I See Pips!

                                      

                                                                          Yay! It is spring.

 For reals. 

 There is something so life affirming hearing the birds chatter after the silence of winter.  Winter is  a lot like depression, when you are in the middle of it, you feel like it will never come to an end. 

I walk outside and I  see pips!  It's not like seeing dead people or Gladys Knight. Don't worry I'm not hallucinating this time.  They are little and green and poke out of the ground. They look  strong and serious on a mission like nothing can stop them. They will grow damn it! And don't get in their way.

  pip: 3. A rootstock of certain flowering plants, especially the lily of the valley

There are pips, there are buds even some flowers are brave enough to bloom.

You feel  a magic about the newness of everything even if you have seen it for the last 40-some  years. Even cleaning up the remains of winter dog poop in the yard has a merry quality to it.

I admit I may be exaggerating a little on the poop thing.

                                     

But as  the character of  sunlight changes from winter to the shimmer of spring something happens to people. It becomes easier to be hopeful and burdens feel lighter.The fertile energy of the earth makes me want to celebrate. I cant stop all the creative ideas that are popping up in my head. Sort of like my own little brain pips.

Happy Spring Everybody!

                                                    

Waiting for the magic

                                            

Its hard to believe its  a month since my last post.

I don't have a lot to show for the month.  I have been working, but mostly feeling like banging my head against  wall.  I have an idea in my head that just doesn't come out in my hands or my clay.  There have been a lot of tests  and disappointments upon opening the kiln. Nothing has been quite right.  The magic isn't there.

If I would stick to what I know I'd be so much more productive but so much less interesting.

Now I am starting to panic with deadlines approaching. I have very little work completed and a lot of  ugly beads that will ends up in my flower bed.  (Thats where ugly beads go to die)

I also have been sick for the last couple of weeks with a sinus/bronchitis  thing. Very bad timing. 

I have a show this weekend, Royal Oak Artists Market, and am scrambling to get work done in between the coughing fits. 

I also am participating for the first time in the Ann Arbor Art Association's 30x30 show where artists make 30 works in 30 days and sell them at  a special event.  I am excited about this show because its pushing me to work and think differently and that might just be the magic spark I am looking for.

Rust Never Sleeps But I Do

rusty heart earrings on Etsy

Rust never sleeps, but I do, except when my daughter decides to get in bed with me because she woke up early and is bored.  For some reason she believes she is doing me a kindness by waking me first thing on a weekend morning. I'd rather sleep. I'd actually rather sleep then do just about anything when it is cold and gray. Even with better living through  chemistry I still find winter turns me into a sloth. Or maybe I am really am a fancy species of bear meant to hibernate for months and come out when things start to turn green again. Or maybe I am actually not from this planet and where I come from we are not equipped to go through winter. I do not know. I would just rather be in bed under the blankets with a farting dog to keep me warm.

It's the end of January in Michigan which means things are going to feel forlorn for a few more months. The sun may occasionally  come out to tease us. I think it does this to piss me off by reminding me of what I am missing. Haha very funny. Just because someone is the center of the universe  it does not make them  nice.  Or maybe it's the clouds that are bitches and the sun is just minding its own business.

I could blame the clouds. 

For the most part its cold and gray and damp. Cold and gray and lots of rust. So I try to find beauty in things that are not pretty. You have to do that to live through these winters.

That and lots of 3 buck chuck.

Good Riddence Rotten Rabbit!

The first day of 2012 has been crazy windy outside. I half expect to see a cow blowing  by the window. Or maybe in my hood a rat would be more likely.

But is all good. This wind is blowing away the last of the bad juju from 2011. There was a lot of bad juju to blow away.  2011 was the  year  of the rabbit. I find it hard to imagine a little bunny  having such a nasty streak.  But I suppose there must be very bad rabbits. 

I will be the first to admit not everything that happened in 2011 was bad, as a matter of fact for every hard thing thrown my way I was able to find some goodness.

When people  in my life chose drama over reason, it allowed me to see them for what they really were instead of what I wanted them to be. Seeing clearly is a gift, even when the picture isn't as petty as you'd like.

When my husband and I walked away from our 25 yr. involvement in a large holiday show, rather then go along with someone's deceitfulness and manipulation, we walked away from a large part of our yearly income without any plan B. But we stood together and hopefully made an impression on our 10 year old daughter that right thing to do isn't always the easy thing to do. And we found out  that real friends have your back even when it's not the safest thing. 

When I lost my beloved Buster after 13 years of being best friends, people reached out with so much kindness and sympathy that I knew I was not alone in my grief.

And everything that happened this year made me stronger  and I hope wiser.

January 23 starts the Chinese year of the dragon.  The dragon is sacred, and symbolizes strength, luck and new beginnings.  That sounds pretty good to me.

Sunday Morning Cup of Coffee

This morning I am using the same mug I used in my last Sunday morning post. Maybe  its because the shape is familiar and comforting in my hands.  These last few weeks I have been more then a little bit out of sorts.
A few weeks ago I lost my best friend, my studio assistant, my companion of 13 years, Buster. 
He was smart and sassy and funny.
He was never far from my side as I created things, as I ate, as I slept.
I feel his absence deeply even with my two other dogs around me, as I sit at my desk and work, getting ready for Cyber Monday. It seems unreal that the world keeps turning without him by my side.

Sunday Morning Cup of Coffee

This Sunday's coffee mug is by my friend Lavinia  of Alma Pottery.

As you can see from this picture my bead table is full of projects. I have deadlines for the holidays and I have been trying to keep up.  I should do another Desk Disaster Friday post. It's been a while.

This Holiday season is a little different for me then seasons past. I am no longer doing a big show that I was associated with for more then 20 years. They chose to be scoundrels, so I chose to leave the show.

I may be a hooligan, but never a scoundrel.

So his year I am filling galleries  and will concentrate on website and etsy to get me through the season.

Change is good. Change is exciting. I used to be afraid of change in my life, but now I embrace it.

Even change that comes painfully and at a cost can bring you to new exciting possibilities.

I wonder what it feels like to be a caterpillar. Do they know what is in store for them, or are they taken by surprise? Do they embrace the change or do they fear and resent it? Do they even know that anything is happening?

Maybe they look forward to it like a kid looks forward to getting his drivers license?  Is it a rite of passage? Do the other caterpillars throw a party?

Is the butterfly scared when it comes out from the cocoon, or is it excited to feel its wings?

I am rambling, but if I ever come back as a caterpillar  I will blog about it.

Sunday Morning Coffee Cup

 Good Morning.  I have decided to make some Sunday morning posts talking about my coffee cup. I know you are saying "why the fuck do  I care about your coffee cup?" (Unless you don't swear like a  sailor like I do)  So let me 'splain.

I enjoy a good cup of coffee in the morning, which is a nice way to say 'addiction is a disease and I turn into a werewolf  without it'.  And more importantly, I have the most kick ass collection of mugs, and I don't have anything else to say. Ok I do, but when I say things like "there are no jobs in my uterus" some people are alienated and other people are confused because they think I might be hiring.

So let me tell you about my coffee mugs:

They are special and magical. They are hand made by real people called potters. The fact that they are handmade by  people who took a lump of clay (which is like mud and comes from the earth, incase you didn't know) and used their own hands to transform and refine this lump into something of beauty and usefulness, endows this object with a kind energy  and spirit that mass produced products objects cannot possess. 

New Age Mumbo Jumbo crap, you say! But when you hold a handmade work it is a different experience then holding a mass produced object.  I ain't making this shit up.

There is some kind of  good juju in an object crafted with affection and commitment.  This is something that most people in this world have forgotten to experience.  They are disconnected from the objects they touch everyday which in turn disconnects them from their own vitality. That connection can set the mood for their entire day.That is why it is so important for people to continue to make things using their own hands. And for other people to experience that bliss through handmade things.  It is a thing that connects people to their world and themselves.

 So this morning I am drinking my coffee out of a mug by Ed Brownlee. 

He is a very cool dude with awesome pottery. I am happy to say we have a few wonderful pieces of his work.  

If you live in the south central Pennsylvania area, you can visit his studio and others on  the weekend of Nov 5 and 6. it is a great chance to add something special and handmade to your life, or to gift someone else with a bit of good juju.

Art Bead Earring Swap

I have to say I was truly blessed to have Lori Bowring Michaud as my swap partner. Along with her beautiful earrings she also sent a bit of herself and a very special place, Willard Beach, South Portland, ME.

Her uncle was a life guard there for 38 yrs. and her parents met and fell in love there. That makes me feel it's a very magical place and I  want to go there.

The earrings she made have resin set in silver bezels, sea glass from the beach there, mother of pearl, apatite, and peridot.

They evoke the salty air and the colors of the ocean and beach and all the little treasures buried in the sand if you stop and look to find them.

Here are the rest of the participants in the earring swap:

Diana Ptaszynski   http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com Jenny Davies-Reazor  http://www.jdaviesreazor.com Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp  http://www.skyejewels.blogspot.com Lisa Petrillo  http://www.lucidmoonstudio.com Patty Chaban Gasparino  http://www.mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com Susan Kennedy  http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com Shannon Chomanczuk  http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com Cilla Watkins  http://www.tellyourgirlfriends.com Diane Hawkey  http://www.dianehawkey.blogspot.com Pam Ferrari http://www.ferrarioriginalsyahoocom.blogspot.com Lori Bowring Michaud  http://www.artfullyornamental.blogspot.com Stacey M. Curry  http://www.starhitchedwagon.blogspot.com Linda Landig  http://www.lindasbeadblog.com Norma Turvey  http://www.moonlitfantaseas.blogspot.com Melinda Orr  http://www.orrtec.blogspot.com Holly Westfall  http://www.silverrosedesigns.blogspot.com Rosemarie Cowit  http://www.gemrosedesigns.blogspot.com Staci L. Smith  http://www.stacilouise.blogspot.com Sarah Elder  http://www.mysocalledjunkylife.blogspot.com

Beady Left Overs! Meatloaf Monday

 As I mentioned in my previous post, my fab partner Jen Judd sent enough beads to make a few projects.  This one is really different from what I usually do, but I am very pleased by the way it turned out.
First there was this funky but beautiful amethyst colored crystal round flat  faceted piece. It reminded me of all the cool vintage rhinestone pins I used to collect. Next there was the clasp Jen sent. It was so delicate and natural that I had to feature it as part of the focus. Next there were all the pearls in shades of plum and violet. They were the perfect adornment.
I made this a few times and took it apart as many, until the simplicity of it just presented itself.
I used a "silver silk" knitted copper strand & doubled it for the chain.  Its about 18", light and sparkly.
I hope you enjoy this left over dish and have room for one more tomorrow.

The Soup is Ready!

Taa daaa! Soup is ready and just in time for breakfast . In other words its 2 AM on reveal day & I am finished.

I didn't think I was going to get done at all. It has been one of those days. But I pushed through like a beady super hero. 

I overcame the fact that my studio was disassembled this morning and is in random boxes all over my house. It's a long story involving a friend a table and a fire, but that's something I'll save for later. It was bad planning on my part, but things happen when they happen. 

So without further ado, here is the soup!

I had the most splendid ingredients from my partner Jen Judd, so fresh and sweet.

First I separated the ingredients into 3 parts. 

I saw 3 complete meals in this assortment.

The elegant and simple glass focal bead by Donna Millard just knocked my socks off. I was immediately excited by the possibilities. I picked the beads that best complimented it and began my plan.

Well, nothing ever goes as planned. Not for me anyway! I had hidden most of my beading wire and tools in one of the random boxes that was formally know as my studio.

While I panicked and started tearing through things  in boxes  I pulled out my recycled sari silk ribbon. Of course I had to stop and be distracted by its silky beauty  and it occurred to me that this sari silk was just what the soup needed. So, plan B was born.

I loved the way the silk grounded the entire design and the gold shimmer pulled together the purples and greens of the beads.  It's that organic feeling that I was looking for.   

But what to do with the left overs?

Jen sent me such a generous assortment of beads that I was inspired to make 2 more projects.

Stay tuned for the next chapter, it might bead   meatloaf monday or maybe bead  tuna casserole tuesday.

I have two more projects up my sleeve and will reveal them in the week ahead. 

So save room & don't fill up on sweets.

Please check put the other fabulous soups on these blogs  here.

bon appetit!