Altered Alchemy

Eye of Lamia

2013-05-01T20:10:00.000+08:00

"She was a gordian shape of dazzling hue,

Vermilion-spotted, golden, green, and blue;

Striped like a zebra, freckled like a pard,

Eyed like a peacock, and all crimson barr'd;

And full of silver moons, that, as she breathed,

Dissolv'd, or brighter shone, or interwreathed

Their lustres with the gloomier tapestries -

So rainbow-sided, touch'd with miseries,

She seem'd, at once, some penanced lady elf,

Some demon's mistress, or the demon's self ..."

~ Lamia – John Keats ~

I am so excited to share this latest piece with you! Not everyone's taste, I admit ... but definitely an absolute blast to make. It is pieces such as this that evoke the sense of play in me. It is pieces like this that make me giggle when it finally works :) I'm like a little kid I know.

The Eye of Lamia began with a single eyelid; made of repurpose copper, it was hammered into shape without the use of any dapping tools, just an old driftwood with plenty of curved crevices and a ball hammer.

The eyelash are synthetic lashes, and peacock feathers. Such DRAMA!!

And then the "armored socket" I call it ... in the form of a heart, made from epoxy clay, sculpted, painted and sealed. The 'armor' is also repurpose copper.

The coolest thing about this piece is, the eyelid moves! The eyelid opens when the chain drop is gently tugged downwards.

Yearnings & Repetitions

2013-04-27T04:18:00.001+08:00

Lately I've been really attracted to adventure. I think my heart yearns to go places. Unfortunately the body is kinda stuck here. It's a good thing that the imagination is still able to take flight. Having made 2 Time Travel pieces, I had to make one last one before telling myself to move on. So here's the last piece of its kind ... slightly different as this piece addresses missed opportunities and what ifs.

Unlike my Time Traveler who is able to move through time in his alternate reality, in the real world we cannot. Unlike the clock face on my time pendant whose numbers are reversed, in reality that does not happen. The Time is Now reminds us to take action now, for once it passes, you could never turn back time.

When I say adventure, I really mean it :) I couldn't stop making stuff with maps! These 3 pieces are proof of to how much my heart yearns for exploration.

EnRoute

EnRoute II

a Traveling Bohemian

Speaking of repetitions ... I've been repeatedly using my resin too. It's so weird, I was never really comfortable with resin. The ICE Resin I bought 2 years ago, I hardly touched until this week. This week, I opened it at least 5 times and used at least a quarter of it. ((O_O)) This is the last pair of earrings made with ICE Resin. Rhythm and Blues.

And then, there's this. I am Passion.

The 5 elements used in this piece; Wheel, Wings, Bell, Heart represents I live, I soar, I seek, I feel with Passion. And finally, I embody Passion in the form of the house-vessel ... I am Passion.

A Love Beyond Time

2013-04-17T17:57:00.001+08:00

“Hey mister … wake up! Wake up! Are you alright?”

The Time Traveler jolted up and came face to face with a shabbily clothed young man. He took a glance around trying to make out his new surroundings as quickly as he can so that he could plan for his next course of action. Most of the time he would wake up disappointed, but this time there was something different. The air smelt familiar. As his eyes finally focused on some of the things around him, his heart skipped a beat. He jumped straight up from the weathered worn wooden bench that he was lying on and grabbed the scruffy stranger by the collar, or what’s left of a collar. The Time Traveler uttered the first word that came to his mind.

“Lamarque!?

The stranger looked at him curiously and answered, “Lamarque’s dead! Died a long time ago … you dunno?”

“How long ago? What year is it? WHAT YEAR IS IT?”

“Hey mister, get your hands off me! It’s 1857 for Christ’s sake!”
The stranger limped away quickly.

As the Time Traveler contemplated the date, his hand clutched harder onto his Time Amulet.

‘how did I screw up this time?!’ He thought angrily.

“25 years off!”, he muttered to himself.

And then he caught sight of a building across the city square that made his heart beat wildly. Immediately, he ran towards the building, passing a huge sign on the way that read ‘PARIS’

He was looking up at the ornate old building once again. Even now in its half decrepit state; it brought back memories of the time he spent here with the girl he loved with all his heart … one whom he has been searching for the last 15 years. Slowly, he climbed the creaking stairway, not knowing what to expect. Very soon, he was facing the wooden door he was so familiar with. The door was slightly ajar, so he carefully pushed it open and peeked inside.

The little apartment that he used to live in, now looked very different. For one, it was mostly in pink. He took a step in and the floor creaked beneath him.

“Mother? Is that you? Did you leave something?”, came a female voice from what he use to remember as the kitchen.

Before he could turn to leave, a young lady, not more than 25, dressed in a simple frock came out. On her neck was a pendant not unlike the one he was clutching in his hand. They had the same compass, only the one she was wearing had a heart in it. It had writings on it that resembled his. And a key hung beneath the pendant, a key that was once his …

Every emotion he possessed, he felt it at that very moment. This was the face that he was searching the universe for the last 15 years, and now she is standing not more than 5 feet away from him. But yet, there was something very wrong. The time was wrong. According to the stranger he met outside, this face should be 25 years older. Finally, seemingly confused, the time traveler whispered,

“Satin?”

A look of realization suddenly dawned upon the young lady’s face.

“Father?”

Those of you who have read my last post would remember why the Time Traveler had to return to Paris. Well, he finally did, only to find out that he had 2 gals waiting for him instead of just one. I wonder how he'll handle that!

Anyhow, this piece is now on my etsy ... not the physical piece, but the PDF Tutorial on how to construct this piece :) It's a 54 page tutorial with over 90 photos. Even more extensive than my last tutorial! Because this one had so many different elements to write on, for instance - simple metal working, how to work with epoxy clay, alternative uses of acrylic paint etc. But the most interesting part of this piece is how to make a bezel without fire or solder. I have always wanted to make a piece with a bezel that can hold little fragments of timeless objects and then freeze them in time with ICE Resin. But I could never make one cos I don't solder or own a torch. But in this piece, I've come up with a way to construct a no-solder bezel :) And not only that, it's a bezel made with wires ... yet, it holds ICE Resin with no problems of leakage or spillage :)

If you have some time, do pop over to my Etsy and have a look :)

Thank you all for your comments in the last 2 posts ... I am always really happy and excited to read what you guys have to say :)

the Time Traveler

2013-04-10T23:09:00.001+08:00

As soon as he opened his eyes, he knew exactly where he was. With a dejected sigh, he released the hatch and climbed out of the capsule. He glanced to his right, the mainframe flashed

‘Orion - Year 3032AD’.

It did not surprise him. Still clutching onto his amulet, his eyes squinted at the amulet’s compass. Somewhere in Denmark ... Darn! So near, but not enough. Unsuccessful yet again.

He ran his fingers across the etched stone-like fragment on the amulet.

“Paris”, he whispered softly to himself …

‘Damn Lamarque for dying! Damn those crazy people! How can 100,000 of them appear in one day?! We don’t even have 100,000 people here in the Republic!. Those were the curses going on in his head as he walked towards the mainframe. He needed to get back to that point in time where they were supposed to meet and run away together. And then suddenly, the streets were filled with throngs and throngs of angry bodies, all wanting blood. He waited at the window of his quaint apartment anxiously. Where is she? And then it happened. ‘No … no NO! Not now!’. As if they could hear him! He could feel his molecules collapsing. In dismay, the only thing he managed to grab was a letter she had written to him after their first meeting. He needed something to remind him of this place, and of her. He was coming back for her … no matter what it took.

‘Curse them for warping me back to the Time Ship!. That was 15 years ago. Still caressing the stone-like fragment, he remembered tearing out a little piece of the letter where the Paris stamp was and attaching it to the Time Amulet that he had constructed, so that he will never forget his destination. Through time, even though the piece of letter had petrified and turned to stone, his heart never stopped loving Satin. With that, he resets the coordinates on the mainframe and walks back to the time capsule.

Coordinates : Earth 48:51:17N 2:20:12E

Destination : Paris, France

Year : 1832AD

I hope you liked the story ;) Hot from the over, this piece called the Time Traveler was completed just last night.

Before this I was playing with 2 pairs of earrings. Both rather huge ... for my normal earring standards. But what can I say, they were both inspired by women of strength.

This one I gave an Elven name, Maethor-Aranel which translates to Warrior-Princess

And this, is Helen of Troy.

In fact, these 3 pieces, the necklace and the earrings, all have one thing in common. They all began their existence with pieces of repurpose metal given to me by a good friend and wonderful artist, Barry of Rustnstuff. Barry works with metal and all of his art began their lives as something else, everyday items like serving trays, old pots, metal trash that people discard. And in Barry's hands, these items are cut up, torched, hammered, formed and worked into beautiful sculptural pieces. I was lucky enough to be sent quite a heap of metal pieces, some already worked by him into components, some still in their cut up unworked state. And this week I've been inspired to work on his gifts. I do hope he likes what he sees :) If you haven't yet met Barry, you should pop over to his place and marvel at his wonderful work! Simple click any "Barry"s and it will take you there :)

Beloved

2013-04-03T21:15:00.000+08:00

They were deeply in love, even though they were as different as night and day. He was the King of the Dark Realm, and she was the Star-Child of the Realm of Light. But she would follow him into the darkest abyss if he asked her to. He could never ask that of her; for if the darkness didn’t kill her, his Dark Queen would. There was only one place for both of them to have a chance to be happy. There was a place where neither Dark nor Light could exist. It was the Void.

He created for her a Mansion from black steel. Once she entered, she could never exit. It was not to imprison her, but to protect her from the Void. The Void could literally suck the light out of her. Within the Mansion, he created never-ending meadows and woodlands where she could roam, luscious gardens full of flowers and a home filled with shelves and shelves of books that she loved so much. He promised to see her whenever he could get away from the Queen. They laid in each others arms until the sun set. It was time for the King to leave. But before he left, he created for her a gift so precious, and he begged her to wear it on her neck at all times. It was an amulet that would protect her from all dangers. But most importantly, this amulet was the one way to reach him. Whenever she would need him, she only had to gently tug the quartz on either sides of the amulet and speak “Beloved, I need you” ... and he would appear before her instantaneously. With that, the King gently kissed his concubine on the lips, spread his wings and disappeared into the Void.

This mixed media necklace took me many hours to conceptualize. It began its life with the synthesis of metal with fire, paint, resin and clay.

And then it morphed into its current “creature-like” state,

yet still retaining some form of fantasmal elegance … so I hope :)

From concept, I now wanted to add the mechanics that I dreamed that it could do. There were plenty of constructions and frustrating deconstructions, but it was all worth it when I finally got it to work the way I wanted it to work.

And I am tickled pink with it!

hidden messages

2013-03-26T23:01:00.000+08:00

In my last post, I unintentionally started a new line which I called the Hidden Series. It began with a dream I had. To read about the dream, go here. A friend over at Facebook, Teena, then suggested a scroll for my second Hidden Series piece. And so I took up the suggestion.

The conception of the scroll vessel ...

and then, it developed into this ...

The hidden message within the vessel was inspired by a conversation between me and a friend. She was contemplating if it was worth it to fight for something that she really wanted. In the midst of that conversation, I was reminded of a thought that ran across my mind on my birthday earlier this year. I thought to myself, I have already lived more than half my life on this earth, and if I’m lucky, I’ll have perhaps 35 more years here. I told myself that I want to make each moment worth it … That is the very quote I chose to house in this scroll vessel.

This was sold within seconds of listing ... to Teena :)

So far, the Hidden Series seems to be inspired by friends who surround me everyday with positivity and great energy. Again in my next Hidden Series piece, I am reminded of another wonderful friend and sculptor, Barry Smith’s concept of “Daily Words”. Barry would stamp words on repurpose metals and put them in metal shrines/bowls he creates. Each morning he would pick up a word and hold it in his palm. How wonderful it must be, to feel the coolness of the metal and to feel the energy of the written word permeate through one’s body.

With that as inspiration, I decided to create a miniature book with hidden Words of Light, hidden within a miniature house. This mixed media necklace mainly comprises of repurpose copper/brass (also courtesy of Barry) and mixed metal wires.

The house is a totally no-solder piece where the corners, hinges and wire-mesh are all folded, tied or bent into place. I would like to think of it as a piece of metal origami creation :)

The little golden wing on the cover of the book signifies light. It peeks thru the wire-mesh when the door is closed, just appearing under the word “Light”.

The miniature book is handmade out of leather, lace and coffee stained pages, and is removable from the house. The Words of Light within the book are from an old novel. These are some words that I gravitate towards.

I'm pretty excited by the potential of this series ... let's see what inspires me next :)

thought-full

2013-03-16T00:52:00.000+08:00

A couple nights ago, I dreamed that I chanced upon an old abandon hut on a misty morning. Curious, I pushed open the weathered door and took a peek inside. The one thing that caught my eye was a peeling white dresser which stood at one corner of the room. I walked towards it instinctively. An old key was still lodged in the keyhole of one of the drawers. It wasn’t locked, so I pried open the drawer slowly in case something sprang out at me! Turns out it was empty. As I was about to shut the drawer, part of the back panel caught the light and I caught a glimpse of some scribbling. I pulled the drawer further out to see what it was. What I saw put a smile on my face. Although it was faded but I could make out that they were a child’s uneven writing and drawings of several stick-people. I woke up at that point and realized that I still had a smile on my face. I could imagine a little girl scribbling on a piece of wood and then perhaps daddy eventually used that piece of wood and made it into part of the dresser for the home.

I loved that idea of the child’s “hidden message” at the back of the drawer. If I had not looked deeper, I wouldn’t have seen it. I was inspired to make a piece with a hidden message. Words that no one would see unless they look deeper. Often times, people go about their lives looking but never consciously understanding. Some messages to us are hidden, and may be hidden forever if we do not attempt to dig deeper within us or look further than what is presented before us.

I foresee a few more "Hidden" pieces in the near future ... tho still thinking of what to hide, where :)

Couple of weeks passed since my last post, I feel life is just meandering along in a poetic manner, and I'm loving it. I felt that last year end was like a whirlwind of rush for me, working on this working on that. But 2013 seems to take a more leisurely pace and I am creating in a more relaxed manner. I am also spreading my time more evenly now between making art and other things that matter to me ... for instance my daily commando session :) (I call my workout sessions commando sessions :)

And art seems to unconsciously take on life too ... because out of the blue, I thought of the word "Symbiosis". Interdependence, coexistence, living together. I realized that I could include other activities in my life besides just making art. Something I didn't feel I could do "naturally" last year. It was either art, or exercise, art or cooking for the kids, and if I had to do both things, it felt forced. In fact they are all interdependent on each other and could coexist in harmony. They coexist to enrich life.

Both these earrings I named Symbiosis ... colors that are so contrasted yet coexisting in a single piece so harmoniously.

I also made this necklace called "to Wanderings ..." An ode to my favourite phrase "Not all those who wander are lost" . Another "realization" piece I must admit.

I have often lamented about the fact that I might have lost most of my youth ‘wandering’ and ‘wondering’. Could I have achieved more if I daydreamed less and stayed more focus? I have come to the realization that ‘wanderings’ and ‘wonderings’ are not necessarily bad … they are part of a journey. We wander because we are bidding time, waiting for the right time for something.Waiting for the culmination of one or more events.

Hahaha!!! So much reflections in this post!!! ok ok ... I shan't bore you guys anymore ... I'll just finish this up with another journal I made which I called "Lady in Arms" ... and no explanations :)

Thank you all for reading and commenting on my last post. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave me with your thoughts and insights :) xo

2013 After Hiatus

2013-02-25T18:02:00.000+08:00

WOWEE!!! I just checked the date of my last post ... it was Nov 28th! Has it been 3 month already? Well, I guess break time is now over, I've been lazing for far too long. Good day to begin my first post in 2013 as yesterday was the last day of Chinese New Year. Come to think of it, I actually stopped making anything 2 weeks before Christmas last year, when I sent off my last Christmas order. The 2 months before Christmas really burned me out I think, after my last order I just went blank.

I began making things again a week before CNY just to get into the hang of things. Took some wires out and made some simple pieces to get the creative juice going and the hands working. A couple of earrings which I decided to give them girls' names Adara and Chyna were born, and also a mini book necklace called Cascade.

And then I made 3 journals ... YES 3!!!! One of them is a commission piece, a revisited design ... Nimloth of Eressea. And yea, I'm trying to catch up with my 2012 commissions *hangs head in shame for procrastinating*

Out of the 3 journals, this one is a new design which I named Unspoken.

I don't know how many of you have seen Les Miserables, the film, I watched it 3 times and cried 3 times. Honestly, I can watch it another 5 times and cry another 5 times! And I think I'm seriously in love with Hugh Jackman ... pity he's married and so am I ... not meant to be I guess ... *sigh*

Inspired by the story of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, this necklace is called Redemption. It is a journey about a man who turned from a life of hating, to a life of redemption through acts of compassion, courage and love … and his final redeeming journey into the arms of God.

The tactic of starting with something simple worked, cos knowing me ... things can get complicated real fast. Yesterday I completed this chunky baby ... a mixed media necklace called Protection...? This piece was named as such because it addresses the concept of Protection v Restraint. In lieu of all the children kidnapping and murder cases going on in my country, I am anxious for my girls' safety even more these days. And of course, it inevitable made me think of the subject of 'over protective' parents, which I don't also want to be.

As a parent, our children’s safety and wellbeing become our utmost concern. As society becomes more chaotic and less secure in this age and time, parents become ever more protective of their children. But when does protection become restraint, and guidance turn to control? How can we find a balance?

This piece is my expression of the concept of Protection vs Restraint.

of Faetales, Fantasies and Family

2012-11-28T18:15:00.000+08:00

it always feels like a luxury to just sit and write a blog post. Maia is having her nap and Llara is entertaining the Ipad, which she sneakily coveted it off her grandma for the duration of the year-end holidays. Noise pollution in the home is down to only the rumbling thunder in the distance and the pitter patter of the rain on my window. Bliss ...

i shall not contemplate too long on my luck this afternoon, for i have lots of pretties to show :)

Whence Stories Came is my first attempt at making a metal flower bud ... within that bud, lies the tiniest book, signifying the home of stories, and 3 seeds, which without, the home would be empty. they are the Seed of Passion, Seed of Imagination and the Seed of Artistry. that's how stories are born ...

after this piece, i remember taking a break for a few days before i had the vision of a dark forest, not so much omnimous, but secretive and magical. a place where the Fae live...

a place where huge moss-covered trees bear strange nuts and berries that sometimes fall on the Forest Floor.

a place where gnarled ancient vines bear enchanting Forest Offerings ... but beware, not all are sweet to the human tongue!

a place where numerous stories have been weaved for generations. Forest Tales that are too strange to believe ... but are they?

a place where humans are not really welcomed, tho if you did get lost, just follow the Faelights, and they will lead you out, but not before making you walk round the forest 3 times ...

i think i can go on and on about this ancient magical forest that i've landed myself in. but after walking round the forest 3 times ... i think i'd better cool off for a bit ;)

and so i endeavored to make something less Fae, but not necessarily less mysterious. last night, i was playing around with Barry's stash of metal, trying very hard not to cut my hands in process ... and i suddenly had this idea of rolling a piece of metal into something much like a swissroll! so, i proceeded to flatten a piece of patterned brass, and then divided it into 2 equal parts. some steel wires, rustic howlite beads and a couple of dictionary excerpts later ... Cryptex emerged.

been really enjoying myself with these few pieces, but what i loved most was this one i made. it began when i attempted to make my first birdnest with copper wires.

this, i named Born Free ...

many people have asked me why there are only 2 eggs in the nest and not the 3 that you would normally see. the answer is simple ... becoz this piece is a homage to my 2 amazing little girls Llara and Maia, and my hope that they will grow up to follow their dreams and live life with passion, compassion and freedom. Not to be shackled down by anything, but to live life to the full.

Born Free, Live Free.

"Born free, as free as the wind blows

As free as the grass grows

Born free to follow your heart

Live free and beauty surrounds you

The world still astounds you

Each time you look at a star

Stay free, where no walls divide you

You're free as the roaring tide

So there's no need to hide

Born free, and life is worth living

But only worth living

'Cause you're born free"

the joy of making things (happen)

2012-11-04T18:39:00.000+08:00

it's been 3 weeks since my last post ... i should be blogging more frequently! but networking has evolved so much since i first started blogging. i can say that i used to have only 1 place to show my work and talk to everyone, now there are loads of places to do that in a more micro way. I feel that sites like FB, Pinterest, Tumblr have actually taken away some of the audiences from the conventional blogging avenues, whether it's for the better I dunno. I guess that audiences are different. the audiences at places like Pinterest and Tumblr prefer just to "look" whilst people here would still read what you write. and for me, it's always a joy and a luxury to have some time to myself and sit in front of the screen to just write.

what do you guys think about the different networking avenues? which ones are working for you better?

in this 3 weeks i have been quite prolific *(: smug :)* ... well, for me it's considered prolific having to run around like a headless chicken most of the time! In this time i made, in the first batch, 3 pieces inspired by Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. and all becoz i caught the BBC series of it on YouTube!

Emily's Moors was inspired by the ruggedness and the desolate beauty of Emily Bronte’s moors as described in the novel. The chain of the necklace was made of dark annealed steel wires twisted around a variety of brass tone findings and shimmery glass beads to capture the twisted heath that grow within the moors glistening in the morning dew.

“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be” ~ Catherine Earnshaw

this next piece, i've named it simply ... Be.

and all of this culminated to a rather dramatic journal... the Secret Diary of Catherine Linton

“My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I am well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff!” ~ Catherine Earnshaw

If Catherine had a diary … what secrets would lie within those crumbling pages? Even after becoming Catherine Linton, she could not forget him. She could never forget him. Theirs was a destructive love, but there was never a doubt that it was passionate and unyielding. Only in death, could these two tormented lovers reunite once again.

the one feature that had me thinking for a long time and eventually decide upon, was what to put inside the escutcheon. within the keyhole is the eye of Catherine's one true love, her tormentor and her murderer.

after easing off Wuthering Heights for a bit, i did manage to make some random pieces. inspired by my fren Barry, i tried my hands on a little bit of foldforming ;) if you can call this that. this pair of earrings i called Q & A

after a lot of rather heavy stuff, i just like to relax with a happy whimsical piece. so this one is Kiss Me In November :)

finally, i made another one of those birdhouse pieces. this time, i had lined 3 miniature books inside. hence, Library was born.

and as if i didn't have enough on my hands already ... one day i just spontaneously decided that i wanted to write a tutorial and put it on Etsy. so i wrote a 39 page tut on Project Library, complete with thorough descriptive instructions and 80+ instructional photos ((O_O)) stressed me up quite a bit, but am proud to say it's done and listed now :)

wow!! now that i have had a good look at this post ... i was REALLY prolific!!

1 Earring 2 Books

2012-10-19T02:24:00.000+08:00

i should be blogging more often but seriously time must be playing tricks on me. chunks and chunks of it just seem to disappear from the face of the earth ... well, my earth that is. have stopped taking commissions for a while just to chill and not have to make art whilst fighting with time. takes away all the fun.

one of the last commission was an earring. when i say an earring, it really means 'an'. she only wanted one. so i made sure that it was good enough to go solo :)

named her Uni'q ... i'm actually quite smittened with that name HEH!

after Uni'q, i managed another 2 books. i've been thinking of revisiting some of my older designs. so i took the opportunity to go Celtic this week.

the Book of the Brotherhood and the Book of Celts ... both i love so very much! and also very thrilled at the fact that the motifs in the center were designed by moi, and then made into stamps. took me quite a while to sort out the over-under line crossings tho!

also love how this batch of rust turned out. beautiful patches and colors. even the shine-matt combination on the galvanized zinc seem so natural.

these books that i make take so many hours to complete. rusting the metal parts have to be done days before and closely monitored so that i get a good combination of rust and grey metal. and then the artwork itself, the background distress effect, the shading of the motifs to give them depth and the aging work. also, i have lined clay at the bottom of those strips so that they don't sit flat on the cover. there is a slightly raised edge ... just me being fussy ya know. but darn ... that took some time, becos we had to make sure that the clay was 'grouted' properly all round! yea ... me being fussy again! and finally, the pages are torn and sewn onto the leather spine. OOO!! i just bought a bunch of new threads that i am now in love with! Irish Waxed Linen ... should have used them ages ago!! they even come in beautiful colors :) now my celtic books ... one has Teal colored thread, the other has Olive Green ... MamaMia!!

SEO - what is it?

2012-10-09T22:54:00.000+08:00

over the past 2 days i have been having some interesting, out-of-my-domain kinda conversation with a couple of ladies at Mixed Media Art @ Facebook. we were discussing about some ways to market our work and ourselves better. ye know ... that is the worst part. i would love to just make art and let someone do the marketing ... or just make art period. but i would love to make a living out of it if i could. there were loads of suggestions and one of it that intrigued me was how to drive traffic to your site so that your work would be seen by more people. and since my sales totally depend on the internet, naturally this was the topic that got my attention.

i have heard of terms like SEO, page ranks, search engine robots etc ... i'm sure you have too. and no, these are not bookbinding techniques! wish they were, cos then they'll be easier to understand!! anyhow SEO is search engine optimization. how to get search engines like google or yahoo (and the rest) to find your site more efficiently so that consumers would also find your page easier when they google a keyword pertaining to what you do ... for my stuff would probably be along the lines of 'mixed media jewelry', or 'handmade books'.

apparently there are some things that the search engine robots cannot see. photos are one of them. and you know what ... my blog is full of photos!! ugh!! which means the keywords need to be plastered all over the content of the blog post itself, which is something that i am reluctant to do becos then, the post would look so fake. it would be like me pasting myself all over with branded logos!!

the ladies at MMA said that there was a way to make the robots see your photos. so i searched the net and i found the solution. it's pretty easy to do tho it can be quite time consuming. all you have to do is to add alt="your keywords" within your image's HTML. when you write a blog post, on the top left corner there are 2 tabs. one says 'compose' and the other 'HTML'. you want to click on the 'HTML' to get to the computer language of your image. typically the HTML of an image would look like this.

all you have to do is to add alt="your keywords" right after the <img tag. your keywords can be words pertaining to that particular image. my keywords to my photos would typically be "handmade books" , "handmade journals", "mixed media jewelry" and stuff like that. you need only to put 2 or 3 words between the invert commas. anything beyond four words would be a waste of time as the robots won't read that many words.

it's tedious cos you'll probably have to do this to a lot of your photos every time you post. but if you like to increase your page ranks on the search engines, this is one way to do it.

now the dilemma is what keywords to use? well, here is a link to a site which points you to 6 places where you can actually find the best keywords to use for your blog. I went to Adwords (the first on the list) ... all you have to do is to put in your domain URL and they will give you a list of keywords that you can use. here's the link http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-free-tools-to-get-the-best-keywords-for-your-site/

Home

2012-10-06T11:25:00.001+08:00

She already knew as she looked out of the window into the approaching twilight. A lone figure walked towards her door. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she opened the door.

The man looked sadly at her and handed her a little bundle wrapped in weathered linen. Hands shaking, she unwrap the bundle. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she gazed upon a perfect little book.

She remembered spending many nights sewing it, pouring all her love and heart into every stitch.

She remembered placing it in the hands of the man she loved more than anything in the world, before he went to war. She remembered telling him to keep it close to his heart, and bring it home when he returns from war, so that they may write beautiful memories of their future together.

And now, the book has returned to her. Even though it was weathered and worn, it was still perfect, just like the love they shared. She unclasped the cover slowly and then … gasped. For within the cover were meticulously burned pages forming a hollow. Within the hollow, nestled a delicate ring.

Choking back his tears, the man said,

“Just before he died in my arms, he told me –- how is it that I am able to fight a hundred men on the field but failed to utter two simple words to her … marry me -- And then he passed me this book and asked me to bring him home to you”

With that, she removed the ring from the hollow and slipped it into her finger.

She looked at the man and said,

“He is home”

A Different Place & Time

2012-09-27T15:37:00.000+08:00

After many years of blissful togetherness, the man and the woman decided that it was time to gather the sweet memories of their union and place them in a special place. The man took bits of his clothes and a rusted key from their favorite clock and assembled them into a book. This book, he called Time.

The woman in turn, took bits of her own lace, some old love letters that he had sent her and a keyhole from the door of the home they shared together, and made it into another book. And this, she called Place.

After a time, the man and the woman passed on from this world. In their hands, they cradled a book close to their hearts. He cradled her book, and she his. For it was a promise that they made to each other … that one day, in a different place and time … the books would come together, and their hearts would once again unite …

this was what i've been up to over the weekend and the beginning of this week. i have been itching to play with polymer clay after putting it away for a while. my pasta machine wasn't rolling too good and baking the clay actually caused my electricity bill to skyrocket ... so i thought, hmmm, not a good idea to polymer clay too often. but once in a while, the desire returns :)

some time back i managed to acquire this beautiful trinket box from etsy. dun mind the white stuff tho, it's just some residual from the baby powder i used as releasing agent.. isn't the etching on the box cover just so beautiful!? you can see what lovely book covers this trinket box created simply by 'stamping' it on a piece of polymer clay and then aging it with acrylics. (of course ... it's never as easy as it sounds. took many attempts to get 2 close-to-perfect covers)

another piece that i really wanted to share is this cuff which i made last week. this is the Cuff of Eryn Laer. in elven, Eryn Laer means the Forest of Song.

this time of the year brings much nostalgia, magic and romance ... it's Autumn afterall. Happy Autumn all ... and to my frens in the southern hemisphere ... Happy Spring!!

an array of stuff

2012-09-13T21:47:00.000+08:00

my brains have been rather fuzzy for some time now. dun really know what it wants. haven't been working a lot on my art too, well ... not as much as i wish i would. maybe it's just plain old laziness or perhaps too much working out. i guess too much workout can make your brains go fuzzy.

i did manage a couple of pieces this week ... the first was a pair of mini copper house earrings. i was contemplating on how small i can actually make my no-solder birdhouses when i came across another artist's jewelry collection which consists of little houses. the artist is Kat Cole and her house collection is so adorable!! that sealed it then ... and so i made these.

have you heard of a song called 'Home'? ... when i think of home, i think of a place where there's, love overflowing ... i wish i was home, i wish, i was back there... with the, things i've been knowing ...

well, when i was making the House of Love, i was singing this song ...

the second piece i made was somewhat self inspired or perhaps, self indulgent. ye know i've been working out hard to shed some pounds and get my cholesterol back down as much as i can. well, i guess i managed ... to finally reach my first goal of shedding 10 kgs. and this piece is like, a milestone.

This piece is called Transcend ... becoz, if you Believe and you Transcend, you Make it Happen.

yesterday afternoon i was clearing up my crafting space to get ready for a book commission when i came across bits of lace and some pieces of wires that i have hammered but not used. i toyed with them a bit and started putting them together ... and before i knew it, it was midnight and i had this necklace in my hands! it reminded me so much of Autumn, my favourite season of the year.

Autumn for me, has always been 'back to school' time. During my tertiary years in the UK, autumn would be the time that I would return after a long summer break back home. I remember having long walks in the park and feeling the cool crisp air on my face. I would listen to the whispers of the falling leaves and be intoxicated by the damp woodsy scent of the trees. All around me lovers would snuggle a little closer to each other, sometimes exchanging soft kisses. Autumn is the season of romance, of reflections and of sweet melancholy.

Rhapsody to Autumn ... my heart yearns to return to the time and place where i loved so much ...

now, back to reality! when i take commissions, i don't ask for payment in advance. i feel that this is sincerity on my part. i will make the piece, take photos and then show them to the customer, and only when the customer is totally satisfied, will i send them an invoice via paypal. well, sometimes, just sometimes, it's not such a great idea becoz after sending the photos, there's no reply. and this piece was such a case ...

it does not happen very often, perhaps only 3 times. most of my customers are ever SO lovely!! anyhow, the piece can always be listed in my etsy if it's not claimed.

**Just got a convo from the lady who commissioned the necklace :) so i'm a happy girl now!**

just before i go ... i'll leave you with this self explanatory photo collage ;)

creative block & some PEACE

2012-09-05T17:59:00.000+08:00

Ahhh greetings! I'm back from the land of creative block. Not much of a vacation since all the tourist attractions consist of giant lego blocks of all shapes and sizes, which dun even fit together. Until one fine morning I woke up to this!

And then ... I AM HOME!!! My angel of metal stash in the form of Mr Barry Smith (yes you! kind sir :) has struck again! Isn't it great to have a creative guardian angel especially when one is wandering aimlessly in legoland? And this time, the stash even came along with a metal cutter!!! OMG!!! Aren't I blessed! Thank you so much once again B :)

I know this may seem veering off path, but please hear me out. On the 21st of this month, we once again celebrate World Peace Day. I have promised myself and a lovely friend, MaryJane that I would participate in this PROJECT championed by her (please click on link). Well, Barry's stash came just in time to get me out of legoland and straight into some rather contemplative thoughts on Peace.

The concept of Peace is never as simple as it sounds. For before any sort of communion or peace is achieved, most of the time sacrifices of some sort would have already been made. In Honor Of was created to remind us of such sacrifices, and to remember those who have fallen so that others/we may live in Peace.

When I first began making this piece, I knew I wanted a sort of shrine so that I may immortalize “Peace”. I proceeded to search for an old Treaty of Peace on the net and found one which dated back to 1783. Then somehow I had to find a way to highlight the word ‘Peace’ on the treaty. I chose to frame it through an old key mounted on a clay tablet. The heart symbol has always called out to me, but in this case, it screamed to be included.

The elements came together quite naturally and the piece was finally completed. But what I did not expect was the overwhelming poignancy that hit me when I looked at it as a completed piece. What begin as a shrine to immortalize “Peace”, suddenly looks to me, more and more like a memorial. Even the shape of the key reminded me of a cross.

On a lighter note, it never fails to amaze me how the artwork can take a life of its own in the midst of the process, turning the artist into a mere doer of its fancy.

When In Honor of was created to remember those who have made that sacrifice so that others may live in peace, Declaration of Peace was a natural extension of the aftermath of this sacrifice.

The repurpose copper fashioned into a time capsule holding a rusted pen nib symbolizes “written peace” (like in Peace Treaties). A pair of wing findings, old gears and a heart make the other part of the piece. They represent an environment that I frequently associate with Peace … Freedom.

me, back

2012-08-13T00:09:00.002+08:00

First up, thank you so much for all your very wonderful comments in my last post! i really appreciate all your words of encouragement. altho it's getting so much harder to lose the weight now, but i guess the word is "soldier on"! and weight is not everything ... at my age, being healthy is the key.

alrighty!! now back to some work that i've been up to prior to the last post. made a pair of rather simple earrings called Seedling.

Galadriel said in the Lord of the Rings, "even the smallest person can change the course of the future". well, i say, "even the smallest of seedling may one day feed a thousand people"

i also made another book necklace, the Lady.

inspired by one of my favourite classics, Wuthering Heights, this came out of a excerpt by Heathcliff : "Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living. You said I killed you--haunt me then. The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe--I know that ghosts have wandered the earth. Be with me always--take any form--drive me mad. Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!"

this guy must be one of the most tormented and demented antiheroes ever written, but you can't really not love him for the undying (albeit sadistic) love he and Catherine both shared.

this next piece was the result of failed inspiration for a book commission :( i got so frustrated with thinking about the cover design one day, i thought i would just take a break. started meddling with some scrap metal on the table and before i knew it ...

well well, what do you know ... one door closes, another opens. but in this case ... when all the doors are closed, i say, use the DAMN KEY!! :)

so what do you do when your inspiration dries out, or is focused somewhere else and not at the place you want it to be?

i saw this on Pinterest, the wise words of a master. i laughed becos he is so frickin direct, but you know what ... he is SO frickin right!!

"The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up & get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part & a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you." ~ Chuck Close

an unconventional post

2012-08-07T22:02:00.000+08:00

today i'm gonna be writing about something totally different ... nothing about my work, but still, this has been a huge part of my life in the past few months.

remember a couple of months ago I wrote about wanting to embark on a healthier lifestyle? Well, it's been 5 months now and I've been pretty diligent about exercise and food. Now my dinner mostly consists of salads with low fat cheese or salmon. and i've been exercising almost everyday, unless i'm dead tired that day. I am happy to have made a lot of progress with regards to fitness and strength. now i can even do interval training! YAY!

fitness has always been a huge part of my life being a former dancer. But during my pregnancy with Maia, i just let it slag. for 3 years+ i was just indulging and indulging. even after delivery, i continued to indulge until all my friends thought i was pregnant with another child!! that's how huge my tummy got! plus it didn't help when i got my cholesterol report!! Anyhow, i decided to make a turn around after my 43rd birthday on the 27th February. and it's been 5 months now.

i've never been very self conscious about my body, (being a dancer we use to wear pretty little on stage :p) ... but this took quite a bit of guts, especially the "before" part :p ... well, what the heck!! i am proud of what i've achieved so far!!

and there you have it ... front view

and, side view ...

as of this morning, i lost a total of 20 pounds! YAY!!

it's getting a lot harder to lose the weight now, but i am hoping the muscles i am developing again through training is what's contributing to the weight and not the fats :) i feel totally fantastic ... i can move with ease again and feel a lot stronger. the next test is the cholesterol test which i will be going for next month.

one of these days ... i am gonna rip Arnie to shreds! ;P

oh Books!

2012-07-25T02:25:00.000+08:00

It's been a quite a while since i made a journal. making journals take quite a long time and a substantial amount of focus. it's pretty difficult to find the amount of time that i need to conceptualize and construct one these days. my mind is so all over the place ... baby, creating, school, lunch, dinner, etc. so most of the time, i only make journals when there is a request for it.

last week, i managed to make 2. one was a request from a lovely lady Leslie Marsh, who is herself an accomplished book artist and a fantastic photographer. i was so honored to be asked to make a journal for her :) she wanted to combine certain elements that she liked in some of my older works and this was what came out of it ... Ancient West.

working on Ancient West propelled me into the mood, and so i made another journal. a smaller palmsize journal. Fallen Angel, i called it. which didn't actually start that way.

this journal turned out totally the opposite as what I had intended it to be. it was conceived as a Being of Light … something that would have come out of Lothlorien. but it wasn’t to be. IT, wanted to be dark. it made me make it go darker and darker and darker. i wonder why. i wonder who broke it, that now it no longer has any goodness left within. but, perhaps there is, deep within its soul. because i believe that the Angel is not inherently bad. it was just left so broken, that the goodness could never surface again. not unlike what Sauron did to the Elves, who became the Uruk-hai(s) in the Lord of the Rings.

well, those were the 2 journals i made. feeling quite smug that i actually managed 2 last week :p before i run off to the baby again, i'll leave you with another pair of books ... not so dark, but more romantic tiny wearable books :)

the Dream and the Child

2012-07-15T22:03:00.000+08:00

“It was in a dream that I saw a child being born from the rocks, naked but well formed. And when she uncurled and lifted her head, light of purity and hope burst forth from her being. I knew then, she was the Child of Light, for I can feel her in my heart.”

This mixed media necklace was inspired by several very different elements - a bio-mechanical tattoo where they would tattoo an image of skin being ripped open revealing mechanical parts within. Operation salvage of an old pouch, where I had removed all the hardware and one that attracted me was a zipper with a leather pull. And then, a dream … well, THAT dream.

To be honest, I cannot even remember clearly the creative process of this necklace. I remember the beginning … I remember I wanted and HAD to embed a zipper in rock. ???. And then I remember the end. I remember when I finished the main part of the pendant and hooked it onto the chain, it didn’t feel right. It needed something else. After looking at it for half a day, I added the beautiful, huge turquoise. Similar color and striation to the Variscite bead within, yet different. ??? again.

And then just as I was writing this, I looked over to the necklace hanging beside me and it suddenly dawned upon me. It was the dream exactly … the huge turquoise I had to add, was me. I was looking at the Child being born from the rocks, just as I had in my dream. My hair stood on ends.

??? all answered.

And as I look at it even more … I can see that the huge turquoise symbolizes a Mother, experiencing HER child being born. Not unlike the experience I had, with my preemie Maia in the delivery room.

This must be one of the most uncanny creative revelation ever!

Revelations aside, I did make some not so uncanny stuff last week. And i discovered how to mask photographs :) you know the effects you can get from the iphones? i found one of the apps on the net for Windows download (for free YAY!!) Pixlr-o-mantic it's called.

Another birdhouse necklace creation from Barry's salvaged metals ...

... this is called Remembering a Time. Remembering all the people who made me who I am, remembering all those moments that made me what I am … Remembering my grandmother ...

And this, is Weathered Etchings, a bracelet. The etchings are made on a clay tablet and then roughly wrapped in a sheet of salvage brass like a bezel, only it's not soldered (cos i can't afford to buy a torch yet :( )

The photos were masked using 4 layers of effects. Because Pixlr-o-matic only allows 1 layer of mask from 1 category, you will have to mask and save the photo 3 times to get this effect. But I found a way to save all the effects that I liked on my computer and then put them all together in 1 layer using GIMP. So I only have to mask the photo once and get a 4 layered effect :) One happy duck here!

Buried Treasure 2012

2012-07-12T02:45:00.001+08:00

OOO!!! i nearly missed Seth's Buried Treasure call this year! in fact this post is supposed to go up on the 11th and it's already 12th where i live. fortunately it's still 11th at where Seth lives ;) see ... i'm right when i tell my American frens that i'm their future!!

so, what is Buried Treasure 2012? in Seth's words, Buried Treasure is an online, collaborative project that invites art bloggers to go into the depths of their blogs and dig for buried treasure. Each participant was asked to repost one (or more) or their favorite posts from their own blog. we are supposed to dig back into our past posts and repost an article of our choice. what a great way to give old posts new life and having fun at the same time! i tell ya ... Seth thinks of the best participation projects!

before i repost a post of my choice, let me just leave you a link to Seth Apter's The Altered Page, where you will find a list of this year's participants. the post of my choice was called A Christmas Wrap-up and it was published on the 31 Dec 2008. i chose this post for 2 reasons. Firstly, this was the starting point i guess, of me wanting to take art more seriously. becos i remember after this post, i thought to myself ... hey, i can do this for the rest of my life! . Secondly, it's so very interesting to see how my taste and style have evolved from 2008! Kinda weird ... but sweet :) so without further ado ... A Christmas Wrap Up ...

the year is nearly over and i'm excited to see what next year would bring :) after the gift making frenzy in the past month i thought it fitting that i wrap up all the christmas gifts i made in this last post of 2008 :) so here they are ...

3 friendship tags :

i am naturally inclined to slightly "darker" things, so most of the art i come up with are not what i would call "happy" looking. the same thing happened when i made these tags, they naturally turned out to be quite subdued and kinda "bleak" if i may say so... thus didn't go too well with christmas! so i decided to add some tassels and bells to them to give them a more "christmasy" and a happier feel... the tassels were made from putting together ribbons, sequines, yarn and bells. the sunflower (last minute addition) also helped to brighten the last tag up. plus... if anyone intend to hang these on their doors ... they would also make good "door bells" :))) the first two tags had my "untitled ll" poem on them which i thought went well with the travel theme.

2 magnetic boards :

of course these came with 4 magnets each :)) magnets made from glueing raw magnets to mosaics if you remember :) you can find the creative process of these magnetic boards in one of my previous post :)

5 sets of coasters :

this set of 8 were my first try. i gave them to 8 of my colleagues in the office.

subsequently, i enjoyed making coasters so much that i made 4 more sets. i know there are 3 here, that's because that 1 set that i made... ahem... wouldn't be very nice if an under age happen to come into my blog and saw them... so i rather not post the pics here :)))

the doggie set was made last. this was for a very good friend who is also the host of the party we went to ... he is a true animal lover :) lives with 3 dogs and 3 cats :) so i thought doggie coasters were perfect for him :)))

nell who received the betty boop set was squealing and sent me the most lovely thank you message via facebook the next day :))) i'm so glad she loved them...

2 painted mirrors :)

these mirrors were painted with waterbase acrylic. i did a similar sunflower mirror for another friend 2 years ago and one of my friends saw a picture and fell in love with it. she even asked me if could paint another one and she'll buy it from me... of course i'll paint another for her... so she got this as a christmas gift :))

the second mirror i called "lothlorien" which was inspired by lord of the rings :) though you cannot really see it, but the motif is painted with luminesence pearl white paint and looks really magical when you see it under lights :) i especially designed and painted this for a very gentle friend :)

all in all it was a great christmas :) now let's see what next year holds for all of us :)

happy pimping! :)

little people : shredded thoughts

2012-07-01T14:13:00.002+08:00

Something i found whilst destashing my craft-stuff a few days ago, reminded me that time indeed just whizzes by without us even noticing it. Gave me a kind of electric shock I guess.

What I found was a tiny pencil. I remember picking this tiny old pencil up from the floor outside my daughter’s kindergarten some years ago. In fact, thru the years I have picked up at least 3 tiny, discarded pencils. They all have similar characteristics … tiny, blunt, messed up, and all of them have battered butts, probably the result of little teeth chewing on them.

When I found this little pencil in one of my trays, images came flooding into my mind. Little kids sitting on little chairs and tables, drawing with pencils such as this one. How many children have found joy with this pencil? Could Llara be one of them? Did she ever use this pencil? Was she one of the little culprits who caused its battered butt? It made me smile …

Time waits for no one, and all of a sudden you realize that little people have grown into big people ... too soon.

I listed this on etsy a couple of days ago, but today, I took it down. I seem to have developed a certain attachment to this little one. Maybe I'll keep it or perhaps gift it someone the cosmic wants me to give to. We'll wait and see what happens ...

Lately I've also realized that (so many realizations!!) I've been extremely drawn to fibers. I'm using so much more of it, even my usually steampunky little books have become all flurry and shredded and fabricky ...

Wonder how long this fiber fetish is gonna last ...

Beyond this Realm the we know ...

2012-06-26T10:48:00.000+08:00

" a Land awaits for the Chosen Ones … a Sorceress, and a Seeress. It has been foretold that the Chosen Ones will rid the Kingdom of the Usurper and return the rightful Heir to the people of this Land ...

the Sorceress ... regal, powerful and deadly, she comes from a time long before this. Walking the Land and biding her time patiently, she has seen three Kingdoms rise ... and fall. Her beloved Land, wreaked with war and gloom. But she is aware that the time is nigh. The One that will restore this Land to its former glory and bring peace for a thousand years has emerged. Her task is to ensure that this Quest shall not fail ...

the Seeress ... sensitive, blind and all-seeing, she comes from an ancient line of Seers and Seeresses who have long retreated into the mountains in search of peace. Her calling came when her mind's eye saw the extermination of her race under the rule of the Usurper. She leaves the comforts of the mountains in search of the only one that can save her race. With the guidance of her inner eye, the Seeress joins the Sorceress in search for the Last Bloodline.

Deep in the Forest of Rim’b, a Princess comes of age. Living in exile, she grew up under the protection of the Forest Gypsies. Concealing her identity from the Usurper who killed her parents, the young Exile learns the skills of a warrior from her guardians. In the shadows of Rim’b, she waits silently for the day when she would finally avenge her parents’ death and reclaim her rightful place amongst her people. She wears on her neck, her father’s emblem and her mother’s lace, so that she may never forget, who she is …

when 2 creative souls come together ...

2012-06-19T18:25:00.001+08:00

a couple of months ago, Niki visited my etsy and bought a necklace from me. she left me a most lovely message. she told me that my work spoke to her as a storyteller. Niki also asked me about my journals and thought of ordering one from me. After the necklace arrived, she wrote to me again and told me that she had wore it everyday since ... it assisted her in her storytelling and that people loved it! isn't it lovely to hear something like that said of your work? my heart was smiling :)

the journal was next. she wanted something that said travels, stories, taking flight and definitely, a blood red heart. she loved my red hearts. and so, i made her, Tales from Faraway ... which was shipped to her last month.

2 days ago Niki wrote to me again. she had attached 2 photos with the message. she wrote, "I have made an artwork that combines my body and your artwork...I hope you don't mind...it says something about how deeply your image speaks to my soul"

i was floored when i saw the photos. they spoke deep within me. the marriage of her body and my art was the highest compliment i have ever received. she wanted to carry my artwork within her like it was part of her body, her psyche. WOW! i felt, at that very moment, that something special has happened ... she has weaved our souls together.

later, she told me what it meant to her : I call it "My Body, My Compass" because I think the body is often a wiser guide than the mind...my body reminds me that I am part of nature and I follow its natural cycles, it reminds me that I have limits, it reminds me that I need to nourish myself in the most ordinary ways, it reminds me that I am tender, that I live and shine but will also fade and die. Your assemblage brings to my body a sense of adventure, a central passion, a connectedness to the four winds, a passion for flight and journeying. So I am held between adventure and passion and vulnerable, tender humanity.

moments like these, are magical moments. it'll stay with me for a long long time ...

*Niki Pidd is an actor/storyteller who lives in Melbourne, Australia. You can find her at her Facebook page Storytelling : Hearth Tales

some work : some play

2012-06-14T00:46:00.000+08:00

i have been desperately trying to fill up my shop with more pieces amidst orders and i realized, wow, it IS pretty difficult! i envy those who have like 3 pages of choices on etsy when i can't even fill one. maybe i'm just a slow worker. but i am glad that i have found a way to balance orders with creating new stuff. i've decided that after every 2 or 3 orders, i will let myself play a bit (tho sometimes "a bit" becomes "quite a bit" :p )

it's amazing how the Harry Potter canon have left such a deep impression on so many including myself. believe it or not, i am still taking orders for my HP inspired books and jewelry. and this week it was 2 Quidditch Handbooks orders, which i'd completed ... YAY!

and then i allowed myself to play a bit ... well, QUITE a bit actually ...

the first piece i made was this Simplicity bracelet. i have been so in love with artisan ceramic beads lately. and this lady's work just makes my heart swoon. aren't Gaea's beads just lovely! i mean, you don't need much to go with them, they just speak for themselves. here's her shop - Gaea Handmade ... tho be warned ... everything is "reserved"!! you gotta book her beads ahead of time!

Storytime was next. i had earlier made 3 pieces in this configuration ... long necklaces which i felt were slightly sexy ;), yet still quite elegant. 2 have been sold so i thought "OOO .. i wanna make another :)" that square 1 cent Malaysian coin has King George V's head on it ... never knew this coin even existed before i found a bunch of them in an antique shop.

Oh ... you gotta love this one! inspired by the mini series that took the world by storm since it first released Season 1 about 2 years ago? this modern take on Sherlock Holmes is just brilliant in every way, and Benedict Cumberbatch must be the best Sherlock i've ever seen!

i have been watching it on DVD now for at least 3 times. can you tell i am irrevocably SHER-LOCKED? well, i'm glad i'm not the only one ... cos this was sold within 10 minutes of listing. and in the very words of Michelle - "I'm not letting this one get away! :p"

here are some of the other pieces that i've been revamping and relisting again ... all photo manipulated, just for fun :)

From top left clockwise : Seed of Maia (Bohemian) . Immortal II & Eternal II . Broken Wings II.
Busy aren't i? ;)