Sunday Muddy Sunday

This is a yellow Iris that smells like powdered lemonade mix.

Ha ha! Made you sniff the screen!

This post is the first in a series of Sunday posts on my blog inspired by my garden.

It is the end of May and things are in bloom. I live in Michigan, incase you need to be reminded, things in bloom are a big deal here. It is a short and sweet season of gardening in this area.

I love my garden. I love all gardens. They are magical places to me. They are spiritual. They are my church. They are where I feel connected to all creation.

So I decided to devote one blogging day a week to my garden and its inspiration.

This is not going to be a how to or a source of practical knowledge about plants and planting, although I do have some knowledge of things, but rather a celebration of plants and bugs and flowers and dirt.

This is one of the things that feeds my creativity. Something deep and profound happens in a place where you collaborate with nature.

I wish you really could smell this.

its a bouquet of some of my earliest blooming roses.

Zephirine Drouhin, Therese Bugnet, Reine de Violettes, and Clotilde Soupert

along with the remaining Korean lilacs.

It is heaven.

Just working away.

I've been a busy working away. I don't get out much when I'm getting ready for shows.

Here is some work that I haven't had time to list on Etsy.

Bead and Button is fast approaching and I want to really rock the show this time.

Also if anyone is going to be there and wants to give me a bathroom break, please let me know!

Motherhood

It's Mother's Day today.

Motherhood stuffs me so full of emotions I could pop.

I cannot explain the weight of feelings motherhood presses on you. It is an ever changing state of wonder, love, frustration, amazement and terror.

It rips your heart out and stuffs it full at the same time.

Some people make it look easy, but I assure you its not.

Happy Mother's day to all the mothers all over the world.

Not dead, just sleeping...

I have been neglecting my blog and all my interwebs lately. I assure you I am not dead, just a bit frazzled. I am a mom and a wife and a person and an artist and sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day.

But here is a quick run down of the last few weeks.

I did the Suburban Bead Encounter in Naperville. Sales were not great but it was a nice show & got to see a lot of cool beads & wonderful peeps.

I have been working on a new backdrop display for my husbands (Doug Spalding in case you don't know) art fair both. He doesn't sew, so I get to do it for him.

He is at the Laumeier art fair in St Louis this weekend. So we'll see how this new backdrop works out.

I have also been busy making beads & getting ready for the crazy bead show/art-fair schedule ahead.

So, I a still alive and ticking. Just a bit stretched.

Not to mention the sick dog, the kid on the bike who got hit by the car right in front of me ( he was OK, but i had a freaking heart attack) and the kitchen pipes so rusted they crumbled into pieces when I whacked them with my hand digging for the upholstery cleaner under the sink to clean up the mess the sick dog made.

Some days its really hard to be inspired.

Ouch my boob!

I went to the imaging center today to redo my mammogram. I had been there last week but they needed additional pictures. This time they compressed my breast into a pancake and it still aches 5 hours later.

They got the images they needed and sent me home with a clean bill of health.

So just a reminder to those of you who need it done, schedule your yearly exam and may you celebrate your womanhood with years of good health to come.

Finally listed on Etsy

These were so hard to photograph for some reason. I finally have them listed on Etsy.

I Spy

I spy with my little eye, a bead of mine on the cover. I can't wait until this issue comes out!

You can pre-order it or look for it on your newstand soon!

Its always an awesome magazine.

I'm back.....

The Madison Art Glass and Bead show is over with and I am happy to be home.

I met some awesome people there including Brenda Schweder who was wearing a most fabulous neckpiece of steel wire. It turns out that she is the talented Brenda Schweder who has authored books on jewelry design and is coming out with another one soon.

Very Cool.

I also saw some great work, like the wonderful metal pendants by Kristi of Colliebug. Not only was her work inspiring, but I wanted to run off with her table cloth and wear it.

I figured she may have noticed it missing and i would be pretty easy to spot twirling around in it.
(thats my beadie bud Melanie of Earthenwood looking over the Colliebug stash.)

Like i said its good to be home. I missed my people and my dogs.

My next road trip isn't until the end of April for the Suburban Bead Encounter. Thats April 25 in Naperville IL, so mark your calenders. Please say "Hi" if you are there. I don't bite, contrary to what you may have heard.

Bead Shows!

This past sunday I was at the GLBG Bead Bonanza. It was fun to get my feet wet again the bead season.

I got to spend time with Melanie Brooks and Andrew Thornton which was just icing on the cake.

This weekend I'm off to Madison WI for the ART GLASS & BEAD SHOW.

New Work!

I am going to debut my new work at the Bead Bonanza tomorrow.

These are my very cool padlock pendants. Yep, they are ceramic.

They are different from anything I've done before, which makes me nervous and excited both.

I will try to get them listed on Etsy next week too.

I'd love to hear what you think about them.