Bottles Full Of Dreams

Throughout my life I have involved myself in many types of arts and crafts - back in the day when I seemed to have a lot more free time - jewelry, painting, crochet (although I don't dig fabric and fiber all that much anymore), polymer clay, wire wrapping, ceramics, (and still some hope to be working with glass someday)! Totally right brained! Since then I have since thrown myself fully into the leaf casting, and a lot of the rest of this work was set aside.

But, 16 years ago ,when my husband was diagnosed with cancer, and I had to give him injections of Neupogen, which came in extremely tiny bottles, I felt I needed to do something positive with these expensive little vials of glass, something that would give my mind an activity besides worrying (FYI, hubby's doing very well these days!). I started to use the bottles as a base for bead weaving, and came up with this-

Total height is 1 3/4 inches, plus the seed beads are size 14/0, which is much smaller than the average bead 11/0 (like what you would find on Native American beadwork). The higher the number,the smaller the bead. I actually have some size 22/0, but have never been brave (or crazy) enough to work with them!

Plus a polymer clay stopper to match. 

Several more followed, no patterns used, just whatever I felt at the time. This was a later attempt...that's a Quarter it's sitting on!




This next one is still my favorite-

 Yes, I actually beaded myself a snake, complete with a little "basket" for it to stay in!

 The snake is totally separate, beaded on poseable wire

 Isn't he cute?

Even the bottom's beaded!

...I found other bottles for beading, like this Tabasco sample (YES, I washed it out very well!)

From this....

...To this....

And more polymer clay formed onto the top - for this slightly larger one I used size 11/0 beads

I found these two great little bottles with jeweled caps at some flea market. They are actually NOT finished (I want to bead the bottoms), so you might catch a glimpse of a thread here and there. 14/0 or 15/0 beads.

Another great bottle, which I'm a little disappointed in - I used high quality seed beads on this, and the pink color you see is the blue beads' color lining seeping into the white! Don't think there is any correcting it, though =-(

Of course,this went on long after the spousal unit felt better - I was on a roll! This one is wearable and is on a chain. I called it a Treasure Bottle, and was so proud of it till said spousal unit blurted out,  "Hey, looks like a coke bottle!" Uh, no, he didn't mean the soft drink! Anyway, that wasn't my artistic intention behind this project :-}

Can't  recall where this little glass tube and stopper was found, but it was just the right size for my beading needles! 

For this one, I didn't need to go around any curves, so I used Japanese Delica seed beads, which are shaped like tiny cylinders and are very uniform.

The stopper was also embellished with a polymer clay flower. I have used this for my needles (hey, that could go with the coke bottle!... I'm KIDDING!) for several years now.

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Sources Of Inspiration

 When the snow flies and the sun sets much too early, even I have a hard time remembering the many colors leaves can be. I'm sure I could find a few people who can recall walking with me in the Fall, and wondering why I would suddenly stop short and lunge for the ground! Did I trip? Was I having a seizure? No, I would spot a beautifully colored leaf and would grab it for later reference! Unfortunately, leaf colors don't keep past a day or two. BUT, (Reason number 87 as to why I love digital cameras...!) with my camera, I can freeze the diverse leaf colors in time and refer to them whenever I want!

I discovered most of these leaves last weekend, when the wind was gusting to 50 miles an hour and I had a yard full of leaves from trees that were probably miles away - that's why most of these are under plastic. I wanted to take the pics in the daylight, when the colors would be truer, but they were trying to take off!

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The most colorful and diverse tree in my yard has to be this Japanese Maple - I was disappointed when I first bought it - it had been mismarked and the leaves turned out a plain green in the summer and I wanted a red one. But once it matured, I discovered that its Fall color was breathtaking! The five leaves below all came from this one tree.

The two oval leaves are from a "Burning Bush " (Euonymus). Proof that I can paint a leaf PINK and it will still be realistic!

The underside of a waterlily pad...

Even a shot of my red Castor Bean...

And.... a couple of "my" leaves inspired by my Autumn finds!

Transforming Nature To Art

What it takes to complete a cast leaf pendant and necklace...

Sometimes I'm asked, "How long did this take you to make?" or, not as pleasantly, "Why do these necklaces cost so much?" Since a lot of people just do not realize the time and labor it takes to create craft or art pieces, I decided to add up the time it takes to make just one of my pendants (because, actually, I want to know, too!)

(The numbers in parentheses represent the approximate time for each phase).

First, I have to select a leaf. Do I just run out to the garden and cut a leaf off a plant? No. The leaf has to be without rips, bends, bites, or blemishes, it has to be pleasingly uniform and the right size, and if I'm making earrings they also have to match! THAT alone is a toughie! (10). Then I have to mix the cement and carefully spread it on this light, flyaway 1" leaf. If the air temperature is not just right, it may be too thin and I then have to apply another layer in a day. (20) I then have to peel the leaf off a day or two later, file any messy edges and soak it in water a few days so it cures (20). Then I hand paint it (15). Next the bail is glued on and the "dewdrop" is attached (FYI, I make the dewdrops by actually SPLITTING beads in half!) (15).

 The final procedure is mixing the two part polyurethane THOROUGHLY and spreading the sticky, messy compound on the leaf, going back several times to brush off the excess that pools on the piece (60) It takes 24 hours to dry, and if at that time I discover it had not been mixed enough, the poly will be cloudy and the piece is junk! There is no way to determine that while it is setting. This polyurethane was developed for furniture and the like ~ as usual for me, I use a lot of products for reasons NOT intended for that product, so I have to improvise ~ there are no guidelines or instructions!

SO... once that is finished, I can choose to sell it as a loose pendant, in which case I only have to place them in ziploc bags, punch a hole in it to hang, place a card of heavy black paper (I cut out myself) behind it with the name of the leaf written on it, place the care and description card (also written, printed and cut out by hand) in the bag, and price it! (10)

I sell these for $18.50 (plus tax). So, for 2 1/2 hours of work,this comes to $7.40 hr.

If I do make one of the custom neckchains for it, with the "organic" components such as Freshwater pearls, beads made from semiprecious stones or shell, terra cotta, brass, silver, copper, horn, etc., that adds at least another 45 minutes to the piece (along with the extra cost of the beads). Stringing beads is not brain surgery, BUT it does take time to think about the design and determine which colors and components to use. I sell the pendants with these for about $28, which sets me at the same hourly wage.This is not counting ANY materials cost! Unfortunately,for a lot of artisans, these are GOOD wages, too!

Do they LOOK as if all that work goes into them? I don't think so, and I don't feel that they SHOULD ~ they should look as if the leaf and colors just quietly came together. And that's what I believe is just an element of good Art.

Levis Commons 2010 - Revisiting the 2010 Art / Craft show season

Another installment in the saga of my trials and successes in the Toledo art/craft show circuit...

Friday- setup. Took 3 hours - sunny and HOT! Staff passed out water to us. ( And WE just passed out! LOL)

Sat. - Cloudy start - hot & humid. Rain started 10 - 10:30, rained until 3 - got too cool for my sleeveless attire! Great artist amenities - coffee, donuts, bagels (think there was even a toaster in the artist "hospitality" tent!) juice, water, pop, fruit, and Andrew Z's supplied pizza! The hard part was getting to the food tent without getting soaked! Still had good sales, but really dropped after 5:00, and the show was open until 7:00! Drizzled until close. Dusk when we left. (Wind picked up about then, and I of course was worried the canopy would blow away, but everything was fine).

Sunday. Cloudy start - much better. Sun and breeze. TOO much breeze. Warm chocolate chip cookies donated by Max and Erma's. Was chilly most of the day, but sales were again good. I did purchase one thing, but I hated to leave our tent to go shopping, since it was spread out quite a distance would take me too long. Teardown went smoothly. (This is the Michigan Artist's Guild, which is the same Guild that hosts the Ann Arbor Street Fair, and I could really tell ~ everything was well organized and everyone knew what they were doing)! It WAS the most expensive festival I have ever done ~ guess you get what you pay for!

On A Bright, Sunny, Icy Day

...With nothing even I want to do outside, I decided to clean my paperweight collection, and after seeing them in the sunshine, had to create a little photo journal of my favorites! 

       ...Got a thing for butterflies, too...

A lot of them were acquired at garage sales, thrift shops, places like that, but a few were actually found at art shows. This is one of those...

                       And of course, anything with a nature theme is very appealing to me!

                                                       A millefiori type

               How about butterflies AND flowers?

                                            Another art show purchase

More flowers

                                                          One of my favorites

Even vases with paperweight type accents!

And my VERY favorite - one given to me by my husband ~ this is actually acrylic with a real seedhead inside! (Looks like dandelion, but much larger).

Revisiting The 2010 Art/Craft Show Season...

This past year I began a little continuing journal in my sales book, partially for helping me remember how each show went, how sales were and what our impressions were of each event, especially if we had never participated in that particular show before. And also for something to do! Even at a busy show, there's always some down time.

  As I was working on my year end books, I started to re-read the entries and thought they might be of interest to or could even help new craftspeople who may be thinking about diving into the art show world....

Toledo Farmers Market Flower Day Weekend 5/29/10 

 (My fourth year participating)

"Got up @ 4:30 A. Arrived @ 5:20 - first ones there! Set up canopy for 1st time in space #40, same place as last year. 62˚ when we arrived - NO RAIN! - light breeze. Went up to 85˚ but low humidity.

Slow start as always but really picked up - got to stay in the same spot Sunday so pitched in the $5 for security.Didn't use the sides - just covered up most of it. Left 4-4:30."

Toledo Farmers Market Flower Day Weekend 5/30/10 

"Got up @ 6:15. Arrived 7:35 or so. MORE nice weather. A lot slower, but several big sales ($80, $74, $65) made it pretty good. 88˚, but not horrible - low humidity again. Things died by 2:30 - 3:00 - left by 5:00 (4:30?)"

notes: I mentioned rain because in our area, rain is always more likely than not in the spring. Since there are vendors who set up there weekly, they have preference over spaces and sometimes you have to set up in a different space on the second day. The 5 dollars is the charge for overnight security. Well, if I have to pack up everything and move the next day, I have no reason to need overnight security, so I wait until I know where I'll be the next day. The crowds thinning by 3:00 seems to be the norm.

..So that's the first show - next post, "In Another Garden" -The Toledo Day Nursery Garden Tour
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