Squeezing In Creativity

My how the days roll by, dissected by school pick ups and drop offs, divided again by groceries, laundry. dishes, cooking, errands, amongst the priorities of a 9 month old, a three year old and a six year old. What a busy season of life we are in, this beautiful family of mine. 

At times my days feel like they are merely a repetition of chores. I'm not complaining. Just observing. There is just always so much to 'do' to as a Mother, some weeks it seems as if it's all I do. I feel that that's why I squeeze in as much creativity as possible. A moment here with a cup of tea and blog post, a moment there stopping to take a photo, an afternoon here working at the jewellery bench, an evening there drawing in my sketch book. There are no great swathes of uninterrupted time to devote to creativity in the life of a stay at home Mother. No thought or project that isn't interrupted by the demand of a drink, the changing of a nappy, the cry of an offended sibling. 

But there are moments, hours, afternoon and evenings, here and there, now and then, where one must squeeze in as much as possible, to balance out the satisfying monotony of a life well lived.

Custom Order - Sapphire Pendant

My parents found this Parti Sapphire while fossicking on their travels in Northern Queensland some time ago. The rough was cut in a local town, and faceted in to this beautiful stone. A deep green with flashes of yellow. When a client was looking for a special gift to travel overseas recently, this gem came to mind immediately. Set in an elegant 9ct gold four claw setting, this beautiful pendant makes for the perfect gift and a simple and lovely piece that can be worn every day.

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If you are interested in having a piece custom made, please click over to my Work With Me page.

Easter Gifts?

Not all girls want chocolate...

in the shop now.

Jewellers Bench Inspiration

Hannah Ferrara

Jewellery Quarter Museum, Birmingham

Kim Victoria Wearne

Kajs

Kim Wearne

Aaron Ruff

Gild Atelier 

Artilleiret

Ponte Vechio Jeweller

Jamie Lyn

Studio spaces. Sigh. Much like sketchbooks, I could look at them all day long. Even better, exploring other artists work spaces in real life. My twin sister has had the honor of visiting Brett Whiteley's studio in New South Wales, as well as Allan Ginsberg's apartment in New York. While my own workshop snooping has involved Margaret Olley and lesser known, but no less fascinating, artists. 

Are you also fond of a studio snoop?

Custom Made Opal Pendant

This beautiful Opal cabochon has been waiting at least thirty years to be worn. It was brought back from Coober Pedy by my client's Grandfather as a gift for her Grandmother. It remained tucked away for safe keeping, in a little case, long after both grandparents had passed away. 

Working with my client, we decided to set this little treasure in a simple, classic four claw pendant. The design saw pierced on the back of the setting is a stylised Sage flower. Sage flowers symbolise 'wisdom', which has same meaning as her Grandmother's name. A lovely link to the history of the Opal.

I'm so pleased to have had a part in this Opal's journey. I know it will be worn and loved and have many more stories to tell.

Facebook Sale!

Was $45 

Sale $20

 Was $50

Sale $25

Was $280

Sale $140 with free shipping

I have been putting aside several pieces in the workshop that are no longer in my online shop, and I have decided to put them all together in a Facebook Sale Album at dramatically discounted prices. This is my first ever Facebook Sale! There are beads, cuff links, rings, earrings and pendants!

The sale starts on Thursday night, 7.30pm, Queensland time (8.30pm Daylight Savings Time). You can find the Facebook Sale Album here. Comment after 7.30 with your PayPal address or write 'Direct Deposit' to win an item and I will send you an invoice or bank details.

There is a $10 flat shipping fee on all sales, local and international, no matter how many pieces you purchase. So whether you are in Sydney or New Zealand, you will pay no more than $10 for postage.

There is also FREE SHIPPING on combined purchases over $100!

Set a reminder in your phone and get online at 7.30 tomorrow night to pick up a bargain or two!

9 Months Old - Oscar

My third baby seems like less and less of a baby everyday! Nine months old and this little darling is commando crawling after his brother and sister, pulling himself up on the furniture and pulling things out of drawers. His shirts have a permanent stain on them from where his tummy rubs along the floor, as one arm and one leg do most of the crawling work. He has a pair of go-go-Gadget arms that can reach an astonishingly long way, so that he is always surprising me with the things he manages to grab, despite my thinking they are out of his reach.

He is an avid floor-food eater, a lover of cats tails and a connoisseur of squeezey food pouches - he grabs hold of them and all but inhales them! He is still the most refluxey baby I have ever met, but it doesn't both him, and as you can see he is not underweight. He is still awaiting his first tooth, though his top right tooth is the most likely candidate and puts him in a fussy mood at times. He still feeds up to four times a night, which I like to think has something to do with the teething... Though third time around I am much more used to being awoken at night and I feel like I have had a full nights sleep if I only get woken twice.

Did I mention I could eat him all up! Those chubby thighs, that ticklish double chin, that tummy that's just made for blowing raspberries on! He is a delicious little one for sure.

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Here's Miss Emerson as a delightful 9 month old.

Sketchbook Inspiration

Amanda Hoskin

Kathrin Jebsen-Marwedel

Visual Learning

Oliver Jeffers and Friends

Chandler Leary

Debby Kaspari

Liz Steel

Becca Stadtlander

Rachael Parker

Brenda Swenson

After sharing a look at my sketchbooks yesterday, I couldn't resist taking a peek at the beauty on offer via Pinterest. Don't these gorgeous sketches and paintings make you yearn to pick up a sketchbook and find a quiet spot, even if you have never sketched before? 

They make me dream of a cottage by the sea, sandy feet, a cool breeze, cups of tea and a beautiful view.

Defining Space

A pocket for keeping all those little bits of inspiration and notes.

My Nature book, mixed media book (with a project from Yao Cheng's class) and my jewellery sketchbook.

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago on A List Of Goals I Am Working On, one of my goals for the year has been to 'Make Marks Daily' (inspired by @pinkyandmaurice 's hash tag on Instsgram #makemarksdaily). As part of this challenge, I decided to get more organised in my approach to my sketchbook and supplies.

Firstly I realised one sketchbook for everything wasn't really cutting it. Watercolours were seeping through to my jewellery sketches and I could never find the things I was looking for. So now I have three - my spiral bound Nature Book, just like Cohen's, for when we draw our found treasures like shells and leave together; a mixed media sketchbook, where I can do everything from sketching, to line draw in pen or ink, painting with water colour or experimenting with collage; while my third sketchbook is dedicated to my jewellery sketches.

I discovered these gorgeous sketchbooks - Dylusions Creative Journal (I brought mine here). They are a little on the expensive side for a sketchbook, but I loved my first one so much that I ordered another one. I also ordered this set of Micron pens. They are archival and waterproof once they are dry, so they are great for drawing and even painting over with water colours - a trick I learned from Lisa Congdon's Creativebug class.

I find this separation and having these defined spaces in the three books has offered me greater clarity with the direction of my work. Having a book dedicated to jewellery means I'm less likely to be distracted by other drawing tasks - a little like closing down all your tabs and leaving just the one open. It also means that when we go to the park, Cohen and I just bring our Nature Books with us, and I am no longer lugging along my jewellery and experimental sketches at the same time.

I'm fascinated by the ways creatives work. A behind the scenes look in to a studio, a peek at an artists collection of sketchbooks, or a look in to their selection of materials will garner my attention every time. Sketchbooks are a way of collecting thoughts, processes, experiments, designs and the sparks of greater work to come.