Wonderful beads

I was on a big spending trip today and guess what ?! I did not even leave my apartment .... All i did was sitting in front of my beloved imac and scrolled through the Etsy handmade website and found all this beautiful beads! I did not even show all the beads that i got from there.........

I am so happy......(the australian dollar is on record high and i just took advantage of it....)

The African beads are from Kenya via Beads4you

The BHG Spangled discs--Summer linens from bluhealer

The Glass Gypsy - Guys do listen (8) , Borosilicate (Boro) Lampwork Beads from Glass Gypsy

The Red Coral Flattened Ovals from Lilly's Bead Boxy

Desert Motif Cuff

Desert Motif Cuff, originally uploaded by silvermonk.

The school holiday is over. I finally got sometimes to sit down on my bench and work on this desert motif cuff! It has been sitting in my head for a long time and i am really happy the way it turns out!
It forms part of my desert motif series which includes the desert motif ring and the desert motif pendant.

The desert motif series is about the memory of one's journey through the wilderness.

It looks great on both man and woman.

I like to wear them with my other bangle pieces and together they make a great sound!

Cool Toys!

It might look like one of Gabriel's toys but in fact it is a sustainable car ! What I like about it is its cool form, very pleasing to the eye. Who say you can't look all beautiful and be responsible to the enviroment at the same time!



It is not just a bucket that you see here, but a bucket full of sunlight collected during the day. What a noble idea! ( how come i didn't think of it?) It is a solar powered energy bucket . Love the colour.

And, yes ! I will have my market gig as usually at Kirribilli Art and Design Market this Sunday. Come and have a chat if you are in Sydney !

cheers
chimin

aerial acrobatics

aerial acrobatics, originally uploaded by silvermonk.

It's been the second week of the school holidays. Young Gabriel's been busy having a quality time with his Lego toys, flying them around and making up stoys and conversations as he went! The first week just glided through without a trace. We went to see one of the free aerial acrobatics performance in the new Carriageworks space and that was cool, we both enjoyed it.

And of couse the big event is his Birthday party in the Park on the weekend. ( we rescheduled due to his winter flu) I baked the chacolate brownie birthday cake in between the air breaks of the Wallabies quarter final against England in the Rugby Wrold Cup.......


We lost in the end, but the chacolate brownie was a sucess and the party went on....

A bigs thanks for all his friends for making the day special and of course all the presents that he received!

My Moo Cards

My Moo Cards, originally uploaded by silvermonk.

I have been dying for this moo card for a long time. Now, i feel like i am in business! They are very sturdy , cute and just the right size for me. I believe in good things come in small package and moo card just have that kind of aura. I am going to use it as business card, earring tag and thank you card.........

If you are thinking of getting a set , get one before the end of this month and type in BIRTHDAYMOO in the promotional box to get 25% discount!

cheers
chimin

Rosie Rat's dog is good because......

"....he saved them from the scary plant and they gave him a garden." Well i am very impressed with how much Gabriel has learned since he started Kindy.(he even passed his 1st grade piano Exam). And it all comes down to the supportive school enviorment and the amazing job that his class teacher has done, day in and day out!

And when it comes to the school fund raising, alll the parents are very supportive and get stuck into it straight away.
Today is the day, I volunteer to run the cake stall in Gabriel's school with other parents. The cake stall is in conjunction with the art show. It is the major fund raising event for the school. I baked some very plain chocolate cupcakes and thought that at the end of the day i might have to buy them back.The other mothers brought hips of beautifully decorated home made cup cakes and we sold them all including mine.

Mr. Silvermonk was handed the job to run the BBQ with a few other Dads.
As an Aussie man, he instinctively knew his job and cooked up a few hundred sausages in no time and sold them all as well.
What a fantasic day......

Now the kids will have their creative writing program and gymnastic class next term....just kidding!

Zena - warrior princess

I sat down on my bench and just did my things.......
Out it comes the cuff and the ring.

The cuff was inspired by this photo from greenolive and it closely linked to my pebble theme. It really has a Zena feel about it.

The ring has the word- PEACE- stamped on the inside and slightly hammered on the outside.

when lifes get tough we need to stop and restore our inner peace

All in the details

MIRROR, originally uploaded by giovdim.

Just what to share with you this amazing set of tea house photos by givodim on flickr.

Very Zen!

I am off ......

Split Colorality

My butterfly ring is in the treasury chosen buy a talented artist RunAliceRun from etsy. I always think that i am a red girl, but this time i can't stop looking at the green. It brings calm to my life. Please go and checked out other talented artists on the split colorality list as well.....

What is a Lunar Eclipse?

The first two photos were taken by the 6yr old young silvermonk- sums it all up!
What is a Lunar Eclipse, Dad?
So on and on they went, having a long father and son discussion about this shadow thingy until breakfast the next morning!

Here is a quick link Lunar Eclipses for Beginners to help the young curious mind in your house.

As for me, the full moon, not eating breakfast and too much coffee didn't go down well

The best of both worlds!

We have a really fantastic weekend ! Young silvermonk got his Soccer medal ( rewarding him for attending training sessions one night a week and playing games on every Saturday.) He also played his favourite piece ( Minuet in Rondo Form) perfectly in the piano concert. We always joke that he has got the best of both worlds! I am from the East and Mr.Silvermonk is from the West. I am a sporting mad and he is a musical genius (in my eye).

2 down and 2 more to go!

we already checked out his piano exam location ( somewhere in the city ) and they even let him practise on the baby grand piano in the exam studio....( it really sounds like music from heaven!)

If i survive the birthday party at the end of this week ( he invites at least 15 of his friends), i will definitetly pour myself a glass of red wine!

Potato Sprouting

potato sprouting, originally uploaded by silvermonk.

I 've been out of action ( from the computer screen ) for few days because of the migraine headache. I normally don't take any pain killler and just have lots of cold and hot showers. Believe it or not , i almost flooded the bathroom. There has been lots of rain lately so i can have as many hot showers as i like!

My potato is sprouting and that is my first step to fill the balcony with vegetables. I think i need to transfer the sprouting potato to a big sack.....

Next week is going to be very busy, Young Silvermonk is turning 6 and we are going to have a big party in the park, any game suggestions for 6 yrs old will be much appreciated, he is going for his first grade piano exam, piano concert and the last game of the Soccer season. He's been awarded student of the week for being a good role model to others. We are really proud of him!

I am really happy that my new heart shell designs doing well in the shop. I am having a few new ideas about my pebbly design
as well.....

cheers

Free Form Ring

FreeForm Ring, originally uploaded by silvermonk.

I am all over the place in terms of my business plan! I had a brain storm section with Mr.Silvermonk and we all agreed that my strength is in my artistic talent and my weakness is not staying long enough to reap the reward ( of whatever i am doing...)! I am forever wanting to try something new and different. I need to narrow down my options and stick with jewelry and metal.

So i went to the supply shop in the City and got a whole lot of silver and the ring is the answer to Mr.Silvermonk's support!

Anyway, I made a whole lot of other new stuffs as well (which made me really happy.)

See you in Kirribilli Art and Design Market this Sunday if you are in Sydney!
cheers
chimin

Snow Gum

Snow Gum, originally uploaded by silvermonk.

Photo taken by Mr. Silvermonk on his trip " talk to the snow" in the Snowy Mts. I always love the high country and this Gum tree is so beautiful and romantic, a very inviting scene! He took this photo especially for me because he knows that i love gum trees. If i can manage the freezing cold, i would prefer a snow holiday destination anytime over the beach!

How cool is that!

As you know, i have set myself a few goals lately and the first one is a herb garden on the balcony. So i surf the net and found all this amazing photos of organic fruit & veg.that people grew from their backyard. And i did not just stop there. The path to freedomis truly an inspirational story for us all if we want to leave a smaller ecological foot print on the planet. Actually a friend of us here in Melbourne just did that as well.

What really caught my imagination is this Home made Solar Oven

It will be up there with the solar in a jar for this year's X'mas wish lists.

cheers
chimin

45 Gum nuts 45 goals!

I picked up this Australia native Gum tree branch this morning. They smell wonderful and now is sitting on my work bench.... There are 45 Gum nuts on this tiny branch, what a fruitful tree! The koala loves it.

It inspires me to set myself 45 goals, goals is not just dreams but something that you can actually achieved....and my first goal is to have a herbs garden on the balcony, the long term goal is to have my own veg.patch and chocks roaming around the garden...
you can join this web site 43 things and share your goals....

I am off to the site now!
cheers
chimin

Virus Attack

Virus Attack, originally uploaded by silvermonk.

we are now in the mid-winter and it seems that everbody around us is having a cold/ virus attack! Gabriel has been staying at home for a week and he drew this picture with the cold virus and his white blood cells all "armed to the teeth...."

click picture to see notes

virus attack

In the end he was more interested in playing his piano with the lid open ( that really kept his mind off the virus and kept his spirits high) and let his body do the defending.

Coptic cross chain pendant

Croptic cross ring pendant3, originally uploaded by silvermonk.

Yes, Black metal, silver and paper is back...... gold is out!
Well, you could say that black is always around , it is the color for the independant thinkers, the minimalists ......
The chinese say that there are five colours in black, how many colors can you see here!!?

Coptic cross had worn by Christian Ethiopians for more than 1600 years. They are often given at baptism. They are made either by the lost-wax method, or cut from a Maria Theresa dollar. They are generally named after towns or provinces where they are made.

Woman

"Woman", originally uploaded by silvermonk.

I dug out a few of my prints from art school year lately. This is one of my favourite Lithograph tthat i did when was in Tafe. i am really happy to see it stands the test of time. Woman with attitute!!

Three Sisters

Three Sisters, originally uploaded by silvermonk.

We finally went on a day trip to the Blue Mts. to meet up with our friends and did a bit of a bush walk before the school holidays end. I always love the Mts. and the Blue Mts. were particularly charming on Thursday!

The men of my life!

Untitled

This is a Lithograph that i did when i was in art school years ago! Love the simple colour and the mood.
I am thinking of taking some of my ink paintings and a few prints to the next Kiribilli Art and Design Market.
Love to get my hand dirty again and do some more water colour and prints....

The New Earth

Although i've been to the moon and back during last two full moons, the new earth that i am talking about is definitely not the moon! Well, it is a book call "A New Earth". This is simply an awesome book, the most important book i have ever read. ( apart from Bible!). It just simply make sense....a must read!!!!

I am back!

I was being wipe out of the earth surface ( going all the way to the moon and back! ), I am not joking. Every time when there was a full moon, i would completely away with the fairy. Since there were two in this month, i found myself go to bed at 8:00pm everynight and my brain just simply shut down.....The good news is I am back and reconnect with the world.



I received this advertising material in the mail lately and instead of putting it in the recycle bin i thought i might upcycle it and made it to little packaging bags for my jewellery.



Here is the new pendant that i made using the Australian Opal. Simple but nicely balanced with the hollow square shaped sterling silver.

Kirribilli art and design market

I had a fantastic day in the Kirribili art and design market last Sunday. A big thank you to all the lovely customers for supporting my work. Armed with the cash that i got from the sale, I went straight back to my favorite Indian gemstone shop in the city the next day! Look at what i 've got.....




The Australian Opal is stunning and so is the smoky quartz. The chunky yellow tone green Jade is unreal. I have a good feeling about this batch of gemstones that i brought . I am sure i will get inspire by the nature's energy and made some beautiful work out of itI



Shagpile from sydney put up a treasury list of talented people from Sydney, down under. You should check out Shagpile's shop on Etsy, her handbag is amazing. My Desert flower is on the list as well, Yea! The desert flower earring is one my most loved item! It deserves a good spotlight.

My new business card

Last Friday was a stormy day in Sydney. We've been praying for rain and it finally bucketed down like there is no tommorrow. I was bored and decided to redesign my business card. It looks very graphic and trendy.... i think i like the look of it! While in the mist of my creativity, the phone rang and it was from Gabriel's (my five years old) school.......a mother's worse nightmare, i simply forgot to pick him up. I would never think of myself such an irresponsible mother, but it just happened.....
For the next few days or so, I kept revisiting the "Mummy forgot to picked you up!" event and asked for forgiveness. The whole excercise was to let him expressed his feeling ( worried, scared...) and not suppressed it. I just stopped short of asked him to draw about the whole event!



Anyway, to mend the broken trust, i found all this (knee) holes in his jeans and school pants, so i decided to simply hand stitch them back together.


I found the simple act of mending those holes was very healing to me.

Arctic light

Full of hope is what i feel after i finished this piece. Imagine a tiny flower in spring opening up its petals and the pollen is dancing up freely into the cold thin air in order to catch the mystic arctic light. A belief in the spiritual apprehension of truth that are beyond the intellect.

Eco Treehouse

I 've been surfing the net and found more treehouses. Living among nature is definitely my childhood dream! Here is more of the Eco Treehouse , enjoy and browse to your heart content!

silk and silver

I have been busy playing with new combination of materials. The later is the silk web earrings. I love the colour and the airy combination of two. The silk web earring is listed in my etsy shop right now. Since i have so much fun with my new found love-silk, I will keep experiment it futher....