Friday, July 22, 2011

Alice is a naughty girl

These bronze pieces have nothing to do with naughty Alice. She begged to have a cameo on my blog and we'll get to that later.

I've been working with bronze nearly everyday this week and decided that I might just make myself something. It started with the pendant which has the first mantra I learned on it. Om Mani Padme Hum in Tibetan script. I've taken some liberties with the script and placed the parts vertically.

Sometimes this mantra gets translated as Behold the Jewel in the Lotus. But when I learned it, it wasn't translated at all. It's just a beautiful set of sounds that I find very centering. I can hear it in my head and it is amazing when chanted as a group.

It will be a necklace someday. But I keep adding parts to it. I've found this really soft but strong goat skin leather that I think I'll use in it. I've got more beads for it in the kiln right now. Who knows what will get added next. This necklace seems something like meditation for me. It's a process, it's where ever I am at the moment. It's become quite centering all by itself.


Even though the heat has kept me mostly inside this week, I've still been making a few forays into the garden. The one and only tomato plant is making me smile. I can almost taste the fruit that is still weeks away from ripening. There are 16 tomatoes on this plant in various stages.


I know this because Peter has been out there counting them. Amazing. I've never experienced him being this interested in what's happening out there in the garden. But when you've only got one tomato plant it's pretty easy to indulge yourself in monitoring it with the vigilence of a parent and a new born baby.

Just a few short weeks ago this tomato plant was a tiny little thing. It's grown about a foot a week. Makes me wonder what's in the soil. Or makes me think of this story I heard in primary school, only it's kind of a hazy memory. Something about atomic seeds and plants that grow into the sky. Maybe I'm making that up. I just asked Peter and he has no clue what I'm talking about. He thinks I'm maybe embellishing on Jack in the Bean Stalk. Anyway, maybe I have atomic soil?


This is Alice. Does she look naughty? Some of you may recall the Mystery of the Missing Glove in which she played a star role. Well she is once again on my bad list. This morning she took a romp through my tiny little garden and wiped out half of the carrots and all of the rutabaga. Naughty, naughty girl, and I was even going to share carrots with her. She loves carrots. How could she do this. BAD DOG!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

I'm going to get up early tomorrow and plant more carrots.

14 comments:

TesoriTrovati said...

Hard to be mad at a funny furry face like that! I am not a big fan of tomatoes but those look great! I do love fresh cucumbers out of the garden and wish I new a gardener with a few to spare!
Enjoy the day!
Erin

jessememan said...

I don't know which I'm drooling over more...the pendants or those big green tomatoes! I have a couple plants with small ones, but not like that!

lunedreams said...

Maybe you're thinking of Gilligan's island! In one episode, crates of radioactive seeds land on the island, and the castaways plant them! Turns out the seeds are Super Seeds! Everyone who eats the vegetables then develops superpowers. Mary Ann can see ships miles out to sea (carrots), Mrs. Howell has unlimited energy (beets), Gilligan becomes a strong man (spinach), etc. And in another episode, where the Professor thinks they're going to die of Vitamin C deficiency, Gilligan dreams about being Jack and the Beanstalk and he tries to steal orange seeds from the ogre (Skipper)...

moonlitfantaseas said...

your tomato plat makes me jealous, I have 18 plants in my garden, but we haven't had much of a summer here , so I am just now getting flowers on my plants......hopefully I will get some fruit before the season is over!

Judy said...

Oh poor Alice...perhaps it is her way of telling you she is a vegetarian. Do I see a "square foot" garden? It is amazing what you can fit in those raised beds. I love mine, we put in 7 new beds in this year. I have been picking tomatoes, squash, green beans, cukes and peppers.
I love your new bronze pieces, I see a beautiful necklace in the horizon.

Vintajia Adornments said...

My tomatoes have just started to flower and its mid winter here.
The garden destructors around here are brush turkeys. Everything and anything is fair game when they take to building their nest mounds.

Patty said...

How could a dog with a face like that be in so much trouble? She's cuuuute! I think I have tomato envy.

Marsha of Marsha Neal Studio said...

Those tomatoes look delish! I hope Alice doesn't like tomatoes… ;) But look at that face… She knows exactly what she's doing and how to make up for it!

stregata said...

Oh Alice... she loves carrots, does she? I once knew a dog that loved pears - particularly fresh from the tree - whether they were ripe or not... it was so funny to watch him with the pear in his mouth and tugging and tearing at the branches...
Your tomatoes are doing better than mine - our summer is a catastrophe...
Love the elements of your meditative necklace - it is sure to be gorgeous when it comes together.

steufel said...

That is so funny that Alice loves carrots - and how could you be mad at someone who makes such a face:-) Your components are so pretty!

Laura Twiford said...

Oh yeah, that's a guilty, I'm sorry i was a bad dog face if ever i saw one! So cute! But then again it wasn't my garden!

Regina said...

How could anyone be mad at Alice? Have a great weekend.

My Life Under the Bus said...

Bahahaha Alice looks completely unawares of her naughtiness! I was thinking of Gilligans Island too!!!

mairedodd said...

the necklace will be magical and soothing... those pieces are divine.. i have a deep connection to that mantra - to the point that i had 'om' tattooed on my thumb so i could see it at all times...