01/16/2015

Things of been kind of hectic for me.  My car was in the shop for 23 days. Just got it back about for five days ago and I'm trying to get things (read "my life" ) back in order again.

For anyone who might be interested, I will be starting back at the farmers market in St. Augustine on the first weekend of February. I'm not sure which market it will be,  but I will post here on the blog as soon as I have made my decisions. 

I really believe I have saturated my market at the farmers market that I have been doing for the last two years. I'm thinking of changing venues and I'm not sure where I will be yet.  

So stay tuned boys and girls.

I completed the biggest basket I've ever made so here's a shot.

Can I just say, this picture, actually none of the pictures, do this basket justice.

I have done a couple of bracelets. 

I even warped up my loom.  Unfortunately I don't seem to be inspired in any one direction.

So stay tuned!!!  There is no telling what will show up here next!

9/10/14

This is my absolute first completed charcoal drawing.  Usually I get frustrated and they end up in the garbage. This time I just kept going.

I saw an acrylic painting tutorial on YouTube with this Gerber Daisy and so I thought I'd give it a shot with charcoal.

I'm about halfway through in this picture.

Then I darkened it up a bit and tried to do the center of the flower…

The center of the flower got a little muddy looking, and it took me a while to figure out how to make it look right.  I couldn't seem to get the strokes so I did random strokes/dots, kind a like stippling.

I'm calling it done.  

There are some things I wish I had done differently, but I think it looks enough like a flower.  And the mess was kept at a minimum from the charcoal!!! I learned a lot and that was the main goal.

i'm also working on a basket for my friends baby shower, this one is pink and brown.

Busy, busy, busy, art doesn't make itself !!!  So I got to go!  Talk to you soon.

July 16, 2015

Scumbling, tiny circles, with blue and green ball point pen.  

I love how vibrant colors are they just pop off the paper.

Best yet with ink.  I like how well the shading went with this one.  I see form as in not just a flat circle on a piece of paper it really looks like a ball to me

Color pencil..I still suck!!!  The ball is it too too bad but the table is sitting on and the shadow arc god-awful!!!

This one is done with crosshatching and it's still not what I'm aiming for.  Did this one yesterday and just could not be happy with it, that's why I decided to try stumbling this morning.  

Trying to settle on a medium that I'm happy with, one that doesn't smudge as easy as graphite and charcoal.

This one sucks too!

Also here's a little shot of the basket I'm working on it's purple and red.

Okay now I'm going to get back to one or the other talk to you later.

July 9, 2014

Rust and black.

A 'lil tiny!!!

Green, green and more green!

05/23/14

Another coconut shell basket!!!

05/08/14

I just wish you could see how these beads catch the light!!!

I think KraftyMax needs to eat another coconut.  I love this for a planter!

05/07/14

One more tiny!!!

Cedar center, straight stitch base and diamond stitch sidewalls.  Oh yeah, and tiny little wood beads.

Now for a shower and off to the Wed. Farmers market at the St. Aug., FL Beach pier!!!  

Hope to see you there.

A little repeat post.

October 1, 2013     


I finished the largest basket ever this week.  It is a birthday gift so I can't share it until I actually ship it out...but I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO SEE IT.  It is indeed lovely.

So in lieu of pictures I saw this article and thought I would share it with you guys.  I found it on a blog here, so I cannot take credit for it at all.  I just thought you might like the information.
  

You have probably looked at pine-needle baskets and wondered why they are priced so high. The main reason is because pine-needle baskets are very time-consuming. It is very tedious work, and it takes many hours of practice just to master coiling and stitching. 

The materials are also expensive. Unless you are lucky enough to live where long pine needles are grown, you will need to purchase your needles. You will also need to purchase, drill, and stain the center of your basket which can vary in price depending on what type of center you use. You can make a solid pine-needle center, but this adds several hours to your basket. In addition to the needles and center, you will need to purchase your stitching material (usually sinew, raffia, or waxed linen), your stitching needle, a gauge, and a few other miscellaneous items. 

Preparing enough pine needles for a small basket requires about an hour. The needles need to be covered with boiling water and soaked for about 30 minutes. The caps (bark covered ends) need to be removed from each pine-needle bundle. This takes about ½ hour. You are now ready to start your basket. 

When creating a continuously coiled basket, you will need to add new needles every other stitch or so. There are several types of stitches, and the time required for each stitch varies greatly. The most common stitches include the plain stitch, split stitch, V stitch, wheat stitch, and fern stitch. For a 4"-diameter basket, it can take from 20 minutes to 1 hour to complete only one coil around your basket. 

Most basket makers seal their baskets with a combination of beeswax and paraffin or shellac spray. This is optional but will add to the life of your basket. 

As you can see, creating a pine-needle basket is very time-consuming.   And don't forget the extras like handles and embellishments that add time and expense to your basket. Most people who make pine-needle baskets create them for their own use and simply enjoy doing it. I personally find it very relaxing. It is one of the few times I just forget about life and concentrate on something I enjoy doing.

NOW BACK TO MY FEELINGS ON THIS...

I have to disagree with the sentiment of Pine needle work being expensive.  The one thing I like about it is that most of my supplies are FREE.  See, I believe that any Art form can be either as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be.  I live in FL and so my coil materials are basically free.  I harvest Pine needles, grasses and palm fronds myself, so mostly it is just hot hot hot work.  I also sand and wax my own wood so again it is time consuming, even though the wood is harvested FREE.   What this also means is that I have control over what I want things to be shaped like and to look like, as much as one can when using organic products, not store bought/milled wood.

Do keep in mind though that I do not have a full time job, so the one thing I do have a lot of is TIME.  And I need it as these processes are very labor intensive.

Also I do indeed agree with the part that says it takes time to build the skills to make beautiful coils and stitches.  I have been making baskets intensively for the last 2 years, and sporatically for the 3 years before, and I am just now getting to the point where I think my work is as good as the ones I see on other sites.  I have also developed my own style.  I hope these things are evident to you, my fans, as well.

I would love to hear some of your thoughts on these things.

I finished the 'lil blue basket!

04/29/14

And I am very happy with it!

And then started another...this one has Hickory for the center (the other one has a Live Oak center) and I am using silver and dark brown threads!  

Personally I don't love the silver thread, not enough contrast to see my pretty and neat stitches! I worked hard to learn them.  (I couldn't hem a pair of pants if I had to.  Lol )

But often I am not in love with a piece until it is completed.  We'll see.

Tore up too bracelets I started too.  Just couldn't get it to look right. ;-(.

But I refuse to give up on it!  So stay tuned.

04/28/14

Lovin' the diamond stitch!!!

Cobalt blue, denim blue and a Live Oak center.

I never like the black thread until the basket is complete.

04/21/14

But!  If I persevere...this is what happens.

And then It turns out that I DO like black.

04/18/14

Another 'lil tiny one.

St. Aug., FL Wed. Farmers market.

04/16/14

I had such a good time in my first 'lil booth!

I didn't get rich, but I did sell 2 tiny pieces.

The market wasn't very busy, we had bad weather.  Winds up to 30 mph and temps in 50's.  So cold biting weather. 

But I will keep at it!!!  I will also be solo at the Sat. market starting in June.  By then I should pretty settled into it.

Now I would like to Thank all of my lovely friends who took the time to encourage me  this small but important adventure.  Even when only verbal, it has meant so much to me that you (and you know who you are) are there rooting me on.

Now I am off to make the baskets...or maybe a bracelet...

WOW!

04/08/14

I have been very busy girls and boys, as well as fighting my usual yearly pollen/sinus/drippy sickness.  

Very sorry to have been away so long.

But I did gather some grass...

Can you see the purple tones?

I have also made a bunch of new baskets.

Learned the diamond stitch.

A lil purple of couse.

Then I had an idea brewing for quite a while to use Pine cone petals as some sort of decorations.  I had a neighbor help me figure out hot to get the petals off, then I washed them.

Then i trimmed a couple...

Then dried and oiled one...Beautiful!

I am thinking of using these as yokes around/behind a bead/stone.  Still brewing.

Then another basket.

Then another one started with the diamond stitch!

Love this piece of Oak.

Now I am wondering about how to use this piece.

Hmmmm...now back to my needle and thread.