Weekend Design Project
Air Dry Clay Project
It’s Clay Time
Hands are a gettin’ dirty!
Take some time this weekend and play like a child. No rules, no restrictions, no experience necessary, just random, in-the-moment playful exploration. Choose from air dry clay (dollar store or 5 below), polymer clay (any store with crafts) or make your own from the recipe link below.
Put on your favorite music or listen to classical music as it helps the mind stay focused in the present moment. Let your hands work through the clay, kneed it, roll it, fold it, sculpt it, cut shapes… Allow the clay to communicate with you and ask it what it wants to be. (I know that sounds hippy dippy, but it works. You can say it in your head and no one will ever know). The point is to move your hands through the clay and create something, anything. The whole body will be working in unison as a mini creation comes to life. Each time you look at your finished piece, you will be reminded of the time you allowed yourself to play and create like the child you once were. You know you’re in there, just let go.
Some ideas for air dry clay or polymer clay would be a jewelry dish, a pen holder, figurines, a bowl for coins, rocks, sea glass or my favorite, “Cape May Diamonds,” (quartz crystals found on a beach in Cape May, NJ.)
Here are a few tips for working with clay. Air dry clay and polymer clay are not food or liquid safe. As far as I know, there are no safe glazes that would make air dry clay or polymer clay items food safe. It is to be used as a modeling clay for decorative items. Polymer clay can be baked in the oven to harden. Do not use a rolling pin or utensils that you use for food. Acrylic or wood rolling pins are inexpensive and found at any of the stores listed in this post. Add small amounts of water to the clay in order to smooth out bumps and finger prints. Small amounts of water are also used to thin out a thicker part and even the weight of the item.
Feel free share the finished piece on Instagram @natalinidesign or natalini Design & Wellness Group on Facebook.
Coupons, Sales & Recipe:
Michaels - https://www.michaels.com/coupons
Hobby Lobby - https://www.hobbylobby.com/find-savings/weekly-ad
Clay Recipe - https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/oven-flour-clay-recipe-1250343
Movement
The Art of Healing Movements
Tai Chi & Qigong
These healing movements provide physical and emotional wellbeing. Both practices aid in improving overall functionality of vital organs while reducing stress.
Tai Chi - “The Source, the Beginning”
"The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong." - Lao Tzŭ The Tao Te Ching
Five Elements: earth, fire, water, metal and wood
A healthy body has physical and emotional balance. Energy or Chi originates in the kidneys, holding two opposite elements, fire and water. The balance of these two element affects the other organs. The kidneys are in charge of filtering the blood that circulates throughout the body. It is important to keep the kidneys in great health in order to keep the whole body in balance.
Traditional Chinese Medicine uses the five elements in the practice of acupuncture to provide balance and harmony in the body. Energy travels through meridians along the body connecting all organs. Think of meridians as highways connecting from head to toe. When there is an imbalance in the body, the highways get backed up and creates a traffic jam. This traffic jam results in aches, pains, adrenal, sleep and emotional imbalances, autoimmune disorders and diseases (dis ease).
The movements of Tai Chi & Qigong (Chi Gung) massage the belly near the kidneys activating a flow of energy to then be distributed to the other organs. Adding Tai Chi to your physical and mediation practices nourishes the kidneys and balances the whole body. Some of the many benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong; improved sleep, flexibility, mood and balance, reduces stress and creates circulation for the blood and lymphatic system.
Beginners Tai Chi by Don Fiore - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxcNBejxlzs
Qigong or (qi gong, chi gung) Chi = Life Energy
The main principles of Qigong:
Breathing
Movement
Focus
Visualization
Sound or Chanting
Beginners Qigong by Thicke Man Tue - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFg61faohLY
Tai Chi and Qigong can also be performed in a seated position.
Be patient with yourself especially if you’re used to Cross Fit or HIIT (high intensive interval training) style of exercise. Tai Chi and Qigong are practices with little to no immediate visual transformations, the shifts happen subtly with time and consistency. Calmness will mostly likely be the first noticeable difference with beginner Tai Chi and Qigong. Be safe and stay balanced!
*Consult a licensed medical professional before attempting any new physical activity if you are under the care of a physician or have a serious diagnosis. Do your own research, ask questions and listen to your instincts when making decisions for your personal healthcare.
Wearable Sculpture
Sculpture Jewelry for the Body & Home
Balancing Act
Wearable Sculpture is inspired by Architecture throughout the ages. There is a balance of masculine and feminine or yin and yang or fluidity and stillness in all things. It is a great reflection of what we as humans on this planet work with as gravity holds us on earth while we navigate, create and contemplate. (Cheesy rhyme was unintended, just go with it, I’m writing in a flow state.) Continue…
THE NEED FOR BALANCE
Balance in life and at home is a constant work in progress for everyone. I’ve found some creative balance over the years in creating sculptural jewelry. Although, not appealing to the masses, it hasn’t stopped me from doing it and personally benefiting from the creation process. I encourage everyone to find a creative expression where time ceases to exist and the pressure of making a profit is lifted. (Of course these expressions are all for sale, a girl’s gotta eat her organic veggies.)
Silliness aside, use today to think outside your scheduled day and look up, stare at a product, deconstruct something in your mind, think about how and why it was made. Use one of my pieces for example, the image above, the Nix Cuff. This piece has movement as it twists around and sits atop the wrist. What was I thinking at the time? Why did I do this and who did I think was going to wear it? The what and the why is that I was learning how to solder metal jewelry from a talented multimedia and jewelry artist named Nix, in Philadelphia. It was in Nix’s studio where I channeled one of my favorite architects, Frank Gehry, and started moving the material around and stopped when the metal “told” me to stop. I wasn’t thinking at all and that was the best thing I could have done. Anyone who creates or cooks will understand. Sometimes the material or ingredients silently instructs us on what to do with an instinct of, that’s enough or just a pinch more. So who was going to wear this? Welp, at first it was me or at least my museum gala attending avatar. (She’s fancier than me, always put together and doesn’t trip up stairs.) In as much seriousness as sculptural jewelry can have, I see the person who would wear this piece as having a love of art and a bold confidence that makes them an unintentional trendsetter. I saw them having a minimal home with meaningful treasured art and collectables happy to add Nix to their collection to be displayed when not out on the town.
I have to admit that I have a personal connection with this piece and when the day a permanent owner comes along, it will be a bittersweet one for me. I will be happy knowing someone will be wearing them for special events or proudly displaying them in their home.
Happy staring at products, deconstructing something in your mind or pondering anything at all today. And, no you cannot get back the 3 minutes you spent reading my inner thinkings. Ha
Tincture Time
Pink Buddha Tea
Restore | Hydrate | Balance | Alkaline
Himalayan Pink Salt - rich in minerals and beneficial in aiding in the body’s detoxification. Himalayan Pink Salt hydrates, improves digestion, balances mood, soothes body aches in a bath and lowers blood pressure as it contains less sodium than table salt.
Buddha Hand Citrus - one of the oldest citrus fruits is sometimes referred to as Fingered Citron. The sweet and fragrant skin of a Buddha Hand is the only part to be used on this fruit as the inside is filled with pith.
Here is a simple recipe for a delicious hydrating and restorative tea…
1 teaspoon of Himalayan Pink Salt
Zest of one “finger” of the Buddha Hand citrus
Adding boiling water
Add a drop of raw honey (Manuka if possible) if you choose
*Please consult a medical professional if you’re taking medication or have a health diagnosis and are under the care of a physician before drinking any tea or tincture. I am not a medical professional. Please ask your health care providers question and trust your instincts when it comes to your health.
Sculpture
Frank O. Gehry
Walt Disney Concert Center, Los Angeles, CA
This structure/sculpture/building is one of the most breathtaking forms I have seen. The drive around the building was surreal as I felt like a child seeing my imagination come to life. I took this photo along with many others with this composition standing out the most to me.
Frank Gehry, 91, has been on my “if you could have dinner with 10 people,” list for twenty five years. I have been deeply inspired by his work and outlook of his creative process. Frank, (along with family) have been the voices I hear to “keep going and creating what you love,” when I’ve been unsure of my path and place in the creative world. Frank is okay not being liked, he is actually his own harsh critic and always goes with his gut no matter what. Frank’s grandmother gets the credit for enabling his childhood creativity through mixed material from his grandfather’s shop. They would make futuristic cities and structures with a mixture of available scrap materials. I love that he retained that child-like playfulness to be part of his process. I hope anyone with children in their family encourages the exploration of their creativity, it will only enhance whichever career path they choose in life. It’s never too late to rediscover your limitless inner child. My freeFORM events (activating creativity) will be returning soon to the Philadelphia area. For information or to host a freeFORM even in your community contact me here.
Side note: This long awaited “Gehry Lair” will open at the Philadelphia Museum of Art set for 2028. Fingers crossed for a sooner date.
For any Frank Gehry admirers, I recommend his Masterclass. https://www.masterclass.com/classes/frank-gehry-teaches-design-and-architecture