snippets

  i know i'm quiet, and i'll continue to be.  i did want to say that roy is fine - he weathered that awful onslaught of horrendous high winds and flooding, had the wisdom to park his car in a different spot so that the inevitable big limbs would fall not on the car but in the drive, has power again, is fine.  me, i'm frantic with preparations to head out again, first to alabama to be with my mother for a few lovely days (she is doing well, considering) then from there on to the other world of colorado.  i'm looking at the jewelry pieces i've created this past week and am amused to see that i've abandoned my fervor for knotting pearls and  gemstones on thin silk cord, for now; i'm choosing instead to string rows and rows of stones and beads closely together, to wrap those rich strands with beautiful, earthy, ravelled and frayed bits of fabric and thread.  the rawness of this - something that was born in australia and new zealand, something now strongly brewing in my mind - the rawness appeals to me in the deepest of gut-wrenching ways.   i seem to be heading into a different direction with my work, and the amazing thing is that i see it comes not only from where i've been (australia and new zealand) but also where i'll be going (the highest rocky mountains of colorado). just imagining myself in that rugged environment has made my jewelry take off on an altered path.  i was saying to a friend the other day that i'm not sure which direction i'm heading - then laughed and said that i suppose it is simply straight ahead.  and so it is. 

 
throughout the years - how many are there?! - friends from near and far have sent me snippets of things they think i might like to use in my work:  ribbon, beads, feathers, stones all have found their way into my mailbox, and from there to the studio, sometimes to sit and percolate for months, sometimes for years.  one friend in particular, lorri scott, has once again quite recently been sending me bits of her own work (dyed fabric and ribbon) and sometimes treasured beads  - vintage russian baltic amber, here, from strands of family trinkets that she feels would serve a lovely purpose in my work.  i thank all my friends for having that much faith in me - they always have - and for sharing such beautiful bounty.  i carried with me ribbon that lorri had made all the way to the western shores of magical australia; some of those pieces i used in class, some was used in an art piece i made while students worked on their own shadowboxes, some i shared with a beloved aussie friend.  i think back to those  days of teaching down under (and yes, i will write about my round the world trip - maybe even while i am in colorado, who knows?!) and remember the way that the sunlight hit the bits of deep red resin that jacky had brought back from the bush; now i am working with amber, a resin from another part of the world.  it all seems connected, somehow.... the resin, the glow of the afternoon light, the rugged raw colors, the stone.  all of it.  i smile when i look at this photo - one of probably 100 that were frantically snapped while jacky and i watched the last of the afternoon light shoot quickly across a little church's cemetery and stone walls. i titled this one "magic hour at a roadside church"; i look at it and smile, because there are so many many incredible memories all wrapped up into that one brief moment, there in the last of the golden afternoon sunshine with beloved jacky, there in a really powerful, magical, treasured part of this world.  there were parts of that trip, taken so so soon after daddy's passing, when i felt a little like a little girl dumbfounded by what was surrounding her:  things seemed upside down, in an alice-through-the-looking-glass sort of way, and i wondered at the time how the trip would have its effects on me.  all of that seems much clearer now, the effects that will stay with me forever; my work seems bolder, stronger, more direct, even while maintaining that quiet storytelling factor that i like to thread throughout.  i thought i'd share with you a couple of other pieces that i've worked on this week, in anticipation of sharing my work in yet another different environment - one just as rugged as australia, quite parallel in so many ways.   this piece was more than two years in the making:  i had purchased the tiny little faceted sapphire stones years back with the intention of incorporating them as "stars" set into precious metal clay.  originally i had meant to pair them with blades of grass, little blue orbs hovering over summery growth.  i'm not quite sure why i decided to use the little dress, except i recalled standing on that cottage verandah in the late australian winter night, staring up at the stars, watching the southern cross, marveling at a constellation that i cannot usually see.  i remembered the little girl feeling of utter amazement and awe, and somehow this piece fell quickly together after that. 
on the back of the dress piece, i engraved these words:  "In her dreams, she plucked the stars from the sky and fastened them like buttons to the front of her dress".    the fabric snippet i used is yet more of some beautiful antique kimono silk that lorri had dyed and given to me, back in winter when i visited california.  it all comes together, you see?

i worked on something, too, this week, that i based on objects that had been kicking around my studio for over ten years.  the notion came to me like a quick blast of light one day while i was walking out in the back woods behind the house with walter, and it was all i could do to get back to the studio and execute the designs.  i absolutely love the idea of combining birds' nests with parts of a musical instrument - in this case, antique ivory piano key pieces - and bringing all the visual components together with ones of emotion.  the cicada wing is something i found while out on our walks this past month here at home; it seemed to go perfectly with the nests.  how i will use it remains to be seen; colorado will enlighten me, this much i know.  for now, i've used one lovely nest, and named it Grace. because, as you all know, life - and this great big world -  is all wrapped up in it. so, off i go next week to the wilds of colorado - but really, more to the wilds of the unknown, the unfamiliar, the naked new.  i'm more than a little anxious about this experience, but also i am excited.  my son robin will be there, and so will the beauties of colorado.  come see me, if you can.  i'll close with a quote i read earlier this week, from alan alda:  "You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  What you'll discover will be wonderful.  What you'll discover will be yourself." 

goodness, yes.  thank you, mr. alda.  and thank you, friends, for all of your lovely words of encouragement and support.  xo

 

 

Comments

[Tina in McLeansville]

wonderful words from mr. alda.....what wonderful words and works from you. oh my friend, you are living your life in vivid color...how beautiful it is to see! get ready...get set....GO! Hugs to you...xoxo

[susan]

Lovely jewelry pieces, Nina - especially that sweet little dress with the your precious words on the back.
And I love the photo of you - you look so happy and content.
Safe travels.

xo dusan

[Kate]

Oh (gasp!), I love reading about your artistic process. Say hello to Colorado for me and ENJOY! I'm craving that Aspen piece. Can't wait to see what you do with Colorado.
Hugs,
Katie

[Mary G.]

Yes, yes, yes! You're off on a voyage of discovery . . . have a wonderful, wonderful adventure!!

Your new pieces are achingly beautiful.

[sandra]

whew...these words and the beauty of the ornaments were so deep they loosened the tear ducts of my eyes.
thank you so much.

[Erin]

LOVE these new things, thoughts
...so inspiring as usual :)

[Kathy VK]

Beautiful! Will have to come back to read your post, but I LOVE your new work! Very exciting and inspired! xxoo

[Jamie V]

Your new jewelry pieces are so beautiful! Would you believe I purchased today a set of tiny salt and pepper shakers 'exactly' like the one in your first photo? I've been working at an antiques store two days a week - there are two sets left. I think I will get those too! I love how you incorporated this into your necklace. Have a wonderful visit with your mom! Jamie V in MT

[Stacey M. Curry]

Beautiful pieces! Have a most wonderful time in Colorado - it is SOOO beautiful there. I so wish I could get away and come to meet you and watch you at work! :) What a wonderful opportunity it will be to be inspired and create in such a lovely place....I would love to have a week there. Can't wait to hear all about it!

[folk heart]

You are so inspiring to me, and I will forever be in awe of the way your mind and imagination work. Your words and your works are equally exquisite. Thank you for such a great post. You are going to SO rock Colorado! Enjoy

[Linda]

Well first, safe travels and enjoy yourself with your family. And next, I love your new journey of your creative process. I love the new pieces very much and it is exciting to see what direction you are going in. and thank you for sharing it with us. xxoo

[Margy Houtz]

Such lovely work you're doing, Nina, as you sort your soul and get ready to move into "the wilderness of your intuition"...LOVE that quote.

Safe travels...it's not for babies, you know...

Love, Margy

[beth]

that quote is beyond perfect and beautiful.....and your words, the stars being fastened like buttons on her shirt......SWOON !

safe travels.....xo

[erin]

embrace yet another adventure. i'll be waiting to hear about roy and colorado and the studio you will make your own.
hugs and take care...

[Lorri Scott]

Nina, You know I sent you those beads because I knew you would create something wonderful which makes so much more sense than me hoarding them in a dark enclosed suitcase!

Enjoy your time in Colorado and visiting Robin.

xo

[Lori Burek]

Nina,
Yikes you always know what to say! Truely you are so insightful. I am forever amazed at your work and the meaning behind it's creation. You inspire me! Best wishes on your next trip!
Hug to you,
Lori B.

[Katherine Langford]

I was thinking of your one posting called Interlude and realized why it resonated -- another term is intermezzo, a short break between acts in a play or musical production. I liked the thought that in your life, in your making of life music, you were resting, but still making art, still growing, still speaking from the heartstrings. My family on one side are all farmers and my father would tell me when I felt stuck in my own life that this was fallow field time -- a time of rest so that the fertility of the field returned. I rested, I honored the time of rest. Dearest Nina, the field will soon reap great harvests as your direction in your new works is exciting. I love the piles of beads - one rich row planted with intent and an intrinsic love of color. Go forth on your adventures with the certainty that all shall come forth at just the right time for your compass to point to your heart, your home of all homes. Cheers! Blessings! Harvest!

[vickie long]

Super post, Nina. Great quote from Alan Alda. In my head, I'm singin' to you ELO's "Hold on Tight to Your Dream."
vickie in kc

[Kathy VK]

Me again ... the use and the idea of resin feels so very right. Light and rare and transforming. Even though you must be in high gear working and preparing, there is a lovely sense of calm about this work ... especially love the piano keys. Hmmm, ivory and resin, illusive and of the earth - lovely.

[Maggie]

Thank you for a lovely post... the alan alda quote speaks to me and will be forwarded to my ever traveling daughter now in Lima,Peru. Your lovely heartfelt creations and words are further evidence of this common thread connecting us all.. thank you.. safe travels to you.

[Seth]

Loving the bird nest series. Safe travels.

[jan]

Nina, I'm so excited to see the new direction your jewelry is headed. The Snippets and Golden Amber are oh, so lovely but the Sapphire Buttons - Superb! Then I got to the Piano Keys and all I could muster was one giant exhale. So, so beautiful. But I'll never tire of your silver/cotton pearls/mother of pearl creations either. May your travels keep you safe.

[Erin Perry]

Aren't the piano keys lovely? I ordered some from a gentleman in Canada and they are sitting on my art table, marinating - waiting for that aha! idea that I know will come. The cicada wing on the ivory is breathtaking!
Erin in Morro Bay

[Marilyn Weyman Kegg]

Nina, you and Colorado will love each other! And you should be able to post because the Tin Shed Studio is one of the places in town with free WiFi. Breck is just an amazing and lovely little town that I know will suit you well. I hope you can get someone with 4WD to take you up onto Boreas Pass, truly one of the most beautiful places on earth to me. Two other nearby towns I love are Georgetown and Idaho Springs. I can't wait to see what amazing things it inspires you to make! Enjoy!!!

[Cindy Ericsson]

You are beautiful, and with your fingers you create magic.

[Jennnifer Thornton]

As usual, your post is beautiful. I miss you when you are quite. But I understand that with the loss of your father, your workload and writing a blog like yours must time up a lot of your time. I love the ivory with the pictures on them. How did you do that? Love your Mom and enjoy Colorado with your son.

[Elizabeth Woodford]

Exquisite pieces NinA!!! I love the new directions and the stories and meanings behind such pieces!!! the piano key pieces are wonderful and remind of some pieces that I have of scrimshaw work done on vintage keys!! Are those some of sister ellen's eggs that I see in your work as well?? have a wonderful time in Colorado and with your wonderful son!! Hugs! and safe and happy travels to you my friend!!

[Loretta]

I ADORE the new work - all of it! I am so excited that your son has brought you out to Colorado to teach. What a splendid affirmation of his love for you and his pride in your creativity. Waiting with anticipation to see the photos of your beautiful fall mountain trip.

[Judy H.]

Lovely new jewelry pieces. Thanks for sharing. :)

[Sharon]

~sounds like the path to bliss~
smiles

[Hol]

Nina Baabe.., it fills my heart with joy to see your work and talent invigorated by the travels of your recent past, and those of your future!
I have no doubt, you will 'bewitch & capture spellbound' all of those who you meet in Colorado, the same as you have enriched and adorned all of us, for many years.
The color and depth in your new work is so exciting!!! I want some of that! Bravo! XO, hol

[Jacky Mcfarlane]

Nina love your new path, raw and earthy so you. I am glad we in Australia where able to give you comfort and new inspiration. Damn that old church at sunset was magic wasn't it, so much fun.

[kathy dorfer]

what a treat to see all that inspires you.
i can't wait to see what colorado holds for you.
xxoo
kathyd

[Minnie]

Plucking stars, and the dolly dress. Your killin me. With you always, so glad you made it to th other side, your jewelry only gets better xxoo

[Lee]

Your work is breathtaking! Even in the infancy of my art, I see how my work has evolved over the pat year, to a place I oculdn't have predicted. to make jewels such as yours is a dream I haven't touched yet. Each piece is masterful and insightful. LOVE the dress charm. Perfect. Enjoy your travels. xo

[Graciel @ Evenstar Art]

the artistic evolution of your art is magnificent. i have witnessed friends who have suffered great loss and beyond that loss, hearts on the mend, a blooming of self occurs that had never before seen the light of day.

bloom on.

[Laura]

Oh my goodness, your work so beautiful. Your words take me to a place I long to be, away from here for a moment or two.
I wish I could see you in Colorado...go and shine!
Thank you
Laura

[Katrina]

Sept 28, 2011, Nina, you made the front page of Etsy, twice, today, Wow. Congratulations! Katrina G.