Plastered

A very good friend of mine is about to move. And not into any old house, but a >150 year old rehabbed work-of-art house in historic downtown Cincinnati. When they bought the property nearly two years ago it was trashed. Not just trashed, but DECIMATED. A hub for a wide variety of unsavory activities, to put it nicely. Floorboards were rotted out clear through to the basement. Stairs to the second and third floors were missing. No running water, no electricity, no legal occupants for decades. It smelled. I toured the property when they first purchased it and my jaw was on the floor.

My friend's husband is a very talented contractor---some would say he's an artist, although I'm sure he'd balk at that, being the "man's man" that he is. He takes old, dilapidated, historic buildings and materials and gives them new life. Over the past two years, I've been fortunate to witness his work on this house at various stages:



We have a front door!
We can walk to the third floor!
We have working lights! 
We have toilets!

My favorite part of their new home is the plaster walls. These original walls, they're gloriously scratched, coated with layers of layers of paint and wallpaper, stained from years of water and smoke damage. Rather than patch, sand, and paint over all this history, they chose to expose it---strip off the paint in some areas, let a patch of color pop through here, maybe a snippet of brick there. They sealed the walls with quality sealant, not unlike what I use when sealing ceramics, metal, or polymer. And now they are breathtaking. 

The amount of work he put into this place has been dizzying. He has turned it into a glorious, sexy, rustic, urban-industrial piece of art, all while honoring its roots. The time has finally come for them to leave their current home and move into this labor of love, so they've been on my mind this week. 

I tell this story because today's earrings remind me of those plaster walls. The ceramic drops at the bottom are made by the lovely Claire of somethingtodobeads. They have been sawdust fired, giving them that smoky, fumed, earthy look. Some of the outer layers have crackled away, exposing other layers, just like with those walls. I love them and have been saving them for a special pair. I capped them with wee bead caps and hung them from old two-toned striped African glass trade beads and big blobs of blackened silver solder. Delightfully swingy, edgy, and tribal. 

Love you, Susan! 

Happy Wednesday,
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

(Please) Forget to Wash Your Hands

I'm sure we all heard this at least once during our childhood: "don't forget to wash your hands". As a tomboy and serial creek-hopper, I probably heard that at least once a day. My grubby little paws were always busy and exploring---catching crawdads for the boys who were afraid of getting pinched (come on, guys!), playing on the swingset, picking bouquets of flowers for mom, netting butterflies in the garden, romping through the woods behind our house. 

We assume that dirt and the accumulation of "stuff" is a bad thing. Now, to be fair, in many cases, it is. Germs are not fun. Smelly stuff is not fun. Grody stuff is not fun. However, when it comes to dirty beads with a history, I'm all for it. 

When I'm at a show or am trolling Etsy for new components and I see a strand of beads that have grime, I usually pounce. And once I get them on my bench, the thought of WASHING the beads to remove that beautiful patina of time...well, it never even enters my mind. Some people prefer their beads and jewelry to be new, pristine, shiny, and spotless. That's fine, no problem with that. But there's also something very sterile about it to me.  


Take, for example, the collections of old antique beads found in my earrings for today. Just look at the macro shot on those babies! Pitted, caked with decades and centuries of grime---people rolling the beads around in their hands, wearing them, treasuring them, trading them for goods. Different cultures, different continents, different purposes. In other words, these beads have LIVED. They've outlived generations of humans. And they live on today in their current incarnation as earrings. If that doesn't get your juices flowing as an artist, then I don't know what will.

These earrings feature lime green ancient glass beads, clear "dogon" glass beads, and pale robin's egg blue amazonite stone beads---all from Africa. I added in small vintage wood beads and little bead caps to complete each quintet. The wirework is all hand-wrapped steel, because you know how much I love organic gnarled vining forms. Hooped, lightweight, and fluid.

Happy Wednesday...and have fun getting dirty!

Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy

We're All Ears :: July Reveal

"The quilters start at one of the corners of the sari and work their way around it, usually in a counterclockwise direction. They fix patches made from the family's old clothing to the sari with a running back stitch that eventually covers the entire quilt, both patchwork top and sari bottom. Some quilters create small, close-spaced stitches, others spread them further apart. The stitches exhibit a distinctive rhythm that is part of the individual quilter's visual signature."

~Professor Henry Drewal

There is color and life in these textiles and a lot of heart. What I was intrigued by most was the manner in which the Siddi quilts are constructed. The idea of starting in one corner and working around the outside to the inside in a sort of rectangular spiral, if you will. That was the impetus for my earring design.

The spiral is such an ancient symbol. It is representative of the cycles of birth, life and death, which is a fitting image for these quilts. They are often given to babies in their cribs and I suspect that they are carried for comfort all the days of their lives. The way they spiral the winding path of fabric patches is quite like a tactile labyrinth. Labyrinths are sacred spaces slowing down time in the meditative act of walking one. I imagine that the stitches in these quilts are like one foot in front of the other, slowing time down, focusing on the change that comes with building the textile, living a life. Walking a labyrinth is a metaphor for life—the path shifts in unexpected ways, sometimes diverting you from your goal, but ultimately leading you to the center. Unlike a maze, there are no dead-ends and you can't get lost.

I limited myself to a single, continuous piece of wire, much like the threads that are woven in the blankets. I tried adding some simple color with tiny beads and textiles in the form of some sari silk. But they seemed too fussy. So I opted to leave them plain.

As I was creating these I sought out some appropriate background music and opened up my Pandora channel for Cirque du Soleil music. I really like the haunting melodies, the ethereal voices and the "cirquish" nonsensical lyrics with a world-beat sort of vibe. Listening to such music helps me get into a flow. I hit upon some Adiemus on the channel that at once had a Celtic and African vibe to it (you might recognize their musical style from the movie Avatar). I could imagine the joyful rhythms being hummed as the Siddi women worked on a community quilt. The distinctive rhythms of their stitching echoing in the song of life.

These earrings are quite long, about 2 1/2-3" each, yet extremely lightweight. Their continuous form is like the road that each of us is on. We may not know what the journey ahead will give to us, but there is a definite beginning and and ending, with plenty of twists and turns in between to keep things interesting. I call these Life Labyrinth earrings, and each pair, just like each one of our journeys, is different.

 

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We're All Ears :: July Inspiration

When I was attending the UW-Madison campus in the late 80s-early 90s the most popular class to take was African 210: The African Storyteller. This class was taught by the dynamic and engaging Professor Harold Scheub. He was well known on campus and over his 40+ years there he taught the African Storyteller class to over 22,000+ students!

I remember coming into the lecture hall for the first time. It was jam-packed, one of the largest on campus in Bascom Hall. I am sure it was a fire hazard as every seat was taken, and people were standing or sitting in the aisles. He would pass around these clipboards that had lists of the class names and you would be required to sign in that you were there. Attendance was mandatory. And you better not be a minute late. That was never tolerated.

Prof. Scheub was a masterful storyteller, although he would say otherwise. I believe that his time spent with these skilled tale-tellers taught him a thing or two! He artfully mixes ancient tales with modern literature, giving us a glimpse of this faraway land through words. Armed with a clunky tape recorder, Scheub lived among the people for 10 years in Southern Africa and logged four of those years walking the tip of the continent and logged over 6,000 miles. He could speak many languages, including the clicks and clacks of the Xhosa tongue along with Swahili, and Yoruba. He collected over 10,000 examples of this rich oral tradition, including some epic tales that would go on for days.

If you are interested, here is a little video of Prof. Scheub as I remember him telling one of his favorite tales, The Tale of the Beautiful Partridge.


Quite by accident, I stumbled on the primitive folk art quilts of the Siddi people. Coincidentally, an exhibit of these quilts was mounted by a professor of art at UW-Madison named Henry John Drewal called Soulful Stitching.

The Siddi peoples of Karnataka (a South Western part of India) are descendants of early African immigrants and slaves brought to India by the Portuguese in the early 16th century. They escaped slavery and moved to the Karnataka area to form their own independent African diaspora community.

They have maintained their African customs and identity while also adopting and adapting many aspects of Indian cultures. The patchwork quilts, known as kawandi, have a uniquely African vibe to them. You can spot them hanging on the lines to dry and draped over walls, each with a highly individualistic look that gives it sort of a fingerprint of the maker as well as special touches for the one who has been gifted this quilt. Often these quilts are given to children, hanging in their suspended cradles, to comfort them during the monsoon season.

The textiles mix together a well-worn array of discarded clothing fabrics in vibrant colors, and I think that each one really tells a story. While each quilter has a distinct style, they all seem to share the same opinions as to quality, beauty and the need to "finish properly" the corners. They use triangular patches called phulas or flowers, to add that little bit of flair to the edges. Crosses or crescents are sometimes incorporated into their designs for women who are Catholic or Muslim. Baby quilts in particular are often bejeweled with lots of small, colorful patches called tikeli. The back of the quilts are discarded sari silks.

Per Prof. Drewal, Siddi quilt making can be either a solitary or communal event, with a large one taking up to 4 months to complete.. "The quilters start at one of the corners of the sari and work their way around it, usually in a counterclockwise direction," he says. "They fix patches made from the family's old clothing to the sari with a running back stitch that eventually covers the entire quilt, both patchwork top and sari bottom. Some quilters create small, close-spaced stitches, others spread them further apart. The stitches exhibit a distinctive rhythm that is part of the individual quilter's visual signature."

Prof. Drewal has set up the Siddi Women's Quilting Cooperative to sell the quilts as an income generating project. He also takes the 32 quilts to display them in galleries around the country. Wouldn't it be amazing to own a piece like this filled with light and love and history?

Our inspiration for July are these folk art patchwork quilts from the African diaspora Siddi peoples. I think that they look like visual stories played out in bright colors and special fabrics.

Show us your interpretation of this primitive African art and storytelling.

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To participate in the We're All Ears creative challenge:

Make earrings inspired by this inspiration.

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Friday, July 17th.

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Embrace the Crust

Can we talk about crust for a second? Now I know what you're thinking - crust is the stuff of early mornings and dirty dishes. It shouldn't be glorified, should be swept under the rug, and should never be mentioned. I'm going to whiplash your opinions on this topic - behold a wee pair of earrings I recently made using lampwork glass beads from Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity Beads.

She describes the style of these beads as crubbly - a combination of crusty and bubbly. To me they look like the beginnings of a swirling cosmic universe. 


I pulled out the caramelly ambery tones of her beads by using some Baltic amber resin chips and then added some textural play using two small "urchin" style African brass baule beads. Small little myrrh resin nubs at the bottom add a faint exotic fragrance. 

These earrings make a statement without being too heavy or too over the top - they're tribal, futuristic, organic, and primitive...all at the same time. 

So the next time your wrinkle your nose at the mention of crust, think twice...


Happy mid-week <3
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Cross Culture Arches

Cross Culture Arches

A blend of cultural influences in these new earrings with their beaded arches and tribal copper crescent focals. I have strung yellow orange Indonesian beads and teal Czech farfalles on nylon thread to form the contrasting colored arches. The copper clay focal components are from Kristi Bowman; I think of her as my co conspirator. From the copper crescents, I have hung carved bone discs in black and white to complete the tribal theme. I see these earrings as ethnic, but I'm not sure which one (ethnicity), thus the name.

Bias Scarves by Elizabeth Brassard (left)

Aboriginal Women's Ceremony by Debra Young (right)








Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire
Chrysalis Too on Etsy