Thursday, September 17, 2009

Products of Puttering

As you know from my last post, I spent yesterday in a delightfully list free day. Part of that was spent 'puttering,' a woefully underated state of being. Some of my puttering involved using some stamps I had made of my drawings. Beth at Hint, recently posted about how she makes fine silver jewelry components from molds of her own drawings. Well, I'm not really one to draw, but I do doodle. In fact doodling seems to be one of my best things. I don't keep a journal but I do keep a file of scraps of paper that I've put little pictoral thoughts on. What you see here are koi fish that I can't get enough of, and the lotus I drew based on the batik stamp I've been using in pottery. I use a little different method than Beth does, but more on that later.

I know koi and lotus are pretty out of step with Northern Hemispher seasons. But I find both images quite timeless, even seasonless. Couple that with having spent many years in Australia, where right now I'd be thinking spring thoughts, well this is what came out. In Australia, it is common practice to keep koi and often that involves keeping aquatic plant life like the lotus. So these 2 images just seemed a natural pairing. And I love koi. For fish, they are wonderfully affectionate. OK, maybe that stretches the truth. But if you've never done this and have the opportunity, put your fingers into a koi pond and most likely they will come up to nibble on your fingers. Wonderful!



These are the drawings my bronze and copper pieces were made from. I was quite skeptical of whether these would translate into useable molds. The koi in particular has a lot of detail and moving that detail down to a bit more than 1/2 inch size was a bit daunting.


But, these metal clays pick up an amazing amount of detail Yippeeee!
Cheers, LeAnn

13 comments:

Jessica said...

So, so lovely! I too read/watched Beth at Hint's process for creating her work and became practically desperate to find a precious metal clay class in my area! Love your work on the lotus and koi - just beautiful.

sharon said...

OMG, OMG, OMG...LEANN!!!! I must have a fish or two...these are feaking amazing....your drawings...ohhhh, I don't know what to say.....These are the most beautiful things (besides pots) that you have done AGAIN!!

Marie Cramp said...

You are killing me!!! I am soooo broke right now and you are coming out with so many amazing things. I am almost considering getting a new credit card just to be able to get more stuff!!! Soooo bad.
So I guess what I am saying is great work they are fabulous.

Hugs
Marie

sharon said...

I think you should do more puttering girl!

stregata said...

Yes, definitely! You should do more puttering!! Alot! Those are incredible designs, LeAnn! How can you say you can't draw???
These charms are fantastic!!!!

Esther said...

wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!! incredible!! lot of details!!! i love them all!!!

Drawn to The Sea said...

Really, really, really nice. I bet the koi would look dreamy in that pretty blue you do. And the lotus... in the pink...

~Julia

Katie said...

Love the new charms! If I weren't trying to do a good job of using what I've got right now, I would snag a few :o) But, I am going to be a good girl and just tell you how awesome they are!!

And, if that's what you consider doodling, maybe I should put my pencil down :o) But, we all have our own talents - and you obviously have a few!!

Awesome work!

TesoriTrovati said...

Goodness LeAnn! Those are stunning! I love the old world quality of these bronze pieces. Such a talent you are! Thanks for sharing your inspiration today!
Enjoy the day!
Erin

mairedodd said...

these are so very beautiful in many ways, the concept, the drawings, the translation into metal... really loving them a lot... one of my favorite images is a play on the yin/yang with 2 koi fish circling... your creations are elegant! xo

Silver Parrot said...

Puttering rocks! Love the koi fish - awesome design!

SummersStudio said...

My goodness, you are a hard bunch to keep up with. You know, I think I might have to sit on this blog all day long to keep up. But then if I did that I would get no puttering at all done. :-) A heartfelt and thank you to all of you for your generous feedback.

Charmingdesigns said...

OOOOOH I love your blog!! I came to visit you from Patti. Your work is wonderful!!