a few of my favorite things...mio studio jewelry

I was searching for an artist to feature this week on Handmade in PA, when Mio Studio just happened to pop up. I instantly loved the combination of wood and metal in their art jewelry. But what I really love about this jewelry is how they procure their materials.

Erica and Mayra lived in Puerto Rico for 5 years and belonged to the Institute of Culture there. They learned how to become resourceful and use only indigenous materials that they found on the island to fabricate their jewelry using shells, seed pods, and tiny scraps of wood.

They kept their resourcefulness alive when they moved back to the East Coast and began Mio Studio. Now they use scrap wood that they get from friends who are cabinet makers and scrap metal that they find, like old aluminum lawn chairs. The result is really stunning wearable sculptures.

For those that are reading this in PA or the general vicinity, Mio Studio will be exhibiting their wares at Long's Park Art and Craft Festival this weekend in Lancaster. And if you can't make that, no worries they have an etsy shop too.


Tomorrow is the last day to enter our giveaway. I'll make the selection saturday morning and announce the winner either saturday or sunday. If you haven't had a chance to read the comments, you should. There are some really lovely examples of handmade treasures and sweet stories of how they became the treasures that they are.

a few of my favorite things...carrie sterling mixed-media

We received very special addition to our art collection just this week, but it is already a favorite. My niece, Carrie, allowed us to select one thing from her portfolio, and this was John's selection. Carrie is headed off to art school next week. She'll be attending the Art Institute of Boston. That's going to be an awesome and exciting experience for her. And we are all proud that she made the decision to go to art school. And I am looking forward to see how her work changes as she has new experiences and learns new techniques.

Blue butterflies always show up when I am facing a lot of challenges. They are a reminder to keep looking up....to keep searching for the light. They are my wings. And this is the Proper Time.

Thank you so much, Carrie....and blessings to you as you embark on this exciting adventure in your life.

...

And tomorrow is the giveaway day.

a few of my favorite things…Susan Faeder quilts and collage

boro boro byobu 5

If it were not for Susan I would not be so addicted to Japanese fabrics, and I probably would not have learned the term wabi sabi. It’s not that Susan taught me that term, but she definitely helped start me off on a path that helped me discover it for myself.

Susan runs a beautiful little store called the Beckoning Cat in Lewisburg, PA, a little town near us. She offers a wonderful selection of beautiful fabrics from Japan and elsewhere and lovely Japanese gifts.

what the tide brings in 2

Besides bringing so many lovely fabrics and crafts westward, Susan makes beautiful quilts and fabric collages. I love the fabric combinations she uses in quilts, and she is so supportive and inspiring to fellow quilters and wannabes like me. She leads a yearly tour to Japan called Quilters’ Express to Japan and teaches workshops.

boro boro byobu 3

Her recent work with Japanese rags is really unique. I love their wabi sabi nature. And they are on exhibit right now at Gallery Blu in Harrisburg, PA as part of a “Japonisme” exhibit which features four artists from the west whose work is influenced by the art of Japan.

a few of my favorite things...charm breon pottery

Let me introduce you to a significant part of my life. My mug. I know it seems trivial, but this mug goes with me almost everywhere. I love everything about it. I love the rich earth color. I love the throw marks on the side that are highlighted by glaze. I love the little thumb perch. I love that it is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. This is the ultimate travel mug. It doesn't tip and it keeps tea warm because the shape keeps the heat in better than any other mug I own. I know because I've tested it.

My very good friend, Charm Breon, made this mug. Last summer she gave me my original favorite mug. One day I was coming home from early morning Qigong and toting my empty mug back into the house from the car when Sophie, my weimaraner, bonked her head on it. I heard a crack and my heart just sank. Sure enough, there was a very large crack in the cup. I tried to use other mugs, and I just couldn't do it. My tea actually tasted different. So I used the mug with the crack for 2 months until a large chunk fell out of the side.

My original favorite mug...I was doing a little brown green color study in this shot

You have to be Charm's friend to get one of these perfect mugs...so I don't have a website to refer you to unfortunately.

Let me tell you a little about Charm. Contrary to the image her name my stir up, she is one tough cookie. She was a professional mountain biker, and we raced together on a road racing team for a few years together (but that was about a lifetime and a half ago). She can outride most men on a bike. She also used to have a Harley. When I saw her a couple of weeks ago at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, I asked her what she was doing these days. She said, "I'm logging." My reply was, "of course you are."

I told Charm about my devotion to the mug she gave me the previous year. She said she would bring me another one. And true to her word, she delivered my new favorite mug on the last day of the show. And my tea has been outstanding ever since! Thanks Charm...personally, I think you should be a potter, but you'll always be one of those women that run with the wolves.

a few of my favorite things...daphne olive jewelry

At the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts last year, we had the pleasure of being just a couple of booths down from Daphne Olive. Quite honestly, what attracted me to her booth initially was her beautiful daughter, June. She was just Jude’s height and about the same age. They were quite the pair that week…June with her dark curly hair, and Jude with his blonde curly hair. Daphne and I were the nursing mamas on the block.

I usually don’t even look at jewelry because I’m very picky and most jewelry is over the top in my opinion. But Daphne’s jewelry is sublime. I am really drawn to her botanical line. I asked her what this was…


And she said something like “you know one of those weeds that you find in your yard.” I love the way she just finds random things and makes something beautiful out of it…so wabi sabi.


Daphne will be at the CPFA again this year July 9-12 with her beautiful jewelry and beautiful family. We are just 4 booths down from her near the corner of Allen Street and Fairmont Avenue. So if you’re in the neighborhood stop by. She also has a catalog on her website. Take a look. She has some really lovely jewelry!

a few of my favorite things...nancy cleaver calligraphy

Besides being a very dear friend of mine, Nancy Cleaver is a healer, an artist, and humanitarian. In some of her more recent work she combined the latter three of these roles to create her peace mandala series.

More personally, Nancy designed and created my wedding invitations, birth announcements, and a special card that was given at my first son, Bennett’s, celebration of life ceremony. When Bennett was being treated for brain cancer, Nancy faithfully sent little gifts of encouragement in the form of special cards, little books, collages. I have a very special collection of her work. Every year Nancy sends out a special Christmas card that she designs and prints herself. This year’s card featured two of the Peace mandalas. This one was on the front….

And this one was on the inside. These are words by Thich Nhat Hanh from his book Being Peace.

Besides being a master calligrapher, she has a way of allowing letters to shift shapes in order to engage and surprise the viewer and challenge their perspective. A healer of individuals and the world, Nancy’s work benefits us all.

Nancy's work was recently exhibited at Gallery Blu in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She can be reached at her studio in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania called Pensylvania Calligraphy and you can check out the Arts Thrive on 45 website for her contact information or send me an email. She is currently working on a project to fold 1000 peace cranes for the Hiroshima Day Event in August.

"Generate peace and it will regenerate you." ~Notty Bumbo