New Chevron Neckaces and NYC Trains

 

This black chevron necklace and these other two chevron necklaces have been inspired by the gate of the New York subway trains that is placed at the front and back of each train in front of the the doors (see the photo above of the 7 train) and in between the cars. Next time you are in New York take a look and see if you see it.

As you can see, the black chevron necklace looks most similar to the train gate and the other two are more loosely inspired by it.

 I need a name for these two chevron necklaces, any ideas? I will be adding them to the il gatto selvatico etsy shop this week.

Google Image Search

I was doing an image search of il gatto selvatico and I found all kinds of interesting things. For those of you who don't know, il gatto selvatico means the wild cat in Italian but it also refers specifically to a breed of small (but larger than the domestic cats) striped wild cats with bushy tails called Felis Silvestris Silvestris, they live in parts of Europe. Here is a map of their domain.

This is what the cat looks like.

 

I also found an Italian magazine (no longer in print) published by ENI, an Italian gas company, that has the name "Il Gatto Selvatico."

And I found some blog entries about my jewelry that I feel I should talk about here.

Proud to be An American featuring my America necklace as well as other cool crafty America themed stuff on Cracker Jack Scraps and Wild Cat featuring my America and British Isles necklaces and talking about me and my name on Love Independent.

Red Houndstooth Gig Bag

I recently made a gig bag for my husbands baritone ukelele for his birthday. It has a red leather handle with velcro and two straps in the back so that it can be worn on the back like a back pack. It is lined with quilting batting and another layer of the houndstooth to give it some extra padding. It has a zipper on the side and a pocket the closes with velcro on the front.

MIlwaukee, WI

Here is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin necklace made for a friend of a friend. She picked a beautiful color combination, subtle yet bold. 

Here are some vintage postcards of Milwaukee. (I've never been to Milwaukee or Wisconsin).

New and Old Worlds or Maps

 The British Isles

Murfreesboro, TN: A new version of Tennessee with a blue palette instead of a yellow one and a heart over Murfreesboro rather than Knoxville.

United States 
Go check these embroidery necklaces and more out and don't forget that there is a 20% off Gemini sale happening.

The Piano Book Locket

Several weeks ago I saw The Piano for the first time and was inspired by it in many ways. I saw the possibility for future art and jewelry projects which I talk more about in this post. Now I've finally made one of those jewelry ideas. I made a Book Locket which was inspired by the necklace that Holly Hunter's character, Ada McGrath wore. She was mute and had a gold necklace which contained papers that she would use to communicate with when her daughter who translated for her was not around.

Detroit Michigan

 Detroit Michigan necklace

While I was making this necklace which was a custom made necklace, I was thinking a lot about this beautiful Red House Painters song, Michigan.

Augustin Lesage

 Composition symbolique, oil and graphite on canvas, 1928

 Composition symbolique, oil on canvas

oil on canvas (date and title unknown)

 (date and title unknown)

Diligently working in his studio (date unknown)

I just found out about this French outsider artist, Augustin Lesage (Saint-Pierre-Lez-Auche, 1876 - Burbure, 1954) and I'm wondering why I didn't already know his name. He was a coal miner who believed that spirits were guiding his hand and would come home from the mines every evening to work on his paintings. I think these works are amazing because he was way ahead of his time. Google him, his paintings are amazing and he was a really fascinating guy too.

Gemini Sale

In honor of the zodiac symbol Gemini which is quickly waxing upon us. I will be holding a 20% off Gemini Sale in my shop ∆IL GATTO SELVATICO∆ that will last for the entire Gemini Month (May 21 to June 21). Just enter the code GEMINI at check out to receive 20% off your entire order.
A side note: This is my favorite period of the year, maybe because I'm a Gemini and so is my husband or maybe because I love the weather at this time of year. The trees are finally fully in bloom and everything is green and pulsing with life. It's such a magical time.

Rene Magritte

 La Cascade, 1961

 The Blank Check, 1965

Castle in the Pyrenees, 1959

Song of Love, 1964

 

Clear Ideas, 1955

Rikka Sormunen

 Cruel Summer

 Dark Waters

 

Nest

I love these compositions that are packed with patterns and textures by Rikka Sormunen.

Newest Brass Jewels

The Octagon Ring and the Gemini Necklace you can find them in the IL GATTO SELVATICO shop.

Japan, Taiwan and the United States of America (CA, NY, PA)

This is a necklace that I made special for a dear friend of mine. She has roots in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Philly, Tokyo and Taiwan. Where are your roots? Get a custom made necklace of yours.

DIY Making Alterations-Turning a Dress Into a Cropped Top

 

 This was a ridiculously unflattering shapeless dress but I loved the ikat pattern and cowl neck so I cut that part out and turned it into a top. The ikat bit was just in the front of the dress so the first thing I did was cut that part in half and put the bottom half on the back. Then I took some natural colored cotton muslin and cut two long strips of it to add to the sides and two rectangles of it to add to the sides under the arms. In the photo above I have not yet attached the part to go under the arms.

 

 Finished product!

Kadinsky

 Several Circles, 1926

 Blue Mountain 1908-09

 Composition 8, 1923

 Decisive Rose, 1932

 

Composition 2, 1909-10

Some of my favorite paintinsg by Kadinsky at the Guggenheim Museum. Some of them are in the special exhibition Kadinsky at the Bahaus. Definitely worth a look. I was very inspired by these and others to make some similar designs into dresses and scarfs.

DIY Making Alterations-Revamping Old Vintage Dresses

Jewelry by IL GATTO SELVATICO:: left hand photo: Trapeze Necklace right hand photo: Rhombohedron Earrings 

The dress on the left had sleeves and a 70's style collar that I did not find flattering so I took them off. I made the dress sleeveless with a boat neck collar instead. The dress on the right had a collar with neck ties. I removed the ties and put them at the waist of the dress to cinch the waist. I turned the collar into a scoop neck collar instead (now it's sexier).

500 Hearts and Mother's Day Giveaway

Happy Mother's Day. IL GATTO SELVATICO has 500 shop hearts on Etsy and to celebrate I'm having a giveaway. To receive this lovely necklace you must follow these steps.
1. If you aren't already, follow this blog or follow me on facebook, tumblr, or twitter.
2. Visit the IL GATTO SELVATICO shop and
3. Leave a comment below with your email address (so I can contact you if you win) and your favorite IL GATTO SELVATICO item.
A winner will be selected 1 week from today, Sunday May 15.

Some Greenery

Now that it's May, one of my favorite months of all, we can finally see all the green leaves budding off of the trees and the green plants coming out of the ground. My Etsy finds are all about green plants and trees.

1. In the Trees by Roadside 2. Green Grass Bookends by pillowhappy 3. A Collection of 36 Succulents by SucculentsGalore 4. Wearable Planter No. 3, Translucent by colleenjordan

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I know it's been awhile since anything has gone on my blog so here are two new unrelated to each other necklaces. Oh and in the past week or so I learned how to make triangles with the keyboard.