Hallowed Eve

It's no big secret what my favorite holiday is...


But my love of Halloween isn't about the spookiness or candy or even the costumes (although dressing up is pretty high on the list). For me, this Autumn-to-Winter time of year, which coincides with the Mexican celebration Dios de los Muertos is an extremely healthy, spiritual period. It's a time we're reminded that the burgeoning life of Summer and harvest of Fall must end, but that Spring will come again... It's a beautiful metaphor for our lives. A great time to not only honor the dead and feel their presence, but also acknowledge the basic human tenet "You can't take it with you."


The frippery, trimmings, and general stuff we own, want, and pine for will still be here when we're gone. All we really have is what's inside, you know? What we've experienced in our own lives and how we've been a part in others' lives...


Sculptures like this one (photo by Tomascastelazo) are so poignant to me. They depict Las Catrinas, or high society women. The costume, flowers, and bones are all that's left, you know? Her spirit doesn't have anything to do with all that pretty stuff, but boy, she probably worked hard her whole life trying to get it. A great reminder for all of us as we work ourselves ragged, wanting more and more...


In the Latin tradition, I usually put together a little arrangement on my shelf this week honoring the people in my life who've moved on. I place their photos and maybe a bauble or two that reminds me of them. People like my mom and dad....


And my brother...


The practice feels pretty powerful. I'd highly recommend it, no matter what your spiritual bent.

It's a great time of year, but I'm not contemplative 24/7, of course--I completely celebrate the all-out goofiness of Halloween. We usually have a rousing pumpkin-carving party and we go all-out with zombies sitting on the front porch, ghosts in the trees, and terrifying music blaring. So dramatic and fun!

Halloween is just about the only time of year that I'm interested in holiday-themed jewelry. You might want to check out my Beading Daily blog on Vampire Couture, which I find pretty interesting (a nice tie-in to Steampunk, actually!). Other bits and pieces I'm loving right now? Check out these fabulous charms from Green Girl Studios. I'm such a sucker for these folk-style skulls, and I adore how the heart looks like a mad scientist made it...


And wow! Look at these eyeball beads from Nightside Studios. Don't they make your mind reel with ideas?


Ralph McCaskey, the mad genius behind Nightside also sent me these eyeball posts. They come in a wide range of colors and shapes. Can't you just see them embedded into
a polymer clay sculpture or incorporated into a beadwoven/strung piece? Definitely check out the Nightside Gallery for some great ideas.


I can't go without sharing these wonderfully whimsical Memento Mori pendants from Earthenwood Studio. They are so like Mexican calaveras de azucar and hit right at the heart of my love of this time of year! Well done, Melanie!


Do you have the same love of this time of year that I do? How do you celebrate? What's your favorite part? What will be your costume? Going to a party? I'm dying to know!

Beadblogger's Sunday

Emma and I headed over to the Fall Twin Cities Bead Bazaar today. Thank goodness our city has such a great bead show! Thanks go to Doris Coghill, the super-duper show organizer!


I love seeing everyone at these shows, and every once in a while I run into a totally unexpected person. Today it was none other than Robin Atkins! Robin lives in Washington state, but is out this way to be with family. I haven't seen her in years, so it was a special treat to catch up.


After the financial report I received from the House of Campbell's CFO yesterday, I promised myself I'd be good and not spend any money at this show. Sound familiar? Ugh. I'm so weak when it comes to the shiny stuff... First off, I just had to have these beautiful vintage buttons from Doris. Wish you could see the real ones--the bottom one has a beautiful hot pink reflection.


Also couldn't resist this gorgeous brass flower from Glass Garden. I'm hoping to use it in a new constructed piece I've been putzing with.


Speaking of construction, I laid down a load of jing I don't have at Beadbury, which is one of my absolutely favorite stops at the Bead Bazaar. Among other flotsam and jetsam, I set myself up for soldering, like Jackie's doing here.


I did a lot of silver soldering at SMCDAA, but I haven't done this soldering-gun type of construction since high school, and there's more times than I can count lately that I've wanted to connect metal to metal. So I broke down and got the whole set up. Here's a snap of my pusher, Tam Helmin. What a friendly, helpful person! (Oh, and check out her etsy site! Some really fun stuff there...)


Well, it's Sunday, which means, as promised, I deliver a great list of links from my bead blogging buddies. Here you go...enjoy!

A Bead A Day
Does a simple design equal a "Zen" experience? Lisa would love to hear your thoughts on when simple designs are able to make an impact.

About.com Jewelry Making
After posting a new jewelry book review for a very cool mixed media book, Tammy is looking a head to other reviews coming up very soon.

Art Bead Scene
You've heard of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? Well, this Sisterhood shares bracelets.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Barbe gets tangled up with Chain Style book review

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi decided to finally use her bead stash from Paris.

Cindy Gimbrone aka the Lampwork Diva
Cindy's got some new findings from Ornamentea. What's she going to make with them?

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
The inspiration for Melanie's Machinery of Nature necklace comes from science, steampunk, and nature.

Jewelry & Beading
Little beaded flowers are addictive to make, and before you know it, you've got enough for a complete necklace!

Katie's Beading Blog
Check out Katie's ideas on making your old beads new again- and make some affordable gifts along the way!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Better get on board, Lorelei is having the last of the Enchanted Adornments giveaways. Leave a comment to play!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean has a little Boo power going on for her in this hand made Halloween bracelet!

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off metal clay goodies from Rings & Things

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew revisits a bracelet design and creates six others.

The Creative Process can be a Chore

I've been spending a lot of time this week designing what I'm hoping will be a pair of very elaborate, draping, sparkly earrings for The Book, but the earrings still aren't finished. You'd think, "Hey--a pair of earrings? Easy." But I've easily made 5 attempts at them already, and still haven't had success.

The creative process is a tricky one, isn't it? And ever so time-consuming with beads. Here's a quick overview of my battle:

Here are the components I started with:(from left) a very thin 6mm foil-backed crystal triangular stone (#4722); an 11.5mm foil-backed crystal chaton (#1028/SS50); and a very thin 8x4.8mm foil-backed topaz drop stone (#4300).


I felt compelled to bezel those tiny crystal fancy stones with size 15 seed beads, so I tried doing so with some pretty rhodium beads from Virginia and Carol. I figured out the complicated bezeling for the shape, but realized I didn't like how the seed bead color washed out the crystal brilliance. Plus, the metallic plating on these beads are just a micro millimeter too thick, making it look slightly bulky.


So I went with a more neutral antique-gold lined seed bead and played with the pattern a bit to get a tighter fit. Here's one attempt at a more stream-lined backing. (Didn't work.)


Finally came up with a pattern that looked tighter, but unfortunately I feel the crystals in this version overpower the beadwork. I also realized the rounded seed beads are part of the problem in making the bezel look messier than it should.


Out came the size 15 Delicas in a gold-lined version. Right bead. Right color. The bezels definitely look more clean.


Bezeling the chatons came next. I really wanted to try something different, copying a technique I'd come up with for smaller chatons in a different project in The Book, but this attempt failed because the larger chatons are so thick.


Ended up with the tried-and-true right-angle-weave-to-peyote-stitch transition to make these. They are nice and tight and fully covered on the back so the sharp chaton point won't hit the neck while the earrings are worn...


So now on to bezelling those itty bitty drops. Here's my first attempt at a cup.


I'm realizing quite quickly that bezeling these suckers may be impossible. I'll give it another whirl or two, but may need to change course and use a drop with a hole in it instead...we'll see!

So that comprises about 10 hours of design work with no finished project to speak of. Lots of learning, though, and a couple of pretty nice components that employ some unusual materials.

Am I the only one who works like this? You know...stitching up the whole thing before realizing it needs a major change? Or do you see everything clearly right away? If the latter's the case, please tell me your secret!

Beadbloggers Sunday

The snow and freezing temperatures in Minnesota the last few weeks have left us all hoping for an Indian Summer around here. Okay, okay, I know...snowball's chance... But today it's 45 degrees, sunny, and the fall colors are brilliant against the blue sky.


There's nothing like a sunny day to perk up my spirits, and a walk through the yard to pick up leaves makes me feel like a kid again.


Aren't these leaves just beautiful? They're from the maple tree outside my bedroom window. I love how the reds and golds stream into the room when the sun hits the tree just right. When I set the leaves against the white backdrop to shoot them I realized how important the black is in setting off the bright colors. What a wonderful color lesson for today!


Speaking of color lessons, have you checked out Margie Deeb's Fall 2009 Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Designers? Margie, a color master, has done yet another fantastic job with this one. Her report uses Pantone's fall fashion color report as its base, then builds from there by suggesting Delica and Swarovski colors to help us jewelry-makers stay on top of fashion forecasts and trends.


So now it's back to the bench for me. I'm currently working on a cuff for The Book, struggling a bit with these fabulous crystal rivets, but loving how they look pierced into the metallic vinyl. (Have I ever worked so hard making designs for a book? Nope. Have I ever had so much fun doing it? Nope!)

It's Sunday, so I know you'll want to know what my blogging buddies are up to. Here's the list...enjoy the day!

A Bead A Day
Do you have a distinctive style or do you go where the wind blows you? Lisa would love to hear about your design process.

About.com Jewelry Making
Fall is in the air, at least in some areas of the world, so it is time to think about making fall jewelry.

Art Bead Scene
ABS shares a motherlode of giveaways for October.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Barbe gets a mini artpiece from Artbeads.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi makes some resin filled embellishments quickly!

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
There's a new addition to the Heartz n Skullz Family. Come check out the new Skully Bowz!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie heats things up with some fire inspired crystal and porcelain beads in her newest necklace from her Art Beads crystal week

Jewelry & Beading
Cyndi shares the instructions for a special necklace that she made for a friend, called "The Fourth Day of Creation"

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lampwork glass beads always end up in Lorelei's work, and she passes on links to one of her favorites!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean is wowed by the plethora of activities a beader can find this weekend, both online at Earthenwood Studio and also at the supergreat classic, Soft Flex Glass Art and Bead Festivals!

Strands of Beads
Melissa shares her new work, "Natural Selection", that placed Second in the Necklace category of the Bead Arts Award 2009

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
See what Andrew whipped up when he sat down in the studio after a dry spell.

Beading--the Creative Spirit

I'd worked with the Rev. Wendy Ellsworth's beautiful beadwork and the words that went along with it for a long time before I'd actually met her. When I did finally meet her in person (I think it was in about 2002 at a bead conference?), I discovered what a truly special person she is. She just emanates calm and joy.


Wendy's special demeanor comes shining through in her brand-new book, Beading--the Creative Spirit. In it, Wendy puts into words what most beaders know already: that beading is a meditative, healing activity that can be wholly transformative. It feeds us creatively and brings beauty to our sometimes not-so-beautiful lives. She writes, very clearly, about how to hone in on those spiritual qualities even more keenly, through working with personal and archetypal symbols, using color in a purposeful way, envisioning the core power of a design, and 'singing your own song' through your craft.

Wendy gives helpful, specific advice on how to make easy access of the Creative Spirit through beadwork. One of my favorite sections is called "10 Tools of Creative Expression." One of the tools she lists is Wildness. Wendy writes, "All creative people need to have a little wildness inside them. The Wild Woman is our creative fire and what drives us to make art; we cannot live without her....Invite her to come and dance with you while you bead; throw back your head and howl with her to really get her creative energy moving through you. Reconnecting with your wildness can set you free to be your innate creative self. Your beading will never be the same again!" Now ain't that the truth?

If you're considering purchasing this book, you should be forewarned that it's a little different than most beaders are used to. There are only a few color photos, for one thing. There are 14 very nice projects, but they really aren't the stars of the book. The best part is the way Wendy takes your hand and leads you through the creative process with completely new eyes. This is a beading book, yes, but it really could be a manual for anyone looking for a deeper connection with the Divine.

http://cmp.ly/2

Look alikes and new Tierra Cast stuff

Okay, so I was working out in front of the tv and a commercial with Tina Fey came on that perfectly matched my reflection. Freaked me out. So I decided to find an image of her online and found this:


Crazy. Just plain crazy. Guess Halloween won't be hard this year.

Besides my strange realization for the day, I also wanted to share some goodies I received from the good people at Tierra Cast yesterday. These are part of their new "Connections" collection, so I thought you might like to see them right away. Here are some nice-looking spacer bars:


And some really cute bails. I especially like the round ones, don't you?


And finally, a great selection of cones and caps, which I'm absolutely thrilled about. They have a great weight, and I can't wait to incorporate them into something...


In other news, plans for my website are cooking. The developer, Chuck, is working hard on putting everything together so that I'll be able to launch by the holidays. I'm really excited to be able to start selling kits and downloads online! Stay tuned.

Beadblogger's Sunday

Woke up yesterday to this!


Winter lasts a long, long time where I live, so this wasn't a welcome sight so early in the year. The nice thing about snow, though, is how quickly it puts me into cozy mode. Out came the feather comforter and woolen sweaters. And a party was in order, too, of course. My brothers and their families, along with a bunch of Dylan's friends, ate a couple pans of lasagna. (Dylan's the one with the goofy look on his face up front...)


Of course the star of the night was Baby Charlie.


Babies are so heavenly. We were joking it's like sitting around a campfire...everyone just focuses on this burning new life. Here's Dan getting a big dose of "mmmmm" on those sweet little cheeks!


Seems like it wasn't too long ago that we were rubbing Emma's cheeks...


Spent the rest of the weekend working on Design #5 for the Book. Here's a sneak peek at the one I'm working on right now. I've been doing my best to incorporate some crystal shapes that we beadweavers don't always have around. This one includes polygons.


Better get back to it. In the meantime, check out what my beadblogger buddies have been up to this week:

A Bead A Day
Do you buy beads for their "coolness" factor? What is your definition of "cool" when it comes to beads and jewelry?

About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy has taken her net and collected some butterfly crafts for you in plenty of time to participate in The Butterfly Project at the Holocaust Museum Houston.

Art Bead Scene
The October Art Bead Scene Challenge gets folksy.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Cindy shows off her new buckle charm necklace but what should she name it?

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie brightens up her beading palette with some spring colors for her second Art Beads crystal blog post

Jewelry & Beading
Bring home a souvenir, and figure out how to wear it!

Katie's Beading Blog
Katie's mixing polymer clay with beads again - check out this new design!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Come join in on the fun of the 6th Enchanted Adornments giveaway, it's FROGS! Ribbit!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean is swooning over the newest Crystallized Innovations from Artbeads!

Strands of Beads
Melissa is proud to be Soft Flex Company's Spotlight On... Designer for October!

New Necklace Design

I feel exhilarated today. I just this minute finished a new design for my upcoming book, due out December 2010. (I'm not even sure if it's okay with the publisher to share this, but what's a little sharing between a couple of friends?):


It's called "Mae"...what do you think? It was very interesting to make...I had so much fun designing the components, but those pointed ovals at the bottom are killer. I had to re-read my own instructions to make the second one.

Today was full of good news, too... heard from Carol Perrenoud, who was wearing her Portland Bead Society hat. She said I get to come give a lecture there on March 17. 2010. Hurray! I love Portland and Portlanders...

And I heard from Kathy at the Upper Midwest Bead Society who said I get to come sign my Steampunk Style Jewelry book and give a lecture on March 1. Then I get to teach some 1/2-day Steampunk classes on May 29. It really feels like things are happening!

In other news...I did a lecture at the UMBS on Monday called Creating your Own Beadwork Inspired by Art. I don't know if you attend your local bead society meetings, but if you don't, you should really consider it. I'm not often able to go since Monday nights are filled with helping with homework and taxiing the kids around, but how inspiring! My favorite part is when members get up and share what they've been working on. Here's Diane Fitzgerald talking about her fabulous new book, Shaped Beadwork, and showing off some of her upcoming class designs. (Did you know Diane founded the UMBS? I guess I didn't until last night...that woman has many talents.)


There was also a member who described a group project she organized in tribute to a now-defunct science fiction television program. She created an image of one of the space ships in the show, then dissected the image into squares. Then she gave squares to 122 people around the world to bead. When finished, the beaders sent the squares back to her, she sewed the squares together, and now the little artworks are going to the makers of the show. It's that the coolest? Check this one out:


The maker gave me permission to put this wonderful project on my blog, but in the meeting's ruckus I couldn't get her credit/contact info, and I'd sure like to remember the name of that dang show! If you were involved in this project, could you please announce yourself(ves) so I can credit you? It's truly an amazing project, and such a great tribute to the power of how beading brings us together as a community...

ADDENDUM; 10/12:
Just heard from Lori Stroner, who has been in charge of the project I described above. The spaceships depicted are called "Moya" and were inspired from a show called Farscape. Lori sent me this list of great stats on the project:

-14 Moyas have been made so far.
-120 individual squares have been made, 2 were unusable.
-26 Scapers have made squares--they come from the USA, Canada, England & Spain.
-10 of the Farscape cast have already received a Moya. (Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Wayne Pygram, Gigi Edgely, Raelee Hill, Paul Goddard, Kent McCord, Virginia Hey & David Franklin.)
-3 castmembers are getting one this year. (Brian Henson, Lani Tupu & Ricky Manning or Jonathan Hardy)
-1 Moya was stolen.
-1 will be Lori's (she made all the squares for hers).

Thanks, Lori--this is fantastic! (And what fun to realize that Lori is the Lori who made the beautiful Elizabethan Necklace on the cover of Beadwork earlier this year.)

Enchanted Adornments

I'm a lucky duck. I received an advance copy of Cynthia Thornton's much-anticipated book Enchanted Adornments. All I can say is wow. Actually, I'll give this book a triple wow--that's like 5 stars in my playbook! To be honest, I think it's the most entertaining, fun craft book I've seen in years.


Not only does Cynthia present us with 20 great projects, but each project has a story. And I don't mean "I made this for my Aunt Milly" kind of stories...these stories bring us along with the author in a flowing fictional account of a quest to create 20 unique works for 20 unique souls all around the world. There are fairies and vampires, mermaids and woodland nymphs. I was on the airplane to Portland when I read it. I actually read the whole thing from beginning to end, just like a novel. This is certainly no run-of-the-mill-skim-through-it craft book!

A bonus is that Cynthia has illustrated the entire book with her fantasy drawings and paintings we've so come to love in her work with Green Girl Studios. There are paintings of most of the characters in the book, but also illustrated are the text boxes, borders, and insets. The added touch of Cynthia's drawings make the book even richer.

The stories are entertaining, the drawings beautiful, but the projects are knock-out. One of my favorite pieces shows how to make and incorporate delicate wire and resin wings into a whimsical necklace. Another incorporates metal clay, resin, and illustrations to create a fanciful bracelet.

I know how much effort it takes to put together a book, so I heartily applaud Cynthia's Herculean feat with this one. Well done, Cynthia! And thank you for adding this wonderful entry to my studio shelves.

Beadbloggers Sunday

I've been spending quite a bit of time this week beading. It's so good to get back in design mode after being in editing mode for so many months!


Right now I'm designing a project that I hope will serve two purposes...first, as my two-day class for Beadazzles in Atlanta in January, and second, as a possible project for my next book. As you can see I'm making progress, but I'm not totally sure how this thing will come together or if I'll even end up using these components. I know if I'm patient the beads will tell me what to do. (Come on, I know you talk to your beads, too!)

In a somewhat related story...well, about killing two birds with one stone and all that...I ran into my friend Josephina yesterday. We had a wonderful conversation about how the stress and pressure most people are under these days forces most of us to function in a way that's against our base nature. For instance, I've kind of turned into a Type A person, but before children, editing, mortgages, internet, and cell phones, I was pretty mellow. Josephina is a yoga instructor, so she's concerned about how that basic strain affects our health. The trick is to find out how we can fit our true identities into this 21st century life... One thing she mentioned is that she kills two birds by meditating while doing dishes. She says that her mellowness during this time just permeates throughout the house. So now her husband races her to the kitchen because he wants to do the dishes, too. Isn't that a great example?

Anyway, I've decided that I need to use all this beading time, which has been meditative for me anyway, to delve even deeper, dig around in there to look for the old Type B Jean, and see if she'd like to reappear or not. I'm not sure she'd be too helpful in paying the mortgage, but she might be helpful in dealing with teenagers.

Okay, enough with the headtrip! Want to know what my beadblogging buddies have been up to? Here you go:

A Bead A Day
Have a favorite piece of day-to-day jewelry? Lisa shares hers and reasons for leaning toward practicality.

About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy offers you two simple ways to become part of the on-line jewelry making community.

Art Bead Scene
Take a tour with the Art Bead Scene. We've got places to go and beads to see!

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Simply Gemstones book review

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi creates a new necklace with heart shaped resin pendants she made.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Take a walk on the dark side and see what kind of jewelry Cindy comes up with.

Earthenwod Studio Chronicles
Melanie begins her celebration of a week of crystal pendants with an autumn inspired fairy butterfly necklace

Jewelry & Beading
Have you ever thought about trying glass fusing? The talented Wendy Talaro shares a fused glass primer this week!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei is hosting a Necklace Round Robin, come check out the necklaces as they transform!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean recalls and reposts a recipe for some cool October earrings, now that there is a chill in the air!

Strands of Beads
Melissa blogs about an intriguing new blog by lampwork artist Sarah Moran