Where was I?

How busy I've been! Life can throw you some angles, def. A couple of days ago, I was sifting through some storage boxes and stumbled upon my most delicate, tiny seashells and a box of domed antique paperweights. I could not resist either of them.

But did I still know how to construct my fleur de mers?

I think I've done well, but oh how I miss my dental tweezers! So handy to have. I enjoy the challenge of working inside these domed paperweights. First, the craftsmanship must be well done, as the domes are cast to magnify the curiosities inside. Second, I only have 3/8" height inside each dome. I must be extremely careful in constructing the flowers so that they are intricate enough to keep your attention, but small enough to fit easily inside. The domes themselves are 3.25" across and the inside is about 1.75" wide.

The challenge is to construct an arrangement that is simple but arresting. There is tons of editing that goes on inside my mind as I make my design choices.

Here is how I go about making them—I start first with making flowers and seeing how they will look and fit under the dome. Lovely! Next, I carefully cut circles out of all black presentation board and then back the black presentation board with cork. This way, the paperweight won't slip about your desk. I love the contrast of my shell flowers against black. I choose all black presentation board as I think the color is rich and dense and looks better than other boards with a black top, but white board is underneath.

When the bottom of the paperweight is ready, I then construct how the flowers lay and the overall design inside the paperweight. This is when all that editing happens. Only the smallest, most colorful shells and tidbits will look best. I then painstakingly glue the elements to the board, working from the center out, like a mandala. Except, I try very hard not to be symmetrical, as I think having something just a little off keeps the design lively.

 And then it's a matter of carefully gluing the black board to the domed glass and admiring it before I compose a blog post about the process and put it up for sale on Etsy!

possibilities from ebay seashell community

yesterday, i was contemplating starting kayleigh's valentine all over—maybe cutting out the center piece, salvaging the bits that i could. hate thinking about it, but this gift is way overdue and i thought i outran my resources.

but, once again, i've purchased a glimmer of hope.

ebay has an active seashell community. the auction category used to be easier to find. now the shell auctions are under Crafts > Multi-Purpose Craft Supplies > Craft Pieces > Craft Shells.

yeh. not so easy. but the community still works the auctions and there are great treats to be found there. i had been checking in occassionally on the auctions, but hadn't seen any significant purple coquinas.

but today, when i checked in, i saw that englewoodseashells was stocking the purple coquinas, and best yet, the auctions were offered as a buy it now offer. i purchased the whole lot, so i'm stoked! i'm hoping there will be enough of those purple beauties to get me past being paralyzed. i would like to think about the rest of kayleigh's valentine design without worrying about the space background

SB01: Black Belinda

Once upon a time, my girl and i worked out with a Marine every morning for almost two years. we would do impossible physical things, like lunging for a quarter mile. with ten pound weights in our hands. or indian sprints. or my favorite: the circle of woe. i can't tell you how fun it was, how strong i felt, or just how good i felt after the work out. it was awesome and i'm so grateful for his time. the three of us would tease each other as he pushed us along. my girl and i took to calling him "belinda" which he completely understood and enjoyed it. but schedules and priorities change and now the my girl and i are back in the gym, without our beloved belinda.

our Marine will be retiring soon. i have been thinking about this for a while—what to give belinda that will mean something and remind him of us. then, a friend bestowed upon me a great bag full of cigar boxes. i sorted through these awesome small boxes of wood and came upon a just the right size, all black wood box with a gold imprint of "belinda black."


omg! hoooRah! so while i'm working kayleigh's valentine, my summer masters class, and the vineyard, i'm gonna make a seashell box for our belinda. i know, i'm a serial starter of projects, but they do get finished, so stay tuned!

New Shells on the Horizon

i won't be making the june 1st deadline. i can rationalize not making the deadline several ways: 1) lack of purple shells; 2) ordered shells won't arrive in time; 3) i wouldn't want to carry the delicate project in a minivan full of boys, husband and boys' grandfather on a five hour trip to the graduation ceremony. there is sure to be breakage!

the fact, though, is the deadline was an overly ambitious deadline—not an excuse, just a statement. the reality is that working out before work makes me pretty tired when i get home, so little progress has been made this week. plus, creating her valentine is an enjoyable event, so i would rather not rush, but take my time and think the design out carefully. right now i'm mulling over the center medallion and how to do it. i've been planning it out in my head and i'll know when its time to start working on it. i just need inspiration to simmer on it a bit.

but i have ordered the shells from www.seashellhorizon.com and i'm pretty psyched to receive them. my new deadline is to have the valentine ready so when she comes up for her birthday, i will give it to her then. i am pretty nervous about the transporting of the valentine...

SV01: Starry, Starry Night—Heavenly Shades of Night

Its working, its working—but i have hit a few snags! i can't wait to go back home and upload the images. all the comet tails are finished. i have two starry night portions done, but i'm scrapping the barrel for right side all purple coquinas. curse my fondness for making purple waterlilies! that really cut into my stash. i will have to order some on rush. in the meantime, i've started the center and feel good about the initial results. ger especially loves the purple spiny octagon. i think about gerda reid's valentines—she does these fantastic spiny designs with delicate shading [featured in Sailors' Valentines: Their Journey Through Time]—and i have a whole new respect and understanding for her work!

i'm using all the colors kayleigh wore when she was a little girl—so its all purples, pinks, blues, greens and yellow. i'm also trying to work it a few turquoise chiton shells, too. that's a very kayleigh color, as well. i'm starting to get pretty excited about the project. tomorrow i will load the pictures, stay tuned!

tomorrow we will pack up the box and i'll carry the valentine home on my lap. i'll make the large center flower tomorrow night. it may be one very large rose, but then again, it might be several.

another great seashell art resource is Helen Krauss' Shell Art. it is the first book i purchased way back.

SV01: Starry Starry Night—Working the Sky

Memorial Day Weekend is dedicated to working the sailor valentine, as well as working the vineyard. i purchased a sturdy tool box from home depot, loaded it with my shells, grabbed photos, ger packed us up and away we went. this morning i worked hard on the background—i'm using a mix of purple coquina and baby blue mussels. small stars are represented by pearl umboniums.

i have to say, i'm fighting myself here. i see the exuberance in van gogh's brush strokes, and i see differences in stroke sizes and direction. when i was working on my comet tail, i had seen the geometry of the shells, the shapes and the colour all coming together in a very clean way. determined to add some exuberance into the starry background, i mixed the purple coquina and the blue mussels in a semi-random way, sometimes working with the geometry, sometimes not. after looking at the results—now very permanently glued to the board—i worry what i intentionally made random may now just look like poor design!

i have been thinking of interesting flourishes, though. i have dentalium comet sparks coming out of the astraea calcar comet heads. i think that part is successful. i'm going to keep plugging away at the design, but i'm thinking i will need to be very structured and geometric in all the other areas, if this random exuberance is going to come off well.

i am taking photos along the way, but it seems i've left the transfer cord at home!

What is a Sailor Valentine?

photo from dianabittelantiques.com

Here is a link to a Sailor's Valentine wiki page. Its basic, but gives you an idea of what the artform is all about.

There are also several books about Sailor Valentines--see my source links to the left for my recommendations.

Decor: Sea Bouquet in White and Purple

i made this bouquet just for fun and practice. the white roses are made from white cay-cay shells and are big and beautiful. The purple shells are cut cowrie tops from cinquantagefleur. cheryl stocks and sells really cool stuff on ebay. recommend. the centers of the purple flowers are yellow litornia. the boys think the yellow shells look like corn. the colour is pretty unnatural for an undyed shell and i have to be a bit careful when i use them. but who can resist purple and yellow together? the best part of the bouquet is the tiny buds peeking out from under the natural colour fish scales. I dig those fish scales for natural looking foliage.

this shadow box can be hung either vertically or horizontally and its offered at my chesapeake street shop.

SV01: Starry, Starry Night—Box and Shell Testing

my sailor valentine box is an 8", front loading box. here you see i've printed out my design and laid it inside to get an idea of how it would look inside the box. when i'm finished, i will place the glass that was custom cut for the box inside of the grooved top. then the strips pictured above, on the right side will be inserted edge to edge. they fit very tightly and hold the glass in place.

i purchased my sailor valentine box from jim prestigiacomo @ shellsandwood.com. we met way back on ebay. jim is a master craftsman and i'm lucky enough to own three of his boxes. check out their site--rosalee, his wife, creates gorgeous work and they feature the work of other shell artist, as well.

the images above show how i start by laying down shell combinations and think about the composition, the color scheme, what i'm trying to convey, and the adjustments i'll need to make. the first thing that i notice is that 8" is a very small space. i will have to be careful with the size of my shells, making sure that i don't use shells that overpower the design—the smaller shells give you more room to craft intricate designs, but if they are too uniform in size, the feel becomes a little precious. that may just be my justification for keeping my large spiral yellow shells look like the van gogh yellow sun or stars—i'm too smitten to reconsider them.

i also dig the compass rose color combination, especially how the rose cup center flower and the blue chiton border brings out the pink and teal iridescence in the baby abalone shells—but they still have that tan overall colour that makes them a good partner for the horse conch compass points. i'll need to finesse the final layout, but I like how the compass rose will sit stable as the van gogh starry night swirls about it. maybe i should try a yellow jingle shell center flower? i'm not sure about the fossil shark tooth border. the teeth are a bit large and polished for what i'm after. i think i like the garden of eden-ish fern and flower border, but i need to keep that area petite and low key.

the van gogh blue-purple swirling background will be key in making this valentine a success. i'm planning on lining rows of purple coquina, purple urchin spines and baby mussels in a swirling pattern. pearlized umbonium and pong-pong shells will make excellent smaller stars.

i can't wait to get some illustration board. i'm thinking about getting a color. i will also need 527 adhesive and boy2 will have to cough up my dental tweezers! i know he's stashed them somewhere....

Fleur: Chrysanthemums Savoureux

just like tiny bon-bons, each of these shell flowers is a treat!

these shell flowers can be purchased at my etsy shop. i've modeled them after chrysanthemums (mums) and made them from coquina shells. the largest measure 1.5" in diameter. the smaller buds can be positioned at an angle, creating variety and a sense of dynamism in a design.

these dainty fleurs are one of my favorite flowers to make. i think they are so sweet! one of my ideas it to encrust a mirror in thousands of these tiny flowers, creating a texture treat. but that's for another day, after i finish my first sailor valentine. what would you do with them?

i think the coquina is the ubiquitous craft seashell, certainly one of the most useful. the bivalve comes in a variety of colours from white to pink, yellow, purple, blue and a tea-like colour. sometimes they are solid colour and sometimes a mottled, multi-coloured, like the mums pictured here. they also have different widths—the ones i'm currently working with has narrow shaped shells, but i have made some gorgeous pansies from wider shaped, multi-coloured ones with pink, yellow, purples and tans.

i go through these different spells of shell preferences, but the coquina is always there, always ready for my imagination.

SV01: Starry, Starry Night—Concept

i'm finally starting my first sailor valentine! this will be a graduation gift for my girl, kayleigh. she graduates early june, so its a race to see who will finish what, first. she and i have often worked together over shells and she makes these beautiful abstract shell designs inside of larger, iridescent clam shells. i put several of her designs into their own shadow boxes for her room. to celebrate her graduation, i'd like to give her a valentine, as she has watched me work my shellin' skills up to this point.

i'm taking my inspiration for her valentine from van gogh's starry, night.

last night i broke out illustrator and worked out my template, see below. i'm grateful for adobe illustrator cs3. i made several cardstock templates for my moleskine notebook--they are handy for sketching out initial ideas. i trace around the template, mark the guidelines and start drawing. the moleskine is awesome with the back pocket to store the template. i only made a couple of sketches for kayleigh's design, since i have a strong theme and have been designing it in my head over and over. i'm leaving a 1.5" border from the box edge. i'm going to get an archival quality illustration board, cut it out, transfer my design and work my shell art on the board. then it will just be a matter of adhering the board to the box.

Manifesto: Following My Bliss

Wherever you are -- if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time. --Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth, pp. 113, 120

when i think about following my bliss out of context (meaning, anytime i talk about joseph campbell to anyone), it feels a bit trite. and applying concepts in comparative mythology and religion to shells and adhesives is, um... silly. however, as a mother, a wife, an assistant in a budding vineyard, a hopeful grad student, a public servant--in other words, a girl who can't say no to an opportunity--i have finally owned up to it:

part of following my bliss is adhering seashells together or applying them to found objects.

this life is good. and its hectic and crazy. so when i sit at my kitchen island with my shells stewn about, my designs in front of me, and my kids next to me asking me to "glue this together, momma" i find myself slowing down. becoming hummingly happy. being there, at that little island and thinking only about what is in front of me--that's meditative. restful. i had given up my island for a while, but i'm back.

the purpose of this blog is to show what i'm working on, what i'm thinking about, and how i'm going about doing it. i can't keep everything i make. i used to sell on ebay, but now i'm experimenting with an etsy storefront. i've also uploaded some on my designs on flickr.com, so check out the widgets. if you see something you like, please comment. if you wish to purchase something or have me make something custom, let me know and i'll post it on etsy.

thanks!