JOURNALING

The journaling continues, SLOOOOOOWLY, but surely! My problem is that I have so many projects going at once, but I guess I kind of like that. This entry will tell you about my continual fascination with birds, and another little bit about my life in general. And so it goes.........

( a special thank you to Debbie at Prairie Emporium, and LeAnn at Summers Studio Pottery for the beautiful feathers they both have sent to me!)

DANCE OF THE DRAGONFLY

I do have to admit, that I am a teensy bit proud to have one of my necklaces in "The Best of Stringing" issue, that just came out recently. Sorry again for the lousy photos, but to be perfectly honest, I am coming down with a cold as I type this...I feel it settling into my bones, and I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT, plus, it's just been one of those really crappy days besides that, so I didn't feel like dragging out the lights for the photo, so I just "winged it", as we say. I made this pendant, one of only a few, that was an image transfer, and combined it with some wonderful Gaea beads, swarovski's, hill tribe spacers, and adventurine. Thanks to all my blog friends and visitors for encouraging me and helping me get to this point....you are all my muse, thank you, thank you!!

BLUE SKY

This is an ATC I did over the weekend for the Artchix group bi weekly lottery. The theme is enchantment. All I can think is that lately I have been enchanted by blue, just can't get enough of it! Since delving into mixed media I also have taken on an odd affection for pink. When I was in college I loved pink, and then at some point I began to hate it, and have not really used it for a looooooong time. But now I'm liking it again. You may laugh, but I think part of that influence comes from Esther! The first time I saw Esther's blog, there was a lot of pink floating around, and I was immediately enchanted with it....it looked magical! The little pink stars that float around when you move your curser on her French blog are adorable!! So I think that she has inadvertently helped me to appreciate pink. But back to blue, that's the obsession of late. Does anyone else ever have a complete reversal of color preference?

TREE NECKLACE

This is my translation of a tree. I soooo enjoyed working on this, the idea came from my recent thoughts of family and friends, and the need for strength, and my continual search for it, and the tree is just that to me.
The earthiness of the stones and their colors, that range from green, brown.....reds and yellows in autumn, the big blue lapiz for the reaching to the sky, the strength of the sterling bars as the branches, and the circles as the interconnecting with life and others. These are some of my Sunday thoughts.......

click on the photos for a closer look

KISS ME ATC

Just playing around tonight with a different style I've been wanting to try, and I wish they all came out like this! Background is from some absolutely beautiful papers that I won on Peggy Gatto's blog, woman, words, and postage transparency are from the famous Artchix, wings from Itkupilli,bird from Digital collage sheets, woodless watercolor pencils and walnut stain. No doodling!

LITTLE BRAVE HEART

Remember Brave Heart ? Well , I decided I liked it so much I has to make some little ones. Again, photographing metal is not my specialty, the sterling silver one was tough, but I think you get the idea. I'm a silver girl myself, but I really like the way the copper one came out with the patina. I think I will make one for myself...I think everyone needs a little brave heart!

Happy Friday!

available on etsy

BLOOMING LOVE AND A MESS

Blooming Love

copyright sharon borsavage 9-23-2009

THE MESS

Blooming Love was created for Helga's challenge at My ARTistic Life. The theme was pink and green. Again, I tried some things I never tried before...made a background of tissue paper, acrylics, image of the woman from Artchix, scrap paper and magazine clippings, stamping, some flowers and fabrics.

The mess is posted by request of Kate over at The Kathryn Wheel, who BTW, has some really fabulous artwork herself! She posted a photo of her workspace, and thought it was messy...I really didn't think it was as bad as mine. As you can see, the jewelry workspace is about a 4"x10" space now, and because there isn't any room on the table for mixed media, I have to go onto the kitchen table to do that! Don't get me wrong though, because I really love my small house! If it were bigger, there would be MORE stuff all over a bigger area. AND, I DO NOT LIKE TO CLEAN, so I don't want any more space to take care of! I manage. Yes, I could use a room of my own, but I don't have it, and if that's all I don't have in life, then I can deal with that.
The more I have, the more I want.....I want, I want, I want....and I DON"T want to be like that!!

BROCADE

Up high on the list of my favorite things to do is to work with LeAnn Weih's ceramic pieces in my jewelry! The beautiful hoops I bought from her were no exception. I really had something completely different in mind when I saw them, but when I received them and got them in my hands, they instantly reminded me of a very rich fabric, so detailed, textured and smooth feeling at the same time! Luxurious feeling is what I call it.....they appealed to my senses!! So I used some twisted sterling jump rings I hade made, and twisted the handmade headpins I made also, I really liked the ornateness of that look. Some turquiose and ruby, and that was it, I was happy!

available on etsy

MY JOURNEY

copyright sharon borsavage 9-20-2 009

This is my entry for this week's Crowabout challenge from Nancy B. Nancy B. supplies us with the collage images and we all see what we can come up with. I of course have become addicted to beautiful scrapbook papers, and doodling. I also added some color with some woodless watercolor sticks that I am finding amazing! And so continues my journey!!

PRINCESS

Felt like pounding some metal this weekend, and I tried something different and out of my comfort zone, as far as subject matter for jewelry, but I kinda like it.... Really had a hard time photographing the metal...it glares horribly and you can't see the wonderful color in the crown from the annealing, a nice soft pinky purply...guess I'll have to drag out the old light setup, but for now I'd thought I'd give you a peek! Thanks for looking!

available on etsy

SWEET ESTHER GIVEAWAY

Esther, of Mes Illusions Baroques, is having a giveaway in celebration of her new Etsy shop! She is such a sweet , kind, and generous soul, and extremely talented....go see for yourself!! Leave a comment on her blog for a chance to win a beautiful altered pendant!

JOURNALING 101

click on the photo for detail

copyright sharon borsavage 9-18-2009
collage images, scrapbook paper pieces, light acrylics, rubber stamps, and hand doodling!!

This is my first journal page ever. I am very excited about it, a little nervous, and a little embarrassed that I'm showing it! I am putting it all out there now, ME, uninhibited!! BTW, this was just how I felt the day I did it, that's the point of doing it, right? Everyday is not a flowery day here, but more and more days seem happier to me when I pick up paper and crayons, and watch as my feelings are transformed into something I can look at, and hopefully others will like to look at too!

LILLIBULLE IN AMERICA!

Yaaaayyy!! My package arrived from France from sweet Lillibulle, and the fantastic trade she made with me! Apologies for the bad photos, but it was dark by the time I got home from work, so I did my best indoors, just so I could post tonight! The detail on these pieces are mind boggling, considering every day she posts something new and just as involved. I secretly think it is a French secret how she is able to accomplish so much beauty......And now it is MINE, MINE I SAY!!!! hehehe...I am going wild!! Seriously, look at this necklace.....I'm, speechless, stitching, soldering, wirework, color, and composition.....AMAZING! This beautiful bracelet, the beautiful mixed media piece, the beautiful japanese soldered pendant she made, the beads, the etched copper pcs(with a bird!!) I promised I would take a photo of the necklace on my neck, but this is not the official one. I will do an official one when I can go outside...promise!! I'm feeling very French, and giddy....kiissss, kissss to all, especially Lillibulle!!

LENNA & LEANN

"To Have And To Hold" by Lenna Andrews

"Tranquil"

Lenna and LeAnn are two ladies I would consider to be good friends of mine. I have known LeAnn Weih, of Summers Studio, since Feb. when I started my blog, and she was kind and friendly from day one, and still is. Her work is beyond excellent, she is a master craftsman of her trade, pottery and ceramics, and she is one of the kindest, down to earth people, and most sincere people that I know. I love to buy her products, which are the round flower ceramic disks on the earrings.
Her "down to earthiness" quality really shows in everything she does. and I really feel a sort of peacefulness when I touch LeAnn's pieces, and these disks said something very "quiet" to me. Yes, I feel my way through most everything I make, and can usually feel it from others too.
Which brings me to a new friend, Lenna Andrews, that I met through Helga Stauss's weekly challenges at "My ARTistic Life". I so fell in love with Lenna's "To Have And To Hold" piece that she created, that I asked her if she would trade with me, and she graciously accepted . I know Lenna pours her feelings into her creations. I don't know her very well yet, but I certainly can Feel that she is a warm and generous soul. To me, beauty always shows in someone's creations if it is done with feeling . I strive to always do that. I sent Lenna my "Love" necklace, a beautiful exchange. Lenna's work ios so extensive, I haven't seen a fraction of everything she has done. I do see she does a lot with fabric, and I do see her pieces are beautiful. Visit Lenna and her flickr site to see a bit of her beauty!

tranquil available on etsy

BRAVE HEART

As always, it doesn't take long to reach for the metal again, and this time I definitely had something in mind. Lately, their has been a lot of medical issues surrounding my family, (not me), and even people I know from the blog seem to be facing somekind of issue like this. It touches everyone, young and old, somewhere, somehow, and sometime, and it is a BOLD reminder of the fragility of what we have. I created this necklace working through those thoughts, transferring them to metal, and hoping that it will come to represent for someone the hard struggle of life, the bangs and the bruises, both physical and mental, and that shimmer of hope that IS always there, if we are brave enough to continue the fight.

available on etsy

CHALLENGES

EFFUSIVE

PLAY NOW

copyright sharon borsavage 9-14-2009

"Effusive" was created for Helga's weekly challenge at My ARTisitic Life...it was the checkerboard challenge. I tried some new things this week and was fairly happy with the results....I am still unsure about a lot of things though, and am still testing a lot of waters. I have found some nice surprises though!
"Play Now" was created for Nancy B.'s weekly Crowabout challenge. One thing I have found out for sure is that almost everything I do involves flowers, greens, trees, vines, or growth of some sort. I really do love flowers, and I guess I feel that when I am working on a woman or an element, The thought always comes to my mind as to how I can extend this image, or elaborate, and growing things always come to mind. They also are very symbolic to me as far as spirtuality, strength, and reaching upward. I do remember that way back in college my main painting themes were mostly women in landscapes, abstract as they were, they were very similar to me. Another little tidbit into this mind of mine!