Feeling Sentimental...

I love teapots. All sorts of them. Old, new, fat, skinny, tall, short - it doesn't matter. I love the graceful lines of their spouts and the feelings they invoke inside me. Growing up, I used to drink tea with my Grandma. Actually, you couldn't really call it tea - mostly milk and sugar with a little Earl Grey mixed in. We would get our tea ready and Grandma would let me sit and drink it in her living room watching TV, and I would feel very grown up and special.

Grandma died a few years ago after nearly 10 years of progressive dementia at the age of 96. It was a strange emotional experience for me. I haven't lived in my hometown since I left for college nearly 30 years ago, and didn't get to see her very often. Yes, I got home to see my family at least once a year, but I didn't see Grandma on a regular basis like they did, and when I did get to see her, most of the time, she didn't recognize me. I guess in my mind, the woman I knew had passed on years before, and her actual death didn't seem as much as a loss to me as it might have otherwise.

A few months after her death as I was getting ready for a show, I finally grouted a teapot I'd glued the pieces to months before. I love how it turned out. I used old English china, along with a lot of other bits and pieces, and it turned out great. The black grout really showed off the bright colors of the beads and glass in the piece, and highlighted the broken china patterns beautifully.

Usually I get a chance to live with my pieces for a while before I sell them, but this time I needed to make sure I had enough mosaics to take with me, so I brought the teapot along. In reality, most of my mosaic sales from that type of show are for commissioned pieces, and I usually don't sell a whole lot of my higher-priced already-made pieces, so I was not expecting it to sell anyway.

Wouldn't you know it - the teapot sold right away. As I was packing it up to give to my customer, I was struck by a sadness that came out of nowhere. I had no idea what had caused it, and that bothered me a little. Later in the day it hit me - not only did I not get to spend time with this piece before selling it, but I realized that when I created it, it had been a love letter to Grandma. Finally I felt it - the loss of a wonderful, amazing woman who had given me a loving place to just be who I was, without apology or affectation, for my entire childhood. My heart filled with love and loss, and I finally grieved.

I miss Grandma, and at that moment I finally let myself feel that loss. I think I'll do another teapot - just for me this time - and have a cup of Earl Grey with milk and sugar now and again to remind me of her and the love she gave to me.

______________________________

This post originally appeared on this blog on May 2, 2008.

Grandma's Quilt: September Art Bead Scene and Love My Art Jewelry Monthly Challenges

"Grandma's Quilt"

Art Bead Scene Inspiration Artwork
"Housetop" by Lillie Mae Pettway

My grandmother is one of my most favorite people I was blessed to have in my life. She taught me so many things, and was an incredible influence on my character - on the woman I am today. I wrote about her in a blog post called "Teapots" (which you can read here) where I spoke about my childhood and the wonderful times I spent with her.

When I saw this month's challenges for Art Bead Scene and for Love My Art Jewelry, I knew that I would be combining them into one piece called "Grandma's Quilt". She was the person who taught me to sew and to embroider. I'm not very good at all at either, but she was patient and persistent, and I loved the stories she would tell me as we sat together at the sewing machine or with our projects on our laps.

Her mother used to knit, and made the quilt squares these pictures were taken on that my grandmother crocheted together into a quilt. I've had it for my whole life, and someday I will pass it on to my grandchildren and tell them about the remarkable woman who gave it to me.

Glass Mosaic Micro-Mosaic Focal:  Molly Alexander

Lampwork Beads: Blue Seraphim

Vintage buttons, beads, etc.

To see more of the Art Bead Scene entries, you can go to their Flickr group here and read more about the inspiration artwork here.

To see more of the Love My Art Jewelry Art Spark entries, you can go to their Flickr group here and read more about this month's challenge here.

Violets In Springtime...

I've been working hard on some new pieces to sell in my Etsy shop for Mother's Day.  I wanted to evoke the feelings I always got when I visited my grandmother's home.  She was an unbelievable gardener, and always had violets in the Springtime. 

For the focal, I soldered a copper bezel to copper sheet that I etched with a wild rose pattern.  Using digital collage images behind an antique Bulova watch face, I tried to evoke the colors of Springtime.

The simple 27" chain is made from hand-made copper wire-wrapped links made from Czech fire-polished glass beads in lovely shades of lavender, violet and palest blue, copper chain, and a handmade copper clasp.

Happy shopping!

** As I was writing this post, this piece sold, so check back soon for more Mother's Day pieces! **

Teapots...

I love teapots. All sorts of them. Old, new, fat, skinny, tall, short - it doesn't matter. I love the graceful lines of their spouts and the feelings they invoke inside me. Growing up, I used to drink tea with my Grandma. Actually, you couldn't really call it tea - mostly milk and sugar with a little Earl Grey mixed in. We would get our tea ready and Grandma would let me sit and drink it in her living room watching TV, and I would feel very grown up and special.


Grandma died this past January, after nearly 10 years of progressive dementia at the age of 96. It was a strange emotional experience for me. I haven't lived in my hometown since I left for college nearly 22 years ago, and didn't get to see her very often. Yes, I got home to see my family at least once a year, but I didn't see Grandma on a regular basis like they did, and when I did get to see her, most of the time, she didn't recognize me. I guess in my mind, the woman I knew had passed on years ago, and her actual death didn't seem as much as a loss to me as it might have otherwise.

Last week as I was getting ready for a show, I finally grouted a teapot I'd glued the pieces to months ago. I love how it turned out. I used old English china, along with a lot of other "stuff", and it turned out great. The black grout really showed off the bright colors of the beads and glass in the piece, and highlighted the broken china patterns beautifully.

Usually I get a chance to "live with" my pieces for a while before I sell them, but this time I needed to make sure I had enough mosaics to take with me, so I brought the teapot along. In reality, most of my sales from this type of show are for commissioned pieces, and I usually don't sell a whole lot of my higher-priced already-made pieces, so I was not expecting it to sell anyway.

Wouldn't you know it - the teapot sold right away. As I was packing it up to give to my client, I was struck by a sadness that came out of nowhere. I had no idea what had caused it, and that bothered me a little. Later in the day, I called my mom just to check in. As I was telling her about the show, it hit me - not only did I not get to spend time with this piece before selling it, but I realized that, when I created it, it had been a love letter to Grandma. Finally I felt it - the loss of a wonderful, amazing woman who had given me a safe and loving place to just be who I was, without apology or affectation, for my entire childhood. My heart filled with love and loss, and I finally grieved.

I miss Grandma, and I have finally let myself feel that loss. I think I'll do another teapot - just for me this time - and have a cup of Earl Grey with milk and sugar now and again to remind me of her and the love she gave to me.