hey, it's summer!

Kimmie here:

My felt bead came back from Bead and Button with the 'finalist' ribbon:

LOL I am glad that felt is unbreakable...poor sad ribbon all creased and crumpled! I hope Joan's big beautiful red one made it home okay.

Here in N County San Diego we were socked in with chilly, grey weather for all of June and July. I'm not complaining; I love 'June Gloom', and find wearing a hooded sweatshirt on the Fourth of July is just fine with me.

But the sun finally came out and it's warm and beautiful. And we are all complaining about this crazy, 75-degree heat. I am from Texas. I just spent four days there enjoying the summer sun. Seventy-five degrees is NOT heat. But it's incredible how quickly I got un-acclimated. Just moving some furniture this afternoon made me feel the intense need for a popsicle and a nap!

Didn't make a lot of beads this week, but I have some fun pieces from my workshop with Kate McKinnon (pictures in her blog). Learned to create a rivet post ring to hold my beads; the one I used is a vintage Michael Barley that I got at Embellishment (remember that?) in Austin(!) in about 1995. I have several pieces like that, that I've collected and held on to for years...my Joan Miller beads have their very own box ;-).

Also a staggeringly cool Feltzilla ring (again, see Kate's blog for pics): a tiny building in the process of destruction. FZ doesn't quite have all his details attached yet, but somehow I must make it a priority and get it done before the San Diego Bead Society show in August!

I ordered some more buttons from Anne Choi. I didn't know it but she has several styles. Going to make some great beads to go with them, and I'm thinking of writing a quick how-to on using buttons for bails. Oh, that's the other thing I worked on at the workshop: a new idea for a snazzy bail that will hide those boring wrapped loops. Yes!

How will it show?

Lots going on this week; I went surfing 3 times with Morgan over the weekend. There is nothing like getting tossed by the waves as you paddle out, then finally making it out past the breakers to sit for a while just contemplating the ocean. Yesterday we were blessed with major dolphin sightings. There were less than a dozen surfers out, and each of us had a close encounter. The dolphins would surface and slowly move down the line, playing in the waves and surfacing all together, en masse, rolling around with each other. Mating season? One surfer got the surprise of his life as he paddled out and two leaped out of the water within feet of him! I was lucky enough to have one surface about 5 feet from me, then he playfully swam under me as I sat on my board. I think I could have touched him with my foot. Then he jumped out of the water just a few yards away. We are paddling out again today, hope they come back to see us!

(okay, so I didn't see a baby dolphin sticking his tongue out at me, but if he had done it, I'd have seen it!)

Then this weekend I expect to be taking a metal clay and metalsmithing workshop with Kate McKinnon. I think it will be a good investment in new skills, and I already have a project in mind! Not to mention the pleasure of seeing Kate again :-).

I'm interested to see how these new experiences will show up in my work...it may take a while for them to be absorbed, but I'm sure I'll be feeling their influence soon.

Good Morning

I have a few pictures of new beads to share; after Bead and Button, my head is full of new ideas and things I want to do, but I've only had a couple of days at the torch to try some of them out.

Inspired by the few but precious treasures I brought home from the show, I am experimenting with new motifs and jewelry designs. I bought a button from Anne Choi, some koi from Bob Burkett, and a neat crab from Greg Ogden, of Green Girl Studios (some of Bob's things can be found at Green Girl too). As always, I lament my lack of shutterbuggery when I visit the blogs of friends who were at the show. Not only do they seem to have found all of the very latest and neatest things, they photograph them and everyone who crosses their paths! What a nice way to recap and share memories. I have vowed to do better in the past, and here I go again ;-).

Anyway, here's a picture of my first piece with the Anne Choi button:

It wears nicely, and I love how it hides the wire and jumpring. I like this idea so much, in fact, that I dove into my stash and dug out some of the cool buttons I have collected over the years to use in jewelry designs. More to come!
I also can't resist sharing this guy, ordered at the show and shipped out yesterday:

I was a little daunted at the thought of doing a Shar Pei when I started studying all those wrinkles, but it turned out great. From the side he looks like he ran into a brick wall, just like he's supposed to.

Baltimore Best Bead Show

Heading to Baltimore this Friday for the Best Bead Show! This show is new to Baltimore and I am excited to see how it goes. I am very happy with the number and quality of art bead exhibitors. So many shows are getting overwhelmed with imports; it is great to see a promoter doing their job and balancing the show, especially a first time event. Some other lovelies you will find at this event, Alice St. Germaine lampwork glass, MyElements by Yvonne Irvin, and if we're lucky Lisa Peter Art. Check the complet list of exhibitors here. Hope to see you there!

Bead and Button, 2010: The Day After

Kimmie here, about to get opinionated:

It's Monday after the Bead and Button show, and we are all tired, exhilirated, and ready to go home.

It has been great hanging out with friends and developing new ideas. I think that's why we all come; sales are good and important, but the quality and quantity of artists at this show make it unmatched as an inspirational experience. I hope it can stay that way. Economics have made it hard for many of us to come, especially with increasing numbers of non-art-bead vendors at the show, but we are all optimists and fully expect things to improve with each passing year. I hope Bead and Button pays attention to what people are saying and needing, because so-called 'gem and jewelry' shows are a dime a dozen, and really not what this show is supposed to be about. It's supposed to be about artistry, like the wonderful work in Bead Dreams! I saw a booth here selling cheap sunglasses and fake pashmina scarves. That is NOT Bead and Button. Enough rant; but the mixed feelings of excitement and frustration are hard to keep in. Maybe keeping them in is a bad idea, anyway. The more people express concern about the direction the show is taking, the better, I think.



But about those new ideas: I'm really bad about keeping track of ideas, never having a sketchbook at hand when something percolates up. I have, however, learned to trust that if I put something into the flowing waters of my brain, it will swirl into the appropriate eddy and come back when it's ready and I'm ready to make it a reality. Tentative new projects will involve learning to carve wax for casting jewelry, recomitting to my metal clay/embroidery pieces, and designing some exciting jewelry pieces with my own beads. Can't wait to get started--and come back to Milwaukee next year with a suitcase full of exciting new work!

*also want to add extra thanks here to Kate McKinnon for offering to share booth space and a hotel for the show. She is talented, nice, and above all, fun! I wouldn't have been here if she hadn't given me the opportunity, and I really appreciate it.

Seeing Red is a Good Thing- Bead Dreams 2010

Seeing red is a good thing! I got the news Wednesday from my friend Lisa Peters who snapped a picture on her way to set-up. Second Place Handmade Beads or Buttons, Bead Dreams 2010. Very excited to place especially in the new category sponsored by Whole Lotta Whimsy . Ceramic art beads have been bounced in and out of the glass bead category which left us ceramic bead artists either unable to compete or taking one of the glass spots. I love the new category as it not only provides a space for ceramic bead artists in the competition but allows handmade beads or buttons in any media. Kimmie was selected with her fabulous felted Koi Beads which I hear looked great in those big glass cases. Still missing all my friends cavorting around Milwaukee, but very proud of how my buttons on their wacky little tree are representing me.

Time and Beads

I can hog the blog a bit since Kimmie is either packing or in transit to B&B. One of the most influential teachers in my life used to say "Life is short and Art is long." I was in my 20's at the time and although I understood what she meant the older I get the more that statement comes home to roost. I thought I was pretty focused. I settled on porcelain over 20 years ago. I have been a beadmaker for 10. Creating mostly art beads and very little finished jewelry. And yet there is still not enough time. For recent customer request I made a large set of beads in only two patterns. Black and white with color accents. I really didn't want to put it in the box and mail it. I wanted it to stay with me for a while longer. I make beads nearly every day but rarely to I take the time to make large sets. Its just too time consuming and they become too expensive for my average bead customer. Most that do get made eventually get paired down into smaller sets so I can afford to buy more kibble for my darling mutts(I'm including hubby in this group which if you knew me is a great honor. He gets better than kibble though.) I always think I am driven by my inner muse and not the demands of business and life. To an extent this is very true or I would never have made a single bead in my life. My inner muse has a habit of telling me to make EVERYTHING more complex and detailed; not exactly the recipe for quick cash. But on the other hand "Why are there not more large sets?" Crap! Life really is short and Art really is long. After 20-some years that still pretty much sums it all up.