this show.

This year I have Sandi Funk of Makin' Funk Stained Glass on one side of me:

Julie and Mike on on the other side.

(Mike is missing but I'll get him tomorrow!)

 They are brave souls, they not only run Festive Seasonings but they own Mario's Italian Restaurant in Lakeland as well! (More on them tomorrow!)

In the meantime have a great evening and stay tuned for more items coming out of The Studio!

Naturally

There is a preserve not far from where I spend my days at my FTG, it is my refuge.

I can get there within minutes and I find myself spending my lunch time wandering through it's many tree covered paths. When I look up at the sky all I see is pale blue, for this time of year it is cloudless and under my feet is thick green moss, like walking on a plush carpet.

I am usually not alone Gopher Turtles are on the path with me, they munch along the trail side. They don't pull their head in as I walk by but seem to watch, some grunt and say hello. Owls watch me as well and when I get to the boardwalk that brings me over the flood marsh I am usually greeted by a Great Blue Heron. I've been wandering this area for about a year, not wanting to bring my camera but see it all for myself, I think now is a good time to let you all come along.

The seasonal change is not dramatic here but it does take place. The squirrels run frantically collecting their acorns and the leaves, few that there are, do change.

Sandhill Cranes are tending to their young getting them ready to fly and hunt. They soar overhead announcing to everyone that they are still here, they are loud!

Almost every artist interview I have read states that the artist gets some inspiration from nature and when I walk through this preserve I cannot doubt it. Recently I have taken to the process of Piercing Silver. Each time I look for a subject I go right back to animals (I am working on plants next!) and again I realize that right there in my work is my desire to capture some glimpse of their beauty.

Let the Cat Out

 Sandhill Crane Part II

Recently I began working with resin and again I find myself in the same place, picking items that are close to my heart and straight from the beaches I sink my feet into:

Weekend Away

I try to use my time away from the race to think about my own path and this escape has become important to me, no I-Pod, no phone. I have come to some decisions about my pent-up anxiety about festivals that I am not participating in and my day to day work (AKA: what I call my: Full Time Gig). I have decided to continue the Clermont Farmers Market and I often think about those that visit me on a weekly basis. I know when someone says "you have'nt been here", that there are folks that look for me and  I appreciate that, thank you all! The visitors that stop by just to see whats new and say hello mean the world to me.

My work that is displayed on these pages and the thoughts that I lay out are for myself as much as those of you that take the time to read them. It is the time that I can separate myself from the day to day, the times that I wander, that I look around and realize how lucky I really am. I do often try to remember that I am new at this venture and have many years ahead of me to experiment and continue to see all of this with new eye's.

I thank all of you that choose to wander with me and have allowed me to share a little piece of my journey.

Until next time...