Inspired by my friends and family members who have survived breast cancer and proudly wear the Pink Ribbon while walking for the Cure. And for all those who have fought until the bitter end. Spring is in the air. With it brings the hope of health, happiness and a peaceful life.
This feminine nest pendant was created with non-tarnish pink copper wire.The three eggs are recycled faux pearl beads from abandon jewelry and sit nestled in the nest waiting for their time to be born. A new life. A new start. Miracles do happen.
This delicate nest is about an inch diameter.
Makes a lovely gift for a BC survivor or woman who needs to be reminded there is hope and love surrounding her. There is hope for a cure. Meanwhile seek out alternative medicine and acupuncture for relief of chemotherapy symptoms and to build your immune system.
Made with love and magic in my Planet Calamari Studio. To see more info on this birds nest CLICK HERE!
One of my favorite characters in the Lord of the Ring trilogy books and movies is the Elf Queen Galadriel. Beautiful, strong and also known as the Lady of Light. Galadriel is described as having been "blessed with the ability to peer into the minds of others and she judged them so fairly.Tolkien refers to Galadriel as "the mightiest and fairest of all the Elves that remained in Middle-earth"and the "greatest of elven women" This piece was inspired by her.
This one of a kind wrist cuff was created by crocheting non-tarnish copper wire strands in hues of vibrant pink and silver. After the wire was crocheted it was sewn together with more wire and beads to make it stable and to add a more sculptured effect. Faceted clear glass beads are intertwined along with glass sea blue and aurora borealis glass seed beads creating brilliant reflections of light.
You can wear this wrist sculpture with any outfit to create a dazzling effect. Dress prom dress, a gown for an elegant event or any magical evening.
Lightweight. Measures about 8 inches long. This piece is sturdy and sits on the wrist like a bangle. Can be made smaller by 'scrunching" the wire delicately.
Closes with a magnetic clasp to make putting it on by yourself easy! Slide the magnetic clasp when taking off. Do NOT pull on it! PLEASE NOTE that anyone who wears a pace maker should NOT be wearing anything with a magnetic clasp!
Made with love and magic in the Planet Calamari Studio.
See more art to wear and other crocheted wire jewelry at the Planet Calamari Etsy shop Click here!
Mistress of Magic Midnight Black Crocheted Wire Necklace with Moonbeams
I created this piece during the week of the full moon. Inspired by how brightly its beams reflected against the dark blue black sky and twinkled in the distance. Images of the mystical Isle of Avalon and the women who danced under the light of the silvery moon. This is for all who would love to live in a fairy tale even if it is only in our dreams.
Using non-tarnish deep black copper wire i crocheted several strands adding stunning glass seed beads with an aurora borealis effect. These beads catch the light and appear to be lit by moon beams against the black wire. The strands were then sewn together with more black wire, glass faceted beads and seed bead to keep its shape and give it support.
This neck sculpture is about 18 inches long and closes with a strong silver plated magnetic clasp which makes putting it on by yourself easy! Slide the magnetic clasp when taking off. Do NOT pull on it! PLEASE NOTE that anyone who wears a pace maker should NOT be wearing anything with a magnetic clasp! To see more about this art to wear sculpture please Click Here
And once again.. what would Abby Sciuto of NCIS wear to the Planet Calamari Prom? This fun Tim Burton inspired black crocheted wire bracelet with silver bells and lots of glass beads! Click here while having a cup of Caf-Pow!
What would Abby Sciuto wear to an elegant event? If i had a daughter, i would hope that it could be one like Abby. Smart, quirky, with a flair of alternative thinking. Oh to be young again only this time instead of being a hippie, be a cute little baby bat goth girl. Perfect black bob haircut, blue lipstick and fun vampie clothing. If only...
Oh and if you don't know who Abby is you must watch some NCIS reruns. After being without TV for 8 years, i must say i am grateful for cable TV and the USA channel!!!
This unique wrist sculpture was inspired by the Queen of Goth Genius of NCIS and watching way too many Tim Burton movies!
I created this bracelet by crocheting black colored non-tarnish copper wire along with aurora borealis glass seed beads. Faceted magnetized hematite beads were woven into the wire interspersed with glass faceted beads. This combo creates a magical effect of reflecting light and subtle color like dew drops on a spider web.
Hematite is known for its properties to ground and protects us. Strengthens our connection with the Mother Earth, and makes us feel safe and secure. Known to add courage, strength, endurance and vitality. This stone dissolves negativity and prevents one from absorbing the negativity of others. It is also used for healing the blood, liver and kidneys.
Silver frosted bells dangle from this piece. Chic yet oh so Tim Burton! This wrist art could be worn to a formal event, goth prom or with a little black dress.
Measures about 7.5 inches long. Can be made smaller by 'scrunching" the wire delicately.
Closes with a magnetic clasp to make putting it on by yourself easy! Slide the magnetic clasp when taking off. Do NOT pull on it! PLEASE NOTE that anyone who wears a pace maker should NOT be wearing anything with a magnetic clasp!
Made with love and magic in the Planet Calamari Studio.
See more pictures of this wrist sculpture and other crocheted wire jewelry at the Planet Calamari Etsy shop CLICK HERE!
Now go pour yourself a cup of Caf-Pow and watch an NCIS rerun...
Warning - When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple
By Jenny Joseph
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells and run my stick along the public railings and make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain and pick the flowers in other people's gardens and learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat and eat three pounds of sausages at a go or only bread and pickles for a week and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry and pay our rent and not swear in the street and set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers. But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple
The hues of gold and copper combined always remind me of the sunlight reflecting and bouncing across the roof tops of Florence. Church bells ring in the distance. You can almost see flecks of gold Angel dust falling from the sky.
This delicate necklace was created by crocheting plated gold wire with non-tarnish copper wire intertwined are faceted glass crystals and aurora borealis glass seed beads. I added tiny gold bells that quietly tinkle in a magical way. Every time a bell rings an Angel gets its wings! This piece is elegant with a touch of boho chic.
The necklace is about 17 inches long. It can also be wrapped around twice and made into a double strand necklace or several times around the wrist as a boho bracelet.
Closes with a magnetic clasp to make putting it on by yourself easy! Slide the magnetic clasp when taking off. Do NOT pull on it! PLEASE NOTE that anyone who wears a pace maker should NOT be wearing anything with a magnetic clasp!
The earrings are crocheted copper wire with gold plated wire threaded through with glass aurora borealis seed beads. A small gold bell hangs at the end of each. The bells make a very tiny tinkling sound. The earrings are lightweight and measure about 3 inches long.
Ready to ship in a gift bag. I use USPS priority mail with insurance and delivery confirmation. If you are purchasing more than one piece please convo me so i can combine shipping rates at a discounted price.
Made with love and magic in the Planet Calamari Studio.
This one of a kind wrist cuff was created by crocheting non-tarnish copper wire in hues of vibrant purple, sea green, peacock blue, sea foam green and silver. After the wire was crocheted it was sewn together with more wire to make it stable and to add a more sculptured effect.
Faceted amethyst and clear beads are intertwined along with glass sea blue and aurora borealis glass seed beads creating brilliant reflections of light. I added four violet lamp work glass beads that have a peacock eye pattern. They remind me of creatures of the deep sea hiding in seaweed. I believe this is what mermaids must see while swimming through the coral reefs with their dolphin friends.
You can wear this wrist sculpture with any outfit to create a dazzling effect. Dress up a pair of jeans, prom dress or attire for a formal occasion.
Lightweight. Measures about 7.5 inches long. Can be made smaller by 'scrunching" the wire delicately.
Closes with a magnetic clasp to make putting it on by yourself easy! Slide the magnetic clasp when taking off. Do NOT pull on it! PLEASE NOTE that anyone who wears a pace maker should NOT be wearing anything with a magnetic clasp!
Ready to ship in a gift bag. I use USPS priority mail with insurance and delivery confirmation.
Made with love and magic in the Planet Calamari Studio.
See more art to wear and other bird nests at the Planet Calamari Etsy shop Click here!
Please visit my Etsy Skinny Legs and All Vintage Shop for nostalgic clothing and accessories. Click here!
Celebrate life with this colorful bracelet with tinkling fairy bells! Sometimes girls just want to have fun.
This wrist piece was creating by crocheting non-tarnish colored copper wire in shades of peacock blue, 2 shades of sea foam green along with gold plated wire. Faceted amethyst and clear glass crystals are intertwined into the bracelet with sea blue and aurora borealis glass seed beads. Add sparkle to any outfit while you make lovely tinkling sound with silver bells.
Measures 8 inches long. Can be made smaller by 'scrunching" the wire delicately.
Closes with a magnetic clasp to make putting it on by yourself easy! Slide the magnetic clasp when taking off. Do NOT pull on it! PLEASE NOTE that anyone who wears a pace maker should NOT be wearing anything with a magnetic clasp!
Ready to ship in a gift bag. I use USPS priority mail with insurance and delivery confirmation.
Made with love and magic in the Planet Calamari Studio.
Dear Pasty White Old Men of the Republican Party and the Vatican,
On behalf of all women and their uteruses, i would like to ask you why you think you are qualified to determine what we are allowed or not allowed to do with our bodies. Don't you have enough to deal with walking around with that one eyed snake and two furry companions everyday? I bet most of you don't even know what the uterus does or where it really is. Do you really think that Bayer aspirin will work as an effective contraceptive? If so, then why have you not banned it for over the counter use? Do you even know where the ovaries are? What they do? Did you still think the Fallopian tubes are part of the internet invented by Al Gore? Or perhaps they are part of the Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska...
With all the attention and determination you have put into regulating the female body think of what you could really do if you focused that energy elsewhere. I am sure you could find better things to do with your power and money. How about starting by feeding the poor? Finding shelter for the homeless? Healthcare for those who cannot afford it. (Which is most of us in the lower middle class!) Stopping real crimes. I mean REAL crimes, like those crooks on Wall Street, Lobbyist, the Oil Lords, Drug Lords, and all those other holy men who think they are doing the Lord's work by molesting chidren. How about really making the world a safer place. A place where little old ladies can cross the street past sunset. Safe playgrounds, neighborhoods and schools. Find a real solution to global warming because no matter what you say.. it is REAL! (Is it hot in here or is it me? Oh wait it is 60 degrees today and it is March! A year ago today i was shoveling a foot of snow!) Fix the broken tax system. (Or at least fix the damn pot holes in the street!)
When was the last time any of you boyz were pregnant? Had morning sickness? Bloated? Bled like a pig with debilitating cramps that had you curled up into a fetal position.... every month for let's say 30 years or so? Had a perpetual itchy yeast infection? Bladder infection? Menstrual migraine? Uterine fibroids? Breast cancer? Cervical cancer? Ovarian cancer? A tumor the size of a grapefruit nesting in your uterus? Can you even imagine surviving "The Oh My Goddess I Am Bursting Into Flames Hot Flashes" every day? How about night sweats? Don't even get me started on raging hormones causing acne, constipation, frizzy hair and weight gain!
If you are so concerned with the female body perhaps you could help us by promoting safe and healthy ways to stop our pain, excessive bleeding, bloating, hot flashes, night sweats, puking while carrying a large watermelon inside our bodies. Invent a way for us to be able to wear white pants every day of the month. Give every woman off with pay when she is menstruating or during menopause. Assign special parking spaces for pregnant women. (Do we really need 20 handicapped spaces at every grocery store?) Make acupuncture and alternative medicine available to all women and paid for by those slutty insurance companies that you are in bed with. (Speaking of sluts- may Rush Limbaugh reincarnate as a poor minority woman with 12 children, working at Wal-Mart who has been disqualified for welfare and lives with a perpetual burning, itchy yeast infection.)
Here is a link to boycott the sponsors of the Puff Toad Rush Limbaugh's show. CLICK HERE!)
And remember on voting day 2012..."Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" We are Woman ... hear us roar!
Visit the Planet Calamari Screaming Uterus Shop for politically humorous art at Click Here!
U.S. PREMIERE: Artisphere is the first and only venue in the United States of America to present this exhibition of photographs revealing moments of this extraordinary figure’s private life.
Free public opening reception: Thu Feb 23 / 7-10pm
"Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)’s extraordinary life and iconic biographical paintings have earned her international renown in the world of modern art. Upon Kahlo’s death in 1954, more than 6,500 personal photographs and items belonging to her and husband/artist Diego Rivera were sealed and put in storage. For more than half a century this great collection of personal memorabilia remained hidden from the public. In 2007 this collection was opened and Mexican photographer and curator Pablo Ortiz Monasterio inventoried and catalogued 240 images to create the Frida Kahlo: Her Photos exhibition.
These images reveal a little-known side of the artist and lifelong resident of Coyoacán, a Mexico City suburb and Arlington, Virginia's sister city. The collection of photographs in this exhibition reflect Kahlo’s tastes and interests, the experiences she shared with those close to her, and her complicated, but also thrilling, personal life. Viewers get an insider’s look, not only through who was behind the camera, in front of the lens or the anonymous nature of some of the work but also through the annotated writing found on the back of many of the photographs.
From family pictures and snapshots taken with lovers to images that reveal relationships with Russian Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky and American photographers Edward Weston, Alfred Stieglitz, artist Georgia O’Keefe and actress Dolores del Rio, this exhibition provides a glimpse into Kahlo as never seen before. This exhibition is produced in collaboration with the Frida Kahlo Museum, The Embassy of Mexico, the Mexican Cultural Institute, Arlington County and with additional support from the Rosslyn Business Improvement District. It was initially facilitated by the Arlington Sister City Association."
I cannot remember the last time i saw my muse- she somehow disappeared while i was busy packing up my life and belongings during the Great Move of 2011. Perhaps i accidently folded her into the box of beads and art supplies where she spent the last four months in a dark damp storage unit. Or maybe she has run off again to Paris to sip Pastis 51 and hang out at the Louvre.
These past few months have flown by since the move from the Witch City to Virginia. Most of it spent unpacking boxes, the paralyzing reality of a sick father, caring for an old incontinent cat and the perpetual search for a job. A real job- if there is such a thing. After applying for at least 300 jobs online, i am pretty certain most are surreal at this point. That is 300 resumes, cover letters and tedious redundant applications required to be filled out completely including everyplace you have worked, addresses, phone numbers, bosses, salary and pretty much every detail except for a sample of DNA, which i am sure would be required if i applied for the government jobs my parents keep reminding me about. (No need to remind them that their daughter probably has an FBI file documenting the activities of her domestic terrorist cats along with her borrowing Motorcycle Diaries from the library during the Bush regime.) During my father's moments of dementia he will ask if i have applied to work at Bethlehem Steel. I must be in a Seinfeld episode. Perhaps i will work for J. Petterman or the Yankees.
The insane thought of going through the tedious and expensive process of getting yet another acupuncture license- this time in Virginia... or maybe DC plays in my head over and over. Do i want to start another acupuncture practice all over again... Be self-employed again? Or should i settle for that $9 an hour job? This is beginning to sound like a John Prine song.
My addiction to hunting for a job seems to have triggered an intervention from my husband. He has the patience of a saint most of the time. But everyone has their breaking point. "Enough- stop trying so hard and the job will appear!" And so i have promised to stop looking for a bit. Take time to chill and enjoy life. (Could someone please remind me how to do that.) I may need to find a 12 step program to keep me from searching the internet everyday for THAT job.
Will Craigslist, Career Builder, Higher Eds Jobs, etc. even notice that i stopped visiting them with resumes everyday, including weekends and holidays? Happy to say i will not miss Career Builder taunting me with emails of expired job listings. "Hi, I'm Elliot from Career Builder and NASA is interested in you. Please click below to apply for the job." And of course, i click- and end up on a "Sorry the listing for this job is expired." webpage. Who hires those people at Career Builders?
Last night after my first 5 hours of not even peeking at Craigslist for a job i saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye. ... there she was in her infamous harem pants with bells, Dancing to the music in the kitchen with the cats. Later i noticed that she ordered colored wire, bells and beads online and sent me the bill. I am hoping somewhere there is a bottle of Pastis 51 with my name on it too.
i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today, and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing any--lifted from the no of all nothing--human merely being doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.
Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.
The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.
"In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." Mr Darcy From Pride and Prejudice
Maybe this is not the best quote from the book, but it is certainly one of the most romantic Thank you Jane Austen!
“I never set out to be weird. It was always other people who called me weird.” Frank Zappa
The festival of Zappadan runs from the date of Frank's death, 12/4, through the date of his birth, 12/21. I did not make this up. You read more about this holiday season from an old post at the blog The Aristocrats
OK, so i do have a Zappa thing, just look at the hair. We were both born at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore. His parents were part Italian ....and Catholic. Mine were full blown Italian which requires one to be Catholic too. He too was the oldest child of four and he also had asthma. wheeeeeze gasp... pass that inhaler please.
Frank and his family ended up in San Diego in 1955ish depending on which bio you read. (I eventually moved there in 1981) You can read more about Frank's early career at wiki
It was not just the brilliance of Zappa's music that made me fall in love with him. He was a rebel. Outspoken. Blunt. A genius... a real one with a high IQ. He was a smart bad boy with a sense of humor and an inhaler. Oh take my breath away. And he had no problem being odd, different or weird. He did not even try. I can relate to that- though it took me much longer to accept that about myself. Some of us are just born that way. It pisses some people off, confuses others and stuns the rest. Rest assured, most of us freaks are harmless, just scary to watch or understand.
He was oh so very handsome in that ugly-sexy rock star kind of way too. Of course i think if i ever had kids i would have thought of better names for them than Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. (Diva is a beautiful name without the pigeen muffin.)
So in 1993 Frank Zappa died on my birthday of prostate cancer. (Bill Bixby, of the Courtship of Eddie's Father had just passed away a week before with the same disease.) What a shitty year for good guys. I remember that day vividly, what i wore, ate, drank and the tears. I took it as an omen that it was going to be a very bad year. (And yes it was THE year that sucked- but it also was the year that sparked many big changes in my life- death of my dear friend Edie, the death of a bad marriage, moving to new apartment alone with terrorist cats, a sick dog and starting acupuncture college. And i am certain it sucked much more for the Zappa family.)
It has been 18 years since all that has transpired. My terrorist cat will be 19 in April. I can't even believe how old i am today. I feel young inside. Old in my joints. My inhaler is still in my purse, tho since moving to Virginia away from the coal dust of Salem, i no longer need to puff on it as much. So..when i learned of the holiday season known as Zappadan started on my birthday a few years ago, i took it once again as an omen, but this time as a good one.
So today i will floss, not eat yellow snow and celebrate my weirdness. It's my birthday and i'll floss if i want to. (yes i did live in Montana for 9 months too!)
