60 in 60 Days 47-60!!

Well, true to my nature, I managed to procrastinate through the blogging part of this entire self-challenge.  I don't have to challenge myself to do something creative every day because that's just how I live.  It's like breathing.  I don't have to think about it or plan for it, I just do it.  Now, blogging about it, that's another story.

I want to be a good blogger but not if I have to commit to making time for it on a regular basis.  If there is one thing that I have learned in 60 years it's this; I don't like committing my time.  It's so easy to say I'll do something that involves a future time but, procrastination being what it is, that future time becomes the present and then it's panic time!  So I can either be a mediocre blogger on a regular basis or a good blogger when I feel like it.

So, today is the big day and I am just now posting about Days 47-60.

I worked on encaustic paintings for a show this fall at the Smithers Art Gallery. 

Sunflower, Encaustic on cradled board, 24x24

I worked on a lot of different earrings and other jewelry pieces for my table at a summer music festival. 

Earrings made from obsolete Canadian copper pennies

And I took hundreds of photographs! 

This young buck stopped to pose for me before he ran off into the trees.

I'll be back again sometime soon-ish, or a bit later, but eventually I'll post again and I hope you'll be back, too!  Thanks for stopping by.

60 in 60 Day 46

What a beautiful, sunny summer day!

I spent as much time outside as possible today making paper, staining deck rails, and drifting on my floaty chair with a beverage and a couple of jewelry magazines.

Handmade willow bark paper.  I mixed the processed willow bark with recycled kraft paper pulp.  For more info on how I make my paper see my previous papermaking tutorials.

Here are the earrings I made today from re-purposed Canadian copper pennies.

These ones are textured using a hammer and a brass plate from my scrapbooking days.  The stones are a greenish turquoise.

Folded with ammonia and salt patina and turquoise nuggets.

Textured in the rolling mill and patina added with a torch.

I'm not sure how some people manage to do a blog post every day but I'll do my best to keep it up for the remainder of this self-challenge. 

60 in 60 Day 44 and 45

I am having a booth at an upcoming music festival so most of my creative efforts in the next week will be going into finishing up jewelry projects.

I finished these pieces in the past two days.  All these earrings are made from repurposed copper pennies and use some of my favourite patinas - oven heat, torch with peanut oil and ammonia and salt.

I stopped to take some pictures of this Mama Duck and her little one (Common Goldeneye) on my way into town.  I always pull over and let the ferry traffic pass me on my way to town so it's easier to stop for any photo ops.

60in60 Days Nine to Thirteen

I haven't posted for a few days because, even though I did meet my challenge to do something creative every day, I didn't have anything completed to show for it.

I started a wrap bracelet on Day 9.  On Day 10 I was away all day so my creative effort was a photograph of the sunset at the end of the day.  More hummingbird photos on Day 11.  Day 12 and 13 were the weekend so I spent lots of time in my studio jumping from one project to another.

I played with resin for awhile and also got some pennies ready for making more earrings but those will be done another day.

I made pulp for papermaking and I spent about 5 frustrating hours on an encaustic painting on Saturday that became something completely different on Sunday!  Finished the wrap bracelet and made a pair of earrings.

  Posting my challenge is more challenging than the challenge itself!  My life would be so much simpler if I would just stick to one thing but I don't seem to be wired that way...or my wiring is loose!

60in60 Day Eight

I spent a little more time with the hummingbirds when I got home from work today (and the ants and wasps that also seem to enjoy the feeders). 

 I finished this wrap bracelet and used another cool button from my collection as the fastener.

I got a whole bag of vintage metal buttons at my local antique shop a couple of months ago and now  I'm waiting for some silicone putty to arrive so I can make molds of some of the more interesting designs before I use them all.

60in60 Day Seven

It's a good thing I had this little project already set up to go cause I was in the perfect mood to procrastinate, and it's only Day 7 of this challenge.  Once I get started I enjoy making these wrap bracelets cause the repetitive motion of weaving back and forth through the beads is quite meditative.

Leather wrap bracelet with vintage button and assorted dyed glass and stone beads.

60in60 Day Six

I spent a little bit of the day in my studio and a huge part working outside and all I want to do now is sleep.  I am making these little pendants as thank you gifts for some volunteers from CAAT who will be in Burns Lake doing free spaying and neutering for low income families.  If you would like to know more, check out the Lakes Animal Friendship Society website.

I am using copper pennies as the base for the pendants.  Some are enamelled and some are just the copper.