Plugging away on September

Sometimes I need to be a bit more planful and remind myself of exactly how long it is going to take to cover an area with 3mm sequins

On with September

Day three of work - beading the flower petals is so meditative - I don't have to think (which sometimes is a very good thing) - Now that I think about the rest of the page, I really wish that I had some form of 'beading training'. I would like to make a 3-D cane or two to sew the leaves and berries onto - I would think that doing a peyote chain thing-a-ma-bob would work for this. I watched someone once do a peyote stitch around a drinking straw - that would be perfect. But, alas and alack, I don't know how to do even a straight peyote stitch, much less a circular one - or any other type of proper bead stitch either. And so I'll improvise - maybe bead around a piece or two of cording? I'll think of something. I'm not patient enough to wait until someone teaches me how to do the peyote thing. I'm sure Mei would do it in a heartbeat if I drove up there - but immediate need gratification will rear its' ugly head once again.

I like doing the beading on something already plotted out, but I really think that I like just 'having at it' better. Next month perhaps I'll go back to random abandon with my page and see where it takes me.

Jump Start on September

It's felt like fall here for some time now - really it's almost felt like winter. I got an early start on my September page last night. I've been beading eggs for another collaborative project, and am working on one that is all teeeny weeeny pastel delicas and I just needed a break from eggs. I looked at the pile of doll forms that I have ready and they didn't speak to me either so I decided to start September.

Reminded of the sunfower that Charles is so tickled to have grown, I made a rough sketch of a sunflower on one side of the heart - the other side will have blackberries - a constant source of annoyance to me, particularly in September when it's time to put the garden to bed - there was no garden this year, my arthritis has pretty much forbidden much gardening as of late - but Charles grew container gardens on the porch, full of wildflowers (and his sunflower yanked from the yard where it was planted by the birds) - even without a garden, there are blackberries to deal with - the Himalyan blackberries are to the Pacific Northwest what kudzu is to the South. I don't want to poison them - the birds nest in the brambles and bunnies live in there too - plus everything trickles down and that weed poison will end up poisoning many things in it's path. They are near to impossible to cut down - the canes are thick and the thorns are huge and very sharp. The only real way to get rid of them is to dig them up and since they are taller than I am, that's a job I'm not ready to take on. In late September, after the birds have eaten the berries, I attack - with rock salt and vinegar - it keeps them at bay (kinda) - they've lifted my fence and grown into my pottery shed - you'd think I'd be more ruthless with them.

And so September will be my love and hate page - There are many things to love and hate about September - September is the month my father died and is the month my wedding anniversary would have been in if I were still married. It is a month of beginnings and endings - of sunflowers and thorns.

Long Time No Bead

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I've actually been working on a couple of little things - just very little is done, I finished another egg for that art exchange I'm participating in - and started yet another one - beading an egg with delicas takes a long time - a very long time - particularly since my hands have been bothering me so I take many more breaks than I'm used to.

It's also been very hectic - no it's been chaotic - at work and that tires me. I come home, sit in my chair, look at my beads and stare into space until it's time for bed. I've been pondering my September page - It's interesting to me that since I've begun this BJP my color pallette has changed rather dramatically, resulting in a need for me to add beads to my stash that I never had a need for before so today I headed down to Shipwreck for some topazy/goldish bead goodness. Since this entire project is a learning experience for me - a beginning in bead embroidery, this time I thought I'd change up and draw the pattern onto the fabric first and then embroider, rather than just going willy-nilly as is my normal procedure.


While not totally bead related, but sorta kinda - I'm very excited to be taking this class in October, along with some others. I can see this rug-hooked house with beads and buttons - I haven't had a proper vacation in a couple of years now so I'm really looking forward to this trip.

Eggheadz #2

The kids came over to visit yesterday which gave me time to just sit and bead on this egg - these are really addictive.

eggheadz

I'm participating in a flickr group where we were each sent 2 wooden eggs to decorate that will then be exchanged - I decided to try a beaded egg in the beaded bead fashion. All of the web instructions that I could find for beaded eggs called for glue which didn't seem like much of a challenge - this is my work after 2 days - there are still a few bald spots that need a little fill and I learned some things to try on the next one, but this was a fun, relatively quick, project. Drilling the holes in the wooden eggs was actually the hardest part.

I hate being "stuck"

And stuck is where I am right now on this doll I've been working on for the past while - I'm stuck on the parrots for one - I ordered some parrot beads that are way too small, doubt my skill level at being able to bead them successfully and don't like them left plain. Something will pop into my head eventually. I was stuck on the ruffle at the bottom of her dress - mostly because I don't care for the color combination used and then it came to me (duh) that I could just change it with the beads so that's the plan. Next on the agenda, a Virgin of Guadalupe.

The RA pity party

Has ended for the most part. I was first diagnosed with arthritis when I was 15 and had shattered some bones in my foot. Slowly it progressed but I always thought I had a 'deal' with the arthritis fairy that it would stay out of my hands. I suppose waiting until I was nearly 53 to go there, isn't too bad all things considered. There are many many many things far worse than this. No new art to post today but here's a picture of a moasaic I did as a solstice gift for someone last year. It makes me want to get the clay out again.

in progress

Not much to say

I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in my hands a few days ago and am pondering exactly how to continue doing art with hands that are failing me. In lieu of any new art, here are some pictures of some lovely beads made by some wonderful women on etsy.com. My pity party should end soon and I'll be posting more art.

Thinking ahead

I received this bead in the mail today that I think will be the focal point of my September Bead Journal Project page. September around here means the Western Washington Fair as I live about a hop, skip and a jump from the fairgrounds. The Fair (we always capitalize the word Fair in Puyallup) means all sorts of things but particularly the harvest, so I'm thinking September will feature blackberries and be full of berry colors.

p.s.
The bead is from Teeniebeads.

August Bead Journal Page - complete

August Bead Journal Page - day 4

Bead Journal Project - August day 3

This one is beginning to have a mind of its' own. Charles thinks it looks like a headdress for Carmen Miranda or a Vegas showgirl. I'm thinking it needs fruit and I think that, somewhere in this house, there is a strand of glass fruit. I really like the addition of the black - it grounds the piece - or something - maybe I just like black beads. In any event - here is work after day 3.

August Bead Journal Page - day 2

I'm feeling better about it today - I still have such a long way to go in learning how to get those beads to butt up perfectly against one another - but I am happier with the movement of the piece now.

subject to change

Last night I started the August Tropicana page - I'm not sure if I like it or not - I think that this time, rather than starting over as I did in July, I will attempt to just plug through.

August

I"m still facilating on a theme for my August page - my initial thought was a hot hot hot tropical theme - bright oranges, pinks, yellows and blues - then I started thinking about a conversation Charles and I had a way back about me viewing life in black and white - there's very little grey in my world so I thought of doing a page of black and white beads with just a bit of grey - i have a multitude of black and white beads and a multitude of black/white fabrics. It's a thought. I can always do black and white another month.

I received a magnificent lampwork bead in the mail today that I think might be the focus of the tropicana page. The creator of this beauty is Silverfish Designs on Etsy. I love using beads that are made individually by artisans. I know that I don't have the eyesight nor the patience to learn lampworking, but I am happy to be able to support artists even if it's only one bead at a time.

Bead Journal Project July Page 2 is done!

What I've learned from this is to do the embroidery FIRST if I'm going to have straight embroidery on a piece - embroidering around beads isn't easy.

Happy Birthday Frida - day 5

happy birthday frida day 4

not too much new today - i sliced the pad of my left index finger yesterday and am surprised at how much i really need the use of my left hand - frida continues slowly - i'm eager to finish the base work and start on some embellishing -

Happy Birthday Frida - day 3

Happy Birthday Frida - day two

I used turquoise for her necklace, turquoise and cornelian for her bracelet and there is a wee peridot for her ring. Her headpiece is coral.

2nd July Page

So many people in the Bead Journal Project were beading pictorial fabric and it was so beautiful, I wanted to try my hand at it. It is more difficult than just free beading for me (I wasn't much good at coloring in the lines either) but it really is fun and a good learning experience. I think I need to take a break for a bit though - between this horrid weather, my arthritis and all this beading my hands are more painful than ever this morning.

July Page

done

Mosaics Class

The library class was great - I love working with those kids - they are so creative and bright. I really wish there was a way that I could take a couple of them home and mentor them for a few years. Many more class pictures on my flickr page.

no beads

i feel like it's been forever since i worked on my bead journal page. i'm teaching a mosaic icon class for 20 people on wednesday and have spent most all weekend preparing for it. today i made 7 pounds of polymer clay tiles which was actually sorta fun but i'm done with clay for a while now. i was fiddling with the scrap clay while the tiles were baking and made these flowers. i hadn't even planned on baking them but charles suggested they might be good for shrines - in any event they look nice on the stove and since i don't cook, it needed a decoration. if my other class proposal is accepted, next weekend will be spent the same way which sucks but the money will pay for artfiberfest and artfest and that is a very good thing.

July Bead Journal Project Page

after 3 days of work

July Bead Journal Project Page

The solution to the last page problem was to work on it for about six more hours, hate it even more with every bead and starting again. What I learned from the experience is that doing something very detailed and pictorial and trying to do it while being spontaneous just isn't something I'm skilled enough to do yet. And so, I started a new page that I'm much happier with. I'd be happier if I could get accurate colors to show up on the web page, but that really is insignificant at this point.

Also, I don't know how to respond to questions I've received on the blog. If someone could point me in the right direction, I'd be most appreciative.

When something isn't working

do you plug ahead, put it aside, start over? That's where I am right now with the July page. I think I'll take a nap.

thinking about beads

I finally got posting access to the BJP blog and am so gratified by the encouraging comments of others. I still have so much to learn but am happy to know that I'm at least on the right track. I've spent a good part of the morning reading blog entries from other participants of the project and one person wrote about using her 'best' beads on this project and the freedom that comes from that. What an amazing idea - I remember 'saving' good fabric for a time when I was thinner/had someplace exciting to go/whatever and then loosing all that cashmere/wool/silk in a flood - why save these things? more realistically - why hoard them? that's what i do - I have my 'beads' and then i have one special set of drawers for my 'BEADS' - the dichroic glass, the semi-precious stones, the antique buttons - I'm going to use them all on these projects for after all, this project is for me - not to sell, not to send off to an exchange, but for me - to experiment and grow and learn - and with that thought, the beginnings of what I want to do for July fell into place. It is so hot here - unseasonably hot for this area, though certainly not hot by other standards - but I want to do something cool and watery and almost ethereal - so I think I will save Tropicana for August and do July at the Shore for this month. July 'under' the shore more specificly. But first I need to get some 'deadline' project out of the way - uck.

I finished one 'deadline' project last night - just 3 more to go this weekend - no wait - 4 - and I can bead again. I know myself better than to begin the beading because it won't stop until I am done and I'll never get the other projects done. But here is the deadline project - what a silly thing it is but I enjoyed making something light-hearted.

Glass Book

i'm thinking that i'd like to make another one of these, perhaps a larger one this time - i wonder where the instructions for the metal binding are?

bead journal project - day 5

done and done - well except for the finishing bits - i think that i'm going to wait to do that till the very end when i bind the whole shooting match together as a big, fat, heart shaped book
this scan is not so great but i didn't want to dig out the soft box to do a 'real' photo.

bead journal project - day 4

i was too busy at my 'day job' on thursday and friday to bead - sigh - i did get to spend most of today watching sappy movies and beading - i figure i have a few more hours and this puppy will be done and i can go on to the next page which is really a good thing because i'm tired of pink and white.

bead journal project - day 3

bead journal project - day 2

bead lust

I joined the 2007 Bead Journal Project that began the first of June and have just finally gotten the time to work on my page for this month. I've always admired beaded embroidery but never done more than just a bit of embellishing here and there on other projects and thought this would be the perfect way to learn techniques and to see what I like and don't like - beads that are easy and difficult to work with - basically just play around with a purpose.

I decided early on that I would probably get bored working on a 'normal' geometric shape so decided that my pages would be heart shaped. My friend Mei is making house shaped pages and I didn't think that I knew anyone else who was participating until I found the 2007 Bead Journal Project Blog this morning.

In any event, I began my first page last night. I decided to do each monthly heart in a colorway indicitive of that month and for me, June = brides and brides = pearls. My friend rhonda reminded me that the rose is the flower for the month of June so my inclusion of some rosy pink beads was appropriate (good thing, I was getting bored of white and ecru after the first half hour).

My goal is to work 3 hours per evening and to finish this first heart page by the first of July - My initial plan was to work in red, white and blue for July but I think I've decided on a 'tropicana' vacation theme instead - My 2nd goal for this project is to work all of the pages with beads I already have and not to purchase anything new - that goal however, will probably not last long.

So here is day one -

I thought I'd make a bracelet

but things got out of hand - at least I can look at the charms this way - I think eventually the chains will get sewn onto a bag

just a little promo for my sweet children

flower pot jewelery

i made some jewelry for my fuschia basket
she's so happy now that the birds are scared away from her

buttons buttons

I've rekindled my button lust - Some of my fondest childhood memories are of playing with Grandmaw Lolas old Hills Bros. Coffee tin of buttons. Never one to be wasteful, when clothes wore out or got too small the buttons were cut off and put in the coffee tin and the rest of the item was generally cut up for cleaning rags. I've got my own button can these days, a big cookie tin, and find it very relaxing to rummage through the buttons looking for just the right one for some project I'm working on. Melissa McCobb-Hubbell hosted a button card exchange on ArtErratica where we created 'vintage' button cards to exchange - I really enjoyed making these tiny little cards.

Continuing on with this 'pretty' phase

I decided to actually 'use' some of the supplies I have around here. So I broke out a big pot of glue and started gluing - I made a little flip book of these sweet spring collages - I like this one the best.

Wait - there's more

I've been fiddly around with making 'inchies' of fabric - my first two attempts were horrid - but I think I like these enough to send them off the the ArtErratica exchange. It really helped to start by making a 'sandwhich' of fabric and light weight batting and tacking it together with some free-motion sewing - it helped a LOT - giving my something of some substance to work on. I 'cheated' though and glued the embellishments on rather than sewing - I just didn't want those messy knots on the back of the squares.

So much for keeping this up to date

I've been busy with little projects that haven't amounted to very much. I participated in a 'birdie' swap project and once again found myself making 'pretty' things - perhaps I should just resign myself to it - at least for a little while. I made this fun banner ala Pam Garrison - I saw some of these from the class at ArtFiberFest and kept meaning to make one.

I also made my swap partner a little bird dangly and a little sweet button nest that I tucked an egg planted with impatiens seeds into.



In return I received a box full of wonderful supplies and treasures. I haven't participated in a one on one like this in a very long time - It was a fun thing to do.

Hands are the exit of spirit
When the spirit flows from the hands, it is called "labor." From nothing, the hands start to create wonderful works of art. The hands are the exit of the spirit. The movement of the hands embodies human longings and human beings are formed by the work of the hands. The hands create forms that never existed before, and this art of creation is uniquely human. That is, human hands carve an image of the individual out of vacant space. Humans recognize the level of their own spirit by looking at what they have created with their hands. That is, the hands enable the spirit to emerge as works of art, and it will reflect what is in your heart. As a result, what is in your heart shows in your work, and the hands will reflect what level you are, sometimes joyfully, sometimes sadly.

I've decided to devote this blog totally to art and related topics. I'm currently attempting to devote more time to the studio, even if I'm not working on something 'serious'. I've lost the joy I once found there and am determined to find it again. And so, this part weekend I just puttered and made something fun. I'd purchased a kit from Terry Tyson at the very first Artfest (7 years ago?) and it's sat in the drawer marked 'needs assembling' ever since. I used Terry's basic idea and morphed it using materials I had around the house rather than the materials provided in the kit. The arms and legs are made using rubber stamps from Catherine Moore's Character Construction and the face (which Charles insists looks like Bobby Hill) is from Invoke Arts. This was a fun little project.