A Friend that Pushes the Creative Buttons

Did you ever have a friend that made your creative juices go crazy just by being around him or her? I love being around people with a passion for something or people that just ooze creative sparks all the time. I have a friend Dawn, who, I swear, has the creative circuitry in her head wired like no one else I know. Everything she looks at becomes the basis for some VERY cool stuff! Must be fun looking at the world that way!

A couple of months ago, she showed up one day with a bag full of odd-looking things left over from some electrical job someone did. They were round, convex metal, about 3" in diameter, and fit flush against a ceiling when a ceiling light or fan is installed. The hole in the middle is where the wire and metal rod come down, and the little hole to one side was where the switch chain came through. She figured I'd be able to figure out a way to use them, so I took half if she would do something with the other half. I have to admit, I stuck the sack in a back cupboard because I was getting ready for the foot surgery. Lo and behold, she showed up at my house about Valentine's Day with the first designer challenge--a valentine, full of interesting textures and fibers and twists and turns, and even a watercolor-painted heart and a key. The back of the structure was where the challenge piece was. I absolutely love it. It is so whimsical it just makes you smile to see it. If you could see it up close, you would study the way she used stitches and fibers and pipe cleaners and all kinds of materials.

Well, the challenge was on! I decided I'd make a leprechaun for St. Patrick's Day for her. I bought some Sculpy clay and went to work. I hadn't used that material for many years, and had never used the colored clays. I had fun, and my little leprechaun dancing on the "blarney stone" made it through the baking process and to Dawn's home. I think my circuitry is more "realistic" in nature than Dawn's; when I try to get too abstract it just doesn't look like anything!

She informed me she's working on a recycled bottle baby of some kind for me for Earth Day! I will share her vision with you when I get it. Dear me, what will I come up with next????