FairieMoon

The Clark...

Before school started, we took a last minute trip to The Clark museum. They have recently renovated the facility and we have been trying to visit it all summer. We were very favorably impressed with the changes they've made and surprised at how fresh some our old favorite pieces looked in their new settings.

 

They have done a wonderful job incorporating the natural beauty of the countryside around them with the art in the museum itself. The views were breathtaking.

 

 

The Degas statue was so beautifully placed, the ambient light with its subtle blues and greens made her glow.

 

 

 

Lee Bontecou.

 

We went to the museum directly from Judy's soccer practice...needless to say, she was a bit tired.

 

 

 

 

 

The day we visited the museum, the sky was such a deep blue and the clouds were simply beautiful.

The Bloody Marsh : Saint Simons Island

"Bloody" in this case is not an invective, but indeed the name of this marsh, so called because of the battle fought there on "July 7th, 1742, when Spanish troops landed on the south end of St. Simons Island. [The Battle of Bloody Marsh] proved to be the turning point in the Spanish conquest of Georgia. The marsh ran red with Spanish blood and the battle was a decisive British victory which ended forever the threat of Spanish invasion into this colony" (taken from http://www.explorestsimonsisland.com).

One afternoon, while the Aged Ps were having lunch with friends, I took these photos of the marsh, which was located right at the end of our block.

 

 

 

 

 

My sister, Laurel Daniel, has spent many hours painting some of these same marshes.

You can find out more about her work here and here and here.

New in the Shop

I have a new series of necklaces in My Etsy Shop. Until recently, when I made several for family members, I was the only one that had one of these necklaces and now you can have one as well.

The one above is the "Faith" Necklace. The word featured on the pendant reads "faith" in Thai; "faith" is written in English on the other side. The pendant is made from fine silver which is a higher grade of silver than sterling and it has a lovely worn patina. Clustered above the pendant are two fine silver hill tribes flower charms and a wire-wrapped white fresh water pearl. I paired the pearl with this particular pendant to represent the purity of faith, whatever yours may be.

The pendant cluster hangs from the sturdiest solid sterling cable chain I could find and it's weight feels luxuriant against your neck. The 18 inch chain wraps around your neck and fastens in the front allowing you to determine how much your pendant dangles. You can tighten the chain and let the pendant hang like a lariat or make it looser so the pendant hangs more naturally, you choose.

There are three variations of this necklace to choose from, "Faith," "Soul," and "Spirit." All of them are adjustable.

SOUL.

As you can see, I paired "Soul" with a pair of pink glass flower beads as well as the Hill Tribes flower charms.

SPIRIT.

"Spirit" was given a smooth turquoise rondelle to go along with its flower charms.

The fourth necklace in this series is just as delicious, but it is not adjustable. However, what I like about it is that, with its more delicate chain, the elegance of the pendant cluster really shines.

For this necklace, I paired the pendant with a fine silver Hill Tribes anemone charm and two fresh water pearls, one white and one black to represent the light and dark sides of faith, and how doubt in the end can help strengthen faith.

As I already stated, the chain on this necklace is a bit more delicate, but it is still very sturdy. It measures 17-1/2 inches in length and fastens in the back with a lobster clasp.

I have made all four necklaces in this series to last a lifetime and the delicate elements combine to make an heirloom for you to wear and enjoy for many years to come. Like I said, I made this for myself and my goal in making jewelry for myself is to make it sturdy enough for me to wear it everyday, day and night, without having to worry about breakage.

I've gotten so many compliments on this necklace that you might wonder why I have not made them for the public at large.

The answer is simple. Because of the weight and length of the sterling silver involved in making this necklace, it is necessarily a bit more expensive and I was afraid it would be cost prohibitive. But because I have had so many inquiries about it, I decided to give them a try in my shop.

I hope you have enjoyed taking a sneak peek at my latest creations. You can find them now in My Etsy Shop.

Three New Hittys...

One will be staying with me...

But I bought more blanks like this one so there will possibly be more similar to her. We'll see how much the blank dictates the doll.

Here are the three I just completed:

 

As you can see, they still have the tails attached to their elastic joints. I put a drop of glue on the knot and in these photos, the glue is still drying.

Here is my Antique-styled Hitty.

This one is available.

I didn't go hog wild on the antiquing because I didn't know just how far you, my viewers, would prefer me to go. I painted her face, down to her bosom, a light skin tone and then sanded some of the paint off. Her wood is so light that you cannot see her distressed paint too well, but her wood may darken a bit. You can see the distressing on her shoes and hair however; and one eyebrow is a bit "tattered," not too much, just a tiny bit.

She has such a sweet face.

I intend to dress her in turkey red reproduction fabric dress.

Here you can really see the distressed paint on her curls.

Below is the latest braided Hitty. She too is available for adoption.

Her hair is a nice chocolate brown.

She also has a sweet smile and grey eyes (actually they all three have grey eyes...I tried to use the painting skills taught to us by Sara Cole at the North Country Hitty Retreat in October).

I will be working on their clothing early next week and then they will be ready to send to their new owners.

If you would like to call "dibs" on one of them before I offer them to the general public, please contact me privately at [email protected].

 

Just a note...I was concerned because the Hitty I will be keeping for myself is a bit larger than the Hittys currently living in my home...you will be relieved to hear that she fits in ALL of their dresses, so she will not need her own wardrobe.

Please visit Adventures at Weathertop to see more of my hand-carved dolls.