2009 is gonna rock!!!

the crew* behind artemissne wishes you the best New Year ever! :-D

Project patchwork is coming along pretty nicely, oh yeah baby! Check it out, the picture links to all the indiviual patches @ flickr:


*Assepoes, Isaura, Shelley & yours truly... ;-)

Project Patchwork: artemissne goes glass fusing!

This is why I fell in love with glass: it's so versatile. Work it cold, work it hot and then cold again. Paint, glue, etch, poke, melt, pull and cut it...Glass looks fantastic!

One of the things I wanted to try out this year with my little Paragon SC3 kiln was fusing glass and it didn't take long to get this idea of combining both lampwork and fusing techniques: constructing a patchwork quilt from square patches of glass covered with murrini and millefiori. Pretty little flowers and patterns, lively colors, lacy effects, lines and dots and waves, all in a busy yet harmonious, transparant whole of a glass quilt. Can you picture it, catching sunlight? :-D


So these are my very first fusing tests. I fused them as lightly as I could: just so that glass pieces stick together and the edges are softened a little.
I used this antique green glass, salvaged from an old leaded glass window. Because I didn't know what COE it had and if it was compatible with anything else, I only used pieces of itself.


Next time I'm starting with my Italian Effetre glass plate (which was actually the reason why it took me so long to get started: it's so difficult to find! Glass rods are all over the place, but the plates...not so much.) and some Bullseye (which has lots of plates but the rods are rare -at least here in Europe).

To be continued...and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

BUY HANDMADE! Also, get 10% off on Dawanda (in my shop)!

Would you buy handmade, personal, ethical, possibly ecological, local and real pretty presents? I do! :-D

I LOVE shopping at Dawanda and Etsy. You can find gems there that even the better boutiques and galleries don't pick up on, you have personal contact with the creators who sometimes even become friends and every time the postman rings it feels like Christmas...

So go pledge.

And then take a look at http://en.dawanda.com/shop/artemissne where you get 10% off from now until 31/12/2008!

a new skin for aarghh.be

There! I managed to get the new skin of my homepage designed after all. It's a yearly ritual for me, sort of setting the tone for the next year. It's like shopping for clothes, really. I love it. ;-)

So 2009 will be sunny and fresh, with lots of light shining through. I even went for a white background. Never thought I would! :-p Yellow green, grey green and fuchsia are the colors, and microcosmos the theme.

microcosmos: just add sunlight!

Here are some more photos from my work-in-progress glass/light object. I've been experimenting with organic forms in transparant green glass and millefiore. This tiny grove isn't much higher than 6 cm!

microcosmos: teaser!

straight from the studio...

Awesome.

You're warned: this blog post contains awesomeness. And pictures! :-D

There's no charge for awesomeness though. :-p

Sorry I've been away for a bit! it was just all a bit much, I guess. But not necessarily bad, just much, and I do need my time to recharge...social butterfly that I am!

Talking of which, on my holiday begin September I visited the Buttefly Garden in Knokke for the first time in my life. OMG!!! Why, oh why didn't I visit it sooner?! It was so much fun! Go visit it, bring your pick nick and camera and let your inner child take over...

And there's more cuteness to be had: 2 1/2 weeks ago I adopted a very fluffy white cat from this brilliant local cat rescue initiative: www.katzoektthuis.be. They're a couple of volunteer families spread over the city of Gent, taking care of the stray cats they can catch, or at least feed them. The rescued kitties get a medical check-up and are spayed/neutered before finding their way to a new home.
So I had been surfing the net and searching the soul for months to decide whether I would get Assepoes and Shelley a playmate (you may remember I lost Sushi last year), and then in one moment when I saw Isaura's picture I was sold...

She's about 1 1/2 year old, very white, very fluffy and loves soft bouncy balls and commenting on all my moves. And her playfulness has a great influence on Shelley and Assepoes... ;-)

And with all the piano moving and reorganizing and rocking chairs in the summer, my living room has finally become something of a room to live in!
It just needed a finishing touch, something that reflected the soul of this little house. A picture! :-D Vocisconesse's (site - blog - shop) to be exact...

Her refined illustrations were exactly what I was looking for: They bring the outside in -the natural elements with the leaves and butterflies and organic textures- and the inside out -archetypal references, the intrigueing atmosphere... Lovelovelove them!
They hang above the (now tuned & happy) piano, at eye height. And they really love to be watched from a distance, they almost beckon you, and then you just want to discover all the tiny details with your nose to the frame!
Caduca and Sempreverde want you to unravel their story, and perhaps come away with them...
If you're intrigued, check out Vocisconesse's Dawanda shop and the museum of tarot in Riola (Italy), which features a tarot deck (Tarocchi di Connessione, 22 cards of the major arcana) she's created (you can buy it on this page, 7th from the top).

In the meantime, I've also discovered ITunes. Or better, the ITunes shop. Oh dear! I visited it only once, searching for a catchy tune which I had heard on the radio. It took me to a couple of results from which you could hear samples, and one intrigued me so much I ended up buying the whole album! It downloads immediately to your library, and from there on to your IPod (oh, the wonder of technology! :-p ). And so these preppy Couperin keyboard pieces have been my soundtrack for the past month! (now I want the score and play it myself... ;-) )

today I doodle.

lots to do, lots to finish, but nope: today I just managed some doodles.

Meet the new talisman/talisvrouw chains!

...and the winner is:

No. 5 -Which turned out to be Isabella! CONGRATULATIONS!!! :-D Some fiery redness is on its way to you!

Win a free necklace (yup, again!) & Kasseifeesten in Zegelsem/Brakel

Op zaterdag 20 en zondag 21 september 2008 doe ik mee aan de tentoonstelling tijdens de Kasseifeesten in Zegelsem! Dit is het plannetje voor de avontuurlijken onder jullie... ;-)
Als ik meer informatie vind over de andere exposanten dan laat ik het nog weten, maar het ziet er alvast een mooie mengeling uit van keramiek, textiel, glas, zilver en verf!

En natuurlijk moeten we dit vieren met een juweel! Deze ketting kun je winnen als je commentaar achterlaat (met je email adres) op dit blogbericht (kijk onderaan dit bericht). Als't echt niet lukt stuur je me maar een mailtje op artemissne [at] aarghh [punt] be. Reageren kan tot aan de Kasseifeesten (20/09/2008)! Men zegge het voort! ;-)

Deze ketting is de enige in zijn soort (tenminste van mijn hand): helemaal van glas -maar geenenkele parel is door mij gemaakt (oh nee!), het zijn stuk voor stuk Tsjechische gefacetteerde glasparels die door vuur gepolijst werden...Het is als Swarovski maar zonder de naam, wel met evenveel pit!

Durf jij zoveel rood te dragen? ;-)

Free necklace! :-D

Hello all, I'm participating in the Kasseifeesten -which is exciting if you're in Belgium. If you're not, no worries, you still have the chance to win this fierce necklace! Just leave a comment or if you don't know how to, mail me at artemissne [at] aarghh[dot] be. You have time until the start of the Kasseifeesten Sept. 20!

This necklace doesn't have any of my own glass beads (gasp!) but consists of gorgeous Czech red and bloodorange faceted glass beads. So show your fierceness and give me a shout! :-D

essential vintage for the warm glass artist

Or: this is how you can make your own frit!


Frit is crushed glass (= lovely picture from combustion glassworks!)that you can use to decorate beads with, or sprinkle on glass pieces to be fired in a kiln (with fusing). It's a very thankful technique, it gives nice, organic results even without a lot of practise! I had to delve into my archive (it's an aarghh-ive actually, hehe) to find a good picture with a bead with frit decoration on it. It's one of my first from 2005, from when I just used a plumber's torch: effetre transparant pink ("rosaline" I call it) + ivory frit...(on a piece of flat polished rose quartz!) (click to see full size!)

So...what's with the vintage and how do you make frit?!
It's so simple. I know you can buy ready made frit and frit melanges, but it's so much more enjoyable if you make your own AND indulge yourself in some necessary vintage/antique shopping as I did yesterday morning! ;-)

You see, the key ingredient of this recipe is an old coffee grinder (1), preferably one with a cat and an umbrella (because that's just wicked). Of course you need the glass -in this case a piece of effetre transparant cobalt rod (4), but it works with any kind as long as you can make the pieces that go in the grinder small enough -hence the other tools: a rod cutter (3) and a glass nibbling pincher (2) that I normally use for my Tiffany/leaded glass work to get hold of the small bit of glass and to snap it off the rod. Try to cut the pieces as small as you can, under 1 cm length. It's nearly impossible to snap them off with your bare hands so use the pincher as a lever and protection for your hands!

As for the grinding, it seems to work best if you just put one or two pieces in it, and add bit by bit as you go. Also, look for a coffee grinder that has a closable lid -you don't want glass fragments flying your way!

The result (5) is what you can see in the plate (note: this has to be vintage too of course... ;-) ) - it's frit of all sizes, from chunky bits to dust. If you wish you can sift them, or use it as it is!

As for the rest, I've been doing all sorts of stuff lately except spending time in front of the torch or in my goldsmithing studio, instead I've been doing some necessary reorganizing of my home... It's funny how one decision -of installing a rocking chair- starts a chain reaction of things that need to be done! And there's no way to postpone them, it's so small here that everyting has to fit perfectly. Well, that's the charm of my tiny cottage...

Right now I'm living with the contents of two book cases piled on the floor so there's just a path to get from on side of the living room to the other. The big carpet that almost covered 2/3 of my living room before is lying partly folded, in the middle of the "path". I want it gone, but there's the small detail of the piano standing on it, way too heavy for me to even move, so I'll have to ask a professional piano mover to do it...

I hope this can be done before September. I'm starting the goldsmithing course @ Syntra Kortrijk then and I hope to dedicate myself more to my art!

Last school year was pretty hard with my new job (oh, I totally forgot: they found a way for me to stay a couple more months, weeee! :-D ), library school and my new glass studio, redoing my site, opening a web shop, etc... I felt quite scattered at times. There's so many projects that are still awaiting their creation! I've been itching to make bigger pieces again, sculptural or stained glass windows.

Like the mysterious "project 2008" I've been hinting of: I first got the idea when I heard about the Canvas Collectie in January, a new national art competition. Had plans for a light object I'd be meaning to create since ages, it seemed, but I quickly realized that that competition wasn't really a forum for me (my art isn't exactly provoking or controversial -all I really want is create "a thing of beauty", and you know your Keats. I'm only a century too late to hop on the Arts & Crafts/Jugendstil/Art Nouveau train, but that's ok, I'll find my own way!), and I didn't have enough time to finish it anyway. So that's one pile of sketches and a handful of small test thingies in glass and copper.

Then I had the bug for making a new stained glass window for my cottage: again, plans, sketches, colour schemes... and that's it.

Then another idea, also one that has been simmering in my brain for some years: a stained glass window with which I can combine several glass techniques, both warm and cold... Well, at least that one is under way. Although it will probably take some more months before I can actually start!

Now the last one is the microcosmos glass garden, an idea I really want to elaborate more! I took this picture of the prototype to remind myself to keep working on it -it will probably take me to strange new places, like collaborating with other craftspeople...and who knows what else! LOL.

That aside, I also have a handful of necklaces for the different collections waiting to be finished...

Life as an artist is soooooo hard!

;-)

microcosmos

(click to see full size!)

something to look forward to. :-)

friendfeed -a way to subscribe to my blogs, photos, everything!

Just thought to let you know I added this.

Instead of bookmarking and subscribing to this blog, the other one (droomtijd, though not much there yet), twitter, my flickr photo stream and my links on deli.cio.us, you can now subscribe to the all in one click! If that isn't handy. :-p

Subscribe to kristien berghs - FriendFeed by Email

If you subscribe you'll have to activate your email address so be sure to check your inbox and spam box (you never know - the mails are automatically sent by Feedburner ) for a mail with this title: Activate your Email Subscription to: kristien berghs - FriendFeed

Hope it enhances your blog experience... ;-)

The Markt van Morgen: this is how it was! Finally! :-D

bedankt dat jullie er waren, Mireille en Els (en iedereen die niet op een foto is beland... ;-) )

Thank you so much Elizabeth, for giving me this lovely opportunity to write this report! I had a lot of fun working on it. Otherwise I would have been too lazy to do it and this would just have been a couple of pictures and maybe half a paragraph...

The Markt van Morgen through the eyes of a quirky Dawandanian who's still new at this world of art markets. And what a grand adventure it was...Two weeks later and I finally have somewhat recovered! LOL

This is an account of the day itself, so I'll spare you the tedious details of the whole preparation & excitement that went on anticipating the market...

I'll probably go down in history as the one jewelry designer who managed to lose the treasure box with all of her jewelry in it, only to find it back in the nick of time with the help of some wonderful neighbours who deserve statues to be erected in their honor! Or more realistically some custom made jewelry by yours truly... ;-)

The day itself had its own challenges, as we had been treated to typical Belgian weather the weeks before: showers, winds, all sorts of interesting weather phenomena but the one you'd associate with the usual summer vibe: sun. But miraculously it was lovely, only that sunday! Some clouds, some generous sunny patches...brilliant! You see, we had had to make our own stands (the organization only provided tables and chairs), while I loved styling it I hadn't found the time to design, let alone make a rain-proof stand!

Now how do you style a stand? Is there a manual?! I didn't have much of a clue at first. It's not just finding a practical way to show your art work but also how you want people to perceive it. How to give them an impression of who you are and what your art stands for.

I had sort of wanted people to be intrigued by the look of the bigger items than just the jewelry itself. Jewelry can be kind of abstract if taken out of context -i.e. when its not worn by real people. So I tried to create the atmosphere of my jewelry with items I could drape, hang or hook them on.

And I guess it worked! People were drawn to these "installations" and when they came closer, discovered they were covered with jewelry. (potrait by WALTERito)

I was really happy with how it all turned out -the contrast between the two long winding horns (from that quaint little shop in Antwerp), the smaller ones that carried the ring and some earrings and the pissed-off clay elephant that I had borrowed from a friend: this elephant had the most funny expression on its face (I had filled it with sweets) and on the other hand the funky ensemble of handblown (not by me) vases of different sizes & colors and huge transparant glass rods matching and contrasting the colors of the vases (the ones I use for glass beads are much thinner, these thicker rods are used for glass sculptures and presse-papiers), thanks to my fellow obsessed glass people & suppliers G & Q ...even down to the jewelry boxes I had folded myself (with a little help from my KANTL colleagues...!), the little photo album I had assembled and printed (with examples of all my collections and some action photos so people could see this was indeed all handmade) and my address cards.

We arrived one hour before it started, which gave us just barely enough time to build our stand! Officially it started at 12.00h but visitors came flocking towards the market already. We had found a great spot in a corner of a building area, so we could make ourselves a little “fort” with the table. And the fence was ideal to put up all the Dawanda posters Elizabeth had sent! It was as if we had found a Wishing-Table because in no time we had it draped with the black cloths, and all horns, vases and elephants were accounted for.

And so it began. Thankfully, I wasn't alone manning the stand as I received great help from Hilda, my mom! She went out hunting for food when we got hungry and helped out when our stand got flooded by visitors...

Now that was something I hadn't quite anticipated: so many people! (<= this is Liesbet & me) It was both flattering to receive all that interest as it was overwhelming! Luckily I could refer them to the photo album so they could see how it all was made, and refer them to my blog and website if they wanted to know more. And I also received quite a bit of inquiries on Dawanda -both from artists and buyers. Especially younger people loved to know more, and the Dawanda flyers went flying off the table. Most people didn't know of its existence so with a bit of luck we opened a new world for them...

However, as I had foreseen, the slightly older generation still has a lot of restraint toward buying things on the internet. If you can't hold it in your hands, how can you be sure to get what you pay for? They're scared off by whatever news they hear of internet scams, so I tried my best to reassure them. Dawanda isn't some faceless company, you have direct contact with the sellers and it doesn't always require credit cards, especially not from local sellers. They also weren't sure how to find their way through the site and follow the buying instructions, so I may have to work on a sort of visual manual some time...

But most people were enthousiastic: a perpetual art market at your fingertips! ;-)

I wasn't the only Dawandanian there, Ella from Ella since Osix (see picture) who had her stand at the other side of the market came to say hi. She makes these gorgeous, cheerful shoulder bags from vintage textiles. I was impressed at how well she's been presenting & marketing her art, finding different channels to sell and attracting a wide range of customers! Something I have still to learn a lot about.

Also Nadine from PandoraPearl had come all the way from Dordrecht, NL and paid a visit with her friend -she would have participated at the market if she hadn't had such a big sale at her 4^th of July sale the week before! She makes lovely wire-wrapped jewelry with all sorts of glass, semi-precious and pearl beads. Maybe she'll be there with a stand next time.

I saw a lot of my friends back as well (I grew up in Antwerp where the market was held, but swapped it for Gent a couple of years ago). There was Mireille (who's creating handmade stuffed dragons and Pullip dolls' accessories which she sells on Etsy, and she's got a jewelry shop coming up there too!) who finally got her lucky, bubbly fish necklace, I saw Liesbet and Tinne back, Jessy and her boyfriend Joris whom I handed my photocamera so he could play a little...and luckily for us we have some pictures now! Dank u Joris... :-D You can see them in the Markt van Morgen flickr group!

We got a surprise visit from G & Q (& T & friend, but not E & E...hehe) who discovered a couple of other lampworkers/customers who were there too! And Karen en Els, my classmates from libraryschool and fellow facebook plant throwers (we seem to have a thing for the lil green patch application...LOL). And my Antwerp clan Noor with Phil, Elke and Johan with Elisabeth -we've all studied/lived in Leuven... I saw back people I hadn't seen in forever, like years! So it was wonderful to see my friends and have their support. And meeting new people too: fellow glass beadmakers and Werner Vitt; a master lampworker from Brugge who founded the glass classes I followed there 2 years ago, a metalworker and a photographer, Walter who made some amazing portraits to capture the market's atmosphere. I even spotted fashion designer Walter van Beirendonck checking out some of the stands! (not mine though -I'm by far not controversial enough for him, LOL)

So was it all a success? It certainly was a lot of superlatives for me on many levels. It was so great seeing my friends, meeting like-minded artists and finding out how people reacted to my jewelry, and pushing my own creativity to meet the art market's deadline the weeks prior to it... I even made some sales! Hehe. But at the same time it was also quite stressful for someone like me: that said deadline of getting everything finished on time, and dealing with several people at the time for a couple of hours straight is an introvert's nightmare! It left me dazed & frazzled by the end of the market, and I was more than happy to break it all up and go home. However, after a good night's sleep I had returned to my normal self again, and knew that all in all it had been a wonderful experience.

Mom & happy customer -portrait by WALTERito

And now two weeks later I feel achieved and that I have really deserved my summer holidays..and guess what, the sun is finally here to stay!

A hedgehog summer romance

...or did you know your pc can't live without floppy discs?!

The art market report is ready and wants to be posted so badly, but since it's going to be published (partly) on another blog as well everything's got to be synchronized...So I continue testing your patience!

Meanwhile, let's have some romance to start the week with: two hedgehogs meeting in my garden under the lemon balm and the oregano yesterday evening (you can just about make out the other one under the lemon balm at the right):

I heard a short screech like a little pig outside and went to see what it was, with Assepoes. And there they were...funny little creatures. They really can't be buggered at all... :-p

And I almost finished my two other summer projects: install a rocking chair in my living room (thus having to rearrange the whole living room, causing me to make a new computer desk, moving the goldsmithing workshop to the kitchen, installing another book case and a cd case...)
Well, it worked! And it's awesome. Pictures sure will follow (once I cleared the floor of books and music scores...)(ooh: found someone who sewed yummilicious new covers for her "lillberg" couch -the same as my rocking chair! and it has cats! :-D If I ever find time I'd do the same; for now the seats are perfect for me in their off-white covers and embroidered cushions and a cosy sheepskin...)(and Assepoes and Shelley love it and have become total couch potatoes!)

Then of course I had to do something with my computer. It's been going slower & slower for months and driving me insane. I have been doing all the usual cleaning up; defragmenting, registry cleaning, antivirus and antispyware, but it didn't make so much of a difference. So last week I went by a computer shop to hear if they could do something. True enough, they could reformat the hard disks so I could start over with a clean slate. Literally. Then I did some websearching and found out I could do this just as well myself.

This weekend I put everything on my external HD, checked and double checked and was ready to do the formatting. But...

Since my Windows XP setup cd is outdated (well d'oh, it's 4 years old) the newer, updated version wouldn't allow itself to be overwritten by it. Right. (then wat's the use of a recovery cd after all?!)
No problem: I configured the BIOS's booting preferences so it had to accept the cd nonetheless. Nope, wouldn't work -it took me a bit (see, I'm not all that technical really) until I realized I don't actually have a cd-rom drive: I do, but it's external, connected via USB. And because it is USB my BIOS doesn't know it -drives on USB connections are apparently too novel a phenomenon for my poor old BIOS.
So I searched for BIOS updates and learned they can be found, either for a price or at great risk of killing your system. Hmm...

So I've been trying to find a way around that, and found only this solution: install (so buy) an internal cd-rom drive (dvd reader/writer/whatever) and go hunt for floppy disks. They're needed for booting the pc, the internal cd rom for the set-up of either Win XP again or Ubuntu (belgische site)(I plan on experimenting a bit). So when it comes down to it, your state of the art, newest of new computer still prefers good old floppies to anything else...

I do hope I can find some -found a few dusted ones but not enough of them: you need 6 of them for booting.

It was fun though having to use DOS-commands again. Makes me feel 16 all over again...LOL!

And while I'm at it, I'll put it some more RAM as well. Look at me being all nerdy! :-p

So I'm going to do some shopping today, and I hope I can find some cheap things, because upgrading your old pc almost costs as much as one of those mini pc's now... (I'm eyeing the superslim and pretty EEE desktop, but it will be a while before it lands here in Europe...)

And I need my trusty old computer to be strong and happy before the new school year starts...You see, I'm going back to school. Yup, library school. Become a proper librarian now (at least I have my role models: the Librarian and Rupert Giles).

The reason? I lost my job at the KANTL. Probably. The colleague I'm replacing half-time comes back to work nearly full time again, and the chances that I can stay in perhaps another function there are slim...so that's that.

It made me cranky for a while (I got the news the day after the Art Market, so that was a cold shower!) and I'm still not happy about it -but I'm making it my chance to go back to school full time -starting with one semester- and who knows, I might even graduate someday! ;-)

just a little heads up:

I'm working on a little write-up of the market so you'll have to wait a little bit longer...

Meanwhile, have a look at the photos here and here and here!

markt van morgen

Almost there!

I just discovered the gorgeous revamped look of the site:

Woohoo! And I'm getting everything ready, finishing touches to the last pieces of jewelry, the packaging, the display...trying not to forget too much! Boy, what an organization!

I received some great posters & flyers from Elizabeth @ Dawanda with which I'll decorate my stand with...

...and I just created a flickr group for the Markt van Morgen, so if you're there and you've got a camera, join the group and show off those pictures! :-D

Tot op de markt van morgen morgen!

Hehe. :-p

...and the winner is:

Comment number 7, which proved to be by Annick! Woohoo, congratulations!!! :-D

And to the others, thanks so much for joining in!

This contest was such a fun thing to do, I enjoyed it very much... I should do this more often, don't you think? ;-)

And to more good news: my jewelry box has been found!!! With pretty much everything in it and intact! My mom heard it from a neighbour who knew the woman who had collected it & kept it untouched in her hall until my mom went to retrieve it... utterly amazing, isn't it? :-D
I will create something special for her... :-)

And now we're on this wave of fate and randomness, all sorts of luck: I found a bookcrossing book yesterday, in town! Completely by accident... One about an Egyptian queen, Nefertiti, in French...it has been traveling for 1 1/2 years, from the Auvergne in France. And I'm going to release it in the wild again very soon -you have guessed it: at the Markt van Morgen next week! (So I'm trying to read as fast as I can, LOL!)

And to finish, this is a little sneak preview for the market, starring my two models Trixie and Killer! :-p

Dawanda blog feature! Markt van Morgen! FREE NECKLACE! new collections! mild panic! Endicott Studio! Dr Horrible!

Well, the title says it all...I've got nothing else to add. :-p

The awesome news is that the Markt van Morgen got featured on the Dawanda blog! It also got mentioned on the German and the French part (I'll include links when they become available) of the site, reaching a big bunch of people. This is so great! Many thanks to William & Elizabeth of the English side of Dawanda. (for the connoisseurs there's die Deutsche Seite & le site francophone...)

They were so kind to mention my shop only now of all times it's totally empty...what a sorry sight! Because of the jewelry box of course. Yes. You can imagine I've got a lot of preparation still to do, building up a whole new collection in such short time is...well, a challenge. Hence the mild panic...

Here's a sneak preview of what I've made so far: chunky stones, sparkly orange & goldfish and bubbly silver!



But having to start from scratch also pushed my creativity, in the meantime I've worked out not one but two new collections, one you can see in the picture: I planned out to create a lighter (also more affordable) version of the duizendbloem necklaces: a silver chain, two silver rings, two glass beads. But before I knew it had developed a mind of its own, forcing me to use these exciting, for my style daring colors & color combinations and bead shapes! So you see, creativity is a lot like a cat. It will just barely endure you and just act as it pleases... ;-)
Quite possibly I'll just call it Bubbles. (wait-now I'm suspecting I had a My Little Pony called that once. In a sense that's actually fitting...LOL)

The idea for other collection came to me on the day the Endicott Studio Blog closed down... it was only my most favourite blog! It is a gem. I'll give it more attention in my inspiration blog, droomtijd, when I find time.
I didn't know it at the time, so after I had that Aha!-moment of my collection I paid a visit to their blog and found out about it. Somehow it seemed to be connected: this site taught me about integrating myths and fairy and folk tales in art/literature from all over the world, and there I was with a collection I wanted to call fairy tale fragments!
It's funny how things want names. And names only come when they are needed. I had been making jewelry for it for some time, I knew what it wanted to be, but I couldn't find a name for it until then!
Silver is definitely the protagonist in it, mostly forged pieces and soon precious metal clay too, with glass and gorgeous precious stones as guest stars. The pieces don't tell the whole tale, they're just elements, but they'll weave into your own.

And then I smack myself for not having thought of this name sooner. It's so obvious. LOL.

And now... for some FUN!!! :-D To celebrate Spring! Oh wait, I mean Summer! The end of the school year! The Upcoming Art Market! Wednesdays! Dissapearing Jewelry Boxes! Just Because! ;-)

Here's your chance to win one of my necklaces! :-D

It's this one (click to see it almost life size) ::::::::>

It's all OOAK, completely handmade, annealed, tested, signed, blahblah. I made it from a collection of poor orphaned glass beads, some are the very first I ever made (wooo! keep it safe, someday it might be worth a lot!) (or not :-p ). I was a bit sorry for them, eclectic bunch not getting any love, not bad enough to throw out (I don't do that, btw, I keep them all!), not fitting in with the others either. So I strung them up with some quartz and suddenly they became this cheery necklace! Gone were imperfection and being the odd ones out!

So these beads are so much fun to wear and awaiting their new owner!

What you have to do to in order to have a chance is comment to this blog entry. There's time until next week, wednesday June 2, 20.00h CET (Central European Time). Please make sure I can contact you! (If you feel uncomfortable sharing your email address then mail me at kristien [at] aarghh [dot] com after you commented here) All individual commenters will have one chance!

An innocent hand (or better: an internet application) will select the winner. Good luck to you all!

And with these happy words I leave you to delve into my studio (again)... not emerging before the art market I suspect! (only 17 days left omg help!)

P.S. one last little thing: a teaser trailer for Dr Horrible ("Soon coming to a computer near you" LOL) ( if you love Joss whedon, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day and Neil Patrick Harris) is up. Enjoy! :-D

...and to Paris!

I've been busy!

creative juice

via

:-p

(edit - fixed the video)

I got featured in the Dawanda Shop Directory blog!

Thank you Sara! :-D

-She works with textures, both in fabric and paper, has a shop on etsy, dawanda and her own site AND manages (among others) to maintain the Dawanda Shop Directory blog all by herself and writes for DIY City Mag!

Actually, I got featured last Monday but with the loss of my jewelry I didn't really feel like announcing this lovely news...

But now almost a week has passed and I had my final exam for library school yesterday (it went fine, thanks for asking!). I have also been creating some new necklaces and earrings last week for the"light" collection of duizendbloem...really needed to do that!

And no, the box and the jewelry is still missing and I shouldn't hope on ever finding it or getting it back. But at least I have pictures of most, and some of them were used in Patrick's photoshoot last sunday so at least I have something beautiful to remember them by. Luckily I'm not a materialist, although the whole thing has made me a cranky idealist. I miss them!

That said, I have an art market in a bit more of a month and I'm planning to make the best of it!

Oh, P.S. de schele Rosse is now called Jack, or even Jack the Sixth! He's doing better, although it will take a long time before his cut will heal.

nope, nothing.

Of course it wasn't at the lost & found both at the station and the police. And no, my name or address isn't on it, apart from my stamp on the silver (which just holds my initials). It wasn't meant to be anywhere but in my backpack.

In a way it's a compliment...LOL. Not to be brought to the lost & found right away. If I'd find a box full of mysterious jewelry I'd probably want to play with it for a bit first, before reporting it. And I'd be so decent to report it... not sure if I can expect the same from others. Well, the police have my phone number -I did what was needed.

And with that storm we had with heavy rainfall it might have been flushed away just as well. Seems also fitting somehow, being reclaimed by the earth...(sewers)(shh!)

I haven't made an inventory yet, because that would be really depressing. I'll have to shut down my Dawanda shop temporarily. Although I'm surprised it hasn't made me as mad & hysterical as I would have feared. It is only jewelry after all...
Maybe it can't beat my small victory in helping an old, toothless, defenseless ginger cat (who's now happily eating & napping here). Which sounds sappy but it does put it all in perspective.
Also, it's harsh, but I have a clean slate now. Working towards the art market in July I can develop my 4 collections equally and make a great whole.

Oh yes, I developed a fourth collection. I meant to tell you that under happier circumstances, which I will do in full tomorrow together with some other news when I'm less cranky.

And thanks for your thoughts...I appreciate it.