Amelia's World

I came across photographer Robin Schwartz, whose daughter Amelia, is often featured in photos with animals.

Schwartz mentions that animals, fantasy and of course her beloved, only child, Amelia dream and discover a world that they invent together.

(Wait until you see the rest of them!) None of the photos were photoshopped and yet, they all look magical in their own way.

Schwartz's photographs are in the National Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and many others.

See you tomorrow for a little more magic.

Branching Out ~ Chandelier Making

I've been working on building a chandelier for a few weeks now. It's a slow process when one is a bit indecisive. I'm not usually, but this really brings it out as it's my first light that I've made.

I bought a simple base at a local shop and decided to change out its decorations and embellish with my own lampwork and bead collection.

What a lot of fun! Because the base of it is so non traditional, I had a bit of a hard time getting started. The "theme" of it changed three times, until I finally settled into what I felt comfortable with. (oops, sorry about that dangling participle there).

I went from a colorful "over the top" style to a neutral, textural earthier kind of "spirit animal" theme. The amount of metal in the base and modern design needed a less-is-more type style than what I originally planned. (which was my more-is-more aesthetic)

So I gathered my supplies of creams, whites, grays, brown, metallics, crystals and various textures and shapes and sorted the beads and embellishments. It made it a lot easier to line things out and test string them to see if they were looking like I had imagined. I used my lampwork glass, bone, ceramic, coconut husk, wood, and other mediums to get the look I wanted. To keep the cost down, I didn't make it all lampwork, but the highlights include sculptural focal beads that I made just for it. Then it was time to get to work. And I'll show you the results of the finished chandelier either tomorrow or Thursday.

Because...well, as I'm writing this, I'm wondering if there's just one more thing that I want to do. Now I'm considering whether to alter the base metal color of the chandelier. Sure, it would be a lot of work, but I just have to ponder that scenario for a little while longer...darn, these aesthetic choices are tough. Darker or lighter? Burnished copper or burnished aluminum?

See you tomorrow at http://www.StudioMarcy.blogspot.com. I'm not sure whether it will be the continuing sage of the chandelier or something different. We'll know first thing tomorrow morning. Thanks for stopping by.

Mabel Grace- A Sign of Our Time

I'm not sure why Turkey Buzzards amuse me, but they do. I made this female the other day, when thinking about my view of the economy affecting so many people- including artists. It's a tough one out there.

Her name is Mabel Grace and she's wearing beads made from Italian glass. Who knew that a funny looking bird would have such great taste.

Mabel Grace is currently hanging out in my Etsy shop. She has requested that I make a few roadkill beads, as she's a bit hungry, but I'm resisting. I am watching out for the cute little animals like bunnies and mice.

Come back tomorrow for some more fun. See you then.