lo and behold

Is it just me, or does having to do taxes drive you deeper and deeper into the blogosphere?  I’m even cooking and cleaning to avoid that nasty Schedule C.  I keep saying to myself:  today I’ll let myself play and then tomorrow I’ll really be ready to focus on the taxes.  Of course, I need to do all sorts of catch-up record keeping before I can even begin to actually fill out the form.  Oh, what am I saying?  I don’t fill out the form. Our accountant fills out the form, but I have to fill out the accountant’s form and even that has me in knots. Plus it was due to him on March 1, and I hate being that person who blows in on April 1 . . . Each year we somehow manage to get there a little earlier, but it’s no March 1;  I used to be the person who was cashing my refund on March 1.  Oh, that was a long time ago.  A. Long. Time. Ago.  In more ways than one. 

So, if you want to join me in procrastination, here’s what I suggest:

And the Winner Is . . . if you aren’t sick of those words, check out this blog post at the American Craft Council. I have never been to one of their shows, which happen several times a year in different parts of the country.  I’m sure that one day I will, not to mention what a dream it would be to exhibit at one (be still my heart).  This post describes a tradition they have of recognizing some of the artists with a special award, and revealing those awards in a walk-through on the day before the show.  Isn’t that sweet?  This post describes each of the winners and why they were chosen, which for me, as a developing artist, was very interesting.  A few of the winners are:

Dan Mirer, glass artist (photographs by Jenny Gill, ACC)

Natalie Blake ceramic artist, and I am delighted to say that I have two of her tiles hanging in my kitchen right now! 

So, avoid something important you are supposed to be doing and go the ACC blog post right now to see the rest of the winners.  But do not, for any reason, also spend an hour (or two) surfing the website of each winning artist.  That would be wrong.

And do not go to the  Art Bead Scene Color Challenge which is open for entries until April 1, because if you do, you will want to immediately start constructing your entry.   I did not do that.  Not at all.  

Congratulations, Ruthie - you are the winner of the Happy Friday giveaway!  Please get in touch, and I will send you these beautiful lampwork beads made by Beverley Hicklin.  They came all the way from England to me, and now they’ll travel from New England to where??  If only beads could tell stories . . .actually, they can.  

I’m starting to think that in the spirit of spring cleaning, giveaways are a great way to de-stash some of my loot.  It won’t always happen on Fridays, though, so check back often!

Happy Tuesday! 

My daughter Isabel reached into the hat and pulled out a name: 

Adrienne Campbell  - Yeah!  You won the surprise giveaway.

My daughter Rachel reached into the hat and pulled out a name: 

Kate from Organic Odysseys – Yeah!  You won a bead crochet bracelet. 

Please get in touch, and we’ll work out the details.  If the bracelet I originally posted isn’t the right size or color, there are lots of options. 

Special thanks, too, to everyone who entered by adding my RSS feed to your blog reader.   The best part (for me) is that hopefully we’ll stay connected and a bloggy friendship will grow.  

This was the first give-away I’ve done on my blog, and I liked it!  I want to do it more; I’m thinking maybe once a month.   One blog I follow, The Vintage Pearl, gives things away all the time, and I love the spirit behind it . She says, “Let’s give one away!” and I hear the generosity and fun in her voice.  I’ll take her as my model. 

And, I’ve been reading about all that One World One Heart stuff. WOW!  I thought about participating in the event, but it seemed overwhelming.  Next year, though.  Talk about giveaways! 

Happy Tuesday!  

While party hopping and sipping soup in the blogosphere earlier this week, I came upon some good giveaways, in addition to my own.  Take a look at this one, and get yourself in before the deadline of February 14.   

Erin from Treasures Found is showing off her Valentines love with these cute necklaces.  Get the details of the giveaway here.  She’s also got a challenge going on until the end of the month, so no reason to be bored! 

Lucid Moon Studio is giving away three things:  a $25 gift certificate to ArtBeads, a darling resin owl pendant made by Lucid Moon blogger herself, and a copy of two different beading magazines.  The details are at the end of her long-ish post, but don’t rush through.  Linger over the story of her experiments with resin and the gorgeous photos of her necklace that is just perfect for Valentine’s Day.  You won’t be disappointed. 

Wait, I just realized if you all enter, I’ll have a lesser chance of winning myself!  Forget it.

Spirit Rattles is giving away a lovely soup cup of beads pictured below.  You have to comment on her blog by Sunday at noon. 

And don’t forget about my giveaway.  Enter by February 15 at noon by subscribing to my RSS feed and leaving me a comment that says “I RSS’d you”.  I’ll have two winners; one will get the lavender and blue bead crochet bracelet pictured (it’s quite a bit more sparkly than the photo shows) and one will get a surprise! 

Good luck - happy weekend!

Let me just say, I think I visited 50 blogs yesterday.  It was like eating potato chips, it was a feast, it was a drug;  I just couldn’t stop.  I was bleary-eyed, my tired fingertips bleeding, and I just kept going.  One more . . .Just one more . . .Just one more.  I kept thinking I was close to the end, and then I find another and another that I hadn’t yet seen. 

And let me just say, I’m having one of the happiest hangovers I’ve ever had.  Thank you again, Lori Anderson, for such wonderful opportunity. 

Over the next few posts, I’d like to reflect more in depth on some of the art and artists I met during this blog fun.  Since I’m treating this whole period in my life as a personal art school, I really enjoy the process of gathering other artists into my fold and thinking about how I am like them and how I am different.  I feel like it all contributes to my own sense of voice and vision in what I’m doing. 

So, of course, every single piece of jewelry I saw was lovely.  Really.  Not a dud in the crowd :).  But this one photo keeps coming back to my mind. 

This necklace was made by Cindy Wimmer using beads she got from Lyn Foley.  I would love to hold it in my hand, to see how heavy it feels, to see how it moves.  I like that it’s a substantial piece, but it’s also trim, and short.  I can’t really figure out how big those gemstones in the back really are, and I don’t think Cindy mentioned what gauge wire she used.  She called that wire technique “chunky herringbone weave” so I can investigate it from there.  I am also simply enchanted by those empty links between the lampwork and the gemstones.  I don’t know why, but I think they are brilliant. 

As an aspiring lampwork artist, I know that I want to make jewelry with my beads.  I also know that I want the beads to be the main attraction.  I love sterling, and I love glass and silver, but I don’t like the way, for example, the sterling beads in a Troll bracelet (and others of those variety) compete with the glass.  I also don’t love too many glass beads, one on top of another (though I have definitely seen exceptions which I will talk about later). This necklace seems to strike the perfect balance.  The sterling is there in service to the beads, yet it is unique and beautiful in its own right. 

One thing I tried on my Bead Soup necklace was making my own jump rings.  I simply did not have the size I wanted, so I quick did some coiling and cutting.  I cannot say they were successful at all.  The cut edges were a ragged mess and I felt like I was ruining my wire cutters, even though I’ve bought what I think are good ones.  I’ve been eyeing a class at Snow Farm by metalsmith Joy Raskin, and now I’m seriously thinking that it may be my elective this year. 

I still have thirty-ish blogs to visit and I’m sure I will get to every one! 

PS.  RSS my blog before February 15 and tell me in a comment that you did it, so I can enter you in my giveaway. 

First, an appetizer: 

I’m giving away two surprises.  Here’s how you enter the drawing:

1.  Sign up for my RSS feed so we can stay connected after the party ends.

2.  Leave me a comment and include the message:  “I RSS’d you.” 

3.  I will collect names from the comments and randomly choose two on Monday, February 15, sometime after 12 noon EST.  I will contact the winners and announce it on the blog Monday afternoon or evening.

4.  Want a second entry?  Blog about my giveaway, leave me a comment with the link to your post, and I’ll put your name into the pot again!

Main Course

My ingredients came from Mary Harding. The ceramic focal, the ceramic rounds (left, top) and the clasp were handmade by Mary. 

Then, I made some components:

And here’s what happened: 

Unfortunately, these photos don’t show the wonderful shadings of blue, pink, and purple in all the different parts of this single strand rope-like necklace, but hopefully, enough of the magic will still come through. 

You can see that I transformed Mary’s focal pendant into a link by gluing a small loop of wire onto the bottom.  Maybe Mary will take the idea for a new product!

The large, glass tube bead is one that I made.  It’s got a white core with blue, lavender and clear swirls. 

The chain component between the heart and the tube is something new I made up, and I’m really excited about it.  It’s made from  6mm glass discs that I bought to use as end caps for my bead crochet ropes when I want to use them as links rather than join the ends as in a bracelet.  For this piece, I just strung them together on Fireline with two jump rings on either end.  I used two colors – a lavender and a transparent gray, random.  Its quick to put together and since the discs are the same diameter as my standard bead crochet, it makes a nice compliment.  And, I sent those same lavender discs to Mary, so I wonder what she did with them?!

On the right side of the rope, I used a handmade glass lentil from my stash that I bought from Whirled Peas and the round links are Mary’s beads.  I changed up part of the clasp so instead of Mary’s copper metal part, I used a small piece of coordinating bead crochet. 

I’ve been so focused, and nervous and excited about my piece, I haven’t even had time to imagine what Mary did with beads I sent to her.  Gotta go find out!

Thanks so much to Lori Anderson for organizing this fun blog event.  I’m so I took the leap and joined in!  And thanks to Mary Harding for the gorgeous beads she gifted me.  I will treasure them always - and, in fact, I have some left, so there will be more coming soon  I really want to dream something special for those coral colored rounds . . .

I’m getting very excited to see all the creations that will be revealed on February 10th at the Bead Soup Virtual Party.  Eighty-four bloggers are playing along; it will probably take me days see them all – and I do want to see them ALL. 

My bead soup came from Mary Harding.  I let the ingredients simmer for a few days and then began to make components -like the way a soup is better if you sauté the onion, carrots, and celery first instead of just throwing it all into the liquid to boil.  I wanted to work Mary’s beads into my style.  I really admire designers like Lori Anderson whose jewelry can range from Goth to romantic to bright and whimsical to organic and subtle.  I am not a designer who is adept at many different looks; rather I am one with a signature style (if I can be so bold as to say that about myself at this point) and I want all of my pieces to be somewhat recognizable within a style.  Right now, I would say that bead crochet is one of my signature components.  So I went at it:

The one in the back is not bead crochet but that piece of rope will be used in a similar way.  That’s all for now!!

I also decided that in honor of my many new blog friends, I am going to do a giveaway – my first ever.  Since I consider this stage of my artistic life to be more about learning and developing skills than about selling, I love to GIVE my jewelry as gifts and surprises.  One gift is the bead crochet bracelet below, and a second winner will get a surprise.  Here’s how you can enter:

1.  Sign up for my RSS feed so we can stay connected after the party ends.

2.  Leave me a comment telling me that you’ve done it. (There must be a way I can see who has subscribed, but I don’t have that piece of technology/knowledge in place yet – so we’re on the honor system!)

3.  I will collect names from the comments and choose one randomly on Monday, February 15 at 12 noon EST.  I will contact the winners and announce it on the blog Monday afternoon or evening. 

4.  Want a second entry?  Blog about my giveaway, leave me a comment with the link to your post, and I’ll put your name into the pot again! 

Good luck everyone!  See you again soon! 

Tonight for dinner, I made soup from some leftover turkey I froze at Thanksgiving, but this weekend, I worked on my Bead Soup, which was way more fun!  Just ten days until the big reveal when 84 bloggers show off their artistic creations made with beads received from another blogger in the swap. 

There is also a Bead Soup Flickr pool and had a look around there tonight.  I have to admit, I have not yet visited all 84 bloggers and I liked seeing a bunch of soup pots all in one place. 

These two partners swapped components in the same colors.  That happened with my partner and me, but it was total coincidence.  I wonder if it was the same with these two, or if it was planned? 

You might also remember that I got a heart in my package.  Hearts seem to be a common ingredient – because of Valentines Day coming up?  Or just because beaders love to LOVE? 

Visit the Flickr Pool to find out who got and who gave the soup mixes pictured, and come back here later in the week to see some hints about what I am cooking up. 

My kids got their report cards last week, and since I’m in art school, I’m going to get report cards, too. 

Blogging:  13 posts, participation in a blog party with 80 other people = A+

Studio:  acquisition of new tools and a used RedMax torch by Nortel  =  A

Reading:  Torchworked Marbles, Step-by-Step Wire, Jewelry Artist = A

Making: finished a bead crochet necklace, worked on and then gave up a knitted sweater that was torturing me = B

Health:  kept a journal of healthy behaviors, bought and took vitamins= A

I have a bunch of posts coming to elaborate on some of these accomplishments.  Stay tuned to see my torch and hear about an excellent article I recently read.

Goals for Feb: 

• Get my blog on the latest Wordpress platform, continue posting
• consult with contractor re studio
• make piece for blog party, string bead crochet for trip in Feb
• enter a jewelry contest or submit to a magazine
• exercise once each weekend, once during the week

Note to file:

• next year:  attend at least two major marketplace shows i.e. Tucson, Bead and Button, ACC

Lori Anderson’s virtual Bead Soup Party has attracted over 80 participants, and we’re having fun getting to know each other.  My partner is Mary Harding.  We share a common interest in seed bead work, and we are also both bead-makers.  But we also recognized immediately that we have very different styles. 

Mary makes ceramic beads with subtle, earthy glazes in various shapes, often imprinted with objects from nature like leaves, flower buds, grasses, and trees.  I would call Mary’s style organic, and she also called it rustic.  She has also worked in fused glass, but it seems not what she is most currently interested in. 

My style I would describe as modern, sparse, geometric. . . .Mary and I decided to send each other packages that would offer challenge by taking each of us out of our usual MOs.  Here’s what I got:

A beautiful heart pendant, a coordinating handmade clasp, and six round ceramic beads in two colors (upper left corner) – all handmade by Mary.  Light blue/aqua-ish faceted gemstone and tumbled Tourmaline chips from Artbeads. 

First thing I noticed is that the beads I sent Mary are in the same color family – that should be fun! 

Next, I went to my own stash, and pulled out things I have that would go with this palette.  As you can see, I love bluish- purply shades and I have lots of choices:  some amethyst rounds, some glass roundels, and three different sets of lampworked beads.  The single round one on the left is one that I made, the others are all ones that I’ve bought over the years. In fact, you will see later, that some of these exact same beads are in the bead soup I sent to Mary.  But more on that after she gets the package. 

Here’s another shot of the accent beads Mary sent me with some beads of my own. 

So, I can tell that my way into this project is through color, and I’m working in a color family that I really like.  The question for me now is: how much can I transform these materials into a piece of jewelry that approximates my aesthetic and how much can/should I bend myself to match the integrity of the materials themselves.  Hmmm. . . .Any thoughts my fellow Swappers?