“Citrus Demin” Hand stamped ceramic pendant, oxide rub, celadon and clear glazes; found beads and custom made black cord with stainless steel clasp
This one’s available too at the Annual Salmonberry Silent Auction and Dinner – the school’s main fundraiser event – that takes place this Saturday evening, May 4th on Orcas Island. The details are in the description in the photo caption above. This beautiful piece measures 2.25″ x 3″ and comes with a 16″ black cord, all beautifully packaged in a giftbox. Mother’s Day gift? If this one speaks to you, contact me at optimismandco@gmail.com with your bid (any amount) BEFORE 3pm Pacific Standard Time, Saturday, May 4th and I’ll put your name on the bid list. I’ll contact you with delivery details if you win!
‘Moover and Shaker’ Pin, pendant and bag tag “You Moove Me” Pin, pendant and bag tag“A Moodern Heart” pin, pendant and bag tag
Three of my latest cow pins/pendants/bagtags are available for bids this Saturday at the Salmonberry School Silent Auction and Dinner on Orcas Island – the school’s annual fundraiser. Each pin measures 2.5″ x 2″ and is handstamped and carved from brown clay that is then glazed in iron oxide and satin white. If there’s one you like, contact me at optimismandco@gmail.com with your bid (any amount) BEFORE 3pm Pacific Standard Time, Saturday, May 4th and I’ll put your name on the bid list. I’ll contact you with delivery details if you win!
I’ve taken the plunge and bought the domain name. May I officially *ahem* launch optimismandco.com. Thank you for sharing this sweet moment with me 😉 It’s a special day, and I am liking how it looks as a label made on my trusty old-school, hand-powered DYMO labeler. Join me in a toast? And, see you soon!
I am drawing inspiration from this palm-sized leather-bound book with a gold stenciled cover that reads “Guide To Piety” and is very likely over a 110 years old! A schedule of holy days in the beginning pages starts from 1902 and ends in 1928. I can barely make out the cursive handwriting in faded pencil on the inside cover. Perhaps it was a gift that became a reliable talisman on a bedside table, held so much the leather is worn.
Let me explain. The Orcas Library holds a book sale a few times a year and last Saturday was the Winter Sale. We always make a point to go – one part out of an obligation to support one of our favourite places on Orcas, one part something to do with the kids and one part succumbing to the thrill of the hunt. Books, mostly donated by islanders – from gorgeous coffee table books to Beginning Readers – are priced from 50 cents to $2 for hardcovers. Isn’t it bewildering that the books are cheaper than gift wrap, not to mention premium rolls of toilet paper? And yet, the sale was a quiet affair. If this had been at Walmart and on DVDs…
But I digress, I wanted to show off my score – this little book was too beautifully distressed for me not to pick up. There is something so simple and quiet about its appeal, sitting on that ‘Religious’ sale table amidst newer titles that just seemed to demand your piety, and loudly too – so loud I usually shuffle past. *Laugh* Which has left me wondering, is this some sort of sign? In the middle of Lent, too.
It’s a simple gesture but in the late throes of winter, or anytime of year for that matter, a good old-fashioned piece of personally addressed snail mail amidst the droll stack of bills, bank statements and assorted mass mailers would be enough to brighten my day.
Would it do the same for you? Try it. ‘FOLLOW’ me, ‘LIKE’ my blog, and share your thoughts below and I’ll write to you on one of these two cards. Don’t forget to leave your name and snail mail address too. I’m starting with 20 cards to send, anywhere in the world!
XOXO,
Sharon
P.S. OR, leave a comment on my blog and send me your address at optimismandco@gmail.com
I made this during the class. The crystal beads are on brass wire so the legs move. They were attached to the clay and cured together in a toaster oven at 275°F for 20 mins for permanency. The moveable arms were attached afterwards.
Go ahead, be a stick-in-the-mud potter (pun intended) and cringe, but polymer clay offers incredible elasticity, negligible shrinkage and versatility. Case in point: Orcas Island artist Maria Papademetriou uses it to create ethereal sinuous ‘veins’ around driftwood branches as part of her assemblages.
I found this out first hand at an Introduction to Polymer Clay workshop by the very gracious Maria herself, whose intriguing artwork reference shrines, amulets and talismans from her Greek Orthodox childhood. The class was held at Monkey Puzzle Workshop – a cosy, new art-discovery space at Eastsound Square launched by the inimitably bedecked Ms. Sallie Bell, as an extension of her stone bead and metal jewelry shop, Monkey Puzzle, a few doors down. In fact Sallie joined the class and together with Charlotte Sumrall, a textile artist, we three had a great time watching Maria’s demos, and getting our hands dirty with rolling and cutting the polymer clay (a hand-cranked pasta maker is involved), stamping with ink, and even applying gold leaf. It is just the most agreeable and approachable medium! To my delight, the material fees included some bead shopping at Sallie’s shop for embellishments to add to our ‘masterpiece’.
Charlotte’s Gal
Sallie’s Belle
Maria has over 35 years of experience working with ceramics, but she is infectiously enthusiastic about polymer clay as a medium. Her enthusiasm alone made the class really interesting. She is an engaging speaker and generously opened the window to precious little tips from years of art practice. Oh, and she also brought a mean plate of homemade chocolate brownies. It was a Sunday well spent. I am still too much in love with ceramic clay but I AM already thinking of using polymer clay elements to incorporate into my own mixed media work.
There’s another class this Sunday. Check it out.
Sunday January 27th 10am-12pm 1pm-4pm
Location: Monkey Puzzle Workshop, Eastsound Square, Orcas Island
Fee is $50, plus a $20 materials fee.
PREREGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Please contact 317-5522 or email monkey@rockisland or information/registration.
P.S. Did you know there is a Northwest Polymer Clay Guild? Check out their site to see the work of artists already using this medium.
We are well into cold misty mornings  and I have had the excitement of choosing my first wool sweater to wear to kick off the season.  But seriously, the change in season has been made more distinct by the quiet after the bulk of tourists and summer residents have packed up and left, flying south, like the geese that are now a common sight on all the beaches.  With that, many of the restaurants and retail shops are cutting back their hours to just a few evenings and weekends, with some already shut, like Lily’s our favorite ice-cream shop.  This is the economic reality of living in a summer tourist spot, on an island to boot.
The windswept landscape with low clouds and occasional bursts of sunshine are as poetic as they come and I find the cold quiet beaches a welcome relief, after the carloads of families with their cheery togs and summer cliches have headed back to the ‘burbs. Â But Main Street’s quiet belies a frenetic local pace, as farmers and gardeners haul in their harvests and can, dry, smoke and pickle for the winter.
With the fall sports season winding down for island kids, musical instruction is on our horizon. Perhaps violin and ukelele? Â The prospect of long dark winter afternoons filled with the strains (now I understand this deeper meaning) and whines of instruments performing under duress is surely more charming than the reality of being present. But music would be a perfect distraction for idle fingers confined indoors by the weather, and perhaps, it may keep those vicious raccoons and the odd heat seeking rodent away.
Summer is winding down and the nip in the air is saying ‘fair warning’. I am glad for a week’s long respite from Three October workload so I can squeeze in some afternoon walks in the late summer sunshine. Â Just up the street – 5 minutes – is the Cascade Trail that winds up the side of a pretty waterfall that was once the conduit for Moran’s water supply, from Cascade Lake above, for his mansion on the Rosario waterfront, now a resort. Â Abject, gaping, rusting metal pipe line guide our way, red-brown in the leafy shadows, some teetering above a drop. Â Atmospheric, they too offer a ‘fair warning’ – stand back.
The water is sparkling but the path that winds its gentle way around the lake is cool, sheltered by the leaning woods.  Theo is picking his way, sometimes ahead, sometimes behind, chattering incessantly.  He loves these hikes, even if he does get squeamish about the giant slugs that loll across the trail like tomorrow doesn’t matter.  There are ferns everywhere and cobwebs too – silvery wisps to elaborate shawls from more illustrious weavers. Quietly refreshed, we hurry home for dinner. A dead bird lies on the side of the road home.
“Look mommy, I guess he’s going to be spending his time in heaven…or hell, I am not sure.”
“That depends,” I said, “I don’t know if he’s been a good bird or not.”
I could not resist a ‘teachable moment’ even when I was undecided what I wanted to teach. Â Oops too late, so begins a deliberation on what happened in hell and heaven and whether it was forever.
“In hell, do you feel guilty all the time, forever?”
“Yes, that’s it,” I said.
That’s about the right pitch for now. Â Fair warning too, I guess.
The boys are discovering early that simple pleasures can be sublime. Â This was an impromptu picnic on the quieter side of Cascade Lake, after we went to the annual Children’s concert that is part of the Orcas Island Music Festival. Â Buns, roasted pork and Honest Green Tea from the supermarket. Enthusiasm, 100% Vaccarella.
optimismandco.com 
