Piedmont Woodland Edge Garden

I never remember to take before pics of garden areas that I jump into on an overdue whim (like – it has bugged me enough & I want to be done with the weeds) and I just go for it. This area which was getting ready to burst with garlic mustard seeds, mile-a-minute weed, Japanese stilt grass – among others – had to be cleared…

It took me an entire evening to get this done. My husband came out with the shovel to remove some little old stumps that were quite the tripping or mowing hazard.

I am fairly certain that at some point there was a previous owners pet buried here. So we felt the need to keep these rocks and stump there & plant around it. A fern that was growing in the to be cleared area, along with some Jack-in-the-pulpit, may apples, and Solomon’s seal were all transplanted into this area.

This will be a wonderful shade with dappling sunlight garden!

Here is an opposite end view which shows the area we tackled. And even though we are replacing the stilt grass with Kentucky blue – it is what we feel we need to do to try to keep all of these invasives at bay & to help re-establish garden areas as we can.

I added some violets and wood poppies to this area as well. Sure hope they all transplant well here! Time to consider some reptile and amphibian habitat up there too…

Glaze Firing Ceramic Beads

I find that working in batches is most comfortable for me. I like to make a bunch of pieces, then bisque them, then have my choice of "matching" up pairs, glazing them at the same time, then if they make it out if the kiln, they are tied up as a pair. May seem a bit tedious to some people, but I really find that it soothes my slight OCD tendencies…
And not to mention that fate and pairing up "mates" really makes my inner romantic self pretty happy too!

Having to load a kiln with all of these can be a bit nerve racking as they are pretty tiny, and at Cone 5/6 this Nichrome metal will begin to slump – creating a possible complete meltdown if pieces touch and fuse at 2232 degrees F.
Loading a kiln like this really required a sense of space, balance of weight and how many pieces can fit. And practice for many years helps too…

Luckily only one teeny spot on a piece touched a kiln post. I was SO relieved!

These are all going to the Bead & Button Show with me (booth #610)! I have a few more kiln loads to glaze and fire – so it will be non-stop work when the kids are in school…

I love having an automatic kiln that you program and just check on…

I load the kiln in an hour (up to three), set the program, turn on the kiln vent, then close the kiln room door. If all goes as expected, 24 hours later (8 hours to temperature, then 16 to cool) I get to have a miniature Christmas Morning moment to myself…

This load will come out today! Will post a pic on my Marsha Neal Studio Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Tumblr in a bit!

A Garden Grows No Matter What

There is that lingering feeling of frustration, forgetting, having to do something that wakes one up at 4am. Seems like I am finding that routine once more – but I think it may be a good way to get things done…

My garden is a good reminder of how life goes on regardless of deadlines and things that come up. It is a source of peace, inspiration, instant gratification (going to the garden center & bringing home a new plant! Love that!!!), and frustration if weeds start to eek in.

I love that some plants go back for generations in gardens – like these Iris from a neighbors grandmothers garden that I was given. But then there are others that barely lasted a season without the deer or other critters eating & killing them… Frustrating at times!

We live on almost an acre in suburbia, mostly wooded but lots of yard and garden too. And I am accepting that I alone cannot keep all of the invasive weeds at bay, and I need help.

Help that makes me cringe – but it needs to be done. Since my main side hill garden is a slope – it needs to have ground cover. And thistle, Japanese stilt grass, garlic mustard, and various vines, sticker bushes, etc are taking over my attempts to plant and successfully maintain a "native plant garden". And the deer eating the foliage of those native plants – and the voles eating the roots of many in winter – just is not helping!

So out come the plants I want that are viable. The rest are composted if not planted on the opposite side yard where our property ends and the neighbors downhill slope begins. Then out comes the tiller, the rake, the weed killer and in goes the grass (this is the "plan").

Then as I can, I will create a better plan, divide up those perennials, and take back areas on my side hill for gardening and get rid of the grass. The problem I have with this lies within the grass not having any ecological value. But it will allow me to get rid of the invasive plants by mowing and focus on the large areas of garden that do remain and making them better ecological niches.

Because really – I would rather spend my time in the garden looking for fairies and smurfs than trying to pull out thistle and stilt grass…

Now back into the bead studio while the kids are in school so I can get orders completed and Bead and Button Show inventory created (booth #610).

Hanging Ceramic Vases: Seed Pod Collectors

These small hanging vases are intended to hold little dried flowers, seed pods, and the like (not for holding water).

They started out as teeny bead cones, then got larger and instead of poking a hole through it – they had hanging holes inserted by the main opening.

My daughter is a collector and brings me snippets of flowers all the time!

And these vases are the perfect vessel to hold those tiny treasures…

But displaying them for sale – until today – I really struggled with that. How to go vertical and stable?

I had these wooden spool holders and decided to wire them up with 16 gauge galvanized wire and create a hook. So far, I am 85% liking it. Not too sure I like them being see through – as that detracts from the pieces a bit (or maybe I am too critical?).

For now this works! I am prepping creatively for the Bead and Button Show in early June, where I will be selling with Nikki of Thornburg Bead Studio – booth #610.

And the wire hooks pop off, the rack folds nearly flat (ideal for airplane travel), and the ceramic vases get packed separately.

Each rack holds 15 vases – which I think is a great number to have to pick from.

This year I plan on designing out some really fun and fast bracelets and earrings for the show as well!

Sure hope to see you there!

And you can always shop my Etsy shop and website any time!

Suspended Mushroom Photography

Hanging Mushroom on Steel Wire Marsha Neal Studio.

I’ve been thinking of how I want to photograph and market these small hanging sculptures.

I love to have them randomly hanging throughout my studio space – which does not have good natural lighting, so I am working on making a background that will work in my photo box. But my brain keeps saying – keep the background simple. The only way to really figure it out is to put it out there and see what works and what doesn’t…

Marsha Neal Studio Suspended Mushroom on steel wire.

Now to go and see how it looks in my Etsy shop and if it will make it into any treasury collections.

Macro view of Marsha Neal Studio Suspended Mushroom cap

Plain Background in photo box for suspended mushroom by Marsha Neal Studio

I just went and quick grabbed these images with the plain background. I don’t like the gray appearance, and have way too many to list to fiddle with the background. It’s already a pain to go in and add my name to the image. I just have no patience or time for that and prefer for my name to be in the image already. I’m all about doing this part as fast as possible…

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.