Hello from Art Land!

Hey all you crazy crafters!

It's been a while! I'm still firmly stuck in Art School mode so I haven't been working on any craft tutorials... life's kinda crazy, but awesome. I'm very grateful that I can study the things I love.

If you want to keep an eye on my exploits, feel free to take a gander at my work on shishiko.tumblr.com. And stay tuned: I hope to work on some more craft tuts in the future (any requests?).

-Uzume

Low-FODMAP Popsicles

For health reasons, I recently started a FODMAP elimination diet. It's done wonders for me, and I don't miss too many of the foods that I used to be able to eat, but I've had a hard time finding any corn syrup- and milk-free popsicles. And that simply will not do.

So I made my own, using a $1 popsicle mold set from Ralphs. I think they rock, so I'm sharing the (general) recipe.

[Any Kind of Fruit] + Lemonade Popsicles

You will need:

• Fruit (ultimately, you'll need about 1/2 cup of fruit juice and/or pulp)
• Lemon(s)
• Sugar
• Water

My popsicle maker holds about a cup of liquid, total, so that's the measurement I'm using: if yours holds more or less, increase or decrease the recipe proportionally.

1. Make simple sugar syrup: cook equal amounts of sugar and water (I usually use a half cup of each, but then I have some left over, so it's up to you) until the sugar dissolves.
2. Dice the fruit, and mash it up well. I use a suribachi and surikogi (mortar and pestle) but you can use a blender or any other method you prefer. The object is to (generally) separate the pulp from the juice. 
3. Add fruit juice (and pulp, if you want) to a measuring cup: you want about half a cup, maybe a little more, of fruit. 
4. Add the juice of at least half a lemon (a full lemon works too- it all depends on your lemon preferences) to the measuring cup. 
5. Add syrup to the measuring cup to bring the liquid amount up to one cup. 
6. Stir, and taste. The mixture should taste both too sweet and too strong-- it settles as it freezes. Add more lemon, syrup, and/or fruit to taste, but remember that the mixture should have a very strong flavor. 
7. Freeze.

And there you go. So far, I've tried honeydew, kiwi (make sure not to crush the seeds!), muscat grapes (pictured above), strawberries, and blackberries (all FODMAP-friendly fruit!), and they have all worked very well. Also, recently, I made some with syrup + lime juice + strips of fresh mint.

These are cheap, easy, and healthy, as far as frozen treats go-- and, more importantly, I think they're the yummiest popsicles I've ever had. Give 'em a try!

Color Theory for the Crafter

Color can make or break any artistic project. It doesn't matter if you're painting your house, knitting a scarf, or beading a bracelet-- color is the first thing most people notice, and if the colors you choose "work" for the project, the effect is profoundly positive. If, however, you choose colors that don't "work"-- either they don't work together, or they don't match the project-- they can get in the way of the artistic statement you are trying to make.

I'm not trying to say that every color needs to harmonize perfectly-- trust me, I'm all about using bright and unexpected color combinations-- but I think it's important to understand the way that color works (and, more importantly, the way colors work together) if you want to make the most out of crafting.

Happy 2102!

Happy New Year!

I've recently finished my first semester as an art major. It's kind of amazing: when I was studying other "academic" disciplines, I'd end the semester without any measurable sort of progress, just a little more knowledge and a massive headache from ten-page final papers.

As an art student, I have learned skills. A few months ago I didn't know what the heck gouache was, exactly, and now I know how to paint with it. I know how to compose groups of objects into pleasing compositions using the "Elements of Design". I went from being curious about charcoal to hating charcoal, and then to finding a use for it and maybe wanting to buy more charcoal sometime in the future. I know how to use artistic materials much, much better than I did before.

I'm looking forward to next semester.

The thing about art school is that I have less time for (and less inclination towards) crafts. I'm too busy being creative in other ways! But maybe I can share some of what I've learned in the art world with the crafting community at large. And maybe I'll share some of my art. :)

On a non-crafty, but adorable note...

90 corgis in costume.

Happy Halloween, everybody!

Pink Pachyderm Earrings

These are some funky earrings. I usually don't incorporate fiber into my beadwork, but I decided to do something a little different this go-around. And what goes well with copper wire, wool yarn, and seed beads?

Elephants, of course!

I've had these beads for so long, I'm glad I finally made something with them. These earrings are constructed using a lot of copper wire (20 gauge in the centers of the yarn, and holding up the elephants; 24 gauge wrapped around the yarn); hand-dyed bits of wool yarn, glass elephant beads, size 4 swarovski bicones in Topaz (at the top of each earring), and size 11 seed beads scattered throughout.

Saharan Earrings

Goldstone is so incredibly sparkly, I love it. I'd had these beads around for a while, and finally decided to make something out of them-- they're simple, but the swarovski crystals and bits of chain really add a lot to the design, I think.

Let's see... these are made from copper findings and copper chain, tiny size 11 seed beads, goldstone beads, and Swarovski size 4 bicones, in Indian Red (I think). These earrings are Earth-ier and Fire-ier than most of my creations (I am definitely a Water person when it comes to beadwork, and probably to art in general), and the goldstone reminds me of sparkling sand, hence their name.

Photo Post: Pretty Things

These are from a Japanese-style garden I visited over the spring-- a little too late for most of the sakura, so I focused more on the scenery.

On a non-crafty-related note...

Researchers working on understanding the way our brains process visual images have published a remarkable study. Participants were hooked up to an MRI and shown a video. The MRI information was sent to a computer which mapped the way the participants' blood flowed to different parts of their brains as they watched the video.

Then, (and this is the interesting part!) the computer used that data (and a library of of YouTube footage) to RECONSTRUCT what the participants had seen. The results were surprisingly accurate.

It seems like we're one step closer to being able to being able to watch videos of our dreams, or reconstruct our memories onto DVD. Interesting, isn't it?

Check out the article and watch the videos here: http://www.geekosystem.com/video-from-brain-activity/

Also from Geekosystem: an adorable puppy with a torso deformity has learned to walk, with lots of help from her loving owner. The pictures are one of the sweetest things I've ever seen: http://www.geekosystem.com/harper-puppy/

Herringbone Stitch Tutorial

Herringbone is the last of the major off-loom beadwork stitches. Sometimes known as Ndebele, it's a very old stitch, and it's a popular way to create a beaded strip or swatch of beaded 'fabric'. Like the herringbone stitches you see in knitting or other crafts, beaded herringbone consists of a series of beaded columns that tilt towards one another, creating a slight zigzag effect. It's a beautiful stitch, very versatile, and particularly effective in its tubular form.

Industrial Lantern Earrings

I have a whole set of 'lantern' earrings going: somewhat-spherical beads, topped by bead caps, and ending with chain. These are the most austere and modern of the group. I love all the different chains involved. Yay for chains of multiple metals all grouped together!

The beads are snakeskin agate, the beadcaps are gold (I got them as a gift... what, you though I actually bought any non-copper findings?... actually, my partner has talked me into purchasing some gunmetal, so, yes, yes I have... but no gold, yet...) the hooks and headpins are copper, and the chains are copper and silver (and probably some aluminum-- I deconstructed some necklaces I had as a kid and that's where the non-copper came from!).  

Industrial Archaism Necklace

This is a collaboration between me and my partner-- he wrapped the big chunk of 20-gauge wire in smaller wire and gave it to me to do something with. I stuck some chain on both ends and added some wired swirls and pretty gray beads, and, voila, instant necklace!

I like jewelry with an industrial component (gray, lots of non-gold and non-silver metal, geometric shapes), and this necklace successfully gives me that vibe-- however, the copper-wire swirls and the shape of the front piece remind me of ancient Greek jewelry, hence the name.

This necklace is short and delicate, sitting just around the collarbone. It's made of copper chains and findings,  size 20 copper wire, size 28 copper wire, size 22 copper wire (going through the beads and making the spirals), and czech glass beads.

Omoi Earrings

More of a descriptor than a name, omoi means "heavy" in Japanese. These earrings are actually quite heavy to wear, but, more than that, their weight-like structure and metal components give them an overall feeling of heaviness, hence the name.

These earrings are pretty long, and they're constructed of copper findings and copper chain, with tiger's eye and ruby quartz beads. I'm not sure of the metal of the hardware bits-- I'll have to go back to Home Depot, heh.

I really like these earrings-- they're modern, vaguely Steampunk, and they make a bold statement. It just goes to show that you don't need to just use metal made for jewelry when you make your jewelry!

Everything But The... Necklace

Shamelessly inspired by some of my favorite Ben and Jerry's ice cream, the Everything But The... Necklace is a strange mishmash of awesomeness. It sprung into being when my partner, a former library putting-books-in-order guy who's very sensitive to detailed organization, decided to take it upon himself to organize my (hopelessly jumbled) bead trays.

Thanks to his hard work, I had a bunch of beadwork components- unfinished earrings, extra bracelet bits, things that I wire-wrapped just for the fun of it- that I didn't have anything specific to do with.

What does any self-respecting crafter do in that situation? She puts them all together!

Thusly was this necklace born.

Again, I can't give you the size right now, but it's pretty long. I haven't had the opportunity to wear it yet, but I think it would go well over some very simple clothes, to give them a bit of an artisty spark.

Autumn Cascade Earrings

I've been wanting to try constructing jewelry with wire a little more, and these are the result. They were inspired by a photograph of maple leaves in the fall, and I tried to catch both the color and the feel of a shower of cascading momiji.

I don't have them on me, so I can't give you the size specs right now, but you can see by the standard hooks that these are fairly small earrings. They're very light, too. They're constructed with 20-gauge copper wire as the base with size 8 seed beads strung onto it, a variety of copper chains, and some czech glass AB red and yellow beads.

I can't wait for autumn when I can wear these more often!

On a non-crafty note...

What a journey the last few months have been! I won't go into the details, but suffice it to say that I began this blog as an Anthropology grad school hopeful and I'm writing today as an Art (Graphic Design) major undergrad. Or at least I will be when the fall semester starts.

Crazy, right? In a good way.

More Inspirational Flickr Favorites

Aren't they lovely?