I have a friend....

Today I received a box in the mail.
A gift from a friend.

As I unwrapped it and studied each angle, my heart was so moved by the power and the meaning of friendship.

She made this "Passion Box" for me, and decorated it with mementos, collectables, images and reminders of our trip together to France this past summer. Admiring her creativity, I was immediately transported back to those carefree weeks where we drove across France, staying in castles, discovering flea markets and treasures...and creating memories.

And within....a tiny bird's nest that she found...and I had coveted!

This dear friend, in her generosity and caring, not only gifted me with a treasure of her own creation, and a French bird's nest! .....but with this gift opened up a chamber in my heart for the deep deep appreciation of friends....of friendship....
of generosity...and the always inspiring creative spirit.

I share my Passion Box treasure with you, World, in a bow to that spirit of friendship.

And a deep bow to you, Phyllis, my friend.... merci beaucoup de tout mon coeur. Tout droit!!

creating a wire figure.......

I've been playing with some wire and paper and paverpol......making some hanging dancing figures.
Here are some first steps. Bending the wire, gluing the paper ( pages and pictures for the faces ripped from an old French dictionary and some old sheet music....) and then covering the paper with paverpol.
Tomorrow I will apply a crackle glaze and some paint and see where else this piece leads me.
I love the lightness of these pieces and the way they blow in the wind as if dancing.
I hung them on the morning glory vine to dry.

Ahhh.....Hope!

Ahhh...Hope...
As I made more and more of the Sins, I found myself thinking more and more about Hope.
Wondering why Hope was left inside...and deciding that it must mean that Hope was always within us.
I started to think about what my little Hope piece would look like, and I decided that it would be the same little Hoonie figure...
with a kind smile...and maybe some wings.
Well....I started sculpting Hope and it just wouldn't flow like the other ones had done. The eyes wouldn't work right...I kept messing up 
what I sculpted...I got more tense and frustrated.  I kept going and finally got the beginning stages photographed and got the piece into the oven for the first bake.  And then I stopped and took a deep breath and realized that Hope wasn't just another Hoonie character with wings.  
It wasn't working for a reason....this piece was not to be another of the same characters.
No...Hope, to me, was a tiny newborn baby. That little bundle of innocence with a whole future to live out.
Hope was going to be what we all started as....innocence.
That felt just right to me, particularly because our 7th grandbaby...our 7th granddaughter is due to be born in just a days.
She is Hope to me. She is my inspiration for Hope and she will be the final sweet touch to "Pandora and the Seven Sins"
And as it worked out, without my planning for it, Hope fits perfectly into Pandora's hands. :)
I love when special things like this happens!
If you might be interested in making this piece in my class, please find more information at: http://www.thatcreativeplace.com

Two Sins ...Lust and Anger

It's so fun creating these Sins.  :)   

I look into a mirror and scrunch my face into feeling whatever emotion I am making, and I then try to interpret that into the sculpt.

I love the big red lips on Lust.

Tomorrow....maybe Envy or Gluttony.... :)

Here are Lust and Anger....so fun!