JULY FULL MOON #8

 Hello

Nancy

My inspiration began in my garden gazing at the trees.  I was struck by the thought of how a tiny sapling not ¼ in diameter  grows into such a large tree now 9 inches around.

 I began to picture the tree made up of many saplings bundled together.. So I began with copper wire and copper covered colored wire and began to weave, on the way to becoming a tree that should fit into one of the long skinny spots we used this month I got the feel and rhythm of Africa. I had several found and created objects I was going to add to create my version of the Baobab Tree. One was a piece of my fused glass that I had beaded around that symbolized the setting sun and the other a double elephant bead I added at the bottom to show the size of the tree.

 But as many of my projects do they morphed into a different idea.

 The piece I was going to use for the sun became the Summer Queen’s head the woven tree her body and the elephants under her protection.

 I had a great time torching the ends of the wires that I used as branches and roots and got some great color in the entire piece.

The slimmer section I added a shade lighter sky blue embossed paper and added from my stash 3 glass leaves to enhance and add to my tree theme. They reminded me of the giant leaves you would always see in Tarzan movies as the natives used them to fan or crawl under to cool off from the hot African sun.

 Can you hear the drums throbbing in the distance waiting for the twilight and the dancing to begin????

Peg

July Full Moon #7

The Chakras.

I just can't stop thinking about the Chakras. 

The rainbow colors. The symbols. 

Cleaning & Clearing them.          

 Base. 

Sacral. 

Solar Plexus. 

Heart. 

Throat. 

Third Eye. 

Crown. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5.

6.

7.

When I first looked at the 2 spaces for July, tall skinny bits they are, I planned to make a pile of Faeries. But... I couldn't get the Chakras out of my mind. So, I didn't fight the flow or the inspiration, I jumped in to work with the Chakras.  Wanting to learn the sanskrit symbols and understand why the chakras are made with 2, then 4, then many more petals, surrounding, then start all over again with 2 petals around the third eye chakra.  It seems so... so... disjointed. I figured there must be a reason.  

I looked up the symbols in all my books and checked out things online, like About.com.  I practiced the symbols by looking at them and trying my hand. Oh boy. That was WAY harder than it looked. Many of those brush or pen strokes are so foreign to my hand that they looked wobbly and weird, not like the symbol I was attempting. Argh. What to do? Time was running out fast. 

Just as my last few hours of time left before the moon deadline were quickly sprinting away, I grabbed my shrinky-dinks and my double-decker box of practically every color sharpie in the world. I cut 2 pcs of shrink plastic out in the exact dimension of the 2 spaces, pre-shrink. That meant I would not shrink them. I had no idea what I would create, how each chakra would look, if they'd have the right number of petals or other such stuff, etc. I just drew. What I ended up with is what you see immediately below on the right with my rainbow of sharpies. I loved it. I was thrilled. It was my original art (no copying, no iterations, all me) and it was the chakras. Aaaaaaaaaaand, then I tried to fit them into the 2 spots. Crap-a-doodle! They were 1" too long. Gee maybe I should measure twice before I let the muse take over. But, failed attempt resulted in an even better Chakra end result.

Since that didn't work and I was already behind, I indulged my muse in the circles.  See, I've listened to several meditations that talk of the chakras as spinning spheres or discs. Why not make these into circles?  Why not find a way to make them spin. They don't quite free-spin the way I visualized, but the end result of 2 different sized circles spinning for the Chakras is pretty freakin awesome!  And when they shrank, oh wow. So wee & tiny!  The image above on the left is "Before" shrinking.  The images below are the full 7 Chakras "After" shrinking.  My guess is that Lou needs to learn about and play with the Chakras as much as me. So, my dear Lou here is my suggested visualization/meditation.

Gwennie's Chakra Clearing: 

Recommended when you're feeling blocked, down, bombarded, disconnected / unable to ground, etc. Remember, you can do this for each, a few, or all chakras.  There are no hard & fast rules.  I recommend that you look up what each Chakra means/represents and take that into consideration when you are looking to do some clearing/cleaning.

To set your chakras back right & spinning...
If this is your first time, I recommend you start with the Root/Base Chakra in Red and work your way up to your Crown in Purple. Do that several times - say once a day or so until you get the hang of it or start to feel good.  Then introduce this practice whenever you are called / guided to do so.

1. Take stock of how your chakras feel.  Are they muddy? Broken? Black? Dull? Hard? Not spinning? Flat? Do they not feel "right" or not feel like they are functioning at "your body's normal" to you? 
2. Visualize a white light (gentle, strong, beautiful, bubbly - what ever feels right to you) being sent to that chakra/area of the body.  Allow the light to clear out the area like scrubbing bubbles, crystal clear mountain spring water, or like the fresh air after a spring rain does for your scent sense.
3. Visualize the chakra returning to it's brilliant color - Red if base, Purple if Crown, etc. If your Chakras show you that they spin, then imagine them spinning like a top.  If they glow, then fuel that light with more so that it is positively blindingly brilliant. 
4. Move on to each Chakra until you feel you are done.

May you find joy and bliss in every day.
~GG~
http://calmundertension.com

JULY FULL MOON #6

..I've been gone for almost two weeks in Idaho helping with our daughter's wedding.

This month's project was a little challenging but I was able to put together a couple of things that, I feel, relate to July.

I wanted to make something that we might all see at some point in July namely: balloons and lavender!  I made a little line of balloons on a string and a little packet of lavender from a bush that grows in our yard. This month's project is going to Gwen.  Happy July everyone!


Lou

JUNE MOON #11

Yes, it is true….I am late!! 

One month to be exact!  We were gone in France and I really didn’t have the chance to work on something plus I was waiting for inspiration.  We had a great time and for a while my head was chocked full of ideas…unfortunately many of them either fell out – or were washed away with the good French wine!

While traveling we visited many typical French marketplaces – the ones that travel from town to town bringing great fresh produce and products.  Every one of them had several “honey” stalls and as we drove through the country side we also saw homes with different types of bee hives set up.  We also did one of the flea markets in Paris and one of the travelers found a great heavy brass mold with different figures on it.  The closest we could figure out was that it was for making marzipan.  But it had a great bee and the word “Miel” which means honey in French.

I had been wanting to get out my paper clay and use it for something so I used the paper clay to make both the bees and the little pieces saying miel.   After it dried I had to file it as the clay was pretty rough trying to get it out of the meatl molds.  The paper clay was then colored – and I had to try a variety of things on it as it did not color as easily as I had anticipated.  Probably acrylic paint would have worked the best but I didn’t have any of it around.  There are three of each style and they can now be used to play….Tic-Tac- Bee!

So enjoy your little miniature game!

Kathy

JULY MOON #5

Hi Peg,

 By now you have received your “stick” and “leaves”.  It was fun to put these together.  I’ve hoped that the stick would find a home in THAT Little Altars spot since the beginning.  I’m kind of a sucker for beads on sticks – well for beads in general, I guess you could say!  And the leaves were begun last year as I looked through one of those Japanese beading books.  Even though I’m not the world’s biggest fan of beaded wire flowers, these were totally fun.  I chose linen fabric to mount these on because I like the texture, and because you could put an awl through it and the hole would just heal up!  Enjoy!  Nancy

JULY MOON #4

July Altar Project

The Bag of Possibilities!

We are enjoying a glorious summer!  Home from our trip, working in the yard, enjoying company and soon to be off to work the Bellevue Art Fair with my good friend, Maggie Meister.  If you are like me, I think of great ideas for projects when I am involved with other projects (like weeding the yard), but when it comes time to sit and create I come up dry.  And I seem to say to myself…I’ll do that tomorrow…and then other things get in the way and I don’t seem to make the time to sit and create or play with ideas.

So I decided for this month’s little project I would try to do something to help me focus and yet be motivated to do something!

I was intrigued several years ago by the “inchies” that Peg talked about.  So I made little fold over almost inch size cards and started a list of ideas and things to do.  Initially I will have 52 – one for each week – but I expect the group to grow.

I hand stitched a draw string bag (no sewing machine readily available) and then glued it in place over the two “F” sections.  Inside the bag is a place for the “inchie” ideas to be done and the other side is a place to put the things that I have done.  So hopefully this will inspire, motivate and goad me into doing something different each week!  The first one …was play with paper clay…– which I did in creating my little Tic –Tac – Bee game for Lynn for the June project which also just got finished.

I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else has done with their 2 “F” spaces!

I hope you are all enjoying your summer- it is going by too fast!

Kathy

JULY MOON #3

Hi Peg,

I hope this finds you well!

This month the Altar project was for myself and as you know the spaces in my box are long and narrow.  I decided I wanted to experiment with Viking Knit.  I created my own mandrels with different sizes and numbers of holes.  I then worked with both colored and sterling silver wire.  I worked through several variations of the Viking Knit process and transitioned some of my samples through all three in one piece, single, double, and triple.  I also used various gauges of wire.  I found the process VERY relaxing and enjoy doing it while I sit with my husband watching TV.  

Many months ago my son-in-law asked me to make him a Mjolnir and I wanted a handmade chain to go with it.  I am carving the Mjolnir out of wax and will have it cast for his 29^th birthday next month so figuring out the right size for the bail was important to know before carving since the chain will be an integral part. 

I’m very pleased with my Viking knit skills!  Tried once before years ago but had a mental block.  I think I’m over it now!  =)

Many blessings to you my dear!

 Lynn Vernon

JULY MOON #2

Have you heard the news? The forest is all a twitter with excitement! Down past Wise Old Oak, over Giggling Creek through Clover Meadow just a hop, skip and a jump to a patch of toadstools right there on  your left is 28 Lindsay Brown! A delightful Faery Couture shop is about to open it's doors!! All the faeries have been so anxious for the lottery drawing to see if they will be the lucky one to receive the very first appointment with the proprietress and grand seamstress, Miss Lynn. Who will be the lucky one? It truly is a grand day in the wee forest!!

I have to say I had so much fun with this month's altar for Lynn H. And was delighted that it was the 2 tall narrow spots perfect for a wee shop and Faery home right next door. In the tree 2 bluebirds of course! We all know what wonderful bows they can tie. Oliver Owl is the ever faithful nightwatchman. Made out of polymer clay and a wee bit of whimsy.

Cheers,
Cyn

JULY MOON #1

Here is the July space that is for BETH.  It is a clay piece I did many years ago, but did not like the color, so I re-painted it.  Embellished with fabric, ribbons, wire and some of my glass beads.  The piece of glass is so Beth can write her favorite word, or a word that will prompt you to go create!  Hugs,     Marilynn

JULY MOON

Hello Summer
















 And away we go.................................................................................................... Sunshine, hat nights and melted ice cream on the sidewalk. Summer has finally arrived in the Northwest. Out come the fans and sleeveless shirts, flip flops and giant sized weeds. My gardens demanding water and beautiful blooms everywhere.
 For me it is also the time of outdoor shows and getting ready for my Fall shows. so I am trying to spend as much time as possible in the studio. How about you what does summer bring to your schedule?

I bring these  things up as I know each of the 10 other artists are over their heads in demands  and  never ending chores from very busy jobs,family,gardens,travel and last but nit least that artist muse buzzing around screaming "INSPIRATIONS LOOK HERE< OVER THERE< CREATE NOW Who cares if the dishes are waiting"
 There may be a few swear words thrown in and always the slightest fear that your muse will give you the silent treatment and slither away never to inspire you again, then you would have to become....normal!!!!

 Ha ha ha ha that is never going to happen to this group of "Artists" in fact they seem to have the opposite problem. Not  enough time to create all of the ideas that are doing the boogie dance in their active brain matter.
 You will be delighted by the delightful offers of this July Full Moon, she was a beautiful bright one and blessed by bedroom windows with her cool silvery light. Hurrah no cloud cover this month and I even found a few moments to simply gaze at the wonderful night sky.

This month was a particularly interesting challenge as the spaces ( yes I said   spaces 2 in fact) were sideby side and long and narrow.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Happy Summer nights, enjoy them while you can bug bits and all!
Cheers Peg

June Full Moon #10

"Dude... Give 'em to me, I'll clear your obstacles. No worries man." -- Ganesha 


I sculpted this wee art doll from polymer as I continue to work with and meditate upon Ganesh. He is known as the Remover of Obstacles with the head of an elephant and body of a man. His legend is quite interesting. 

In this 4" tall version of him for the Little Alters 2013 project, he is happy, at peace and holding the rudraksha seeds, in a golden offering bowl, their natural blue form he was given by as an offering from visitors who wish his help. Thanks to all the instagrammers who visited the Kauai Hindu Monistary and posted all the gorgeous photos. Without those, I wouldn't know of the rudraksha seed existence or know that there were such brilliant blue pods out there! 


May Ganesh bless all who see him and help the Lynn H. who is getting him in this full moon's exchange.


Light and Love,~GG~