EasTER-RARIUM (easter terrarium)

Happy Easter! New beginnings, rebirth and renewal. Whatever you follow, this is the time of the year to rejoice and dig into the earth, plant, clean and start afresh. Planting a little semi-biosphere terrarium seemed quite appropriate for the day! 

It all started with another Habitat for Humanities Re-store find! The glass container was just calling to me. The rest was research, buying supplies and wishing for smaller plants. Where to buy? I didn't really find a good source so one Home Depot plant, one Petco plant and one from my yard. The yard plant is forbidden in many terrarium posts so I am keeping my fingers crossed it does not kill the whole project!

The gravel layer, the phagnum moss layer, the soil layer and then the planting....done by the book and all essential for the "sphere" to thrive. I want to give credit to this site for great step by step instructions and details for terrarium set up and design! For me, the project is a learning experience, a photo opportunity and I end up with a beautiful reminder of the late 70's when I made these in college!

I added a few seaside elements like a moonsnail and beach stones. The dust hasn't settled and the moisture control is TBD. 

The terrarium has found a place for now, bringing the outside to the inside here in my dining room. I think that is exactly the point. Try to bring nature into your office, your home but contained and with a personality!

Seaglass Sunday!

My passion for seaglass is finally something I can share. Not just here in thoughts and photos but as wearable art! Mother Nature has taken her time sculpting and smoothing beautiful old glass into these gems and now, after years of saying I would make jewelry of some sort, I have found my time.

First, the space needed to be cleared. My old basement playroom filled over the years with "stuff" took 4 dump runs, a trip to goodwill and a sore back to uncover a corner to set up my new professional drill! I was so excited but also a little nervous to try drilling the first piece.

Success!!!! I watched youtube demonstrations, read any and every web page about how to drill glass, specifically seaglass and took a big gulp. GULPPPPPP. After the first piece I assumed it was beginner's luck but the second piece went smoothly too. I hope I am not jinxing myself now.

I actually had a bag of bails since I had asked another local etsy jeweler to drill a piece for me about a year ago. I wore that piece whenever I needed to remind myself I could do this too! Now I have finally replaced that piece with one of my own and I will wear it with another gem or tiny starfish charm.

The next piece I will drill will be the lavender one I found today on a very cold walk! I hadn't found any purple for what seemed like ages. I really, really hope the drilling is successful since purple is my favorite seaglass color. I felt it was a sign that I was moving in the right direction.

Now I can also finally use the business card I designed for myself a few years back. Obviously, this was something that was in the cards for me..... I just needed to be dealt the right hand!

Liking Lichen

A little bit of rain can't keep some people down. Alex, my friend, took me on a river walk today. Who says the barren winter months have no beauty. Along our walk I found some interesting growths and she told me they were lichen. I knew I had similar growth in my own backyard...just so unique and so unbelievably interesting! I will now keep a look out for more.

 

As I have learned, these "flowers" are composite, symbiotic organisms....growing in the leftover spots of our world. On bare rocks, on desert sand, on dead wood and in my backyard. If I only knew how much science and art were also "symbiotic" I may have pursued another direction in my life!

I am thankful for...

Family, friends, good health and good food. Nature, its beauty and its surprises. Art in all shapes and sizes. Hard work, time off and people who appreciate the same. I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Horseshoe Hideaway

I had a lucky day quite a ways back. Three good things happened and one was finding a perfect little Horseshoe Crab washed up on the beach. I vowed to make it a home.

Finding a shadow box was harder than expected! Now onto creating a dark background to offset the precious specimen.

Prime, paint black and then due to brush strokes, add an acid free piece of cover stock. This will not fade in sunlight and the matte finish is what I was looking for.

The little horseshoe crab was the perfect fit!

One with the crab....photographing under glass is tricky. Here I am truly reflected and I love it.

Glued in with a sprinkle of sand from the crab itself in the bottom of the box!

And the final resting place for my little crab. 

A place of honor in the sunporch with another shadow box of shells.

Accidental Art

If you read my "other interests and work" page on this blog side bar you will see that I am a Trader Joe's sign artist by day. All other times I am just an artist, looking for inspiration and what have you that seems worthy of my designer eye.  I have been watching the "accidental art" that has developed from multiple spray paint jobs at work and OH MY GOD! I absolutely love it!!!!

This one is titled Spraywall. Leaves, a wet rainy day, dimension from layering! So cool.

These are titled Spray Drive 1, 2, 3. Primitive like, leaves adding a natural element and wet pavement create a canvas and graphic design that again, is so cool.

This is titled Spray Flat Cart. A moving piece since it is on wheels!!!!

These two are titled Desk Art1, 2. The desk is cut, dripped, brushed over & over & over again creating layers of paint...almost creating an encaustic piece!

In the meantime, I went to my watercolor class. Why?

River versus Sound?

Yesterday during a company outing to Indian Well State Park I escaped for a bit and walked a trail into the woods. Lo and behold, the most serene sight...a waterfall! This is something I do not get a chance to see very often, and although Long Island Sound is my love, this was just beautiful!

There were actually some people swimming and I had to ask them to move so I could get a good shot of nature...not them with nature almost natural!

The pools of water from the cascading stream were so inviting.

And water reflections of sky, trees & sunlight were so earthly colorful.

Not only was the stream a source of inspiration but so were the moss covered "legs" of this river bank tree. The roots look like they are reaching out towards something. Hmmm.