Button It Up!

I've had rather a constructive Sunday Morning today. I got up early with the intention of wasting it reading the Sunday Papers. But alas, it was not to be. The delivery people had thrown the paper under my son's car and there was no way I could reach it without getting on my hands and knees and crawling under the car. Given that I've got a dodgy knee  at the moment that wasn't going to happen, so I retreated back into the house for a sulk and a cuppa.
Instead of sulking though, after my cuppa, I got started on an idea I had been toying with for a jewellery piece. A few hours later this was the result - A Sterling Silver Faux Button Pendant! Hand fabricated and Hand sewn!

Of course, now i have lots of  other ideas for haberdashery related jewellery items, but they'll have to wait as Murray retrieved the paper and I've been catching up on all the non news instead.
Don't know about any one else, but in our house we spend a couple of hours reading the Sunday Paper and when we're finished we announce "There's nothing in this Paper - I don't know why we get it!!  Pin It

All Fired Up!

Happy to finally put up a blog post to show something I've made. Creatively this year has been a bit of a non event for me, so it's great to be back into it again.
This term I enrolled at an enamelling class down at my favourite place of learning The Fremantle Arts Centre.
I've done 3 classes so far and I'm just loving it. Great teacher (Jacquie Sprogoe), great classmates and a relaxed, informative and enjoyable class.
I've nothing to show off from the class just yet - I'm doing a cloisonne piece at the moment and it's a work in progress but today, inspired by my lessons,  I fired up my kiln at home, (yes that poor neglected piece of equipment I purchased last year!) and had a play.
Just did a couple of simple sifted pieces but it gave me a bit of a feel for the firing times, how thick to put the layers on etc,  so all in all a good afternoons work and I realized I don't have to be scared of my kiln - it's actually quite user friendly! Using the kiln in class has given me a bit of confidence I think.

Here's the results - first one opaque white over copper and the second one was an unintentional but pleasant surprise with opaque white over opaque black. I've oxidised the edges of the copper too as I love the look of the blackish border around the pieces.

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Bali

In July we had the pleasure of a week's holiday in Bali.
Aussies, particularly those of us from the West are very spoiled in that it's a mere 3.5 hours flying time to Bali. We can be in a tropical paradise in the same travel time that that it would take to drive down to our State's beautiful South West Wine Region.  That and the fact that there are in excess of 60 Perth/Bali flights per week make it a popular international travel destination when we're not travelling locally.

Jewellery making readers of this blog know Bali as the place that those intricate Granulated and Filigree Sterling Silver Beads come from. And while Bali is the home to many talented Silversmiths it is so much more.

 

It's a place of contrasts - it's a place where you can trip over the uneven pavements and jump over the open drainage holes while making your way into the latest designer stores, or you can find yourself bargaining vigorously for a pair of "faux" designer sunglasses that end up costing a mere $3 in the markets.

Left: Gridlock Bali Style   Right: Kuta Roadside Temple

It's a place where you can pay $10 for a glass of wine in the hotel or opt for a cool Bintang Beer straight from an Esky for under $2 from a local beach bar while sitting under the shade of a tree on Kuta beach.

Left: Under the Shade At Kuta Beach   Right: Legian Beach

I looked out from my 4th floor balcony of the hotel and looked over thatched rooftops of people's homes. But it's not all shopping, eating and drinking. Away from the shops, and the motor bikes and scooters, Bali has beautiful countryside and culture to explore - Kintamani & Ubud and lots more.

View from our 4th Floor Hotel Balcony - The Haven, Seminyak

We took a day trip to the Ubud Area, renowned for it's Art Markets. I bought this beaded Wicker Basket. The bead weaving is done in 2 drop peyote stitch. This was a stitch I enjoyed in my Bead weaving days.Having bought this,  I was thrilled and horrified at the same time. Thrilled to own a piece of this work (I got it as a pressie for my daughter) but sad at the low price we paid for the hours of work that this would have taken. We paid 100,000 rupiahs which is about $12AUD.  Having said that, our driver said we paid an OK price (as in weren't ripped off) but 80,000  rups would have been better!

 

Bali's a great holiday with lots to see & do and lovely countryside and culture to explore but by far, the greatest asset Bali has is the Balinese people :) Pin It