Alright... I listed one of my new rings where I cast the cabochon! I created the mold from a vintage glass cabochon from Czechoslovakia. Love the scale-like texture! Shoreline of Vision - vintage cabochon ring
Casting Cabochons
Here's a sneak peek of what I've been up to! Casting vintage cabochons. These new sparkly teal resin ones will be made into rings. Let me know if you have your eye on one & I'll make a reserved listing for you in my Etsy shop.
Here's a close up of one of the cabochons I created with resin. You can see the original vintage Czech glass cabochon in the background. It's the blue & white one.
"Sleepy Inuit Village" button ring
I'm fascinated by igloos. It's crazy to think about how early Inuits were able to live and flourish in the harshest of conditions.
There's a dreamy documentary from the 1920's (the first feature-length documentary ever) called Nanook Of The North that follows the lives of a family in the Arctic. Here's a little clip of Nanook building an igloo for his family in under an hour. Complete with a window made of ice and snow to reflect the warm sunlight inside.
And that's the inspiration for my latest creations...
One button...
Two button...
Delectable clothing buttons repurposed into...
"Sleepy Inuit Village" button rings
A miniature Inuit village sits atop the frozen lake of turquoise flecked with gold. Two stacked buttons create the scene of chilly igloos set on a pearlescent stage. Their three-dimensional character and subtle variations are the perfect splash of color for a cold winter's day. Each ring is completed with an antique brass-plated band.
The finer details...
The ring's face is made of 2 plastic buttons made in Italy. The top is a transparent light green, speckled with gold. The bottom button is aquamarine, faceted, and 7/8" in diameter with pearlish speckles. The band is a very strong, adjustable antique brass-plated, 4mm in width.
I have been creating button rings for the past year and this one will finally be listed in my Etsy shop available for purchase. Head on over to purchase your very own.
Each ring is shipped in an itty bitty box, ready to give as a gift. Special attention is given to the packaging to make it special for you or your recipient. It's a lovely gift to give a friend, family member, or co-worker.
Miniature street art installation
With a warm breezy night, how could one resist being a little bit mischievous by partaking in some street art installation? Fused and sitting flushed against the cement ground, a 1 1/4" square wooden cube hides from passers-by. On one side of the cube, vintage ledger paper is adhered and coated with resin. Below the resin, a cropped coffee ring from my coffee, drawn pixels and orbs float on the ledger's surface. It's been awhile since I've done any street art so it was very thrilling to interfere with the urban environment. I have decided that the coming warm nights of the summer season, means partaking in more installations. Stay tuned as I document more and more of these non-permission based artworks.
Just a reminder that there are other wooden blocks of mine that are on sale for a limited time. These original blocks can be displayed on a shelf, window sill, or in a shadow box. These little masterpieces would be great idea for a Mother's Day gift. It's just around the corner... May 10th! Did I mention that they are 25% off? Hop on over to my Etsy shop and take a peak if you haven't yet.
It's Friday!
So I'm hoping these photos of my latest work make up for my absence on Wednesday & Thursday.
Sadly I didn't make it back here for my weekly inspiration post on Wednesday. But you can count on it next week, it will be a good one. Nor did I get to my planned post yesterday. It's just been one of those weeks, ya know?
So these lil' wee ones are still in the process of being completed. I intend to do a bit of stencil graffiti on their backs. Possibly doing layers of spray paint upon layers of resin, we'll see. I'll get more in depth about them with you at a later date. My weekend to-do list starts today... well this evening. It's a lengthy one alright. I better hop to it. So I will see you all bright and early on Monday morn!
00013 of Standard Movement
Hello there!I have my 13th work of the Standard Movement series to share with you today!
This 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" lil' masterpiece includes my signature coffee rings and globe-like orbs on vintage ledger paper. The blossoming bud happened to grab my attention on one of my many walks this week. It has such a sweet smell! Curiosity had me Googling to find the proper name for this thriving small tree. After a good ol' half hour... Ta da! It's a Kobushi Magnolia, and it's native to Japan.
On the left, do you spot some handwriting? Yes, you do see correctly. Randomly yet meaningfully, I included a snippet of a fellow's charming message that was written in a young lady's 1976 yearbook. You ask, do I know these people? No. I am a collector of many vintage paper finds, including old yearbooks that people just happen to pass up. Looking beyond the musty smells of pages, I find myself in wonderment of it's background. I question, was it passed up because of the significant water damage and she felt it was no good? Or maybe this young lady's life ended and her belongings, including this yearbook were given away. Or maybe she flew halfway across the world in search of new adventures and was forced to leave all her belongings behind.
Along with surrounding myself with the delightful sweet smell of blossoming trees, I've been around not-so-pleasant smelling substances. In particular– epoxy resin, polyamine, and lacquer. I've been playing around with them to find the right fit to seal those darn fastidious picture frames. The ones that just don't allow space for glass, like pictured above.
I hope everyone has a lovely weekend! I will see you on Monday.