close.

unearthing a profound treasure must change a person forever. i am very much looking forward to seeing this documentary about street photographer vivian maier and also, to hear more about the man who purchased the time capsule of her life's work for a mere 300$ at auction. such a strange tale, and such stunning photographs . . . 

feeling alive in a strange, dangerous world.

I recently read a well crafted essay in Juxtapoz magazine on artist Odd Nerdrum. In it, Odd talked about how to command the helm of ones artistic path without fear; by traveling & immersing oneself in a foreign culture. This immersion is a metamorphosis: it changes you irrevocably, makes you realize you are only truly at home within the edges of your own skin. It is a powerful thing. 

I first began to be truly inspired by the ideas and notions of surrealism when I journeyed to Paris for the first time. In the Pompidou I came across a re-creation of part of Breton's studio as well as Hans Bellmer's infamous doll (or at least a version of it.) Though I had certainly read some surrealist texts and already had my introduction to Breton's Nadja, seeing these amazing artifacts in person truly set fire to my obsession with surrealism and all its nuances. 

Above is Tim Walker's most recent editorial featuring strange bird Tilda Swinton in this month's W magazine. The chosen location was Las Pozas, a surrealist garden of sorts deep in Mexico built by surrealist collector and eccentric Edward James. Freckled amongst intense and wild greenery are odd architectural buildings paying homage to surrealist ideas & shapes, a physical garden of strange delights that seems perilous to journey to. Set against this strange, dangerous world is Tilda, who beneath the phantasmal eye of Walker blooms into a surrealist rose, seemingly conjured from the paintings of the movement. 

how could i not fall in love ?

planchette jewel boxes.

these incredible planchette shaped jewel boxes have secretly been in the works for quite some time and fully conjured into being by an amazing collaboration with artist Paul Romano. (we have quite a bit more collaborations up our sleeve :))

 the larger jewel box twins two signature symbols into one piece, the planchette which has long been a personal symbol of mine in my never ending quest for answers about the afterlife as well the image of a thorned and locked heart, designed by Paul, is meant to represent the goddess persephone from myth (& who I've created several pieces of jewelry based on), who was stolen by hades, king of the underworld to be his queen, making this specific box darkly romantic in nature. the heart extends into two and encases an infinity symbol while a small keyhole shape lies in its center, suggesting the everlasting nature of true love. whichever pieces or pieces of bloodmilk you choose to place inside the box for safekeeping becomes the metaphorical "keys" to this lock, nodding to the idea of jewelry being romantic in nature when given as gifts between lovers.

created by utilizing a local woodworking shop and with the help of other friends, the boxes are comprised of composite wood and carefully hand-painted to achieve the gloomy gray tones of my jewelry. highlighting the engraved lid design is mica powder, resembling a pale silver dust that adds an ethereal layer to each piece and which hints at my connection with using sterling silver as my main material in my jewel work. mica is also a special material as it has crystal properties and has been used by humans as far back as prehistoric times in cave paintings & in other ornamental objects.

each box is finished with a set piece of domed magnifying glass, making each jewel box lid a "functional" planchette for divinatory purposes when removed from the box. each of the two boxes has a deep well, making them perfect for storing multiple pieces of bloodmilk. aside from their primary purposes of being jewel boxes, their size also allows for other secrets or sacred objects to be stored inside while their unique shape and hand finishing also make them special art objects.

a studio visit with chad merritt of mon petit fantome.

I was recently in the wonderful (& weird ) city of Austin, TX where I had the opportunity to visit my dear friend Chad Merritt of Mon Petit Fantome at his home & studio. As many of you know, I am a huge fan & supporter of his papercut works; they are elegant Victorian era-esque dreams that harken the darker aspects of fairytales. Aside from creating papercuts Chad works at Uncommon Objects, a lovely oddities shop teeming with strange wonders, which seems to be the dream job for his personal aesthetics. I love it when a person's work is a direct reflection of how they aesthetically lead their life, creating a visual landscape that informs a creative life. Take a peek below at more images I took of his workspace, collections and kitties below.

I got a little glimpse into how Chad organizes his papercuts while listening to Broadcast.

Blood Milk Lily Dale pentacle looking lovely on a vintage dress.

Original Alison Scarpulla photographs in his personal collection.

Chad owns the original drawing to the most coveted Amy Earles print. (so jealous!)

part of Chad's Blood Milk collection.

Dorian.

2 of swords, forever.

the lovely artist & internet darling charmaine olivia wearing the sterling 2 of swords tarot earrings. 

these are currently on sale (more info on this found here, including a coupon code for an extra 5% off.) i feel so lucky to have people whose work i admire wearing my work, the community i have been a part of here on the internet and in person in my home city of philly, has been filled with incredibly mutual support people who also care about handmade items and art.

as my way of saying thank you, i hold bi-annual sales; the first of the year is going on now in my shop. take a peek or help spread the word. 

also, i was recently interviewed by a special lady named ashley for her beautiful site hollywood noir makeup. you can read my intense ramblings about the afterlife, being gloomy and upcoming projects here. 

old dreams waiting to be realized.

the new the knife album, 'shaking the habitual' just came out and it's all i've been listening to. 

maybe you'll like it too?

Death & Taxes: Part 1 of the Bi-Annual Blood Milk Sale:

Hello! This Friday-Monday is part I of my Bi-annual sale. 15% off will already be listed in my Etsy Shop during these days, to receive an additional 5% off enter code DEATHTAX13 at time of checkout.

You MUST enter this code before completing your transaction, I will not be issuing refunds to those that neglect to do so, I'm just one lady and need to keep things simple. If you are having trouble with where to find the spot for the code, contact me and I will walk you through it.

There is NO danger of anything selling out, if you don't see the item you were looking for, email me: bloodmilkjewels@gmail.com, I just might not have gotten a chance to re-list it yet.

This sale includes everything EXCEPT for the pieces with natural crystals/gemstones, which includes the crystal tomb pieces, the messenger pieces and the belonging to the darkness rings with moonstone & garnet.

Thank you all so much for following me here & for supporting me with your kind words and purchases. Blood Milk is a small indie business and its amazing to me to have such a positive response, I am forever grateful to be given the opportunity to share my jewels and hence my personal vision this way.

*so many thanks to Paul Romano for creating and refreshing my logo/ branding, as seen here above and on the side bar.

moonstone my love.

moonstone has been a favorite stone for some time now, i was given my first piece of it as a gift to soothe my tendency to absorb other people's emotional landscapes, empath symptoms i still exhibit. moonstone as a talisman and as a healing stone has many more properties than this however, it is considered to be used as a divination tool & has been used and worn in jewelry since ancient times for both its outstanding otherworld beauty ( these are natural, amazing earth made stones !) as well as for its deeply magical qualities. in some cultures it is thought to be the tears of the moon made solid.

it took me a long time to find the size and quality i was searching for to fit the 'belonging to the darkness' ring series. this ring is particularly special, it is a tribute to persephone, the goddess who was captured by the king of the underworld to be his bride. i imagine that while being "captured" isn't really a romantic prospect (unless you are north of that wall that is ;) ) that over time persephone fell in love with her dark lover and thusly possesses both the ability to move between light & dark. 

moonstone is also thought to protect its wearer while traveling in dark nights, or dark times, as well as being thought to strengthen the bonds of love & passion between to lovers when one gifts it to the other, all ideas which fit in as perfect illustrations to my intent with this ring, that it can be a statement of belonging or commitment between lovers, friends, or even a statement that you belong to yourself. with the inclusion of the moonstone, it becomes a potent talisman that can protect your love, heal your grief or give you clarity. 

take a peek at more details & images of it here.

(& many thanks to all of you who have chosen to be engaged with this ring !)

365.

today marks the one year anniversary of my signing the lease on my beautiful loft. moving out on my own has been life changing & while i'm still transitioning (both in terms of physically setting up this giant space & emotionally; as i lived in my last place for 13 years...) the past 365 days of truly thriving in my own landscape, deciding and directing my own fate, has been so special & important for me.

here is a little image that's of part of my bedroom and includes meaningful treasures from some of my favorite artists:

ouija board: paul romano

senace sculpture: jessica dalva

small drawing: amy earles

as well as a collection of special objects below the bell jars, such as a palmistry hand that was given as a  gift the first time i made a big move on my own, a small bee that landed perfectly (& died of natural causes) in my last bedroom several springs ago, a dental casting i picked up on my first trip to SF & small flat stones i collected from the beach in hyeres while i lived there.

diaphanous.

from photographer ann mansolino's on going series of 'thresholds' which explores identity, memory and the shifting nature of personal landscapes. i'm quite taken with this one in particular, it reminds me of the images of francesca woodman i'm most attracted to & also feels a bit like a convergence of both jubilance & haunting madness while set somewhere that appears to be abandoned, in an early stage of ruin.

read a recent interview with her here at light leaked.

overcoming.

i've posted about artist nicola samori's works here & here & always with the feeling of hurried wonder, a palpable immediacy. i find that in the past i've been drawn to mostly illustrative works, tightly rendered & female centric. while these works still catch my eye, lately it has been looser, more visceral works that have pulled me into their deep emotional wells. nicola's new works for his current show 'die verwindung' in modena,  have excelled in intensity; the figures have become increasingly demolished and obscured by the oil paint with which he conjures them into being. there has also been a quickening of the brazen act of quite literally punishing the surfaces he has created; paint is pulled off the canvas like layered skin, a face collapses like rotten fruit, limp against its frame, becoming something more, something different.

at the core of these violently beautiful manipulations is a challenge to art history. his masterful academic style speaks of the past, its gloominess, its crimes, its seemingly unending agony. & then there is its deformation, its metamorphosis; its ultimate transcendence. though there is no light & thusly an absence of hope among the ruins of both body & painting, there is a dark triumph in the works that speaks of the fleetingness of life, an acceptance (& perhaps even celebration) of the inevitable decay of the world.

scavengers.

there is a strange melancholy to taxidermy that draws me to it though i also feel a bit repelled/unsettled by it, especially in the case of taxidermy birds. last year around this time i visited jones beach in long island and came upon a seagull skeleton (sans head & feet, oddly.) it's wings were spread open, the few remaining feathers swayed with phantom life in the cold wind coming off of the sea. its entire ribcage had been picked clean and rose from the sand like an abandoned cathedral. it was an immense time of uprooting and tumult for me, coupled with the excitement of a new life, & the end of winter, the promise of spring looming like a nearly ungraspable dream.  

there is something about these birds by jane howarth that reminds me of this moment where i crouched in the sand, bundled in winter clothes, examining the remains of something that had once soared. i am interested in how these birds are either "stuffed" with netted sheaths of hair, strands of pearls or curled roses shaped by ribbon, or are completey cloaked, as in this last one, seemingly corseted into what resembles a kind of straight jacket. this juxtaposition of immense beauty and madness embodied by dead, winged vessels, transports me to this time where i stood on the cusp of sea and land on the island where i was born.

visitation.

crossing railroad tracks is always something i've specifically likened to the deepest sadness i carry, the loss of my father. something about this new series of work, aptly titled 'visitation' by photographer ellen rogers makes the edges of me sharpen, feels so uncannily like the imagined images of this loss i carry around with me always like dark talismans.

dear ellen, you move me always.


ps. i had the chance to interview ellen for hi-fructose a bit ago. if you're so inclined, take a peek here.

her kind.

one of the things that attracts me to art & literature is an 'otherness,' an odd quality that is akin to "realness" but slightly off, stranger.

i especially love to find this element coupled with works that explore identity, i.e. when a face is obstructed, unseen. this marriage provokes an unsettling feeling that just hypnotizes me. here, heidi yardley uses this device to much success, a face is swathed in manicured hair while another wears a meat like mask.

most uncanny to me is the last one, a face turned away, staring into a blank landscape of nothing, jewel-like lesions growing on her neck like a fever. so much of what's going on here feels akin to my days lately, patiently waiting for the winter to lift & vanish like smoke, moods shifting and bordering on the down-right gloomy. 

dark mother moons.

favorite ethereal creatures, sisters of the black moon, have been both an inspiration & support for my own work. aside from maintaining a webshop full of amazing vintage finds, they have begun to venture out into designing their own pieces and have recently released a new collection 'disir.' filled with high priestess -esque clothing that has an expressive amount of movement that cloaks the body beautifully. this last piece is personal pick, i love suspenders and when worn backwards, would be perfect for my personal style. i'm also super honored that they used the blood milk snake rib cross in the lookbook.