Bodhisartva ..... Art/Spirit/Life

Springtime at the Flea

Long Beach Flea Market.  It was perfect in every way.

Here is an artsy shot of my finds.  That's the word you use when you take a lousy photo full of glare and shadow.  Artsy.  Right.

I was on a ruler kick. They seemed to leap out at me everywhere.

My husband even found an old slide rule in a leather case.  I actually remember using these in high school.  Old.

 I love the color of the wood and the panel with the numbers.

Then I found a whole tube of these fragments of tape measures!

 Like I said, they were ambushing me from every booth.

I also seemed to be a magnet for old wooden silverware trays.

I love the colors and they are so useful for holding jewelry projects.

And of course, no flea is complete without some paper.

This cracked me up.  College Spelling Tablet.  When was the last time they concerned themselves with spelling in college?  They barely pay attention to it in high school any more.

The little red book has some interesting plates.

 I'm a little worried about this child. I hope they fished him out of the sauerkraut barrel before he was pickled.

The pale small book has some lovely surprises.

And one not so lovely one.  Ugh.

A A sweet little roll of paper for taking notes - love the color!

These fabulous spice tins...

Empty of Cloves.

Luckily, this tin was empty also.  I was drawn to it by the lovely  patina and age.  Only later did I notice something disturbing.  

Can you spot it?

YIKES!

Apparently, radium was used medicinally for awhile to promote good health.  Until they discovered that radiation poisoned you that is. Turned up some interesting history in my research.  

But more to the point, this is on it's way to our laboratory where a geiger counter is going to tell me if it's still "hot".  Whoa.  I'll let you know how that turns out. Talk about Caveat Emptor!

And finally, found these cards to some unknown old game.

If I misbehave, I suppose I get this one...

But if I am good....

Thank you; I believe I will. 

 

Fun with Metal and Torches

Week two of a fabulous online class with Deryn Mentock.  It's so much more than I expected - not just learning new things, but learning new ways of old things.  Jump rings, clasps, head pins, wire wrap...fun to practice.  Finding tools to do all sorts of cool things is maybe one of the best parts! Learning more about wire and torches.  Yep.  It's all good.

She is an excellent teacher and the class is so well organized and paced.  

I wish my photographs were half as good as her videos!  Not to mention wishing my work was anywhere near as professional.

This spiral is my favorite so far.  I have a thing for spirals of all kinds. This one sort of looks like a fiddlehead fern.  Not that it's a bad thing.

Maybe next week, I'll have to nerve to move on to sterling silver.  Maybe.

A Little Bitty Flea

Every couple of months, we have a "sidewalk sale" in our neighborhood.  It's a mini-flea market is what it is.  10-12 vendors set up on both sides of the sidewalk next to Clare Graham's studio.  It usually falls right between the PCC and the Long Beach Flea Market, so I can get a teeny tiny flea market fix.

I only got four things but each one is fabulous!

The necklace has 5 strands of glass beads. Think of the repurposed jewelry I can make with that!

I love these little bottles of watch parts from Elgin. I put them into shrines and necklaces. The last one I sold was bought by a woman for her daughter-in-law - whose maiden name was Elgin.  She was so thrilled.  For myself, I always think of my brother, who lives in Elgin, Illinois. In any case, I love them - and the color of the label.

Here's a closer look.  The watch face will look great embedded in a book cover.  The hinged watch crystal is big to put in a book, but I may find a way to use it there anyway.

In the meantime, I'm just overflowing with ideas for those little tubes.  There was another whole tray of them available. I hope I won't regret not getting them..

Back to School

Looking forward to taking this online class with Deryn Mentock.  The quality of her metalwork is so solid.  I really need to learn some new techniques and practice, practice, practice.  I'm hoping this will give me the push I need. If you're interested, there's a link on the right.

Seems like everyone is either giving or taking online classes.  How about you?  Are you teaching online?  Taking classes online?  Any you can recommend? 

 

If this is the first weekend, it must be PCC

Yay!  The weather is great for the Pasadena City College Flea Market.  And we finally have a car again, so I can actually buy something bigger than a bread box.

Oh, this is so funny.  I wrote that first paragraph before the flea market, when I was setting up this post. So guess what I got at the Flea on Sunday?

Yes!  That is, in fact, a breadbox.

I guess the universe really does deliver on thoughts and intentions, LOL.  Of course, I wasn't really looking for a breadbox. And, this is the largest thing I needed to fit into the car. So go figure.

It was a beautiful day in Pasadena.  Not too hot; not too cold. Very crowded, for that reason, but well worth it.

Little things, but delightful. 

The tiny lens and the tiny tins and the kinda tiny pencil will probably end up on necklaces.  I could use this also...

I just love little coin purses for some reason.  This one is in good shape and has two separate compartments.

An old Wisconsin Cheese box that will be perfect for holding pens. And, a bunch of glass stirrers from a laboratory - great for mixing chemicals for patinas.

These rusty old tools are great just as they are.  But, I'm actually going to polish up the trowels to use in spreading paste on board. This is a technique I learned in a class yesterday which I will share with you soon. Great class on using Golden gels and pastes - lots of new things to try.

And the find of the day? Something to make my brother Rob drool.

Of course, he probably already has one or has made one.

I gather it was originally used to repair inner tubes.  I'm going to pad it and use it like a clamp.  

I also got some tools that I need for a jewelry class with Deryn Mentock that starts on Friday - really looking forward to that!

And, after THAT...it's time again for the Long Beach Flea!  Life is good.

Time Marches On...

How did this happen?  I mean, really?  March? 

It seems it was just Christmas.  And we were still eating cookies.  And we still had a car.  And Katie was here and we were looking forward to Valentine's Day.  And I was healthy.  I think.

It feels as though the year is going by so fast.  I wish it would slow down so I could savor it more.  But I am taking pleasure in the movement of the circle and the cycles of the moon and the gratifying signs that we are marching towards Spring again.

Oh.  And we got a car.  And Katie is coming to visit again.  And...there are still Christmas cookies in the freezer.  So there.

Sunny Morn

I love Spring. 

The freesia are blooming outside, though for some reason, only the white ones are out so far. All the other bulbs outside are up but waiting to pop.

 In the meantime, I brought myself a spring get well gift for inside.

This is what happens when your photo skills are limited, but you have iPhoto so you can look "creative".

Wish you could smell these.

A Duo of Delight

I've always felt so blessed and happy to have my three graces; my trio of daughters.  Girls are just the BEST and I would not have known what to do with a boy, in any case.

This weekend, my niece and her family came down for a visit and I must admit, I fell under the spell of little boys.

I mean, who wouldn't?

Max is chatty and smart and funny.....

Reuben is younger.  And older.  An enigma of a 4 year old.... 

He reminds me of our Sara when she was this age. We used to look at her and say, "I'm not quite sure who she is - but she sure is SOMEBODY!".  A man of mystery will be revealed in time, I'm sure. Until then, we'll enjoy his charm while we wait to discover who he will be in the world.  

And then, of course, there is this little guy, who lives near us with our niece Jennie and her wonderful husband Pedro.

James Brando.  He kind of looks like a baby Brando, doesn't he?

Boys. Suddenly, I'm surrounded by them.

The Rest of the Flea

OK, I've really made you wait too long for this, but it's worth waiting for, I think.

Remember how excited I was to find that old time paper roll cutter at the Pasadena City College Flea Market?  I said it was partly because it was from the same vendor.  I'd seen something in the rain the previous month - there were so few vendors out - but I just couldn't justify getting it.  I thought he might have been motivated to drop the price just because there weren't too many buyers either.  But no.

At PCC a month later I found that paper cutter and was so pleased because it is a short one. I didn't realize it was the same booth until I spotted my rainy day item in the same space.  I talked to the guy and he must have been in a good mood that day. Because he made me a very good deal on the two of them.  And here is the mystery item.

 

It's such a wonderful color and so potentially useful that I am overwhelmed thinking of all the places I could put it.  So for now, it is in my kitchen while I ponder my great find.

I also forgot to show you another item.  It's SO heavy and I don't know where I'm going to put it, but the pattern and color are fabulous.  I'm going to measure my heating vents to see if I could replace one of them with this beauty.  Of course, I will have to make very sure that it doesn't fall on someone's head.  I'll let you know if I figure out those mechanics.

Until then...hmmmm....the Long Beach Flea Market is this coming weekend, you know.  Wink, wink.

Sharing the Love

We had a lovely and laid-back Valentine's Day here on Mt. Washington.  Just the way I like it.

No muss; no fuss; no crowded loud restaurant full of too big balloons, stiff hybrid roses and stuffed pink teddy bears.

DH made a most delicious gourmet meal and we were joined by DD Sara and the oh so nice and appreciative Jeff.

As expressed in the sweet card handmade by Ginny Ballou - Love Blooms!

Hope your day was full of love and loved ones....and a little chocolate.