Thursday Thoughts...

“If you find something natural and enjoyable, it doesn’t mean it’s not worth anything. In fact, I would take it as a sign that you may be going in the right direction”. 

Ruth Ander

This quote made itself known to me as I scanned through my list, because it links closely to something I have been thinking about. The space between being comfortable in what you do and how you do it; and the other of pushing, challenging and extending yourself.

There are things that I do and make that feel so much like me - my colour palette, my materials, my sense of narrative as I make books, my love of words and stitching, and my analogue means of production.  I am comfortable in this world and enjoy time working in my zone. And then on the other side of this stream or gulf, lies a bunch of things that would extend me, challenge me, change me and my work.

Somewhere in this place are the rather muddled threads of an artist story - the satisfaction of knowing yourself and your way versus the risk of becoming complacent. The desire to continue to grow and learn versus the darker side of envy of wishing you could do what others do. Such a tricky place to navigate, and such tricky intentions to excavate.

With this quote I think Ms Anderson is giving us permission be ourselves; to follow our own paths and to do the things we are good at! Success should be a positive feedback loop! Struggle is not always necessary!

Isn't it strange to think that because we find something natural or easy that it is worthless? I imagine that says a whole lot more about how we think about ourselves, than about the art being made. Instead we should feel that it is a sign of our value, our experience, our skill level and our proficiency. Being good at something should feel natural and enjoyable.

Ahhh, feels very much me.

Testing out a new design

I have had in my mind some earrings that are in pebble-form, but cut from sheet silver; and joined by thread. Sort of bringing together my love for pebbles, and my stitching.

Barry helped with this prototype, by showing me how to use the die cut we have to cut the different pebbles - but from silver plate only until I have tested the idea to see if it works!

There were a lot of instructions to follow.

That last photo is an excellent reminder - I went back to do some more drilling by hand on something by myself and thought that because the piece was longer I wouldn't need to hold it with the pliers. Note to self - rotating drill bits create heat and make the piece of silver VERY hot. I will use pliers from here on in. Laugh.

And the prototype is here, kind of sort of. There needs to be some sort of overlap I think; although not like this. I played with several different ways of stitching and holding the pieces firmly and I think the overlap ends up helping keep the earrings stable. The thread is too pale for the plain silver - but then I wondered what if I oxidised the silver? And then where can I get some of the silk thread in other colours?

So a fair way to go yet - thread to find and ways to tie off tidily to work out, getting the overlap right, and working out if the thread will support them well enough, and sheet silver to price which given the state of affairs with precious metals these days might just mean they would be too expensive in the end.

I am also not sure if they will hang well, so they may not go anywhere, but it has been fun exploring new techniques and new designs!

Winning and losing and playing the game

 I have had some success completing some pieces of jewellery for the Pop Up in Scotland, followed by what can only be described, and re-framed, as a morning of 'learnings' (not failures!).

In a funny turn  of events, a friend popped by before heading overseas for a couple of months, looking for a pair of earrings to take on her travels. Out of the pile I had ready, she selected the only pair of the trio of stacked pebbles I had. Which was lovely, except I had chosen them to feature on the postcard we had recently had printed for the Pop Up and now I wouldn't have any of my advertised wares to sell!

As they say,  back to the workbench I went, and produced two pairs this time so I can't be foiled. I remain fond of their wobbliness.

After pondering three piece or five piece joined necklaces through the week, I decided to make two five piece ones and am pleased with them both. Different chains, but they are both lovely to wear.

And so to yesterday's morning of learning...

I had this idea for a brooch to incorporate flat silver with a pebble. I had designed it in my head, and thought my way through the way to attach the pebble and to then add the brooch clasp on the back.  I slowly and methodically went about things, and had Barry teach me how to drill holes in stones (using a 1mm diamond bit and water).

Which was excellent fun and not as scary as I had anticipated. You just have to go very slowly and keep adding water.

I got a bit carried away and tried to drill more than one hole in a couple and that was also excellent fun! So the morning did hold several successes.

Until it didn't.

I was trying to put a silver pin with a bauble head through the drilled pebble, and through the drilled silver, and then use flame to seal it on the underside. For love nor money it wouldn't 'drip' and seal the bottom - and I kept the flame on it for ages as you can tell by the colour of the silver off cut I was testing on.

Sharp eyes might also note that pebble I was using looks a bit damaged. And it was. I had drilled two holes in it and in the first one we tried we couldn't get the wire pin to drip and seal so to speak, so we trimmed it and attempted to gently hammer it like if you were riveting it - ever so gently flattening the wire so it creates a circle which would seal the attachment point. And of course, the pebble broke.

We worked out that stone was drawing all the heat and not enough heat remained on the pin for it to run/melt/drip. And clearly the heat then made the stone brittle and this was the result. Sigh. This was a couple of hours of testing this that and the other.

So an alternative is now being explored, because I still really like the idea!

And so to playing the game. A list of things I have been doing to keep me calm and happy and relaxed.

My first attempt at laminated cheese scones. We tried these in Scotland the last time we were there and I loved them so much I really wanted to know how to make them. These were good, but I think they can be lighter and puffier. But delicious nonetheless!

I spent a quiet relaxing time addressing envelopes for a Christmas in July event this week.

And then one of my favourite things to relax is a jigsaw, which I usually don't get to do except at holiday times, but I thought it would be a good plan this week.  And as soon as I began I wondered what on earth had I been thinking with all these multiple bright colours and patterns and repeats??? Still as I conquer small parts of it there is a sense of achievement for sure.

Win some, lose some and keep on playing...

Thursday Thoughts...

“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world” 

Malala Yousafzai

Oh how I love this quote. And how I admire this woman.

The words seem to have an added potency coming from Malala (I like how similar to a bunch of famous folk -  Madonna, Prince, Bono - one name is all you need) when you are reminded of how much she achieved because she was a child who was supported to learn.

Inside this quote is the sense for me that is not just about the child having a book. Sure, having a book and reading can do so much for you yourself. It can calm you; help you feel not so alone; it can teach you things. 

Yet, to make the world of difference, it is good to also have a teacher to help guide you and a pen to record your thoughts and learnings. Or a laptop of course, but the notion of access, guidance and recording seems a good way to describe the supports that facilitate and enable learning.

And from learning, changing the world.

She has done so much; stood for so much, and endured so much. And she continues to try and change the world.

Jewellery this way and that

 Barry and I are headed back to Scotland soonish, and will be having a Pop Up Show at the Armadale Village Hall, a bit like we did last year.

In preparation I have been making new work, some of which continues my passion for sterling silver pebble jewellery. I am refreshing some styles, and have been thinking about and making some new styles. Such fun!

I tried a five pebble linked pendant on sterling silver chain; then a three pebble pendant. Both are lovely and I like the movement.

For whatever reason, I was thinking about beach combing and pebbles and driftwood. This is the result so far. One pair of earrings with a tiny pair of the usual pebble forms and a hand beaten piece of silver 'driftwood'. The second pair is a solid silver pebble with similar hadn't beaten 'driftwood'.

And some nice large earrings.

And another nice new design, This is a scarf pin or maybe simply a brooch. It is large pebble form that has two sterling silver lapel pins soldered underneath to allow it to go through the clothing/scarf and be held really flat and firmly. I think it would look great on a black coat, scarf, jacket, top, jumper... 

And a few more works in progress, playing around with layout so to speak, which forms go with which, and how  many are best?

This one got rejected because all I could see was Mickey or Minnie Mouse.

Here it is again but with slimmer "ears"and I am still not sure.

I really think I will end up doing another five pebble piece instead. Or maybe two of them...

I have had a couple of good days in the workshop cutting, hammering, soldering, cleaning, rolling...all great fun.

Calligraphy and doodling

 There comes a time in every studio space where you need to go - Stop. Just stop. Clean up and tidy up before you do another thing. And I recently met that moment.

My desk space had pretty much NO space left on it as I had supplies for teaching out, samplers of Kilian Caps, some small pieces of calligraphy I was working on, my watercolour set and my watercolour doodles all fighting for dominance alongside my finished poetry books and my Conversations with Women Friends cards.

And so 'Time' was called, I cleaned up, cleared up and began again. I sent this photo to Barry showing him that I had done some calligraphy, chuffed that I had completed two small works that I thought I could use, only to discover as I sent it that I hadn't finished the pink one at all! It still needed the word Serenity added in.

So back I went. And you can see I gave up on the blue one as that S for Silence went way too wild (the lower bowl was too loosely curved, it needed a much sharper return) and was unretrievable in my book. 

I have now completed four I think including one blue pencil on black card which has proven almost impossible to successfully photograph.

Practising all those S s has been good for me I am sure!

I have continued with my daily doodle, most days, and am starting on my third one now.

And in amongst it all there have been flowers and local wildlife. 

A platypus in our creek.

There is a wallaby in this photograph, and a clue to where you can find it! Laugh.

There have been some lovely winter days, and we are grateful.

Thursday Thoughts...

“Grace is the face that love wears when it meets imperfection.” 

Joseph R. Cooke

As I imagined when I searched for this fellow, this quote comes from a theological background. I know folk who have become experts in the theological understanding of grace; and yet I tend to think about it in a non-religious way.

I think of people who are gracious. Who show grace in how they respond to things. For me this quote describes that perfectly.

Folk are gracious in the face of imperfection, wrongdoing, and hurt. The way he describes grace as a face is particular I think. It makes me focus on the face of somebody being gracious and I see a calmness, an openness and a gentleness there.

I do not see a sneer, or anger, disappointment or derision. The face I see is accepting and warm, and possibly forgiving.

The word imperfection is also a nice choice. For me it suggests we can all do with being gracious when things don't necessarily meet our standards or expectations. And sometimes I definitely need reminding of that.

And because it is a hard quote and set of thoughts to illustrate, I came up with these poppies. A, because I love poppies, and B, because their quirkiness could be seen as imperfection and yet I see them as beautiful.

Printing for peace

 Barry and I were lucky enough to have time on the weekend to print our peace weather grams for 2026. Even though International Day of Peace is not until 21 September, we head back to Scotland in the relatively near future and knew we needed to print them here before we go.

It was a great test of our new printing space with the two of us working alongside each other setting up; and then a team effort to print and set them to dry. 

I chose the simplest of phrases - Peace is beautiful.  As I went about it, I thought maybe it could begin a new series of Peace is ... but who knows?

I started with Mistral 72 point, but boy oh boy the word beautiful looked like it would go right to the edge; and it did plus more. So I thought I had better find another way.

There always plenty of problems to solve.

I left the word peace as 72pt, and then moved the rest of the words to 48pt Mistral, and think that looked better. I wanted peace to catch people's attention and then have quite a breathing space before is beautiful. I really like the handwriting stye of this, and the way it looks as if I could have scribbled it myself.

As ever, printmaking leaves you with such lovely images - the starkness of the black and white here and the ink and the tools.

We printed up a storm and our two sets of weather grams are quietly drying (with the aid of a dehumidifier given the rain and the mist we are experiencing).

Given we have had so much weather, it was no real shock to find that several of our weathergrams form years past had fallen from our peace magnolia tree (partly we think because we also recently had it pruned and everything was just a tad more exposed). So here are some fragments and some remnants resting on our chair by the front door.

And some other cheery wee ceramic stars that keep the wishes for peace alive...