Full Circle?

Way back in the mists of time, I studied art, and had hopes of becoming an illustrator.  Life got in the way and that dream went by the wayside - not a bad thing, probably, as I really didn't have sufficient talent!  I barely picked up a pencil for years (apart from the obsessive doodling I simply cannot curb when I'm on the phone - woe betide any box, flyer or scrap of paper that gets in my way then!).  ANYWAY (stop rambling, woman!), it was only a few years back that my creative side surfaced again when I began to get into making jewellery.  From stringing, I progressed to wire, and that led to my ongoing series of Picture Pendants.  (See the latest below - called Wayside, for more than one reason.)

Where is this going? I hear you ask.  Bear with me, there is a point!  And the point is that, after so many years of my drawing drought, the picture pendants seem to have brought me full circle.  The pendants are mostly inspired by nature, and I've been enjoying creating flowers and leaves from wire so much, it's spurred me into picking up the pencils and pens and actually applying them to paper (as opposed to old newspapers, shoe boxes, takeaway menus - you get the gist).  So all those people who are now getting hand-drawn cards from me have the wire to thank (or blame).

I just think it's funny how firstly, you can't suppress the creative urge completely - it will always find an outlet, and secondly, one interest leads to another in a natural progression, even if you end up right back where you started. :)

Just in case anyone was wondering ...

... what happened to the Rapunzel idea.  Here are the two failures so far.  I had this lovely vision in my head of an ivy-festooned tower, with Rapunzel's golden locks flowing down to a ground filled with flowers and grasses.  Right.  Here is attempt number one:

My first problem with this was that the plait looks as if it has merely been tied to the window sill.  Which it has.  Where is Rapunzel's head?!  I didn't get a chance to resolve this issue, because I then decided to destroy all hope of salvaging the thing by inadvertantly dropping it on the floor and rolling over it with my chair.  Which annoyed me (feel free to mentally cross out 'annoyed' and replace it with the strongest alternative you're comfortable with).  This does explain the mangled look of the piece, although not the general rubbishness of it.  So I shelved the idea for a while.  Then:

I'll try again, I thought.  The window was far worse this time, although I felt the hair was better.  But Rapunzel has no face!  How do I convey a face with a tiny piece of wire (that you're not going to even see from any distance) or a thicker piece of wire that I have no idea how to anchor?  A pink(ish) bead?  Nope.  So now we have a headless wig flowing out of a hole in the wall.  Still no face.  Still no flowers.  And I'm pig-sick of wrapping frames I'm going to waste.  So the idea is on hold for the time being.  Until the next time ... ;)