Working in the Studio - Early 2016

Lots of happy creativity happening in the studio...  concentrated work... lots of mess... 

Long "Winter" earrings.

 combining Moostone, Mother of Pearl, Czech Crystal, Carved Bone Ankh, Fresh Water Pearl, Sterling Silver... 

Love creating these long multi-stone earrings. and in the process I can give them lots of movement. 

The background is a floral watercolour I did in my sketchbook. one of those paintings that you're not sure about so you go away and leave it for a few days and when you come back with fresh eyes, you see something new and then I'm so glad I left it alone..

another view of "Winter" 

 Amethyst, Labradorite, Peridot, Citrine, African Sandcast , large Fresh Water Pearl, Moonstone and Sterling Silver ... long with lots of movement. Handmade at Desideratum. One of a Kind $50.

 "Be the Slave to Your Heart". Solid Sterling Silver Heart pendant... textured and shaped by hand at our Desideratum Art and Jewelry studio. 1 1/4" wide x 1 1/4" long, hung on braided cotton cord. $100. ...contact if interested on any work you might like to have in your little hands

3 shots of the fused Heart necklace.

Here it is displayed on a painting created by my partner John Ackerson. 

I absolutely love this work. so sensitive... 

It is for sale and I will be sad to see it go when it sells.

 Love this amazing texture.

 ... a few pairs of Curling stone earrings are now available they are limited so if anyone is interested in these I have 12 pr. left  ... **Update:Sold Out**

...making the steam that will be fused to the little coffee and tea cups as illustrated in the background.

 ...beginning the fusing phase of the Dragonfly earrings.  There is John over at the other desk cutting out pieces for the next design.  

Just a little note: John also built that arched doorway leading to the next room with the arched windowseat.  

If I could draw it he would make it.  as it went with most things he built everything here.

The Book and The Cat... pic taken on the yellowed pages of a great big 1965 Websters Dictionary found at a second hand store

Cats love a snuggly lap when the owner of the lap finally settles down with their book.

Been a busy last few weeks and we feel pretty good about the designs we have been able to get stocked up on.  Perfect time of year to have a work fest!!

Cheers and happy days to you!

Things On or Near My Desk

Drawing simple things. 

I like that you can draw ordinary useful things and have as good a time as drawing something out of the ordinary.  

they are just lines. every object has lines. and I know these ones.

....10" x 12",  in my sketchbook, Yarka pan watercolours(Russian), Pilot DR Drawing Pen 01 (love this pen)

at Desideratum Art and Jewelry, St. Martins, NB

Ohio Star Quilt

It was time to make another quilt.... so...
I first started out making a few watercolour sketches of how I wanted the quilt to look. 

I liked the simplicity of the pattern, "Ohio Star"... just triangles and squares.

pretty easy...  drew them on graph paper, then glued the shapes to plastic lids and cut them out with an exacto knife... this makes long lasting templates... started drawing the shapes on fabric, then  cutting..

 refined the colour placement.. each block will have 4 colours.. for now I am just cutting out the pieces for the 7 1/2" blocks, the windowpane strips will come later... 

I will be changing the tiny square in between each strip to red instead of white.. when the time comes to cut them out.

the pieces for 1 block are cut out...  that cool pin cushion was a gift many moons ago from Morna Crites Moore, stitcher extraordinaire.

I am using this wonderful old treadle to work on. She is not a highly decorated machine like many old machines but she is a workhorse.  I bought it a couple years ago from a former Home Ec teacher and before her it was her mothers. 

 some plains and prints

 and work in progress

Full view of the old 1936 Singer treadle sewing machine. love that this is foot/human powered and non electric.  I know I have mentioned this before, how much I love the old machines, but what is not to love about a hardworking machine built that many years ago that stitches as well as it did when it was first made.... just a few drops of sewing machine oil every now and then is all it asks for... and to dust away a few particles of lint... pretty easy upkeep. of course it is only straight stitch but prob. 99% of stitching is straight stitch at least for me... and she makes the loveliest straight stitch.

 can you imagine, this machine is 79 years old.. truely awesome!!

Liking how they are turning out so far...nice and bright. 

so onward we go......

of course, the dog would rather lie in the sun.

*

Cheers for now from Desideratum Art Studio in St. Martins, New Brunswick

A Year Almost Gone

... to the west, the sky, the crescent moon , the fir and spruce skyline

... to the south, the vastness of that preforming sky

 ...the abundance of wild rosehips along the seashore

 ...granite boulders at the beach, bordering beach and cottages

 ...break of day from the kitchen window out over the Bay of Fundy

Looking forward to a bright new year that will soon appear.

Saying Good-Bye to 2015.... but not to the beauty of nature.

Cheers All and the Best to you !

Stocking Jewelry in Local Shops ~ Tis the Season

A selection of our Desideratum Art Jewelry designs can be found at

 The Butchers Daughter  in the olde City Market in Saint John,

Carrington and Co. on Woodstock Rd., Fredericton, NB

and at Serendipin' Art in St. Andrews, NB

These little boy and girl "Bead People" along with many other designs made their way to Botinicals Gift Shop 

on Queen St. in Fredericton, NB.

...and these 2 lovely pics were posted by a new shop,  Namaste Mind Body Spirit Shop 

that carries our work in Sussex NB.

It has been a fairly busy season...  and truly I can't tell you how pleased I am when people order our work or when  I see people wearing our pieces.  

I am so humbled.

 Even tho we have been creating and selling our handmade jewelry since 1992, I get the same thrill... and maybe even more so.

Thank you all so much!!!

*

...last 2 pictures taken by Karen Kirk, Sussex, NB

The Owl and The Pussycat

Whimsical mismatched pair of "The Owl and The Pussycat".
Owl, 1 1/2", Pussycat 1 3/4", top of earwire to base of earring. 

Textured and Fused.

 Handmade in Sterling Silver and Copper at Desideratum Art and Jewelry studio.

 $25. pr
... background from my sketchbook.

Ginger Cat

"Ginger Cat" ...pen and watercolour, in my sketchbook

Research says for every 4 male ginger cats there is only one female ginger cat... it has to do with the genes... the orange color is produced due to the presence of the pigment "pheomelanin", which produces fur colors in the range of red to cream.

 This pigment is also found in human hair with these colorations.

Desideratum Art and Jewelry studio, New Brunswick, Canada

Dogs ~ What More Could You Ask For

Dogs are Great!

9" x 12" in my sketchbook, watercolour and pen.

Desideratum Art Studio, St. Martins, NB

Wild Apple Blossoms

The little Wild Apple tree that grows along the driveway bloomed  with the most profuse rich colour this year.  The most blossoms ever in its young life.

As you can see it is only in its gangly preteen years....  and with it being a wild tree, which means the seeds for it were planted by the wild world.  Maybe a bird stopped there, or a coyote, or a fox or a deer... I will never know, but I'm glad they did...  and it grew there because it liked the location... slightly sloped, full south facing, no imposing large trees to shade it... no transplanting or preparing the earth was necessary.  It liked that spot took root and grew.

But how beautiful.  We have other apple trees blooming now too, mostly pale delicate pinks and they are most lovely too... but none with as bright fuschia petals as this. 

Something about apple blossoms that always capture me... maybe it is their burst of colour and then their fleeting nature. They never stick around as long as I wish... but I guess they have a few magical things to do... like turn into apples...  and that takes a huge amount of the trees energy so it has to get on with it in short measure.

 So glad it graced us with its beauty... makes driving home along the rock bluff driveway even more joyful.  and when this years apples do come, so will the birds and animals that spread the seeds in the first place... a natural circle of life.

"A Seed hidden in the heart of an Apple is an orchard invisible"  

~  Welsh Proverb ~

Photos taken by me in St. Martins, NB at Desideratum Art Studio.