We're All Ears :: April Reveal :: Eggs

Remember a few weeks ago when I said that I wondered if I would get the kids to color eggs with me? Well, they didn't need much prodding! But they were very wary of the camera (so shhhhh....don't tell the boy that I snapped this pic! teehee!)

We had a good time dunking the eggs in all different colors that my daughter mixed up: lemon, raspberry, grass, peacock, grape. I decided to do sort of a madras-plaid style by dipping the eggs in partway and then turning them and dipping in another color and another. They didn't end up very vibrant this year, and I am not sure where all those speckles came from as they dried (but I do like them!), but I would count this as an all-around success. Especially that I got to keep making that memory with my kids for one more year!

I thought about all different egg options that I had.... speckled blue robin's eggs from Humblebeads.... creating my own painted egg charms.... but I ultimately went back to my original inspiration: the pysanky eggs.

Those brightly colored eggs gave me the color palette. All of them! And I was playing around with how to translate a painting technique I have been doing for a few months called fluid painting or pour paintings into polymer clay. I think I may have cracked the shell on this one! (pun intended!)

So as I was making some other beads for my Art Bead Scene inspired challenge for my Simple Truths Sampler in a densely rich color palette, I noticed I had these ends with swirls leftover. I decided to make a couple of egg beads of my own.

Since they are really brightly hued and highly patterned with whorls and bends and swirls of color swishing all the way through, I decided that I should keep the rest of it simple. Some rustic headpins and a little bit of bling with the AB crystal rondelle beads was all it needed.

Now it is your turn! Show off what you made with the theme of EGGS!

We're All Ears :: April Inspiration :: Eggs

A longstanding tradition in our family has always been to dye hard boiled eggs for Easter. I have done the Paas pellets, tie-dye, sponging paint, wax crayon resist, stickers, rubber bands, onion skins and cabbage for a natural color, and all colors of food dye you can think of. There was even that one Easter when the kids were little and I bought up every 100% pure silk tie from Goodwill, cut them up and wrapped the un-boiled eggs in them covered in a muslin coat so that the silk pattern would transfer to the egg (it really does work!)...just like Martha Stewart!

Since my boy is now a too-cool-for-school freshman in college and my girl is now old enough to drive herself away from my nutty arts and crafts, I wonder if this year I will be able to convince anyone to join me in some good old fashioned fun. They did it last year. Cross your fingers and toes they will do it with me still.

I have always loved the intricacies of the designs on Ukrainian pysanky eggs.

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These detailed designs are done with a wax resist method. It looks painstaking to me. I am not that patient so I am not sure that I would do well with this craft. The patterns are simple, repetitive and bold.

"Simply put, it is an Easter egg decorated using a wax resist (aka batik) method. Its name derives from the Ukrainian verb “pysaty,” meaning “to write.”  (“Pysanka” is the singular form; “pysanky” is plural.)

But it is much more than that.  Ukrainians have been decorating eggs, creating these miniature jewels, for countless generations. There is a ritualistic element involved, magical thinking, a calling out to the gods and goddesses for health, fertility, love, and wealth.  There is a yearning for eternity, for the sun and stars, for whatever gods that may be."  

I like the idea that this ritual is handed down through the generations. I like that in the process there is a sort of magic, like when the images start to take shape as the patterns are formed. Eggs by themselves are full of possibility, but the symbols make these even more special.

The symbols are written on the eggs using a stylus that has a pin attached to it. These symbols were passed down from generation to generation, starting with more ancient pagan symbols that were adopted by religion. The writing of these symbols makes each egg like a little note. Then the eggs are dyed. Finally they are heated in an oven or with a flame to get the wax to heat up revealing the patterns.

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There is a high level of precision in this craft....again, I wouldn't have the patience to not rush it or break the egg! It was not something done for fun, like dying hard-boiled eggs with my kids, but was done by highly skilled women. Today the tradition of pysanky are passed on to young children as soon as they can hold a utensil so that this wonderful cultural act can live on in the writing.

The colors all meant something as well. Lighter, brighter colors with a lot more white were given to younger people who have more of their story to write. Darker, more somber colors were given to older people. The colors were dyed one after the other in a very particular sequence so that at the end when the wax is removed the reveal is spectacular!

WHITE  Signified purity, birth, light, rejoicing, virginity.

YELLOW  The symbol of light and purity. It signified, youth, love, the harvest and perpetuation of the family. It is the color consecrated to the light deities, and the sun, stars, and moon. It the Christian symbol of reward and recognition.

GOLD  Spirituality, wisdom

ORANGE  The symbol of endurance, strength, and ambition. The color of a flame represented passion tempered by the yellow of wisdom. It is also the symbol of the everlasting sun.

PINK  Success, contentment

GREEN  The color of fertility, health, and hopefulness; of spring, breaking bondage, freshness, and wealth. In the Christian era it represents bountifulness, hope, and the victory of life over death. Green is the color of Christmas, Easter, and the Epiphany.

RED  The magical color of folklore signifying action, charity, and spiritual awakening. It also represented the sun and the joy of life and love. Pysanky with red fields or motifs are often given to children. In the Christian era it represents the divine love and passion of Christ, hope, passion, blood, fire, and the ministry of the church.

BLUE  Represented blue skies or the air, and good health, truth, and fidelity.

PURPLE  Represented fasting, faith, trust, and patience.

BROWN Represented Mother Earth and her bountiful gifts; earth, harvest, generosity.

BLACK Represented constancy or eternity, the center of the Earth, the darkest time before dawn. Black also signified death, fear, and ignorance.

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So the challenge to you is this... use the EGG as your Muse for April, in whatever form you would like. Pick the rainbow colors that you remember as a child, or stick to more natural egg imagery as a sign of life and rebirth and the continuance of nature awakening in the spring. Or just a simple egg shape. Have fun with it! See you on April 21st... until then... Happy Easter! Happy Passover!

We're All Ears :: April Inspiration

New green things are pushing their way through all over the place! Buds are appearing on trees. The grass is greening up. Happy Spring!

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I don't often get a chance to go for walks, but I want to change all of that. I want to get out and explore the 26+ miles of Green Circle Trail that is unique to my community. Some of it starts fairly close to my own home! I think that needs to be a goal for me for the rest of this year, to not only walk all 26 miles, but to experience the natural beauty of our area.

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One of the most delightful and magical plants to me are the common fiddlehead fern. They are so gorgeous when they are just sprouting and later when their feathery leaves stretch out over the cool forest floor. They are called 'fiddlehead' because of the way their curved fronds resemble the curled scroll ornamentation on a stringed instrument. I understand that you can also eat the tender curly shoots as a vegetable with wonderful anti-oxidant properties. I would like to try that!

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Our modern-day ferns are actually descendants of ancient species. They have been around for 300+ million years! The secret to the fern's longevity is likely their ability to thrive in the shadow of their more showy forest siblings.




I found this fascinating time-lapse video of a cluster of fiddlehead ferns unfurling their feathery fronds and thought you might like to be inspired by this for April! Let's see where this earthy, yet otherworldly inspiration takes us.

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Will it be the coiled fiddleheads... the feather leaves, or the bright spring green color that inspires you? Join me for the reveal of our fern-inspired earrings on April 15th!

We're All Ears :: April Inspiration

"Hemispheric - Valencia, Spain - Jan 2007" by Diliff - Own work.
Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons

How about a little armchair traveling?

The City of Arts and Sciences is an impressive complex located in Valencia, Spain. Created as a way to honor the melding of science, technology, nature and art, the buildings were conceived and designed by renowned Spanish architects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela.

These architectural marvels are situated on just under a 2 kilometer stretch of land that was formerly the bed of the River Turia (after the great flood of 1957, half of the river was diverted and the rest converted to gardens, parks and walking paths). This glittering gem is like a beacon, a marvel to behold. It almost looks like something from a science fiction movie! Each of the six structures has "an endless capacity for entertaining and stimulating the minds of its visitors." I know that I am putting this on my bucket list! (Note to self: Must.Get.Passport!)

I really couldn't decide on which structure inspired me the most, so I included them all! (You know I like choices!) You can choose what you want to select for your inspiration this month!

"El Hemisférico, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia, España, 2014-06-29, DD 71" by Diego Delso.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

L'Hemisferic
This was the first of the buildings to be inaugurated in 1998. It is meant to resemble a giant eye - "The Eye of Knowledge" - and features an IMAX theater, a planetarium and a laserium. The brise soleil roof retracts (see a similar Calatrava in the incredible Milwauke Art Museum) and opens to reveal the spherical eyeball that houses the IMAX theater. A fun fact is that the acoustics of this structure are incredible with amazing echoes. If two people are standing inside at opposite ends, they can speak to each other clearly with the sound traveling along the rib of the unique structure. 

"Museo Príncipe Felipe, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia, España, 2014-06-29, DD 56" by Diego Delso. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

El Museo de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe
This building houses the interactive science exhibits that are there more to entertain than to educate. The shape resembles the skeleton of a whale.The exhibits are all graphically displayed and have included climate change, biometrics, the human body and spy science.

"L'Umbracle, Valencia, Spain - Jan 2007" by Diliff - Own work.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

L'Umbracle
This gateway to the complex is an outdoor feature that houses the Walkway of Sculptures with work by contemporary Spanish artists amid a garden of indigenous plant life that was chosen for the way it changes with the seasons.

"L'Oceanografic, Valencia, Spain 2 - Jan 07-cropped" by Diliff - Own work.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

L'Oceanogràfic
This open-air park is the largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe and the third largest in the world. Home to over 500 different species including dolphins, belugas, sawfish, jellyfish, starfish, sea urchins, walruses, sea lions, seals, penguins, turtles, sharks,and rays, L'Oceanogràfic also features wetland bird species.

"El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, Valencia - Jan 2007" by Diliff - Own work.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia
This impressive structure houses the opera and performing arts center. The building has a feather-shaped outer roof that allows for the cantilever effect of the overhang.

"Ágora, Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia, España, 2014-06-29, DD 58 Edit" by Diego Delso.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Agora
This suspension bridge called Assut de l'Or Bridge ("The Dam of the Gold") connects visitors to the City of Arts and Sciences. The structure seen through the wires of the bridge is the Ágora, an outdoor amphitheater that can seat up to 6,000 for concerts and events such as the Valencia Open 500, an international tennis competition.
 

An alternative view of the Ágora structure

Which structure piques your interest the most?

(And more importantly, who wants to go there with me!? ;-)

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

Make earrings inspired by this inspiration.

Write a post on your blog.

Add your exact blog post URL link to the
InLinkz code right here on 

Friday, April 17th.

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We're All Ears :: April Inspiration

I am a catalog junkie. I would love to live in the pages of Pottery Barn. I think in another life I would have loved to be a set designer for a catalog like this. So I found my inspiration for April in the sale section of that site with these sweet little Skylark plates. 

I love the mod shapes on the bird, the soft leafy greens in the striped linens and the antique looking glassware that looks like it was right out of my grandmother's hutch. The dark forest wood table, twisted rope placemats, the tiny golden berries, the outline of the bird bowl and the modular hammered silverware all intrigue me. 

What inspires you from this springy tablescape?

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

Make earrings inspired by this picture.

Write a post on your blog.

Add your exact blog post URL link to the InLinkz code right here
on Friday, April 18th.

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