Garden & Fence Art: New England Astor

This painting is from a pic at Presqu'ile as well. Same materials as the other outdoor painting. More pics to come as I finish off the other pieces of outdoor art.

Garden & Fence Art: Purple Loose Strife/Lupins

I have stated painting Garden and Fence Art. People seem to be spending a lot of time in their gardens or back yards (like me painting) and this seemed like a good idea to dress up those places.

All my Garden and Fence Art is on recycled plywood (my Dad had saved a lot of plywood in his garage from a construction site, saving it from the dump,.... he said it would be good for something someday... and he was right!) I am using exterior house paints that are mistints from the paint shops..... recycling again.

This painting is of purple loosestrife from pictures taken at Presqu'ile. It sort of looks like Lupins too. I have varnished it as well so it should endure the weather and it is now hanging on our fence for the season. I am painting several of them and they will be for sale on the Rednersville Road Art Tour ranging between $350 and $400. They are all approximately 3 ft. by 4 ft.

Casein Painting

This is my first casein painting. I just love the softness and texture. I painted this at a Belleville Art Association Workshop, where the last Tuesday of each month one of the members share their expertise on a subject. Last month Bob Pennycook guided us through a painting.

What is casein?
It is a fast drying water soluable milk protein that has been used as long ago by Egyption painters as a kind of tempura paint. It has a glue like consistency and can be thinned by the artist, but because it is brittleness when dry it needs to be painted on a sturdy board or masonite but not on canvas. An interesting alternative to acrylics.

As far as I know casein paints may only be purchased at Curry's although there are receipes on the internet to make your on casein paints. Being the hap hazard cook that I am I will be purchasing the paints.

More Gallery Pictures

Here is the display that showed both jewellery and paintings in mushroom themes and butterfly themes .

John M. Parrot Gallery Show

April and May have been pretty hectic, but now most things are over (for a little while). Over the next few days I will be sharing some photos of new Back to Nature paintings and jewellery.

Here are pics of the Parrot Gallery display before we dismantled it yesterday. Although no paintings or cards sold, lots of jewellery did sell and the display was changing weekly. Three of the new "Back to Nature" paintings are in the display.

"Back To Nature Show" John M. Parrot Gallery

April 16, at the John M. Parrot Gallery, Belleville, I will be having a corridor display show of jewellery and art, based on the theme of "Back to Nature".

The theme was inspired by my experiences as "Artist in the Park" at Presqu'ile Provincial Park in 2009. The gallery has given me 6 large display cases to display and sell my art and jewellery.

Here is a sample of a new, never displayed painting based on my dragonfly theme. This painting is of a calico pennant and interpreted from a photograph by David Bree, Naturalist at Presqu'ile Provincial Park. All paintings at the show are from David's photoraphs of flora and fauna at the Park.

I am looking forward to painting at Presqu'ile again in 2010 starting the last week in June.

More pics of paintings and jewellery on the "Back to Nature" theme to come.

For more information on Presqui'ile and my various shows visit my website at www.shadowridgecan.com.

Information on Ocean Jasper

Ocean Jasper is sometimes called "orbicular jasper" or "moon jewel jasper" because of it's markings that look like eyes, orbs and moons. It was discovered in 1997 and can only be found in one place in the world, Madagascar. Ocean Jasper can be gathered only by boat, at low tide, along a remote shore that is not accessible by any roads. Ocean Jasper is technically an agate, an agate being translucent and a jasper being opaque. That is why some stones seem almost three dimensional.

From a metaphysical perspective this is a very soothing and protective stone. The circular patterns symbolize, as well as help one realize, that we are all interconnected and that all nature is cyclical. The "eyes" or "orbs" symbolize the protective nature of the stone.

Ocean Jasper

Ocean Jasper is one of my favourite stones to work with. It comes in so many different colours and "eye" swirls and no two stones look alike. Sometimes this can be a challenge when trying to match for earrings and pendants.

I found some really cute pink ocean jasper stones. I very rarely come across the pink colour and to have 3 stones that were relatively the same quite remarkable. I wrapped both the earrings and pendant in sterling silver which seemed to highlight the pink colour. The pendant is about 1 inch long and the earrings are about 1/2 inch long.

Here is another picture of a wrapped ocean jasper where you can clearly see a few of the "eyes".This one is wrapped in 14k gold filled wire.

Rings

I love creating rings. They are always such a challenge. Here is a custom order ring, size 7, in sterling silver with a wrapped precious opal. This pic doesn't capture the real beauty of the stone but gives a sense of what the ring is about. I have also used this same style with 14k gold filled wire.

When I am creating a ring I make sure that the wire around the ring mandral is around 1/4 to 1/2 size bigger than the size I want to allow for the extra wire coils of the wrap.

Meaning of the Tree of Life

Some people have asked me, "What is the Tree of Life" exactly. Many people have a general idea but not the specifics.

The concept of a tree of life is a many-branched tree that illustrates the idea that all life on earth is related and has been used in: science, religion, philosophy, mythology, and other areas. A tree of life is variously,

1. a motif in various world theologies, mythologies, and philosophies;

2. a mystical concept alluding to the interconnectedness of all life on our planet;

3. a metaphor for common descent in the evolutionary sense.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the tree of knowledge, connecting heaven and the underworld, and the tree of life, connecting all forms of creation, are both forms of the world tree or the cosmic tree. According to some scholars, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, portrayed in various religions and philosophies, are the same tree.

If you have seen Avatar, the tree of life is a central theme to that movie.

The pic above shows the tree of life as earrings, sterling silver, and copper wire with the same stones as in the post below.

Charkra Jewellery

I am developing a line of Chakra jewellery. Shown
to the right is a Tree of Life pendant in sterling silver
with copper as the trunk and branches and the chakra colours from the base up in garnet, carnelian, citrine, peridot, aquamarine, iolite and amethyst chips, with matching chip earrings.I am also designing chakra trees of life in 14k gold filled wire. (very nice)

Other chakra jewellery are pendants that are in the chakra order as well as chakra earrings that are mini trees of life. (pics to follow). Prices range from $15 to $40 depending on stones, size of pendants/earrings and metal used.

I also have put together chakra stone sets of various types of stones for those who would like those stones for meditation (ranging from $25 to $35).

Wrapped Round Stones and Properties of Jet

I was really having trouble how to determine to wrap round stones when I came across an online tutorial with just that theme. It was not as easy as it looked but it certainly solved my dilemma.

Pictured here is a sterling silver wrapped piece of round jet.

I find jet facinating. For those of you unfamiliar with jet, it is also known as lignite. It is a geological material but not considered a true mineral but rather a mineraloid, as it has an organic origin, being derived from decaying wood under extreme pressure (coal).

Some miscellaneous information about jet:

Unlike black glass which is cool to the touch, jet is not, due to its lesser thermal conductivity.Jet is also known as black amber because it may induce an electrical charge when rubbed like amber.

When Queen Victoria's husband Albert died she ordered that no jewellery except jet should be worn because of its austere yet modest appearance. It became THE mourning jewellery. Jet was also used for monk's rosaries.

Snowflake Pendant

I was asked before Christmas if I ever made snowflake jewellery. I never had so I gave it a try. I used stirling silver 20 gauge half hard wire for the frame. Stones are moonstone ships and rondelles and reflective faceted glass beads for accents. The pendant is a little less then 2 inches round. I liked designing it but I found the frame difficult to put together.

Guy Jewellery

I have done commissions for guy jewellery. Chokers mostly so far, some key chains. The most popular materials to date are bone and wood, for both adults and teens although I have done braided leather with a wrapped stone.

I use clasps that are either magnetic or S clasps. These are easy and fast to put on. The only problem with magnetic clasps is that sometimes, particularly in winter when wearing heavier clothes, the clasps come apart. Here are two examples of guy chokers.

Shell Jewellery

I just love using shells for jewellery. The shapes and colours are so versatile and fun. Here are some pieces I really enjoyed designing. Because the long pieces had holes drilled at the top and bottom, I was able to double strand the bracelet (below) and the choker (to the right) in an interesting way. The earring are a little off the wall but it all seems to go together.

Composition: choker on memory wire, all shells except for some clear glass beads; bracelet is all shell with a gold metal toggle clasp; earrings are all shell with 14k gold filled ear wires (tarnish resistant gold wire used to put them together).

These pieces are still available. For more pictures of shell jewellery scroll down the blog.

Trapazoid Pendants

I came across a few of these unusually shaped trapazoid pendant type stones in different colours of agate. I paired this green agate with purple amethyst, then added green aventurine rounds to complete the design. (All wire is sterling silver). This was actually created to be displayed during a wine tasting show in Prince Edward County. I thought the purple and green reminded one of grapes!

This completed jewellery is still available as well as two other orange agate trapazoids waiting to be made into jewellery.

News

It sure was a busy fall and Dec. I attended several Arts and gift shows, such as Brighton Your Christmas, the Brighton Inn Tea and Gift Sale, Christmas at Presqu'ille as well as having our own Shadowridge Christmas Art and Jewellery sale.

I also had great opportunities to get my art and jewellery out into the community such as the Riverside Music and Arts Centre, Trenton, and Lola's in Brighton. I also met with Gina Boyd of G.Boyd Boutique in Brighton, who will be carrying my 14k gold jewellery starting this January.

It was exciting to talk to these people and to find out what people liked in the way jewellery and art. I am in the process of creating new and fun jewellery pieces and paintings, and trying out new techniques and methods.

Stay tuned for pics. (and more regular updates)

Tina