Freeform Friday: Trash to treasure

Trash to treasure. We all know the phrase. But for the last week its been my job.  I was trying to think of a topic for this post as all I have been doing is sorting, tossing, packaging, purging... Oh! That is the post!

My Dad is here, working on cleaning out my parents old house. As my parents are happily settled in new digs in Austin - its not a sad, heartbreaking experience... but the process is still exhausting mentally and physically, and a little depressing.  We have a dumpster... and we clearly know how to use it! (Picture was taken on Day 2 of 7!)

My brother ( on left) and husband ( on right ) surveying the territory. 

Clothes for vintage sales, clothes for Goodwill. Love letters from my maternal grandparents, nothing too racy as they were "courting" from 1917 to 1921! Cards drawn by my sisters and I for birthdays...moth eaten stuffed animals... so many memories to revisit, honor and then let go. 

But amidst the flotsam and jetsam there are treasures to be had!!! You know I am a mixed media artist and sometimes the strangest things spark an idea. Let me show you a few things I happily adopted this week:

1. Vintage clock keys - wire wrapped? Annealed, drilled? Necklace focal or shrine insert? 

2. Dutch (?) painted porcelain button - gabled house and ships beyond. Peyote stitch bezel? polymer?    Focal on a shrine exterior to draw you in? 

3. Vintage celluloid (early plastic) horse. I am thinking it was a Cracker Jack prize back in the day - before my time. Resin? Featured in a shadowbox pendant? 

4. Rhinestone bling - broken costume jewelry... Really - no idea. The magpie in me was drawn to the "shiny!"

1. Wee glass bottles ( above tins in top pix) - wire wrapped? Circular peyote around the neck? Corks? Contents? Those tins? Definitely shrine pendants. Altered, manipulated, and secret relics added inside... 

2. Id bracelet blank, vintage Mexican silver earring - My Mom saved one earring. Who knows the reason. Its stunning. 

3. Broken small pocket watch - no question here. I am just going to polish it and wear it on a long necklace with chunky gemstones!

Books! 

Derelict, dying, decrepit books. Old dictionaries, and foreign language texts are the best. Why? Words under resin! Lining a shrine interior! Text is a favorite of mine to incorporate into much of my work. 

Sorry to be brief - I hope you enjoyed seeing my finds... Its late here Thursday night - I look forward to a bit of down time this weekend (its been dialed up to 11 since before Beadfest) and then the studio next week! Stay tuned for more adventures... 

Brother - waving goodbye from way over there across the vista of detritus. 

Jenny 

www.jdaviesreazor.com