Finding the Cutty Sark … amid art!

You never know where a tea reference is going to turn up! See this mug featuring an image of the famous Cutty Sark tea clipper? This is what I was sipping from on Tuesday morning.  (And you can see a hint of my lip gloss, but I didn't think to take a photo until I was already sipping!)

I spotted this mug while I was at Backstreet Community Arts here in Newnan for a fun team activity with some of the staff of the Coweta Community Foundation, which I help with their PR. I’d heard of Backstreet Arts for years and knew of its excellent reputation for making the arts accessible to everyone in the community, but I’d never actually visited. They had coffee and tea available for us, and because they try to be “green,” they encourage the use of reusable mugs. I saw the Cutty Sark mug and quickly claimed it, especially since I once had the great pleasure of stepping aboard the Cutty Sark  tea clipper itself in dry dock in England! (And though I normally would have had tea, I can’t pass by coffee with peppermint creamer on chilly mornings at this time of year.)

Here are some of my CCF friends at our work table, where we all made jewelry! (The gentleman in our group made some as a gift for his wife, which I thought was lovely.) Backstreet also teaches fiber arts, so my eye was drawn to all the yarns, as well as the sewing machines and fabrics for their stitching projects. Their executive director, Kim, was so kind and helpful. The few art-type classes I’ve taken were very intimidating and stressful to me, but this one was not. Kim simply and clearly explained the tools we would be using and encouraged us to experiment. She also said something I thought was very wise, which was not to compare our work to anyone else’s, because “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I agree!

The heroine in my Junkin’ Jewelry mysteries makes her designs out of old junk jewelry, but I had never actually thought about cutting out metal and hammering a design into my own jewelry. For that reason alone, I had a wonderful time learning about all of the great jewelry-making supplies at Backstreet Arts. And I came home with some hammered copper earrings that I made and am proud to wear! (And no, I did not sneak that Cutty Sark mug into my purse, though I was tempted.)

We all had such a fun morning at Backstreet Arts, and now that I know they accept donations of craft supplies, I’m even more encouraged to clean out my stash since I know it will have a happy home there!