Anyone can....

Heading out for the day today but it's a surprise so I can't tell you where or with whom!!!! 

In the meantime, I've  been busy making some new "anyone can fly" pieces -  as someone just requested one.  I always enjoy going back to my first "anyone can...." creation where "anyone" is a little bird who has spread his wings, ready to fly....but now just needs the courage to let go.....

Yes, when the "anyone can" series started - "anyone" was a bird. 

 

After this first design, I knew I wanted to create a figure but just wasn't sure how I would do it and what it would look like ...so there was a lag before the next "anyone" piece was created.... but since that time there have been quite a few in the series.

He's such a clever little fellow, inspiring us to try new things.  Here's a few of them:

Anyone can fly

Sometimes in life we are faced with difficult challenges and have to let go of certain things to move on...... It's tricky and there is often that one last sticking point that stops us moving forward.....Well this little necklace shows one of my birdies going through just that and inspires us to be brave!


This little bird is just about ready to take his first flight....he's been watching his parents fly....he's spread out his wings........but is still a little nervous, so hanging on tightly with this feet before he makes that all important commitment! - And when he does, he'll let go and then realize that "yes, I can fly"!


OK. So you may have noticed that although this is "anyone can fly" - this isn't "Anyone", it's a bird! This design is based on one I made a few years ago which was my very first "anyone can" piece. At that stage, I could make birds, but I hadn't figured out how to sculpt a person!

In the original version, his legs were through a jump ring...and he didn't have a tail! I only just realized he didn't have a tail as I made this one! It was a popular design and someone just emailed me and asked me to make one for them....so I changed it just a little bit...adding a tail of course and I made it look like his feet cling onto the chain, instead of via a ring!


I thought of calling it "You can do it!" or "Yes, I can fly!".....and a few other names that didn't quite fit the sentiment....but the "anyone can fly" just seemed the best....Do you have any other naming suggestions so that "anyone" remains a person....????

I hope it can be an inspiration for someone.......

Dreaming you can fly

I often used to dream that I could fly - and loved yesterday's Pickles cartoon so thought I'd share it with you....

Anyone can ........fly a kite

So here is my latest "Anyone can...." piece. A necklace entitled "Anyone can....fly a kite"

It shows my new friend, Anyone, holding on tight to his new kite and you can just picture him loving that feeling as it takes to the skies and pulls on his arm - and then just for that split second, it takes you off the ground.




This picture here looks like he is just willing the kite to fly......that feeling when you want to blow and encourage it....try as you will, the wind hasn't quite got below it...

But then, the wind gusts and up the kite goes, and you are excited and you let out more string and then it feels like you can fly too!

What a lovely thing kite flying is. Yet you see very little of it nowadays...or is that just here? Maybe there aren't any empty beaches or parks anymore .....?

Anyhow - I hope you like my new Anyone and he gives you the feeling of up, up and away......

If you haven't met Anyone before - be sure to check out "Anyone can fall in love" and "Anyone can whistle".

Anyone can fall in love

Let me introduce you to "anyone". He/She is my newest friend and will be featured in my new "anyone can....." series of jewelry. I wanted to create a little figure that could be male or female and so I created "anyone". (I'll refer to "anyone" as "him" but only because it gets awkward to keep using both sexes!).
Anyhow, I want anyone to try doing different things - be adventurous and see where it takes him.

For a start this, my first piece, is "anyone can fall in love". It is a lariat necklace. "Anyone" is seen falling through the heart shape of the necklace - and so is falling 'in' love!

He is a simple little figure, pants/trousers and a hat and his arms are out in this piece as he his free-falling! And yes, as he is falling - he hangs upside down! Maybe a little bit reminiscent of my first "anyone" piece- but then "anyone" was a bird and the piece was "anyone can fly". Maybe my new anyone will try flying one of these days.

As I do with lariats, there is a little hook on the back of the heart so you can loop part of the chain on it and it holds the lariat at a specific length. So anyone can hang just where you want him. He's close to the "love" in the photos so that I can get a closer up photo of both pieces but you may wear him further away.

I'll put him up on Dawanda and my website soon.

I have lots of ideas of things anyone can try - but if you have some suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I'll mention them to anyone and see if he thinks it's something he'd enjoy! Obviously falling in love was an easy choice! We all love that feeling - that free fall feeling of falling in love!

Anyone can fly

"Anyone can fly" is a necklace made from fine silver (.999). It shows a little bird about to make his first flight - but he is a little scared so is still hanging on with his feet. But his wings are spread and he's ready to take that leap........This little bird's story is:

I made this piece in the summer of 2007. I had just finished participating in a Chanticleer workshop. Chanticleer, as you may know, is a wonderful group of 12 male singers - "an orchestra of voices". They are a great ensemble, not only to listen to, but to get to know. At the Chanticleer workshop in Sonoma each year. a group of auditioned singers have the opportunity to sing with, learn from and become friends with the members of Chanticleer, their music director, Joe Jennings and other singers from around the world. It is such a inspiring experience and the summer of 2007 was no exception.

One piece of music that was selected for this workshop was "Leonardo dreams of his flying machine" by Eric Whitacre. The text explores Leonardo da Vinci's dreams of flying and Eric Whitacre has a great use of music to create visual images of flying...using not only words but also "noises" from the singers to conjure up the sound of the wind etc. At one point we sing about Leonardo watching the pigeons and figuring how they do it...and then he builds this machine...and the climax of the piece, with the notes rising is that "he leaps!" - and the air carries him and he manages to fly, despite his own and everyone else's doubts....

So after this uplifting workshop, where the singing and friendship was just incredible...I sat down one day to create something, not having any plan at all...and a bird came first with his wings outstretched and then "anyone can fly" was born. It is a piece that I hope inspires people to take that leap - to have courage and just try. So it seems a perfect piece to being my blogging experience with. I'm taking that leap today with my new blog "inside the artisan" - listening to the stories behind our creations - and believing the anyone can fly!