Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

For Christmas, my brother Dave, gave me a 3D Stereo Drawing Pen that we both thought looked like fun!  I waited to try it out until now after watching a couple of Youtube videos.  It came with blue and pink filament and I read the directions, put it together and started to play.   The first thing I made was a pink pyramid with 3 blue flowers and it turned out ok.  I learned how to start the hot filament on paper and then bring the pen up into the air as I pushed the button to release the filament.  It worked great and I realized it would take a little practice to learn to control the pen without making so many squiggles. Tonight I sat down to play again and was in the process of making a blue lizard when I noticed the blue filament was tangled. I let the pen cool down - the tip gets pretty hot as it melts the filament - unplugged the pen and straightened out the tangle.   The evening went downhill after that as the blue filamen...

Tansy Back of Pendant After completing Christi Friesen’s polymer class last week, I wanted to make a pendant using some of her techniques.   I also wanted the pendant to be my style (whatever that is!). The face of the girl in my creation was a bead given me by a friend and I knew someday she would call to be part of something.   I picked her up, held her, looked at my mix of clay and started creating.   It was fun to figure out how to place the polymer shapes to make her part of the forest and have personality.   Many years ago, a close friend and I corresponded.   We wrote to each other in our imaginary forest girl’s personalities.   Mine was named ‘Tansy’ and I think Tansy may have infused some of her personality into this pendant.   I just had to share her.

The 'Supper Quilt'   Yesterday, two friends and I went to see "The Supper Quilt" at the Smoki Museum in Prescott AZ.   I don't quilt but I appreciate the creativity and skill involved.  The quilt was supposed to be amazing.....and it was!  You might like to check out the website and learn more about it.   www.thesupper.net The back of the quilt was hand dyed in lovely vibrant colors - rust to purples - and the quilter, Don, had a matching shirt.  Nice touch!  Back of quilt  The quilt has 51,816 one-half inch squares forming the picture.  The time, creativity, and skill are remarkable achievements and I'm so glad I was able to see the work.   If you get an opportunity to see it, be sure to take it!  Detail  Detail 

If you are like me, you have boxes of things that you just might need one day.   When I’m making something that looks good but isn’t what I want right then, it goes into one of those boxes.   And yes those boxes are organized with the hope that I will remember to look in them.    We jewelry artists work with tiny parts and I still wonder how to organize, catalog and remember to look.   Maybe part of the creative process is the surprise of finding one of the pieces. I just finished a necklace and did not like any of the clasps I had in my fastener box.   I took out my wire and made one.   I did not think it looked like the necklace either.   So I made another and another and finally made one I really liked.   Into the ‘fastener box’ went the ones that were not perfect for this project.   I realized that I was starting a collection of my handmade fasteners.   I have brass, bronze, copper and silver.   I think I need to mak...

I love the ocean…any ocean.   I love to watch the waves roll in and out bringing seashells and ocean creatures.   The patterns of the sand can hold my attention for hours.   I love the wind on my face even when it is cold although I prefer a warm breeze.   I love old driftwood and birds at the water’s edge. I love watching whales blowing water and dolphins playing and sea otters floating on their backs. The variety of color and shapes of seashells amaze me.   Yes, I have collected many and right now they are in a pile on the guest bath counter waiting for glass shelves.   I have several small pieces of coral in various colors that were given to me by my father who also loved them.   We lived in Missouri so ocean things were always a novelty.   I keep them in a box and once in a while take them out and think about the ocean and its treasures.   The other evening I wanted to make something unusual and thought about the lovely piece of branch ...

Once in a while a client becomes a very good friend.   We share experiences, backgrounds, thoughts, and are very honest with each other.   So when that person comes to visit my home, they discover many things.   I am not a great housekeeper.    I have too much stuff and everything has a story.   I have many projects going on at any given time depending on my current interests. A Few of the Stories: The tall glass pitcher was given to my mother by an American Indian man who took care of my brother and I while Mom finished college at age 44.    I learned the meaning of sharing and giving of oneself.   The pitcher was his mother’s, his treasured possession and he wanted us to have it to remember him.   After Mom and Dad died, I integrated many of their possessions into my home.   My mother’s paintings hang on my walls. I remember watching her and listening to her as she created them.   Dad’s collection of red glass admonishes m...