Claying Around...

The second cataract is fixed and currently I can't see worth a darn but at least I know things are coming along.  While I recovered from the knee and the other eye this is what I've been doing....slowly but surely.  Here's my plate of new bisque to be painted, glazed, and listed.  Lots of new things coming up.  I'd have some glass too but I was busy on a special order for Glitterbug and have sent her about 20 earring sets over the past two weeks.  You'd of thought I could get a few photos in during that - but no - duh - lost my photo rhythm somewhere.

I did a bunch of holiday stamping and scraffito on the clay.

If you are in need of a focal bead I think I'm going to have quite a few.

Everyone have a wonderful week and enjoy the fall weather - I know I am.

 

 

Feeling Like Franken-Sharon

I couldn't help it...I've been working on the torch and on some clay.  With all the new parts they just put in me I'm feeling a little like Frankenstein.  I am also temporarily as clumsy and with one eye having cataract surgery and the other one waiting until September 27th my spacial vision is for crap.  My glasses are useless and it will be until mid- October before they can fit me with a new pair.  Mostly I'm just laughing this off but I know there are times I have this contorted look on my face because people look at me like I've been in a car accident or something.  I occasionally have drop foot and feel like I'm dragging it Quasimodo style through the grocery store.  I must be a sight...what are ya' gonna do?   I should put a little orange or something in my hair for Halloween and then watch them stare at the Walmart.  I had the best fun one year when I did hot pink...

Not to worry - it will all heal in good time if I don't hurt the physical therapist.  I'm starting to get a little "sassy" with him.  Once I even went so far as to tell him, "Nope, not doing that one - let's move on."  I gave him the old delinquency worker look and we moved on and added a different one.  Turd.

 

Frankie here will go on Etsy probably on Wednesday.  I am way to lazy for photography - hence the awful hands that need hand cream.  Getting older is just plain shitty.  I'm smarter but the parts department at the hospital is going to run dry if this keeps up.

 

Love you all....hanging in there.  I'm surprised Frankie turn out - I squinted when I made him and upped the lenses on my optivisor.  LOL

 

Out and About

Finally I'm moving around - it's plenty awkward and I feel like a baby at times, with the same wobble, but it's all upward from here.  YES! 

 

Yesterday the opthomologist checked out the eye the cataract came out of and guess what - I am street legal to drive without glasses.  Look out world!  Since I grew up near Detroit and my father worked there I can drive with the best of the "ditch" drivers.  For those who don't know - a lot of Detroit's expressways were dug into the landscape rather than laid on top.  So one of the main thoroughfares into the area from where I lived was lovingly known as the ditch.  Aside from being cut into the landscape it had an early design flaw that was later repaired - it flooded - hense the ditch to those of us who remember or had parents who passed down its moniker.  I was lucky enough never to have witnessed an accident on that thing but imagine all kinds of crazy drivers doing about 80 in three lanes with cement walls on the sides averaging 8 -12 feet tall.  Talk about a training ground.  Another unique feature was the fact that many entrances to the ditch have on ramps - and don't confuse them with merge lanes.  You are either on the ramp or IN one of the lanes of traffic.  I often wondered if that is where the 0-60 in ten seconds was born.  It's not like up north here where we amble down a ramp and have plenty of extra lane to merge into the traffic flow.  Nope.  You hit the end of a Detroit ramp doing 60-70 mph and get your fanny over - or else - because there is no more ramp.  I loved it.

Anyhow, I digressed there.  Back to the trip.  While in Traverse City getting my future eagle eyes checked out I wanted to test out this new knee and get in some exercise so we went to the Dennos Museum.  It's a small but mighty place with beautiful gallery spaces.  They have a children's area, a great Inuit gallery, sculpture gardens, and then several galleries with rotating exhibits that come in. 
This time they had an art quilts exhibit, and a glass exhibit from the collections of Habitat Galleries.

I don't have any current work finished as I rehab but I thought you might enjoy a little inspiration from my outing.

Shame on me for not getting the artists name but this is a beautiful cast sculpture that is about twice as tall as I have photographed.  It's title is "Sonya" - which stuck with me because it's my DIL's name. 

 

Section of the art quilts by Katie Pasquini Masopust.  The main gallery was covered in exquisite art quilts this is a section of a large one that was so beautiful.  She used her thread like pencil and it was so lush with painterly qualities you didn't realie it was fabric until you were close.  What a great exhibit.

                                                            Have a great weekend.

Bead Soup Reveal

When I received these beads from Raida they reminded me of one of my favorite books, “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  Gardens were a huge part of my life as a child.  My Grandfather grew vegetables and my mother cultivated roses, lilacs, and flowers of all kinds.  To add to this array my Bubba (Grandfather) also grew sunflowers which he’d harvest for the birds and for us.  Our yard was large but not rural.  But, there were hedges, gates, and arbors, it created a magical get-a-way. 

To Raida’s Bead Soup I added tiger eye semi-precious rounds, a stone frog, some pewter, and C-Lon. I decided to keep it in a fall palette and maintain the dark tones of the beautiful focal.  It brought back such fond memories of the fall gardens.  The roses were dark (my mother preferred the lush colors of burgundy to pink), the holly was coming on strong, and the sunflowers were turning a deep golden shade. 

For the bail I used the C-Lon to finger weave a bail.  I learned how to finger weave ages ago from one of Robin Adkin’s on line tutorials.  You can find it here.  It is where I saw the first and most beautiful treasure bracelets ever created and emulated by many an artist since. 

After finger weaving the bail I fed the thread through the bead cap and then the bead – I used a noose type knot to finish the bottom and leave the threads free for stringing as a tassel.  Once the focal of the necklace was complete I arranged an asymmetrical design of the remaining beads to make a full and lush necklace.   I’ve used my entire soup in this necklace except the beautiful brown silk tie that was included.   If I hadn’t wanted to use that great floral button I’d of considered making finger weaved loops on both ends of the necklace and using the silk as a closure by tying a bow.  It would have made it adjustable and given it a kicky kind of twist that would great with short hair.

I finished the back off with that perfect button closure that Raida had sent in the soup mix.  It makes a great closure with a loop.

My necklace is an elegantly planned out garden and I’m very proud of the collaboration between Raida and I. I hope she and you like how it turned out as much as I do.  Thank You Raida for the beautiful mix you sent.

Here is the list of Bead Soup Paticipants - Start Hopping!

Hostess, Lori Anderson, PrettyThingsBlog.com

Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles

Alicia Marinache, All The Pretty Things

Amanda Tibbetts, Amanda Made

Amber Dawn Goldish, Inventive Soul

Annita Wilson, AW Jewelry

Beti Horvath, Stringing Fool

Birgitta Lejonklou, Create With Spirit

Candida Castleberry, Spinning Spun Sugar

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Cassie Donlen, Glass Beadle

Cheri Reed, Creative Designs by Cheri

Cheryl McCloud, One Thing Leads to Another

Cheryl Roe, BeadRoe

Christina Hickman, Vintage Treasures Jewelry

Christine Hendrickson, Clamworks

Cilla Watkins, Tell Your Girlfriends

Cindy Wilson, Mommy's Dream

Cindy Wimmer, Sweet Bead Studio

Cory Celaya, Art With Moxie

Cory Tompkins, Tealwater Designs

Cris Peacock, Cris' Page

Cynthia Deis, Shiny Little Things

Cynthia Machata, Antiquity Travelers

Cynthia Wainscott, Exotic Peru

Dana Hickey, Magpie Approved

Dana James, Dana's Jewelry Designs

Dana Lang, Tumblestone Handmakery

Debbie Price, Green Shoot Jewellery Designs

Denielle Hagerman, Some Beads and Other Things

Diane Valasek, Dragonfly Close

Doris Stumpf, Glaszwerg

Dyanne Everett-Cantrell, Dee-Liteful Jewelry Creations

Elaine Robitaille, Too Aquarius

Eleanor Burian-Mohr, The Charmed Life

Enikö Fabian, Perl-eni

Erin Prais-Hintz, Treasures Found

Heather Davis, Blissful Garden Beads

Heidi Post, Ex Post Facto Jewelry

Hilary Frye, FryeStyle

Ilenia Ruzza, Ilenia's Unique Beaded and Painted Jewelry

Inge von Roos, Inge's Blog

Jami Shipp, Celebrating Life

Jayne Capps, Mama's Got to Doodle

Jean A. Well, Jean A. Wells Handcrafted Artisan Jewelry

Jean Yates, Snap Out of It Jean! There's Beading to Do!

Jennifer Cameron, Glass Addictions

Jennifer Pottner, Rock Candy Beads

Jennifer VanBenschoten, Jewelry, Art and Life

Jenny Davies-Reazor, Jenny Davies-Reazor

Jenny Vidberg, Shyme Design

Jessica Dickens, My Jewelry, My Life, Me

Jessica Klaaren, Beadful-Things by Jessica

JJ Jacobs, Coming Abstractions

Joan Williams, Lilruby Jewelry

Judith Johnston, Judith Johnston

Judy Riggs, Rigglettes

Judy Turner, Silver Rains

Julie Anne Leggett, The Peaceful Bead

K Hutchinson, Jumbled Hutch

Karen Meador, Dreamcatcher Ranch

Karyn Bonfiglio, Plus Size Bangles

Katherine Gale, Terra Beadworks
Kathleen Lange Klik, Modern Nature Studio

Katja Benevol Gabrijelcic, Slovonske Technobe

Kelli Jacobson, Creative Moon

Kelly Ramstack, Adventures with Kelly

Keri Lee Sereika, Pink Lemonade

Kim Ballor, Vitamin C... A Daily Dose of Creativity

Kim Bender-Hora, KimmyKat

Kirsi Luostarinen, Kirsi Luo Korut

Kitty Bozzini, Kitty Lampwork

Laura Demoya, The Bead Therapist

Laurie Hanna, Laurie's Jewelbox

Leah Curtis, Beady Eyed Bunny

Lesley Watt, The Gossiping Goddess

Linda Inhelder, Must-Haves Jewelry

Linda Landig, Linda's Bead Blog & Meanderings

Lisa Liddy, Metal Me This

Lori Dorrington, Lori's Adventures in Etsy Land

Lori Poppe, Adventures in Creativity with Lorillijean

Mallory Hoffman, For the Love of Beads

Marge Beebe, Rock Creek Creations

Marianna Boylan, Pretty Shiny Things

Marion Simmons, Shade Tree Studio

Marla Gibson, Spice Box Design

Marta Weaver, Marta Weaver Jewelry

Marti Conrad, Marti C's Clay Blog

Maryse Fritzsch-Thillens, GlassBeadArt, Lampwork Beads

Melanie Brooks, Earthenwood Studio

Michelle Hardy, Firefly Visions

Mikala Coates, Maybe Just Perhaps

Mowse Doyle, HoCArt

Nan Emmett, Spirit Rattles - Spirited Earth

Nancy Boylan, Snazzy Doodle Designs

Nancy Peterson, Beading From the Heart

Nicole Rennell, Nicole Rennell Designs

Niki Meiners, 365 Days of Craft

Niky Sayers, Silver Nik Nats

Norma Turvey, Moonlit Fantaseas
Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs
Pamela Gangler, She Always Loved Pink

Patricia Johnson, Patricia L. Johnson Glass Art

Patti Vanderbloemen, My Addictions ... Handcrafted Jewelry by Patti

Perri Jackson, Shaktipaj Designs

Raida Disbrow, Havana Beads

Renetha Stanziano, Lamplight Crafts

Shannon Hicks, Falling Into the Sky

Shannon LeVart, Miss Fickle Media

Sharon Driscoll, Right Turn ArtWerks

Shelby Foxwell, Sundown Bead Designs Rhetoric

Shelley Graham Turner, Fabric of My Life

Sherri Stokey, Knot Just Macrame

Shirley Moore, Beads and Bread

Skylar Bre'z, Brising Beads

Stacie Florer, Soul to Substance

Stacie Stamper, Park Avenue

Stacy Alderson, Iridal's Attic

Stephanie Haussler, Pixybug Designs

Stephanie Stamper, Rainy Day Designs

Sue Hamel, The Bottle Cork and Crystal

Suzette Bentley, Ellie's Bijoux

Szarka, Magpie Gemstones

Tammy Jones, Jewelry Making Daily

Tania Tebbit, Glass, Craft, & Artful Goodness

Tanty Sri Hartanti, TJewellicious by Tanti

Terry Matuszyk, Pink Chapeau

Tina Bosh, Every Good and Perfect Gift

Tracy Bell, Copper, Glass and Recycled Trash

Vonna Maslanka, Just Vonna

Making Beads - New Listings - Fun Summer Sewing

I'm posting the newest Skully here for everyone to see but I wanted to also wanted to show you this great beach purse you can sew up - it would work for a lot of things - maybe even kiddie toys in the car.  I think you could use several of the available commercial purse or shopping bag patterns for this too!  I'm thinking it might make a great quick tool bag for when you are taking your tools to a class.  A quick look at it will tell you whether you have everything packed.  Maybe for Christmas I'll make some for the "girls".  Shhhh - don't tell them!

The pattern shown is free and you can get it here.  I found it on Design Sponge but it's from Between the Lines blog spot by Parisian crafter and blogger Pascale Mestdagh. It's a beautiful blog with many tutorials.

A close-up of the new "Skully" listing

Pewter Castings

I've been working feverishly on my ideas.  Well, honestly - considering the post on polychronic behavior I'd like to think feverishly but it's more like consistent linear progress...LOL.  I have like five projects going at the same time - maybe more.  I keep telling myself if this ever all comes together it will be like a volcano.  I keeping worrying that it will be like one big eruption and then I'll go dormant for another 10 years.  Scary - scary thought. Okay - let's perish that singular thought to the - been there - done that - pile and move forward.



Five of the new carved plaster casts for pewter

I've been working on the pewter casting from B&B.  I never did show you what I made in that class. As soon as I get home again I'll add a photo of the first castings we did while we were at class.  I have three of them and Susan, my friend, gave me one of her hedge hogs.  They are cute and remind me of me.  Maybe it's one of my totem animals - The other and most prevalent one being the Raven.



There are three new plasters in this photo and two hunks of pewter to melt down.

I bet you feel you just have to know why a hedge hog - right?.  Got myself giggling here...not just because it's nice and round but more because it tucks and balls up as a self-defense against it's perception of a predator.  My tendencies are to get quite hermit like at times.  Anyway, I digress. 

None of these casts in the photos have been poured yet.  I have all the materials and am ready to go but maybe just true to my nature I can't just do one thing at a time so I've finished quite a few to pour at the same time.  I'll let you know how it goes.

If you have any questions about how we did this plaster casting - please feel free to ask....

Soup is in the mail - HUH?

Yikes, early deadlines.  This was fun last year and will be fun this year too but why did I chose an early deadline.  It's retorical.  I can do it and I hope my BSBH partner will be pleased.  I was shopping for some of the parts on the deadline mail date.  Why the last minute?  Because I just didn't want any old mix sent out from my stash.  I wanted a PERFECT mix sent out from my stash and to do that I had to do just one more little tiny thing. 

Polychronic?  Why yes mamam, I am.  My time is linear and never ending.  I'll pack it up tomorrow and send it via priority so it will get there lickity split.  I would have normally sent it first class but since I'm doing this one day late we'll have it jetted away.

So do want to see from this batch that is going out to Raida?  Sorry - Raida gets the first totally great look as she unwraps the packages.  But if you are one of those decoder kind of people I'm sure you would be able to decifer what is in these photos   As soon as my soup arrives I'll put up a better picture of mine and a photo of what Raida has sent in this direction.  After that we've got to create our little hearts out.  It has to be quick, especially since the designing, work, photography and marketing all has to be ready for the first reveal date.  Our creating is followed quickly by the first scheduled blog hop on July 28th. 

Don't worry.  I'll post a better pictues when Raida's mix arrives and then I'll post hers and the "more viewable" version of mine.  Then it's onward and upward to the design.  We don't have long since the reveal is going to be July 28th.  Keep your fingers crossed.  I don't ususally design this fast.

Chronemics? I’m okay with that! – This is long post so hang with it.

I was checking into some of my favorite blogs and hit upon a topic in ah, maybe Luann Udell, or possibly Nina Bagleys.  I’m just not sure because when I saw the word polycron used to describe their functional behavior in relation to others I just had to look it up.  It’s not a bad word – it’s downright descriptive of me too.  Reading it made me feel like Colonel Klink of Hogan's Heros, “Very interesting” (using my best German accent here!)

It comes from the study of Chronemics.   Okay Sharon – so what is that?  Here you go (according to the Wikipedia:

“Chronemics is the study of the use of time in nonverbal communication. The way that an individual would perceive and value time, structure our time and react to time is a powerful communication tool, and helps set the stage for the communication process. Across cultures, time perception plays a large role in the nonverbal communication process. Time perceptions include punctuality, willingness to wait, and interactions. The use of time can affect lifestyles, daily agendas, speed of speech, movements and how long people are willing to listen.

Cultures are usually put into two time system categories: monochronic and polychronic.”

Still clear as mud?  Let’s see if we can magnify the concept  – uh, more info:

“The terms monochron and polychron have to do with our time sense: how we perceive and manage time. To a polychron, time is continuous, with no particular structure. Polychrons see time as a never-ending river, flowing from the infinite past, through the present, into the infinite future.

In the workplace, polychrons prefer to keep their time unstructured, changing from one activity to another as the mood takes them. Although polychrons can meet deadlines, they need to do so in their own way. A polychron does not want detailed plans imposed upon him, nor does he want to make his own detailed plans. Polychrons prefer to work as they see fit without a strict schedule, following their internal mental processes from one minute to the next.

Monochrons see time as being divided into fixed elements that can be organized, quantified and scheduled. Monochrons relate to time differently: to them, time is discrete, not continuous. Monochrons see time as being divided into fixed elements — seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, and so on — temporal blocks that can be organized, quantified and scheduled. Monochrons love to plan in detail, making lists, keeping track of their activities, and organizing their time into a daily routine.

Monochrons prefer to do one thing at a time, working on a task until it is finished, then, and only then, moving on to the next task. To a monochron, switching back and forth from one activity to another is not only wasteful and distracting, it is uncomfortable.

Polychrons are different. They love to work on more than one thing at a time. To a polychron, switching from one activity to another is both stimulating and productive and, hence, the most desirable way to work.

Can you see yourself in here somewhere?”

I’m a polychron married to a monochron.  No wonder our working habits could cause us to butt heads.  I envy how he could take on a project and go from front to back until it was complete.  I have lots of friends like that too.  Yikes, I don’t even clean the house like that.  I sort and clean in wide swatches which eventually come together.  He takes on one room at a time.

As far as work habits go I could use a little less polychron behavior – a whole lot less procrastination – and I need a generous dose of “Get Shit Done” from 13 Habits post.  Stop talking about it and start working!!

Bead Soup Blog Party

I can hardly believe it’s been so long since the last Bead Soup Blog Party.  This time Lori Anderson put together a list of 400 participants and 3 separate reveal dates.  My reveal date is July 28^th.

This time around my partner is Raida Disbrow of Havanna Beads.  I’m jealous – Raida lives in beautiful Florida and I live in beautiful Michigan.  Except for the seasonal stuff/ uh, snow! We’ve been exchanging emails and getting to know one another.   It’s good to be able to communicate a head of time – You wouldn’t want to send green beads to someone who absolutely hates green, would you? 

This is information I pulled from Raida's profile I thought you'd enjoy and the two photos are from her Etsy site - Gentle Wind Designs: "My name is Raida Disbrow and I live in beautiful Stuart, Florida. I have been making creative items my entire life. Several of my lampwork beads and jewelry designs have been published in Step by Step Wire, Beads 2011, and Bead Trends Magazines. I love to create unique lampwork glass and ceramic pieces for others to enjoy and create with."  Already we have so much in common since we both work in metal, glass, and ceramics.

I’ve been playing at the torch and getting just the right combination together to surprise Raida now that I understand her likes and dislikes.  She’s a very open artist and easy to talk to.  I’m just a little afraid my request was a bit of a shocker for her.  You see although I create holiday themed beads I rarely work with any and I asked if she might include those in her Bead Soup Mix.  It is challenging to me since it is definitely not my usual fare but I’m hoping I can really do this justice.  Now what kind of holiday beads (there are lots of holidays you know) I’ll leave the exact nature of those beads up to Raida.  I hope she doesn’t think I’m too crazy.

Hopefully, my bead soup will be ready to send on Monday/Tuesday – My plan is to work diligently on it over this heat spell.  It is one of the areas I truly luck out in.  My torch is in the dungeon (basement) and my home is blissfully air conditioned.  Since I don’t plan on any long trips in this heat wave, except maybe the beach, I’m hoping my early reveal date will keep me moving.

Making New Acquaintences at B&B

One of the fun things at Bead and Button is meeting new people and renewing old friendships.  Mostly I'm a pretty quiet person. You wouldn't know it from this blog - LOL.  This year my usual anonymity was off kilter by the use of cane - gosh I felt old - dang arthritis was kicking my butt.  So, with my slower pace and an inability to make the fast get away I spent quite a bit of time talking to lots of other artists. 

While limping about I stopped to admire Bob Burkett's stunning cast jewelry pieces and we struck up a conversation.  I recognized the wax that he was using must be a blend.  Yeah yeah, some people blend teas or coffees - caster's blend wax. I've been using a red injection wax for my carving and a what is called "perfect purple" for touch-ups.  Bob melts the two together for an incredibly flexible blend.

In our all too short conversation he showed me how he pours this blend into mold to create a very flexible wire.  If you've ever used wax wire you'll understand how significant this is.  Purchased wax wire comes in a blue.  It is brittle and sloppy to work with.  It doesn't easily hold its shape when it's warm and has a tendency to break or fall apart when you least expect it.

What a tip Bob gave me and how generous of him to share. I could have stayed and gabbed all afternoon about casting.

Bob will be teaching soon across the world and hopefully some where in the Midwest.  He is on Facebook and will keep everyone informed as to his teaching schedule.  I know as soon as he is close to where I live - I'll be there!

What's not to like about work that looks like this -

by Bob Burkett

Earring Wire Tutorial

It's been a busy week - Aren't they all in the Spring?  I'm way behind on my On-Line class at TAO (Teaching Art On-Line).  I need to be into the second module and I just now completed the first one....I think.  What we've been doing is to work on a down loadable PDF to give away.   Since I make my own earring wires I thought it would be as good a place as any to start.  I've taught - a lot - and always given away handouts when I teach.  I mean why make everyone try and take notes when they want to be concentrating on the project?  So I create a decent handout they can write details on but they don't have to try and write the entire lesson.  But, this is my first PDF.  I've uploaded it - and universe willing (which basically means I've got my fingers crossed I did this right) you can download it and it's free.

Making Your Own Earring Wires

Let me know how it works for you and what you like or don't like.  Does it make sense?  I'm a work in progress here and welcome constructive criticism.  The photography could be more consistent but it's not awful.