The Life and Times of the Plume — Page 223

Body Cavity Series Part 3

January 7, 2011 by The Noisy Plume

For the original written word on this series, please go here!

The initial notion for the Body Cavity Series was actually this whale design. I even talked to a handful of people about the idea before actually creating this piece and beginning this series…but the whale, the whale was the first. The whale was the first, delicate seed of an idea. I finally finished him a few moments ago and man oh man it feels good. I love the thrill of seeing one of my ideas come to fruition; there’s nothing quite so addicting (and healthy)!

I wasn’t sure I could do it! This is the largest piece of metal I’ve hydraulically formed so far! The whale form has been taken from my own sketches and templates which makes him 100% mine and one of a kind and being able to say such a thing feels so, so good to this artist. A bit of repousse work around the actual body cavity created some fantastic and organic glass patterning around the actual hole in the side of this creature. Wowee! I love how it turned out! It almost looks like a cannon shot a hole in the side of this big fish…or he ate a huge tuna one afternoon and simply (violently) ruptured right open. I don’t mean to gross you out. But the opening on this whale is simply fantastic. Totally organic. Lovely! This piece is built of sterling, copper, enamel, pink coral, carved ivory, velvet and bits of me (of course).

And now I’m exhausted (I have a feeling I’m not making any sense as I type this). I’ve been working since Saturday morning (well, I slept a bit at night) and I’m going to go try to relax and lay about in the living room sun. Perhaps I’ll take a nap even! Can you imagine?

Have a beautiful weekend, one and all!

Lovelove,

The Plume

Filed Under: body cavity series, whale

Crazy Like A Fox

January 6, 2011 by The Noisy Plume

How do you like my hat?
If you were a wild thing, what sort of wild thing would you be (I’m RW’s favorite fox…but I suppose this is a totem animal question…)?
Will you please come over for a wild rumpus this evening?
We’ll make fancy drinks and sit around snarling, purring and howling until the stars come out.
Love,
P.

PS Wouldn’t that make for an interesting dress-up party??? A party where all attendees must wear an animal suit and speak in their own “animal language” all night long…weird.

Filed Under: hats, vixen

Before it’s time.

January 4, 2011 by The Noisy Plume

At some point today, I looked out my studio window and realized that I needed to get closer to the sky.

I shrugged my way into layers of knits, wool, boots and tights, stepped out the door with Penelope and made for the hills.

There were two sharptail grouse sailing on a stiff wind pouring down from Kinport Peak.

Penelope chased voles through snow down into the roots of the sage.

The flower skeletons rattled about in the cold.

I tried to identify plants in their winter garb.

It’s sometimes difficult.

Have you ever had trouble recognizing people when the cold weather sets in? I’ll see friends about town, friends I know plenty well, only when they’re wearing coats and toques it takes me a time to recognize them in their new wintry garb.

It’s the same for the wildflowers and their naked little winter suits. I have to peer closely to know who I’m looking at.

I eventually left the trails to make my own paths.

I kept an eye peeled for furs and feathers and tracks and bird songs:

Beneath one juniper, a clattering of chickadees.

The loose coils of barbed wire hanging from my favorite fence line were drooping with cold.

The snow was holding memories.

As I walked, lines of poems jotted themselves down in my mind:

“…next time I will lean in to listen, as the trees do over deep waters…“

When my extremities began to hum with a faint numb

I made my way down off the West bench, through a wooded draw, across a road, through the streets to my front door.

My lips were dumb when I finally stepped inside the house

and already, the day was starting to fade, as winter days do, before we’re ready.

Before it’s time.

Filed Under: city creek, idaho, penelope, pocatello, winter

The West is too big, it’s spread out like summer…

January 4, 2011 by The Noisy Plume

Sometimes my world continues to grow smaller, even though I’m removed from my home town in Canada, even though I’ve no immediate social realm to speak of, I can feel the planet shrinking — it’s a strange sensation; I liken it to when you lay down to sleep in a hotel bed and the sheets are tucked so tight that you have to sleep pigeon toed at the foot of the bed…except this can be uncomfortable and a shrunken world is actually a bit of a delight.

A year ago, perhaps more, a fellow I used to be acquainted with contacted me to let me know he’d been reading my blog and remembered me from my Saskatoon life. He used to climb at the climbing gym I used to manage. As time passes I vaguely remember him in snippets, though I’m not sure if I’m simply recreating him in my mind or if these memories are actually of him. I think he maybe used to wear army pants.

At any rate, Will is part of Pearson, a Saskatoon band.

I love them because the sound of them carries the intangible portions of me home.

I can put on their album and feel a segment of my self drift North to the plains, to the tall grasses, the poplar bluffs, hip deep snow drifts, the eternal sunsets and sunrises on smooth horizons, the Northern lights wending around constellations and the romancing night whisper of the Saskatchewan River as it races North around gentle bends.

There’s even an edge of eternal night to their music. That feeling of the winter dark in constant surround. Eyes squinting as they gaze at a small ocean of ice from the West shore of Lac LaRonge; bad medicine; bitter wind pushing through the chinks in the cabin wall.

It’s all there in the blend of voices. I hear it. I hear it.

But most importantly, to me, they sound like the wind in the wheat or like standing in a forgotten grain silo and feeling the bounce of an echo as you sing a sad lullaby. I enjoy them for all the emotions their slow notes render in my heart and soul; for the casual harmonies sung here by the great (great) granddaughters and grandsons of the first pioneers.

This is my favorite Pearson song. It’s sad and beautiful.

Enjoy (if you can, this video is the most dreadfully sad story of two robots…and a filthy moonshiner…).

Hey Pearson, next time I’m in town, can I sing with you?

I can match your fair harmonies, note for note, I promise.

Leave a space on the stage for me and a light in the window.

From this prairie child,

Jillian

Filed Under: music festival, pearson

On The Topic Of Girth

January 2, 2011 by The Noisy Plume

*While it might seem I have forgotten how to create titles, according to proper grammatical rules, I have not. The thing is, I like it when the first letter of every word is capitalized. In the title of THIS post, the first letters of “the” and “of” should be lower case but I prefer the look of capital letters in my titles so please don’t think I’m a grammatical ignoramus.

Whew.

Glad that’s out of the way.

Good day to you all!

This is the first day of 2011.

How does that feel for you?

I’m thrilled!

The back half of 2010 was a real trial for me, mostly in terms of health issue divining. I’m ready to leap onto the clean, crisp papers of a new year. Let’s live it up ladies (and gents)! Ok? Ok.

Fact: The sledding conditions in Pocatello are fantastic right now. Late last night, RW and I took our wee toboggan to Bartz Field and ripped around on the hills there. Great fun! We also started to teach Farley to pull a sled. I’m going to try to rig up a leather harness for him, for pulling. Soon he will be my wee short haired husky.

Now. Today was my first day back in my studio space actually working. It feels great! I took about a two week long hiatus for Christmas holidays (as you well know)*** and was so darn exhausted that I feared I might be permanently burned out. Not so. Our jaunt to California was anything but restful! However, being at home in Idaho again has been really restorative. I’ve been spending plenty of time cleaning the house, organizing my life, reading, sleeping in, eating well and there’s been a lot of dark chocolate swallowed down in the past few days. Back to the studio though…I just finished building this ring. It’s composed of sterling, pearl and turquoise. I’m all about girth these days. I daydreamed constantly, over my Christmas holiday, about ultra wide (but tapered) bands that are elaborate and rich feeling but close fitting to a finger. Rings that feature bold girths! I love these sorts of designs. They’re kind of sexy, there’s a bold flash of a ton of metal and it’s a bit bad ass, to boot. Which I rather like. Quite. What I mean is, this ring is pretty but tough. It deserves to be worn on a long finger paired with a sweet dress, funky tights and a pair of biker boots. Ok?

Fact: I am currently wearing the rattiest ponytail you ever did see. It’s all teased out, long and wild looking. I’m going to tell RW to call me Sheeba for the rest of the night. Rawr.

Oh…these too:

News on the renovation front:

I officially do not have a toilet, bathroom sink or bathtub. Additionally, I do not have a floor in the bathroom. Things are getting interesting and perhaps a little bit trying. I will say that being without indoor plumbing of any sort has made me so thankful for the blessings of modern conveniences! I feel like a pioneer woman here! I might go hug my microwave when I finish this blog post. I tell you!

Lastly and perhaps most importantly, the Christmas Tree Contest Winner!!!

We tallied up votes early this morning and the official winner is, with 15 votes:

In The Glow of the Christmas Tree

Finland

The people have spoken! Congratulations! Please do contact me with your shipping address so I can ship your Winter Hatch Necklace out to you, tout suite!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered a tree in the photo contest and thanks to everyone who took a moment to place a vote! You made the Christmas season a cheery one for RW, me and many other lovely folks.

Righto. I’m off to the studio to set a few more stones and perhaps start one more ring. I hope you’re all well.

Plume

***Before taking my Christmas holiday my interwebular inboxes became ten times more chaotic than usual and at some point I just realized that I needed to shut down the business side of The Noisy Plume and go on holiday. So I did. I’ve got all correspondence caught up for the moment but if I failed to respond to a note from you, PLEASE hit resend for me! Thanks!

Filed Under: New Jewelry, random stuff