Well, I definitely checked out of blogland for a while as I got ready for last weekend's street fair at our local coffee house. The weather cooperated quite nicely and it was a lot of fun to be out and about with neighbors and friends. I am so happy to live in a community that has so much creative energy flowing through it!
Building up my inventory for the event helped me get focused and prepared for the holiday season. I have a lot of Taproot crosses in stock right now and will be listing these on etsy for the first time in the next few days! Here's a small sampling of what I'll be listing:
With each necklace that includes a cross pendant, I like to include this message about the process of creating a Taproot cross:
Taproot crosses bear on their surface a patchwork pattern, symbolizing unity within the diversity of the Christian church. This pattern employs the process of caning, based on an Italian glass working technique called "millefiori" (meaning "a thousand flowers"). Polymer clay caning produces cylinders or logs of clay with designs running through the middle of each “cane”. Although the effect can often appear to be painted, each color in the design is actually a separate color of clay.
For the creation of Taproot crosses, several flower canes are combined to form what I call a “mega-cane”. As this mega-cane is stretched and reduced in diameter, the flower forms bend and change slightly to accommodate each other. This creates a dynamic and cohesive pattern to be applied to the surface of each individually formed cross.
Here are a few of the canes I am currently working with:
and some earrings made from individual canes:
Well, there's lots to do in the studio today, so I'd better get back to it. I am glad to be back to my blogging and will share more soon. Thanks for stopping by!
An unusual amount of rainfall in the last few weeks has made the flowering plants around my place happy, happy, happy. Their beautiful blooms inspired me to pull out some flower canes left over from recent projects and make a pretty little collection of flower beads.
When I work with these beads I will try to think about the quote by Corita Kent. I will remember that flowers begin in darkness...a tiny seed planted in the right environment becomes a thing of great beauty. Even the ugly stuff...the hard stuff becomes a lovely gift when we allow it to shape us into stronger, more patient, more compassionate human beings.
