Take me to your bleeder!

Ok, I’m breaking a personal rule that I set for myself when I started blogging, namely; never blog about anything personal.  I’m not even 100% sure why I’m doing it. I think it’s because it involves me taking an enormous step outside of my comfort zone and if I tell you all about it then I’ll HAVE to do it. Hold me accountable, people! No backing out. Ok, so, here it is: I’ve decided to donate blood. Yes, that’s the big deal. Stop your eye rolling and let me explain, me voluntarily giving blood is like most people voluntarily walking in front of a bus.

For most people getting blood taken is much like this:

For me it is this:

The result is always this:

By nature, I’m pretty level. Things like spiders, bugs and rats don’t send me into shrieking, fan-handed hysterics like they do for a lot of people. I don’t like them, mind you, but I can deal. However, if you put a syringe inside my hula-hoop of personal space, know that I mean business and will kill every man, woman, child and animal in my path to escape (whilst shrieking, fan-handed). I know it’s weird but I have my reasons.

When I was ten I had a really bad accident that involved an icy hill and a tree that left me with a severely shattered right femur. No word of a lie the last thing my mom said to me before I went out the door that February afternoon was ‘don’t break anything’. Thanks, Ma! By the time I got to the hospital my thigh muscle was in a severe state of spasm as it had been nearly torn in half (bring it on childbirth, you got nothing!) so, they immediately starting pumping me full of morphine and etc. Whatever they were giving me wasn’t working so someone had the genius idea to use a syringe and inject relaxants directly into the muscle. This is about when it all went to hell. As the doctor was administering the drug my muscle went into full spasm and the needle GOT LODGED IN MY THIGH. Imagine watching a 200lb man trying with all his might to pry a syringe out of your body and it not budging one iota. I was too young to immediately grasp the full severity of my injury but I could understand that what I was seeing was extremely bad news. At that moment any shred of bravery and dignity I may have had left went out the window like a bullet from a gun. No one could get it out so I took it like any ten year old would; I went berserk and passed out.  The whole situation turned out to be really bad. In fact, I was lucky to survive and/or not have any permanent repercussions (other than a hip that aches like all hell before it rains). I was hospitalized for a month, had two surgeries, spent a full six months bedridden, was in a body cast for 3 months and on crutches for a very, very long time.  And THAT is why I’m terrified of needles. Still judging me?

So why, by my own volition, would I think of putting myself in the dreaded needles’ path? It’s because I feel so incredibly guilty that it's gotten to the point that I have to do something about it. Seventeen-ish years ago someone rolled up their sleeve, donated their blood and saved my life but I have never returned the favour. Also, Canadian Blood Services haunts me on a daily basis. They’re always emphasizing the shortage of O negative blood. Guess what my blood type is?  That makes me a universal donor and riddled with compound guilt.

Maybe I should stop listening to the radio? No, I should get off my ass and go donate some blood.  

The In-between World of Spring

Apologies for the lapse in posts! Life has been happening (see ‘Febru-scary for details) and I haven’t had the chance to rub two thoughts together.  Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing; I’d never admit it if you asked but I generally like flying by the seat of my pants. Anyway, I have some exciting news to share!

First of all, the Spring/Summer portion of ‘The Monet Collection’ is now live and available for your viewing pleasure online at www.stellapolarisstudios.com! You’ll notice quite a departure from the 2010 stuff. My last two collections used Swarovski Crystal almost exclusively and while my love for Swarovski crystal continues to radiate like sunshine dust on a unicorn’s ass, transcend time and space , thrive, I settled on more diverse materials for this collection. I used lots of semi-precious stones, some different metals like gold and aluminum and incorporated some really pretty vintage pieces. One of my personal favourites is the vintage lucite, rose pendant. As usual, I’m kicking myself for not grabbing more when I had the chance. For these and many other wonderful finds, I have to give kudos to the good people at The Beadin’ Path and Caravan Beads. Not only are they responsible for digging up such treasures but they also stayed open during the worst snowstorm in 50 years so I could buy them.  I actually have a picture of said event somewhere. I’ll post that when I find it.

In other exciting news for those of you in the area, you can now shop for Stella Polaris jewellery at Love, Me Boutique on Birmingham St. in Halifax (just off of Spring Garden Rd). The selection of SP features some unique pieces only available in-store.  Even if you’re set for jewels you should really stop in at this adorable shop on your Saturday route. Their mandate is local and handmade which around here equals all manner of beautiful things. It’s truly a little house of wonders. Go forth and enjoy!

So, what’s next? Time to start focussing on the impending summer rush and a personal side project!  My plan is to make LOTS of jewellery in the next few weeks.  I want to have a good stockpile of jewellery on hand because I want to spend more time this summer working on custom pieces.  My goal is to make as many individual pieces for as many individuals, from as many different places as I can. I’d possibly like to blueprint this into a larger work somehow, maybe something for Nocturne 2012? I’m going to need your help on this to get it off the ground. Specifically, I’m going to need you to commission a piece from me sometime between now and October. I’m pretty easy to find, you can leave me a comment here, email me, tweet me (@StellarPolarity), and/or find me weekend loitering around Love, Me Boutique. So come, be a part of my venture, bring me your ideas and let me make a beautiful, unique something for you or someone you love! (Remember, custom doesn’t have to mean expensive)!

And, finally, (giggle) let me introduce you to my soon-to-be-newest friend and sidekick.

Hubby and I are adopting this seven month old handsome boy from the SPCA in Kings County, NS.  After years of wandering from city to city and apartment to apartment we have finally settled enough to give a kitty a good home. To say I am delighted is a stark understatement. Oh, what wonderful adventures we will have together.

No Smiling for the Camera

Update.

I have managed to pack next to nothing for my upcoming move (hurrah for avoidance!), but I have gotten some serious work done on the collection. In fact, the design work is finished and all production will be complete as soon as the box of chain (that I’ve been waiting forever for) arrives. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that arrival happens today. As pleased as I am with progress thus far, I cringe at what comes next. In fact, what’s next is my least favourite part of this entire process: the photography. Generally, I love to dabble in photography but trying to take clean, focused, representational pictures of jewelry is like trying to herd cats. Old, feral, bitchy cats. It is by far the most tedious and frustrating part of my job. Don’t get me wrong, in the end I’m always really proud of the photos we use on the website and in the blog but, believe me when I tell you that for every picture on the website we took forty blurry, skewed ones just like it.

So, what makes photographing jewelry such a bleeping downer? 1. Our camera. It too is old, feral and bitchy.  2. Unless you have tons of space; you have to improvise, set up, take down and put away some kind of ad hoc photo studio every time you want to take a picture. I usually fail at ‘put away’. 3. You have to light jewelry with the blaze of a thousand suns to get quality detail. Or most detail 4. Jewelry, much like hair, will rarely ever ‘sit’ the way you want it to, when you need it to. This can be rage inducing. 5. Fingerprints, shadows and glare. These are all like glitter; you’re not sure where they come from and you just can’t seem to get rid of them.       

On the bright side, I am married to man who wins at cameras so, I can usually trade a steak dinner (PG version) for photography skills and voila! I get to glaze over the whole miserable situation like my eyes in 4^th period math. Alas, hubby’s work schedule doesn’t always allow him the freedom to take my pictures and so, I have to take them my disgruntled self. This is one of those times. After two days of grappling with items 1 – 5, demonstrated here;

 I no longer feel compelled to take beautiful photographs of jewelry. I now feel like doing this:

It’s probably unusual for a peaceful vegetarian to draw themselves wielding a flamethrower but, whatever, it was therapeutic as hell! Anyway, despite any setback, I am REALLY excited to get this collection live on the website and in a jewelry cabinet near you so, until next time, it's back to work!

FEBRU-SCARY

My time here today is short as is my time in the studio, unfortunately.  Much to my chagrin, my husband is forcing me into adult acts like going to the bank and to the grocery store. I hate going to the bank almost as much as I hate Nazis and commercials. And I REALLY hate Nazis and commercials. Gross. Anyway, I thought I would give you all a sneak peak at some pieces from the Monet Collection which will officially go live on the website sometime this month. It has been a tradition of mine to launch the new collection on Valentine’s Day but, February is a bit hectic this year as husband and I just bought a house (enter multiple trips to the bank). So, I ask you to bear with me and I promise you lots of happy, shiny things to look at come the end of the month. I can guarantee you though; one of those things will probably not be me. I hate packing. I hate packing as much as I hate Nazis, commercials and the bank.

I also drew this cartoon, just to show you what I’m up against here and to garner your sympathy…



I know, right? I know I need to relax when jewels start talking to me. At least I haven't started talking to myself. Yet. Ok, here are the sneak peaks, I SO hope you enjoy....

There you have it! I honestly can't wait for life to frig off so I can finish this collection, there's lots more to come. (I haven't even touched the gorgeous faceted tiger's eye that I am so in love with)!  I appreciate any and all feedback so; add a comment, tweet me @StellarPolarity, write on my wall or send me an email!

Well, here I go, head down and face first into February...

The Maine Event

First of all, go Maine! I had the opportunity to meet and hang out with some wonderful people and got to eat some absolutely delicious food; bliss! (Seriously, the tuna melt was legendary). Secondly, I do apologize for the lapse in posts but I have run into some technical difficulties, namely the biggest storm to hit the eastern seaboard in a decade and one hell of a drive.  

Before I left I made it my mission to experience as many creative spaces as I could and try to soak up some inspiration. I also really wanted to check out the Black Dog Boutique in Saint John, NB, but that didn’t happen. As it turns out I arrived only moments too late. My afternoon of shopping quickly went from this:

To this:

Fortunately, I was much more successful on the inspiration front. In fact, I have decided to take this collection in a completely different direction from what I had initially planned. I found some absolutely gorgeous stones that I couldn’t live without and before I knew it I was scheming up a whole new look for 2011. Check these out…






Amazonite, Aquamarine & Mahogany



Picasso Jaspers & Horne triangles




I love these!

 

Red, Blue and Yellow Tiger's Eye, Swarovski Pearls and 24K Gold-plated findings.

Vintage Lucite Pendant

After I got everything home and got it all organized the inspiration hit me; my next collection would be created in homage to the one and only Claude Monet. The deep, rich colours of the tigers eye and Swarovski pearls remind me of his 1904, Houses of Parliament, London, Sun Breaking Through the Fog. Also, for me, the cool blue-green hues with the colour punches of the amazonite recall Monet’s 1908, Palazzo Dario. I have lots of work to do but I’m really, really excited to get in my studio, crank some tunes and get started on this collection! Mission accomplished!

I’ll get you next time Black Dog, neeeext tiiime!

Border Patrol

Ah, Friday at long last. I’ve decided not to stick around Halifax this weekend; I’m taking this show on the road!  Don’t get too excited for me, I’m really not going far but I am going into previously uncharted territory for me: New England. I’m pretty stoked; I’ve heard great things about the hospitality of New Englanders. Not to mention, America owes me one LARGE for that thing that happened in Colorado. I’m looking at you customs agent. That being said, I figure I’m in for a pretty good time.  

My mission is simple: reality check. When I was working in a gallery, I got the opportunity every single day to mingle with artists, artworks and customers. I never realized how much that integration fed my creative process until it wasn’t there anymore and I really miss it. So, it’s time to step out of my studio, get out of my own head and get elbow deep into every art gallery, boutique and shop between here and there. I’ve got a list of ‘must see’ shops but I’m keeping it to myself for now with the exception of the following because I'm THAT excited to check it out.

The second I get to Saint John, NB, I am headed straight for The Black Dog Boutique. I’m really excited about this spot for two reasons; it’s new and they carry Orphanage Clothing. I’m not even going to pretend like I don’t have a girl crush on Kim Munson, because I do. I absolutely love her work, her vision, her style, everything. Want to know what else I love about her? She's based out of Halifax! In short, I must own another piece of OC! Here is a snap of the one I have just for fun...

"Stewed, Screwed and Tattoed, Halifax" on my shirt is sunshine dust on my soul.

Well, I'm off to finish packing. Here's hoping for safe travels, lots of inspiration and that some one out there need a new line of jewelry.

A very happy Friday, to you all!

Procrastive Productination..

January is having a hissy fit outside today so I decided to stay in and work on some design. I know, I should really be finalizing the colour palettes and working on the branding materials for the new collection. However, that all involves making some executive decisions, and I confess, I’m feeling less than executive in my snuggie and my back-from-the-dead ballerina hair bun.  So, instead, voila…

I just put the finishing touches on this bracelet:

I love these beads; they’re a Czech glass with a fun metallic finish. I found them last year at a jewelry show in Arizona and couldn’t pay the man fast enough for them. Unfortunately, I can’t get any more because in my excitement I left without his card. Rookie mistake! This particular bracelet is spoken for and I only have enough beads to make one more. And that one more just might be for me.

I also made these:

If you’ve checked out my website you’ve no doubt realized that I am utterly enchanted by the sparkle of a Swarovski crystal. Their quality is paramount; they have such vivid colour value and yet somehow maintain crystal clarity. They just keep me coming back for more. Ok, I’m blushing and breathing heavy. Swarovski for the freaking world!

Lastly, I give you a peak at a painting I’m working on which is quite transparently and tentitively titled, ‘Le Pont Alexandre III, Paris’. I still have some detailing to do but I have to let it set up for a couple of days first.

 Well, friends, I should probably go fix my hair. Stay dry out there if you can!