BEAUUUUUUUUTIFUL NEW PIX.....

My most fabulous and creative photographer (a rare combination for a man whose daily life is as a nuclear engineer!) has beautified some of my latest work into magnificent photos.  They're so new that I haven't put them up on the website yet!

When I get back from my travels to Ann Arbor, MI, for the 4-in-1 series of shows that run from next Wednesday through Saturday (with 11-hour days in the booth for the first 3 days!), I'll probably be putting a new area up on the website for items that are "hot off the beading table," such as these pretties.  Wait until you see my latest "under the sea" creation with an all-bead ammonite!  I haven't gotten a picture take of it yet; I only hope it doesn't sell before I do. [No, that's not true.  At its high-end price, I sure DO hope it sells and fast!!]

I'll be blogging from my perch on State Street (booth C04) in Ann Arbor.  That is, I'll be doing it IF the weather (yes, both heat and thunderstorms are in the forecast, gulp) and the crowd (yes, let there be a large crowd) permit, and my level of exhaustion doesn't catch up to me too quickly-- a big ask at my advancing age, LOL.  If you're in the area, stop by -- but you MUST bring me a cold drink if you do so.  I wilt very rapidly in warmth, particularly when combined with humidity.  [No pictures of the artist are allowed under such circumstances; the appearance is much like someone emerging after 15 minutes in a warm sauna!

Let's all keep fingers crossed that the weather holds, the crowds are legion, and we have a bang-up successful show.

Stay tuned.

Let's name my bracelet

So, at last, I've created a new bracelet.  It uses 11/0 rounds, 8/0 rounds, 15/0s and daggers and I'm in love.  It undulates, it has movement, and even with the same daggers, when I change up the base beads, it looks so very different.
I provide a single picture, since I'm still learning how to use the new camera. When I've got it nailed, it'll be brilliant, but until then, I'm limited in what I shoot and HOW I shoot.  Please forgive some color that isn't quite as bright as it is in reality.....
HELP ME NAME THIS GOODY!  Obviously, it's part of the "Under the Sea" collection....but WHAT is it???
No prize to the winner other than basking in the glow of a title that will be credited both in this blog and on my website.


I think it's a winner item; what do YOU think???

Can It Be That the Muse Has Returned?

     Now I KNOW I shouldn't even lead with a header like that, since it's really tempting fate, but it seems that the muse may have returned -- along with the first hummingbird of the season!  Both flit in and out of my life in the spring and summer, but I'm hoping they'll both decamp for a while and become a part of my life.
     The picture appended to the left is the latest goodie--a beaded wave in my under the sea collection.  What you can't see very clearly in this rendition is the changing nature of the necklace beyond the wave or that it's offset, with the clasp close to the shoulder, not the nape of the neck.
     Even better, I've been creating some chain maille/beaded bead necklaces in multiple colors and looks..They're part of the "just what the doctor ordered" collection.  With loop and bead closures in the front, they're designed particularly for individuals who have trouble with arthritis in the shoulders, elbows or even hands.  In fact, they've been "test driven" by several friends who, sadly, have limited mobility in these ways.  Let me know if you want to see some of them.  I'll load them up.
     I'm now working on a few "finish ups" that have been in the works for quite a while.  Stay tuned.  It's getting exciting to see NEW THINGS.  And I hope to get them up on the website for EVERYONE to see.
     Challenges for the rest of the summer:  getting new pictures shot of a few special pieces; getting instructions written for a few bracelet kits; getting instructions for a different bracelet AND pictures to a beading magazine for consideration as a published article; getting materials together for a class I'm teaching at the end of the month, and getting show applications for 2013 started. Hard to believe when we're just halfway through 2012!  And oh, boy, do I have a lot of work to do.
    Hope those of you in the heartlands (or those who want a great town to visit!)  will find time in mid-July (18-21) to come to the Ann Arbor Craft Shows. FOUR different shows all at the same time!  And I'll be there -- at the Guild Show -- State Street, booth 4!  Drop by!
 

 

Taking the show on the road this weekend

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I'm going to be at the Sugarloaf Craft Show at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg Maryland this weekend.  Friday through Sunday.


I'll be upstairs in building 6A, booth 107.  Do come to visit!  I'll be looking forward to seeing friends old and new, and making new acquaintances, too!

It's just the time to pick out things for Mother's Day and for graduates and brides.  Stop by early for the best selection or to special order in time for the wedding or graduation!

Wrist Warning--A new bracelet line

      Several months ago, a friend's sister came to visit.  A collector of beautiful things--including jewelry--the woman had a pair of magnificent bracelets on one wrist, and a medic alert bracelet -- the standard metal on metal from the drug store--on the other.  The two arms were in serious contrast. I might dare to say that they went from the sublime to the ridiculous (but necessary for an insulin-dependent diabetic).
     She happened to visit my studio and saw a few of my chain maille items.  [I love making them, but they're not part of my beaded collection, so they don't make it to many shows.  The tiny rings are a wonderful alternative to tiny beads.  Because the hand/arm motions differ markedly between the beading and the maille work, it's a good respite to help avoid carpal tunnel. Of course, the maille is just as eye-intensive as beads...so no break for these baby browns! LOL]
      But I digress...  My friend's sister fell in love with the Japanese 12-in-one pattern of one of my bracelets and wondered if I could create one that would serve as a more attractive "strap" for her medic alert ID charm.  OF COURSE IT WOULD!!!
     And a new line is being birthed as the result.  I've just sent off the first of the line to its new home in Florida -- purchased by my girlfriend for her sister, of course!  As she requested, its a Japanese 12-in-one.  Rather than work in silver (which she finds tarnishes rapidly in the Florida humidity), it's been done in aluminum and niobium...lightweight and susceptible to different looks based on the colors and placement of the niobium....In fact, it just occurred to me that one could do a "right side/wrong side" bracelet as well, with different colored large rings on the two sides.  Could be a fun idea.
     At any rate, it's the first in the "Hey Doc" line.....  Another version will feature Swarovski crystals and yet another will be crafted from the new farfalle beads.....I'm on a roll....
     SO, what do you think? With the unfortunate epidemic of obesity (and concomitant Type II diabetes), it's likely a growing niche market.....sad to say!   Shall I take the plunge and add this as another niche product?  Shall I do them on a custom basis?

      Let me know what you think!!!

A Teaching Gig! With more to come......stay tuned

I'm going to  be teaching a weekend class--Circling the Stone Times Three--June 30-July 1-- at the Gem Cutters Guild of Baltimore on three ways to create beaded bezels around their freshly cut gems.  If you're in the area and want to participate, check out their website (below) to get more info. And while you're there, check out the other classes on their website (http://www.gemcuttersguild.com/classes.html).


Now the challenge is MAKING THE INSTRUCTION SHEETS!  Any creative ideas? I KNOW I'm going to take some photos to add to the document, but the graphs are the part with which I will struggle! LOL, I'm so good at MAKING the jewelry, just not at drawing diagrams of HOW I make it!   Once I get that worked out, doing the class should be fun.

Now, for your eye candy for the day, I present an additional picture of the famous VW that has been beaded inside and out by the Huichol tribe of Mexico and on exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian.  There are over 2.27 million seed beads, weighing over 200 pounds that have been set in resin on the "bug." The symbols depict culturally important ceremonies, events and designs.  It too 2 families over 9,000 hours to create!.  SO COOL! SO CREATIVE!  And signed just above the bumper, or so it appears.

 Thanks to my hubby, the docent at the Smithsonian, for taking the pix for me one day when he was "at work."

Cover Girl!!

I just learned that the Circle the Stone necklace that graces the front of my website (www.theafine.com) is the cover picture for a beading group--Beads and More (BAM)--on Yahoo.  It's a group of several hundred bead artists of varying experience who exchange knowledge, share solutions, and undertake bulk purchases to realize economies of scale.  While now a "closed" group due to the large membership, my selection and the kind words about my work were quite the honor (albeit, something about which I was unaware until I went to look at something on the site!)  By the way, the cabochon focal around which that piece is based is by Marsha Neal whose porcelain cabs and earrings and pendants are absolutely bodacious!!!

Yes, this blog entry features a DIFFERENT piece in the Circle the Stone line,  -a hidden-front-closure piece that features a wonderful apatitie cabochon and stones. I barely got a photo of it. No sooner did I finish it than it found another home during the ACC show. I hope my client wears it well and with great joy, since I had a blast creating it!

I show it  because I'll be teaching a weekend class--Circling the Stone Times Three--June 30-July 1-- at the Gem Cutters Guild of Baltimore on three ways to create beaded bezels around their freshly cut gems.  In the area and want to participate and get more info?  Check it out, and check out the other classes, too, on their website (http://www.gemcuttersguild.com/classes.html) and check it out.

One Down....Two to Go!

SPRING IS HERE (or so the calendar says).  And so do my plants!  Check out the budding out of my climbing hydrangea in the back yard! May we be protected from a hard freeze before the end of the month.

The good news is that the newsletter is finito:  signed, sealed and delivered.  In fact, it was posted to the organization's membership by the exec director literally by return mail! Huzzah!!Now on to the press release and the "think" piece.

They should be done in a few days and THEN I can get back to the joy of beading (not to be confused with the joy of cooking, something in which I also take great pleasure, as you can tell from my blogroll!)  In fact, today is a day to begin the process of macaron-making.  Yes! I'm talking about those glorious French macarons, not the coconut ones that are so prevalent this time of the year (manufactured for wheatless consumption during Passover).  Turns out the FRENCH macarons are also flourless -- they use ALMONDS not flour and nuts are ok to eat.  So, today, I begin the process by giving the eggwhites involved a few days to "rest."  Not exactly heavy lifting, but a necessary element in the 32-step process used by Pierre Herme (add accent over the second "e," s'il vous plait), the GOD of French patisserie.

Looking at the pictures in his book, my eyes are feasting on color combinations that could be right up the beading alley!  In fact, I think I'll create some macaron-inspired pieces as soon s I finish up the editorial work -- and attend to what my girlfriend Gail calls "administrivia."  And she has THAT right!

Monday, Monday......again

And the weeks go around and around...It seems as if I just finished the ACC show, but, no, it's already been two weeks!  The creative juices are flowing...at last!  AND the desire to sit and bead coincides with the flowing of the creative sap in my veins....No pressure to create; just the free flow of ideas to try and test. No pressure to be done with something; just the relaxation of one bead following another in a new pattern or a new design or a new color combination.

The best part, the RELAXATION of beading is back.  As a real type A personality, I've found beading to be my zen, my substitute for repeating a mantra over and over....but the pressure of the shows tends to change my outlook, making beading as much a chore as a joy....How wonderful to be back in the realm of the joy of beading.  The next show is local--Sugarloaf in April--so far less pressure than occurs when doing a NEW show in a NEW location.

BY THE WAY, I'm in booth 107 (upstairs in the first building!)  So come visit the booth.

Other than the wrinkled purple drapery on the left, whaddya think of the booth?  Yes, my name is missing on the banner -- needed to do that for future show applications to keep the slide truly "blind"....

I'm absolutely thrilled by my new pix....Think they're large enough?  LOL

What a magnificent day

Not a cloud in the sky, but a chilly morning.  Wrapped up with a mug of wonderful green tea in the sunroom and my beads, I plan to lose myself in them today.  It's "clean up" day for the existing projects.  The two orders I just completed went out the door yesterday, along with a repair job.

So now, it's on to the "finish them up" projects.  Necklaces, a few "kepah keepers" (picture appended), and a bodacious couple of pin/pendant combos.  THEN I get to play with my Judaica line as planned AND to start visualizing the Victoriana line.....I've got a few pieces already, part of the circle the stone collection, and want to do more -- perhaps with some jet and pearl....perhaps some garnet and gold.....The color combinations are dancing in my brain.....Creativity abounds.....

But on a down-to-earth note, I DO have to get a newsletter out this week and start a press release for my two remaining editorial clients.  I'm disinclined to give them up -- the work is fun, challenging my creativity in a different sort of way.  Loving it all....

For those of you in the US, don't forget to "spring forward" tonight!  Yeah, that hour we gained in the fall is going back to the great  "time repository" in the sky! LOL...

.Hope you'll check out my Website regularly