The Office, Furnished

Jorge assembled our studio-office furniture last weekend, and Eric managed to get a steal on some very good office chairs at the Salvation Army store. The next step, of course, is moving in, and I'm packing up boxes and boxes of supplies at this very moment. Sadly, my car had a major malfunction yesterday and it might not be until tomorrow that my materials actually make the transition, but here's where we're at for the moment.

I think that Eric looks rather pleased with himself in the last picture. And he should be. While I am going to be the primary user of this space in the beginning, he has plans of his own, and this will be the perfect retreat for him to make them come real. Hence, two chairs on two different walls of the wrap-around desk.


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Share The Love: A Different Featured Artist Every Week!

OMG!  This week's featured artist on "Share The Love"  was a complete surprise.  It's ME!!!!!!

Share the Love... Blogger's Unite Featured Artisan

This weeks Featured Artisan is Laura, Owner/designer of Artizen Beads.

Wonderful creations that inspire you! You can find Artizen Beads on:

Etsy
Website
Facebook
Blog

Twitter

Share The Love: A Different Featured Artist Every Week!

This week's featured Artisan is Moonsong Ranch!  They specialize in fiber crafts and offer such items as scarves, gloves, etc. out of Alpaca.  Lots of great holiday gift ideas for the cold climates!

 

 

This weeks Featured Artisan is Doug, Owner/designer of Moonsong Ranch. Wonderful creations that inspire you! You can find Moonsong Ranch on:

Etsy

Artfire

Facebook

Blog

Twitter

Maleenee California Cactus Center

Amazing.  Whenever I go to new parts of town, there are always joyous discoveries to be made.

Yesterday we went to Pasadena to attend the Designing Weavers Annual Exhibition and Sale.  Although it was a wonderful time - seeing old friends and viewing (and buying) their work, the highlight of the day was an unexpected stop at the California Cactus Center.  We drove by it on the way to the show; Gabby squealed with delight and we promised her that we would stop on the way back if we had time.

We did, and we were not disappointed.  As always, I am surprised and shocked at the variety and colors of cacti that exist, and to find this many in one location was a joy. 

Gallery?  They're not kidding.  The displays were breathtaking!

 

 

 

 

 

You can see all of the pictures... and they ARE amazing, by clicking here.  The California Cactus Center is a place well worth visiting.

You Can't Go Home Again

It's true.  You really can't go home.  You can go to the place that you used to call home, but it's not home anymore.

Jorge has been working diligently on my condo, getting it ready to be rented.  He's doing a beautiful job, bringing it back to great condition after 15 years of me letting it get run down.  Eric & I met him there yesterday to check out his progress, ensure that he was on the right track (I'm letting him make most of the decisions himself), and of course, give him another check towards the project.  It looks great.  It looks beautiful, even without the wallpaper.  But it feels surreal... dejavu.

 

 One thing I know is that I do not belong there anymore.  I belong right where I am.  Right by Eric's side.

Vishnu, the Preserver

When my friends came into town briefly before our wedding reception, one of the major tasks they undertook was to help Eric & I build the foundation for our Meditation Garden.  We put Claudia in charge of helping us find the statuary at Sig's Pottery, and amongst other things like wind chimes and a bench, we came home with an absolutely gorgeous (and very large) bust of Vishnu.  He weighed about 1000 pounds... wait, did I say 1000?  I meant about a million pounds, and we laughed and strained and sweated it out as we moved him from Eric's SUV up two stairs into our home, through the entry way and around the dining arena and out and down two stairs into the garden.  (The Meditation Garden is an open patio area surrounded on all four sides by our home.)  There, he sits peacefully in a corner, overseeing all the activities in the garden.

I did a little research on Vishnu; Vishnu holds a high status within the Hindu pantheon. He is the prominent second god of the Trimurti, the Hindu Triad, while Brahma is first and Shiva is third.  The major theme around Vishnu is he is the preserver.  Perfect!  I would like to be preserved for all eternity, and now I don't have to turn to Twinkies with all of their inherent preservatives to accomplish that goal!

But back to the subject.  I have been trying for a very long time to enhance the images of my jewelry that I've been taking, but even as my knowledge grew, my output remained somewhat stagnant.  Acceptable; I was getting really sharp images of what I was trying to capture, but not stellar.  Even when we moved to this new home, I recognized the meditation garden as a good place for photography, but my pictures were lacking for a certain quality.

In come Vishnu.  The Preserver.  I didn't get the connection right away, but after the Wedding Reception was over and things started settling down in my life, I began working on my Etsy Store and other beading pursuits, and was getting inherently better pictures.  Earlier this week, I picked up a number of new props, and went right to work with them.  And look at my work preserved...

(To be listed in my Etsy store shortly as a Sale item)

Yellow Enamel Butterflies already listed at $17.50.

 

Close Up of my Wedding Necklace...  Swarovski Crystals, Glass Pearls, Gold Plated Delica Beads, Czech Seed Beads.

(Soon to be listed as a Sale Item in my Etsy Store)

Hopefully to be added to my Etsy Store before Thanksgiving... but definitely before Christmas!

How is it that I can suddenly take the same old props...  ceramic bowls, vases, and a whole bunch of stones that Eric & I bought at a rock quarry

and where before I was getting only satisfactory pictures, I am now coming up with this?

Does this guy have anything to do with my sudden enhanced ability to preserve my work in a way that can be shared with others?

I'll Have What Claudia Had!

OK, so we had a salad first.

But then, since we've lusted after Claudia's choice at the Ramen Place ever since we saw her order it (again, in my case), we did it.  We each got Ramen # 16.  Yum!

One Year Later - a Lucy Post

It's been a little over a year ago since Cosmos left me. I still agonize over his death, wondering if I did the right thing (I did) and at the right time (I'm not sure). But one thing I know for sure is that his leaving me opened up a slot for this dog:

 

Eric & I ventured down to the South Los Angeles shelter and rescued our Lucy on her scheduled day of execution.  A dog leaves me, another comes into my life.

It's been an amazing year of transformation for both me and Lucy.  A new family, home, and a yard!  Lucy, and her older brother Sunny, have florished in the new living situation.  Sunny, who I thought wouldn't be with us for more than a couple of months after Cosmos left is alive and kicking, and when the motivation is right, he still breaks into a rusty arthritic trot.  He's loved and coddled and knows that he's living the good life.

Lucy was so young when we rescued her (the pound said 2 years in her listing; my vet laughed and figured about 8 months), I don't think she quite appreciates the change in her standing.  However, she went from pound dog to condo dog to a dog with a big house and a yard and lots of other big dogs in other yards to bark at and children to play with and grown ups to feed and love her.  She is a very happy girl.

If you can't sit through the whole video, fast forward to the last 30 seconds. The look on Lucy's face says it all.

Rescue pets rock. And what a difference a year makes!

Photography Day!

Well, I may have a new office, but I've now found my new photography studio and I don't have to go any further than our Meditation Garden.

It's an outdoor patio enclosed on all four sides by our house.  Perfect for my needs.  You see, bead photography is a difficult art.  Being glass and/or shiny, the reflective nature of the materials tend to obscure the color and form of the subject.  In addition, artificial lighting does the same.  It's imperative that natural light be used during the process, but in addition, if you're dealing with anything shiny, you don't want to be in direct sunlight.  A shady place is a good place to be.

Our garden fits the bill.  I discovered that today when I set up outside to take a few pics.

Actually, though, it didn't occur to me to shoot this picture until I had already broken down most of the essential materials.  That is, the props and the jewelry itself.  Even so, you get the "picture."  I was able to sit on the foot stool and use the bench as my table.  By adding different props and different colored place mats as background (as well as stones and other natural and artificial materials), I was able to get a whole bevy of what I would consider great shots!  Here are some samples:



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My pictures are getting better and better. Eric asked me how I was improving so much as he looked over the GIF files in this blog post and was impressed by their quality. "Lots and lots of practice." I replied.

The truth is that I have practiced... a LOT! And I've read article after article on line, and I've watched "How to" videos on You Tube, and I've read other artist's blog posts about how they achieve such great pictures, and then I experiment. A lot.

I've experimented with the various menu settings on my camera. I've experimented with locations and lighting. I've experimented with different kinds of props. Props too simple. Props so complex that they distracted from the centerpiece. Backgrounds of differing colors. And I continue to experiment every single time I pull my camera out.

It's work. Hard work, and hard work that i did not anticipate when starting to make jewelry. Work that I hated for a very long time because of the poor results I was getting.

But now, I'm actually starting to enjoy the process. Getting the right pictures is an art form in and of itself. I'm not rich enough or well known enough to pay for somebody else to do this for me, so I am going it alone. And as I keep improving, I'm enjoying it more and more.

I'm almost feeling ready to write a blog post of my own, explaining my own process of getting good pictures.

Get the pic?

The Office

Not the TV show, but the real-life office that Eric & I have rented and we will occupy soon under the business name "RaineJewel Associates." The name is derrived from Gabby's middle name Raine, and Ethan's middle name, Julian. A perfect umbrella name for Eric & I to operate under, and the best part is that Eric already has a business license under it. I will retain my own business identity, Laura R Silverman, and my shop will be www.Artizenbeads.etsy.com . Also known as ArtiZen Beads.

We went to Ikea today and bought our furniture, and when we went to 'the office,' we were happy to see that they not only cleaned it as promised, but had painted it too. Thank goodness. We still have an easy chair or sofa to put in there, but we've bought desks for both of us, book shelves, storage drawers, knife racks to hold my jewelry tools on, and a drop-leaf table for under the window at which I will do my work and later, if things go according to plan, I will hold classes. We have two more storage drawer units to buy; Ikea was out of them today but expects them next week. Oh, but I hope that I will be able to show you finished office pics soon!

Outside our front door:

 

Welcome to Raine Jewel Associates, Office # 114

... and here it is, the inside of the office!  Ikea furniture to be assembled.

Just inside the front door.

The back wall.  This screen is going to be really cool to hang and display my work on, either in the office or out at art, craft, and trade shows!   (Legs to the desks in built in overhead shelving bins)

Even a private bathroom!  Not every office in the complex boasts of this, but those who know me know how essential this amenity is.

And finally, a nook for an easy chair and book shelves to relax in.

Oh, but I can hardly wait for the furniture to be assembled.  Once that's done, I can move my supplies in, even as Eric continues to work on getting us internet access, a phone connection, and cable TV!