geraldine newfry

new books on etsy!

i spent the day yesterday photographing, editing, uploading pictures to etsy and facebook.  i have yet to upload the images to flickr.  i'm always surprised by the time commitment needed to list on etsy.  but books are up!  i added several polymer books which were on exhibit at the morgan conservatory.

key to travel 

tulle dress

tree of life

i also added some lower price point items.  the first, a book made with painted board covers, still sewn with a coptic stitch.

hidden entrance

the second is made with a simple accordion structure.

spring sunset

there's something for everyone!

i'm working now on some more  books with painted board covers.  they will be the next books i list on etsy.  oh!  i do have a few supplies to list too.  would you be interested in the rusty bits that i use on my polymer books?  they've been a big hit in the past.  i also have some mendhi stencils.  i'll have to spray paint my sample so the stencil effect is clear.  i guess it's back to the photography studio again tomorrow.

discombobulation

Image by wallyg via Flickr

Sally Jean Alexander just reminded me of this quote:

"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." ~ Christopher to Pooh, A.A.Milne

i've been absent from blogging this week and absent from the studio.  i'm discombobulated.  monday we found out that my husband had been laid off.  my very first concern was about the health insurance.  i am two months away from qualifying for medicare.  not because i'm 65 (oh no, just mid 40's) but because i'm on disability.  we're still not sure what the cobra will cost and if we will be able to afford it.  i've been visiting all my doctors this week while we're still insured.  getting prescriptions refilled, checking in.  we'll see what the future holds.

we're also getting used to both of us being at home together all the time.  is this what retirement is like?  this area is going a lot more smoothly.

but my mojo has been missing.  it feels like the perpetual weekend, and i don't usually work when john is home.  i'll have to make adjustments.

and i do really need to get in the studio.  we'll need the cash.  i'll let you know when the etsy shop is stocked.

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in the august garden

john and i are growing squash for the first time.  we had no idea when to pick it.  so i asked twitter.  the answer is: way before now!  look how big they are.  my feet are there for scale.  we grilled one last night and barely made a dent in it.  i foresee a lot more chocolate zucchini bread in my future.

in other parts of the garden, i was shocked to see these lilies.  i absolutely do not remember planting anything here.  once again, i asked the internet what they were.  the answer: amaryllis or surprise lilies.  they were a big surprise to me!

i planted this yellow rose last year.  i'm happy to see it's doing well.

 

we've really enjoyed the garden this year.  i think because it has been cool things have lasted longer.  we're just now getting into more of a fallow season.  unfortunately the cool has been affecting our tomatoes.  we have seven plants but we've only been able to pick some golden cherry tomatoes.  once they're ready though we'll have a ton!  i think i see canning in my future.

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binding and polymer clay

yesterday i went down to the studio, totally wanting to play with polymer.  but i have a commission for which to bind.  i sighed and put together the papers to fold.

 

then i remembered that i like to put the signatures in the book press overnight.

 

so there was time to play with clay!  i was working from donna kato's millefiore book.  i want to make beads for book marks.  i figured it would be helpful to make some fresh canes.  i was a bit impatient with the clay, not wanting to mix my own colors.  in the end i should have taken my time.  i made two ugly canes and two nice ones.  i think i'm going to turn the ugly cane into a kaleidoscope cane.  we'll see how that turns out.

i really need to prioritize my time.  i'm creating a few books for publication and they need to be full of journaled pages.  that's going to take a long time.  so i should really focus on that before making beads.  it's hard to tell my muse what to do though.

how do you set your priorities while still allowing the muse to roam free?

wordless wednesday...laugh

celine's inspiration tuesday

i just came across celine navarro's posts called "inspiration tuesday." scrapbooking isn't usually my thing, but reading between the lines i got tons of ideas for journaling.  and supplies!  i haven't been in a scrapbook store in ages, but celine made me want to go.  oh the paper!  the chipboard embellishments that could also be used with spray paint!!  the fun stickers!  perfect for my style of journaling.

see for yourself.  here.

carrots and canes

i believe we may have gotten a little carried away with the carrots this week.  we got some in our csa box, and then couldn't resist some round ones at the farmer's market.  lots of carrots.

 

fortunately, john likes to take them into work for his midday snack.

along with the round carrots we got some itsy bitsy ones.

 

aren't they cute?  we ate them right away.  they were as sweet as baby carrots (which aren't grown small at all, but are big carrots cut up).  and now that i think about, there are about 3 bags of these in the refrigerator too.  our eyesight should be improving by the minute!

i've been reading farmer john's cook book from angelic organics.  i need to figure out what to do with the veggies we get.  i might try one recipe that calls for cooked cucumbers.  that will be interesting.  if i can get it in gear, i'd like to make zucchini bread today.  we have a lot of zucchini, and the squash we are growing is also getting quite big.  john doesn't like zucchini bread (!) but i have a friend with whom i can share.

in polymer news, i worked yesterday on reducing my name cane.  i was really reluctant and frightened to do this because i haven't had much success reducing in the past.  but now i have marla's and kathi's advice to go by.  i was actually quite successful, with little waste.  i'm very excited.  i used the littlest one on the back cover of the book on which i'm working.  for scale, the large grid is one inch.

i really like the idea of having a signature cane.  heartfelt thanks to kathi briefer-gose.

journal pages

Image via Wikipedia

my recovery from surgery seems to be slowing me down.  at first i had a lot of energy, but it's all gone now.  i'm still trying to read up on polymer and stencilry, to keep my mind on art.  but it's frustrating when you don't even feel the energy to go down one flight of stairs to the studio.  fortunately these aren't my stairs!

so i thought i'd show you some more journal pages that i made last month.  i scanned them all and realized i only showed you a fraction of them.

 

 

 

 

i just got some new stencils in the mail.  i think i may try them out.  it's raining but my porch is covered.  we'll see how that works.

ipca retreat, the work of ponsawan silapiruti

i had the pleasure of meeting ponsawan silapiruti at the ipca retreat.  she had lovely mosaics for display.

each tile was made with a different polymer clay cane.  such work!  but beautiful results.

 

this was ponsawan's first retreat.  and a big step for her to spend some time creating for herself.  her daughter was hit by a drunk driver last year and sustained a traumatic brain injury.  ponsawan writes about her daughter's progress here.  and you can see her write up about the retreat here.

views from the kitchen

i just happened to notice this overwhelming display of coffee and tea paraphernalia the other day when i did the dishes.  there's my hot to go starbucks mug, my cold to go bottle, my french press, the coffee filter from my regular coffee maker, coffee mug and tea strainer.  do you think i love caffeine much?  actually i only start the day with caffeine.  i switch to decaf after lunch.  unless i have to stay out past my bedtime.  then i might make an exception.

i also wanted to show you our community supported agriculture box.  we split a box with my friend, and still look at all the veggies we get!  sometimes we go to the farmer's market after picking up the box.  so our refrigerator has been quite full of green, leafy stuff.  i'm not sure how to cook it all, but my friend just got me "farmer john's cookbook" which should be quite invaluable.  our box is from angelic organics.

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