Ode to the Summer Sun

Well, I'm finally back after a very long hiatus where everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. My computer seems to be working for the time being so I'm grateful to finally be blogging again.

School started today much to the chagrin of my 10 year old. Even though it is August, albeit the last day, I can all ready feel fall quickly approaching. It's a little sad really even though I do like fall. So, I figured I would do a little picture review of my garden in rememberance of summer.



My newest water lily. I was so surprised it actually bloomed the first year.



A view of my walkway garden in early summer with the lilies, hostas, and bee balm all in bloom.



My new garden on one side of my archway filled to the brim with nicotania.



And last but not least, my beautiful lavender rose in black and white just because I prefer it better than the color version.

Hope you enjoy the last days of summer. Girl Scout honor I'll be back tomorrow.

Tranquility

The latest addition to my Etsy shop and ring collection is my Tranquility ring. It's a copper band ring that has been accented with copper tube set sapphires. 5 of them to be exact! I've had these little sapphires laying around for quite some time but never had anything to do with them. I think they look magnificent against the copper.

The ring itself has been formed from copper sheet. The copper sheet was rolled over a copper tube to create a one piece effect. Originally, I had only planned for there to be two smaller tube settings on the other side of this roll, but I changed my mind. I decided there wasn't enough depth. I'm glad I did. Looks better with the three, don't you think? I then set the sapphires in all the tubes including either end of the roll. The name tranquility came about from the blue of the sapphires.

In other news, it's a very dreary day here. So much so, I am missing summer even though it hasn't completely gone yet. I will mourn it until it returns next year which seems oh so far away from now. I do believe I would be quite happy to live somewhere where it's summer all year. So, for those of you who are mourning the loss of summer like me, I will leave you with an original photograph by me to remind you of the joys of summer.

Jewelry Camp

It has been one of those weeks around here, and that's all I'm going to say.

I recently got the new Art Jewelry magazine. I can't tell you how much I love this magazine. I love the way it is arranged, the very interesting articles, and most especially, the gallery. In case you haven't read it, you should.

This month, they had an article on jewelry retreats. Summer camp, if you will, for jewelers.
There are several held around the country, and I'm quite sure there are more than they listed. The article focused on what to expect when you go to one of these retreats. It is very similar to the summer camp you went to as a child. The differences are that you focus on a single class, and now that you are grown, you have a drivers license.

I have always wanted to go to one of these retreats, but various things seem to get in the way. A week or two week intensive study is the best way for someone, a stay at home mom, to study when there aren't any local classes to take. I don't mind sharing a room with 13 others. I have two, Penland School of Crafts and William Holland School of Lapidary Arts, that I am particularly interested in. Both of these schools offer intensive one week classes, but they each offer very different courses in study. I could probably stay the whole summer at William Holland and not take all the classes I would like, but Penland also offers scholarship programs. This year I don't think it is a possibility, but maybe next year.

Here's the other schools that the article mentioned in case you are interested in finding one near you:

John C. Campbell Folk School(offers classes in painting, photography, and other points of interest)
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
MAKER: Metal Art Workshops and Educational Retreat