Stone Cabochon Series :: #3

Haystack Rock Cannon Beach, OR

For as long as I can remember there has been one place, that when I close my eyes it is what I see. I can instantly feel the cool mist on my face, the whipping wind twisting my hair and the roar of the surf. It is the one place that can bring me peace from the moment I crest the hill, and round the corner to head down the long drive to Cannon Beach. The rock will come in and out of view as I wind my way there. 

When I looked into the pattern of the stone that Melinda Orr gifted me, all I could see was the silhouette of haystack rock that dominates the view from Cannon Beach. I see a "moody" winter sky surrounding the rock. Just as I remember it being most days. 

My childhood was spent along this coast line at the various beaches in the area, but nothing captivated me as much as this mammoth rock jutting out of the surf. I always wanted to climb it, and I would shift around to a side, dig in and begin to climb a few foot-holds up. But my mother would notice and yell to "get DOWN off that rock!" Once upon a time I was 7 and would wait until I thought my mother wasn't looking so I could sneak in a little excitement, something I was definitely not supposed to do. Yes people climbed it, and yes it was wet, slippery and dangerous. But there was a time in my life where I just wanted to see the view from up top. 

I no longer have this piece as a friend bought this one from me 2 weeks ago. She tried on almost every one of my stone cab necklaces in this series, and nearly bought the one I showed last weekend. But in the end she took this one. I knew from the beginning that this was the one for her, but it took her most of the weekend before she knew it too. She also took the cuff I posted last weekend. When she told me she wanted it, I was a bit taken aback because she exclaimed "oh, this will be perfect for the wedding I'm going to!" Totally didn't see that coming. But once she told me it was a wedding on a beach and she had a cute cotton jacket it would match, it all made sense to me. Absolutely nothing makes me happier than to think of her wearing these pieces.

Pacific Northwest :: Peter Iredale

Not exactly sure why, but I've been feeling like painting lately. My youngest just got a great new set of watercolors, and so she and I have been playing around with colors. 

This is a second in a series I've been working on called 'Water Life.' The first was an iconic bridge in the Portland area, and this is a landmark shipwreck on the coast of Oregon called the Peter Iredale. The ship ran aground in 1906 and its rusting hull is still standing out in the surf creating one of the more iconic views that I know.

This is near Astoria, which is where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. At what is called the 'mouth of the river' it is 4 miles wide, which makes for an enormous body of water crashing into the sea. It causes one of the worse bars (the Columbia Bar) to cross in the world. A bar creates large standing waves that make it incredibly rough to cross. I have crossed the Columbia Bar once in my life, and I can tell you it was a calm day, and I'll never do it again.

Pacific Northwest :: Foggy Days

I know I've been a bit sporadic at blogging lately. Life has been busy. A good busy, but busy. It hasn't left as much time as I'd like for beading, blogging and such. I've been traveling a lot, and just returned from a trip to Oregon where we were visiting with my brother and his family, and made a large migration of family to the coast to see my Dad. I rarely make it 'home' these days, but I do miss the Pacific Northwest.

I got a bit of time yesterday to paint before the flight home. I have a new toy called a water brush. You just give it a little squeeze and voila you've got water color paint to go. I gave my new toy a spin and painted a local icon called the St. John's Bridge (c. 1931). Its design is Gothic to echo neighboring Cathedral Park, and it was declared on St. Patrick's day that it would be painted green. The St. John's Bridge was the first of its kind west of the Mississippi; a suspension bridge, just like the Golden Gate in San Francisco (c. 1937). If you've ever been to Portland you know that it is known for it's bridges that crisscross the Willamette River that runs through the city. The bridges are simply everywhere, and add to the feel of this water city.

I managed to get some great 'moody weather' as my husband likes to call it. Personally, I love the rain and fog. It is relaxing and feels like home. I got a lot of it while I was there. The fog creates the perfect backdrop, and I decided to paint in a bit to my watercolor.

Mudlarking :: The Ultimate in Upcycling

Many years back, my parent's cleared out the house I grew up in. There were all kinds of things in the house that reminded me of my childhood. Things that were sentimental to me, but not likely valuable. Doesn't matter, as I cherish them. 

The oil lamp shown here is something my parents displayed in one of the cabinets, but I really never knew much about it. They would pull it out and use it when we lost power. I had forgotten about the lamp until my husband and I were home helping my parents clean out the house, and making keep or toss piles. I tucked it into my pile of 'keepers.' 

When my family first moved to Astoria Oregon, the town I grew up in, we lived in an old Victorian place on the river. What I remember most about living by the river was the fog that would bring the bridges or the old pier pilings in and out of focus.

Astoria is the oldest settlement west of the Mississippi; at the end of the Lewis and Clark trail. So there are lots of relics from various periods of western history. My early memories of our house on the river were of the 4th floor with windows all the way around the upper floor (probably to watch the ships), and below the windows were small apothecary drawers where I hid all my treasures.

The oil lamp stayed in boxes for many, many years. Traveling from our San Francisco home to our Connecticut one. I pulled it out this year after being intrigued by a few of the British bloggers who do something called mudlarking. But what exactly is it? I had not heard this term until a few months ago. A mudlark is someone who scavenges in river mud for items of value. A term used especially to describe Londoners who scavenged along the banks of the Thames during low tide in the late 18th-19th centuries. Then I remembered the lamp I had been carrying around with me from coast to coast. My father had told me that this lamp had been found in the mud along the Columbia River. Ha ... My Dad the mudlarker!

So I set out on a mission to figure out what, and where this lamp might have come from. After researching it online I discovered that is was likely an Aladin lamp popular during the turn of the century. Further research told me that it was an Amethyst Lincoln Drape with a crowfoot base likely manufactured between 1941-1953. Ok, so maybe not as old as I thought it was, but still pretty cool. I'm a total geek for history.

I'm one of those people who loves the Antique Road Show. And the stories I love most are the ones where someone finds a priceless antique that they cleaned up with pledge. It just cracks me up. One lady found a museum piece... a Milanese helmet worth at least $250,000. The appraiser looked at her (after she confessed to use of pledge) and told her "this really should be in a museum." Man, that one had me rolling.

I would encourage you all to check out two of my favorite bloggers who mudlark. The first, Tania of Moonflygirl, makes the most beautiful jewelry from her finds. Look at these triple drop earrings she's done from pottery with what's called a Willow Pattern. I am always so amazed by how she sees just the right shard to work with. The other blog is simply called Mudlarking. In this second one Julia focuses on the history behind the pieces she finds. The one I am showing here is recent find that she's matched to the head dress Anne Boleyn likely wore. How cool is that? Ok, so my little town doesn't have the rich history that these two UK ladies have available along the Thames, but still it is fun to get out there and find a piece of history.