Halloween/Day of the Dead Blog Hop

I  love Halloween. It is my favorite holiday.You can wear anything you want,  all the chocolate you can eat and you don't have to deal with your relatives or in-laws. Life really can't get much nicer then that. 
Ever since I can remember I have always loved spooky things. Growing up, there were a lot of strange happenings at my house. As children we often saw shadows and heard voices that were not supposed to be there. That may have been part of my attraction to all things spooky and undead. I watched every Hammer Horror film on the Saturday afternoon movie. We played vampire, it was like tag, but creepier and you got to bite people.

When I was 8 or 9 I discovered Edgar Allen Poe's classic poem "The Raven"  I wasn't old enough to interpret  or even understand   the entire poem, but I knew enough to know that it spoke of something utterly terrifying in the world of adults.   It opened the door  to poetry for me and it still remains one of my favorite verses. 

For this blog hop challenge, I knew I would do something to pay homage to Poe and The Raven.
I had all kinds of ideas swirling around my head, but in the end I decided to keep it simple, inspired by 19th century mourning jewelry which I absolutely adore. You can check out my Mourning  Jewelry Pinterest board

My raven bead, my Poe pendant , and my skull charm, a powder coated black chain, a pearl, hematite  a black bead, and 3 black resin roses. 

I thought about adding my "nevermore" word bead, but decided that would be overkill. Haha overkill, I just cracked myself up!

If you want to hear Poe's Raven I suggest this reading by Edgar Oliver.

Please grab a cup of coffee or if its past lunch, a glass of wine and check out the rest of this blog hop. 
You can even put on Pandora Radio Spooky Symphonies  while you peruse this unearthly blog hop.

Diana Ptaszynski  http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com
Staci Smith  http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/

Kathleen Breeding  http://99bobotw.blogspot.com

Sue Kennedy  http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Dianne Miller  http://www.artbydianne.blogspot.com

Lisa Liddy  http://www.lisaliddy.wordpress.com

Toltec Jewels  http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.com

Linda Landig  http://www.LindasBeadBlog.com

Laura Medeiros  http://Www.zoeowyn.blogspot.com

Veralynne Malone  http://www.veradesigns.blogspot.com

Lynn Jobber  http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.co.uk

Michelle McCarthy  http://www.fireflydesignstudio.blogspot.com

Karen Totten  http://www.starryroadstudio.blogspot.com

Jayne Capps  https://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com

Jenny Davies-Reazor  http://jdaviesreazor.com/blog

Joan Miller  http://metalmudandsand.blogspot.com/

Melissa Meman  http://melissameman.blogspot.com

Melissa Trudinger  http://www.beadrecipes.wordpress.com

Kari Asbury  http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com

Inge von Roos  http://www.ingetraud.wordpress.com

Andrea Glick  http://zenithjade.blogspot.com 

Stephanie LaRosa  http://Www.stringaholic.blogspot.com

Lola Surwillo  http://www.beadlolabead.com

Jennifer Cameron  http://glassaddictions.com/blog

Diane Hawkey  http://dianehawkey.blogspot.com

Kristi Harrison  http://kristibasket-itsanewday.blogspot.com

Nicole Valentine Rimmer  http://www.nvalentine.blogspot.com

Tanya Goodwin  http://www.Pixiloo.blogspot.com

Shai Williams  http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/

Sandra McGriff  http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com

Sarajo Wentling  http://www.sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com

Marie Covert  http://thistledown-and-swaddlings.blogspot.com

Lisa Stukel  http://www.carefreejewelrybylisa.blogspot.com

Laurie Vyselaar  http://www.Lefthandjewelry.wordpress.com

Sherri Stokey  http://www.knotjustmacrame.com

Pam Traub  http://www.klassyjoolz.blogspot.com

Lori Dorrington  http://lorisglassworks.blogspot.com

Kristen Stevens  http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com

Eleanor Burian-Mohr  http://cornerstoregoddessjewelry.blogspot.com

Sally Russick  http://thestudiosublime.com

Dawn M. Gallop  http://www.flipflopsandpoptarts.com

Christine Damm   http://storiestheytell.blogspot.com

From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!

hello there

It's been along time since I've written my blog. I    I'd like to say it's because I've been doing some really exciting things and I just haven't had the time but the truth is I don't really have any reason other than I'm terribly lazy and  not very ambitious.
OK I have been really busy but that's always the case. I don't get much time to just sit  and breathe. A husband, a tween, an old dog with dementia, a younger dog who is just "special",  a business, a life, you get the picture. You can probably relate.   I really don't have anything to say other then and then I've been either working, working or working on something, except when I'm sleeping, and then I am usually very busy in my dreams. As the holidays approach I will be even busier just barely hanging on to my sanity by a thread.  I have some things in my Etsy shop and I'll try to list more as the holidays get closer.       
Here are my upcoming events: 


The Ridge Fine Art and Handmade Wares Show
November 16th, Saturday at the Drayton Ave Presbyterian Church, 
 2441 Pinecrest Dr
Ferndale, MI 48220

Annual Home Show
Nov 23, & 24
Royal Oak MI

Detroit Urban Craft Fair
Dec 7th and 8th
Masonic Temple,  Detroit

diane hawkey

Helper Monkey to the Rescue

OMG I Did Have a Helper Monkey!

Last week as I lay rolling in piles of beads on my floor, trying to get therm organized for Bead Fest, I complained that I really wished I had a helper monkey.

It turns out, wishes do come true. Not always how you envision them, but they do come true.

Some of you might not know this but I was  really sick on Sunday. The kind of fever chills sick 

that makes you just want to lay down anywhere and not move, sick. I was in no shape to do anything but run to the nearest bathroom, all day.

My friend and travel companion 

Tracy Bell who makes the most awesome  stuff  was amazing, she took care of  me my booth and everything else that needed to be done that day. 

It turns out I got the helper monkey  I needed for my trip.

OK she wasn't dressed as snazzy as I had hoped for, but who am I to complain.

Thank You Tracy

I dont need no stinkin beads and other news

                                 
Its been a week  since I packed up and went home from Bead and Button.  I have now had time to sort myself out and gather my thoughts.

As always the people I get to meet and the friends I get to reconnect with make for a wonderful experience.
Schlepping yourself and your  display around is not a glamorous situation, but all the goodwill and kindness surrounding these events really makes up for the sweaty frustrating icky aspects of the job.

This was the last time I will travel with Melanie Brooks of Earthenwood Studio. We have done this show, and others  together  for about 8 yrs and known each other twice as long as that. She has decided to focus on more finished items and less components and she will be heading in a new direction with her work.
We have traveled well together, shared personal stories and milestones along the way and still manage to be friends at the end of it all.  Some marriages have survived less. I am lucky enough to live a stones throw away, so it will not be the last time I see her, but these events won't be the same without her.

I told myself I was not going to buy more beads at the show. It was a good plan until... 3 separate people sent me over to Beads Direct Inc.  Their lovely gemstones with the AB finish were a perfect match for my new work.

 Absolutely stunning.

And in trading with some of most favorite artists, I was inspired to design a new project.

I am going to make the most epic Mermaid Under The Sea Coral Reef Adventure Necklace ever!

My Mermaid bead has been begging me to do this for years. And if you follow me on Pinterest  you know I have a fascination for  all weird things under the sea. This necklace will be so cool, if I don't say so myself.

                                         


And if that is not excitement enough for you, hold on to your panties.

This Friday at Andrew Thornton's Allegory Gallery, I had my opening for the show "Spirits of the Earth Tribe" 

Check it out, if you can't make it to Ligonier PA, you can conveniently purchase my work on line!

WOOT! It doesn't get much more exciting then this, except for iceskating monkeys.

It's been ages since my last blog update.  I feel bad about that, but I have a good excuse.  Yah, I can always find an excuse. I know. Shut up.  I've be been very busy.In February I took a two week trip to Tucson to do the To Bead True Blue bead show.

 Okay so now it's May and almost June, maybe that's not such a good excuse anymore. 

Well I am back.

Something recently happened that reminded me that I am important and the  things I do are important, not in a Dalai Lama-Marie Curie-Joan of Arc sort of way, but in my own little teeny tiny way, the art I make matters. The art everyone makes matters. 

Last month, a local art teacher asked me to speak to her 1st and 5th graders about what I do and about being an artist. The kids were great, I was entertaining  and exhausting. God bless the teachers who do this day after day.They were interested, they asked great questions.  A boy in the front row ate a rubber-band. It was pretty awesome.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago:

I am walking my dog down the street with Arlo the freakishly large Boston Terrier. I came upon a group of kids and like always, Arlo got attention. As I passed   a girl called out "Excuse me, but were you the artist that came and talked at my school?" I stopped and turned to them. "Yes,I am".   One of the girls said "I told you it was HER!" 

I felt like a rock star. But more importantly those kids remembered who I was because we talked about art and how important it was to make things with their own hands and that art matters. 

So I am back, & I promise to write more often.

tucson

The fact is my head is my head is full of ideas that have been bouncing around like ping-pong balls and really it's hard for me to sit down and get all my thoughts straight because by the time I think of something I've already thought of something else.

The upside to this is I  am fortunate that I am still excited with my work after all these years.

Okay so now about Tucson since I have all these great photographs I think I should share them.

H

 It was my first time in Tucson is besides being lots of fun and being a very successful show the weather was 70° and sunny  In February you can't beat that, especially coming from Michigan. 

My travel companion was the awesome Tracy Bell 

I met so many good people and saw so many wonderful things I'm looking forward to going back there next year. Here are a few highlights from our trip

Still Here

It's been ages since my last blog update.  I feel bad about that, but I have a good excuse.  Yah, I can always find an excuse. I know. Shut up.  I've be been very busy.In February I took a two week trip to Tucson to do the To Bead True Blue bead show.

 Okay so now it's May and almost June, maybe that's not such a good excuse anymore. 

Well I am back.

Something recently happened that reminded me that I am important and the  things I do are important, not in a Dalai Lama-Marie Curie-Joan of Arc sort of way, but in my own little teeny tiny way, the art I make matters. The art everyone makes matters. 

Last month, a local art teacher asked me to speak to her 1st and 5th graders about what I do and about being an artist. The kids were great, I was entertaining  and exhausting. God bless the teachers who do this day after day.They were interested, they asked great questions.  A boy in the front row ate a rubber-band. It was pretty awesome.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago:

I am walking my dog down the street with Arlo the freakishly large Boston Terrier. I came upon a group of kids and like always, Arlo got attention. As I passed   a girl called out "Excuse me, but were you the artist that came and talked at my school?" I stopped and turned to them. "Yes,I am".   One of the girls said "I told you it was HER!" 

I felt like a rock star. But more importantly those kids remembered who I was because we talked about art and how important it was to make things with their own hands and that art matters. 

So I am back, & I promise to write more often. 

What can I say? I like glitter.

memories and thanks

I don't talk about my childhood a great deal. There are not a lot of good memories. My home was not a happy place.

I came from a large family where I was not wanted or liked by anyone. I tried to make sense of the world the best I could under those circumstances.

I have an early memory of hiding behind  a living room chair. I can still see the ugly upholstery. It was colonial themed, gold with pineapples and eagles holding arrows in their talons. I was hiding there because my mother  unpredictable and dangerous, was  having an episode of  fury, directing it at anyone in her path. I knew if she could not see me I would be safe. 

There was a woman who lived 2 houses down our street. She was a single mother to three grown children. Her name was Helen. 
She thought my sisters and I were adorable little kids. 
I attached myself to her, as she was the only person I knew  who actually liked me and I could trust. She had a big tabby cat named Junior. He had quite an attitude but I was fond of him and he tolerated me.
I would wait for her to come home from work. She would invite me in and give me cookies. She never spoke down to me, she  didn't judge me. She opened her home to me and never turned me away. I never felt like I had to hide in her house.  
As I grew older I would go to her house  after dinner and watch TV. She would make tea and we would talk about current events, talk about things like what her grown children were up to, or she would tell me stories about growing up as a  Chippewa girl  in the upper peninsula of Michigan.  
I don't know if she was aware of what went on in my house. It was never mentioned, but I have to believe  she had an idea of the chaos that happened there.But I don't know if she really knew how important  she was to me, how she  taught me the value of kindness and gentleness and love. 
When I graduated from high school she gave me a  card with some money. I sent her a thank you note and I told her that she had made a difference in my life. She died from cancer a few years later.  
She was the first person in my life that believed in me. She took a fragile child and showed her that life didn't have to be unhappy. 
When I think of her now, I remember how the smallest kindness can give a child hope.

This blog hop is to remember  those people in our lives who mean a lot to us --  a mom, a friend, a brother -- anyone who has meaning to us.  Create a piece of jewelry that tells that story.

Hostess, Lori Anderson       Pretty Things

 Adlinah Kamsir                   Dream Struck Designs

 Aimee Biondolillo               Aimee's Jewelry Treasures

 Alicia Marinache                 All the Pretty Things 
 Andra Marasteanu               Handmade by Indra Marasteanu 
 Andrea Trank                      Heaven Lane Creations
 April Grinaway                   Brooklyn Bead Goddess

Barb Solem                         Vivi Magoo Presents

Becky Pancake                    Becky Pancake Bead Designs

Beth Emery                         Stories by Indigo Heart

Bonnie Coursolle                Jasper's Gems

Cassi Paslick                       Beads: Rolling Downhill

Catherine King                    Catherine's Musings

Cece Cormier                      The Beading Yogini

Chandra Leitz                     Juniper Goods

Charissa Nesler                   FireStorm Designs
Charlie Jacka                       Clay Space

Christina Hickman              Vintage Treasures Jewelry

Christine Murrow               Charis Designs Jewelry
Christine Stonefield            Sweet Girl Design

Chrizette Bayman               Bead Soup Mix

Cindy Wilson                      It's My Sea of Dreams

CJ Bauschka                       4 His Glory Creations by CJ

Crystal Thain                      Here Bead Dragons

Cyndi Lavin                        Beading Arts

Debbie Rasmussen             A little of this, a little of that

Denielle Hagerman             Some Beads... and other things I like
Diana Gonzalez                  Arte y Poemas

Diane Hawkey                    diane hawkey

Dita Basu                            ankarshilpa

Donetta Farrington             Simply Gorgeous

Dyanne Everett-Cantrell     Deeliteful Jewelry Creations

Emma Todd                        A Polymer Penchant

Erin Kenny                         beadiful therapy

Erin Prais-Hintz                  Treasures Found

Gina Hockett                      Freestyle Elements

Gloria Allen                        Innovative Dreams Jewelry

Heather Marston                 CSW Designs

Inge von Roos                    Inge's Blog

Iveth Caruso                       Creative Atelier

Jacqueline Marchant          Fiddledeedee Jewelry

Jami Shipp                         Celebrating Life!

Jean Yates                          Snap Out of it Jean, There's Beading to Do!

Jennifer Reno                     Musings of a Crafty Jenny
Jenny Robledo                   Peppa's Dream

Jennifer VanBenschoten    Jewelry, Art and Life
Jessica Klaaren                  Cellar Door Jewelry

Jessica Murray                   Whimsical Monkey

Joan Williams                     lilruby jewelry

Jo-Ann Woolverton            It's a Beadiful Creation

Joanne Browne                   josjewels1

Jodie Marshall                    Jodie Marshall Lampwork Beads Wearable Art

Johanna Rhodes                 Fire Phoenix Creations
John Rasmussen                 Rasumussen Gems and Jewelry LLC

JuLee Wolfe                       The Polymer Penguin

Julie Bean                           Blue Pig Blog

Karen Mitchell                   Over the Moon Designs

Karin King                         The Sparklie Things Blog
Karin Slaton                       Backstory Beads

Kat Douglas                       Washoe Kat's
Kay Bolton                        Toodles and Binks

Kelly Hosford Patterson     The Traveling SideShow

Kim Ballor                          Vitamin C ... A Daily Does of Creativity

Kim Dworak                       CianciBlue

Kim Houston                       The Pink Martini
Kym Hunter                         Kym Hunter Designs

Laren Dee Barton                Laren Dee Designs

Lea Avroch                          LA Jewelry Designs

Leanne Loftus                      First Impression Design

Liddy McLaughlin               Liddy McLaughlin Art

Linda Florian                       Lily's of the Valley Jewelry & Creative Creations

Linda Inhelder                     Must-Haves Jewelry

Lisa Hamilton                      Simply Irresistable Jewelry
Lisa Suver                            Fancee That

Lori Bowring Michaud        Artfully Ornamental

Lori Poppe                           Adventures in Creativity with Lorillijean

LouAnn Elwell                    Southpass Beads

Mandi Effron                       Craft-o-licious

Marcia DeCoster                 MadDesigns

Marcia Dunne                     The Alternative Foundry

Marie Covert                      Creating Interest

Marjorie Savill Linthwaite     bennubirdrising

Marlene Cupo                        Amazing Designs by Marlene

Martha Aleo                           Ornamento

Marti Conrad                          Marti's Buttons -n- Beads

Mary Ellen Parker                  BeeTree by m.e.

Mary Govaars                        MLH Jewelry Designs

Mary Lindell                          Mary Lindell Artisan Jewelry

Maureen Connolly                 Mrs Beadsley's Workshop

Maybeline Tay                       The Jewelry Larder

Melissa Elgin                         The Addicted Beader

Melissa Mesara                      one-eared pig beads

Menka Gupta                         Menka's Jewelry

Michaela Pabeschitz              la mar de bonita

Mischelle Fanucchi               Micheladas Musings

Mona Rae Baroody               Who Does She Bead She Is?

Nan Emmett                          Spirit Rattles -- Spirited Earth

Nancy Pedersen                    Something Heartfelt by Nancy

Natalie Davidson                  NorthShore Days
Nikki Douglas                      Bead It and Weep

Pam Farren                           re-maker

Pam, the Crazier Sister        The Crazy Creative Corner

Pam Traub                            Klassy Joolz
Priya Krish                           Hellopalz  
Rebecca Anderson               Song Beads

Rebecca Sirevaag                 Becca's Place

Robin Kae Reed                   Artistry HCBD

Rochelle Brisson                  a creative chelle

Rosa Maria Cuevas              Helena de Troya

Sabine Dittrich                     perlendschungel

Sandi Volpe                          Sandi Volpe

Sandra McGriff                    Creative Chaos

Sarah Goode                         Pookledo
Sarah Singer                         String a Song of Sixpence

Serena Trent                         All Things Made Jewelry

Shai Williams                       Shaiha's Ramblings
Sharon Palac                        Sharon's Jewelry Garden

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson    Sharyl's Jewelry & Reflections

Sheila Davis                         Stone Designs

Shelley Graham Turner        Fabric of My Life

Sherri Stokey                       Knot Just Macrame

Sherry Baun                         Unicorns Jewels

Skylar Bre'z                         Brising Beads

Stephanie Haussler              Pixybug Designs

Tania Spivey                        Moobie Grace Designs

Terri G.                                Blooming Ideas

Terry Carter                         Tapping Flamingo

Terry Matuszyk                    Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry

Toltec Jewels                       Jewel School Friends
Tracy Kruse                         Goldkisses Art

Tracy Martin                        Nutkitten's Jewelry

Zia Parks                              Anzi~Panzi's Work Shoppe

Zoe Marcin                          Beads, Tea and Sweets