swishy fishy is officially scintered, pure bronze metal and finished although i just may tarnish him a bit more to make him a bit more sunken treasure-ish. and yes sono-ma he was made to honor my passing swishy fishy of late. i miss him terribly, he was always so glad to see me.

today was my last open studio for metal clay. i learned so much about tools and the how too's of putting metal clay pieces together. now i am welcoming the time to process what i have just learned and put it to good use in the world of miss t. how will i find time for this new layer of my work sitting amongst the already complex layering of materials and ingredients?

ps. i tried yet another recipe from the below mentioned food revolution cookbook. sizzling beef with scallions and black bean sauce was simply divine: ) and i will be adding it to our monthly menu options. jamie oliver rocks!

jamie oliver is my culinary hero. he has always seemed so genuinely passionate about feeding people well and has used his stardom to educate and make changes to people's modern day feeding habits. so good.

the premise of his most recent above pictured cookbook is to help others by learning the recipes inside and then passing them on to others via show and tell. not only is the the book's premise lovely but what is inside is inspiringly delicious, simple, approachable, non fussy and...oh my goodness...a photographic treat. photographs of and quotes from the very real people he has helped to make changes in feeding themselves . i have loved every recipe i have tried especially all the curry pastes and curry recipes. yum.

jamie oliver says that he "wants to be the catalyst for empowering millions to make proper homecooked affordable meals from scratch again", the state of health and cooking so close to his heart in this era of cheap fast food and staggering health statistics.

tonight jamie oliver's new series begins on abc at 8pm and i am so excited to see his determination in action. he is like a culinary supernanny : )

my swishy fishy of the previous week had some trouble in the kiln during firing and did not scinter. it remains more brittle clay than metal. the metal in the clay does not melt in the kiln but the metal particles in the clay fuse together instead, which microscopically would be porous and more matrix-like than solid metal. so swishy fishy's metal particles did not fuse together for what ever reason, mysterious, and his tail piece broke. he is being fired again and i am keeping my fingers crossed that he will scinter and i can find a way to keep his tail as a free moving piece.

in the mean time i am working on the above pictured in copper clay.
the world of miss t : )
will it scinter? will that free moving flower stem piece hold up? larger and hollow pieces tend to be problematic. oh dear....feeling much less free moving and competent with metal clay today.

must recommend a remarkable movie that was passed along to me by my parents. i can hardly believe i knew nothing of it before now.

"like stars on earth"

so good. so many ideas in quotes of dialog and song that are carried in my heart's understanding. such a sweet story with a predictablility that i knew it's direction but i totally wanted to go there, a place of validation and elation for adults and children alike.

understanding and awakening to your purpose and in it finding such happiness and joy. the perfect theme for this new season. joyful springtime wishes!

thank you for your recent uplifting and affirming comments jennifer in my march 9th post. currently pondering all. i spend so much time with my head pieces in production of them and i get so used to their details that in the end they always seem so...yes... common. thank you for your commiserate commpanionship: )

oh my goodness...classes...me? i've never felt quite grown up enough to picture myself a teacher : ) i help my neighbor with sewing projects and while she calls me her sewing teacher, i am much more of a gentle guide, a creative guide on her creative quests (not all sewing projects). in fact, that is actually my favorite part about the format of the metal clay open studio i am attending currently. 6 women just doing their own thing and receiving guidance they need along the way.

pictured is a recent swishy fishy in unfired bronze clay. his tail and bubble are separate free moving pieces that are kept inside his hollow body by slightly larger ends. his texture is made with vintage lace. his remarkable lacy backdrop is art from a children's book called "swimmy" by leo leonni. he will be back from firing next week and i will post again of him. loving the texture of vintage lace when pushed into metal clay and can't imagine a project without it.

recently brewed bronze rings from my metal clay play.

in person they are very ancient fairy realm and their success makes me want to brew more.

delivery day today on 4th street in berkeley, 65 pieces of spring.

always bitter sweet to pass forward things crafted from such a heart place. but i am so excited to share its paper, velvet, wool, recycled wool sweaters, beads, hand dyeing and especially copper clay charms with all who will heart back.

visits to anthropologie and castle in the air always make me want to try harder and...then again just give up trying. so inspirational, so unattainable. why is it inspiration leaves me with a bit of feeling deficient?

today begins the process of attatching all the handmade tiny details, flowers and dangly things, to my spring collection of 65 crowns. after 7 weeks of production it will be grand to finally sit and hand sew all those details into their places. pictured are some of the tiny, handmade metal pieces that i will be parting with this season. who knew metal and wool could find such a happy union?