We're All Ears :: February Inspiration :: Sculpt the World

Jon Foreman is a land artist from Wales. He was inspired by the natural materials abundantly found in his seaside location to create his ephemeral land art sculptures. Stones, sticks, shells, leaves, sand, and more find their way into his hauntingly beautiful mandala-like sculptures. Can you imagine the delight in coming upon one of these out in the wild?

From his website - https://sculpttheworld.smugmug.com -

A creator of various styles of Land Art, he is ever in search of “different.” Be it with stones or leaves, inland or on beaches. He has even created works in derelict environments using materials such as broken glass or ashes and general debris. The scale of his work varies massively; he may use stones or driftwood to make something small and minimal. Otherwise he may be seen drawing massive scale sand drawings up to 50 metres across. His work is ephemeral in many differing ways; Most often the weather and immediate climate will make his work disappear (be blown down/washed away by the tide), and sometimes other people will interfere. This is all part of the creative process and has proven to benefit his work. Jon’s practice is not just something he enjoys but it is also a therapy for him, an escape from the stresses of everyday life. Jon began his journey making Land Art/Sculpture while in college but he feels his creative play with materials and innovative ideas are something which started long before. Most of his work takes place in an already beautiful setting such as the Pembrokeshire coastline. Having grown up there he saw the beauty of the coastline and woodlands and made use of them by collaborating with nature itself.

When I first saw these images on www.BoredPanda.com I immediately thought of beads! Each of these experimental sculptures is massive yet so intimate. The act of placing each stone, stick or leaf in just the right place based on color, size and shape is really remarkable. The circular shapes, with radiating rays and spirals are so very ancient and powerful. I imagine that there is a lot of planning that goes into these, and a meditative experience in completing them. Reminds me of my process of working with just the right beads that I "happen" to find in my beady landscape!

Be sure to look through both the 70+ pictures on the BoredPanda site for more inspiration as well as checking out his website for other materials and sculpture installations. There is even a short film of him working on a massive sand canvas piece along a rugged Welsh coastline. Beautiful! Well worth the time to watch. Show him some love, because his art is awesome!

Jon Foreman - Sculpt The World

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Of course you could just focus on the patterns and shapes that Foreman uses, or you could incorporate natural elements like sticks and stones and leaves into your interpretation. Lots of options! Hope to have you play along with me...and tell your friends, too! Be sure to come back on Friday, February 21st for the reveal!

The Most Humble of Finds

Never trust a person who doesn't appreciate a good walk, hike, or meander through the woods.

My day job involves working from home, which is a huge blessing, but it can also mean that I work up a hell of a case of cabin fever every now and then. Not being a hugely social person, at these moments I tend to flee the house in search of parks instead of humans. And what does a girl like me do when she's taking these hikes? Well, she collects bits, of course. Sometimes it's just one or two things, sometimes it's a couple handfuls wrapped in the front of my shirt and weighing it down like a sagging potbelly. I'll come home with any number of natural wonders: hawk feathers, flaming red maple leaves, shards of bone, a squirrel-gnawed walnut, a rusted-out nail, or--if I'm really lucky--a trilobite fossil. 

Here in southwest Ohio we are rife with fossils from the Ordovician period---that's 450-500 millions years old! Whole cliffsides are just stratified with them. Erosion and time ensure that our creeks are always teeming with brachiopods, bryozoans, crinoids, gastropods, and horn coral. Talk about treasures!

Several weeks ago I was taking a hike at French Park, one of my favorite local parks. Being autumn, the leaves were turning and falling and the tree nuts were doing the same. I came across a grove of massive oak trees and the forest floor was littered with--you guessed it--acorns. I'm sure no one will argue that an acorn cap is quite possibly Mother Nature's perfect bead cap. Now, I've always seen jewelry makers dabble with cast metal or ceramic or polymer clay acorn caps. But what about using actual acorn caps in designs? I picked up a handful, inspected, checked for hardness and durability, and then decided to take some home to play around with. 

Back in the studio, I drilled a hole in each top and gave them a healthy coat of wax to help preserve and waterproof. It seems so elementary and so obvious, but it feels so...right. Here's the first pair I came up with, featuring a pair of deliciously grungy sawdust fired ceramic beads made by our own Claire Lockwood of somethingtodobeads. I strung everything on a couple of my fat pitted copper headpins and topped them off with wee black filigree bead caps and a dot of blackened silver solder. 


Just goes to show, art can be found in and created with just about anything, even the most humble of finds. 

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

On the Edge

I'm on the edge. The edge of a vacation, that is. 

That delicious pre-vacation period where you're ALMOST THERE and are filled with the anticipation of having time to step away, breathe, clear your mind, get yourself out of the workweek rut.  My mom always said that the pre-vacation is better than the vacation itself. Part of me doesn't want to believe that, but there certainly is something to be said for it. 

Next week my other half and I are headed to the mountains of West Virginia. We stayed in a cabin for one day last year as we were passing through, and it struck such a chord with us that we vowed to come back this year and stay for more than just a day. The cabins are nestled at the foot of a towering cliff, and a clear, clean river winds its way past the base. Last year we saw a bald eagle soaring right above our heads. I was even able to convince my husband (who is not afraid of heights, definitely not afraid of heights, no, never) to climb the nearby mountain with me. We got to the top with a mixture of exhilaration and sheer white-knuckled terror. Quite a memorable combination!

We toured one of the region's many caves and experienced TD, or "total darkness"---where the guide leads you deep into the cave, gives you fair warning, and then turns out all the lights. If you've never experienced that kind of sensory deprivation, it's incredible. That is, unless you're claustrophobic or scared of the dark or have a fear of being trapped underground. Yeah, probably not so good for that.

We also spent a couple hours walking next to the river, which was filled with tons of perfectly rounded, water-smoothed rocks. Each rock was glazed with a soft, slippery layer of mossy-green algae. And when I say slippery, I mean, "Nikki fell on her ass while trying to cross the river". Hey, I at least had to give it a try. That's just me. 

The green lushness of those memories from last year remind me of this pair of polybells I made a while ago. I took polymer clay, formed it into two rough poddy bells, textured them against some piece of random organic matter, cured them in the oven, hand painted them with acrylics, and then sealed them. The mossy green pockets, slate blue peaks, and silver-kissed highlights bring to mind a deep craggy forest.

Hope you have a wonderful week while I'm off playing mountain woman!

Happy Wednesday,
Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy

Pebbles On A Chain

2016, 
and my new year has started very well. The other day I received an absolutely wonderful gift for my jewelry making, from a Swedish friend Mia Christensen. She picked all the stones and pebbles herself. Drilled them and tumbled them. They all come locally from an area in Ostergotland Sweden, nearby where she lives and where I also grew up. Many of them are small and perfect for earrings. I just had to start creating with them immediately. The ones I used in these earrings are just over 1 cm, or just under 1/2 inch.

Patinated verdigris delicate chain - Shannon German of MissFickleMedia

Drilled pebbles - Mia Christensen

Sterling silver (oxidized) handmade earring hooks

Messy wrapped oxidized copper wire

In this picture below you can see about half of the stones I got as a present from Mia. She is in the process of setting up an Etsy-shop, but until it's done you may contact her via e-mail: kaffe.nu[at]hotmail.com

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year,

Malin de Koning

www.beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.se

Subliminally Inspired

Sometimes, or probably more often than we even realize, we are subliminally inspired by things and views we just happen to have around us in our daily life. It is a beautiful thing I think. And something to embrace whenever you realize it has happened.

Violet patinated hammered copper rings - MissFickleMedia

Aventurine irregularly squared plates

Purple electroplated hematite square heishis and saucer beads

Oxidized copper earring hooks and head pins (handmade)

This view towards the small wood by the back garden of my house is something I never get tired of looking at. I love to follow how the light changes through the day, and how the seasons pass. In certain lights and weathers the tree trunks look almost purple, effect enhanced in the autumn when grass and leaves go 

ochre-yellow. It's such a beautiful color scheme.

This is my first post as a regular official member of Earrings-Everyday. You might have seen my two guest posts over the last month or so. My name is Malin de Koning, and I live in Sweden. I am especially passionate about using art beads and handmade components in my jewellery. I combine them with all kinds of other beads and materials. In periods I also like to do different kinds of bead weaving. Every now and then you will most likely see me use my own beaded beads in my jewellery. I am very proud and happy to now be one of the members of Earrings Everyday. I hope you will find my posts inspiring.

All my best,

Malin

www.beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.se

Poppy Pod Earrings

These poppy seed pod inspired earrings seem quite magical, like something fashioned by tiny woodland fairies. 

The polymer clay pod headpins are paired up with Czech glass beads, copper seed beads and sterling silver wire. 

These are alternative project samples for my fall retreat in October. 

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!? ;-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Anti-Trend

There are some designs and motifs in jewelry making (and art, in general) that keep coming around time and time again. We may be tempted to roll our eyes and groan if we see YET ANOTHER person doing YET ANOTHER version of XYZ. 

Now, sure, there are definitely trends out there -- always have been and always will be. But I think some designs transcend the trendy. Some designs are so elemental and so universal that they we'll always identify with them. Some designs can be dressed and polished and sparkled up just as easily as they can be beaten and dirtied and rusted down. I'm going to venture that the humble leaf is one of those eternal designs. 
 
Everyone has their own version of the leaf -- they're like fingerprints. Some artists celebrate the unbridled budding potential of the new spring leaf. Others rejoice in the resplendently lush summer leaf. There are those of us who prefer the mysterious crash-and-burn of the autumn leaf. And some are drawn to the dormancy and negative space of the winter leaf. 

So at the risk of being that chick who's posting YET ANOTHER pair of leaf earrings, here I go...

I was in Tucson at the huge gem and mineral show a couple weeks ago with my dear friend Kimberly of NuminosityBeads (mwahh!). We came, we saw, we bought, we gorged, we emerged exhausted yet triumphant -- beads and stones in-hand. When I got back home to Ohio, I couldn't wait to get back into the studio and do some creating. And wouldn't you know it, one of the first designs I created didn't use any of my new haul. 

 
Instead, I created a simple pair of fold formed copper leaves. Distressed, punched, fire-scaled, beaten, oxidized, licked with verdigris, and sealed. Simple. Timeless. And so ME.

What motifs do you keep coming back to in your designs and in your life? And what does that say about you? Food for thought :) 

Happy Wednesday!

Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Stand Still

My iPhone is constantly loaded with pictures that I take whenever my husband and I go on our various road trips. I cannot get enough of nature, and I treasure each instant that I can capture... 

such as this one:

I am in awe at the vastness of it all, the colors, the textures, that raw untouched feel,

like the rest of the world does not exist and time is standing still...

Stand still my child,

Listen to the sounds of nature,

Mother Earth's breath gently caressing your face...

Enjoy the light scent of wild flowers,

And the sun's warm touch on your soul...

Inspired by blue skies, tree branches and leaves, the color of the earth...

as well as by pebbles and rocks, I've designed these earrings:

Stand Still Turquoise Hemp & Fine Silver Earrings

These earrings feature gorgeous natural Sleeping Beauty Turquoise pebbles, a pair of my hand made .999 Fine Silver (PMC3) leaf charms, suspended on variegated hemp cords in earth tones and Sterling Silver accents and a pair of my handmade Sterling Silver Ear Wires.

 

Rustic, light and serene, these earrings take me back to my mountains...

I'm seriously considering keeping these for my private collection, so I'm not listing these just yet. 

I might make others in a similar style... time will tell.

Today is my (late) father's birthday. He would have been 81.

Happy birthday papa... may you have a wonderful birthday with the angels xoxo

Nathalie

http://www.NathalieLesageJewelry.com

Azure Lake Ceramic Circle Earrings

Nature inspired color palette. 

Handcrafted ceramic circles 

by Cindy's Art & Soul. 

Wrapped in fine silver wire, 

dangling from sterling silver ear wires.

http://blog.bandagedear.com/2012/05/15-nature-inspired-color-palettes/

 

Earrings can be found at  

www.ArtAndSoulJewelry.com

........................................................

 

 And while I have your attention!

Please be sure to check out this months  

We're All Ears :: February Inspiration + Earring Love Fest!

 I am offering one of my sand-dollar pendant beads as one of the prizes along with a set of matching round beads that would be a great set for earrings (not shown with original post)

 ...................

Stop by and join in the fun with us! 

 

 

Nesting Earrings

Two handmade pewter nests wait expectantly under branch disk beads in a dreamy teal.

I love that you can easily spot nests here in the winter.  Most of the birds have flown south and we await their return with the spring blooms in a few months.  I love the change of seasons and the inspiration they bring.  It's fun to anticipate the arrival of what's next, but it's also nice to enjoy the moment and the season that is in front of us.  Wow, that could be said about all sorts of things in my life - good words to live by.

Oak Leaves & Bittersweet Branches

Take a walk along an autumn woodland path with earrings inspired by the season. Oak leaves flutter from trees that tower into the sky. Along the path a bramble of bittersweets grow among the foliage. The cool crisp air stirs and the smell of  wood burning in a fireplace is faintly coming from the cottage at the end of your walk.

I'm loving fall -  for the first time in ten years I am immersed in the beauty of the season.  It pours out into everything as I sit down to create.    


Oak Leaves & Bittersweet Branches


-Heather Powers blogs at www.humblebeads.blogspot.com and her work can be found in her Etsy shop.