A Change Will Do You Good

So much is going on! I didn't know how appropriate my last post about my Transformation Angel would be to what is going on now. Change. So much has changed in just a few short days. Most people don't like change. Comfortable seems to be preferred to the unknown. I understand that. The unknown is well... unknown. You really don't know where you will end up, but I have found most change is usually for the better even if it doesn't seem like it in the moment. So many things have happened so quickly, it's hard to know where to begin. I will do another post soon regarding some of these other changes and developments. A good friend of mine, Donnette, had not seen me for 2 days last week. When I finally caught up with her she said "I have only been gone two days and your whole life has changed!"  It's kind of overwhelming and crazy. So to start, I did my 1st show this weekend on my own at Whimzy. Tara and I have decided to go our own paths. Everyone that hears this news says "what happened!" The next thing out of my mouth has been "it's not a bad thing!" It is interesting to me how everyone is so quick to assume something awful has happened. What happened is simple. We are at different places in our lives and have different goals we need to accomplish. We had a grand time together starting Serendipity Salvage and learned so much! The experience was invaluable. We will continue our friendship as well as to hunt for hidden treasures! 
  We could both feel the change coming, but we didn't know exactly how to handle it. We were sad on some level we had to part, but life happened! Things changed in a years time. Once we admitted to each other that we both felt we were being pulled in different paths, it was easy. Doors are opening left and right for both of us and a new phase has begun. In a weeks time I booked 3 shows, including Pasadena Bead and Design Show this July, and I have more in the works! People are crawling out of the woodwork asking for me to make them jewelry,a piece of art, or to find the perfect vintage piece to complete their project. All it took was  letting go and going with the flow.
And so a new adventure begins!...


I had the most fun this weekend at Whimzy's very 1st Artist's Junque Trunk! We were asked to clean out our studios so we could make room for the new! Perfect timing!

The gals from Whimzy hosted this fabulous treasure hunting adventure in the same lot they do Jamestown Flea last Sunday. I met so many cool Artists and fantastic patrons!

 I was telling stories about the history of some of my pieces and parts I was destashing and people were genuinely interested in what I had to share! So, the coolest thing happened! I met 3 different people from Glitterfest who had purchased something of mine. It is so crazy the day of Glitterfest there is no time to talk! I got to chat with these kind folks about what I made and hear what they thought. It was really too much fun! I had a ball and I got to unload a bunch of stuff I am no longer using and pass my finds on to other creators who will put them to good use! 

I have to say that the highlight of the day was talking to two different teenage girls. I was showing them a few different ideas for using the pieces they were interested in. They both had the same reaction. Light. It was just like someone had flipped a switch and given the permission to ignore all of the rules. Nothing is as it seems. The options are endless. I hope some day I will see them selling their creations at Glitterfest. Dianne said they plan to do another Junque Trunk in the Winter. Be sure not to miss the next one!
Until we meet again!
Crystal :)


P.S. I am going back to my old supply name Vintage Fairy Finds if you are looking for me!

Have you seen this Angel?

Transformer by Crystal Basica Fall 2011

Things never go as planned. I learned this lesson a long time ago and I try my very best to roll with the punches. Our lives can change directions in an instant. When I made this piece last Fall I started out with just the soldered wings made of gears. For once I loved how they turned out on the 1st try! The various patinas I used actually were reacting the way I intended them to. I knew I wanted to attach them to something, so I decided on soldering them to a figure... A Steampunk Angel. I wanted the piece to make a statement about technology and how everything changes so quickly now, but somewhere in the midst of all of the chaos it seems there is someone still guiding us. I finished the Angel and kept staring at it. It wasn't done. I couldn't figure out what it needed so it just sat on my work table as I continued to make new pieces for Glitterfest. One day I took a creating break and headed with a friend to my favorite Antique store Treasures and Junk for a little change of scenery. That's when we found this little vintage train transformer...it was perfect! The perfect size, weight, not to mention it said the word transformer which went along exactly with what I was trying to convey AND then the dial that read off low med high.This was it! That just made the piece for me and I could stop obsessing over what else it needed! I took my angel to Glitterfest Fall and after the show I brought my angel and a few other pieces to Whimzy, so they could be available for sale.


Skip ahead 6 months. Glitterfest Spring has come and gone. I needed to get into Whimzy and bring them some new pieces from the Spring show. I headed in to see Dianne and was given some unexpected news. The Angel had vanished. Her whereabouts are unknown.


First off let me say that I 100% believe in Karma. What goes around comes around without a doubt!
I know my initial reaction should have probably been anger but it was laughter. I wish Dianne could have been in my head because I know she was thinking this crazy artist is nuts! But all I could see was a old image of a cartoon cat burglar with the black mask with two eye holes cut out tip-toeing through Whimzy and running out the door with the Transformer! lol 

I was also kind of flattered in a weird kind of way. Someone liked my art so much they felt the need to steal it! I'm not saying it was a good thing, I'm just taking it as a compliment :) So now what I want to know is who steals an angel? It's just weird. Not that any stealing is right but it's not a shirt or a purse or something you can use or that you need, so you just have a stolen piece of art sitting on your mantle or bookcase as a reminder of what you took? It's just odd to me. The only thing that makes me a little sad is I didn't get a better picture of it, but at least I have these few :)

My Sister Melissa at my Table Glitterfest Fall

Some more good that came out of the theft was that it got me writing on my blog which I am so bad about! There is so much going on I need to make a point to check in and tell you all what is new! I plan to put up some more posts very soon about what inspired me to make some of my other pieces. If anyone happens upon my Angel or if the culprit would like to rid their house of the Angel that is causing all the havoc in their life and anonymously return her, please contact me or Whimzy. No questions asked :)

Stay Tuned!

Crystal