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.

60 in 60 Day 43

Due to many different reasons (excuses?) and way too much procrastination, my challenge to do something creative every day for the 60 days leading up to my 60th birthday this summer, and to post about it, was drastically derailed.  I'm not going to even try to catch up now on posting  for Days 14 through 42 but I gathered and processed lots of plant fibre, made paper, did two encaustic paintings, made a few bracelets, took lots of photos, and taught a mosaic workshop.

Today I restored order to my studio to get ready for a creatively productive summer.  Keeping things tidy with so many different interests is an ongoing battle.

I love this old dental cabinet for jewelry making supplies.

And printer trays for beads.

I keep my tools handy in vintage wooden boxes.

I finished one pair of earrings today but got started on several more.  Busy day tomorrow!

Made from copper pennies and freshwater pearls with sterling silver ear hooks.