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Blog entry
The Charismatic Color of Copper - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
The first recorded use of copper as a color name in English was in 1594. It is a charismatic reddish brown color that resembles the color of polished copper. According to Wikipedia, however, there are about 25 different shades of “copper,” from a verdigris green (copper green) to a dark brown (dark copper). It is a trendy color, found in everything from jewelry to clothing to household decoration and accents. Beautiful with shades of green and blue (mint, teals, turquoise, navy), it actually works well with almost any color as this article in Lushome shows: 30 Modern Interior Designs.
Make it a Handmade Summer! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Do you love unique handmade items such as jewelry, dog bandanas, hand painted tags, copper components and hand knitted tops? You can find a wide variety of of artisan beauties, imaginative pieces that were created from the heart, in this new blog. Browse the items and then browse the shops of the artists featured here. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed. Let’s make it a handmade summer!!!
She Comes in Colors Everywhere - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Roses are red and violets are blue and rainbows have seven colors. Most people live in a colorful world. As humans, our color vision influences everything from our art and poetry to the colors we paint our homes and the clothing we buy. But why do we see (or not see) color? Being of an inquiring mind (and remembering some of what I learned in science), here is the low down in an encapsulated form:
An Explosion of Flowers! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. Luther Burbank
Since we there has been quite a long string of triple digit days here in the Desert Southwest, most of my outdoor potted plants have quite blooming, with the exception of a vibrant fuchsia colored geranium that makes me smile every time I look at it. Now gardening pretty much consists of watering and deadheading the spent blossoms. Hopefully the monsoons will soon show up (they are a bit late this year) and bring much needed rain and cooler temperatures. Until then, I’ll dream about masses of colorful flowers.
Relaxing Blues and Teals - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Blues and teals are relaxing colors, both mentally and physically. In color psychology, the colors control and heal the emotions, creating emotional balance and stability. Worldwide, the color blue is the favorite color, a color that is seen as reliable and responsible. Teal, a hue that is halfway between blue and green, is seen as happy and friendly, and is the most common color requested by photographers for logo designs.
Circles of Our Lives - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Sometimes the most mundane of things in life suddenly captures my imagination. The other day, when I was outside with Seamus, the very handsome Shadow Dog, I started thinking about circles (yes, my brain does shoot off on a tangent sometimes!). You see circles everywhere: most door knobs, most coins, the sun and moon, the pupil of most animal's eyes and the wheel, just to name a few. Most people don't give them a second thought unless you're a mathematician, an architect or an artist. As a gardener and an avid observer of nature, I daily feel the circle of life all around me on a more cosmological scale: day/night, phases of the moon, seasons, life/death. And then I remembered a Wendell Berry poem, called "Circles of Our Lives", which I will share at the end of this post. This led me to do some reading about circles (inquiring minds want to know!) and copious note taking.
Happy Easter! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Modern-day Easter is derived from two ancient traditions: one pagan and the other Judeo-Christian. Both pagans and Christians have celebrated death and resurrection themes following the spring equinox for millennia. A majority of religious historians believe that many elements of the Christian observance of Easter were derived from earlier pagan celebrations. The name “Easter” itself originated with the names of an ancient goddess. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE), a Christian scholar, first mentioned in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. The "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility was also known as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eastra and others.
Spirals, Circles and Arcs - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
This week’s Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade features artisan design that feature spirals, circles and/or arcs. All three symbols were used as early as 38.000 BC in Europe, Africa, Australia and South America when ancient man began to carve into stone or paint cave walls in protected areas. It is possible that earlier hunter/gatherer peoples might have decorated their bodies and clothes or marked trees or features in the landscape but, if they did, evidence of that art has not survived.
The Magical Color of Purple - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Since purple is a fairly rare color in nature, an almost magical aura has been associated to it throughout human history. The first historical record of a purple dye, called Tyrian purple, indicates that it began to be manufactured in the Phoenician city of Tyre in the eastern Mediterranean in the 14th century BCE. The dye was extracted from the glands of several types of shellfish, but especially the Murex brandaris. The process to extract the dye took about three days. Thousands of putrefied, crushed shellfish were left to bake in the sun. Salt was then added and the mash of glands were boiled down. (Can you imagine the overwhelming stench of the process!!!). It took about 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye, barely enough to dye a single garment the size of a Roman toga. In 301 A.D. during the reign of Roman Emperor Diocletian, one pound of purple dye cost 150,000 denarii or around three pounds of gold. This is the main reason the purple color was reserved for emperors or individuals with titles of royal authority.
Handmade Beauties to Ring in the New Year
A new year is almost on us. Which leaves me to wonder: what the heck happened to 2016? I don't know about you, but it sure zoomed by quickly! Despite its swift passing, 2016 also witnessed exquisite handmade creations from a host of artist friends. To help ring in 2017, I decided to share some of those favorites - many are one of a kind pieces - that would be perfect to wear to any New Year's Eve party. Enjoy!
