Pendants

I love designing pendants because most of the ones I do are larger than rings and it allows more space for the design elements. Lately my favorite shape has been the round medallion pendant shapes. I have a few in the works and lots already done. I know they are big and heavy and not everyone likes that. I will try and design a few smaller and thinner ones in the future so that there is a pendant weight for everyone to choose from. My personal favorite is the “Paradise Pendant”. That’s the one I wear most often because it has to much significance to me. I like adding a thick leather cord to them because it is strong and will wear well with the pendants. Of course you can also put them on a thick silver chain, but they will wear out faster than the leather cord would.

Honey Run Bridge - Chico CA

Pendants can be so creative. There are so many shapes that can be used. For me I like to find what I feel is a cool shape in the moment and then start the design or idea for the middle. As I develop it I push and pull things around until I like it. I’m a very visual person so I usually can tell what will work and can see it in the metal as I design on paper or in CAD. Most of my design I start with and design totally in CAD. I think that’s funny because when I went to college I took many art classes. They always taught to design on paper first because you have more freedom to do anything you want. You mind can open up and be creative. That may be true, but for me I am able to be free even though I’m limited to the tools and my knowledge of the CAD program. I’ve used CAD for a long time and the tools are not really a hindrance anymore. If anything I can do things and be creative in ways I could not if I were to just use pen and paper. We all work different and have different skills and this is just how I’ve developed mine. I enjoy doing it in this way. I’ve also learned that I am not the best 2D artist. I love to draw and love to design on paper so don’t get me wrong. I just don’t feel I’m great at it even after all these years. I’m not a natural at it like some people. When I discovered CAD and started to learn sculpting in the computer, I fell in love. I’ve never sculpted clay other than making pots, but in CAD I love the ability to sculpt and save your file, then continue with it at any other time. I feel I’m a better 3D artist than a 2D one. It just makes more sense to me and 3D shapes are like real life so it comes easier to me. I’m still not perfect at it, but enjoy doing it.

So back to the pendants. This is why I design my pendants in CAD. The 3d environment make sense to me and it’s easier to do than draw my awkward 2D drawings. It’s interesting how we develop our skills though life. Everyone different with different paths. We do what works best for us and our families.

I hope yo enjoy my ideas coming to life in the form of pendants. I sure do. I get excited each time I’m able to spend some time building a new one. If you ever have a request for one let me know. I’d love to explore the idea and you will have had an influence on the design process. Thank you all those who actually follow me on social media or even read this blog. I doubt there are many, but everyone is important to me. As I try and grow my business please help out by sharing my posts with your friends. I just recently did a giveaway for a silver ring. I will be doing more in the future. Stay up to date and follow me on Instagram. @danaarts

Garden House Plans Approved

It has been a little over a year now that we purchased this land. We started right away to get the plans for a house done. The process was a long one as you can see. The long wait was lack of knowledge and research that I had to do as I was trying to make my plans. With a long story short, I turned in the plans, which was a three month wait, and they were redlined. This means that the county went through the plans and marked all the errors. I then needed lots of help and thanks to family I was able to finally get these plans approved by the county. So what is next?

Next is to get this home built asap. I can’t wait. We are super excited. Hopefully within this month we can get it all worked out to get started.

I also need to clear a huge pile of trees and branches. I’ll need some help to speed things up. Once cleared that acre will be ready to go for building. Last night I was working in the moonlight separating the branches while listening to music. It was such a great time. The weather was perfect and I could not have been enjoying some good old work more than then. For sure these are times to remember.

Pile of trees that I started to cut up

Trash Removal

So we were able to have a project happen. :) We are so thankful for a friend and the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to come and help us with loading up a 40 yard bin full of trash. It took about half the day for us to fill it. The missionaries were so kind to help out and it saved us so much work. We would still be loading this thing if it weren’t for them. Now that the bulk of it’s in there we can order another bin to handle the more manageable leftovers that’s laying around. There are so many weeds (mallow) that there is a lot of small trash that is hidden now. I’ve come to the conclusion that there will always be small amounts of trash in the dirt. The long term plan would be to pick it up as you see it. The only other way would be to scrape the top layer of dirt off and replace it with fresh dirt, which would be too costly. Either way it’s looking better. Can’t wait to keep working at it.

This weekend we will start loading up another 40 yard dumpster. This time it won’t be as full, but will have a heavier load. We get 4 tons and then we have to pay for every ton over that. We have two weekends to do it. I hope we can get a lot done. This time no help. EEEEK. From here we will be able to get the little stuff out over time. Yeah. Looking good.

A little update on life

So the holidays were great! It’s a wonderful time of year where we can all enjoy good spirits and family. Now that the new year has started I have hopes that life will continue to grow and expand and mature as the year goes on. I will go through what my plans are for this year.

First off Dana Arts will be posting a new design every month for this year. Keep an eye out for these new and exciting designs. I love designing and want to keep the flow of creativity going through the year. This means creating new design even when there are so many other things I have to take care of in life and in the business. I hope you will be as excited as I am to see each new design as the become available. I’ll try and promote each one through the month so you can have a look at it. I hope to grow Dana Arts this year as much as possible. I need your help to spread the word and continue buying rings that you love. Every bit helps when you are a small business like me with no employees.

American Flag Star ring with and eagle on the inside.

The Garden House. Well the plans were submitted on December 8th. I called today and it has gone through various steps and it’s in the actual plan review stage. They say it will now take another 30-40 business days. Really? They blame it on the holidays and being backed up. They say they are a week ahead and we should have them reviewed by the end of February. That’s a total of 3 months. Wow! I really hope there are no revisions that have to be done because each revision will take another 2 weeks for them to review and hopefully I won’t need weeks to make the changes, but it’s possible. I’m starting to have the feeling the house will not be completed before my son returns from El Salvador in November. I was trying so hard to make that happen, but it will be close. I’m so tired of waiting. Once the plans are approved I know things will move forward and wont' worry so much.

The Garden at the Garden House. Well I have finished the second strip of garden box. They are both 5ft by 15ft. The next ones will be a little longer. I need to pull weeds and then start mixing the dirt. I would like to get a few more done before spring planting. The new Home Depot just opened here in San Tan Valley so I can make shorter trips for the things I need. for building, so that is a plus.

The driveway. We need to be working on this. I have a friend that will come help me cut some 23” pipe that will hopefully go in at the front of the driveway. I need to destroy a little of the old cement of the old spot for the pipe so this new one can go in it’s place. I then would like to brick lay the end of it and then fill the top with cement. The top cement layer will be thin as this pipe is in reality too big and should be smaller, but that is what size is there and our wonderful neighbor is so kind and generous to give us that pipe. So I’m humbly thankful for their generosity. Once the driveway is fixed we can get rid of all the trash that is on the property. It will feel good to have it cleaned up a bit more. Each new stage is challenging and I am up for it. This is where I want to live and improving the land is a way to make life happier.

Broken part of the driveway.

We all need something in life that keeps us going and keeps us happy. For me it’s believing in God and Jesus Christ and all they do for me as I strive to follow the gospel that has been taught. My family and the joy they bring to me everyday. My work that to me isn’t really work, but play time. My new home where I can create a place of peace and beauty for my family and I. A place of safety where we can all grow together. This is what life is all about. With this we can also then think about serving and helping others the best we can and know how to. We are all here on this journey through life and it’s wonderful to serve and help others the best we can. It only lifts our souls and make life that much easier and joyful. I hope this year that we all can progress together on this journey of life to live it to it’s fullest.