Noticing the Surroundings

Here's a photo of some of the plants that grow near my studio. I like that one that looks like an iris. I'm not sure if that's what it is, but it reminds me of a butterfly. The plants around the Village belong to and are maintained by the artists. Well, actually, I think some of the plants and all of the trees belong to Balboa Park. There was a local horticulturalist named Kate Sessions who was responsible for most of the planting of trees in the Park and actually in other parts of San Diego as well. In the next patio over from my studio, where I use to be, there's a carob tree. And out behind the Village is a baobaob tree, I think. It's very odd looking. There are a number of landscapers who take care of the plants and trees in the Park. Sometimes you come across them replanting beds of pansies and marigolds. It's a big project and takes about six people to accomplish it.

I like being in the Park although I don't go out and walk around it nearly as much as I'd like to. When I first started at the Village, I thought for sure I would. Now I just go straight to my studio and start working. That's what I did this morning. However, I didn't spend much time on jewelry today. I organized things on my desk and put away boxes of beads I brought from home. I now have all my beads in my studio, except some loose ones that have spilled over the last year. They'll go next.

Recently I made a wind catcher to hang outside my studio, to attract people in. The problem is that it's not visible from the other end of the patio. It's pretty though. But besides that, it peaked an interest in making some hanging . . . sculptures, assemblages. . . I'm not sure what to call them. But I worked on several at home and another today in the studio. It's like a multi-strand necklace hanging from a piece at the top. Or I suppose you could compare it to a wind chime. The one I created today does chime a little bit when the pieces knock together. But it's chief purpose is to showcase the pieces of metal I collected from various sources. Like Kate Sessions, I have items I've collected that come to me from all parts of the world, many of them probably ordered via the internet at some point along their way.