Welcome to Inside the Studio!
Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you’ll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.
Congratulations to Denise McCabe!
You have won a $15 Gift Certificate to Creative Impressions in Clay.
Please send Tari an email with your information.
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Did I happen to mention that I LOVE trees? I’m still making trees inside the studio!
I know many folks get a bit gloomy when the leaves fall off the trees. Such is not the case with me. In my eyes, when the leaves drop, the trees are in their most glorious state. In their nakedness I see them as truly beautiful, revealing layers of branches reaching for the sun and stars. They truly make me happy!
I’m often found looking up, taking photographs. I’d thought I’d share some of my favorite photos with you.
So cool!
This is one my favorite inspiration trees. Sadly it has been loosing limbs over the last few years.
I’m not alone in my love of trees. I recently found out about a woman who has traveled the world photographing trees. Beth Moon is a photographer who has published a book, Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time. A book I will have to buy!
These are the beads inspired by the photos I’ve shared with you. The glass as a canvas and I feel like I’m painting the trees on. These are fun to make. I look forward to carving out more time at the torch to create more of these beads.
Answer this question for a chance to win a $15.00 gift certificate toward a purchase in my Etsy shop.
Have you found something that has fired you up this New Year? Perhaps a color, as Rebecca shared in her last Amuse the Muse post or maybe the ABS January challenge has inspired you.
What’s got your gears spinning? Oohh….gears…now I’m thinking.
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Ema Kilroy is a lampworker and metalsmith living and working in Central Massachusetts.
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Kathy Lindemer
January 9, 2015 at 1:13 pmI have been using a lot of the color turquoise lately. I am surrounded by the turquoise waters of the Keys and I have gotten bolder with colors that I pair with turquoise. Also, I have a lot of turquoise beads!
Katherine Thompson
January 9, 2015 at 2:01 pmAs I was working on last month's challenge I realized that I have been working toward expressing my life all this time! I grew up with farming, gardening, animals and like many others nature.
Alice
January 9, 2015 at 2:36 pmI find I'm taking lots of photos of barns. They take me back to when I was a kid living in the country and sliding down the roof of our barn (Shhh don't tell my dad). The barn is still there, just a bit run down.
Jan J.
January 10, 2015 at 7:47 amIt was the woods that were speaking to me this week. We live on 46 acres of woods that we share only with our landlord, whose house is far out of sight of ours. It is very thick woods and very damp here in Georgia, and every day is a new experience in mushrooms – all shapes, sizes and varieties, and all types of lichen. My daughter was reporting on our walk how dreary the woods were in winter, but I was at the same moment finding them fiercely wild and beautiful. The intricacy of the tree branches all visible. I was loving the reds, creams, oranges and browns of the mushrooms next to the vintage green of the twists of lichen on the ground. Nature inspires me every day!
Kristen
January 10, 2015 at 12:35 pmI have used the tree silhouette a lot in my enameling so I understand your fascination. I have been dabbling in mixed media art lately and I plan on incorporating my collection (my husband might say hoard) of beads in my work and journals.
Deb Fortin
January 10, 2015 at 12:58 pmright now my trees have a wonderful icing of snow on their branches -about 4 inches thick. the contrast between the pristine white snow and the darkness of the bark is beautiful . I dont know where this will lead me but i know it will show up somehow and somewhere.
I love your gnarly branch photo and the windswept glass bead is so Group of Seven style.
Jennifer Pellicone
January 10, 2015 at 4:10 pmI am finding the crispness and clarity of the air an inspiration. I have way too many things going on in my head!
cspmom at gmail dot com
Carol Briody
January 10, 2015 at 4:51 pmYour beads are awesome! Such a beautiful design inspired by Mom Nature.
Bijoux Gems Joy
January 10, 2015 at 11:25 pmI have been finding my interest piqued by a couple of things this year, lampwork beads and the serenity in beautiful creamy colours, from whites to yellows and golds. When I started to put away the Christmas decorations (I left them up until this weekend) I realized it must have been building for awhile. Most of the Christmas tree decorations are clearor frosted in tones of white, off white, cream and gold.
Becky Pancake
January 11, 2015 at 12:32 amHi Ema, your tree beads are lovely. My inspiration lately has been online challenges. I try to do at least two a month and make it a point to try a new technique or stitch for each one so that I am continually learning and expanding my skills.
Debra Gibson
January 11, 2015 at 5:55 amHi Ema ! Happy New year to you and all the team from ABS! I love this blog and have been a follower for a long time! I love trees to and include them in some of my art work. And I can tell you Rebecca of Songbeads has me all fired up to try and learn how to make those pretty little beaded beads she makes . I am in love with those beads and as I can't afford to get any from Rebecca right now I thought I would try to learn how to make them . Thank's for the great giveaway !!!