Handmade Heart Art: Violet Haze. Geisha Girls in my garden. Homesteaders Coop. Original Photography.
Haze. Rice papers.
Embedded with dried hydrangeas.
Geisha Girls. Draped in deep purple. Reach to the sky.
A new year filled with grace and beauty, mystery and resolve.
~Ally.
A creative who is learning to be patient and trusting all will be.
A spirit that is preparing to fly into new creative realms and share the journey.
~Ally.
Review of my past week.
- First of all, I'm over the moon about being accepted as a member of the Power House Creatives group.
The Power House Creatives evolved from Steemit Bloggers. The brainchild of @jaynie, the PHC is a private discord community of individuals, committed to producing content that adds value across multiple platforms. Members are strongly focused on supporting and caring for their fellow members and are governed by strict guidelines.
- I've continued to collect wild duck feathers at the Roseville Lake. In my last article, I mentioned the nudge to start making some Magic Wands as another product for the Homesteaders Coop.
Only wouldn't you know it? Before settling into working out how to make the new Magical Wands the Creative Muse wanted to photograph EVERY feather and was then inspired to make some new 'Flatlays' with the feathers. And there went another day ~ In the twinkling of an artist's eye for beauty.
And another few days of gathering feathers and photographing them.
Inspired by @scrawly's step by step presentations that show the different stages of his digital drawings and paintings, as well as wanting to make short videos of my own processes, I eventually settled on purchasing Wondershare's Filmora9 video editor.
Another few days of learning how to make a VERY simple video.
Opening a Vimeo account and uploading my first video. At the moment it's only a free account and my one and only video has already used 3/5 ths of the weekly limit.
In the process of finding sounds (rather than music) for my future videos, I've gone to the lake at dawn and listened ~ Just listened to the magical music of all the birdlife there. Such a beautiful thing to do that my heart tells me I need to do more often this year.
The next step is to find a device that can capture these natural sounds. Any suggestions are most welcome.
Growth of the Homesteaders Co-op.
It's been wonderful to witness the increasing interest in the Homesteaders Co-op over the past few weeks and connect with some of the homesteaders and makers there. A hearty applause for @sagescrub who has made this all possible.
Our vendors are making an effort in one way or another to incorporate sustainability into their handmade products and/or their lifestyles. We want to let a larger audience know about their hard work, who they are, their beautiful products and what they are doing to make a difference in our world. Their efforts deserve to be seen. ~@homesteaderscoop.
The Homesteaders Co-op website now has:
18 vendors from all over the world: Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal and the United States:
Offering just under 140 different products that include honey, plants and seeds, eBooks on raising chickens and worm farming, beer bottle candles, floral art sculptures and wood decor, dreamcatchers and wreaths, organic herbs, tinctures and oils, vegan creams and salves, hand-dyed cotton and wool yarns, clothing, sea glass and silver jewelry, wallets and accessories, handmade paper sheets and tags, journals and diaries, colouring books and stickers.
Two extremely well-supported contests:
The first: Contest: Find and Review a Homesteader's Shop - 14 total SBI in rewards. Deadline: January 22nd, 8 pm UTC.
The second: Contest: Product Review - 1000 SP in delegations, 50 Steem Monster booster packs and 20 shares of SBI - For Shopping at Homesteaders Co-op. Deadline: February 12th, 11:59 pm UTC.
The Homesteaders Co-op is a collective group of Steemit artisans that accept SBD and STEEM and now USD via Paypal for their handmade, sustainable, environmentally friendly products, services and handicrafts. ~@homesteaderscoop
We care about living and working sustainably, peacefully, with intention and with respect for mother earth, the environment and fellow man. We care about strong community values and making a difference together. ~@homesteaderscoop
To find out more about the Homesteaders Co-op and how you can become a vendor or support the current vendors read @homesteaderscoop's Introductory Article: Supporting a Steem Community Economy: Intention, values and ethics in our products.
My Nests.
Just before I show you the different views of Violet Haze, let me explain how I came to start making my paper mache baskets and containers in the first place.
I've been making small 'nests' from paperbark, vines and other natural materials collected from the forest floor of our nearby bushland for several years. The original 'nests' were made as hanging baskets for plants, containers for flower arrangements or for holding personal treatures in.
In the above photograph, the outer casing made from Spanish Moss, embedded with dried loofah fiber, dried fern fronds and lichens is barely visible.
And so now, I'd like to show you the actual 'nest' and how it was lined with one of my first Japanese rice paper baskets. Sometime I'll describe and illustrate the whole process of making of this actual 'nest.'
But then it always seemed to be such a shame to completely hide their inner beauty.
~Ally. WHAT IS IT? Ephemeral Art.
These nests have been wonderful as gifts for friends, but I'm not sure yet as to whether our Australian Customs will allow them to travel through Australia Post ~ Even within Australia. It's still on the agenda to find out of course but in the meantime, this 'challenge' led me to the idea of making paper, embedded with dried flowers and leaves, fiber and lichens, to then make my current range of Heart Art Baskets with.
The inside of the Heart Art Basket: Violet Haze.
This Heart Basket measures 130 by 120 mms and is 70 mms in height.
It was designed and made with two layers of different rice papers: The outer layer was made from a fine rice paper in soft violet. The inner layer was made from an off-white rice paper embedded with dried hydrangeas.
Look for the embedded dried hydrangeas in the enlarged image.
Embedded dried hydrangeas between the layers.
Before I actually made the basket, I first embedded a few dried hydrangeas between pieces of medium weight and lighter weight Japanese rice papers.
I make and use my own paste from organic tapioca flour.
The underneath side of the Heart Art Basket: Violet Haze.
The outer layer was made from a fine rice paper in soft violet.
The sides of the Heart Art Basket: Violet Haze.
This view shows the separate layers of the different rice papers.
Unlike conventional paper mache, I like to leave some of the paper that makes up the layers slightly unstuck in areas. So that instead of a completely even surface, it looks more like the bark of a paperbark tree.
I also leave the edges of the baskets 'wispy' and carefully separate the different pieces of paper, curling and twisting them when they are semi-dry.
Creating textures between the layers.
If you look closely at the photograph above showing the sides of the Heart Art Basket, particularly on the left-hand side, there appears to be a separation between the inner and the outer casings.
The 'separation' was actually made with the teased out fibres of a dried gourd, sandwiched between pieces of medium weight and lighter weight Japanese rice papers. Creating the most wonderful texture.
Heart Art Baskets. What can they be used for?
These Heart Art Baskets make wonderful bowls for flower arrangements or they can be used simply as ornaments or containers for your keepsakes, jewelry or spare coins.
While they are lightweight and look quite delicate, the baskets are reasonably sturdy.
Resilence of Heart Art Baskets.
Unlike glass or ceramics, these Heart Art Baskets won't break or chip: It was hard for me to do, but in order to test for breakage, I let one of the baskets fall from bench height, onto a hard floor and it just 'rolled over.'
Being made of paper you won't be able to put one of these baskets into a dishwasher or soak them in hot water.
While I wouldn't recommend it, I tested one of my other Heart Art Baskets to see if it could be rinsed under cold running water and it stood up well to that. Just had to leave it to dry naturally overnight. So that if one of these baskets was accidentally splashed with a little bit of water it would be fine.
I could coat the baskets in resin to make them completely waterproof. However, it would lose its charm of being an eco product. Besides if a basket is taken good care of, by just giving it a light dust every now and then, it should live for many years.
However, if there ever comes a time for you to 'farewell' your Heart Art Basket, unlike plastic it will completely breakdown in your compost or garden.
A creative who is learning to trust the mystery of what will be.
A spirit that is willing to fly into new creative realms and share the journey.
~Ally. Handmade Heart Art: With summer flowers from my garden.
Assemblage and Photography: ©Alison Lee Cousland.
SONY Mark2 A7: 35 mm:
Posted from Earth ♥︎ Sand ♥︎ Water ♥︎ Ice with SteemPress : http://www.allyinspirit.info/2019/01/16/handmade-heart-art-violet-haze-geisha-girls-in-my-garden-homesteaders-coop-original-photography/
Pretty neat creation you made here. Sounds like the homesteader co-op is a coming place to check out, thanks for sharing.
I've been wishing and hoping that someone at Steemit would design a Marketplace where Steem and SBD could be used as payment for hand made artifacts and other creative works. I've seen a few since I've been at Steemit ~ BUT NOTHING LIKE the website that @sagescrub has set up now. If you haven't been there yet, it's at http://homesteaderscoop.com. Started with 6 vendors about 2 months ago and now there are three times that many.
I've just done a review on one of the vendors there. It's a long read, if you are up to it. Find and Review a Homesteader's Shop. Homegrown and Handmade Dried Flower Arrangements by Idyllwild. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
Congratulations in joining the Power House Creative group :D. It's always fun to meet likeminded people, so I hope you'll get a lot of new cool friends.
And your heart craft art is so purrdy. It amazes me that you can find normal things and combine them together and make something beautiful out of it :D.
I applied to join Steemit Bloggers last year, just as Jaynie was preparing for its transition to Power House Creatives ~ So it was a wonderful surprise this week to hear that I'd been accepted into the folds. I like the strictness of the guidelines ~ Where everyone supports others in the group.
It feels like that's been one of my lifelong pursuits @scrawly ~ To take something that's usually seen as being ordinary or mundane and perceive it differently so that if it's then included in a drawing or painting or little basket that magic can be felt.
I've been admiring your step by steps which have now led me to do something I've wanted to do for years. Make videos. I've used programs like Animoto, but want to learn how to do my own transitions etc as well as use my own sound recordings. Way to go. Hope you're surviving the heart ok. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
PHC (@steemitbloggers) is a fabulous community - welcome on board! Your flowers are amazing!
I'm loving being with the Power House Creatives community @fionasfavourites. Such a wonderfully vibrate and talented group of people. I'm musing with the idea of writing fiction sometime ~ Although I've never done it before. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
There is always a first time! I haven't either - not even dabbled. I do think, though, it's easier if you've been inspired by what others have written. Good luck!
Yes, I like that.
I've been finding some of the short stories written by PHC members really inspiring. Will just keep reading and stay alert for the whisperings of my muse. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
I love watching you get more involved with the Steem community! Your art pieces are so incredibly beautiful and more people should have the opportunity to view and enjoy!
Thanks ever so much Melinda.
I love the Steemit community. It's a wonderful place to be. So relatively new. So much opportunity. Something for everybody no matter what their interests.
Being part of the Power House Creatives is both incredibly supportive and inspiring. So many wonderful people coming together thanks to the work of @jaynie and @zord189 and everyone working together.
I'm really looking forward to having enough Heart Art baskets and Magical Wands to become one of the Homesteaders Coop vendors soon. Maybe you'll find your way to the Coop sometime as well? ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
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Thanks so much @c-squared. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
That's an amazing work. And once again a warm welcome from me in the powerhousecreatives community.
Thanks so much @ikarus. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
It will be interesting to see what you capture with nature's sound and how you use on the videos :)
It will definitely be different and interesting
I've found and been able to purchase some sounds tracks of Australian bird calls. My first video is just about ready to share. VERY simple but I like simple to start with. Lovely to connect with you now @kaerpediem. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
I will be looking out for it... :)
Welcome to the #powerhousecreatives! Such a great place to bee with strong people like yourself that makes it a powerhouse.
Awesome art and creativity lead to a beautiful piece for sure!
Thanks for your friendly welcome @zekepickleman. It's great to be a part of the Power House Creatives community now. It certainly lives up to its name. So pleased you like this work too ~ It's a relatively new way of working for me and I'm loving it. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
And again! Welcome to Power House Creatives! It's always good to meet new content creators like yourself who share the same passion as all of us in PHC. I hope that your journey will be much more fulfilling from here on out!
#powerhousecreatives
Thanks so much for your warm welcome @zord189. I feel really grateful to have been accepted into such an inspiring group of people. I have a feeling that my journey this year will show me how to consolidate many ideas and concepts that have been 'just hovering' about me for many years. And that the PHC will be quite instrumental in much of this. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
Come join the latest contest in the discord community-contest channel! :) Or you can join @zen-art's latest writing relay contest in the discord channel too!
This is so amazing to see how you accomplish the final product. Start to finish, there are so many steps that remain secreted among the moss of your beautiful baskets.
I am always in awe when I see these beautiful pieces of art, knowing full well that much goes into these seemingly natural pieces. Your work inspires my own thoughts to go racing about, trying to settle on what to do with them.
Thank you for always inspiring and for your thoughtful words, whether on a post or in a comment. Good luck on your new venture!
!tip
Thanks so VERY much for your appreciation Denice. You are so right and I love the way you expressed it with:
I think about showing the stages and explaining them in more detail ~ And actually take the photographs ~ But then it's on to making the next nest or at the moment video. But sometime I hope to be able to share the entire process.
I love the way the Creative Muse operates. She's really challenged to do something, procrastinates a lot, but then just sets about working out how to do it. Some things work ~ Others don't. But it's all in the process.
If anything I do has inspired your own creative processes ~ I feel that's the best compliment any artist can ever receive. Truly grateful for you expressing this.
Your Christmas ornaments really inspired me. And I actually bought some decorative birds at our local organic farmers market and decorated an Aussie Christmas Bush with them ~ Early on Christmas morning. Was too late for a Christmas post though so I'll save the series for this Chistmas now. But I'd love to give you a preview. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎