I’ve been experimenting with enamels recently (super glad I get to make use of my kiln again). Today I got bored of making color sample swatches and decided to make a pair of earrings instead. These were from 26ga copper, cut, sanded and domed to create… poppies! They’re a little rough as I don’t have all my supplies yet and well, a bit lopsided too (that’s totally my fault), but I think they’re cute. Not good enough to sell exactly, but good enough for me to wear. So hey I have a new pair of earrings! #handmadejewelry #earrings #flowers #poppies #enamel #experiments #sterlingsilver #trinidad
We saw Hidden Figures tonight and I loved it so much. It was funny and sweet and inspiring and so many things. At the end of the movie when they gave a little update on what the three women went on to accomplish, the audience in the theater clapped. I did too. Chris chuckled, but they deserved applause, even if they couldn’t hear it. And Trinidadian are very hard to move, near impossible to impress. So they must have been very touched by this movie. As was I. The book is next in my list.
Same! The don’t entice me AT ALL. However, I love rainbow cake. It’s our family’s birthday cake tradition. But hard pass on rainbow bagels. I can’t explain it. 🌈
When I was writing that post I was thinking,“Except cake. Rainbow cake is awesome.”
It is hard because the US and its issues always take centre stage – and for good reason, since what they do has a big impact on everyone in the world. But I agree, often important domestic issues in various other countries (like here in Canada, too) get left behind in the US-centric conversation.
That’s the difference between my facebook feed and my tumblr feed: local content. It’s hard not to get enveloped by how US-centric my dash is. I know that it was a conscious choice to have more non-Trinidadian followers on my part here (mostly for privacy reasons but also most Trinis on tumblr are much younger) but yes that’s how it goes. And whatever the US does not only affects our hemisphere but the world. So it’s our business too (climate change anyone?). I just need to remind myself theirs is not the only mess.
I think you can feel for my country the same way I feel for yours.
Yeah, and I do. I mean, my siblings and their families are American citizens. It’s not as if I don’t have a vested interest. It’s just that my house is burning down so I think I should see about it first. I just don’t know what the fuck to do.
Every time I start to feel sorry for the shit show that is American politics today, I take a look at my country and shut the fuck up. Gay marriage is still something we cannot even have a conversation about without everyone bawling about the bible. Child sexual abuse is an epidemic. Women being raped and murdered all over the country. 10th in the world in crime rate. Corruption at every level of fucking government and society. Doh know how de fuck we livin’.
I’ve been very busy in the studio today. I cleaned up my work area, installed a new door with a window on my kiln, and started doing some test runs of my enamels.
It feels almost like magic watching the powders flow and become a smooth mass on the test pieces. I can’t wait to make something pretty.
The samples are gonna take a few days though. I had to counter enamel the back of all pieces, pickle them to get the firescale off, and do each colour sample three times (over fired, regular fired and under fired). I’m still getting the hang of the different temps. It’s been hardest to underfire the piece.
I’m taking a rest now and will get back after lunch.
I tend to think of myself as somewhat cynical but then I go out there into the world and talk to other people and I’m just like honey who hurt you? People are all jagged edges out there they need a hug.
u kno how when u were a kid u could ride in the car and be totally unaware of anything goin on around the car and just be chill
but then u took driver’s ed and u started learning all the rules and now even if ur just in the passenger seat u can’t help noticing all the shitty things ppl do on the road?
While in Puerto Vallarta, Chris and I took a day with my sister, her husband and their 9 month old son to explore the market. My sister was looking for a small backpack to replace a woven straw one that she had that was starting to fray at the straps. She explained that it was really convenient to wear with two kids in tow.
So we searched everywhere and saw many cloth backpacks but there was nothing special about any of them. After a few hours of shopping we were tired and ready to go back to the hotel. As we passed this one store I looked up and there it was. A beautiful embroidered cotton and leather backpack. I called her over and pointed and we jumped up and down in glee.
It was beautiful. It was hand embroidered with different coloured flowers all over the surface. The bottom, straps and trim were made of brown leather. We both fell in love with the various colours but decided the black was the most attractive. I have to admit I wanted one too. But the price tag of $100 was more than I was willing to spend on something that I didn’t need and hadn’t budgeted for. After some bargaining my brother in law got her a discount and we went back to our hotel.
On New Year’s Eve we all gathered in my mom’s suite to ring in the new year. After we watched the fireworks and had some drinks, my sister told me she had my birthday gift and told me to close my eyes. My family sang happy birthday to me two days early and when I opened my eyes, in my hand was an exact copy of the bag she had bought. She had apparently sent my mom and Martin (her partner) back to get it and they had spent hours trying to find it.
I broke down in tears. For how thoughtful my sister was to buy me the bag knowing how much I wanted it. For my mom and Martin spending so much time looking for it. And for my family taking the time to celebrate my birthday. It’s always a crappy time of the year to have a birthday, everyone is always tired and broke by then. But for the first time I saw a real upside, and that was that my family is always together at that time of the year.
The bag is hanging on the back of my bedroom door waiting for a special occasion for me to use it. In the meantime I’ve been parading around in the beautiful Italian leather saddle bag Chris had long before ordered for my birthday. It’s been a good year for bags. And family.
I met Caspar last year at the orientation class of the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. He was 28 and had just quit his job at a technology firm to find out what he really wanted to do with his life. He lived with his mother and decided he would build a house for her in their garden. Without having any relevant experience in this field he designed and built a house all by himself.
Meanwhile Caspar found out what he really wants to do, he got admitted at the AA School of Architecture in London and is studying there right now.
I am feeling inexplicably tired today. I went into my studio to do some work and something in me just did not want to be there, so I decided to go lie down and listen to my most recent audiobook. I have fallen asleep three times at the same place. So I decided I would switch over to my ebook copy.
Chris is picking up my enameling kit today from the skybox. So maybe I’ll just take today off and start my experiments tomorrow. I usually take Fridays to do stuff like that anyway. I have no idea why I’m feeling so tired today but I’m not going to fight. Just how it is some days.
I came to learn that women have never had a history or culture of leisure. (Unless you were a nun, one researcher later told me.) That from the dawn of humanity, high status men, removed from the drudge work of life, have enjoyed long, uninterrupted hours of leisure. And in that time, they created art, philosophy, literature, they made scientific discoveries and sank into what psychologists call the peak human experience of flow. Women aren’t expected to flow. I read feminist leisure research (who knew such a thing existed?) and international studies that found women around the globe felt that they didn’t deserve leisure time. It felt too selfish. Instead, they felt they had to earn time to themselves by getting to the end of a very long To Do list. Which, let’s face it, never ends. I began to realise that time is power. That time is a feminist issue.
My father, an activist and artist, told me I wouldn’t be able to be an artist when I had kids, because I would have to give all my time and energy to them.
This was said in 2005 when I was pregnant with my first child.
And I have also been told on this very site that I had no right to have opinion, outside interests, or write because I should be taking care of my children. This was said, most recently, in November 2016, by a woman who claims to be interested in the rights of women.
Is this a unique experience or do you have a long history dealing with claustrophobia?
It wasn’t unique in that I have dealt with claustrophobia for a long time. But it’s never happened to me quite like that.
I have a motion detection light next to my side of the bed because darkness can sometimes bring on claustrophobia for me. Obviously confined spaces do the same.
What happened on the plane was that I was unable to straighten out my legs once the guy reclined and that brought it on and it just escalated from there. And I do have a thing with my legs being confined (I can’t have both feet under the covers if I’m in bed). It was a strange and scary experience but I guess I’ve found another trigger now so that’s good to know.
So dont tell us when we can and cant celebrate who we are.
We take shit from you people our whole lives while you take ownership of the shit we created
We will celebrate and uplift our people as much as we want whenever we want.
Fuck what you thought you knew
I beg to disagree.
Just because you were slaves years and years ago, doesn’t mean YOU built this country YOURSELF, so don’t go taking all the credit like it was JUST black people. You had your belong hand, as did white people and the rest of the immigrants.
And maybe rap music, but I listen to EDM and country music. Few black artists in either genre, I don’t know why, but that’s reality.
I don’t watch basketball or football, so congrats you run 2 sports, I’ll give you that, and you guys are great at it. Incredible skills. 100% respect.
And I don’t know exactly which culture I beg to be a part of… Cuz I’m pretty sure I’m good on gold teeth, guns, selling drugs and all the other junk talked about in the music you make, that you’re so proud of. Or whatever culture you’re talking about, cuz I’m good with the way I live my life. I’m not begging to be apart of any other culture.
And no, I’m not racist. I have black friends and family. But I’m SO fucking sick of the race card. Like holy shit. How fucking long has it been since slavery wasn’t a thing anymore? Can’t we all just like, live in 2015???
LIFE WITHOUT BLACK PEOPLE
A story is told about a group of white people who were fed up with African Americans, so they joined together and wished themselves away. They passed through a deep dark tunnel and emerged in sort of a twilight zone where there is an America without black people.
At first these white people breathed a sigh of relief. At last, they
said, “No more crime, drugs, violence and welfare. All of the blacks
have gone!”
Then suddenly, reality set in. The “NEW AMERICA” is not America at all — only a barren land.
1. There are very few crops that have flourished because the nation was built on a slave-supported system.
2. There are no cities with tall skyscrapers because Alexander Mils, a
black man, invented the elevator, and without it, one finds great
difficulty reaching higher floors.
3. There are few if any cars because Richard Spikes, a black man,
invented the automatic gearshift, Joseph Gambol, also black, invented
the Super Charge System for Internal Combustion Engines, and Garrett A. Morgan, a black man, invented the traffic signals.
4. Furthermore, one could not use the rapid transit system because its
procurer was the electric trolley, which was invented by another black
man, Albert R. Robinson.
5. Even if there were streets on which cars and a rapid transit system
could operate, they were cluttered with paper because an African
American, Charles Brooks, invented the street sweeper.
6. There were few if any newspapers, magazines and books because John
Love invented the pencil sharpener, William Purveys invented the
fountain pen, and Lee Barrage invented the Type Writing Machine and W. A. Love invented the Advanced Printing Press. They were all, you guessed it, Black.
7. Even if Americans could write their letters, articles and books, they
would not have been transported by mail because William Barry invented
the Postmarking and Canceling Machine, William Purveys invented the Hand
Stamp and Philip Downing invented the Letter Drop.
8. The lawns were brown and wilted because Joseph Smith invented the Lawn Sprinkler and John Burr the Lawn Mower.
9. When they entered their homes, they found them to be poorly
ventilated and poorly heated. You see, Frederick Jones invented the Air
Conditioner and Alice Parker the Heating Furnace. Their homes were also
dim. But of course, Lewis Later invented the Electric Lamp, Michael
Harvey invented the lantern and Granville T. Woods invented the Automatic Cut off Switch. Their homes were also filthy because Thomas W. Steward invented the Mop and Lloyd P. Ray the Dust Pan.
10. Their children met them at the door-barefooted, shabby, motley and unkempt. But what could one expect? Jan E. Matzelinger invented the Shoe Lasting Machine, Walter Sammons invented the Comb, Sarah Boone invented the Ironing Board and George T. Samon invented the Clothes Dryer.
11. Finally, they were resigned to at least have dinner amidst all of
this turmoil. But here again, the food had spoiled because another Black
Man, John Standard invented the refrigerator.
Now, isn’t that something? What would this country be like without the contributions of Blacks, as African-Americans?
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “by the time we leave for work, Americans
have depended on the inventions from the minds of Blacks.” Black history
includes more than just slavery, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Marcus Garvey and W.E.B. Dubois.
Get him!!!
Again, we need a Black Tumblr Hall of Fame.
Lets all take a look at the notes and see a problem and fix it. Reblog this
This is the best u-turn a post on tumblr has ever done.
REBLOG THIS, PLEASE – #BLACKnation
REBLOG PLS! PASS ON KNOWLEDGE.
Yes King!
I’m reblogging but how the fuck are you not racist calling out gold teeth and drugs like that’s restricted to just black people? @ducking-high-af Especially since your username say you high as fuck your shit is obviously mixed with temporary insanity coming on Tumblr with this shit
When we were on the flight from Puerto Vallarta to Mexico City, I was at a window seat and Chris had the aisle.
We had our tray tables down and the man in front of me suddenly reclined his seat all the way.
I sat there trying to rearrange my legs and I couldn’t straighten them out. Suddenly, with the seat so far back, the tray in my lap and the window at my side, the felt trapped. I felt panic rise up in me and I turned to Chris and said, “I need to get out of here.”
Fortunately he recognized immediately that I was having an attack of claustrophobia and got out of the seat as fast as humanly possible.“
Standing up in the aisle was not helping me. My brain was screaming at me that I was In an enclosed tube flying through the air and I could not get out. I felt like I was approaching the edge of my sanity as my mind teetered toward a full on panic attack.
I mentally envisioned myself gripping my brain in my hands and I spoke to it slowly. "You need to get ahold of yourself and calm down. If you freak out about this, there is nothing anyone can do to help you here. You cannot go outside. You cannot lose it. Keep it together. You are ok.”
I looked to the back of the plane that was full of empty seats and made my way down there. The further I got from the crowded area full of passengers, the calmer I felt. Finally I found a pair of unoccupied seats and made myself comfortable.
I looked around and checked myself. Was I feeling confined? Was the plane feeling too small? Nope. Not a hint of discomfort. I couldn’t even imagine how I’d felt like the plane was closing around me just minutes ago.
I slept for the rest of the trip and most of the two other flights we had that day. I was fine. But the episode really scared me. I’d never felt that kind of panic before. I felt like I was losing my mind. I hope it never ever happens again because it was terrifying, to feel so close to completely losing control. I’m glad I was able to talk myself down. I hope I never have to do that again either.
white feminism is scarlett johansson being offended by misogynistic interview questions, but staying silent when depriving an asian american actress’ opportunity to play a Japanese character.
I can’t believe they have cast her in this role. It’s fucking atrocious.
Actually, you have to be a Nielsen contributor, which we were for the last 4 years (not since we moved). Nielsen contributors are monitored for any viewing, streaming, or gaming activity, and they’re compensated. You won’t know which families in your area are hooked up to Nielsen because they sign a non-disclosure contract.
Nielsen takes the viewing information from a percentage of households within a district and compiles them into averages of viewing matter by age/household size/ income range/demographic, and multiplies that out to the number of households in the district.
If you are not a Nielsen household, you could have your tv on non-stop and view whatever the hell you want, and it will NOT affect the ratings one way or the other.
Yeah that’s what I thought. When I was in college one of my friends was picked to be a Nielsen contributor and that’s when I realised networks could not magically tune into your television and know what you’re watching. Thank goodness. But yeah what whatever cause it won’t matter.
Aqua regia, literally meaning “King’s water”, is a highly corrosive mixture of acids; it is the only mixture of acids that can dissolve gold.
Hungarian chemist George de Hevesy dissolved the nobel prizes of his peers in aqua regia during the German invasion of Denmark in WWII to prevent Nazis from looting the prizes. He placed the liquid solution of gold and aqua regia in plain sight where it was overlooked. After the war had ended, de Hevesy returned to precipitate the gold out of the mixture. He then returned the gold back to the Nobel Foundation where it was then cast back into its original shape. (img)
Aren’t we advanced enough yet to create a tile grout that repels mold and grime and whatever undesirable crap I have to keep scrubbing off? For fucks sake it’s 2017. This was supposed to be the future. I should not still be scrubbing tile grout.
I’ve been reading this book for the past couple of days. It’s a novel but it’s also a really fascinating, bold look at race in America told from all sides: the Black person who does all the right things, the angry Black person who doesn’t, the white supremacist, and the white savior. I’m only halfway through but I’d go so far as to recommend it now.
Just listed in my Etsy store! 6mm rose cut faceted cabochons in gold fills and Sterling silver. Available in #brazilianamethyst #lemonyellowquartz #alexandrite #pinkchalcedony #oceangreyquartz #erinitequartz #rosecut #rings #solitaire #stacking #rings #handmade #artisanjewelry #trinidad #caribbean #buylocal
when we celebrate dylann roof’s punishment we’re not celebrating the overall ideologies of the death penalty,, we’re celebrating an ounce of justice the black community finally deserves after all these years of blatant injustices
My most recent jewelry always gets posted to my Facebook page and my Instagram which link directly both to my personal and business tumblrs which you would see on your dash or if you visit either account.
Because I often make one-off pieces or limited quantity pieces that never get listed on my sites, if you see something you want to buy (or if you would like me to custom make a piece for you) then message me here on tumblr, on facebook, on instagram or email me at info@sundarajewelry.com. I accept credit card payments (and no you don’t have to use paypal).
And of course if you want to simply order a piece from either of my online stores you’re free to do that as well.
I hope I’ve covered everything! Thanks for asking 🙂
Colour correcting the last picture. This #gemstone is #alexandrite which is a colour changing stone that appears either #red or #purple depending on the lighting. #gorgeous #gemstone #ring #handmade #jewelry #artisanjewelry #rosecut #trinidad #caribbean #buylocal
One of the earrings I was working on yesterday. Sterling silver domes with brass pebble and gold filled ear hooks. The silver has a matte black patina. #earrings #jewelry #sterlingsilver #handmade #domed #artisanjewelry #trinidad #caribbean #buylocal
Editing some pictures that I finally got around to taking today. Not optimal photo conditions, it’s very cloudy today which would work nicely to diffuse the light but it’s also unusually dark. That’s why there’s always photoshop!
I was walking past my studio this morning and I heard a bird singing so I poked my head in and there was a little guy with something in his mouth that had found his way in and couldn’t get out. I told him to hang on and I’d open the windows, which I did, and next when I looked he’d disappeared. Made me feel happy to see him.
So I was making myself a pancake this morning and suddenly I got a flash of Gordon Ramsey coaching a little girl to flip an omelette on MasterChef Junior and I just decided to try it and I did and FLIPPED IT!!!! ON THE FIRST TRY! And I squealed and the heavens rejoiced and all was right in the world for five minutes.
Perfectly preserved ancient roman gate in Lugo, Spain. Lugo is the only city in the world to be surrounded by completely intact Roman walls from 3rd century AD
Whenever I see ancient jewelry or armor or any kind of metalwork, I always wonder how they made them, given the technology available to them at the time. I think I need to read a book or take a course in ancient metal and jewelry smithing to satisfy my curiosity.
Western popular concepts of Jews that people here take as the extent of our tribe:
The reality:
Boys from the Jewish population of Yemen, which has been around for 2500 hundred years but has been slowly massacred over the past few generations.
The Lemba of South Africa and Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe in particular has a large and VERY long history with their Jewish Community)
The Abayudaya of Uganda, some of the great Jewish musicians
The Beta Israeli of Ethiopia
Igbo Jews of Nigeria
Cochin Jews of India
Baghdadi Jews
Kaifeng Jews of China, who go back to the 7th or 8th century. Unfortunately, during the 20th century much of their culture was almost wiped out and the Kaifeng are currently working to rediscover their Jewish heritage and culture.
Jewish Children in Puerto Rico (Jews have been in Puerto Rico since the 15th century, many fleeing from the Inquisition)
The Beit Shalom Choir in Japan
Kosher comes in all colors, from all over the world, and in a variety cultural groups. We’re a small portion of the human population, but we have EVERYONE. We are all members of this tribe.
Because stereotypes are bullshit.
Boosting because you sure as fuck won’t see this in any Western textbook.
On another creative note, I find I’m getting a lot more joy from cooking as a creative expression lately. I’m not seeing it as a pain in the ass necessity for some reason but rather just really enjoying it for what it is.
I impulse bought some frozen puff pastry the other day and spent some time googling savory recipes and I had to stop myself from licking the screen. I think I’ve settled on some chicken spinach sun dried tomatoes feta thing.
It real insightful and thing. Plus having seen your work in person, it gives it a much more personal touch and highlights how much work goes into each piece. So keep it coming.
Aw thank you! Also, good point. Ppl would be surprised to know how much work goes into handmade jewelry
Oh and that wasn’t to guilt anyone into commenting I’m just sharing where my head is at when I put stuff up like that. Part of me cares part of me is like ah post it anyway it’s who you are share it. So shrug emoji.
Whenever I post any sort of long, art-related post my immediate assumption is that I’m boring people. And it’s because the things that really fascinate me do not tend to interest most people I know. Not to the extent, anyway, that I delve into them.
Which I find kind of weird to be honest. Because if I knew anyone who had any sort of unconventional job or hobby I’d be all up in their grill with questions about it. And when I DO meet people like that, it’s exactly what I do. And people love to it because they get to talk about something they’re passionate about. And I get to learn something new that I probably never knew anything about.
I mean granted I’m a bit more curious than the average person about things, but I do find it weird how so few of the people in my life ever even ask me anything about what I do and how I do it. And I do all sorts of stuff!
But anyway I post stuff like that because I want to share it and I hope that maybe one person will find it a teeny bit as interesting as I do. And then I have to convince myself not to care if no one does.
I got some of my enameling powders today along with a book that’s considered the enameler’s bible. Of course I want to run into the studio tomorrow and start experimenting but most of my equipment hasn’t yet arrived and I still have to make the space suitable for this new activity, which mostly means clearing away all the stuff on and around my kiln and giving the surfaces a good wipe down.
I was reading the book tonight and it was fascinating, where it talks about the properties of glass and the different fusing temperatures (glass does not melt apparently, it just flows at different rates).
I’ve been fascinated by glass forever. When we lived in Caracas we’d drive out to country where they had the glass blowing factories. You could tour them and watch the artisans at work. I was entranced watching as they would blow, coil, pinch, snip and smooth the molten glass.
I remember my physics teacher in 8th grade explaining to us the unique properties of glass. How it was really a liquid and he taught us about viscosity. He told us that glass never actually stops flowing it just slows down, and told us that if you look at the panes in very old houses they will be thicker at the bottom than the top because they would have been slowly flowing downward all those years.
I signed up for glassblowing when I was in college and was tremendously disappointed when the course was cancelled that semester.
Years later I taught myself to make glass beads. I was hooked the first time I melted a glass rod onto a round mandril and turned it in circles as I wound the molten glass around to create a crude, uneven bead. The glass felt exactly as I thought it would. When hot it was soft and almost runny. If I moved it out of the flame a bit, I could stretch it, manipulate it with tongs and tweezers. I could pull two pieces in opposite directions and make a longer thinner string in the middle. If I kept it in the flame at the right temperature I could keep pulling and stretching it out almost indefinitely until the glass was as fine as a hair. I could then take those stringers and use them to make detailed decorations on the beads. Lines and dots. Little squiggles. Then I could take a pointed tool and rake it through the molten line and create a marbeling effect. The possibilities were endless.
I later taught myself how to use stained glass. I made a few ornaments and a candle holder or two, but like most of my hobbies at that time, economics and lack of a studio inhibited my ability to fully explore the mediums.
Learning to enamel, which is fusing powdered glass to metal, just feels like another step in my fascination with the material. I want to take my jewelry to another level where I can add colour without using stones. Or maybe that’s just the excuse I’m using to dive in to another glass-based hobby. Either way I’m doing it. And I’m totally psyched about it again.
soulsistrin 