I’ve had a few people ask me if I’m planning on doing some hanging sculptures. I’m really excited to do more of these – I love taking pieces from nature (in this case, dried bark) and adding polymer details. This iridescent Blue Morpho piece is roughly 7 inches long and hangs flush from the wall. A flower made of amethyst sits below, along with some ‘viney’ detailing. For up close shots, feel free to click the pics!
Feel free to contact me if you’d like a personalized piece – I’m working on a few more in the next week or so, so stay tuned! Next up — lizards! To purchase this one, you can catch me at wildearthintegration (at) gmail (dot) com.
Have a great weekend!
PS – If Facebook is your thing, why not join up with Wild Earth Artifacts here – for the latest news and updates!
Just a quickie post to let you know that the WWF Holiday Gift Catalog is now available, but to get one you need to request it!
WWF gifts are one of my holiday favorites to give – you can choose from symbolic adoptions (where your purchase helps with the conservation of a species), or many other goodies for the Earth lovers in your life. The catalog also outlines their latest conservation efforts and provides ideas for the rest of the year.
Plus, kids seem to love the idea that they, in fact, own a tiger and get a stuffed animal to fawn upon!
If this is your thing, you can drop by here to request your catalog!
Today I have two pieces for you, based on the good ‘ol Giant Panda. The first is a pendant, suitable for any bear lover. The second is a ‘bamboo’ bangle, which I have named a bambangle. (Because I *can*). For more info and prices, click on the pics!
Bambamgles are available in child and adult sizes, based on your preference. Email me with your specifications, as well as your choice in darker or lighter ‘bamboo’!
Of course, no post about pandas is complete with some facts. Here’s your Wild 5: Panda Edition!
Despite being one of the most recognizable bears (except perhaps Winnie?), pandas are the world’s rarest bear. There are only about 1000 wild pandas left and they are listed as endangered.
Pandas have a ‘pseudo-thumb’, which is an elongated wrist bone. This helps them grip onto bamboo like nobody’s business. It also helps them give a thumbs up to panda conservation… HEY-O!
Instead of noshing on meat, fish and berries like their cousins, pandas eat 99% bamboo. That is, except the ones that are on Atkins. But, a panda’s stomach is still built like a carnivore, so they have to eat 20-40 pounds of bamboo a day to get all the nutrients they need.
Pandas don’t hibernate. Which gives them much more time to be adorable.
Pandas are vocal, but sound nothing like their bear cousins. Instead of grunting and roaring, pandas are more apt to chirp, bleat and squeal. Here, have a listen.
Keep it wild!
Note: A portion of proceeds from this post will go towards Giant Panda conservation.
Welcome to the first line of products from Wild Earth Artifacts!
Each of these pieces are hand crafted, roughly 3/4” – 1” in length. Perfect for stringing onto a necklace as a focal bead, using along with ribbon as a gift tag, or hanging as an ornament.
For a closer look at each piece and more information – just click the image you like! There you will find details about the piece, along with price. (Each is between $8-$13)
To order, just contact me at wildearthintegration (at) gmail (dot) com! I will be happy to personalize for you – so let me know if you’d like ribbon or an Artifact gift tag along with your order!
There will be many other pieces in the ‘Love the Earth’ theme, so to see your favorites added, feel free to leave suggestions in the comments! What would *you* like to see?
Some of you might remember my last post, wherein I teased you about something big and bad coming to this site. I know, shame on me for being a tease.
BUT, the day is finally here and I’m so excited to finally get the news to you!
Not only have I given the place a bit of a face lift (you like?), I’ve decided to branch out. Branch out big time.
Those of you who follow my ramblings here know I’m a bit of a clay fiend. I’ve sculpted for years, but stuck mainly with plasticine because it was what I started with. But, after a lot of soul searching (which mainly involved mucking about with tools and getting clay under my fingernails), I’ve made the leap to polymer clay.
Which, dear friends, means I can now offer some clay goodies out to the world.
The beauty of this sort of clay (unlike plasticine), is that once it is baked, it’s strong and flexible. It can be made into anything your heart desires, including jewelery, wall sculptures, clocks, napkin rings, lamps, vases – the list is endless!
I’m really excited to offer some of these pieces to you – I’m already amazed at the eager response I’ve had, and can’t wait to bring this whole new avenue to the table here at Wild Earth.
So, what can you expect with this new change?
My main goal on Wild Earth has always been to bring people closer to nature. For that reason, all of my Artifacts will relate to nature, science & animals – just like always. As often as I can, I’ll be integrating clay with natural pieces, including rocks, bark, feathers, etc.
I’ll be posting a bit more frequently, but it will be similar material. I’ll still be telling you all about the Earth and how awesome it is, only now there will be art associated with it as well. It’s a two-fer! For instance, as I tell you about sharks, you’ll be able to check out any shark-related goodies I’m working on. (Stay tuned for that!)
Each piece will be handcrafted, unique and available to my readers. I have many ideas sketched out for upcoming themes – but am always open to your suggestions about what you would like to see. If you would like to see your favorite part of nature immortalized for you, shoot me an email or find me on Twitter and I’ll make it happen. This will get easier as we go and you can see just what is possible!
A portion of sales will always go to a worthy cause. And typically, it will be a cause related to the item purchased. Because that’s only right.
I want to keep it personal. For now as we get rolling, anybody interested in anything on the site need only email me with their favorites and I’ll get back to them immediately. This will help me tailor shipping costs for each item (which will vary immensely based on the size of the piece obviously) and also give you the opportunity to personalize it for a gift. Payment can be made through Paypal, which is nice and simple these days.
Last but not least, I wanted you to know that despite the leap towards handcrafted sales, you will not see this place turn into an ad-infested, money-hungry site. It’s still me – there will never be any ads on here, and I want any business I do with my readers to have integrity. If I don’t feel my piece offers value to the world, it won’t be up here!
As I said, I can’t wait to show you more, so stay tuned in the upcoming days for some Wild Earth Artifacts!
Want a(nother) teaser? Here’s a piece from the upcoming ‘Love the Earth’ theme!
There are a lot of superstitious people out there. Although I do prescribe to the ‘don’t walk under ladders’ and smash mirrors rule (because that’s just a bad idea on a good day), that’s more out of self preservation than a sense of dreaded superstition.
Most superstitions arose centuries ago, when people lived closer to the land and observed nature’s cycles a little more carefully. Because of this, a lot of them revolve around nature and animals. (Giving some unwilling participants a bad reputation to boot!)
So, in honor of Friday the 13th, I give you the top 5 nature superstitions:
5 – Knock on wood. Even I do this without thinking of it. If you’re worried about something awful happening, you can ‘touch wood’ to ward off bad luck or evil consequences. Although this one’s debated, most scholars belief that ‘touch wood’ arose back when people believed trees contained spirits and magical powers which could help you if asked. For the record, I definitely think trees have magical powers.
4 – Avoid peacock feathers. I hadn’t heard of this one until recently. The legend says that the eye of the feather was seen as ‘the evil eye’. The evil eye is capable of making people sick and many went to great lengths to avoid it. Some talismans still exist to ward it off, but let’s just say if you go chasing a peacock for its tail feather you just might get more than you bargain for.
3 – Rabbit’s feet. When I was younger, I remember rabbit’s feet being a really big thing. People had them on key chains, dyed in tacky colors. These are said to bring good luck, as long as they came from the left hind foot. Because some cultures believed witches were able to shapeshift into rabbits, the rabbit’s foot idea might have originated as ‘cut from a shapeshifted witch’. Lovely…
2 – Black cats. This one’s a toss up. Some cultures believe if you see a black cat crossing your path, you might as well call it a day, because it’s bound to get a lot worse. Other cultures see black cats as good omens or signs of great things to come. In some areas, we can look again to witches for giving the black cat a bad rap. But in Egypt, these guys were seen as ‘kingly creatures’, who were given their own burial and coffin after they died. I personally think all cats are bad luck, but only for my sinuses.
1 – Eclipses. No, I’m not talking about the latest vamp movie. Eclipses have been known as terrible omens for centuries, associated with the death of kings or problems for the commoners. It’s easy to understand why it was terrifying – watching the sun or moon get engulfed in darkness in a time when we didn’t have the benefit of NASA would be quite an experience Today, with eclipses known ahead of time, we’ve grown a lot less fearful of bad luck. Not that I want to go messing with the Sun Gods or anything…
I came across this video during my ‘net travels, but after watching it, something about the message stuck with me.
Maybe it will stick with you too.
The following is a speech by Pacino, from the movie Any Given Sunday. (Perhaps my sports fan readers will perk up at that title?)
It’s a movie about football, but bear with me. He’s motivating his team for their last game, but when I first heard it, I couldn’t help but notice something. I was struck by how powerful the words were when not related to football.
Put your feet up, grab a drink and check out the video first – I’ll see you below. (Note for parents with kiddos nearby: he drops the f-bomb, once.) I’ve copied the transcript below for those without a steady connection.
“I don’t know what to say really. Three minutes till the biggest battle of our professional lives. It all comes down to today. Now either we heal as a team, or we’re gonna crumble. Inch by inch, play by play, till we’re finished. We’re in hell right now, gentlemen. Believe me. And we can stay here, get the shit kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell. One inch at a time.
Now I can’t do it for you. I’m too old. I look around, I see these young faces, and I think… I mean I’ve made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who’s ever loved me, and lately, I can’t even stand the face I see in the mirror. You know when you get old in life, things get taken from you. That’s part of life. But you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out life’s this game of inches. And so is football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small. I mean… one half a step too late or too early and you don’t quite make it. One half second too slow too fast, you don’t quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They are in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when we add up all those inches, that’s gonna make the f***ing difference between winning and losing! Between living and dying! I’ll tell you this — in any fight, its the guy whose willing to die who’s gonna win that inch. And I know if I’m going to have any life anymore, it’s because I’m still willing to fight and die for that inch. Because that’s what living is! The 6 inches in front of your face…
Now I can’t make you do it. You’ve got to look at the guy next to you, look into his eyes. Now I think you’re gonna see a guy who will go that inch with you. You’re gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team, because he knows when it comes down to it, you’re gonna do the same for him.
That’s a team, gentlemen. And either we heal, now, as a team, or we will die, as individuals. That’s football, guys. That’s all it is. Now, what are you going to do?”
——
Pretty good, eh? Think about it.
Of course, this post isn’t about football. It’s about doing something right, doing something together to change the course our planet is on. There are a lot of causes out there. People, places and animals that need some help. We’re losing things that matter to our health and to our spirit. It’s not all bad – but the fact remains that without a lot of positive changes, we’re going to lose out.
Al’s message is about picking one thing – or one hundred things – one inch or one hundred – that you will do to add your part for the team.
So say it again: Either we heal as a team, or we die as individuals.
We are all surrounded by other people – willing to go the extra mile, right along with you. We have the tools in front of us to make real things happen for the earth.
We can do this thing, inch by inch.
So to quote my man Al, “Now, what are you going to do?“
As often as I can, I’ll be integrating clay with natural pieces, including rocks, bark, feathers, etc.
