(glimpses) - outbreak

be warned! dandelion outbreak in progress ... in a day or so with a a bit rain and lots of beautiful sunshine,  the dandelions have swept through the field as we had our backs turned....































spring certainly is in full force now and this is just what we had been waiting for....



































 and it hasn't taken long for the maples and birches to follow...all at once, all is racing forward now...

































in the studio, a long overdue reorganization and tidying has started ...


i've started with the easier bit, while I figure out best to re-situate workshop machinery and work surfaces

and a little something different I've been working on some pottery and ceramics pieces over the last few months...

a carved ceramic tile with a very proud stallion against starry night sky ... just a sketch of some ideas for new projects I hope to be working on for the fall :) 

some of hand thrown bowls that have been fired once and awaiting glazing and second firing (I was in a rush this day, so managed to take some very fuzzy pictures!)

the first set that I made that have come home with me and are getting used at dinner regularly:)


 well I guess that's it for now ...hope you are having a great week!

(at the workbench) - tools of the trade

this is where I had written the post last week ... but some unhappy strangeness has made it all disappear 

(there are times I really, really do not like working with blogger and this definitely counts as one)

that said these are a few pictures of a updated  version of the woodworker's tool sets I've been working on in April.

it's been a few years now since I've offered Woodworker's Tool Set for the Very Young.

the new updated sets made from a beautiful native maple will ready soon ... but for now a few pictures in process .....

between some gorgeous days of sunshine, we have had lots of rain ...

and have been learning which roads are friendly and which are not ... at least now this risky behavior is well marked with bright orange signs the roads department has put up to warn us that turning back is the wiser choice....have a great weekend and stay well!

(at the workbench) - a clover leaf

this week, i only have a few images to share of some hand-carved clover leaves i'd been working on.  the pictures show the leaves at the early stages of sawing out the profiles, roughing and shaping. i also have few other leaf shapes I started a while back, so hope to share them soon too.

have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for visiting! 

(glimpses) - no small change

how is it that one place ends and another starts ...all those  days that had become years but they've disappeared suddenly with a new door

and those open fields, little woods and mountains have turned 

into little streams and bridges, bricks and mortar

not so little changes still have us looking back even as we settle into  happy new places we could never quite have forseen ...

(at the workbench)- little picture frames

settling back into a few new projects I've had in my thoughts for some time ....

some for our little home ... crocheted squares for a throw for my daughter and some hand carved wooden waldorf picture frames to share..
 
I've been asked a number of times whether I might  be able to make these picture frames available through my workshop.... so they'll be available here soon....








and perhaps a few wooden spoons and other friendly figures for the nature table will show them selves in the days to come...

and though we are already in mid-January  and a bit late to send best wishes for the new year ...  I'm hoping everyone has a wonderful start to 2012!!

(at the workbench) - very little

It is true ....  little things are very sweet ....

  this week, as the rabbits overrun my workbench,  some wee babies have just been born ....

 I wasn't sure how small the wee ones would be, but as it turns out the baby bunnies are smaller than a pine cone

and still even smaller than a clothes pin ...

 Here are their parents Mr. Long Ears and Mama Hears a Sound (just in case you haven't had a chance to meet them), they are so very happy to at last have the little ones near by ...

the bunnies are they haven't open their wide eyes.... but they will (and I hope you'll be able to visit with them again soon!)

And a little note:  This Saturday I will be returning to my process feature sharing traditions of woodworking,  toy making, and of old and perhaps forgotten crafting techniques.  If you have time,  please come visit again.

(glimpses) - between worlds… and waiting for spring

Some of the trench digging has long been abandoned ....   the mighty orange shovel is not so mighty after all (but perhaps it is me ... tiring)

Spring will help clear a path to the front door,  past Mrs. Robin's nest still covered deep in winter snow... We two are encouraged by little thaws to go venturing into the still deep whiteness ... in search of something that might let us know that Spring is on her way...

we find that Goldenrod's head is not so golden ...  what signs are there?
 

we lay down these little things we have found on the table ...

little treasures found in the still nearly constant whiteness that has been set aside in little places ...

and with a lesson or two ... (did I once know how ?) ... I am taught how to knit pine cone brown while we wait a a bit longer for Spring. ...













Sometimes it is enough that the old King Winter is companioned by golden sunshine to make us smile while we wait for Spring.

(at the workbench) - love spoons and other conversations (wip)

there is a long history of spoons that tell a story ... some of those stories speak of true love and vows ....













and other stories that herald of a new life ...




here is my little beginning to that conversation ... of a story written with love in a little block of cherry wood...

(at the workbench) - glowing

I am so excited about my current projects ...  I  still have more photos to take, but wanted to share a little look

.... I hope to start posting these luminous candle holders later today here.










 Children studying a Waldorf curriculum enjoy the very magical study of form drawing. The forms they draw are both simple and complex. They are mathematical and artistic. They are taught to instruct the child in many ways.  Gracefully drawn,  they fill the childrens' handmade books  ....

While working on my own projects, I came across this wonderful chart that is used to express how geometric shapes relate to one another ...

In my mind I can see a very wonderful shifting of forms in all these studies. Happily dancing shapes that change from one form to another in delight. I can understand why a mathematics teacher might be so very excited to teach geometry to his or her students ...


Geometry and forms are alive in this way ... and that is what I I envision when I am working with "living design".

... forms that are both exact  yet organic and dynamic...












... while I wait for delivery of parcel filled with sweet smelling, honey-scented beeswax ...

to make more little tins of my  "Bee's Make Polish by Bright Sunlight" beeswax polish

... I will share that I will be adding a larger tin size and second special blend to the traditional one that I love... 

... the rain is coming down like a waterfall now ... and I am thinking about all things warm, cozy and glowing as I work inside the studio today. 



Happy Autumn!

(glimpses) - corners of the workbench

How lush and green it is outside ....
a rainy and joyful weekend ... I am clearing the workbench for tomorrow's work .

 ... here are some glimpses of projects now in progress .... that I look forward to sharing in the coming week....








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Hope you are enjoying a beautiful weekend where ever you are.

(glimpses) - pasta + shavings