Friday, October 21, 2016

Murder of Crows



Crows have always been the kings of cool in the bird world. With this in mind, I am proudly offering the Murder of Crows class at BABE (Bay Area Bead Extravaganza ). I will also be exhibiting there on Saturday and Sunday Nov 12 & 13th.

When I was a little girl I went to a Catholic grade school.  Every morning the nuns would line us up by classroom in the parking lot when the first bell of the morning rang and then we were to stand and wait until our class was called signaling us to  march into the school in an orderly single file line.
This is pretty much what we did since nobody wanted to incur the wrath of a nun.

The only problem was when George the crow showed up, which he would do unannounced, from time to time.  George had been cared for as a young bird by the animal shelter which was across the street from from our school.  The story was he had been brought there injured, nursed back to heath by the staff and as a result he liked the snacks the continued to feed him and he hung around on a regular basis.

George also liked shiny things like metal lunch boxes and sliver barrettes and those elastic hair ties with big plastic balls at either end.  And out of the blue, literally, George would appear and peck at all these fancy things that came attached to the nice children in their proper lines, which in turn would cause us to scream and run in all directions despite our fear of the nuns.  The nuns were no match for George.

It was also rumored that George had picked up the ability to talk and mimicked the salty language of the men who worked at animal control. Although I never herd this personally the playground was full of boys scolded by nuns  who claimed  that they were only repeating what they heard from the crow.





Thursday, February 11, 2016

My year so far:

I kicked off my year by traveling to Tucson for the To Bead True Blue  show. This was the 4th year  I made that trip. even though I go down there to sell beads,its always an adventure. There are 3 days of travel  to get there mostly down the path of what was Route 66. There are still remnants of the old highway to be seen some of them like skeletons of Americana and some of them like the hotels in Tucumcari are still  living history made of real flesh and blood. We have stayed at many of the old hotels over the years and its always a favorite part of my trip. This year we lodged at The Blue Swallow and the Historic Route 66 Motel. Both places were run by friendly proprietors who made a real effort to welcome guests. The Blue Swallow also had a four legged welcoming committee in the form of a sweet and goofy Golden Retriever which made the  stay extra nice.  I always wish I had more time to explore places like Tucumcari at a leisurely pace, but since I am head to a show and on my way home when we pass  through there time is scarce and there isn't much sight seeing to be had.
 One day I am going to go down there at a leisurely pace and soak up the atmosphere.

Year of the Monkey

Monday, February 23, 2015

Tucson Trail

 Lucky me, I got to spend several days in Tucson at the beginning of the month. It was warm sunny and beautiful and I was surrounded by beads and friends. What more could a girl ask for?
Unfortunately I had to come back home to the frozen north and have been in a funk ever since.
This  last week has been too cold to work in my studio I couldn't keep my hands warm enough to make them work properly.
I have spent much time fantasizing about the warm weather and sunny skies of the southwest. Even the road trip there and back was restorative. Three days of driving gives your mind a chance to disconnect from your everyday life.


A beautiful and sad detour in St Louis.


The iconic arch.

Miles of quiet emptiness

Even the snow in New Mexico seemed special. Stupid to drive in, but it looked special.

I really love the southwest. There is something in the air that feels different, more relaxed. Maybe its because I can leave my troubles at home. I don't know.  
But I'm back home smack dab in the middle of a cold bleak Michigan winter, wishing I was somewhere else. 

Saturday, January 24, 2015

The Bead Fairy

 Once upon a time there was a a crazy bead lady. That's like a crazy cat lady but without all the fur balls.   This bead Lady was very busy and had much work to do because she was going to a bead show in a far away sunny place called Tucson. 
One night after staying up very late and working very very hard, she heard a sort of sparklly jingle noise. It was the bead fairy come to do all her work during the night while she slept. The next day the crazy Bead Lady woke up to her amazement all of her beads were finished all of her things were packed up and there was a nice cup of  cinnamon latte waiting for her. The end.























This  really didn't happen, but a girl can dream. 

It's only a few days before I leave for Tucson. It's the point where I start to go on a little bit mad. There suddenly seems to be so much I have to get done and there's only so much time left. I keep waiting for the bead fairy to show up and help me finish something. Maybe tonight.


Monday, January 19, 2015

Happy 2015

This is the first post of the year for me.  Lots of things happening and the year ahead looks exciting. 
I'm getting ready for the To Bead True Blue Show in Tucson the first week of February. 
Then I am going to be doing a presentation/trunk show at the Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild in on the 17 of February to show off my Bead and Button Project. Oh yeah, did I mention I was teaching at Bead and Button this year
I am so excited. It is going to be a great class and I promise LOTS of fun. 
Then on Feb 28 I am going to be at the Art fair Garage Sale in Kalamazoo.  But first I am in the Mermaid show at the Allegory Gallery starting this week.
So I have quite a bit on my plate. 
And Just to make everyone feel better about themselves, because I am nothing if not kind and thoughtful like that, here is a picture of my desk.
You can either feel superior about your tidy  compartmentalized life  and  sense of  security it gives you, or you can rejoice and embrace  the chaos in front of you knowing you are not the only person whose work space qualifies for a FEMA grant. Either way  a picture off my desk shall brighten your day. Cheers!


Saturday, August 30, 2014

Back from Philly



I came home from the Philly Bead Fest with my head filled with ideas and a lot of snot. 
I somehow manage to catch germs every time I'm in Philly, but I still love the show so I keep coming back. 
Now that I am finally recovering from the snot portion of the trip  I. Feel well enough to tell you about the idea portion of the trip.

It's  always an electric time when you have so many creative people in one place. Designers, bead makers, new tools, and new products make you think of new possibilities.  

I was lucky enough to have Brenda Schweder, the creator of Now Thats A Jig and Collaborate in the booth next to me 


And Nikki Thornberg  on the other side. 

All weekend I was covered by the  magical pixie dust of creativity coming at me from both sides.


We bounced ideas around all weekend and came up with a really great project for bead and button 2015.



And of course I got magic pixie dust up my backside with   Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Beads and her guest from the UK, Leslie Watt, being situated in the booth behind me. 


Except for the cooties, it was a great weekend. I'm looking forward to next year.

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

Summer Time

Its already July and that means the summer is starting to fly by.
It also means The Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair is fast approaching. It is a race between what comes first, a nervous breakdown, a copius amout of work produced or setting up my tent.


I have been really busy and focused on making enough work to make me feel like I have not come to the party naked when the  art fair rolls around.  I have been so focused it might even be considered unhealthy as everything takes a back seat to  my work. 




You shall have a fishy in a little dishy