a thoughtful comment left on this blog by jane ponsford prompted me to go check out her work and what a lovely surprise! she's been working on a year-long project papertrails, as an artist-in-residence in england and blogging about it as well.

in a former life i spent years as a paper maker myself and loved the labor of it all, the history, the yummy feel of pulp and finally, a finished page under your hand. jane also loves the irregular deckle edge as i do, shown beautifully in the coiled pieces at the top. i also adore her white shapes floating on piano wire in the snow.

what a magical gift to get all this on a monday morning in my email box! 

all materials tell a story, of course. but paper traditionally tells it two ways, from the source and making to the marks or words written upon it's surface. isn't this tree piece is just wonderful?

i plucked just a few striking images from her site and blog to share with you, but do take a few minutes to click over and check out the whole story. jane's blogging here and her site is right here.

silver and silk, paper money and pages of a worn world war two bible, bone and pearls, bugs and painted ladies. the show beauty and other monsters, by kristin beeler is well named. i am loving her exquisite sense of detail, steeped in history and mystery. her piece make you look, and look again. makes me feel i've fallen down the rabbit hole and the most interesting objects are floating by. curious and curiouser, indeed.

please do go check out the show kristin had at velvet da vinci, you'll be amazed. and many wondrous images to dig into at her flickr page, here.

happy monday, dear readers! i hope your heart takes flight as mine did when i stumbled upon these magical birdcage pieces. made by the charming jennifer fay of fun is always in style. (isn't that a great philosophy?) to me, these tinkered forms look like whimsical line drawings brought to life with wire. add a few select found objects and each one starts to really sing. wouldn't you sing in a sweet handmade cage like this? check out these two pieces at superfay's etsy shop, right here. and many more wonderful birdcage images to love right here.

when i was a girl growing up in the forests and fields of michigan, i spent most of my free time playing or reading outdoors. i loved stories of fairies and magical folk. using tiny seed pods, twigs, leaves and flowers, i would make tiny  woodland friends. there was always a mushroom cap to be found for a table to serve tea.

when i came across these charming little flower girls on elsa mora's blog, i was immediately transported back to those happy moments playing in the woods. it makes me want to pack a picnic, a good book and a cosy blanket for an afternoon of sweet imaginings.

you must go see them all, right here. and her etsy shop is full of the most precious prints and papercut sculptures, right here.

i've been playing around with some new backgrounds for photographing the jewelry. a very productive scrounge in the free scrap bin at the marble supply by my studio yielded some wonderful small slabs. i'm working towards re-shooting the bulk of my pieces on my website, honey & milk. which as you can imagine, is a mammoth job!

please do leave me a comment on these photos and let me know what you think of the backgrounds with the pieces - i would really appreciate your feedback. i'm thinking i want to get a kind of "creamy" look to the backgrounds and get away from the bright green succulents i was using. although i am sourcing out some unusual pale dusty pink succulents for some pieces.

below, two personal pieces of jewelry that i wear. the top image is hand-carved tauga nut, a sustainable material that grows in ecuador. i would love to do alot more pieces with this versatile and beautiful material. the bottom image is copper and silver, with little moving cups on top. i see it as a kind of chocolate cake with decorations and it's terribly fun to wear! since it is quite large, i often wear it to art openings or fancy events.

for my local portland readers, i will be doing a retail event this week and i'd love to see you there! please come down and say hi. it's a great opportunity to try on the jewerly in person and go home with a treasure, or at least a specific wish list. tomorrow is the day, it's 1st thursday art walk in the pearl. i participate in the street art fair, which takes place on nw 13th, between everett and johnson streets. the event runs from 5 to 10 pm and is always fun. people watching, art browsing, live music -it's all there. more info here. i should know later today my exact location, so i will update this post.

fingers crossed for good weather...