Closed for the Season

The colors of this photo perfectly illustrate all that I love about Southern Florida, the Keys and the Caribbean ... the happy, upbeat palette of colors everywhere you look. Who can possibly feel down when one is surrounded by such joy and so much artistic freedom?

It's closing time here yet again. Tomorrow we fly back up north for the summer and fall months. This photo with its sign on the door reading CLOSED FOR SEASON kind of sums it all up.

My next blog post will be written from Cape Cod in a few days. Happy trails!

A new milestone achieved ...

I'm proud to announce that I achieved my Level 2 Certification in PMC on May 27, 2009. It was an intense but fun two days creating four jewelry pieces incorporating a variety of interesting techniques including a decorative fine silver hook and eye clasp; a pendant incorporating enamel and 22 kt. gold vermeil; a multi-texture pendant with a brass inlay and a mirror finish; and a textured ring with a pink tourmaline cabochon in a bezel setting. I'll post photos of these pieces after I'm back on Cape Cod and unpacked. :D

Do this; don't do that. Can't you read the sign?

Ever notice there are signs everywhere? We're so used to seeing them that sometimes we don't see them anymore. Positive messages; negative messages. Messages that make no sense. Warnings, restrictions, invitations. Here's just a sampling of some of the signs I see every day during my four-mile beach walk.

I've never seen an alligator anywhere near this 'Do Not Feed the Alligators' sign. Not in four years. Still waiting.

Last jewelry piece of the Florida season ...

As we begin the daunting task of packing up all our goodies for the semi-annual trek back to Cape Cod for the summer and fall seasons, I've had to box up all my jewelry-making supplies and equipment for the trip ... so no more hammering, firing, burnishing or oxidizing for me until early June. :(

It will certainly be a challenge for me not to be able to scratch my creative itch for the next few weeks (although I've somehow managed to book myself into yet another jewelry class on Wednesday ... the last one of the season here! ... the only way to retain what's left of my sanity).

I might have to resort to reading a book on the beach, something many other normal people down here do on a daily basis.

In the meantime, I just finished this rather festive and colorful copper and borosilicate bead bracelet which I've named Calypso. You can find this on my personal website, http://mangotangodesigns.com/ ...

Fate

While I was taking my daily walk on the beach early this morning, a stranger came up to me as I was crouched down picking up a seashell and said:

"Remember that every shell you pick up was meant for you to have, and it's been waiting for you for a thousand years."

I don't know that his statement was true, but it does provide some food for thought about fate.

Latest enameled pieces ...

Here are photos of my two newest enameled pieces. In the first, in a necklace I've named The Deep, two of my favorite seashells, a scotch bonnet and a horse conch, have been rendered in fine silver and framed in a textured, rounded triangle of fine silver to which I've added many layers of translucent enamel. The colors range from a light mint to a deep blue-green, mimicking the depths of the sea.

The second necklace is a three-dimensional fine silver turtle coated in several layers of deep beige and accented with jewel green highlights. The back has a hidden loop bail, and the pendant has been strung on a necklace of peridot beads.

Foodfest!

We had a blast yesterday sampling food from some of Naples, Florida's top restaurants at Taste of Collier, an annual event at Bayfront on Naples Bay. You buy a wristband to gain entrance and then tickets for food samples at $1 each. All the mini-dishes cost between $2 and $5, and each of the participating restaurants has a tent where they sell tastings from their menu. Live music, too.

The weather was glorious and we had a blast, though we ate too much (of course) ... everything from Kobe beef sliders to shrimp and scallops on skewers with wasabe sauce and Cuban sandwiches. It was heaven. My photo does a good job of NOT showing how crowded it was ... literally choked with people eating, walking, and listening to music. FUN!

Updated 2009 Cape Cod Show Schedule

Here's my updated 2009 Summer and Fall Artisans' Guild of Cape Cod show schedule. Hope you'll stop by and say hi if you're in the area!

July 3/4: Nauset Middle School Lawn, Orleans

August 29/30: Eastham Town Green, Route 6A, Eastham

Oct. 10/11: Nauset Middle School, Orleans

Nov. 27/28: Nauset Middle School, Orleans