I've Moved to A New Blog

Hello old friends! I've decided to move this blog over to a new place and a new website! I've also changed the name too so that I can expand my creative wings and everything will fit all nice and tidy into one place. Please join me over on my new site and follow me there! Click HERE to grab your ticket to my next show over at Circus Meets Boardroom! See you soon!  
XO, Rachel

Inspired by Reading Book Club: Geek Love

This month's selection was Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, and boy was it a great read!

I only post this cover because there are several ones out there, and let me say, it does make a difference as to orientation. Let me explain. Normally when I start a book I usually don't read the back covers or synopsis so as not to be biased. But girl, let me tell you, I DO judge a cover! And there will be no apologies here for that!  So when I picked this one up, I was thinking that this was going to be some hot and steamy, 50 shades of Geek Squad, (as in Best Buy techie help) trash novel. Yeah...NOT! I had to literally read the first page five times because I was soooo confused! Finally, I had to break my own rule and read the back cover just so it made sense! Did you know that a Geek is not someone who routinely helps computer illiterate 40 somethings (and I'm referring to personal experience here) with their (so simple that a five year old could operate it) gadgets, but is actually the title given to someone who bites the heads off of live chickens?  LIVE CHICKENS! And let me tell you, this is only the beginning of this crazy, wonderful read! At times I found myself saying "Oh no they aren't.." only to be followed by "OMG they did"! It has been a long time since I have read something this imaginative with such great character development. And yet at the same time, if you grew up in the evangelical South like I did, it is still very believable. During the summer months growing up I can remember seeing the revival tents springing up and thinking that the circus was in town! Same type of big tents, same time of year, same large crowds, and usually the smell of BBQ at both places. See how confusing this might be to a child? Hell, it's still confusing as an adult! Although I can say now that it's usually the age of the crowd that helps you decide which is which. And have you ever been too polite to say no and had to make good on your promise to attend your boss's/coworker/rotary club member/spouse's boss/friend's church service on the first Sunday of the month? Well, let me tell you, that in itself is a circus midway game! Step right up ladies! Roll the dice! Say "no thanks" to that invitation and you will either be a social pariah or treated to a wonderfully exciting snake handling service! Now which will it be? Make sure you blow on the dice for good luck before you roll!  And have you ever attended said rural church service only to be lulled into thinking it was going to be just your average "go out into the world and do good" service by the nice welcoming congregation? Only to be fooled once the doors shut for the service to begin, by a whole other congregation leaping into action? Then you look over to your spouse, who is also trying to fake smile their way out of terror, to see if they have counted the pews to the nearest exit. And then you turn to your "friend" that invited you there in the first place, and look her right in the eye and give her that "thank you for inviting me" polite smile, and at the same time you think REALLY LOUDLY "if there are going to be snakes involved and you knew that, and if you failed to tell me such snakes would be involved because you knew I'd politely decline your invitation, well, there are going to be problems between us right after this service!" But then three hours into said service, you are like "bring out the snakes!" because at this point you are just waiting to see if anybody gets bitten and how the congregation will react. You want to see a SHOW! You want to see a test of faith in ACTION! You want a ticket to that CIRCUS!
Well go read Geek Love, because it is all that and a few more layers too.

I started to make a charm bracelet with some beads and polymer clay severed hands, but when I started my design all the red, white and blue beads, together with the hands, spoke more of Americana applause then the more sinister effect I was going for, so I stopped and just took a picture instead.

The next piece I created was in homage to Arturo and is a polymer clay torso that is painted with acrylics and inked as well. I chose the green and black colors to symbolize the gangrene that had to have been present in some followers! I added the yellow sari ribbon because it reminded me of the bandages of those patients. Can you image the smell of that midway?  The hand tattoo was added to symbolize the stages of faith-starting with the digits and ending with just a torso. And just to follow up on the symbolism, I put the piece on an actual cutting board to shoot it. 

And then I decided to create a resin pendant to showcase the whole book. The back image is a ticket to a circus, complete with a freak show advertisement! 

 I hope you will join this incredible group! You can find all the other participants HERE!

Until Next Time....be the star in your circus!

Rachel

Inspired by Reading: Into the Wild

It's been a few months since I have posted anything on my blog and more than that since I have participated in this wonderful book club. It is good to be back to both! This month's selection was Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer. This engrossing narrative is the epic story of one charismatic Christopher Johnson McCandless. He was well educated. He was well read. He was engaging, and made friends wherever he went. He was adventurous. He had a deep stubborn streak. He was a romantic. He was spoiled.  And yet despite all of this, he was lost in soooo many ways.
The hardest part of the book to read for me was the epilogue.  I'm glad there was nobody in the customer waiting area of the car dealership that day I was reading and trying really hard not to break into an all out sob! There are no words to describe the pain his parents must have felt to see his things still sitting in that bus just as he had left them. To know that their child starved to death. To know that he felt like he couldn't or didn't want them in his life. To know he needed help and nobody was there for him. To know that they had failed him.
 I feel for the Alexander Supertramps that are trekking through our great country even as we speak. I'm sure you won't have to go far to find one either, as there are millions of children out there seeking a safe place to sleep and something to eat on any given night.
I decided to create a piece that would reflect the many stages of his struggle and also incorporate the different textural elements that seem so prevalent in the book.

I created the clasp and center piece out of polymer clay. The toggle clasp is textured and painted to resemble fire wood. The stones at the top are actually amber nuggets which for me conjure up both sap and evergreens for some reason! I really wanted to use some leather in this piece because I was so fascinated by the story of Chris' belt. I actually went to some thrift stores looking for an engraved belt to use in place of this suede/ faux leather, but was unsuccessful in my quest. The main polymer piece represents the snow and ice and the rough terrain, and I knew I wanted it to be both deeply textured and asymmetrical.  

Next, I wanted to represent the physical life of both Chris, and the animals he had to kill to survive. I   crafted a cage out of wire and wrapped a thin piece of transparent polymer clay around it and then inked it to give it a worn look. You can see the cage through the clay, almost like skin stretched over the ribs of a starving human or a decaying carcass. Coming out of the cage are a number of symbolic items. The resin paper represents the graffiti and journals Chris kept. The .22 caliber bullet casing represents his having to resort to hunting game and his emotional struggle in doing so.  The yellow enameled bead reminded me of his trusty Datsun. The river rock is worn smooth by the raging waters as I am sure were the rocks of the rivers he had to cross. The coyote tooth-well they are the same everywhere I suppose. And the silky blue sari ribbon I imagine has very much the same texture as everyone's favorite childhood adventure sleeping bag....

Please check out the other participants' blogs! They can be found HERE.  You can also join us in this fabulous book club too! The books are great, the creations are beautiful and the tribe is welcoming! 

Until Next Time....Call Your Parents!

Rachel

Shredded Brooch

A few months ago my best art friend, Patti, and I went on a road trip to Saluda, North Carolina to the most amazing art destination EVER! If you are any kind of creative at all (and who isn't?) you should by all means put RANDOM ARTS on your bucket list! The owner, Jane Powell, stocks the shop with all kinds of wonderfulness, and she offers lots of really great workshops too. Patti and I went to spend three blissful days creating and learning from the Seth Apter!

If you've been a member of my nest for very long, you know that I am a jewelry artist that likes to take elements from other art arenas and mix it in with my creations. I may create a small collage from paper, ink up some polymer clay, stamp or paint some fabric...but a canvas girl, I am not. Don't get me wrong, I love mixed media, it's just that I had no idea where to even begin with a canvas or sheet of paper! Not to mention the plethora of paint types and brushes and paint additives! Wtf does one do with glazing medium, gesso, or matte fluid medium anyway? Now take all of this, combined with the fact that even my stick people look like they have a few chromosomes missing, and you can see where this is going. So when my very talented painter/mixed media friend, Patti, suggested we go to a three day workshop with Seth Apter, how could I refuse?! I've never backed down from a challenge yet, so why start now, right? So supply list in hand and over fifty phone consultations later (Patti finally started saying "don't worry I have that too...") we packed up our stashes and headed to Saluda! 

And that's when the magic started...

First let me say that Seth is a wonderful teacher! He discussed all of the different products and explained how they are made and how they react with each other. I now know what to do with glazing medium, and girrrl...well, you're just gonna have to find out for yourself! Then he walked us through his techniques and gave us some great tips on how to create textures within our pieces. And most importantly he showed this non-canvas girl that she could create a real, honest to goodness piece of art that she would want to hang on her wall! 

The first workshop was called Shredded Silhouette and this is the piece that I made.

  I won't go into the multiple steps it took to create the whole piece, but you can go HERE to check out his workshop schedule and gather some goodness for yourself! Now riding home on the high that one gets while away from home communing with other creatives, and not to mention all the wonderful things the good doctor says about you and your artwork (which by the way is another added benefit, and he says really nice things about all of his students) I decided to take my new found knowledge and apply it to making jewelry! The finished brooch measures 2" across. 

Shredded Impressionism

Tiny masterpieces

Half baked

Wearable Mixed Media!

So thanks to Random Arts, Seth Apter, Patti Edmon, and the other wildly talented artists there too, I now understand the excitement of Golden and can't wait to try fiber paste and glass beads (and no I'm not talking about lampwork!) And if you are reading this and have no clue what I'm talking about then let me encourage you try something new!

Until next time...Leave Your Nest!

Rachel

Soup Is Served!

I have had the great pleasure of taking part in the 8th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party hosted by the amazing Lori Anderson! My very generous and talented partner, Rana Wilson sent me the fabulous soup below! Yummy!

We had to use the focal bead and the clasp in our piece, and I chose to use most of the rest of the beads she sent too! Aren't these colors beautiful! I decided to do something asymmetrical so that I could work the lampwork focal into the necklace and have it hang correctly. My first thought was to use it as a focal tassel of sorts, with strands of small seed beads coming out of it. However, it is drilled so small that would have been impossible. I think this turned out better anyway!
I love the texture on this toggle clasp! I think the weight of it balances out the focal quite nicely.

Please hop over to see what Rana created with the soup that I sent to her, and then I

hope you will hop on over HERE to see what everyone else has created! 

Until next time, create something beautiful!

Rachel

Inspired by Reading Book Club-Interpreter of Maladies

This month's book selection was Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.  It is a beautifully written book of short stories illustrating the many emotional and physical journeys of her characters as they deal with different types of loss. Lahiri does a wonderful job of pulling the reader inside the stories with her use of lush details and creating an overpowering feeling of empathy.   Unlike other books we have read, no one particular story or character spoke to me to create around. I did however, finish the book overloaded with sensory details. The beautiful colors of the saris, the slick feel of fish, the smell and sounds of hot and crowded Indian streets, the taste of curry, and the overwhelming sense of the loss of the familiar, all came together in this mixed media piece that I created.

 If you want more information about this book club, click HERE and our host, Andrew Thornton, will be glad to give you our book list. Please check out what the other, very talented participants created.

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Sarajo Wentling

Jeanne Steck

Mary Harding

Karin Grange

Ann Schroeder

Mary K. McGraw

Christine Damm

Andrew Thornton, Laurel Ross, Alison Herrington, Terri Greenawalt and Karen Hiatt

Until next time, CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL!

Rachel

Inspired by Reading Book Club

This month's selection was An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor. It is a charming, easy read filled with wonderful characters! The story, set in the quaint Ireland village of Ballybucklebo, centers around the internship of Dr. Barry Laverty with the town's seasoned general practitioner, Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly.  Throughout the book, Dr. O'Reilly teaches Dr. Laverty that one has to use a variety of ways to treat not only the patient, but the community as well! By the end of the book the two are settling into a very good routine and we see that Dr. Laverty is well on his way to practicing the art of medicine! I can't wait to read the next book in the series to see how he continues to progress, and of course to keep up with all the other characters as well!

This book is so full of inspirational characters and settings that I had a hard time choosing one to focus on! I decided to create around my favorite supporting character, Miss Maggie. She is elderly, eccentric and wise, and maybe suffers a touch of dementia. I can just see her sitting outside in her garden, sipping tea, wearing multiple cardigans and petting her cat! I found these felt balls and immediately thought of those cardigans and so I had to turn them into beads! The multicolored glass beads remind me of her flowers. I used the leaves because they remind me of her strong tea, probably made from dandelion leaves at times! The yellow beads are for General, her cat. 

I hope you will take time to see what the other participants have created! Click HERE and you can get the other links from our fabulous host, Andrew Thornton!

Until next time...Read a book!

Rachel

Simmering Soup!

I am so excited to be participating in the 8th Bead Soup Blog Party! I just received my amazing soup from my very talented and generous partner, Rana.  Click here to see more of her fabulous work!

This is the focal bead she sent! Isn't it beautiful!

And check out this fantastic soup! It is just brimming with possibilities, don't you think? I cannot wait to start working on my creation(s)! Stay tuned to see how this soup turns out...

Until next time, Create Something Beautiful!
Rachel

Got Books? Got Beads? Inspired by Reading Book Club

 Let me begin this post by telling you how excited I am to be taking part in Andrew Thornton's Inspired by Reading Book Club! While the concept is simple, the book selections are anything but that. And this is why, after reading the list of books he selected, I knew I had to be a part of this!
February's selection is a collection of short stores by Italo Calvino. I must admit that for a minute there, I wasn't really into it. A couple of the first stories I read were, shall I say, odd and depressing. But when I found myself thinking about a particular depressing story two days after I had read it, I knew he had done his job as a storyteller. You see, in just a couple of pages his intense character development, tone, plot and imagery will have you thinking about his stories and their outcomes for days. In this book Calvino transports you from the beautiful, innocent fantasy world to the ugly, wartime world and then back to the ordinary world of everyday schlepping, and you go eagerly because you have empathy for the characters. Whether he delights, shocks or saddens us, Calvino does a great job of showing us the many difficult, and sometimes nitty-gritty sides of love.

I chose this short story to work with because it spoke to me so loudly on so many levels. How so, you ask? Well, maybe its because I am in my 40's and surrounded by selfie taking tweens and I just don't understand this whole FB/Instagram/put all my business out there world, hard as I might try. Maybe its because I grew up in a house with so many paintings on the walls there wasn't any room for photographs. Maybe because my parents were too busy coaching our teams and holding our horses for tack changes that we (my brother and I) were hardly ever photographed at whatever we were busy doing. I've always lived in the moment, or tried to. But enough of that already. You came to see my creations. So I hope you enjoy my slightly altered pics that my very talented daughter took. I am, by admission, too chicken to pick up the camera because I know all to well where that new obsession will lead....

Want more eye candy? Well, here are my fellow participants' blogs. Please show some love and go check them out too!

Sarajo Wentling

Jeanne Steck

Mary Harding

Ann Schroeder

Andrew Thornton, Laurel Ross, Alison Smith, Terri Greenawalt

Until next time...Check out this great book club!

Rachel

After They've Seen Paree...

How will you keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Paree?  

Happy Valentine's Day! 

For Christmas this year I ordered myself 50 pounds of luscious earthenware clay with the hopes of making lots of beads. I lugged that clay into my studio, tore open the box and quickly sliced into the slick, gray clay.  The smell of wet leaves and fertile earth drifted into the air, and I was immediately transported into summer. The feel of the cold, damp clay on my hands reminded me of the thick, strong earthworms that I usually find while gardening. I was giddy with the endless possibilities that I would create!

Then reality hit.  I used to work with clay a lot. I had wheels and kilns and glazes and TIME. You see, I like the idea of earthenware clay, but it requires lots and lots of time. You condition the clay, then create the piece, then let the piece dry for a few days, then fire it for a few hours, let it cool for another day, then glaze it, then fire it again for another few hours and let it cool for another day, then you open the kiln and... It's like Christmas! Magical! Unfortunately, my life is not conducive to earthenware clay at this time, so I boxed it back up and looked for an alternative magical fix.

I have never been a fan of polymer clay. It's just too polymery (yes, I just made that word up!) for a clay snob such as myself.  However, a few years ago I met a fellow bead artist that was a member of my bead society, and he reintroduced polymer clay to me with his beautiful beads. After researching polymer, and discovering the new clays and techniques and brilliant artists that work with it, I decided that polymer might not be so bad after all. So jonesing for clay, I went and bought a few bricks of polymer clay and got busy creating beads! And boy, am I hooked! This stuff is incredible! It's easy to work with, fires in a simple oven in less than 30 minutes, and can be painted with almost anything! It fits right into my mixed media studio and I couldn't be happier! The possibilities are endless and it is readily available, even in this one horse town I am currently living in. 

Here are three heart beads that I made using various stamps and tools to create texture. 

Here are the same beads that I colored using alcohol inks, crackle paint and rub and buff product

Then I had to dig through my packed up studio boxes to find some beads and findings so that I could turn them into jewelry. 

Here are the finished pieces. I also made the beads that match the large polymer pendant and I made the clasps for both pieces as well.

I think I've seen Paree now!

Until Next Time...I hope you get off your farm too!

Rachel

Grow Your Blog!

Welcome to the 2014 Grow Your Blog Party hosted by Vicki at the beautiful blog, 2 Bags Full! There are around 600 blogs joining in the fun this year and I am so looking forward to meeting new friends and viewing all the fantastic blogs!

The name of my business and blog is Blue Finch, and I'm sorry to say that if you came here looking for a bird blog, then you are out of luck! Several people did that last year and we both got a good laugh out of it! While I do love all things bird (hence the name), I just don't blog about them!  However, I do like to refer to my blog as "The Nest".

I am a mixed media jewelry artist who primarily creates jewelry. This means that some days I cannot decide between watercolors and glitter glue, so I usually use both! Most days I create jewelry or jewelry components, but some days I create on canvas or work on sculpture.  Some days I mess around with Resistance, and don't create shit, but more on that later...

One day my daughter, Beautiful Creature Numero Uno, and I were discussing blogging. We talked about the kinds of things people like to see and read about, and she said "Mom, I think people would want to know what goes on behind the beads." So out of the mouth of my own baby bird came the focus of my blog. I hope to give you some glimpses behind the beads into the beautiful life I am creating. As we all are....

Until next time...Welcome to The Nest!
Rachel

Traveling By Map!

Welcome back to the Nest! Where has the time gone? Shortly after my last post, my husband and I decided to take on a new adventure. He took a 6 month sabbatical and we decided to change our course. We are leaving West Tennessee for the beautiful mountains of western Maryland! We are very excited about all the new beginnings and opportunities that await us! I guess I have probably logged at least twenty thousand miles on my car in the last six months. I could probably drive I81 in my sleep, including cautiously through Virginia!  So between looking for housing there and trying to sell the house here, checking out schools, getting my husband settled in Maryland, and running the beautiful creatures to all their activities here, and let's not forget checking out all the art supply stores and bead shops in between,  I have been very busy! Aren't you tired from just reading that last, very long, probably grammatically incorrect sentence! Whew! I am....

Although all of my beads are packed up, my mixed media stash is still accessible! Speaking of which, I have had the real honor and privilege of having one of my mixed media pieces selected to be published in Lesley Riley's latest book!

If you are not familiar with Lesley, then please check out her website! She is a fabulous artist, product developer, author, teacher, coach, mentor, and friend....you will not be disappointed!

So Nest, although it's been a crazy half year, a new one is upon us, and I have a whole list of things to accomplish in 2014! I hope you will join me!

Until Next time,  create your own beautiful adventure!

On Their Way!

After battling resin issues and hundreds of wrapped loops, the earrings are finally on their way! Thank you all for being so patient! I hope you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed all of your comments and page views on my blog!

I wanted to say thank you to Betty, my new blog buddy from the UK, for this exquisite silk sachet! Click on her name to view her blog and see more of her beautiful hand painted silk creations. Her work is amazing!

Until next time...Create Something Beautiful!

Production Started!

I want to say thank you to all the beautiful and generous women who have viewed, left comments, and followed my blog over the past few weeks! What an amazing response to the Grow Your Blog Party! I still haven't made my way through the whole list of blogs yet! As promised, I am sending each of my new friends a pair of earrings! I have just started production on them and will hopefully have them shipped by next week!

Check out these gorgeous earrings! They were made by my new friend, Tanya, who writes an equally gorgeous blog titled, BeadandNeedle.  She was very generous and offered me an earring exchange, and boy did I ever get lucky! I am just awed by the wonderful, creative people that have crossed my path in the past few months. All is good....

Until next time, create something beautiful!

Join The Party!

Welcome to the Grow Your Blog party created by the beautiful blog, 2 Bags Full! I am so excited to be taking part in this wonderful adventure! I cannot wait to meet, greet and follow more blogs, and hopefully gain some new followers and friends of my own blog! I am a mixed media jewelry artist who is new to blogging, hence why this badge is in my actual post and not on the side. I haven't figured out how to get it there and not mess up the rest of my sidebar! My blog is a "behind the beads" peek at all the wonderful things going on in my world. Of course, not everything is wonderful, but then nobody wants to read about that. The rest, I plan to glaze over with humor! Seriously, I hope you will join me on this journey and I hope you enjoy my blog! I will keep this post nice and short, as I know you have a lot of blog hopping to do. However, to sweeten the pot, if you follow, comment or email me (tab on the sidebar) before February 1st, then I will send you a pair of earrings! Welcome to Blue Finch!

Until next time, I hope you grow your blog too!