New stuff to see!

A dear friend of mine is going out of town on her first "Girls Weekend" since....forever. Kelly was in the peace Corps, and worked overseas for years with Habitat for Humanity, and made many, many friends (she also speaks fluent Romanian, which is awesome!). A few weeks ago, Kelly asked me to make bracelet and earring sets for her to give to the friends joining her on the Girls Weekend, and of course I happily obliged! Here is the end result of my imagination, some yummy colored glass, and her faith in my creative vision:

UnMatched bracelet and coordinating earrings - bright blue glass with sterling silver

UnMatched bracelet of hot pinks and purples, with coordinating earrings - sterling silver

UnMatched bracelet and coordinating earrings in bronze and amber -- in copper

I am happy to say Kelly loved the work I did for her, and *I* loved that she gave me the colors and the metals she wanted, and let me go for it. Simple pieces, but pretty and different.

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In other news, I traded in my beloved Hyundai Santa Fe, which I have adored and driven for seven years (longest of any car I've ever had!), and bought this:

A 2012 Mazda 5 in Copper Red! Three rows of seats, great gas mileage, excellent reviews. I really like it a lot, although I do admit to shedding a few tears for the Santa Fe. I never once had any problems -- never! -- with my Hyundai, but at 145,000 miles, time was running out on it. And we needed a car that all 5 of us could sit in comfortably. My poor teenage daughter was jammed between the little kids in their booster seats in the Santa Fe, but now she will have an entire row to herself! And I won't have to put truck tires on it -- this one takes regular car tires!

I know all my show stuff will fit in there easily, too, so this makes me happy. I need to get leopard-print seat covers for it, though, as the interior is a VERY light tan -- not a fantastic color when you have little kids eating in the car.

And there's the news for now! What have YOU been up to lately?

Here I am...

See? I didn't fall off the planet, even though it probably seems like it.

Since Christmas, it's been a bunch of rushing here and there, getting stuff done, getting a routine back after the holidays, all that stuff. I've been enjoying my kiln thoroughly, and I've been making beads like crazy lately!

See?

I do have a bit of (hopefully) interesting news and general stuff to share, so here we go, in bullet points for brevity:

* I started an undergraduate-level class in Art History. First step on the path to graduate school and possibly a new career. So far, I LOVE it. LOVE love love. I've never been so happy to write a paper before!

* My application to Arts In The Park was accepted, and I will be a vendor there for the first time this year! It's a huge two-day show at the beginning of May in Byrd Park in the city of Richmond. Maybe this will be the year I upgrade my torch!

* I am working out a schedule of creating enough stock for this show -- and I'm terrified I won't have enough. Ack!

* OOH!! I'm going to take a class from Richard Salley this May!! ArtBliss is coming up again, and I. Am. Going. (At least in May...) I am beyond thrilled that I will finally be able to stop trying to teach myself how to rivet and solder. Mastery of those skills will. be. mine. Plus, RICHARD SALLEY. He seems so awesome, and his work is fabulous!

* My oldest daughter has applied to the local arts magnet high school in visual art. I am hoping against hope she gets accepted, but I am worried her portfolio is going to be a little short. I can't get her to stop drawing dragons and mythical creatures!

* I am almost done knitting the Doctor Who scarf I started back in November as a gift for my oldest daughter. That thing is easy-peasy, but BORRRRRING! That's what's hanging me up -- boredom. I promised myself NO new knitting projects til this one is done. I have enough UFO's of all kinds already.

* This so-called "winter" is making me very unhappy. No snow, and a change to spring every three days is annoying.

* I am going out on Friday night!!! (just thought I'd throw that in there)

* Been playing around with baking soda as a way to make new, funky beads. I haven't totally figured it out yet (and I'm sure if I actually read something about the technique, I could master it), but so far, my experiments look pretty good.

* I'm also playing around with a way to try out different color combinations using paint chip samples. Sometimes I can't decide what to make, and then I sit at the torch and make a bunch of junk. Maybe preselecting my palettes will help me branch out, and also avoid getting stuck.

Hmm....I think that might be it for now. I'm NOT participating in Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party this go-'round, and although I admit to a brief twinge of "Aw, I didn't get picked!", I'm actually relieved to not have been chosen this time. I just can't fit one more thing on my plate at this time, and I'm happy to let someone new play! I'm looking forward to the big reveal in March!

Okay, I have to get to the museum and photograph some works for my paper. Glad to be back after my long break, and I hope all of you are enjoying the start of 2012!

So Many Great Things!

I've got a bunch of really great things to talk about today, and maybe even some pictures, too!

First, I can't believe I forgot to tell you about this, but a few weeks ago I was notified that I was accepted into the docent training program at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts! I wrote about it on my Facebook page, but I guess I didn't say anything here...I'm SO excited, though! Training will start the second week of September, and run through next year.

Second, I finally went ahead and ordered some postcards with jewelry-care information on the back. I used one of my very favorite photos of my enameled beads, some wire and glass, and the brass plaque I stamped 'creative'.

I got them done with VistaPrint, and they're not bad for the first go-around. I'm thinking of putting that image on my business cards, too. It captures most everything I do with my jewelry these days -- metalwork, wire, glass, enamels, stamping -- so I think it would be a little more 'iconic' for my business.

Does anybody use MOO cards as business cards?

I made beads this week, braving the heat to do so. I'm getting really frustrated with my torch setup these days, because I have so little time to make beads and I want to knock out a big bunch at each torch session. Unfortunately, with the HotHead, it takes a long time to melt the glass, which translates to extra time roasting over the flame and fewer beads made in an hour. Roasting me, as well as the glass, some of which doesn't take kindly to roasting and turns all kinds of funny colors, or just flat out burns. Sigh. Someday, someday I will be able to move on from my HotHead to something that will get me where I want to be, glasswise. I am starting to feel very limited, and that sucks.

All I need is money, though.

Quoth the Raven...."Got to get started on some Halloween ideas!"

Chickens and eggs for the market

Blue beads for a necklace idea I had.

Those grey transparent beads? Those are supposed to be crystal clear glass beads, but thanks to the HotHead, that's what I get. I look forward to the day when I get to work with clear glass again.

Other good news...I was invited to blog at 'Studio Mothers', which is a wonderful community of support and inspiration for creative moms....and not only moms! I've really enjoyed reading it, and now I am thrilled to be a part of it! Check out my intro blog post here.

I added dates to my schedule at the Manakin Market, so I will be there twice a month for August, September and October. The market ends the last Saturday in October. I will also be at the University of Richmond's Arts Around The Lake show on September 25 (oh please don't let it rain like last year!), and Whimsical Wares, in Richmond, which will be sometime in November.

I think that's the update for now. Lots of things going on around here, but it's also August, which means my kids are home all day (no camp/summer school/activities!). I'm trying not to get too stressed about having less time to myself, and instead trying to figure out how I can fit in little pieces of productive time to make jewelry and get stuff done. I'll get there, I'm sure.

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If any of you are local to Richmond, VA, and interested in having your own private A Hot Piece of Glass Trunk Show at your home, please get in touch! I'm starting to book dates for home sales, and I've put together some great hostess benefits that will get you some free and special-sale jewelry and accessories. Whether we want to believe it or not, Christmas shopping season will be upon us soon, and a Trunk Show is a great way to get some shopping done AND hang out with friends! Email me for details.

TARDIS

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a great big geek. I have a particular love for the BBC television show 'Doctor Who', which has been on the air for YEARS.

Central to the show, besides The Doctor, is a vehicle in which he travels, called the TARDIS, which stands for 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space'. It's shaped like an old British police box, in which one could call for the police if help was needed on the street. In the show, the TARDIS shows up in many likely and unlikely locations as the Doctor travels across time and space.

This year, the BBC is holding a contest for fans to make their own TARDIS, and put it in an interesting place. My whole family loves this show, and I thought this would be a great project for myself and my eldest daughter and my husband to make. However, we promptly forgot about the contest until recently. The deadline is May 15, and in the form of a last-minute brainstorm, I single-handedly created our entry.

If you go to this link: Where's The Tardis?, you will find photographs and a description of my entry. Please click the 'Like' button if you are so inclined. I really, really want to win this contest!

(The winner gets a private screening of Doctor Who for 50 people, AND copies of ALL the Doctor Who episodes currently available on DVD.)

Thanks, guys!

Oh, and for those of you hardcore fans, I am currently working on Dalek beads, smaller versions fo the TARDIS for earrings, and a weeping angel. What else should I try to make?

And the other stuff...

I wrote about the custom order I recently completed for a friend of mine, the Encircled neckalce and earrings. In addition to those pieces, I had also made some pendants for her. The pendants were to be gifts for friends of ours who were involved this past weekend in cooking a very large meal for a large medieval event in North Carolina. It was my pleasure, and a whole lot of fun, to create this assortment of food-related beads and turn them into pendants:

All in all, I made about fourteen or fifteen different items, including some loaves of bread that didn't quite have the look I was hoping for (and so are not pictured above).

My personal favorites were the beer mugs, of course, and the turkey.

My eldest daughter had suggested waffles with syrup, a few weeks ago when I had been stumped for other fun foods. They turned out to be another favorite for both of us, and I just might have to make more of those:

I didn't post about these pieces before because the event was held this past Saturday, and I didn't want to spoil any surprise in case any of the intended recipients were reading this! But, now that the event is done, I am anxious to hear how they were liked, and definitely interested to know which of my friends received which pendant!

I love making the food beads, and now I might have to make a series of necklaces or bracelets that are meal-themed. I can see a breakfast one: eggs, waffles, a coffee mug....and dinner: a turkey, veggies, a wine bottle. Fun!

Up next, some work for another friend's bridesmaids, and a Tiffany-style beaded bracelet for another friend. Maybe I'll own my kiln by the end of this year! ;)

Well, it's Tuesday

So, I've been working on my Art Every Day month pieces, and truth to tell, I haven't shown any here because I haven't finished any yet. I've been grabbing a few minutes here and there to work on some journal pages and some jewelry pieces, but nothing is completely done enough to show. I'm occasionally scatterbrained when I get several good ideas all at once!

Anyway, I realize that I actually HAVE completed a few things in the last few days....if you look at beads being 'complete' even if they are not made into jewelry. For some reason, I have been very interested in focusing very intently on the beads I am making over the last couple of days. By this I mean that I have been spending a lot of time in my head, rummaging around in there, and so the beads I have been making have been detailed, large, complicated to make on my torch, and have consisted mostly of very very small dots and thick layers of encasing. I love working with dot designs, as most of you may know, and encasing is one of those skills that I feel you really have to work on and practice. The base bead has to stay warm throughout, but develop a solid skin on the outside so that the encasing layer can be applied without smudging the base. I've also been playing with a variety of methods to get the encasing layer to go on evenly and cover the base bead as completely as possible.

And the dots....I am a huge admirer of Brad Pearson's work (and he even lives in Richmond! I need to take a class from him someday), so I have been trying to incorporate some of his detail and technique into my own beads. Of course, compared to his work, mine look like they were made while I was drunk, but, hey, practice makes perfect, right? (and kids, don't drink and torch. Bad idea.)

Anyway, that has been my focus for the last two beadmaking sessions. I've been trying out different color combinations, too. I think some of these are successful. Some, not so much.

I'm liking this current focus on focusing. I am feeling very insular right now and spending a lot of time thinking. My favorite way to deal with a 'mood' or an introspective period like this is to hole up with some loud music directly into my head and something to do with my hands. Somehow I think this helps me work out whatever it is that's in my head. My mood and state of mind definitely informs the work I make at any given time.

At this point, I am going to sing the praises of Pandora. I absolutely LOVE listening to my Train station (ha!), and now that my husband has bought and installed our new media server, I am thrilled to be able to listen to my music in the house like we have a real stereo system! (How dated do *I* sound??) Music is an essential component of life, especially mine.

Oh! For any of you who are local to Richmond, VA, my work will be available for sale at Whimsical Wares, a new art show and sale that will be held this weekend, November 12 and 13th. It will be at the Smoketree Clubhouse on Smoketree Drive in Richmond. Open from 11-7 on Friday and 10-3 on Saturday, there promises to be a lot of really great work for sale -- jewelry, painting, ceramics and other fantastic gifts. You should go check it out!

Soul-Filling

A few weeks ago, I was sitting next to a colleague in a meeting at the company I do some work for, and he was talking about treating patients (we're therapists), and he was saying, "My soul is filled by working with these people. I love it. I can't imagine not doing it."

My soul is filled by...

I wrote it down in the margin of the pad I was taking notes on, because it struck me so significantly.

It occurred to me that I did not really know how to complete that sentence. Not that day.

It's an interesting and necessary concept for me....this filling of one's soul...because I believe that all of us are creative people, and that creativity is drawn, like water from a well, from your soul. Granted, it's difficult to make water appear in a dry well, but your soul can be filled up again when it goes dry, if you just allow it to happen. How? By paying attention and being present to what and who you are, and how you live your life, and to the million little things that go on during the day around you.

Be present.

Be mindful.

Observation can bring knowledge and insight when you need it most. But I think the hardest thing is for us to be still and listen and see and just be.

So I realized, over the course of spending time with creative people and going to classes and learning things and trying new thing out and experiencing new ways of thinking and seeing, that MY soul is indeed filled, too.

Not by treating patients, as my friend's is, but by the act of creating.

I think I've known this for some time, but I tried so hard to narrow it down. Creating? Just creating? Why couldn't my soul be filled by a specific thing, like flameworking, or making jewelry, or baking bread, or sewing? I do all those things; why doesn't ONE stand out?

Well, because it's ALL of those acts together that replenish me. I live my life as a large creative event, I've noticed, and if I actually am mindful of what I am doing, it can ALL fill my soul.

Elusive, this knowledge of self, isn't it?

Kind of like the Green Man here, hiding in the oaks....

So.....how is your soul filled?

Hard Candy!!

More about the ArtBliss retreat.....

So, when we last left me, I had attended the Meet and Greet reception for instructors and students. After the reception, in which a glass of Chardonnay and a huge brownie was consumed, I retreated to the utter silence and calm of my hotel room. (side note: if you have not stayed in a Hampton Inn recently, you should. Beautiful!) I poked around on the internet for a while, submitted a piece of jewelry to another magazine, and watched some of a Will Smith movie. It was a bit of heaven for me.

When the alarm went off early the next morning, I was ready and SO looking forward to my class.

Melissa Manley is a fantastic instructor. I can't say enough great things about her, so you're just going to have to listen to me gush about it all for a while. I was lucky to find Melissa Meman was in my class, too, so we grabbed a table together and bemoaned the fact that we did not bring all of the tools we wish we had!

Note to all you who may attend a retreat or other jewelry class like this: BRING YOUR TOOLS, even the ones not officially on the 'required tools and supplies' list!!! I was so clueless, and I didn't realize I should have just loaded the darn entire toolbox up instead of paring down to the bare minimum, especially since I drove to the event! I wasn't without the necessary tools, but having mine would have helped, since we shared a lot of stuff.

But I digress...

So, here we are, all ready to start metalsmithing in a hotel conference room...


(That's my friend, Melissa Meman on the left!)

We listened to Melissa Manley talk about metals and her background and a bit about what we were going to learn, and then we just got on with it!

One of the things I like best about her classes is that she is a very epxeriential learner and teacher -- always ready to try stuff out and not get caught up in "what you're supposed to do".

So, we annealed metal, and cut it, dapped it into domes, enameled it, and then learned how to tube rivet it into beads. Along the way, we learned annealing, pickling, torch-fired enameling, sawing, filing, hole-punching, decorative techniques, tube riveting, and probably a zillion other things! It was amazing! Here are a few action shots compiled together in a collage....


From left to right, top to bottom: Melissa demonstrates sanding the discs; Using the disc cutter (note the hydraulic press and rolling mill!); Dapping; Pickled and halfway finished; Enameling; Assembling; More tools!; So very happy!; Finished work!


And here are my finished beads! I can hardly believe *I* made these! I mean, really. I am on a creative bender now, desperately searching for and ordering all kinds of tools so I can do MORE of these! And the jewelry and wearable art possibilities are amazing! I cannot stop sketching all the fabulous ideas I have that pop into my head pretty much all day (and probably all night, too). My sketching skills are....well....sketchy, at best, so I hope that what I've been drawing still means something to me when I finally get around to making everything.

My actual life keeps getting in the way, though. Very annoying.

Well, not my kids. Or my husband. They aren't annoying (ok, maybe sometimes...).

By lunchtime on Saturday, I was so completely full of adrenaline and creative energy...being there in that workshop and meeting and talking with so many creative souls was like feeding every appetite I have. Well, almost all of them. I felt like I was hyperventilating all during lunch, trying to take everything in, process it, learn, watch, listen, talk, dream, think... talking to people about what we were doing and what *they* were doing, seeing everyone's work from the morning, and dying to get back into the room to do MORE! It was overwhelming, but it a really, really good way. That kind of energy comes from a pure place in my soul. It's exhausting, and I can't live there every day, but when I can get to that place...oh! It feeds me and fills me, and makes me more ME.

I sound slightly insane, don't I?

I wish for a long, uninterrupted stretch of time over several days to get some of this banged out (pun TOTALLY intended!). That's not going to happen, so I really, really, really need to sharpen my focus and hone in on what needs to be done step by step so I can actually make progress on this work, and not just flounder around in a sea of creative angst.

And Barbara Lewis has re-ignited the fire about a book idea I have had for a long time....I need to make that proposal and get it out to someone who can actually help me make that a reality.

And the copper....the metals are just calling me. I have SO MANY ideas.

Thank you, Melissa, and thank you Cindy and Jeanette, for facilitating a wonderful experience!

(and I haven't even talked about the evening class, 'Roll Playing'....but I will. Soon.)

ETA: Most of these pictures were taken by the wonderful Cindy Wimmer, of Sweet Bead Studio and the cofounder of ArtBLISS! Thanks for the great shots!

A Monster!

No, I don't mean an actual monster, or even a bead shaped like a monster....I mean this:

The biggest honkin' hollow bead I have made yet. It's one of my favorite glasses, too, a dark cobalt blue. I love it because it is pretty, but also because it is very much a color used by ancient glassworkers in Rome and even Egypt to make items for personal adornment and daily use.


I made the hollow bead as I worked on beads for my other stuff, namely, the "Bloomz" beads I have been making lately.

Excuse the mandrels and remnants of vermiculite in the photos.....I was too excited about the hollow to wait til I cleaned them!

I think the hollow is going to be part of a necklace of all hollow beads in blues and greens. I have an idea....and it involves Greece....

A quick update before I lose my mind!

Thanks, everyone, for all the fantastic comment-love about my birthday necklace! I really appreciate everyone who took the time to check out the latest crazy idea I had. :) I love the necklace, and I have worn it a few times, taken it to a demo I did last weekend, and have found a spot near my work area (in the house, not in the garage!) that I can hang it, so I can see it all the time. And turning 40 wasn't so bad, either. I had a terrific birthday celebration that my amazing husband put together that was attended by a huge number of family and friends. And I think I am doing pretty good for forty, so there!

This Saturday begins the summer farmer's market season around here, and I am getting my stuff together to be at the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church market. I'll be there from 8am to noon, at least two Saturdays a month until November. In May, I'll be there May 1 and 8 and 22.

I've got so many great ideas for things this year, and I am desperately trying to get my act together so I can be prepared and ready. I'll be offering custom copper mother's and grandmother's bracelets, stamped with kids' and grandkids' names. I've got a line of flower pendants called Bloomz (that I don't have a finished photo of yet!), some more Viking knit bracelets with my Bubble beads, like I showed here, and my usual assortment of charms, pendants and other goodies.

Oh, wait, I just found a picture of my Bloomz beads, not yet made into pendants, but here ya go:
I love this design. Pretty and simple.

I hope if any of you are local to Richmond, Virginia and are available this Saturday, that you come on out to the market! It's a fantastic place with a nice variety of vendors -- and of course I'll be there too! But now....gotta get back to work to get ready!

COLOR!

Today, I took my little kids to preschool, came home, put on my mp3 player and cranked it up LOUD.

I love to listen to music while I make beads. I totally get lost in what I'm doing, and sometimes, I think I even make better color choices and better designs.

This is the result of today's loud music and torch session:

These are hollow beads:

And these are huge, honkin' big cone-shaped beads, a result of experimenting with opaque and transparent blues...

I just love all the juicy color in these beads! Guess I should listen to music more often when I work, huh? :)