March 17 Celebrates Many Things

St. Patrick's Day,
Evacuation Day,
& the Start of Spring!

Most people know March 15 is St. Patrick's Day and in some locales it is a recognized holiday with big parades. Few know much about the saint, except that he lived in Ireland a long time ago.

But I learned there are other interesting things associated with that day.

As a child, my mom (first-generation Irish born here) taught us about St. Patrick and each year we proudly carried an Irish flag and genuine shamrock to school on March 17, until one year. That year I no longer walked to the neighborhood school, but commuted to Boston, Massachusetts, every day. The trip took over an hour due to heavy traffic and waiting for the two buses, train, and then another bus. My schoolmates were nearly all of Irish descent.

After a while at the Boston school there was a mastery of the quirkiness of the old school building with its hundred-year-old desks, creaky wooden floors, mimeographed books, ink wells, and ancient water bubblers.

Eventually we neared mid-March. Our assignment was a written one, a contest, and the best essay could win a lot of money! With all the St. Patrick things at home it seemed an easy project. But the topic was not St. Patrick, it was "Evacuation Day." Hmmm, What was that?

The local librarian, not in Boston, found a one-sentence reference to Boston's Evacuation Day and it has nothing to do with St. Patrick, but everything Irish. The day commemorates George Washington driving the British forces out of Boston in 1776 at the beginning of the American Revolution. With Boston's large Irish population, the 17th of March was an obvious choice to establish the city's holiday in 1901. By 1941 the holiday was observed in all of Suffolk County by government offices and schools, but not most private businesses.

However, by 2010 it was decided that Evacuation Day should no longer be a holiday because of the expense of paying state and municipal workers for an extra day off. So March 17 has reverted to St Patrick once again.

Family traditions can be misunderstood and strange, too. One grandfather declared that spring always started on St. Patrick' day. At that date I always pulled out my summer clothes, even amid the snow, and was never reprimanded. A feat that always amazed me! Decades later and hundreds of miles away, I still believe grandpa was right because for a few days around March 17 robins flood this neighborhood during their migration.

Gramps told a lot of tales. Me? I tell a few and I make jewelry. Here are some St. Patrick's day earrings I made. More photos and sale info is available if you click the links.

http://www.zibbet.com/Lehane/artwork?artworkId=1306740

http://www.zibbet.com/Lehane/artwork?artworkId=1301627

http://www.zibbet.com/Lehane/artwork?artworkId=1301572

http://www.zibbet.com/Lehane/artwork?artworkId=1301520

Can We Vote Out This Rule?

Can We Please Cancel
the 80-20 Rule?

You know that rule, it has many expressions like 80% of the problems are caused by 20% of the issues, or, flipped over, 20% of the effort completes 80% of the work. You can spin this concept many ways and it seems to work well in all sorts of situations. This concept is also known as the Pareto principle, or the law of the vital few, and works in the natural world as well as business and economics.

What I find discouraging is that if 20% of the effort completes 80% of a project, then the final 20% of a project will require overwhelming effort -- 80%. Experience says this is true.

In practical terms, I have reorganized my office/work space for the most part (80%). The big things are moved, hooked up, reinstalled, and working. But it is those oddball piles of papers, magazines, gadgets, and whatnot that are not yet finalized. Are these my "vital few"? They create 80% of my frustration as they glare and scold all day long.

The quick solution is to sort: filing, trash, recycling, or shredding. Why is that so hard? In researching about the Pareto principle I discovered that a common misconception is that the numbers must add to 100. In a given situation 80-10 or 80-30 may be more accurate. All of which means there are many ways to stall that sorting process with research!

If you look ahead to St. Patrick's Day, here are a couple of my jewelry pieces that may provide 80% of your Gaelic wonder. The links go to my online shop where there are more details and images.

http://www.zibbet.com/Lehane/artwork?artworkId=1301424

http://www.zibbet.com/Lehane/artwork?artworkId=1301584

http://www.zibbet.com/Lehane/artwork?artworkId=1301664

Wonderful Shops of the Web
Sharing My Discoveries

There are so many shops online that searching for a particular item results in an overwhelming list of  where to purchase. Rather than helping, it can be discouraging.

So, from time to time I'd like to share some online shops I have found that are real treasures.

Today's shop is so appropriately called "Cozy." It is a place of comfortable and cozy handmade items and it will appeal to those looking for unusual and practical gifts.

Here's an example, a knit cotton hand or guest towel.

http://www.zibbet.com/Cozy/artwork?artworkId=1423031

There are also very colorful and unique headbands, cotton washcloths and more. Take a look at this very Cozy shop and be amazed!

Creativity Takes Control

Important New Discovery!

Taming creative hurricanes

There comes a time when the swirl of projects, plans, failures, and successes becomes a hurricane of disaster. I seem to live in a place where cyclones happen more frequently inside my studio/office than on the weather report. Perhaps this can be called "creative chaos" -- that sounds positive!

I admit to being a creative junkie. There, I said it! From creating websites, to making and selling jewelry, designing newsletters, cards, and prints — there is a lot of activity here. Lots of papers, receipts, bills, plans, ideas, and especially to-do lists. Mailing supplies, postage printers (2), supply bins, stored completed items, file folders, and back-up drives and equipment — all claim a bite out of my space.  When a huge project comes along and demands full attention, these "space invaders" try to claim more territory and settle in shifty new places.

Making a gorgeous newsletter or website from overly dark photos and 25 articles with 25 formats and even more fonts is simple when compared with playing lion tamer to my creative space's tornado aftermath. But I made a discovery!

Replanting everything in new places only works for just a blip in time. I needed a new modus operandi.  Decisions had to be made. Every paper and folder was evicted and subjected to intense interrogation. Ancient receipts and statements were tossed in one box with their days numbered. Archived papers in other categories got flipped to the trash barrel. How was this newly possible? Aha! the agent of change is a very large paper shredder.

Arriving just yesterday, this hungry beast ate up years of history in an hour and freed up much space. It worked speedily and quietly, only asking for a sip of oil now and again. There is a new best buddy sitting beside me now. I must find more for it to devour! I know just where to look . . .

Next, some equipment and furniture will play musical chairs to reorganize the printers, but that's a tale for another time.

Happy New Year!

Find me online:
www.Lehane.biz
www.Lehane.org

Contrasts Make the World Go Round . . .

Where Would We Be without Contrasts?

Adjust the contrast too much on your computer photos 
and they either fade into a cloud of whiteness 
or are gobbled up by the darkness. 

Finding the right amount of contrast, somewhere between too dark and too light is perfect! So it is with more than photographs, too.

One element that makes jewelry look pleasing is the use of contrasts. But it is more complex in a three-dimensional world than in a photograph! Colors can contrast with each other, the bright and the dim, the bold and the reticent. In jewelry, shapes can play into this concept in many ways: large and small, smooth and rough, natural and manmade, round and square, etc. Too much of one characteristic without a balance is unpleasant — yes, this also applies to politics!

Here's the story behind one particular necklace. 

It started with this beautiful paintbrush jasper stone that caught my eye. (There are more and better images at the link above the image.) The light and dark colors that make up this gemstone are so evenly divided that there is no way to think of it as light on dark or dark on light — both are equally prominent and yet earthy in a random sort of way. I found that fascinating. At 1.5 inches in diameter it was destined to be a large pendant. 

At first a plain cord necklace seemed right. It would not distract from the beauty of the stone. But the result was too stark and made the stone seem like an abandoned creature, plunked on string. What kind of beads would show off this pendant and work with it? Nothing seemed right. So it sat for a few months.

Quite by chance I ordered a supply of various beads and discovered Czech glass faceted beads in a color called mossy green with cream and brown highlights. These man-made beads are all different shades and color combinations and remind me of labradorite with its interesting glow. I love these beads! The lights and darks of the beads match the paintbrush jasper colors. So it was back to creating again.

Placing the Czech beads side by side was overpowering and didn't display the variety of their colors well. What happened, in terms of contrast, was that the dark shades were too much and the light too few. Balance was askew. Adding light was needed. One tiny gold bead between larger beads was a step in the right direction, but not enough. Adding two tiny beads put enough bright color in the necklace to balance the darks — and the pendant. 

A few dabs of gold, in the large, tooled, bail and the toggle clasp make this earthy pendant seem like a treasure rather than an orphan. In November this item was the most viewed of any in my shop. It is still looking for a good home.

Necklace for a Bold Woman

What Came First?
The Woman or the Necklace . . . 

Does wearing a bold necklace make a person bolder? Or does a bold person pick an unforgettable necklace?

This is something I think about because most of the neck jewelry I make is not very subtle. This conundrum is not like the chicken and egg one. We know the human was first!

Let me give you an example. I was reading about some old Celtic myths and found reference to women priestesses who were guardians of the tree of life. This tree is common in myths of many cultures and is considered the source of all life. According to what I read, in an ancient time there was a class of people who were the spiritual leaders, scholars, healers, etc. and they could be male or female. (How'd we lose that?) Some of these female priestesses were guardians of the "tree of life." 

I imagined these superior beings and what jewelry they might wear. 

Precious, earthy, bold, rustic, contrasty, elegant, and lush are some of the ideas that ran in my brain. 

 This is what I created:

This is an emerald green and gold double-strand necklace. The unusual focal pendant is fancy jasper. There are also segments of fancy jasper chips to add a rustic and earthy tinge to the necklace. These gals must have loved earthy green gemstones!

Several gold-plated diamond-shaped beads with Celtic symbols twinkle amid the lush green strands. Somewhat hidden, emerald green bicone crystals add some sparkle. Square kambaba jasper gemstones and small round moss agate gemstone beads, in various shades of green, and at regular intervals,  add order and symmetry in contrast to the rugged and various-shaped chips. All these shades of green combine for a vibrant effect. A gold-plated toggle clasp seems to add an ancient feel to this piece. 

Spiritual sage, healer, guardian, scholar . . . I believe she would have loved this!

People today love it! This item is one-of-a-kind and has the most "views" of any of my items. The question remains: does a bold woman choose this necklace or does the necklace create a bold woman?

Observing the Extremes of Opposites

Noticing Those
Funny Extremes

It is my opinion that many things in day-to-day circumstances are like scenes from a comedy show!

Here I am, for instance, trying to promote my jewelry and art creations and being oh so diligent. But the things that seem to sell are the silly ones. Take this for instance:

Bah Humbug Ornament

This ornament is one people just love. You have to admit we all can relate to it, even if only a secret admission! This is a photo of a real hippo and he lives in Florida! I love to visit him and watch him enjoying the attention of his daily visitors. Sometimes he seems to be an entertainer and other times he is just like this image, collapsed! We're not that different from him!  But I work so hard to promote my "serious" jewelry! These sell, I think there is a joke here.

Cooking Is Fun
Well, Maybe Not

Cooking is not one of my favorite things. Probably because it takes a lot of practice to do well, plan ahead, and schedule the whole process. And then there is the mess to clean up! Bah Humbug!

Bah Humbug Apron

There is a lot of joy in my belly when I wear this when cooking! It brings more pleasure to the chores than the act of eating. Well, almost as much. What is it about proclaiming our attitude to those watching and even to just ourself that makes us happy? This apron is a mental health adjustment tool and people who buy it understand.

Could It Be . . .

That items we create, sell, or purchase, are all made and bought for mental health reasons? Think about that. 

Look around. There is the huge woman at the gym with a water bottle that cost more than her whole outfit. But it affirms her place in the "fitness world" to herself. How many sports cars are owned by retirees? We all know a wealthy person wearing old ratty shoes because they cannot let themselves think they have some money. This is the stuff of comedy skits. It is part of being human. Things are not what they seem and may be the exact opposite!

Perhaps I am just silly and for that reason must make and sell serious jewelry. 

Many of my ornaments and jewelry designs are on display here where you can follow my Pinterest boards.