Showing posts with label Saintly Images. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saintly Images. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

4 Seasons Cross Stitch Update

Despite catching up on things after being ill for 5 days, I managed to finish the last berries and leaf on the Autumn square.
Now I only have background in the lower right corner and some top stitching on all 4 pieces and it will be done!

I'm thinking about the craft show I'll be doing in November and I decided to package the earrings I made rather than finding or making something to hang them on.
The cards are foam pieces I cut to fit in the plastic bags and the labeling is cut from my old business cards.  Simple but nice.  It will certainly be easier to set up than sorting through a bag of earrings all mixed together.  I have an old sewing machine drawer I think will work well for holding them.  
What do you think?

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

St Nicholas Print Now Available in My Etsy Store


I've made 3 prints from my original art of St Nicholas and they are now available in my Etsy store.

The prints are hand embellished with metallic ink, signed and dated and I have 3 different ones listed.  This one and one other are printed on 8.5" x 11" white paper and a 3rd one is on 5" x 7" faux parchment paper.

These icons are done with prismacolor colored pencils and metallic ink.  More to come, I'm currently working on an icon of St Christopher.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Sneak Peek at Newest Project


Several peeks at my newest project.



A lot more has to be done but it's coming along nicely.




Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Charm Bracelets Galore

I've been busy all week watching documentaries and creating bracelets for the Etsy shop and upcoming art/craft shows.
Lots of Saints
Mother Mary
Saints & Symbols
7 Arch Angels
Saints & Commandments
Lots of Crosses

These have been fun to make, I hope some folks will want to buy them!  They'll be up in the Etsy store this week.



Tuesday, August 20, 2013

My Newest Creations

I've been working hard getting some items ready to photograph so Debra and I can enter an art show.  I have a lot of inventory of saint necklaces but I had in mind something a bit more attention getting.
"That's just a decorated cigar box", you might say.  But let's open it!
And the best part...
The centerpiece inside is a pin you can actually wear ... and it has a tube on the back that you could put a small chain through to wear it as a necklace.
We only get 2 photos each to enter the jurying for the art show so I chose the 2nd one above and the one below to show off my wares.
Wish us luck we won't know if we get into the show until sometime in September.


Saturday, August 17, 2013

Sneak Peek at New Saintly Images

Here's a sneak peek at 3 of my new pin/pendants.
I'm claiming St Joan on the right for myself...after all I need to wear my own creations in order to promote them, right?

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

A Finished Madonna Pin/Pendant

Here's the newest group of saints after soldering.
The one at center bottom is actually finished as far as the pin/pendant part goes.
I tried out several types of beads and the faux pearls with the filigree gold plated beads seemed the prettiest to me.  It was quite fiddly but the size of the beads worked out perfectly.  
Here you can see my new method of making it a pin with the option of wearing it as a necklace if you run a small chain through the silver bead at the top. 

This pin/pendant will be going in a shrine box as the centerpiece.  So it will be a decor item as well as a wearable piece of art.

I'm pretty excited at how the new pieces are turning out.  Unfortunately the photos don't show the shadowbox effect that some have.  I need to work on the photography more.



Thursday, August 8, 2013

Saint Jewelry in Progress

Here's a couple of photos of my latest jewelry for Saintly Images in progress.
This is a selection of images I chose to work with and they are in various stages of collage.

Now they look like this.
The collage work is finished and is sandwiched between the glass and the wood backing, secured in place with copper tape.  The next step will be to solder.  

I usually do a group as it is easier when it comes to the soldering.  As you can see I have removed a couple of the images I first started with as they just didn't have the pizzazz I wanted.  

Some of these will be pins with the option to wear as a necklace and some will be just necklaces.  Up to now I have made 2 sided necklaces but I really like the idea of the piece being a pin or a necklace.  You can still wear it 2 ways.  

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

New & Exciting Project

Good old St John is on hold for a while.  I have new and exciting things in the works that so far have nothing to do with stitching but may turn my life completely around.  And I'm sorry for the quality on the photos, I had to use the flash.  
I usually make saint pendants but recently made some pins, or brooches as they are called in some places.  This one is tiny at just 3/4" square.
And I'm totally pleased with this one:
This St Francis is about twice the size and is in my collage style.  You probably can't tell but the background is real 23kt gold leaf.

The exciting part is that my friend Debra has inspired me to branch out into other directions with saints to fill my Etsy shop and is my new partner in my shop...as soon as she gets some items together for it.  Check out her blog to see her fabulous needlework including her piece that showed at the Sacred Threads Show in Washington DC.
Lots of new ideas are flowing and you'll get to see them here as I put them together.  

We are also planning to enter a juried art show here in Houston so keep your fingers crossed we get accepted.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

More Saints

The last 2 weeks saw several sales of saint pendants and a couple of special orders.

Saint Francis is a pocket icon and has his prayer on the reverse.  He was supposed to have a riza which is a metal covering over the background but it never did turn out right.  I finally removed all the soldering and did a simple edging.  The person who requested it may not want it without the riza but it will sell anyway, St Francis is very popular.  I did one several years ago that turned out great but it was an experiment.  Some days the solder does only what it wants to to do.

The long pendant is Sister Dorothy Kazel, she was one of the missionaries murdered in El Salvador in 1980.

And 5 more Good Shepherd pendants for a repeat customer.  Her church has a catechism course named Good Shepherd and these are for the folks completing the class.  This is her second order and she has a 3rd order coming up soon.  I try to make them all just a bit different without going crazy since I have no idea if they are for men or women or children.  The reverse has an icon of Mary and they are all different.



Sunday, February 3, 2013

My Week's Project

No sewing for me this week, I had a special order to fill.
I had a lady contact me through my Etsy store to order 10 Good Shepherd pendants.  She wants to give them as gifts to new catechumens.  How cool is that?
I used the good shepherd image she saw in a sold pendant but tried to make each one unique by using different backgrounds.
Each has a different icon of the Theotokos (Mary) on the other side.
I still need to add cord necklaces but the hard work is done.

Back to sewing something this next week.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Truth Endures


"The time is coming when people will be insane, and when they see someone who is not insane, they will attack that person saying -- 'You are insane because you are not like us.'"
~ St. Anthony the Great (ca. 251-356)

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Origins of the Date of Christmas

I just read a wonderful and well researched account on how December 25th (or January 6 for old calendarists) came to be celebrated as the day of Christ's birth.  It's well worth the read and instead of getting permission to reprint it, here's the link to it from BAR Magazine, Biblical Archaeological Review.  Looks like they have lots of interesting articles and even some free e-books.
The picture above is an Orthodox icon for the Nativity of Christ.  It is a more modern one.  The one below is the more ancient one.
And remember, the 12 Days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day.

Monday, December 5, 2011

St. Nicholas Day December 6

St. Nicholas was a real person.  Here is a short story of his life:
Nicholas was born in Asia Minor into a wealthy family, but he chose poverty. He did not spend his inheritance of three bags of gold coins, but considered how he might use it to serve the poor. There lived in his town a man who was poor and could not afford dowries for his three daughters so the man had determined to sell his girls into slavery when they came of age. As each one came of age, St. Nicholas dropped one of the bags of gold coins through the window of the mans's house in the middle of the night, (possibly landing in the stocking the girl had put out to dry) providing a dowry and redeeming each of them from slavery. This is why he is considered the patron saint of pawnbrokers and his symbol of three coins joined by a form of a cross is one of their symbols as is three bags of gold. On at least two occasions he interceded with proof of the innocence of the accused and saved them from death. He was considered a saint during his lifetime and his face would sometimes glow like Moses'. His presence brought solace and peace. He is famous for his love for children and his name and reputation have been transformed by modern folklore into "Santa Claus." 
He is also credited with several miraculous rescues of sailors at sea, both during his earthly life and since. 
He participated in the Council of Nicea in 325, until he was ejected for slapping Arius on the face. The Theotokos and Jesus Christ appeared to some of the hierarchs to instruct them to restore the godly saint to office. 
This is the church of St. Nicholas in Myra, Turkey today.
He reposed (died) in the Lord at an old age, on December 6, 343.
This is St. Nicholas' original tomb in Myra.
In 1087 sailors from the Italian city of Bari took advantage of the chaos from invading Seljuk Turks to abscond with St. Nicholas' bones over the vociferous objections of the Orthodox monks caring for the bones.  The sailors claimed they had a vision from the saint himself to preserve his remains from the Muslim invaders.  The bones were re-interred in a church in Bari where they have been ever since.  
St. Nicholas' bones are kept here in Bari, Italy.
The photo below is a reconstruction of the saint's head based on measurements of his skull.
In the Orthodox church we have special songs to sing on saint's days, this one is for St. Nicholas.
Troparion (Tone 4)Your works of justice showed you to your congregation a canon of faith, 
the likeness of humility, a teacher of abstinence, 
O Father, Bishop Nicholas. Wherefore, by humility you achieved exaltation, and by meekness, richness. Intercede, therefore, with Christ to save our souls.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Heart's Progression Necklace

I'm getting quite a few comments that you really like this necklace I created for the Bead Soup Blog Party.  So I thought I would let you in on a little more of the story behind it.
First, this piece is reversible because all my glass pendants have an image on both sides.  Compare this photo with the one of it in the previous post.  The pendant images are similar, they are both from a mosaic of the wise virgins.  What changes when you wear it is the progression of color in the glass hearts.
Depending on how you look at it the colors of the hearts can progress from the dark to the light or from the light to the dark.
There's a lot of me in this piece, a lot of my emotion is poured into it.  I have recently been through a great change in a long time relationship, things are no longer what they were.  Losing something important is like having a door closed and locked behind you.  From that comes the finding of new experiences beyond the new door that opens in front of you.
So from a deeply colored heart with streaks of red coursing through it like life's blood, the progression moves to a different shade of green with only little blots of life still in it, then to a heart totally see-through, the things that filled it gone.  It progresses to a yet lighter color, more transparent than ever, more fragile, empty, waiting.  Then one day some wholeness returns, not much color but not so fragile either.  Finally the heart progresses to a lovely pure color with a strand of red beating through it once again.
The virgins knew the truth, they held the wisdom of the ages and they were ready when the time came.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Inspiring

pinterest.com
Seems as time goes on the more I am inspired by and drawn to the Theotokos.  The word means God-bearer.  Some call her Mother Mary, the Virgin, Mother of God. She is all that.  She is also an ever listening friend, an intermediary we can appeal to in times of need.  Sometimes God seems too big but Mary seems close and personal.
For a wonderful article on Mary check out this Mystagogy blog post.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Mixed Media Saintly Images Pendants

I'm branching in a new direction with my saintly images pendants.  Using mixed media in a controlled collage.  OK, in plain English I am using several different layers of papers, foils, etc. to achieve the look I want for my pendants.  The one above of St Faustina uses a metallic gold paint chip for the background, a large gold metallic sequin for the halo and the carefully cut out paper icon of the saint.  I then added the red permanent marker around the halo.  The dangle is a vintage medal of St. Faustina and the vision she had of Christ, with a glass bead attached below.
I'm enjoying the mix of textures and the effect of the layering.  This piece of St. Martin de Porres has a glittery blue background which is scrapbook paper.  I have to peel the layer off that I want to use otherwise it is too thick.  This particular paper is coated so the halo is a red permanent marker circle and then a golden yellow permanent marker for the fill.  I draw lines from the red edge to the center and it creates a lovely shaded effect.  I'm playing with different bails, I like the look of this thicker one but they are much harder to attach.
This icon of the Theotokos (God-bearer) is just as it comes except I found some incredibly tiny rhinestones and attached them to her halo.  The trick with these is to add thickness in the center of the pendant layers so the paper of the icon does not wrinkle.  It's not an exact science so I play with each one to get it right.
St. Isadore the Farmer, a wonderful saint in a simple layering.  I love the glittery backgrounds, the glitter is so very tiny.
St. Ignatius of Loyola has a silver metallic paint chip background.  I think it shows off his lovely green vestments nicely.  His halo is part of the original paper icon but I used a glitter pen to create the striae effect.
I also picked up a very out of date art student's book and it is a treasure of images for me to use.  This 8th century image of St John is a beautiful Celtic style icon from the British Isles.
This one is a 1 x 3 inch pendant with images of a medieval book of hours on each side.
And my love of Egyptian art surfaces again with this image of King Tutankamun's gold funeral mask.
Needless to say my etsy ship will quickly have a lot a new items in it.  This is much more fun than cleaning house.  Wonder if I can just open the door and sweep everything out.......?

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Medieval Rosaries at Saintly Images

I've been working on something new this week.  I have made 3 medieval rosaries so far.  This one above is made of pink coral carved into flowers with gold plated paternosters, connector and cross.
Medieval rosaries are not made with beads on wires, instead they are beads strung on cord with space enough to freely move the beads while in prayer.  
Rosaries have 5 sections called decades ( of 10 beads each) separated by larger beads called gauds or paternosters.  These beads are connected to a center with a drop of 2 gauds and 3 of the smaller beads in between (called aves) and ending in a cross, a medal or in true medieval fashion, a tassel.
I didn't have any tassels so I have used the larger crosses in my stash.
This one above is strung on red silk cord, the others use black, and the silver metal beads are shaped as roses.  The gauds are red coral and the cross is vintage sterling silver.
Coral was the bead of choice for those that could afford it in medieval times.  It was not only pretty, it was also lightweight so easy to carry.  Some wore their rosaries like a necklace though I read where that is offensive today.  I think in a society where most people owned and used rosaries as an aid to prayer, how you wore it was not a problem.  Sometimes it was pinned to the garment or kept in a pocket or looped around the wrist.  Many medieval portraits will show these differences.  Another popular bead used was the pearl as well as glass and various stones.  Poorer folks made do with wood.
I went a bit beyond the norm with this one though beads were not always round in the medieval era.  This one has Celtic knotwork on the aves which are not round and I used a wonderful Celtic cross I had.  The gauds are blue sodalite, a type of granite.  I felt the blue worked nicely with the silver colored pewter of the cross and beads.
I have seen many beautiful rosaries on Etsy but none in the medieval style.  Since there seem to be a lot of re-enactors that shop at Etsy, I hope to do well selling these.
For more info on rosaries and medieval rosaries go here .  

A Quilt Repair While I Was On Vacation

 I went to visit my parents for a month and while I was there I repaired a quilt. Sorry the image is not very good, it was taken with my pho...