A friend of mine went on safari to Africa a while back, and her photos from that trip are glorious.The patterns in the hand-dyed fabric, the bright colored glass handmade beads.
And bracelets made from copper wire, hand fashioned and wrapped. Carved wooden masks and handmade baskets from reeds and grasses.
Beautiful reminders of that trip. And she sent me some things. From KENYA.
When I started making these travel-inspired tiles I noticed that the word 'KENYA" appeared in several places on the maps in the background.It made my imagination run away, creating stories about where the tiles came from, and who collected and saved them.
The colors remind me of antique hand-colored maps, with the faded and folded areas from wear and heavy use, hand drawn during a time of exploration of the world.
Like old globes with areas of wear and scuff marks.
The colors remind me of the dusty earth when it's dry, the color of the muddy slow-running rivers, the dusty air during a sandstorm.
These travel tokens remind me of the old subway tokens you sometimes find in flea markets. From trollycar lines that no longer exist.Or old bus tokens, train emblems, that you would get when you traveled, in the days when train travel was romantic and leisurely. Pampered. With a dining car, and sleeping compartments.
People sometimes collected the tokens, putting them into scrapbooks with photo postcards and drawings of the places they visited.
I promised a chance to win one of these little tile sets. I'm thinking a set of magnets maybe, to decorate someone's file cabinet or refrigerator.
Dreaming about travel to go on safari, longing to see the pyraminds in the desert ... or thinking about an asian trip to see the Great Wall of China?
Want to go to Paris for the delicate pastries and crunchy french bread, or maybe just driving the back roads for antique shopping in America's small towns?
These are the things these little tiles I've been creating make me think of when I look at them.
Travel Theme, Asian Accent, Paris Bistro Style.
Blues, Greens, Earthtones, Tuscan Red.
***Tell me which is your favorite and which color theme you like the best.***
What do they make you think of? Do they bring a story to mind?
Next week I'll draw a name out of the hat for the folks who post, and you'll get a set of six magnets in the style and color you said are your favorite!
11 comments:
Hi Lynn - I love all your work, all your tiles, but my favorite are the Asian themed ones. I took a trip four years ago to Japan with my honey (work for him, fun for me) and fell in love with all things Japanese (well, maybe not all, but most!). It brings back wonderful memories of the times I had with him, exploring a place I would never have gone, without him! I make asian-inspired lampwork beads now, and just love your tiles in that theme! The lanterns are especially memorable to me, as we went to a temple where there were thousands of lanterns donated by families for good fortune or in memory of an ancestor. My favorite color at the moment happens to be green, but I love all the muted, earthy colors you use for the tiles! Thanks for having this contest!
Sue
I love the earthiness of the green colors in these awesome pieces. And I think my favorite is the Asian themed pieces. Although I have never traveled to Japan, there is magical feeling in these tiles that, centered in a piece of jewelry, could really take you there! :)
Hi Lynn:
I too like the Asian ones best. I tend to have a lot of Asian themes in my jewelry. I was lucky enough to go to China not once, but twice in 2000 & 2002. The beauty and traditions I saw when I was there will always hold a special place in my heart! There are days when I truly cannot believe that I was actually there.
Hi Lynn, I love them all but if I had to choose it would be the travellers. When we lived in Australia, I was lucky enough to be able to take round the world trips as part of our annual sojourn to the US. I love travel. I really am a wanderer at heart.
Hello Lynn,
Your wanderlust is one of the things that has drawn me to your blog. I love travel too. Looking at your lovely tiles, I'm especially attracted to the Paris Bistro blue tiles. I did some travel/research in and around Paris a few years ago and love the fin de siècle architecture plus the gothic monuments.
I can't seem to get my husband interested in visiting some of the places I hold most dear from that trip, so I would love to have a set of magnets to remind me of that journey . . . and maybe, just maybe, my husband might subliminally begin to think about a trip with me where I'm the guide, for once!
May Canadians enter? They don't bring a particular story to mind for me, but I love the Travel Theme ones in earthtones.
ikkinlala AT yahoo DOT ca
Sure, Canadians can enter, everyone needs a story to tell!
You create some amazing things in polymer clay! I seem to be drawn to the Asian ones. I love the motifs and the colors.
I love this set: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=
that you called "Blues". They are almost more gray, and remind me of an old envelope of pages someone saved in their drawer only to be opened years later darkened with age. Like everyone else, I also love the Asian theme, especially the lanterns.
Tuscan red! My husband and I are using the Rosetta Stone CD to learn to speak Italian. Our dream is to take a Mediterranian Cruise on the QE2 and then travel the whole length of Italy. My Grandfather came over on the boat from Scicily and we want to go there too. Its a big dream....
Tuscan red and travel - that's my favorite. i just love old maps, globes and anything that looks well worn or well traveled. reminds me of going thru boxes of old memories in my dads attic...
connie
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