Coming to life

At the request of a very good, long time customer, one of my "found" necklaces is coming to life. The original piece was formed on a blustery day at Dolphin Beach last June.

Construction is coming along slowly so I'm thankful for her patience. I'm finding the look not terribly difficult to mimic (components were formed in the bowls of three sizes of spoons to achieve the shape) but the engineering in getting the pieces together in a way I'm pleased with is rather tricky. 

June is winter in South Africa and its typically cool and rainy although last year Cape Town was experiencing a terrible drought. In this photo, you can just make out the base of Table Mountain there at the horizon line. On a clear day, this beach has an amazing view, which has no doubt gained for the neighborhood its name as Table View.

Ah Maine...

One week is never enough in Maine but I'm grateful for the time we did have to get away, relax and do some day dreaming, without which artists would surely be sunk. Maybe all those dreams won't  come to fruition fully formed as we see them in our heads but they are a necessary fuel that pushes us forward. 

As seen from Shaw's Wharf in New Harbor.

This was a low budget trip as the college bills for our older two oldest kids are rolling in now but I will tell you, Maine can be done quite nicely on a tight budget if you have some basic camping equipment and do your homework on Airbnb. Beyond that there are many free to low cost adventures to be had. I googled "free things to do in Maine" and came up with more than we could possibly have done in a week. 

One of our favorite things to do (possibly my favorite thing in the world to do) is muck about on beaches like above at Owl's Head Lighthouse . There's a charge for admittance into the lighthouse but parking, the beach and walking around outside  the lighthouse is free. I gathered rocks and Kyle did a very nice painting and talked to a charming family from Quebec (he has a gift for starting conversations with strangers - a plus while traveling) .

Iconic image - looking up from the rocks at Pemaquid Point.

View of the Damariscotta River at our Airbnb.

Below are some of the interesting pieces found at the small beach at Pemaquid Settlement. From top to bottom: wood, shell, wire, rock and unidentified rubber thing. I'm happy to say in all our beach wanderings we found very little trash. More on that and "found jewelry" in my next post. 

Kayaking in South Bristol.

I see jewelry

I love limpet shells but have never collected any quite this large. I feel sure a new necklace will come from this afternoon of beach combing.

I love the subtle colors, textures and shapes of these limpet "hollow beads". 

I collect ideas of jewelry inspiration with a bunch of other creative folks on my Pinterest board "I see jewelry" where we post images of things, nature and objects that make us think of jewelry. You can follow us here if you like. 

And today we're off to Edinburgh for Samuel's long awaited first "real" train ride, museums, cafes and shops. Have a great weekend! See you on Monday with a post about our favorite castle…so far.