Sigma.... Pi....

Earlier this year I received a request from a math teacher... "Could I please make a pair of earrings depicting Sigma and Pi " ... She was going to a Math Conference and thought it would be fun to wear them to it...


...This pair shows the Sigma symbol, on the right... in lower case... 18th letter of the Greek alphabet...





After I made the first pair.. I liked them.... so I made several more pairs... some in copper and some in silver... each slightly different... to have on hand for the summer season...





The stones I used in these particular pairs are African Turquoise... I love the varying blue-green mottled color of them...






This pair shows the Sigma symbol, on the right in Upper case... in the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 200...

...the upper and lower case symbols have distinct meanings onto their own... which the math instructor tried to explain to me... but sorry to say and not being a mathematician myself... It rather boggled my mind when I tried to absorb this information...


............I guess I think with the other side of my brain... patterns.. shapes... designs... well basically I think in pictures... but I did appreciate her tying to educate me... I will leave it to you to discover the exact meanings of these... I'll just stick to intuitively making things here in my hermitted-away studio...





Pi is the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet... this is the lower case symbol... in the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 80...




The shell used as background display shows the beautiful designs that nature created on the inside and outside of the Green Sea Urchin...


Copper earrings approx. 2¼" long... Sterling Silver earrings approx. 2" long...  SOLD

The ABC's of Patterns

This is a book I made and bound  representing patterns with the letters of the alphabet for inspiration... the pages were made from heavy watercolor paper of which the designs were cut ... with colored paper behind them to highlight the patterns...

I have always been fascinated with... letters... playing with calligraphy, colored inks, the origin of alphabets, the development of fonts... cutting my own original stencils.... books and the steps involved in the creation of a book... creating my own designs for a multitude of uses such as quilts, appliqué, embroidery, house design, clothing, painting, toys, woodcarving, ornamentation, etc... the list is endless as design and pattern are everywhere and they certainly keep the mind occupied...

This project brought several interests together for me... I'll start with A... B... C...




A for Ankh..... Egyptian symbol signifying life...





The Ankh's key-like shape also encouraged belief that it could unlock the gates of death...

.....today it has come to symbolize Peace and Truth..





B for Borders.... early printers often used them to frame their text pages.... among other uses...





A border portion I made of a Mock-up for a medieval design book cover.





C for Cable...represented twisted rope...





Cables are found in everything from quilt patterns... to woodcarving... to knitting, etc... they also make great borders...



Pattern and design are so adaptable.... from one method of use to another completely different... they are everywhere... to the limits of the imagination...

...I tried to keep these patterns simple so they could be easily adaptable and easily cut...




.......the ABC book of Patterns is approx. 6" x 7" x 1" thick... handbound...

... click for the DEF....

Desideratum Art Jewelry

Our place... where we work and play... up on a bluff... by the Fundy Bay...

We made our sign from a very old piece of wood from an old fallen down house... It had originally been a fairly tall baseboard... gave it a sanding... painted it... now it hangs at the side entrance to our place...




I planted the Bleeding Hearts, Dicentra spectabilis, here two years ago.... on the East side where they receive early morning sun and afternoon shade.... This is probably their third location in the gardens... this is the first year they have bloomed...
I am so pleased about that... Because before we put the little picket fence up, (which we found thrown into a ditch in two or three pieces and needing paint) the dogs thought that very spot was the fastest way to the door.... and they beat a path right through them... the delicate Bleeding Hearts were trampled... Luckily the roots were strong... they came back this year full of vigor and are blooming beautifully now...

Hopefully next year there will be even more blooms... Now that the dogs have found a new route.




The word "Desideratum" is latin for... to desire... your heart's desire or yearning... or something missing and longed for...

That is how we felt when we discovered the rugged landscape here along  Fundy... and we named our home "Desideratum" as well as our jewelry lines...

Our Logo of two bodies coming together ... "Becoming One" ... is our symbol of Continuity, Creativity and Endurance... it is what we try to achieve in our handmade jewelry and other works of art....

.........Your Heart's Desire.....

This was my hearts desire this morning.... as I looked out past the porch posts entwined with Virginia Creeper that is just beginning to come to life.... a wee bit of fog slowly beginning to drift in around the coastline... felt mystical...

...Click here to go to main DESIDERATUM blog...

Who Can Resist a Shell?

Wonder and Beauty..........

Perfection of Design...............

The Spiral of Life...................




The Rage of the Sea offers them to me.... tosses them to me... as a gift...




Who can resist a shell?...................Not me....






.... from the Fundy Shore....

Green Sea Urchin... Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, an Echinoderm... grows up to 4"

Stimpson's Colus... Colus stimpsoni, Mollusca... grows up to 4½"

Ten Ridged Whelk... Neptunea decemostata... Mollusca, grows to 4", ...lying on a Deep Sea Scallop... Placopecten magellanicus... grows up to 8"

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The White-Breasted Nuthatch

Many varieties of birds visit us daily here on the bluff... but since we moved here a few years ago.... I have never seen the little White-Breasted Nuthatch make a stop ........... and I miss him.....


Why do we always want what we don't have?




Since they don't venture round my place, I thought I would try a little watercolor, so I can remember them.... I especially loved their unusual and endearing habit of creeping head first, down tree-trunks... then holding their little heads at a 90° angle to have a look around... before continuing on their downward path searching for bugs in the bark... or perhaps seeds or nuts that they had carefully tucked away there for a future snack...




I think I'll put some suet out ... perhaps that may tempt them...


White-Breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis... 5-6"... sparrow sized... blue-gray above..underparts and face white... slightly rusty belly... black crown... beady black eye... small stout tree climbers with strong woodpeckerlike bills.... southern Canada to southern Mexico... deciduous and mixed forests....nasal yank-yank... pairs seem to stay together year-round, for the species may be found in twos even in the dead of winter...



Hang on, little up-side down bird!



approx. 4" x 5" on CP 140 lb. WC paper, water color, brush, crow quill dip pen and india ink.

Delay Not

...I believe you cannot wait ...

And let life peaceably pass you by....


You must grab it...

Arms spread wide...

With both hands.... and an inquiring mind...


Savor it...

Devour it...

Intoxicate your mind with it.....



.......To the depths of your very soul...

....No one.... can do it... but you...

Time moves much too quickly.....

This sunrise occurred during the late fall, last year at 8:30 on a November morning, where the sun rises directly in front of our view over the Bay of Fundy.... where the sky is vast....
... it changed immensely during very brief moments... taken from the front verandah.

Coffee or Tea...

"Molly, my sister and I fell out...

What do you think it was all about?

She loved Coffee and I loved Tea,

That was the reason we couldn't agree..."

What's your Pleasure?........

"I'm a little teapot, short and stout,

Here is my handle,

Here is my spout,

When I get all steamed up,

Hear me shout!.........

Tip me over and Pour me out"

Every piece is individually created... the texture patterns are always different... and the heat from the torch may vary slightly in its intensity... as it moves across the design... therefore altering the manner in which the silver flows across the piece...

No two are ever identical... they each have their own little specialness... color, texture, shape...



...detail of the cup... showing varying texture in the silver and copper...

"Polly put the kettle on,

Polly put the kettle on,

Polly put the kettle on,

We'll all have tea..."

My grandmother Parlee used to sing this song... I remember it so clearly... she was always singing songs as she went about the house...

Coffee or Tea?... Enjoyed socially or privately... Personally, I like both...... with a bit of sugar..



A finished pair ... We have been creating the little "Coffee or Tea" earrings design since January 2000.

I love it when I see people wearing our work.... here and there about the village, the town and city... sometimes they know we are the ones who created them... sometimes they are oblivious to us...

I love it either way.....


Coffee...a widely consumed stimulant beverage prepared from roasted seeds of the coffee plant, Coffea belonging to a genus of the Rubiaceae family... first consumed in the 9th century when it was discovered in the highlands of Ethiopia...
....about ¾ of the coffee cultivated worldwide is Coffea arabica... the remaining is Coffea canephora... ideal storage conditions of coffee beans are air-tight and cool..


Tea... an infusion made by steeping the leaves, buds or twigs of the tea bush, Camellia sinensis, in hot water for several minutes... one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world... second only to water... tea originated in southeast Asia...
..."herbal tea" usually refers to infusions of fruit or herbs that contain no cameillia sinensis..


approx. 1" - 1½" long plus ear wires... handmade antiqued Sterling Silver and Copper...

Limited Production...   ........to see more Desideratum Art Jewelry designs





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John's Solo Show

John has been extremely diligent....

During the last year... Every spare moment... he was in his studio working on a large number of canvases...

Painting is his love... If he could go into his painting studio and never come out ... I think he would...

I lived with a man in deep concentration for quite a while now... It is his nature that when he begins a project, no matter what kind of challenge it is... to absorb himself fully into it... ... nothing can deter him from it... it is all consuming... he is driven to create...




Everything he knows... he has taught himself........

Everything he creates......... is a marvel of perfection...




Paintings by John Ackerson are being shown at the Saint John Art Center in Saint John, New Brunswick, till June 28/08...

He has shots of the show on his blog... but they are a million times better in person!!!! ....It is in the library room on the second floor... and it is worth seeing!!!


.................He creates Works of Art........



Painting shown and detail "Lone Voice in the Wilderness" is one of John's latest oil on canvas... 16" x 16" gallery style and is in the show...

Warm Feet - Darning Socks

There's a ho-le.... in my stock-ing ..... dear Li-za... dear Li-za...

There's a ho-le.... in my stock-ing ..... dear Li-za, my love...

and it needs fixin'...

It won't be the first time... they have lived with me for years and I have mended them several times now...

I found a window with good light and a comfy seat... a darning needle... some of my own hand-spun  natural cream-colored Border Leicester wool ...from strong, long-fibered fleece.... this time it is still on the spool... it is only single ply so I used it double...

... the evidence of earlier mending... also evidence that I had more time then and a more appropriate color... my socks are showing me the patterns of my life...

...that time I used natural brown Suffolk handspun... soft springy fleece...
...this time it was purely for function... not beauty... service... doing what time allowed... and what was needed...





I have a hard time throwing things away... especially things that have served me well and made me feel good... besides just a little wool ... a few stitches... and they will work as well as before...




Almost done.... didn't take long................




All mended... Feels warm and soft... no drafts... back in use...

... looks perfect from this angle... never know I did a thing to them, at all...


......But I forgot how others may feel when they see them... from their direction.... helter-skelter little stitches going this way... and that...
...like a mad man had had his way with my needle...






...But after careful observing by Pirate... they passed the test...


Guess it doesn't bother dogs... seems they just want a warm leg to lean on...



 

A Quote by Georgia O'Keeffe

"I found I could say things with color and shapes...
that I couldn't say any other way...
...things I had no words for".

Georgia O'Keeffe... 1887 - 1986... American Artist, Painter... her family were farmers...
She was married to pioneer Photographer Alfred Stieglitz for 22 years till his death in 1946...




On reading this quote... It empathized the way I have always thought... wishing I could explain or transfer my thoughts and ideas through the tips of my fingers...

Barrie

J.M Barrie... 1860 - 1937 ... Scottish journalist, playwright, novelist and dramatist...

...his father, a handloom weaver... his mother, the daughter of a stonemason...
...Barrie was 9th of 10 children...

..........Exploring the eye.......




...He became world famous with his play "PETER PAN"... 1904..... and the narrative story ... 1911... an exciting adventure and exploration of growing up....... originally called Peter and Wendy... the magical world of Peter Pan had also been presented in Barrie's The Little White Bird... 1902...

....interesting to note... Barrie stopped growing when he reached five feet in height, he suffered migraines and rarely smiled...

........Exploring facial composition..............





...He appealed to both adults and children... adults for the symbolic sub-text... children for the ripping good story...

........Examining an ear........




He was made a Baronet in 1913.... Sir James Matthew Barrie received the order of Merit in 1922... He was elected Lord Rector of St. Andrew's University and in 1930 Chancellor of Edinburgh University..


"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies." (from Peter Pan)


I worked this in watercolor, india ink, colored inks... with brushes and crow quill dip pen...

approx. 4" x 6" on CP 140 lb WC paper

From Ruth's Still Life

I was inspired to do this little sketch when I saw a delicate photograph of beautiful tulips in a quirky purple vase... with a parrot for a handle... So Cheery...

It was Spring... Color ... and Fun... all wrapped up in one...





I used watercolor... Grumbacher soft pastels and conte... and worked it fairly quickly...

Thank you, Ruth ... for the beauty...


... some of my other Paintings...


this is approx. 3½" x 5" on watercolor paper

A - Hunting We Will Go... Moose Skull

One day John went hunting.... this is what he got... found on the forest floor...

No... the rest of the beast did not come home with him... just this... Slim pickens... at first I thought...


But no... if not our bellies filled... it allowed the feeding of something else within us ... one of the understanding of nature.... that forms every mammal.



This structure of the Moose skull was intriguing to examine... 24" from base to tip of nose... the sheer size alone was something to behold... even with the antlers chewed off... from a passing porcupine or two... showing another step in how this creature fit into the food chain..



Huge worn teeth... that chewed a cud... before he became part of the process...



The teeth are barely held in place now... due to the wearing away of the skull... which allowed the inquiry of how the teeth were held in place .... how large the roots were.... and how far back they went into the skull...

When I shook it ... it click-itty-click jangled like a musical instrument...



Lichens have taken up residence on most of the upper surface...



...A beauty in themselves...


...Feeding on the bone in the never-ending cycle... death feeding life...



I keep it outdoors in the garden... and watch this process continue as the years go by...



Moose... Alces alces... 6' - 9' tall... largest deer in the world... horse size...dk. brown hair... high humped shoulders... huge pendulous muzzle... males have massive palmate antlers, broadly flattened... spread 4'-5'

... cloven hoof prints usually more than 5" long and pointed... poor eyesight, actually moose are color-blind, but have excellent hearing and sense of smell to compensate... very good swimmers,up to 6 mph... and runners, 35 mph... mothers are extremely aggressive and very protective of their calves...

...habitat is spruce forests and swamps... most of Canada, upper regions of United States... when black flies and mosquitoes torment them in summer, they may nearly submerge themselves in lakes...or roll in a wallow to acquire a protective coating...

...Moose are browsers rather than grazers... love waterlilies, aquatic and marsh plants, twigs, buds, aspen, dogwood, cherry, maple , viburnum.... also peeled -off willow and poplar bark and leaves stripped with their bottom lip...

...tend to be solitary animals..


They visit us every now and then...