On  Nov 11, Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines.  I have no idea how many people were displaced, how many died. I saw the photos of of neighborhoods that were turned into a chaos of debris.  I saw photos of parents holding lifeless bodies of their children.  There was so much misery and anguish  in those photos that  I cannot begin to imagine. I am privileged to her able to help inn some small way. 

 Andrew Thornton has organized a silent auction blog hop to benefit the victims of the recent disaster in the Philippines. There are countless people there, young and old, without food, clothing, or shelter.  I am donating this group of 3 houses  to help raise money for the people who have been effected by this disaster.  The proceeds raised will be sent to a relief organization, CARE. 

These houses are made of white stoneware, glazed and fired to cone 6. The largest one of these is 5" tall. 

All bidders should post their bids in the comment section.  The auction will run until midnight on Thursday, Dec 5th.  The winner will be announced on Friday, Dec 6th.  I am providing shipping free of charge via USPS, first class with tracking, as soon as payment is received from the winner.  Payment will be through Paypal.  I will contact the winner directly once the auction closes.

The following artists are also participating in this auction event.  

Please see what they have offered and bid generously. 

Andrew Thornton

Cynthia Thornton

Sheila Thornton

Erin Prais-Hintz

Michelle Ann McCarthy

Diane Hawkey

Lynne Suprock

Eva Gibson

Diana Ptaszynski

Lori Dixon Greenberg

Sarajo Wentling

Mary K McGraw

For more information about CARE and Typhoon Haiyan: 

http://www.care.org/emergencies/typhoon-haiyan

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.