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.

We have a WINNER

And the winner is.................
    The Reef.  NOTHING else ran close....

Since the product is a bracelet, we MAY expand the name to "A Reef Around the Wrist"

Why did I want the BEST name possible?  I'm going to be submitting the bracelet for possible publication in a beading mag.  The better it sounds, I think the better my chances.  I've been published in scientific journals, in women's mags (ghostly wonder who I am), and in books.  I've even edited a few.  But NEVER before have I even tried to get my beading designs published.  So, fingers crossed and wish me luck.

AND COUNTLESS THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR SUGGESTING WONDERFUL NAMES!
We shall see if the winning name gets published as the moniker for this unusual bracelet!!!  Of course you all will be the first to know (well, at least right after my mother and husband are told!)

Oh, and another bracelet in the Under the Sea line -- my sea urchin bracelet -- is being put together as a kit for those of you with an interest in DIY.  Keep an eye out on my website and here on the blog!  I should have it up (with a few different kit colors) later this summer!!

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!
 

 

Creative Block--Breaking Thru?

  Well, the annual case of "it's almost summer" malaise has hit.  My creativity has shriveled to a nub of its former self; I repeat previous designs in limited edition while I await the muses to regroup and rejoin the community of art and color that populates my studio.
   In the meantime, projects already in the midst of completion are receiving attention, but no new work is being incubated.  Much of my one-of-a-kind work takes weeks, if not months to gestate and then come to fruition. So when NOTHING is in the containers that incubate the work -- beads come and go along with add-ons to the focal piece--I get seriously worried.  Of course, that only serves to amplify the angst and worry that go along with the dearth of creative thinking...
  To jog the mind and jumpstart the vision, I've taken to looking at nudibranches (see picture above).  They're sea slugs, if you can believe it.  According to Wikipedia, they begin life nude and plain and evolve over time -- much like my jewelry.  Their colors are remarkable and, at times, absolutely surprising  (such as the case of these two).  I've been pinning them to my Pinterest page as creative juice, along with some other visuals that I've found online in an effort to energize the synapses that extend beyond the replicative movement of the hands to bead mindlessly....
   The other thing I'm doing is writing up directions for the sea urchin bracelet.  It will be offered in classes for those nearby who learn best in a class environment; it also will be available on my website in kit format (in a limited assortment of colors only).
   Stay tuned....We WILL jumpstart the muses -- I'm working on food as a means of luring them back home for the summer season.

Custom creations--a bag of bugles

     When a friend handed me a bag of small bugle beads that she inherited in a button bag from a relative, I wondered immediately how I could create something from a type of bead that I generally have not used, particularly considering my penchant for peyote stitch, flat, circular, and otherwise.  She told me to "play" and come up with something she'd like, and she named a vey healthy price range.
      Lesson #1:  NEVER, but NEVER allow a client to walk away until you've gotten a very, very, very clear sense of just what she (or he) wants created.  Even a little hint of length, style, things liked in the past, things hated currently, etc., can be a wonderful guide to design.   BUT NO, I broke lesson #1 this time....Ultimately it did pay off...and ultimately, it produced a series of "possibles" as well as a final.  Here's what happened:
      I thought and played, and played and thought.  First, I  created a series of beaded beads from the bugles.  They could have become elements of a necklace or bracelet.  Nice, but not for my customer (but perhaps for something later consideration using bugles of my own).
     Then I used the bugles to create a fringe to circle a cabochon.  Too fussy for my customer.  (Again, an idea for the future).
     Finally, she told me she wanted something long and "drape-y"  Well, at last, some direction!  The helix that you see hit me immediately.   It's a long necklace; just what she wanted.  Next time, if I do something like it in lighter colors, I'll consider suspending some dark-colored swarovski crystals or perhaps some dark pearls within the tube. Could that be a great idea?
     In the meantime, I've created some sea-dwelling creature that undulates like a jellyfish found in the depths of the depths that recently were plumbed by James Cameron in his miniature submersible.  It's an "under the sea" creature, particularly in those wonderful shades of green.

     My customer is happy as a clam.  What do you think?

Show hiatus--until July

just in time for summer:
Under the Sea: turquoise and
coral seaweed --pricing/sizing
available
through www.theafine.com

The good news is that the shows this spring ultimately were successful. The contacts were great, the opportunities for teaching are superb.  Now to find a locale for the classes -- perhaps the clubhouse here at EH would be better than the studio itself.

There is no bad news!  I've the time to design and to get some kits and class materials together.  Remember, I'm teaching at the Gemcutters Guild of Baltimore at the end of June, beginning of July....check the classes out on their site!  I'm teaching three ways of bezeling around the gems they've cut....What fun...and you can join in!!!

I'm awash in ideas for new designs for both Circle the Stone and Under the Sea, but before I go there, I need to finish up the two prototypes for the Judaica collection so I can share with a few shops.

The latest addition to the collection is "Just what the doctor ordered" -- they're custom-made and sized medic-alert bracelets.  A large step up from the garden variety from the drug store!  Chain maille or pearl or swarovskis are in the works.  Stay tuned.

BUT, before I do anything else, I need to finish up a writing project AND a baby sweater for a friend's soon-to-be-delivered new granddaughter!

I'm also learning all about Pinterest -- not sure WHAT I'm doing, but trying hard to do it! LOL.  My work has been pinned a few times already.....

Spring shows over: The chicks have flown

     PHEW! I am tired!  Sugarloaf was a good show this Spring. Not heavy traffic, but good traffic for me.  Many projects went off to good homes.  I ONLY send them to good homes, of course.   The mailing list has grown markedly; web contacts, too.
I'm only sorry that I won't be able  to participate in the Timonium show the last weekend of the month.  It would have been a good event.  Next up?  Ann Arbor in July!  I'm now wait-listed for Sugarloaf fall shows...hope to get in....
     Given the relatively light schedule, it gives me much time to stock up on supplies AND to get existing projects finished, kits completed and up on the website, and some classes scheduled.  REMEMBER, I am teaching at the Baltimore Gem Cutters at the end of June.
     The other major step I need to take is to update the website photos, and get a shopping cart up there!  The new line is launched...."Just what the doctor ordered" is alive and well....Medic-alert bracelets in 12-in-1 Japanese chain maille in a variety of colors.  I'm also getting some other versions ready in other media...stay tuned on that one!!!.
     And while I was away, the birds have flown.  As you may recall, I have a tiny barn finch nest at the top of the column that holds up my front door's porch roof.  We last saw mama bird feeding tiny babies.  Just before I headed out to the show, the young 'uns were beginning to take test flights.....Here's a picture of them as they were about to launch themselves.....And now, like my own young 'uns, they've flown the next.  Time to clean up the guano and wait for next year's fledglings.
     Tempis fugit, as they say!
     Off to work I go!!

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."

Soothing the savage etc....

Off to the Baltimore Symphony tonight.   I'm surely hoping that Fanfare for the Common Man (and the colleague Fanfare for the UNcommon WOman) get my creative juices flowing....I NEED to get some energy and brio moving in my veins again! Two writing jobs and I jump back into beads -- and I DO want to be able to jump right in and create what I've wanted to be dreaming about!!!! 


If ANYONE can get me hopping up and down, it's Marin Alsop, one of the few women conductors in the world and a wonderful one, too!!



I'll let you all know if the music stirs the muse!!!

FOG

It is dark, and it is foggy, much like my brain this morning.  It is also unlike the beautiful fog in the picture taken on the Rhone during our Provence trip last summer. 
I've been at a loss for creativity, blocked, hitting a wall. Colors won't come; the field of new project ideas lies fallow. Even my half-sewn beading projects languish, despite the fact that they require the less than average use of arty grey matter.  


The ennui extends to other aspects of my life. I've been reading and re-reading all of the  scientific articles that I need to understand and explain in plain English in a press release.  The result?  Poorly conceived drafts in need of reworking.


It happens to all of us: the muse evades us for a while.  What to do about it?  Surround yourself in visual, auditory, tactile and taste-worthy sensations.....And that's precisely what I plan to do today.  The music will be ON (probably classical or folk of some ilk); the beads will be OUT on the counters to be put away in vials (seeing the colors touching the colors helps), the knitting will be picked up as will the artisan bread baking habit.  All of this contributes to a mindfulness about my actions, whether kneading bread, sorting beads, finishing the baby sweater I'm knitting for a friend's new grandbaby, or even just closing my eyes and listening to music.

AND WITH LUCK, the Muse will return to touch my art and creative spirit again very soon.
Keep your fingers crossed for me! LOL

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!

Glorious day!!

I'm not sure where winter went, but spring, even early summer, is upon us.  The sky doesn't have a cloud; a warm breeze is blowing through the screen in the sunroom where I'm working right now.
Today isn't a day for work, it SHOULD be a day for play, for soaking up colors that can be translated into bead design...

But ALAS, I'm on deadline for a newsletter AND for a press release. ...so, no beading today; it's a "fingers on the keyboard, butt to the chair" kind of day....but I WILL be getting out for a walk before the weather turns cloudy as expected tomorrow.  Pictures of the neighborhood's glorious daffodils coming in the next blog. In the meantime, enjoy the flowers from France.

---

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