Flea Market Finds

Early in the week, I ventured into an op-shop with my dear friend Kath PathWalker. We had a bit of a peripheral hunt, seeking cheap china that she could smash to make into beautiful frames. It quickly became evident that this was not the shop - $24 for a small china jug? I mean it was pretty but not that fantastic! However, I found a couple of paintings that had perfect frames for my daughters paper-cuts - she does like romance after all!

My daughter used an oval one like this for a piece she exhibited. She painted the frame red and it looked great. I am sure she will love these and hopefully the painter, Dawn ( great name!) would not be too offended!
This was unintentional op-shopping which I have found, often yields the most exciting finds. Sometimes if you set out with a particular mind-set the thrift stores have nothing to offer, but if you allow yourself to be guided by the Universe, the Great Thrifting Goddess smiles upon you. Certainly this was the case for me this week. Towards te end of the week, I found myself with half an hour to kill whilst waiting for an appointment. I decided to meander around a nearby op-shop and wandered about without much interest really. I was on my way out of the door - empty-handed (totally unheard of - I pretty much always buy something even if I just donate it back to another op-shop!) when I-spied-with-my-little-eye, something yellow, something pretty and made of shiny glass. Upon closer inspection it was a whole set of vintage glasses but even as my heart beat a tattoo in my chest I resolutely restrained my excitement because you see, they were in the good cabinet. You know, that cabinet that all the op-shops seem to have now where they put any bit of china that has a hall mark and odd bits of crystal because they are after all Orrefors or Krosno or some such! I always approach the good cabinet with a great deal of suspicion because lets face it, the bits and bobs in there are usually overpriced - well probably not if you are a collector but definitely are if you are a rummager. Ok, so long story short, there was a whole set of 6 glasses and they were priced at 50 cents each! Needless to say I had the op-shop lady whip them out of there as fast as her arthritic bones could manage. They made me think of alfresco dining in Summertime so how could I resist?

They are probably not as stylish as this French glassware spotted by Kath PathWalker and I...

... but I love 'em just the same! My final find came to me again as I was leaving an op-shop! I had been into the shop to see if they distributed food because we are in the process of cleaning out my Mother-in-laws house and her pantry was quite full. None of us really wanted to take the tins home but I was completely unwilling to simply toss it. Fortunately, one of our local charities do indeed make up food parcels so I was able to arrange for them to have the stuff. I was leaving with a spring in my step to have sorted out that problem when my sneaky eyes wandered about and settled on this tray.

Isn't it great?! It is also really big! I have put it behind my stove and when I am cooking I swear I see those deer move and little woodland critters scamper from tree to tree. Maybe I should lay off the cooking Sherry?

Don't you just want to take a wander up that river and see what is around the corner? If you want to see what everyone else has been gathering this week, head on over to Sophie's.

Pimped Chandelier

I am feeling quite self-righteously righteous just now. I actually finished off a project and now I get to show you all! Maybe you remember my Flea Market Find ? I really started off with good intentions and we all know where that road leads don't we? Yes, yes, 'nuff said! Still, although I didn't strike when the iron was hot, I have managed to make something that is heaps better than when I found it.
This is the tricked up candelabra ...

It is pretty tricky to get a decent pic of but hopefully you get the idea.

A bit closer - a riot of colours.

And here it is in action! I love it and have hung it near my kitchen so I hope to use it lots!

Take a bag some fabric and a glue gun ...

I found this bag in a thrift shop and thought it would be perfect for those times when I only want a small bag rather than the usual mini suitcase I lug about. For instance, big bags are a pain on the tram or in a gallery - not so good in teeny tiny antique stores either.

Here 'tis - nice and neat with a lovely long strap for slinging across the body - yes I am one of those people and although I do not own a bum bag, I am probably only a few degrees separated from my bum-bag wearing sisters. The bag is about 25cms x 20cms. Perfect!

As you can see, it is in really good nick - I don't think it has ever been used. It is perhaps just a tad boring though. Maybe some fabric like this would fix up its sad drabness?

I found this fabric in an op shop years ago - it is quite fine so first I had to back it with some iron-on interfacing. Then I got out my trusty hot glue gun and did a little hot glue magic ...

Less drab, still stylish and very usable.

Maybe I should add a brooch too?

Smell the Roses.

You know, amongst all the hustle, bustle and hype, it is sometimes easy to forget what life - and art is really all about. This week I had a wonderful and rather humbling reminder of the nitty gritty essence of art and what it means to me. That is, the way it connects with people and makes them feel.
I received this note in the mail ...

and it was accompanied by this gift ...

This little face is tiny - about the size of a mans thumbnail and it was created by a man who only ever gives them away, never selling them and choosing the recipients with care. John is a retired art teacher in his early 70's and I feel very honoured that I have indeed been deemed worthy! I have now met John who is an interesting and interested bloke. It has served to also remind me that there is a wealth of knowledge and experience out there in my community if I just take time to look for it. How lucky for me to have the chance to connect with an old codger (with an enviable art collection I might add!) and share both the "aesthetic experience" and a love of Art. Life is good.

Flea Market Finds

Despite the gruesome weather and a crappy headcold, I did manage to rummage about in a couple of local thrift stores this week. I found some lovely handmade beads ...

I love these earthy clay beads but I will probably seal the terracotta ones before I use them.

This is a great Willow tin canister. How cool are those teapots?

A couple of rusty keys that are a nice size to include in some jewellery.

Oh the joy of finding a pair of barely worn slip-on red shoes! My heartbeat sped up when I saw these lurking amongst the far less glam offerings on the shoe rack. I actually held my breath as I flipped them over to see if they were my size! Yippeeeee - a golden moment in thrift shopping history - they FIT!!!! They also are a wonderful replacement for these old faithfuls ...

I have pretty much worn these guys out but I have been unwilling to part with them until a suitable replacement could be found - and today was that day! The new ones are quite pointy but I thought I would simply channel my inner Dorothy and totally pull them off! Oh yeah!

Ok, so this is a bit boring but I am planning a transformation! The first step is to add some colour ...

That is already a big improvement, but there is more to come and it involves

...lots and lots of these. Sadly, the weather is so FOUL that the paint is taking  for-evah to dry so I will have to post a pic of the finished article another day. Hope the thrift demons were with you this week as you foraged, rummaged and sifted. To see what everyone else got up to in the thrift stores this week, take a gander over here at Sophie's.

"Ready Rupert"

Here is another exhibition piece that has gone to a new home. I am posting it here because I had a comment from the pair over at Woolfenbell about using china to make jewellery. This piece started life as a promotional mug for our daily newspaper "The Advertiser" ( can you believe we only have one daily?!). I found it all lost and alone in the thrift store and was immediately attracted to it because it was covered in text. When I discovered that text was in fact snippets from newspaper reports I was over the moon! I cut it up as carefully as a gem cutter might approach the Hope Diamond - to me it was just as precious and I really wanted to maximise the amount of text I could use. Then each piece was shaped and drilled. I decided to create a metal disc with the words "seek truth" stamped on it because I think it would be rather nifty if our newspapers did just that! I called the piece "Ready Rupert" - a reference to the owner of "The Advertiser" ( and a whole chunk of Australian media!), kind of as a plea to the man to allow his journalists to actively seek the truth without regard to who he favours, be they advertisers or political parties. Jewellery as a political statement? Hells yeah! Why not?!

The piece is designed to sit quite flat on the collar bone.

The text looks like little bits of torn newspaper.

Each piece is woven together with wire.

The double-sided disc - made from an old tray and stamped with "seek truth".

Gifted, Thrifted and Found.

Some time ago I posted about a piece I was making for an exhibition and at the time I only had a fairly blurry picture to show. Well, the piece has gone off to a new home and I made sure to take some close up shots because I had a few requests to see what the thing was really made of!

This is it in its entirety - yep it is pretty massive - and weighs a tonne!

Allsorts - from old keys to a charm bracelet from Germany.

Odd earrings and a broken bit of bracelet ...

Some Swarovski crystals, a cameo and a brass heart team up with some broken necklaces.

I think this little enameled bird is probably circa 1975!

The bat was one of a very cool pair of sterling silver earrings - where do odd earrings go do you s'pose? I think they are hanging out with the odd socks that mysteriously disappear from the washing machine.

I got this dear little bluebird brooch in a local thrift store. It is made of some kind of softish metal - the sort of thing you used to win at sideshows.

A wee owl nestled amongst the pearls.

Another brooch and my favourite component - a rhinestone earring. This was my Mums, and I have kept it despite it having no partner for years and years and years. I finally decided it was time to let it go and the act of putting it in this piece was actually quite cathartic. Who would have guessed? The new owner is delighted with the piece - no real plans to wear it - except for a special birthday coming up - so it will be displayed as an artpiece in her home.