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.





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.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

I'mmm Baaack!

I've been back from Bead and  button  for  a couple of weeks now. 
It always takes a while to decompress after a big show like that. Of course I cam home and the house was a mess.  I left it a mess when I departed, but thats beside the point.
Seriously where are all the elves to clean up your shit like in the fairy tails? 

I had a wonderful time, saw lots of old friends, made some  new friends and bought these beautiful beads from Beads  Direct.


 There is no way to capture the beauty of these gems in a photo, but I tried.
 Several of these have a luscious  AB coating that makes them seem almost magical.

 Leslie and  Mary own the company and they are  most wonderful people to deal with. Leslie is always helpful, pointing out wonderful stones I may heave over looked. Haha thanks Leslie!
These are all the beads  I bought at the show, but I don't feel bead  deprived. This time it was all about getting some great quality gems for jewelry designs.
 I have the Ann  Arbor Summer Fair next month so I had better get busy  with some new designs.

OK off to the studio I go...

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

6 more days!

It will be 6  days until I leave for Bead and Button. I am trying desperately to tie up all the loose ends at home and get all my beads finished.   I am also trying to stay calm but things are slightly more desperate then usual. On April Fools day,  I broke my ring finger on my left hand, and did soft tissue damage to two other fingers. The healing process has been slow and painful and I have not been very speedy in my production work as I struggle with  a wonky grip.

In addition to my beads,  I am making some finished pieces of jewelry to show case them.
I have been playing with the  Now Thats A Jig™. The last bead shows,  I have been  next to Brenda Schweder and her helper Tracy Bell, watching them show people how to use the jig.  I decided I needed one after  watching and listening for hours.




I am exploring all sorts of possibilities with the jig. New things emerging make really excited and I forget that the clock is ticking down to the show. 
I hope I'll have a new body of finished work to show by the time the show rolls around.
experiment #1

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Goodbye little friend

When I came home from Tucson I had to say goodbye to an old friend.  Kirby had been little friend and  my companion for 14 years. The night I returned home I knew immediately something was wrong. I kept him comfortable  through the night and took him to the vet first thing in the morning.
His heart hard become too enlarged for his little body. So we gently led him across the bridge where his brother Buster has been waiting for him.
It was sort of poetic that Kirby died because his heart was too big. He always had a big heart full of love and sweetness. He had waited for me to  return from my trip before he told us  it was time for him to go.  I am grateful for the chance to say goodbye and be there to help him as he crossed over.
It was with great sadness that I said goodbye to such a fine fellow. The house is quieter without him I miss him snarfing around the barrel of my chair well I worked in the studio there will never be another dog quite like Kirby. Goodbye old friend thank you for all the love you gave me anywhere after and smiles during this past 14 years together you will always be remembered.

Saturday, February 08, 2014

Greetings from sunny Tucson





Greetings from sunny  Tucson! Did I mention it was sunny? 
I had a good show at the To Bead True Blue, made even better by the fact I was miles away from cold and snow.
I met lots of new friends and had fun with some old ones. 
I had a great response to my new work.
She is warm and friendly and I am so glad she stopped by and introduced herself.

My new work was well received and I am excited to explore it further.

Thats one of the great things about doing a show like this, you are so energized being around so many creative people.  You leave more energized then you came.




Sunday, December 29, 2013

The reason for the season!


As we come to the middle of this Holiday Season, I think it does all of good to reflect upon the reason  this time of year is so special.  It's not the presents, it's not the food, it's not the time spent with loved ones.

Yes, its true, there would be no Happy Holidays without sparkles!

Ok before you go and tell me how irreverent you think  I am, consider this:  Every year the world spends about 1.7 trillion dollars on wars and military spending. That is almost $250 per every person in this world. If they spent half of that on glitter, the world would be so sparkly and glamorous that there would be no need for war  or violence. I'm not making this shit up.   Have you ever tried to kill someone with $125 worth of glitter?  I rest my case.