Leap of Faith

  As a community, FROG is an important 'word' in our little town. Many sad events. Many untimely and tragic deaths, many illness's and many recoveries as well. FROG is a special word in Cumberland Wisconsin. FROG: Forever Rely On God.  We do.
  This bracelet was important for me to make. I needed to get a 'grip' on the call I feel to make 'Inspirational jewelry'. I FEEL it in my stomach. I FEEL it in my head. I FEEL it in my hands. I FEEL it.
Now I can wear it.

Now I can wear it and I can share it. Many who read this may know why FROG has again come to the forefront of our minds and is deep within our hearts. We are a 'Team' and we'll  celebrate the day our friend is once again home. 

 That said, there is more. There is that 'comfort zone'. I have my comfort zone in my chosen 'art' or profession and it's norm is metal. Metal and 'earthy' colors. nothing bold, nothing bright. 

This is different. It's very colorful, very bold, very bright. 

 As you can see, I chose purple, green, and did add a 'nature' color of brown, but the colors are bright and they 'pop'. The beads are big, bold. Big.Bold.Beads. 

That too, was me stepping out of my comfort zone. I do lampwork, a little, I'm no pro at it. However, I do make beads. Glass beads. These are clay. I don't even LIKE clay. I actually dislike it. A LOT. Well, wait. I did. I had this clay in a zip lock bag. I bought it ...what...17 years ago? I bought if for my kids when they were little. They could create, I'd bake it....whalla ...(spell that ha?) they had something cool. Then I let them paint it. (yep, I let my kids paint when they could barely walk. Finger paints ON the high chair tray, crayons, paint...all things art (that were not small enough to swallow: boy child, ya.)  Okay, back to my  'leap'. 

So, I had  a 'vision' in my head of what I wanted to do. I gave it a go in metal, but it just wasn't 'effective'. (or very comfortable to be totally honest) It took something I didn't have. Patients. (I have like...0% patients, ask my kids) So I went to the zip lock bag I recently 'unearthed' during my 'studio move'.

 I stared at the big bag with the huge hard white lump of clay inside for several days. I do that a lot. I look at stuff and ....when I feel unsure, or fear (lampwork/ map gas, torch, exploding glass potentially)

I really feared that, and stared the torch down for weeks. It won most of the time. That's not important right now however. The bag of clay is. (to me, at least). 

 So, I stared at it. I took it out. It was hard. Crumply. Not what you want in clay. I new that and I new how to fix that. I put it back. The idea in my head made it's way to paper. 

I went back to the bag. (oh, by the way, we are like...on day 5. I finally broke a chunk off the massive lump. The white clay was cold in my hands. I kneaded it and I worked it and I made it pliable and 'workable'. I know enough about it to know what to do, I just don't, um, didn't like it enough to give it my time. But, this was 'the time'. This was 'the medium'. I have a huge collection of rubber stamps I use for stamping solder (you thought scrapbooking right? Nope. Did one. 6 pages into it I was still on day 1 of our  CA vacay. Not my thing)

Doesn't matter. I have the letter stamps. I molded the clay into shapes I wanted for beads, and rolled out the shape I wanted for the 'bar' part of the bracelet. The important part of the bracelet. FROG. I stamped the F. Then the R. Then the O. It was too high so I went back and started over again, beating the air bubbles out of the clay in frustration. I finally decided  I actually liked the letters NOT to line up. I was more 'fun'. This was meant to be a 'fun' piece, as well as a piece with a message, and a reminder. Forever. Rely. On. God.

I do. 

I baked my beads. I baked my 'bracelet bar'. They turned out ....ok. They were white. (Yes, there is colored clay, but that's not me, no. I HAVE to do it myself, the colors. Don't ask why. OCD? Possibly. JPW? absolutely! (Just plain weird) That one goes without saying.

I had baked white beads and a rectangular piece that said F.R.O.G.

I went to my inks. This is when I realized....there was some fun going on here. I was liking this a little. (Shhhhhhhhh, don't tell ANYONE...I actually was having a really fun time!!! SHhhhhh!) 

I chose my colors and I mixed my inks to get the colors I wanted. (this stuff dries fast so this is worksostinkingfastbefortheinkdriesyougottagetthesestupidbeadscolored fast.) I tend to go off on my own a bit and add something additional (and extremely TOP SECRET, Family recipe kinds thing) I always have to mess with stuff, can't even follow the directions on a cake mix without tossing something else in. Oh well, roll with me or get off my hill right? Yep. (talk big for such a little woman don't I?) funny how that works.

Okay, back to my Leap Of Faith!  I got everything how I wanted it and I continued for two days making beads and bracelet bars and more and more and other words and patterns and colors and it is just all over the kitchen and it's messy, which creationusuallyissoIdon'treallycare. Whoa. Breathe....just breathe.  I took a leap. A leap of faith. That leap was going to a medium I didn't like and really did have some questions about. That leap was making something, yes, I had planned out but it never really took THAT direction. It took a direction all it's own. Totally.  The leap of faith, no questions, no backing away. Move forward right? 

I am an artist of many mediums. You would be facing a challenge to find something I have not done, used, smeared around on canvas or wood or ....who knows right? ) Okay, leaping. I did. 

I took that stuff in my hands. It was cold and hard and crumbly. I warmed it and smoothed it and tenderly shaped it with my hands. I made what was in my head. What MY God put in  MY head. My Creator creates through me. People ask often 'where I got 'that'. GOD gave it to me, who else? It's his gift, it doesn't belong to me, it belongs to him, I am only it's caretaker while I'm here......ya.

 My faith, MY leap. MY hands. MY Heart. My Head. My SOUL. My God, OUR God.  It's all in the beads. The bracelet. Why did I think it would come together when I had ABSOLUTELY NO  REAL PLAN as to how the finished piece would look? I had faith. 

I was FROG'n. Leap FROG'N. Leap FROG'N IN FAITH.