hilary white does plastic & light.

as one third owner of the toothless cat gallery here in good ol' philly, i have the privilege to be sent work by artists looking to show at our space. recently i was sent the work of local artist hilary white, and was completely floored. (i love it when that happens, especially around the cusp of fall when the prospect of newness takes over everyone//thing) her work seems to be collage like in theory, but instead of paper, she uses an interesting mix of plastic/wood/paint & light to create these glorious wall sculptures. in her artist statement she talks about being motivated to straddle the idea of art being used for religious purposes as well as personal. i'm very interested to see her work in person & to hopefully show her next year. in the meantime, if you live in philly, you can check her work out at ven & vaida.

More etching

Here's my latest piece made from an etched brass plate. I did this one so the spider web is raised. I wasn't sure if it would turn out, but once again etching didn't let me down!

i am absolutely obsessed with crystal morey.

ok i went a bit overboard with posting images of crystal morey's sculptures but i couldn't help it. i'm madly lusting over everything!!! the emotional weight of how these female figures hold their bodies//hands & their sad eyes is killing me. killing me!!! i've lately been investigating more sculptural work for the gallery & i've found some other new lovelies to post about. but! in the meantime, i suggest taking your own investigation into crystal's work & i hope that maybe more than a few of you will have a similar reaction.

xoxo

Hello Romania!

There is a cool little widget over on the right side which shows where in the world visitors to my blog are coming from. I've been noticing a fairly steady stream of visitors from Romania lately, including someone in Timosoara, which is not far from the town of Triebswetter, where both my grandparents on my Mom's side are from. When they lived there (before WW2) it was still Austria-Hungary, buy my family is German speaking and we consider ourselves German.

I was really fortunate in that I got to visit Triebswetter in 1984 with my grandparents. It's a very small farming town, and at that time not all that much had changed from when my grandparents lived there. My great grandmother was still alive, and we had many relatives there, most of whom are now in Germany. This was during the Ceauşescu era, so I got to experience a bit of his brand of Communism first hand. I would love to go back sometime and see what has changed.

Grab the brass ring

Serena had never believed in luck. Good fortune was made, not stumbled upon. She never read her horoscope, and was the only person she knew who liked fortune cookies for the taste. When other girls plucked the petals off daisies and were delighted or horrified by the turnout, Serena had always laughed.

So why was she suddenly looking for omens?

She'd gone as silly as any love-struck teenager, and she didn't like it one little bit. She'd lost her confidence, and she had no clue how to get it back.

What a ridiculous merry-go-round the world had become; she was more than ready to get off.

© 2009 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Brass Filigree, folded and soldered. Hand fabricated.

New owl piece

I've been wanting to do an all silver version of my little owl in a tree and finally got to it this week. I drew the wood grain texture in Illustrator and made a brass etching of it. The texture is on the sides and back too. He's now available in my etsy shop.

Ruby, my spring loaded dog

This is Ruby, one of my five Boston Terriers, and she is a jumping fool. Check out how she alternates between front paws with every jump. She was doing the same thing three hours after having had a Caesarian section. You can see why I had to special order a new storm door that doesn't have the screen on the bottom.

Week 35-Copper Viking Knit with Kazuri Pendant

When I'm at shows I often work on a piece of Viking knit to keep my hands busy. I ended up with this long piece of copper so I pulled it and pulled it until it bacame a neck chain. I made the end cones with 18 gauge wire wrapped around my round nose pliers. I added a slide made with a Kazuri bead and a large smoky quartz drop. Then I lightly oxidized everything. If you're not familiar with Kazuri beads, they are fair trade beads from Kenya. The company was started in 1975 by Lady Susan Wood, the daughter of two British missionaries. Today they have a factory that offers employment opportunities to single mothers, widows, and people with special needs. They offer good wages, favorable working conditions, child care and health care. Some women are supporting extended families of up to 20 people on what they are able to earn there.

I am now officially caught up!

vania zouravliov does the erotic macabre

vania zouravliov lives up to my favorite notion of russians being dark & moody. his at times hyper realistic renderings focuses mainly on the juxtaposition of erotica and the macabre, decadence & decay. the highly detailed work is both disturbing & beautiful, just the way i like it best.

xoxo   

Sandra Bullock’s Fashion House of Horrors

Despite Sandra Bullock’s A-list status, jewelry, fashion and taste were not present and accounted for at her All About Steve premiere in Los Angeles last night.

Don’t get me wrong. I love me some Sandy Bullock, in spite of her giving us the Miss Congeniality franchise and a few other clunkers. And until recently, she generally showed off her tasteful fashion sense in age-appropriate gowns with classic jewelry and a sense of fun thrown in for good measure.

So I have one question: What happened to you last night, Sandy?

This Lanvin dress is just all kinds of wrong, made even worse by (gasp!) ankle boots and a bedhead hairstyle that just isn’t red carpet-worthy. The jewelry is non-existent - just some simple diamond drop earrings – and to make matters worse, her bad fashion vibe trickled down to most of the other choices on the carpet like some primordial ooze contaminating everything in its path.

Actress, Beth Grant, graced us with a hideous Mrs. Roper-esque mumu with layered pearl strands that made a busy look even busier. And, I’m sorry, but this onyx and diamond jewelry statement on Luelle is just gaudy, doll, not glamorous.

The horror. The horror.

Bullock's co-star, Bradley Cooper, was the only saving grace from what I can gather, showing up in a simple suit and a winning smile. Let’s hope their film is better than the garments and gems that showed up to celebrate it.

I think it's best we just turn the page.

The view from Fort Baker

I had a lovely meal with my old pal Terry tonight at Murray Circle, which is in part of the old Fort Baker on the Marin side of the Golden Gate bridge. I've never been here before, you take a winding road down the hill right before you get to the bridge. It's all very hidden away and quite nice. My favorite part of the meal? The grilled corn creme brulee' with corn waffle and brown butter ice cream. Yes, you read that right. Brown butter ice cream.

Week 34-Netted Pendant

I had some requests to teach a class on this pendant but I had to modify it because the original was soldered. I did a fancier version of it with garnets but decided that it couldn't be done in a three hour class. So I went back to the original and this is the sample that I made with mystic quartz beads-not a really good choice because they don't show up. I also had to make it again because I totally forgot how I did it. :D This measures just a tad over an inch in diameter.

Week 33-Labradorite Earrings

Just some simple earrings that I made from some outstanding labradorite drops from Sapphire Garden. I had a show last weekend and wanted to make up some earrings that feature beautiful stones but still keep them in a reasonable price range.

Week 32?

I've lost track. I've let myself get so behind and I don't even look at the themes anymore. LOL This one borrows an idea from our own Deborah Gray-Wurz. I learned how to make these beaded beads from Mary Dugas from our local bead guild. It's the only thing I know how to bead and, for someone who resisted learning for as long as I did, I had great fun making them. So I combined this one with a section of leftover Viking Knit, some caps, and some large silver beads to make this bangle.

Lead a Charmed Life

Forgive me, jewelry hounds. I forgot an important fall jewelry trend in my post last week: charm bracelets!

Most of the hot celebrity jewelry lines are featuring them this season – from Paula Abdul to Tori Spelling – and top designers like Juicy Couture, Marc Jacobs and Betsey Johnson have special charmed creations in their collections as well.

Even Brad Pitt got shiny additions for his beloved Angie's bracelet - as if they didn't already lead a charmed life!

Charm bracelets are one of those timeless jewelry categories that work for all ages and styles. The fun isn’t about a one-off bracelet purchase – it’s about collecting the charms that represent who you are. And it’s a great way to get gifts that really mean something to you come birthday-time and holiday season.

One hotspot for charms is Reeds Jewelers on Jewelry.com. The retailer, in business since 1946, just joined the Internet juggernaut with over 4,000 (count em!) charms ripe for the picking - in addition to their extensive collection of fine jewelry styles.

Some of my favorites border on the bizarre, but you’ve got to hand it to them: they’ve got every whim and whimsy covered.

How much do you love this bathtub charm? They’ve got everything from a minivan and a gas pump to a spider web and a camera! Anything you can imagine.

So take some time to troll the Reeds coffers on Jewelry.com to add to your charm collection or to start a new bracelet just in time for the fall season.

And let me know how you make out! Which charms best suit your personality? They've got it ALL, I'm telling you. Surprise me!

the hydra of babylon x camille rose garcia

camille rose garcia is my absolute favorite contemporary artist. seeing her work in person makes me feel like i have a swelling ocean in my chest. so, to set my lusting at ease, the queen of doom & gloom will have a new show of apocalyptic//gorgeous work, the hydra of babylon, opening at merry karnowsky gallery in la this september 12. the teasers of the new work suggest she is following with her themes of war//excess//destruction of natural resources paired with her ever evoloving psychedelic color palate. i would give a phantom limb to be there.......

xoxo

Lindsay Lohan Robbed in Hollywood

Maybe diamonds aren’t Lindsay Lohan’s best friend after all. After several high profile diamond jewelry debacles – including a lost purse carrying thousands of dollars in jewels and rumors accusing her of stealing diamond jewelry from a photo shoot - La-Lohan is making diamond jewelry news again.

Maybe her bogus tanning products and lackluster legging line angered the fashion gods, but the papparazi darling found herself yet another victim of a celebrity-targeted break-in a la Paris Hilton and Orlando Bloom.

Her upstanding citizen of a father reported the robbery, telling TMZ that he believed it to be an inside job. Reports state that the alarm system was dismantled and Lohan’s safe was ripped off the wall. Bags, shoes and diamond jewelry were taken, but no word yet on how much the loot is worth.

It seems trouble follows Ms. Lohan wherever she goes these days. With plans already underway to move Lindsay out of her Hollywood Hills home, let’s hope the gods will be satisfied with a simple return to the movie industry where she belongs. Sans diamonds, patterned leggings and the perma-tan.

kelly tunstall//ferris plock: sea of love.

i'm finally! home from the sea. i've been thrilled with the new show of dynamic duo kelly tunstall & ferris plock's new show, sea of love. i've been a long time fan of kelly's work & admire their joint prolificness. sea of love is their biggest show to date and i love all the mermaids & ice cream eating monsters. to see a short animation that accompanies the show, check it out here.

xoxo

current nighttime obsessions iv.

although i've posted about the amazing work of amy earles before, i'm lusting over these new drawings. one of which is in the possession of fellow etsy cabinet of curiosities team member, mon petit fantome, whose work is equally enchanting.

xoxo

Jen of frmheadtotoe.com for DSK Jewelry

Do you girls know Jen? She's so cute! & totally wears DSK Jewelry!!! BONUS! lol
I've been reading her blog and watching your youtube since I woke up : )
One of her viewers spotted her wearing DSK Jewelry, and she tweeted me, hehehe I feel so loved!

You must visit her page & youtube! She's too beautiful for words. ^_^

Visit Jen's Website: http://www.frmheadtotoe.com/

Her Youtube Tutorial on Bridal Makeup!
(I love the song in this video...RAIN's "I Do"
How perfect right?


This is my friend Jen, please don't steal her picture.
Also, don't steal her pic and pretend to be her too. lol
There's a lot of that going around lately 0_o

Jen's wearing her DSK Bubbi Moonlight Necklace :)

*Sighh of happiness* I love seeing my jewelry on you girls, it makes me so happy!!!

nicole dextras does ice

i've been fascinated by these haunting, ephemeral images of clothing imbedded in ice by nicole dextras. they eerily remind me of the evidence left behind after a catastrophe, the ghostly remains of what should have a body//woman inside them. these spook me in a similar way that abandoned landscapes//dollhouses do, with a hint of the apocalypse.   

xoxo

via.

Shar Peis love blue Octopus

Lulu Bug and Lily Belle (especially Lily) love this blue octupus enough that whenever we see one at Western Farm Center we have to get it. There used to be tiny pink ones too, but they don't last long.