The bittercold days of January, 2014 has me working in my studio melting hot solder on metal.  Next will  be:.... to make them dangle.

Playing elf.... Actually I was trying to be artistic and use some of my newly acquired techniques to make a few gifts.  Now that they have been handed out I will share them.  Love working with metal and clay and wire and beads and all that, plus, paint and fabric and canvas and wood.....I don't know where to stop.  So much fun.

Light on Wings
Another painting..using the little clay faces (no so little). I wanted the sky to touch us living on this earth, for we are perhaps one with the earth and hopefully

you will feel the light and joy of being.
Mixed Media painting: 18 x 24" on 2" deep canvas  side painted, no need for a frame.

This is a little painting on fiber, fabric and what is on my table.  I don't know what the end result will be but for now the process looks like this.

There are new paintings completed...  with more waiting in the wings for my final approval.  

Thoughts

20 x24" Mixed Media Collage on canvas

I Have Heard

12x12"  Mixed Media Collage on wood panel

and a piece of jewelry made with the casting of clay with dangles.

The November stillness has set in.  Preparations for winter have been completed in the garden.  The studio has become my favorite place to be.  I have laid out many of my "starts", my ideas that just were not ready to be completed.  They are like bookmarks in a favorite book of mine, saved for the time I want to dig deeper into the thought. 
Calm in the Storm series: 
Calm in a Storm is the thought behind these three paintings. The smaller two are on 4x4" panels.
The third panel is 8x8"....and the reason for the name "Calm in a Storm" series.

moving to the calm

calming

I have been taking some great online classes this year.  The latest one is on making faces using air dried clay.  I had only a small amount of clay on hand and am waiting for my new order to come in.  Shown here is my first try at molding and making faces, remember I am experimenting with this process, some turned out well and some not so.  All of it is such fun and the ideas on how to use them are continually surfacing.

I would spend the all day in the studio but I have a yard, garden and outdoor projects to work on while the weather is still warm.  

Today is a perfect day to be in the studio...the weather is chilly, rainy, and gray. I have decided to work on my metalsmithing projects.  Just when I think I have a handle on soldering I make a mess....well guess that it makes the piece echo handmade!  I am still playing and experimenting, trying to figure out how to add a unique touch to each piece.  When I look at the catalogs and photos of other artists working in this medium I know I have a long way to go for that professional look, but I am still

going to share the process getting there with you.  Let me know what you think of them.