tell me I'm pretty

y'know sometimes synchronicity is a clue by four... There is an ongoing subtext, at least for this woman, maybe for most women in our culture, about being pretty. Even someone like our plucky heroine here, who spends as little time as possible immersed in the dominant paradigm, cannot escape that tyranny.

I remember, when as a teen, having some of the peculiar teeth genetics dealt me sorted out. When the suggestion was floated to grind and cap them, to make them look more normal, my response was "why?, it is not like I am any kind of beauty queen"... had already decided by then that looks were not the coin for me to play in this life. As a young adult, being short and round and unconventional in looks was just another aspect barring me from easy intimate social interaction, like my intense shyness, or the lack of common ground, or the wonky, difficult, and/or nonexistent communication skills, or, or...

I grew up. Life taught me things, and my ability to function in the world of other people improved, rather quite a bit over the years. Eventually I learned the trick of chosen happiness despite circumstances, which is probably the most useful trick I know, even better than thingmaking. But the years of not-being-pretty, of being invisible, are part of the shape of my life. How many folks have heard me say about my beloved Smokey, when described as what a beautiful dog, heard me say "I get to be useful, she gets to be pretty"... I put all my internal cards on useful, always have, and take a fair bit of pride in the competence I have acquired over the years, in spite of the necessity that drove it.

But part of me, in the Firefly world, speaks with Kaylee's wistful voice, saying "Wash, tell me I'm pretty"...

Had an interesting talk with G about this, and his thoughts and words were of help, not simple "well to me you are pretty", but more deeply poetic and cogitated, about where beauty lives in us all, and how and when we choose to let that light out. You read in story sometimes, of the "plain" woman who only when seen in a certain way, or only when she smiles, and her beauty inside suddenly glows and is seen. All my life have intensely disliked being photographed, the visual equivalent of hearing one's own voice on tape; but my foolish loving girlself tells me to sit still and allow this, and that is how and why there are a few pictures he has taken of me where the who I am is visible in beauty.

I have nothing like the body I lived with as a young woman, gravity has shifted my curves further south, and the thick hair and smooth skin of that time are long gone. But I’d not trade the knowledge and viewpoints I have now for that young body and ignorant and troubled mind. As I now do what I can to heal from uterine cancer, and live with the results of that, I remind myself that we all are beautiful, all of us in the bright world have our own beauty. Patina is not only beautiful on objects, it is beautiful on people too

~ ~ ~≈:::≈~ ~ ~

Two very different essays that I found today, in my internet wanderings, that both speak to the confusion, both worth reading:

A Small Thank You to a Part of Myself
from Jackie Morris Artist, the blog of an amazing artist living in Wales

Pieces Of You: The hottest girl in the room isn't necessarily who you think
from a place I'd never think to look, Elle magazine blog.

spyglass grasped

When the year was turning, I did not find any calendars in the shops or online that pleased me enough to want to bring them home. Usually several random folks give me calendars, (though not as many as give me soap as a gift... come the ZA, I have a whole medicine chest full of soap) but not this year. Decided that meant that I must needs make some sort of calendar, for though I was entirely uninspired to do any kind of drawings as in years past, 'tis needful that there be a minimum a calendar near the computer, and one in the kitchen. I like the idea of changeable artwork moving through the year. I chose an assortment of my favorite images from last year, had them printed on cardstock, and left the whole thing sitting on a clipboard, the whole project feeling like just too much trouble to bother with...

While rambling round the neighborhood yesterday evening, was thunderclapt with the realisation that this was very bad juju indeed, and must be remedied. Whatever levels of mind might think that there is no future for our plucky heroine must needs be contradicted in very concrete and material ways. So, today's project has been to assemble the calendar from the assorted parts into a functional and beautiful tool for looking forward. A day spent with my dear friend Rois, and midst tea and cakes and lunch and talk and japanese movies, there was quite a bit of cutting and stamping and pasting of paper bits. Came home and sorted through my favorite quotes to come up with twelve that feel like positive words for the next twelve months (since am getting such a late start, the calendar will go through January 2013):

It is known (to some) that by dwelling in the present, conceding what is necessary to past and future, but no more than is necessary, it is quite possible to live happily ever after
~ Edgar Pangborn

It is only people who live humdrum lives who get surprised if things seem a little bit odd. If once you push your mind and body a little further than they are accustomed to be pushed you get used to things getting odder and odder the further you go
~ Elizabeth Goudge

All things are literally better, lovelier, and more beloved for the imperfections that reflect the human effort that went into their making.
~ John Ruskin

Time is a dressmaker specialising in alterations
~ Faith Baldwin

A true source of human happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life, and elevating them by art
~ William Morris

If you don't like having choices made for you, you should start making your own
~ Neil Stephenson

In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors
~ William Blake

To see that your life is a story while you're in the middle of living it
may be a help to living it well.
~ Ursula LeGuin

Act as if what you do makes a difference.
It does
~ William James

The Things
that Make us Happy
Make us Wise
~ John Crowley

Try to remember a life gentled by daily acts of domestic faith —
the pot set to boil, the bed made up, the table set
in calm expectation
that when the sun sets
we will still be here
~ Lynn Ungar

Nothing is a mistake - there is no win and no fail - there is only make
~ Corita Kent

wishful Wednesday

"Love has made a circle that holds us all inside..."

- Kate Wolf

G took this lovely picture of the talisman necklace, in the current state of xp1. There are still a number of beads currently en route to Acorn Cottage, which will be added once they arrive. Most importantly, it is in a configuration that will allow me to wear it tomorrow, for as long as is possible before the journey...

^-.-^\___}}
dog will not settle
paces restless before the door

T-minus 8 hours

Grace is not my middle name

In the shadow world, I look tall. I am struggling to be at peace with the need to have surgical investigation, and my terror of deep anaesthesia. G wrote an amazing essay, ".....Waiting Patiently - a dog's tale"; I read it with tears running down my face, and remembered that Her Own Darling Self is waiting and watching out for me on the otherside, and that gives me an anchor, should they send me into the scarey dark alone, which is likely.

Today I began to wonder how much of my fear is being attached to being scared; while I do not have the happy confident faith in a benign reality that some do, it does seem like it could possible to surrender to necessity with a modicum of grace. I'll always be an information-gathering, suspicious/aware kind of gal, resistant to being pushed; yet somewhere somehow is a pathway to be found. (no way around this but through) This is not the road I looked for, but it is the one I am on. You'd think, after all these decades I'd have made peace with that as well, since that is, in a way, the yang to the yin of my choosing to build a life that makes sense to me, rather than the one that was prescribed....

≈ : ♥ : ≈

In more exterior news, some progress has been happening around the homeplace.

Meeting with the hand surgeon today, and my recovery has progressed far enough to allow a return to my former regularly scheduled work; this is a happy thing indeed, for all that I will miss the freedom to be social at will. Soon there will be time in the workroom, and time with the torch and the kiln, and sketches on the table (not to mention all the other jobs that were left undone these months both here and in other peoples houses) This is coming just in time, as the year turns towards wintertime, and the air gets colder both outdoors and inside, having some income again will be welcome indeed. Not to mention sewing and knitting and garden work in what some folks know as free time...

Sunday last, a trip to the King Farmer's Market, almost the last one for the year of the local markets. Not a lot came home with me, but a few pounds of local cornmeal, destined for Sister Gigi's Sweet Corn Cakes now and again, and a bag of tomatillos, destined to be turned into salsa verde and canned in small jars, to go with said corn cakes...

Tired I am of the mismatched and scant; there will be new curtains for the living room this winter. Ikea yielded up three indigo bedspreads, that are thicker than the current linen, with a textured almost handwoven look. When cut and hemmed to size, will be a much better choice. Not sure if there is fabric here suitable to line them with, but should some turn up at some point, 'twill be easy enough to add.

≈ : ♥ : ≈

/^-.-^\___}}
dog is uneasy,
looking at the door

pay attention

in which our plucky heroine had visual proof that she has not lost her marbles...

Actually a family tradition - my mother keeps a bowl of marbles on a table in their entryway, for just such confirmation, and here at Acorn Cottage, my marbles live in a wooden box at the back of one of the nightstands. (as young M once said: "there is silly, and then there is seriously silly")

Why is this relevant? Well, today was my first visit to occupational therapy, to help lefthand become stronger and more functional. I was sent home with a tub of alarmingly pink putty to use for strengthening exercises, and with several new modes of focused massage to be used on my lower palm, to soften and continue to flatten the scar. The most unusual involves a good sized handful of marbles, and a towel. By putting the marbles on a towel, they stay on the table, and the scarred area can be rolled about on top of them, varying the pressure as needed. It feels weird, but good.

~ ~ ~≈:::≈~ ~ ~

While out and about in the world, I pay attention to my surroundings, partially as a matter of safe travel*, and partially since the world is full of beauty, if only you look for it. Mostly I look around, and have often made a specific point of looking up, since even in the most dismal surroundings the sky is always there, and often lovely.

But I also look down, and at the world of the small, and the very small.
As a child, I loved creating miniature worlds, dioramas, and dollhouses. Some of that fascination with the small still remains, after all these years - my enamel and metalworking is, well, very small indeed, making good use of my short and clever fingers. And surely I am not the only one who looks at the tiny landscapes of moss and imagines what it would be like to walk there...

. .
a multiplicity of texture and color, greenlife finds a home along the edges
there are the pathways that we travel on, and the ones we never see...
~ ~ ~≈:::≈~ ~ ~


/^-.-^\___}}
dog is resting now

* Situational awareness, sometimes described as the "Cooper Color Codes" is something that I've been practicing, in a rudimentary form, for many many years. It has seemed to me indispensable to pay attention to my surroundings as I travel about in the world. There is no way to know what dire consequences have been avoided by this attitude, for I've lived in, visited, and travelled through various less-than-savory neighborhoods in different cities for most of my adult life. While I never discount The Luck, alert attention is surely her most boon companion.

Today, while on the way to OT, the bus had just turned the corner into one of the transit centers when someone stepped out in front, off the walkway and into the lane, obviously listening to something other than the approaching bus, and watching a handheld screen instead of where they were going. I commended the driver on making a very short stop safely. Some of the other passengers actually applauded. The distracted pedestrian never noticed that they had narrowly escaped being flattened.

Do not be that pedestrian. The world is full of danger, and it is also full of beauty. Walk through it oblivious and you miss the beauty and increase your vulnerability. There are great benefits to remaining aware...

making love that lasts

in which our plucky heroine continues to cogitate on the patient faithfulness of inanimate objects...

In the big bedroom of Acorn Cottage, the bedframe is made of wood, and manila rope; the two-by timbers salvaged from other lifetimes and other folks, the rope gathered in with a tale, the headboard and bedposts shaped by axe and knife, carved by hand and heart. If lucky, I'll sleep in it most every night 'till they carry me out feet first. In darkness I run my fingers across the horses and houses that are the carven headboard, and remember a younger self, who drew the images, and loved a man who made the bed, though that chapter, the one that brought the bed into being, is over. And when I rest in the ground, between the clay and the clover, instead of between flannel sheets and soft blankets, the bed will go on into an unknown future, carrying stories in silence, the patina of use, the marks of our hands...
On the bed, now, is a quilt. An old quilt, older than I, older than my parents. Longago there was a woman, that I never met; she took fabric and thread and the skill of her hands, and love, and made a thing of beauty. I'll never know her thoughts, or hopes, or what she wished for. Asleep under the quilt, ease and comfort hold me all the way to dreamland and back. When G passed the two quilts to me I looked up at him; filled with wordless emotion I asked "are you sure?" (thinking - you want me to have this!?). His reply was that it was made for use, not for storage.

Honor bright to have this piece of his befores in my daily life, honor bright to share the pieces of our time that life allows us. For in truth, the love made by our hands and the love made by our hearts, is made for use, and not for storage...

the year in words, and words for the new year

Most everyone I've talked to has nothing much good to say about 2009. It was hard, in so many ways, for so many of us, self included. I try not to just whinge online about the challenges; I've had plenty, but so has everyone I know. I will be glad to say goodbye to 2009. I lost a lot of ground this year. Friends gone forever through fatal illness, and fatal despair, and others, (less permanently) distant with the economic necessity of "going where the jobs are". Work here in Oregon is still more scarce than would be helpful, and that has had pond-ripples of effects on me, and all else who live here. I'm still waiting to see any changes from the hopes raised in 2008, still working four jobs and not going to the doctor, still waiting to get my left hand repaired...

But I'm still here. Maybe for those who read my writings it sounds like life here is just peachy most of the time. In one of the many artist's blogs I read, Mimi Kirchner's Doll, she refers to her blog as being sort of a Christmas letter version of my life"... I wouldn't go quite that far, but I also try to focus mostly on the upside rather than on the angst. I learned very late in my life that it is actually helpful to shift focus like that, not to deny the difficulties, but to pay attention to the small joys, even if the only good in a day is the color of the sky, or the kindness of the old man on the bus who reaches to pull the signal cord when my hands are obviously full and my balance shaky, or the scent of the daphne in Karla's yard in springtime. I do what I can, with what resources I have, to move towards the world I want to live in, the world where we all can live together, with enough. Not excess, but enough.

This poem, from Marge Piercy's The Moon Is Always Female has been one of my touchstones for decades.

The perpetual migration

How do we know where we are going?
How do we know where we are headed
till we in fact or hope or hunch
arrive? You can criticize,
the comfortable say, you don’t know
what you want. Ah, but we do.

We have swung in the green verandas
of the jungle trees. We have squatted
on cloud-grey granite hillsides where
every leaf drips. We have crossed
badlands where the sun is sharp as flint.
We have paddled into the tall dark sea
in canoes. We always knew.

Peace, plenty, the gentle wallow
of intimacy, a bit of Saturday night
and not too much Monday morning,
a chance to choose, a chance to grow,
the power to say no and yes, pretties
and dignity, an occasional jolt of truth.

The human brain, wrinkled slug, knows
like a computer, like a violinist, like
a bloodhound, like a frog. We remember
backwards a little and sometimes forwards,
but mostly we think in the ebbing circles
a rock makes on the water.

The salmon hurtling upstream seeks
the taste of the waters of its birth
but the seabird on its four-thousand-mile
trek follows charts mapped on its genes.
The brightness, the angle, the sighting
of the stars shines in the brain luring
till the inner constellation matches the outer.

The stark black rocks, the island beaches
of waveworn pebbles where it will winter
look right to it. Months after it set
forth it says, home at last, and settles.
Even the pigeon beating its short whistling
wings knows the magnetic tug of arrival.

In my spine a tidal clock tilts and drips
and the moon pulls blood from my womb.
Driven as a migrating falcon, I can be blown
off course yet if I turn back it feels
wrong. Navigating by chart and chance
and passion I will know the shape
of the mountains of freedom, I will know.

My only resolution for 2010 is to be kindly to myself and others. That actually cover a lot of ground, probably more than I realise right now. I have a lot of intentions, for projects and adventures, but if I can simply remember to be kind and to pay attention that is what feels vital to me right now.

I always have hope for the future, perhaps foolishly, when common wisdom from a stranger on the train is that humans will not last out this almost new century. (I pointed out to him that the planet itself will not die, even if us naked monkeys aren't playing here any more...) But I intend to continue living what life remains to me in the ways that make the most of what I am capable of, with whatever ability I can muster. If needful changes can only be made by those who can afford them, only by those at the top of the economic food chain, then we really are doomed. And I can't live believing that.

Where so very much in life is determined by random luck, I persist in attempting to change what I can. I'll never be beautiful, or clever with interpersonal communication, or young again, but the one gift I was given at birth was to be able to make things.... and in the coming year I will make that my focus, to bring my handicraft to every single day. It might look to many like I already do that, but from the inside, looking at my life, 2009 was in many ways a kind of wasted year, where many opportunities slipped away unused. I could have done more with my time, and since time is all we ever have, and the remainder left is entirely unknown, I don't want to be wastrel any longer. Making things is a delight, even when it is not. It is my only good. And the patient faithfulness of inanimate objects will be and is my only legacy to the world.

Wish me luck, as I wish for all and any of you as well...

frugal knitting

In which our plucky heroine is grateful for requests promptly answered.

I was feeling a bit pitiful about buying any more yarn, given the state of my piggybank currently, and the need to keep the temperature here at Acorn Cottage somewhere above freezing. As I'd mentioned, there is not any one yarn in my small stash that I've enough of to make anything garment-ish, at least not in my size. (I have been making some baby booties for upcoming small fry among my friends).

I like having things to do on the bus, since I spend so very much time every week there. Knitting is best, though I have been making do with some simple stitching, working on the patchy border edge for the corduroy overall jumper.

Yesterday, I wrote this post on my sewing blog...

possible sweater - "Sonnet"... This might be a good option if I end up deciding to knit a sweater for the 2010 SWAP. My other knitting idea involved creating my own interpretation of the Stripey Sleeve Bolero from Sunday Knits, (since that one is only available as a complete kit (spendy), and I am out of size range on it anyway)which I still may do eventually, but that is a big project.

The pattern : Sonnet (from Knitty- Fall 03)has quite a bit of potential to be adjusted for size and configuration, and it is mostly in garter stitch, so good for bus knitting; this is a picture of the sweater knitted up with alternating color stripes and dark bands where the texture pattern is... stripey Sonnet. I'd probably not do the texture pattern on the sleeves, I think it looks dorky. I might have enough of the grey Rowan DK, if I can get another yarn that would also work with this, like a darker grey, indigo blue or a bittersweet dark brown. I'm thinking maybe KnitPicks...

Stopping in to the Goodwill today, I was very happy to find, hiding amidst the acrylic uglies, a nice dark bittersweet brown 100% merino wool sweater, of the sort that can be unraveled. I think, that combining it with the medium grey DK that I already have, I will have enough to make a knitted vest (maybe even enough for whole sweater).

The yarn is rather kinky right now, but some washing and relaxation will soon take care of that. Here is Knitters Review on how to recycle yarn, and here is what TECHknitter has to say about dealing with kinky yarn

grateful...

Since I started posting my wishes online, about half of them have been granted... now mind you, I am not extravagant in my wishing, not like the child that wished for the pony there was no room for in the backyard, or the young adult who wished for a sweetheart that only time and personal growth might allow(I'm still waiting on that one). Last night, while discussing house design with Nichole, I mentioned that I should probably put the book "A Pattern Language" on my wishlist. She gave me her extra copy to keep, and also The Timeless Way of Building, which is one of the companion volumes. From the time I first read them years ago, these books changed the way I look at the human-made world, and I am completely delighted to have them here at Acorn Cottage for my reference library.

~ : ♥ : ~

Tonight I went to the Portland Art Museum after work. I've lived here for three years and this was my first visit. In every other city I have lived, the art museum had a time that admission was either free, or by donation. But until very recently, that was not the case here. I'm not sure where I read that the policy had changed, but every fourth Friday, from 5 to 8 PM, there is no charge for admission. Apparently this information is not widely known, since it was remarkably uncrowded... A pleasant way to start the busy weekend, next time I will bring a sketchbook.

Once upon a time...

For guiding my steps, for all the inspiration, for the years of drying my tears and soothing my fears, for your amazing resilience, for your sense of humor, for believing in me before I did, for the challenging and the cherishing... for being my mother...


...may today be as special for you as all the special times you created for me as a child.


Happy Mothers Day

the gift that always moves

Midday today, the post came while I was on my way out the door to run errands, pick up some groceries, and go to work... There was a big cardboard box with my name on it. Since I am not at all good at delayed gratification, I headed right back inside to discover that the creative and talented Jackie (Smoothpebble) had sent me this lovely handmade mobile, a wonderful assemblage of various shades of actual linen and denim. I can't decide whether to put this in the living room for everyone to enjoy, or to put it in the bedroom, in that empty corner that really needs some love. For a better picture of the mobile, you can see it here

Last year in the mobile swap, I had a great deal of fun making and sending off a horse mobile, but sadly, never had one show up here. And when I ran across another person who was abandoned in the mobile swap roulette, I made one for her too, a bird mobile (you might guess, I love making mobiles, they add so much liveliness to a room).

I take my small projects with me, and am often sewing during my daily riding on public transit, which leads to interesting conversations with fellow travelers, when it is not too crowded. An older gentleman asked me what I was going to do with the little fabric morels I was so busy making... I described this bit of odd cultural phenomenon, this sending of handcrafted artifacts back and forth as gifts to various corners of the country and the world to people we have most likely never met. He echoed the comments other friends have made, that it seemed to be a lot of effort to put into something, trusting that there would be some return. Truth be told, I hadn't thought about that. It is a pleasure to make things, for me that pleasure has been most constant and faithful all my life. And it is a tiny bit of "the world I want to live in", to send off mysterious packages intended only to delight the recipient. And while it is true that my livelihood also consists of making things, whether fabric or metal or glass, there is a particular sweetness in this other sort of transaction...

Craft-tea-party + new classes

C'mon over to Acorn Cottage on Sunday for the first Craft-Tea Party of 2009... noon to five PM... visiting, with or without projects will be the order of the afternoon. I'll have some supplies for freezer paper stencils, if anyone wants to try out the technique. It is fun, fast and easy, a way to make one of a kind designs on fabric. (works great for decorative pennants, T-shirts and smaller patches, best on smoother fabric) Tasty snacks and Smokey snuggles will be provided.

~ :♥: ~

Today I rambled over to Gossamer on W Burnside, and treated myself to a new needlefelting tool, the Clover Pen tool which I've been enamored of ever since I tried the one that Aelgyfu has. I'd been in that shop around Halloween, as they sell all different colors of wool roving, and felt, as well as my favorite Brown Sheep yarns. This time there were also amazingly beautiful, large felted wall "paintings" of Japanese imagery. I wish I'd brought my camera

~ :♥: ~

I'm a bit excited, my holiday/birthday gift from my Mom and Dad is going to be a serger. I've been wanting one for ages, and this will surely be a wonderful addition to my sewing room. It should arrive next week; I hope to clear out space in the back room and have a permanent sewing table set-up along one wall. with the fabric storage shelves above. There might be room at one end to have a small light box set up as well, for taking pictures to document my artwork. At least that is the current plan.

~ :♥: ~

Yesterday was an interesting day for several reasons:

1. My dear friend Rois came over with her sons, and brought me this wintertime cottage paper sculpture, it is just the right size to fit on my front windowsill.

2. After I baked up a batch of chocolate acorn cakelets, I headed out to go to Tuesday Family Potluck. Unfortunately my blue line Max train arrived in the transit center too late for the last bus up into the hills. Rather than turn around and go home, or call for a ride, I decided to walk there. Without a map, at night (but with streetlights). It was a bit like an old computer game, the being in a maze of identical streets with identical townhouses, and going up and down hills. I figured that if I got terribly lost I could always call someone, and I had a water bottle and a basket of little cakes... It took me about a half hour, (and I think it was somewhere between a mile and a mile and a half, as best I can figure out from my map at home) when I found my way past the land of identical townhouses, to the hilly suburban neighborhood where my friends live. All day today I've been feeling a bit pleased with myself, that was a bit more beyond my comfort zone in several ways, and I did it happily...

~ :♥: ~

New classes offered for the first quarter of the year :

Cloisonné Enameling -

Learn the entire process of creating cloisonné, with delicate lines of precious metal delineating patterns and images. Create a suitable design, bend and apply the cloisonné wires, apply multiple layers of enamel and fuse them in the kiln, and grind and flash-fire the finished enamel. You will be provided with materials, and complete at least one piece that can be worn as a pendant.

January 23^rd - 25^th or March 20^th - 22^nd ~ $175
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fold Forming for Jewelry -

Fold forming is an exciting technique wherein sheet metal is folded and hammered to create textured, 3-dimensional, organic forms. This is a relatively quick process, so students will have the opportunity to create a variety of basic forms as well as explore some forms in more depth. Because we will be scaling these forms down to sizes useful for jewelry, the work will not require a great deal of heavy hammering. This workshop is appropriate for beginners, however experienced jewelry artists will find it very exciting as well.

February 20^th - 22^nd ~ $195
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Painted Enameling

Learn a straightforward way to add fine details to your enamels. The use of painting enamels began in medieval France, and is appropriate for contemporary and traditional designs. Painting enamels are mixed with lavender oil and applied to a previously enameled surface. You will be provided with two silver blanks, and you will complete at least one small piece that can be worn as a pendant. I will also have available heart shaped blanks, should you want to make a special Valentines day gift…

(Note: you must not be allergic to lavender)

February 6^th - 8^th ~ $175
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stamped Champlevé -

Champlevé usually involves elaborate preparation to create a design to enamel. We will learn a simple and fun technique using stamps and punches to create designs in the metal that can be filled with enamel to create a multicolored surface with a unique and contemporary look. You will complete at least one piece that can be worn as a pendant. Materials included.

March 6^th - 8^th ~ $175
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fun Without Flame :
Decorative Stamping and Cold Connections -

Learn a variety of techniques for joining parts securely, without the use of heat or solder, and explore the use of various kinds of stamps to decorate and texture metal. This workshop will cover a wide range of mechanical joints that can be achieved with simple tools. We will be working with simple headed rivets, roves, tube rivets, mini screws, and much more. We will work with brass and copper, (silver available at an additional cost), learning how to determine the appropriate sort of cold joint for the materials at hand. There will be practice samples, as well as the option for a finished piece of jewelry to take home.

April 3^rd - 5^th ~ $195