Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Bryce National Park is fascinating.  As I walked to one of the overlooks I saw such variety of rock colors and formation shapes. I was spellbound and if it had not been so hot, I could have stayed for hours. The repetition of shapes, shapes that reminded me of pictures of Angkor Wat Cambodia from my long ago art history course, had me imagining ancient cities with ancient gods guarding those cities. While man made the Angkor buildings, nature used wind, water and temperature (freezing) to create these shapes.     The ‘hoodoos’ are tall and slender spires that rise from the arid basins.  They range in height from the height of an average man to the height of a 10 story building and no place has as many as the northern part of Bryce Canyon.  30 to 40 million years ago this was a lake bed.  You might enjoy reading more about them at   http://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/hoodoos.htm   The vast array of hoodoos and combination of colors is almost overwhelming.  There are

A week ago I posted in Face Book that I had finished several pair of earrings made from Hadar’s clay.  I was experimenting with techniques from her book, The Handbook of Metal Clay Textures and Form, and I promised to share my experience with you.  The larger oval pair of earrings (lower left in photo) combines Brilliant Bronze and Copper.  I carved curvy stripes in the copper oval and laid in snakes of bronze, sanded flat and fired.  I know I could polish and make them smoother and shinier but I like the more rustic look.  I used Baldwin’s Patina to bring out the color contrast. The upper right pair of earrings also combines the bronze and copper.  The back textured layer is bronze and the smaller rectangle is copper.  I was concerned that the copper might be too thick and not bond well but as you can see – no problem! The earring on the lower right also has a backing of bronze.  I carved horizontal strips and laid the copper snakes in.  Then a textured the snakes cut

Peter and I just returned from a road trip to Utah.   We drove to Coral Pink Sand Dunes that were once (170 million years ago) covered with ocean.   We climbed a steep wet sandy hill of beautiful coral colored sand and stood at the top looking across miles of coral colored sand dunes, high ridges swooping into flat beaches.   We carefully walked among the Welsh’s Milkweed plants taking pictures of the lovely thick-skinned leaves and the globe-shaped blooms.   The thick skins protect the plant from heat, wind and sand damage as the deep roots tap into water under the sand and send horizontal runners making new plants.   These plants are only found in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona and are on the federally threatened plant list. This is where I began to pay attention to the repetitions of shapes and lines throughout the road trip. I always try to be aware of design elements around me and I enjoyed focusing on this idea. I think I could have spent hours studying this inte