Celebrate Freedom--Go Hug A Veteran...

Celebrations are the theme of the Art Bead Scene Carnival this month and I can think of tons of things to celebrate, but none quite as important as Veteran's Day--the 11th of November.  Of course I take it a little personally because of my own uniformed life, but there are a ton of folks out there who are doing things a lot more challenging than managing email (my normal focus) to ensure that as Americans we can go about our daily lives with the rights that we enjoy.

I can worship--or not worship--the way I want. 
I can argue with my crazy conservative friends about U.S. policies without threat.
I can vote for the folks who represent my ideals.
I can walk down the street wearing what I want, whenever I want.
I can sing songs in the cubicle where I can work for a living.

There are folks out there in the world who can't do these things, so I appreciate my friends and family who are part of a larger cause.  And, whether you think our missions are right or wrong you can't fault the commitment of those who give their days, years, and even lives to protecting the fundamental freedoms that we enjoy. 

Since this is a bead-related post...I'm going to encourage freedom through creative expression and shopping with a few links to some beads that make me think of the blue sky where we daily Aim High.  :)


Irridescent Blue-Black Lampwork from Paulina's Bead Shop



Gyrate Lampwork Focal from Flaming Fools



Blue Velvet Lampwork from Emmylou Beads

On that note, I'm going to proudly put on my camouflage and boots and get to work...even if it's email and meetings, taking care of Air Force people is what I try to do everyday and that's pretty important.  :)

ABS Carnival Bloggers: Making a Statement!

I thought a lot about what statement this piece makes...

my mind just settles on this one with a big loud laugh and a smile: 

 "The B*tch Has Beads!" 

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I used every kind of glass bead I had in my inventory from handmade lampwork art beads to recycled glass to Czech glass to furnace glass to peacock glass to vintage Japanese glass...you name it and it's probably in here.

On that note, in honor of the Bead and Button show going on this month, our illustrious leader, Cindy, challenged the Carnival crowd to try something different.  The lampwork beads are from Lisa New, HMB Studios, & Linden Avenue Designs, that I know of...there are some other "mystery" beads on there that I bought a long, long time ago and I don't remember the artists since back then I didn't pay enough attention. 

So, there are some other folks out there with big statements to make, so please go check out their pieces, too!

~ Cindy Dolezal (who's my bead soup partner AND she's having a giveaway this week!)

~ Cindy Gimbrone, the Lampwork Diva and our ABS Carnival guide

~ Christine Hansen's Intuitive Sparks light up the glass bead making world.

~ Island Girl's Insights are shown in her glass works.

~ Janel Dudley - She's a Fire Diva who rocked her orphans!

~ Jeannie has a couple of pieces in the latest Bead Trends magazine.

~ Sharon Palac at her Jewelry Garden - She's been doing a lot of cool metal work lately!

~ Kate Clawson at Organic Odysseys shares pretty, pretty goodies.

~ Marcie Abney at La Bella Joya - She makes my fave beaded beads.

~ Mary Harding's statement is all about Beads of Clay in a BIG way!

~ Nicki from Nicki's Reef over in Germany!

Enjoy!

Anticipation - Focus on the Positive

The way I see it, when you're waiting for something, in anticipation, you're in one of two mindsets...
 ...you're excited because something positive or good or fun or wonderful is most likely to happen
or
 ...you're worried or afraid that something bad or negative or scary or yucky will probably happen.


For the April Art Bead Scene Carnival post, it's my task to write on "anticipation."  Well, I want to delve into how important it is to look forward to something...and creating something for yourself to look forward to in a positive and exciting way, in particular.   I think we all tend towards viewing life in one way or the other...an intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.  What the h*ll am I talking about?  Well, I think you can either feel like you have some control over your own destiny, and see things as positive opportunities; or you can attribute things that happen to you to someone else--"they" or "them"--and see the negative consequences.  What I'm trying to say is that you can create opportunities for yourself to look forward to--that pleasurable feeling of anticipation--in small and big ways through art and creating and even growing a business.  (I'd say that family and career and relationship are all in here, too, but I've got to have some focus, right?  haaaaaaaaaa)


Now, I am not Miss Positive Energy all the time, believe me.  But, when it comes to my craftiness, that's where I really like to focus on the positive...here are few examples...


First, trying new things.  I wanted to try making glass beads.  What's the worst that could happen?  I could burn Juli's workshop down?  haaaaaaaa  A week or so ago, I shared a post about meeting Julianna Cannon and getting my first try at the torch.  I was sooo freaking excited to try it that I really didn't even think about the whole "what if I can't do this?" or "what if I hurt myself?" because even if I can't do it the first time, I know I can try again and even if I hurt myself it will be a funny story!  Not only did I have the anticipation and excitement about working with fire, but then, once I was done, I had to wait to see how my beads came out!  Juli annealed them and cleaned them for me, I had no idea how any of my random color efforts would come out.  Well, TA DA!!  They are some jacked up wonky beads but I love them!!!!!

Second, ordering new things.  Another one of the best parts about creating is buying tools, supplies, or other people's art on-line!  If you haven't experienced the sweet anticipation of packages on the way from your fave Etsy shops or on-line bead suppliers or tool shops, then you don't know what you're missing!  You can wear pajamas, drink coffee, talk to the cats and have snacks all at the same time (if you're a weird cat person who likes to wear pajamas a lot like me).  So, in the spirit of giving yourself something to look forward to, I picked a couple of Etsy shops out of my list of favorites to share...

Purple Tie-Dye Polymer Beads by ArtyBecca

Art Museum Letters for Mixed Media Applications from KathyOrf

Blood Orange Ceramic Beads from MAKU Studio

Third, meeting new people.  I enjoy being a part of this blogging community and getting to know the work of so many wonderful folks.  Looking at the latest posts, seeing the latest magazine issues, and sharing in the experiences of so many people who have the same passion that I have is something I look forward every day!  That's the definition of anticipation right there!  And, even more exciting to me is April's BeadFest Wire in Philly.  I get to meet other creative people and vendors from all over the place--some of you are going to be there, right?  One of the things I'm most looking forward to is taking a class from Kerry Bogert in person!  Her latest book has really lit a fire on my coiling so I can't wait!  Here's a peek at some of the "Totally Twisted" inspiration that has me going lately...

These are my version of bangles with TONS of great glass artbeads...SueBeads, HMB Studios, Lisa New, and even some by Kerry!

So, I hope that was enough positive energy sharing so you can go anticipate something great for yourself.  I actually get to go think about my car being in the shop with some sort of crack in the engine (I don't think that's good); on of my kitty boys, Brando, who had to stay overnight at the vet because he got a cut in his eye and they have to take it out tomorrow (yes, the whole eyeball); and the ever-inspiring physical fitness test that I have to take in the morning.  Awesome...I think I'll go make something!  haaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

Carnival Bead Winners!

Hi friends! Thanks for the enthusiastic responses to my giveaway last week! It's all a part of the Art Bead Scene's Carnival postings...just this month was "Beginnings." The funniest thing is that this giveaway is the beginning of a major shopping adventure for me...plus, I'm so inspired by all the different and amazing artisans out there!!

First, I'll tell you about the winners of these great Lisa New bead sets:

1. Orangy flowers: SharonP at Sharon's Jewelry Garden

2. Bluesy: Lisa Stevens at C-Urchin Ceramic Jewellery and Sculpture

3. Turquoise & orange: Greenbead Designs

4. Pink lemonade: Doreen at Backyard Beads

I'll get in touch with the winners via email or blog and get these mailed out ASAP!

Now, secondly, I accrued a wonderful list of artists, sculptors, bead makers, artisans, crafters, and bead mavens...so I'm going to post a series of resource lists in the coming week. They'll be broken down into categories, just for easy of posting, but there are an AMAZING array of beads and bead-related goodies out there so I hope you enjoy the lists!

Thanks!

Jen

It's a Carnival Bead Giveaway!!

It's officially Art Bead Scene Carnival time so as promised on my Beginnings post a few days ago, it's time for a bit of a giveaway! No cotton candy or free ride tickets here, but I do have some great glass beads to share. Lisa New's beads helped start my passion for handmade glass, so I want to give a little of that fun to you!

There are four different sets, so there'll be four different winners....

And, not only are there Lisa's beads, I've rounded out the selections with some bits from HMB Studios, Linden Avenue Designs, and Blue Heeler Glass. There's also a really cool ceramic bead (the big blue one) that I got from a guy at a craft show in North Carolina and I don't know his name because he talked so much I couldn't ask! haaaaaaaaa

How can you get some of these goodies? All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me who your favorite bead artists are...and if you are a bead artist, then make sure you share the love! Feel free to include links to websites or etsy shops of the beads you love...or that you make yourself!!

I'll randomly select four names from my commentators, so if you don't have a blog, please leave your address so I can track you down to send you the goods. Plus, if you blog about my Carnival giveaway, leave me a comment and I'll give you another shot in the drawing!

I'll draw numbers on Sunday, 20 February (I meant the 21st...haaaaaaaa nice, it took a week for someone to realize I don't have a calendar!! haaaaaa)...enjoy the Carnival!!!

Beginnings: The Origin of My Obsession

Much like some of you out there, I have a room crowded with beads...some are nature's bit of stone or pearl, but many of them are handmade miniature bits of artwork. I watched Hoarders recently and laughed with my friends about how a lot of us have hoarding tendencies that we try to deny by putting things in organized boxes that we label nicely. If you saw my crafty room, you'd know that's the case for my growing obsession with all things jewelry-making: wire, metal, tools, paper, clay, more tools, and, most importantly the beads. Everything's in its place, so I don't have any problems, right? Haaaaaaaaaaa

As a challenge from my Art Bead Scene friends and a group of writers in the Carnival (which you'll find out more about on the 17th of February on the ABS Blog), I've been focused on "beginnings." And, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go back to the start of my bead obsession and share the work of my very first "art bead crush." I don't think Lisa will mind that I put it that way...haaaaaaaaaaa

I first found Lisa New's work on Ebay; she's the Beadamaniac! (with the exclamation point, which of course makes me like the name even more!!!) Having just learned my stringing basics, I was caught up in the joy that is bead shopping. I won my first auction and got the little box in the mail from Lisa...it was my first set and I couldn't stop touching them. The colors were amazing and I was enthralled by the etched finish...how could this be glass? How does this whole melting glass thing work? I finally got down to making something and ened up with this bracelet called "Jumble Love" which actually won a Beading Daily glass bead challenge! I was sooooo excited! The flames of my obsession were fanned!



I went back for more (and then a few more) of Lisa's beads because the color and patterns were just so fun. I bought a couple of lots of "orphans" which are the onesies and twosies that are left from a batch or set. They were perfect for my designs because I could draw color combinations and pattern ideas directly from the bead which would then be the focus of the designs. Here are some bracelets that grew directly from the palettes of the beads. And, note the crappy photo...it has taken me a long time to get any improvement in the way of photography. Another reason why I wanted to highlight Lisa is that she actually mentored me regarding my pictures...she is the first one who really made it hit home that no matter how gorgeous your piece is when you're wearing it around the house, it's not going to jump out of the screen or your portfolio with poor quality pics. You can check out her bead photography on Flickr.

I was happy with the orphans because I can work on different pendant designs that are fun, simple, and not all that time-consuming. With the "real job" going on most of the time, I really enjoy focusing on the quick rewards that a little pendant can give. Plus, it can feature the mini-artwork of an art bead perfectly. Like this one of Lisa's that was a one-off in my stash--I combined a little wire work and a funky collection of gems and glass that all work from the focal bead's inspiration.

Last summer, as the obsession continued, I was shocked and thrilled to see one of my necklaces featuring Lisa's "Feelin' Groovy" bead set on the cover of Stringing! Seriously?! Again, I followed the beads to the design and ended up with something really cool that, apparently, someone else thought was cool, too! haaaaaaaaaa

In the last few years, I've expanded the selection of artists in my collection, but I will never forget my joy over that first set of beads from Lisa. So, once the Carnival starts on the 17th, be ready...there's going to be a giveaway on my blog! It'll be my first, so we'll see how it goes...come on back to see the art bead delights from Lisa and others that I'm going to share with you!!! That proves I'm not a hoarder, right? haaaaaaaaaaaa

One last note...

I've got to give some shouts out to the other bead artists featured in the pieces above...
MaryAnn at Linden Avenue Designs does yummy colors.

Heather at HMB Studios is my go-to disk girl!