Musings of my Mind http://artwerx.us/blog the life & art of Tracy Webster Sun, 08 Aug 2010 17:06:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 The smell is worth it http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/08/the-smell-is-worth-it/ http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/08/the-smell-is-worth-it/#comments Sun, 08 Aug 2010 17:02:57 +0000 artwerx http://artwerx.us/blog/?p=976 Liver of Sulfur is stinky stuff!  I tried a new gel formula yesterday and was really pleased with the results.  I’m used to LofS turning the silver mega black instantly, and I wanted a less harsh look for my little nests.  I put just a few drops of the gel kind in my water and swished my goodies around in one big batch to get a varigated look and it worked like a charm.  I can’t capture the variations on camera, but the 3 nests on the left are a soft mix of blues & greens & greys. 

Tracy Webster's sterling silver nest pendants with freshwater pearls

These ones are heading to the gallery, but I’ll be adding some to my Etsy page in a day or two.

ps I love comments :) To leave one, just click on the blue dot ]]> http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/08/the-smell-is-worth-it/feed/ 1 High as a kite http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/08/high-as-a-kite/ http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/08/high-as-a-kite/#comments Sun, 08 Aug 2010 05:08:40 +0000 artwerx http://artwerx.us/blog/?p=968 … from an unbelievable week in the gallery.  A great guy came into the gallery to furnish his vacation rentals with local art.  He’s purchased several pieces from our gallery already and yesterday was my lucky day.  I had hung new work on Monday, and he loved all the color and purchased 2 of my biggest pieces.   Then I got a phone call this morning and he commissioned another painting.  I’m thrilled beyone measure!  I will have 3 paintings in his vacation rentals.  Sweet.

All my pottery acorns sold on Etsy last night too.  And I sold a mixed-media beach haning and a small ‘weeds’ painting the other day. Phew!  Looks like I can pay the rent after all, LOL.

I’ve been practicing gratefulness and the power of positive thinking and it’s working.  I’ve also been sure to do some give-aways, art for charity auctions, etc – because it’s important to give back.  Karma is rewarding me, which is a real treat!!! and a switch ;)

ps I love comments :) To leave one, just click on the blue dot ]]> http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/08/high-as-a-kite/feed/ 1 Wordless Wednesday http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/07/wordless-wednesday/ http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/07/wordless-wednesday/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:00:43 +0000 artwerx http://artwerx.us/blog/?p=959 flower at Portland Chinese Garden

]]> http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/07/wordless-wednesday/feed/ 1 And the winner is… http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/07/and-the-winner-is/ http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/07/and-the-winner-is/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:24:11 +0000 artwerx http://artwerx.us/blog/?p=951

Carrie, a ‘fellow flyer’ has won one of my wee pottery acorns, from entering the contest I had just for Kelly Rae’s ‘fellow flyers’ group.  Congratulations Carrie!  Thanks for taking the time for visiting my blog and leaving a comment!

]]> http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/07/and-the-winner-is/feed/ 3 Scrubbing acorn caps http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/07/scrubbing-acorn-caps/ http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/07/scrubbing-acorn-caps/#comments Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:06:46 +0000 artwerx http://artwerx.us/blog/?p=920 What’s a gal to do when when she’s sick with an icky cold?  Scrub acorn caps.  My eyes are too watery to draw or paint, and if you can believe it my studio is clean, so there’s nothing to do there.  So I decided to fit my acorn caps to my pottery acorns. 

I have new series in the works… I’m going to share some of the special elements I use in my mixed-media art.  I will be offering hand crafted elements like the glazed pottery acorns with real acorn caps.  I collected some caps last fall, so today I figured was a good day for scrubbing, since I’m sick with this darn cold.  Dirt and germs be gone!  I made the acorns using red clay and white clay and have glazed them with a variety of glazes ranging from matte & earthy, to shiny with crackles.  I really love they are turning out. 

Update! – I have some listed in the shop now.

]]> http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/07/scrubbing-acorn-caps/feed/ 15 Summer smells good http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/07/summer-smells-good/ http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/07/summer-smells-good/#comments Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:43:27 +0000 artwerx http://artwerx.us/blog/?p=908 I love living at the coast because it just smells so good.  Every morning I wake up and open the door and I can smell the water, the greens, the flowers… it’s just so inspiring.  The only downside to where I live is while the rest of country is in a heat wave… we’ve had one day of ‘heat’.  It reached a ‘whopping’ 86 degrees for one day.  Don’t laugh, I know you are all melting in the heat, but for a gal who loves summer…. I would love a little heat once in a while.  It’s either so windy you feel like your face will fly off, or the fog rolls in off the beach and wonder if your capris were a smart choice or not.  If you drive just a half hour inland, it’s in the triple digits, but there, it’s about 68 degrees.  When I wake up and the air is still, I grab the dog and we run to beach, pronto!

 

]]> http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/07/summer-smells-good/feed/ 0 Her Spring Song… now available on Etsy http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/05/her-spring-song-now-available-on-etsy/ http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/05/her-spring-song-now-available-on-etsy/#comments Sun, 23 May 2010 01:00:42 +0000 artwerx http://artwerx.us/blog/?p=883 A third “birdcage” doll made, and my favorite so far.  I’m happy with her dress, and the little mushrooms were fun to make.  The moss covered rocks are a ‘faux’ version, so there is no upkeep needed.  Tons of fun, I hope you like it.  (click on pic to see full size images)

  SpringCageDoll SpringCageDollhead SpringCageDollback SpringCageDollinside

I’ve listed her in my Etsy shop – click here to read about her details.

If you are interested in learning how I create my birdcage dolls, let me know.  I’m thinking of doing a class.

]]> http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/05/her-spring-song-now-available-on-etsy/feed/ 3 A great holiday http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/01/a-great-holiday/ http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/01/a-great-holiday/#comments Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:54:16 +0000 artwerx http://artwerx.us/blog/?p=867 My Mom came down to see us for Christmas, and it was relaxing and wonderful.   We went to the beach to look for agates and floats…

Mom looking for agates  

This is my Jeep, decked out for holidays with antlers and a red nose :)   The orange flag just goes up when we drive over the dunes and onto the beach.

jeep_deer

 

Whale watching season started, so we tried to spot some, but had no luck that day.  We watched movies, strolled old town, ate sushi, and of course I was really excited for her to meet my sweet pup, Chewie.  The cats, who don’t give me the time of day, were all over her – like she was the cat whisperer or something.  Crazy.

It was just really nice to hang out, spend time with family and have a break from work.

My youngest, Tyler and his sweet girlfriend Lorelei…

ty&L

The only bummer was the rest of my family in Canada…  Here’s my darling g-baby Ava, who thinks the cat’s water dish is pretty interesting:

ava_dish

My niece Sarah and Ava:

ava_sarah

 

My oldest, Trevor with Ava.  He’s such a great dad.

ava_trev2 ava_trev3 ava_trev6 ava_trev7

]]> http://artwerx.us/blog/2010/01/a-great-holiday/feed/ 2 Mid-Winter Tea with Wren and Vicki http://artwerx.us/blog/2009/12/mid-winter-tea-with-wren/ http://artwerx.us/blog/2009/12/mid-winter-tea-with-wren/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:32:12 +0000 artwerx http://artwerx.us/blog/?p=864 I love Wren’s teas.  This one was held at Feast. It was set up so pretty and food was to die for!
Vicki my place setting sugar snowflakes cauliflower soup w/truffle oil menu salad tea sandwiches scones scone desserts

]]> http://artwerx.us/blog/2009/12/mid-winter-tea-with-wren/feed/ 1 My Christmas Story http://artwerx.us/blog/2009/12/my-christmas-story/ http://artwerx.us/blog/2009/12/my-christmas-story/#comments Sat, 12 Dec 2009 10:33:31 +0000 artwerx http://artwerx.us/blog/?p=846 chewie-frosty

Christmas is such a magical time for me… because when I was a kid, it was truly magic.   The air smelled different than any other time of the year… rich with Christmas tree sap, chimney smoke, and snow (yes, you can smell the snow just like the rain). 

 

Back in the day there were no DVDs or VCRs, so when the Christmas specials like Rudolph or the Grinch came on,  it was a big event.  I remember my Mom dressing me in a new nighty and making some kind of special snacks and egg nog for the occasion.  You couldn’t miss them, or it was a whole year till they were on again.

 

Every house and shop was decked out with lights… not those little lights we have now, but those big huge colored bulbs.  And the snow – well my sister and I would go tobogganing till we went through all over mittens, and we had to move onto my dad’s thick socks.  We didn’t come in until we were soaking wet with no more snow suits to change into. 

 

Christmas Eve we would go to my Mamma & Pappa’s house after midnight mass and listen to the local radio station that was reporting Santa sightings across Canada… as soon as he was in our neck of the woods my parents would wisk us home and tuck us in and it was nothing short of magic.

 

I only remember a few Christmas presents… I know I always got everything my heart desired every year, but it wasn’t that part that is engraved in my heart… it’s magic of the season.  The advent calendar… waiting for each day to open up a door.  It was the stores that were decked out with the most amazing decorations.  It was all the baking and trillions of Christmas cards that arrived in the mail.  It was getting a new dress for the Christmas concert and how school days leading up the Christmas break wasn’t about math and reading… it was about rehearsing songs and lines of the play,  making gifts for our parents, or learning how to build a snowman treat from marshmallows, a toothpick and some food coloring for drawing the details.  Teachers felt like friends and family and everyone just got along.

 

Those were my favorite holiday memories as a kid. 

 

And my favorite one being a parent?  That’s easy.  My oldest son was about 7 or 8 and had heard from the older kids that Santa was not real.  He quickly informed his little brother and before I knew it, I had these little doubting boys.  Well I couldn’t have that!  It was a tough year… their dad had split and I was working hard just to pay the bills.  We went without a lot of extras leading up to Christmas so that I could save and my oldest knew money was tight.  Well I had saved enough to get them everything on their Christmas lists, just as my parents did for me.  When they went downstairs and saw everything under the tree, Trevor cheerfully exclaimed “there IS a Santa… Mom could NEVER pay for all this”… and just like that their holiday spirit was restored, and Santa was the magic man again. 

 

I love Christmas.  My Mom is coming down this year, instead of us traveling up the Canada.  I will miss not having snow, but I have convinced my Mom that we can forgoe the gifts this year, and use the money to toodle around and have fun, and eat glorious meals at Feast and the Waterfront Depot, and to hang out and enjoy scrumptious snacks at home while watching movies and playing games.  Of course I’m shopping for my kids, but other than that – we all have what we want or need already… or at least what others can buy for us, lol.    I want this Christmas to be about family, not material stuff… because those were my best memories.

 

Happy holidays to you all.  I hope you give handmade this year – give your heart, your talent and your love.  Sew something up, bake something divine, whatever your specialty is, and give of yourself… and I guarantee your 2010 will bestow good karma on you :)

 

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