inspiration Archives - Susan's Charming Trinkets & Art Circus

The Virus Chronicles Part 2

The fog is clearing.

I truly believe that creating and the act of doing art saves your mind, body, and engages your soul. And that’s what I’ve been doing. Lots of it.

Glitterfest is actually going to happen (October 11 in Tustin, outside, socially distanced and masked up) Yay! So nice to have a deadline to work towards.

That may have been a big part of my angst during this mess. No deadlines…no priorities…big plans, little plans, everything cancelled so there was nothing to work towards. 🙁 So the days are better and returning to some sense of normalcy.

So in the light of creativity moving me forward I’d like to share a few things that have been inspiring me.

I’ve pretty much sewn myself an entire wardrobe (to go nowhere lol) and watching sewing videos has been educational and entertaining. Let me introduce to a couple of my favorite YouTubers.

Welcome to the Fold Line. These videos are put together by two gals and if you like fashion and sew for yourself you have to watch these trend episodes. They waltz through all the things for the upcoming season then match them to indie patterns. So much fun to see the things you can customize to your own fashion sense. Even if you don’t sew your own clothing it will give you ideas of what to look for when your shopping. Definitely worth a watch.

One more…

This is just one of many but Chase Jarvis does some fabulous interviews of creatives, thought leaders, and popular personalities. Great to listen to when you’re doing something else. Always something interesting.

I’ll be back with more …there are many!

Susan

Posted on September 26, 2020September 26, 2020 by susanmwb

And here we go…again!

Just a little reminder to let you know I’m at it again!

This entire site was very underloved, underused, and, well, ignored. This week I decided to change it up and make it work! You’ll notice lots of changes. Different home page and the addition of my own shop! About time!

I’ve had over a decades worth of angst over my Etsy shop. Spending time listing lots of things only to have a show and come back to de-list most of them. List them again, nothing sells, they expire, I re-list, do a show, and unlist all over again. It’s a giant time suck and pain in the wa-zoo not to mention the giant mental block I have with it.

So about ten days ago Etsy announced that they would be raising all their fees, adding subscription services, but no one’s ability to be seen would change. Paid subscription or not. Ummmm….let’s just say I am not inclined to believe that entirely. It’s unfortunate but they’ve turned from being a very supportive backer of the hand made movement into a publicly traded must make money operation.

That said it is still an excellent platform with over two million shoppers peeking at it all the time. I will keep a presence over there. But all of my collection will be found here with only a few bits and bobs over there. I have yet to make a decision on my supply shop. I let it go a bit to get organized and decide what direction to go in. Am still deciding. The real upside is that it lit a fire under me to get this site moving!

As of today there are a few things here. But keep checking back as I am obsessed with getting as much in here as possible!

Posted on June 30, 2018 by susanmwb

When I Don’t Feel Creative: My Top 6 Fixes

Am I the only one that has moments when the creative muse takes a vacation? When you don’t feel creative…what do you do?

This is a topic that seems to raise it’s head when I’m the busiest. I have tons to do but can’t seem to rid myself of the cobwebs long enough to get through it. Well…when I don’t feel creative here’s my top 6 fixes I put into action to try to coax my muse around.

1. I clean. Believe me when I say cleaning is not my favorite thing but wandering around the studio, organizing, and picking things up always seems to loosen up the creative spirit. Not only does it help clear the cobwebs but I always seem to find things I had forgotten I had. And those things seem to sneak into my next creations!

2. Pull out the sketch books and doodle. Draw anything…straight lines, stick figures, swirls…anything and everything! Just put pen or pencil to paper and see what manifests itself. I draw whatever comes to mind and pay no attention to whether it is “art” or not. Just the simple putting pen to paper allows me to feel more creative.

3. Take a break…go eat something, have tea or coffee maybe a glass of water or take a handful of vitamins. Just be for a few minutes.

4. This goes along with taking a break but do something goofy with your family. Go lighten up and be free with comedy! Laugh lots and then laugh some more. Play cards, dig out a board game…watch a silly movie. I promise being crazily happy with laughter will take your mind off things and your muse will crawl back without you noticing.

5. Find your creative peeps and do something together! Lean on your tribe for support when you can’t find your own muse…maybe one of theirs will pop over and let you borrow some ideas!

6. Sleep it off until the next day. Sometimes all you need is a good nights sleep and all things appear new again.

Be kind to yourself. Those moments of “stuck” never hang out for long. That muse will come running back.

Until next time!

Posted on October 28, 2014October 28, 2014 by susanmwb — 1 Comment

Show Ready: The Season Of Crazy

So it’s October. The days are getting shorter and the nights have a certain chill in the breeze that wasn’t noticeable a month ago.

For me this time of year means it’s almost show season…the season of crazy and high gear! 15 hour days. 7 days a week. All the way through December.

I thought you might like a peek into how I get show ready and how crazy it can be. Let’s start with the state of my studio…

So. I feel the need to explain. When one tries to be show ready several things seem to explode. The most common occurrence happens all over the flat surfaces. Things seem to multiply. Procreate. This area is actually 2 feet wide and 8 feet long. Guess how much of it I can work on right now? Um. Yeah. None of it. Moving on…

This is my main work area. Yes. I still have a 12″ square to work in. Really! I do. A square foot. Yeah.

My resin area. You get the idea. Show ready means every surface is covered in something that needs to be beaded, wired, coated, sanded, tagged, cured, colored, painted, glued, left alone, cast, patinaed, ground, sawed, polished, sealed…and or finished in some way. Otherwise show ready would just be a myth.

More to come…

Posted on October 11, 2014October 8, 2014 by susanmwb

Ice Resin Play: Rings & Things

Welcome to my world of ICE resin with rings and other things!

If you haven’t played with ICE resin you need to get your keys and head for the nearest craft store to pick up a package of it…right now!! (also available in my shop) The cup above photographed a touch yellow in the light of my studio but it isn’t. It is perfectly clear. Those few bubbles all went away with a blow of breathe through a straw passed over the top.

My set up is on a tray for several reasons. A tray allows for many projects to be set out at one time, it’s easily moved if i need the space at the table, and simple to level if my work surface is wonky. It’s lined with a silicone mat so drips don’t mess up it’s surface.

At the top of the tray are some faux druzy experiments using the chunky German glass glitter from the Iced Enamels line. Moving right a skull and enameled (Iced Enamels of course) ring that i made from scratch…meaning that i actually made the metal ring base. A new skill i’ve been working on (read obsessed over).

Coming clockwise along the bottom there are six skully bezels. Lots of Ice Enamels plus a layer of yummy opal mica flakes…my favorite! Under those are some polymer clay transfers coated in resin and almost ready for beading into earrings.

Last but not least an open back ring that resembles the outside frame of a pocket watch. The lady’s face on the left is a tape transfer for that circle. Hopefully it will come out the way i want it. See through and a memento of my clients Mother.

And then there are these. Giant copper trays that i soldered onto etched rings bands. Filled with huge artsy fartsy paper colages…and more enameling. They are just waiting for resin.

Tag: inspiration