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On my walk this morning…

It has been 2 weeks since I had a walk!  I am so grateful that I feel well enough to go out again.

Last day of winter, hooray!  Another winter over.

Thanks to everyone who visited me at Flinders Street Market on Saturday.  It was such a lovely day at the market, I really enjoyed it.  My next market is the Port Festival weekend on October 10 and 11.

Today I am photographing the work I am sending to Kirra Galleries for their annual Flame On exhibition.  I will share photos during the week.

I am also getting some work ready for my newsletter.  If you are subscribed, you’ll be the first to hear about the new work, and you’ll have the first chance to buy it.  I’m making some one-off pieces for my colour of the month series, which is Black and White for September.

Morning Walk

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Colour of the week – Peroni

I admit that the Peroni Beer Bottle beads started as a bit of a joke.  You see, it’s an Italian beer, and that is where most of the glass that is used for glass bead-making  is manufactured.  I thought it would be funny to take the Italian Beer bottle, and recycle it to make glass beads!

Funnily enough, the green of that beer bottle is probably the prettiest bright green glass that I have used.  I have made beads from a huge variety of wine bottles, but none of them come close to the brightness of the Peroni Beer.  I’m glad I tried it.

Here are some photos of recent works, with links to my shop.

Peroni beer bottle earrings

Peroni beer bottle bracelet, recycled glass beads from a Peroni beer bottle!

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On my walk this morning…

No walk for me this morning, in fact it’s been almost a week since my last walk, and I’m really missing it.  I’ve been quite sick, the sickest I’ve felt for a long time, and I don’t like it at all!

Here’s to a week of feeling better.  I think I’m almost better, but I’m still trying to get as much rest as possible.  It’s hard being sick, and having kids, and having a small business to run.  Not ideal at all.

On Saturday I’ll be at Flinders Street Market again.  Round She Goes (the vintage market), is on at the German Club, so it is a great opportunity to check out 2 really cool Adelaide markets.

Hope to see you there.

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On my walk this morning…

Spring is in the air!

Thanks to everyone who has visited my SALA exhibition at the City Library or Pepper Street Art Centre or T’Arts.  I love hearing from you.  Glad to hear you are enjoying the other work on display too.

SALA is so important to me as an artist.  This year is my 8th solo SALA exhibition, and it has been a great opportunity to display my work in a new environment.

Thank to the Adelaide City Library for having me, to the Adelaide City Council for helping me with the costs, and to SALA for pulling it all together!

Have you seen any good exhibitions this year?

Morning Walk

 

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Colour of the Week – Coopers Sparkling Ale

OK, I confess, Coopers Sparkling Ale is my favourite beer!

I love being able to use the bottles to make glass beads.

I featured jewellery made from a Coopers Ale bottle it in my Anti-Depression Glass exhibition.

In 2013 a necklace of mine, made from Coopers Sparkling Ale and 14ct Gold Leaf, was featured as a finalist in the Toowoomba Contemporary Wearables exhibition (see second photo below).

I also exhibited jewellery made from a Coopers Sparkling Ale bottle as part of the “Wear a Piece of Adelaide” Fringe exhibition held in 2013.

I love working with Coopers bottles for 2 reasons.  First, they are a South Australian company.  And second, they are a very environmentally conscious company.  Win-win.  Both things that resonate completely with my work.  South Australian, eco-conscious.

Here is a small sample of work created from a Coopers Sparkling Ale bottle.

Beautiful jewellery made from a Coopers Sparkling Ale bottle.  The ultimate in recycling.

Necklace made from a Coopers Sparkling Ale bottle, with 14ct Gold Leaf

Beads made from a Coopers Sparkling Ale bottle feature in this necklace

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Op shopping

Every now and then I go on a mission to find a particular type of glass.  It might be Green Depression Glass, or white glass (which is really hard to find by the way), or like the other day I was on a mission to find non-matching sets of glasses.

These non-matching sets of glasses are also known as Harlequin Glass.  They were really popular in the 1950’s.  It can be tricky to get a complete set of 6 glasses, and more often than not you’ll find at most 5 glasses left in the set.

I didn’t mind what I found.  I had an idea for a necklace in my mind, and I needed the glass to make it happen!

So, I visited all of the Op Shops in Murray Bridge, and managed to find a few assorted glasses.  I was really pleased with what I found, but wondered if I might be able to find some more on a trip to Mount Barker.  Like I said, I was on a mission!

We tried a couple of Op Shops before I found one with THE most helpful volunteer I’ve ever found.  She was more than happy to look out the back to see if she could find what I was looking for.

Success, she found a mis-matched set of 5 shot glasses.  The colours were great, but the glasses were quite small.  Still, it was better than nothing.

“I’ll take them,” I said.  “Don’t worry too much about wrapping them.”

She was a bit taken aback with that comment.  “You’re going to smash them, aren’t you?”

I smiled.  “Yes, I am.”

“Well, if you like recycled glass you have to take a look at this great exhibition at the City Library that is on at the moment.  It’s part of SALA.  The artist has made all of these beads from recycled glass, you should see some of the colours.”

I smiled again.  “That’s actually my work.”

True story!

We talked for a little bit longer, while she told me what her favourite jewellery was from the exhibition, and where all of the Op Shops were in Mount Barker!

Harlequin glass, incomplete sets.  I'll use these to make glass beads

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On my walk this morning…

It’s getting lighter in the mornings.  And brighter!  Hooray!

I am looking forward to being part of the Ink Crush market at Flinders Street Market on Sunday August 16.  I am working on a new range of beads and jewellery especially for the market.  I’ll share some pictures on Thursday!

SALA has been great fun.  From what people are telling me, they are enjoying their visit to the City Library to see my exhibition.  It really is a great space, and at the moment there is a lot of really interesting art in there.  Definitely worth checking out.

Thanks to everyone who supported my Etsy shop sale.  I really appreciate it.  The next sale in my Etsy shop will be February 2016.

Morning Walk Photo