3 ARTSY GENERATIONS
Artsy women. I come from an artistic family, mainly from my Mom’s side. My Mom, sister and our 2 girls engage in one form of arts & crafts or another – sketching, stained glass, weaving, quilting, knitting, painting, photo album-making, crocheting, etc. I am into floral design, wire-wrapping semiprecious stones, papier tole and cross-stitching. I used to draw eons ago, too. I haven’t been doing any of them for some time now due to work (sad face). My ultimate passions are traveling, floral designing and wire-wrapping!
Papier Tole
The photo below is a papier tole or paper tole project I did in the 1990s. It is layering parts of the picture pattern and gluing them one on top of the other to create a 3D picture effect. I just love this.
Wire-Wrapped Semiprecious Stones
I learned to wire-wrap semiprecious stones via CDs and YouTube videos. I made pendants, earrings, necklaces and bracelets. It is said that these stones have healing properties. They are, after all, as old as the earth. We can see their use throughout history and in different countries, where they are still popular.
During the children’s grade school years, I joined the grade school’s Christmas church bazaars twice or thrice. Those were 2-day affairs and it was a lot of fun. There are so many costume jewelry artists out there but I never say never. Finding a niche for these creations is key.
This photo is of wineglass rings. I made them with acrylic, clay, resin, plastic beads, strung together with malleable wires.
Floral Design
I am so in love with flowers! I’m in awe of their forms, shapes, colors, scents and textures. I’m thankful to have found the City College of San Francisco’s Horticulture & Floristry Department a few years ago. The department is chaired by my Sensei, Steven W. Brown, who works tirelessly with his colleagues to impart the art of floral design to their students. They selflessly teach various design styles of floral arranging.
Floral designing allows me to work with these incredible materials. It’s interesting to learn the principles of floral design, its history, how pricing works, how to work the floral business…all these came together for me so that I was able to do some floral wedding work.
I remember my first class at the City College of San Francisco, called Introduction to Floral Design. The class was immediately introduced to varied styles…boy, they didn’t hold back. I got hooked and the rest is history. CCSF has the best Floristry classes this side of the Bay! Check the Floristry courses out here.
