cake pillow ring

pictured is a ring i just finished and submitted for one of the SNAG (Society for North American Goldsmiths) conference exhibitions. the show is entitled: The Ring Show: Putting the Band Back Together. this show is in recognition of the “1ST National Ring Show” which began in Athens, Georgia (where the SNAG conference is this year) 30 years ago. The original participants of the National Ring Show are making a new ring to be shown with their original ring.

i would so love to see this show. rings are always my first pick when it comes to jewelry. i’ll keep my fingers crossed that my piece is accepted. my instinct was to submit my bunny box ring but that piece is currently at the xen gallery show in st. louis, mo. we’ll see what happens!!!

cake pillow ring is made of sterling, plastic from a poncho, polyfil, thread. the title comes from its resemblance to a wedding cake. before i started making jewelry full time i decorated birthday and wedding cakes at a bakery in st. louis. i really miss working in that edible and yummy medium. cupcake anyone??

UPDATE: cupcake for everyone….it’s a celebration.  i just heard back that my cake pillow ring was accepted in “The Ring Show, Putting the Band Back Together” for the SNAG conference.  i was awarded third place as well, Yippy!!!!   they are trying to find another venue for the show that way after the show comes down it will go to another location. i hope that works out.  thanks for your cupcake wishes  ;O)

Posted in new work |

http://www.xengallery.com/fisher.htm

copy and paste this link to see all of my new pieces for the xen show  :O)

Posted in misc |

carrot ginger dressing

i made this dressing last night for our salad..it could be my new favorite beating out the peanut butter asian dressing. here it is:

5-6 carrots

a 3-4 inch by 1 inch piece of ginger, remove skin

2 T of tahini

a splash of olive oil

5 T of lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste.

puree in a blender or food processor. you an add more lemon juice or olive oil to adjust the tang to your liking and to thin it a bit for easier tossing potential. i would definitely recommend tossing the salad with the dressing before serving in bowls to get maximum coverage. this dressing is slighty sweet and refreshing from the carrot ginger combo with a bit of creaminess from the tahini and tang from the lemon juice…..

salad details:

red leaf, mesculin, simpson lettuce from our garden

sliced fresh mushrooms

walnuts

dried cranberries

faux parmasian…just toss and eat..oh so yummy!!

the pale yellow bowl was made by our good friend charity davis woodard.

the mini small salt and pepper pinch bowls were made by my hubby, chris.

Posted in good for the tum |

“tea”

so this is the raw herbs that our chinese medicine doctor prescribed chris. i let it sit in water for an hour. then, boiled it for 10 minutes and drained the liquid. she advised us to do it a second time combining the second batch of liquid with the first. chris had to drink all of the tea that day. he had to repeat this for 4 more days but was suppose to drink each round of liquid over the course of 2 days instead of all within the same day. yikes, this stuff made the house smell like dirt, the woods!! which essentially, i guess it was just that..except maybe not the dirt part…..me being curiouso about all things natural, i dug thru it to see what was in there: cross sections of roots, dried leaves, twiggy type things, furry pods, tiny seeds, mushroomy cube pieces. the earth works. with all if it’s funky glory that “tea” did the trick. he was definitely feeling much better and on the mend the next day. kudos to chris for being able to drink that stuff, diem said she doesn’t typically prescribe the raw version because not that many people can get it down, but because of it being in liquid form vs. the powder it’s a stronger version with quicker healing capabilities.

Posted in just for fun |

orange napa valley tote bag

this was my super score at the blue hanger. plasticky type tote bag in orange of all colors. my favorite!!! this was the bag i used to make the orange pillow earrings. these were a favorite of my mom’s……….i really want to make a necklace with the floating pillow idea. it’s on the list. :O)

Posted in inspired by |

child’s cribsheet

here’s a picture of the child’s cribsheet i used to make the white pillow choker. i love the little lambies on this….those i will save for another project.

Posted in inspired by |

white pillow choker & orange pillow earrings

here is a picture of a couple of my pieces at the xen show. the white pillow choker piece is made of sterling silver, plastic from a childs cribsheet, polyfil, thread and glass beads. the orange pillow earrings were made with sterling silver, plastic from a napa valley tote bag, polyfil, and thread.

unfortunately my husband chris and i didn’t make our flight the thursday morning before the show. from wednesday nite to thursday morning chris’ cold progressed rapidly. he was suffering with an extreme case of allergy/flu/whatever is going around down here. i was so worried about him that i didn’t go either. i called our chinese medicine doctor/acupuncturist/neighbor. i went to get his herbal prescription from the white crane pharmacy here in austin and made this “tea” for him to drink, then went and rented a stack of movies. we were just slugs together…..we made the couch into the fold out bed so we could watch movies and just rest….by the next morning chris was feeling markedly better. YIPPY!!!

i was really looking forward to the opening, seeing friends and family and my brand spankin’ new work on display……i guess i will catch you all next time around. thanks to all who went to the opening. my mom went in my place (all my family is from the st. louis area….that is where i grew up). thanks, ma!! we’re going to see the show and my family at the end of feburary after i get back from my show in miami.

Posted in new work |

strawberry tier pillow bracelet

here is a peak at what my new work is like. this bracelet was made of a poncho and estee lauder bag i got at my favorite thrift store here in austin. it’s called the blue hanger. it’s a goodwill, but for some reason it goes by blue hanger. i was totally “busted” that day while shopping there. even though i love this place, i have only been there a few times…well, because you have to play good defense when you go there. it is always crazy busy and super noisy. the way this place operates is this: you go in and typically all the carts are taken. i usually can find a plastic crate and random ribbon and tie the ribbon to the crate….viola, “shopping cart”. i am up and down the aisles which consist of rows of large wooden bins used to dump all manner of things. this place is categorized into two groups, clothes and misc. i walk into an aisle because i spot these pale blue squares that from afar appear to be plastic-y. when i get closer and i can check out the blue squares, deciding whether i think they have “jewelry potential” one of the workers hollers out to get my attention and starts shaking his head at me…….and says “not yet, no, not yet” and then i realize that there are 25-ish people standing at the end of these bins waiting to get in on the action. apparently while the bins are being stocked with the goods it is not permitted to shop that area until they blow the horn. well, i had heard this horn theory about the blue hanger, but at that point was in way over my head so i just played the dumb card. if looks could kill, i would have been a goner, 25 times over, with all the evil eyes i got from the people that were patiently lined up. the funny thing is that the blue squares were stacks of “wee wee pads” that can be used to potty train your puppy……yep, they are gross…don’t ask me why there is a market for them. BUT, the point is nobody else would have wanted those things but me. as a matter of fact when the horn did blow and everyone raced into grab, dig, push and scavenge for their treasure of interest, the woman next to me took the time to hand me a stack of wee wee pads that were next to her. it took me three attempts to get out of that aisle and remove myself from the pandemonium.

all and all, my trip to the blue hanger was a success story. i came away with a rain poncho, an estee lauder bag, an orange napa valley tote bag, a garment bag in black, a frog floatee, an adult raft in neon transparent yellow and a few other random things. this hectic trip made the strawberry tier pillow bracelet a reality. there is nothing like finding the right material to make me dive into the studio head first.

if you want to see more of my newest cushion.pillow pieces go to

http://www.xengallery.com/fisher.htm

Posted in new work |

new work at the xen gallery…..opening friday nite

january 18th, 2007 from 5:30p - 8p. hope you can swing by and see my new work. the newest cushion pieces which evolved from the “sewing circles” project are made of recycled things such as rain poncho’s, infant cribsheets, random tote bags, garmet bags or other finds made with plastic material. i even bought a child’s turtle floatee that will become a variety of assorted shapes and sizes of sewn pillows for a necklace or other wearable goodness.

Posted in inspired by |

breakfast yummi

1/2 cup of water

1/4 cup of rice milk

healthy spoonful of peanut butter

1 ripe banana

2 T flax seed

blend all ingredients in a blender til smooth. this drink makes me think of elvis and monkeys, not “the monkeys”, but the animal type…..yep, i may need therapy for that one!! anywho, i got this recipe from my friends jade and robert. it’s my new favorite breakfast…it’s worth getting out of bed for :O)

Posted in good for the tum |