Beads and Yarn

May18

I have a secret. I love coming home from a bead show, dumping all of my purchases into one big pile on the table and running my fingers through all of my new beads. All that beautiful color and texture! Even though I buy from different vendors, my purchases reflect ideas and images I’ve been thinking about lately and they all seem to match in one way or the other. Do you experience the same thing?

I’m thinking of a bead embroidery cuff for the face cab from Earthenwood Studio. Isn’t it fabulous?

My dumping/ooh-ing and aah-ing ritual reminds me of when my kids returned from trick or treating on Halloween night and all the stashes got dumped on the family room rug. First, Mom or Dad would go through to pick out any suspicious looking items (and the Butterfingers) and then the trading would begin.

Here’s some detail of a strand of unique snakeskin jasper and pearls I couldn’t resist along with amethyst and peridot. A lot of my stone bead purchases were made from Momminia of Cold Spring, NY. A husband and wife team, Marlene and Steve Goodrich are quick to share their in depth knowledge about any of their stones. So, buying from them is both an education and a treat to the eyes. Even though my daughter isn’t at all into beads like I am, she listened intently while they named the different stones and where they originated. Here’s some faceted rhodolite garnet. We couldn’t resist that amazing raspberry color. It will go fabulously with black, I think.

Last but not least, my yarn purchases from my Michigan trip in March. I also discovered a yarn store called Knitting Pointers, right down the street from my new home, and I visited there last weekend. I couldn’t resist the pale muted colorway on the left.

The brand name is “Poems”. What a perfect name for what these colors inspire in me.

“I want to make poems that look into the the earth and the heavens and see the unseeable.

I want them to honor both the heart of faith, and the light of the world;

the gladness that says, without any words, everything.”

-Mary Oliver

ACC Show and Synergy Wrapup

Mar6

There were over 700 artist vendors participating in the ACC Show at the Baltimore Convention Center a couple of weeks ago. Since we were a little pressed for time because we were meeting friends for dinner, we walked the show in an hour and fifteen minutes. There were so many beautiful art pieces that caught my eye but I could only stop and savor a few.

Carol Owen creates “Spirit Houses” from all sorts of ephemera and mixed media. “My Spirit Houses are shrines to family memories. They make sacred those shards of the past that have made us what we are.” I found myself so drawn to these little shrines, wanting to open the doors and peer inside. In our dreams, the house can be a symbol for ourselves and each room a different aspect of who we are. So, I think I loved her work so much because it reminded me of my dreams. I love this quote from her website:

“Every spirit builds itself a house, and beyond its house, a world, and beyond its world, a heaven. Know then that a world exists for you.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Karen Smith creates jewelry combining fiber, stones and metal. I found myself very drawn to her work because it reminded me of ancient tribal pieces. It spoke to something very deep within as I gazed upon the rich weavings encasing gorgeous stones. I was so disappointed to see that she doesn’t have a website or a blog because I wanted to read more about her work. I am so intrigued by the idea of incorporating fiber into jewelry pieces.

Kimberly Willcox makes the most amazing sculptures, as described on her business postcard “A Contemporary Spin on Primitive Form”. She shares with us: “My goal is to create a unique art form that shares a seamless integration between the world and the human spirit.”

I think that she accomplishes her goal quite wonderfully. Her sculptures seems to incorporate all sorts of materials including but not limited to wood and metal. I wonder what she uses to sculpt her faces.

To see the work of more ACC artists, you can read my friend, Amy’s, account here.

So, that concludes my account of all of my experiences at the 2008 Synergy Conference.

A huge thank you to all of the fabulous artists who worked so hard to make this event come true!

Check out my Bracelet Slide Show!

Feb16

Blue Chalcedony Bracelet

Jan1

When I visited Michigan back in September, my SIL asked me to bring some beads along because she wanted me to create a bracelet for her. She was drawn to the idea of silver with either stone or crystal. After getting some ideas about what she likes, I created this bracelet for her as a gift. I wanted to experiment with a different technique in my wirework, one I hadn’t done before. So, in my internet research, I came across the work of Eni Oken. And, lo and behold, she offered some tutorials. Her work is exquisite and very inspirational. With the herringbone weave tutorial and some thin 26-gauge silver wire, I had a lot of fun learning and practicing. I chose these faceted blue chalcedony beads because I think they go very well with the wire. The color reminds me of shadows on snow drifts. Wire wrapping around their square shape was a little challenging at first but I soon got into a nice rhythm. After I created the individual wire wrapped links, I choose some small Bali silver beads to use for spacer links.

I made a simple S-clasp from 18 gauge silver wire, hammering it slightly to give it some texture. Once the bracelet was constructed, it got a dunk in a liver of sulfur solution to give it a nice antique patina. I’m happy to say that she loved her gift, especially when she saw that it matched the sweater she was wearing perfectly! She’s on the right and my daughter is on the left.

Chalcedony is a form of silica and comes in many colors, the most common in the white to grayish blue to brown range. According to my book entitled Healing Crystals and Gemstones, it is named after the city of Chalcedon (Turkey) where it was first discovered. It was a popular carving stone in antiquity for motifs of gods and goddesses. According to its magical properties, it encourages calmness, purity and focus on what is essential.