The Circle of Life.....

It's been one of those times in life where new chapters are started and others have finished. A couple of weeks ago on April 12th, my father-in-law passed at the age of 93. He had suffered with Parkinson's Disease since he was in his 50's. The past ten years were his worst and my mother-in-law cared for him right until the end. I came into the family eight years ago, so I did not have the pleasure of knowing Ed in his healthier years. Even with his illness, however, I got to know him as a kind quiet man. When he did have something to say, it almost always was sharing his quick wit and sense of humor. He will be missed.

And, just Friday, I was blessed with our 4th grandchild. Little Adelina (Addy) came into the world on April 28th weighing a healthy 8.96 lbs.. She is the first for my youngest child Theresa. Being part of her delivery was an experience that I will never forget.
She is precious.....

Welcome to the world, Addy!

So.... nothing about jewelry or beads today. I am staying home and am going to try to catch up and get back into my routine.


On a completely different note, I have posted the winner of the gorgeous pendant donated by our own Carol Dean Sharpe. Congratulations to Kathy Lindemer!!

Sorry for the delay in getting that up there......

MaryAnn

it's show time!

                                                       by kelli pope
It  appears Staci and I are both running in high gear getting ready for shows.  My first outdoor show is this weekend (please no rain, no rain, no rain).  Time to drag out the tent, and prepare for the unpredictable Spring weather in Louisville.

Last  weekend was another jewelry makin marathon.  I don't think I ever go into a show feeling like I have enough, but hopefully 60 prs of earrings, 36 necklaces and 20something bracelets will give my customers enough of an assortment.

Here are a couple of my favorites.  (please forgive me if the pics aren't the best.  I had to take them with my tablet.  Our desk top computer is down)

The bright colorful piece features glass headpins from Thornburg Bead Studio.  The lovely light blue piece features handmade copper beads enameled by my own wonderful husband Steve.

 

Always Evolving

by Staci Smith

 

Well- I am in show prep mode once again, but this time it's jewelry shows!  Each year to try to find a new direction to go in, just a little bit.  I have been very drawn to ancient, tribal, ethnic looking items lately.  So I wanted to add some brass to my jewelry line.  I have used it a little bit here and there, like in these Boho Hoop style earrings last year.

Brass Boho Hoops

 

I was never really a fan of gold, and yet, somehow, I am now being drawn to the richness of this golden yellow metal. 

 

Along with adding brass this year, I started to make some of my own chains for charm style necklaces.  Yesterday, I finally completed one, so I am sharing it with you, since it is all I have worked on for a couple days!!!!

 

 

 

I really like the results of both the chunky chain charm style and the richness of the brass.  I will certainly be making more!!!!  I think that the brass also begs for color to be added, and so, I am beginning to add more pops of color to my work.  Always evolving.  Not sure if its a process or just because I get bored easily!  Either way, it keeps things fresh.

 

What is your favorite metal to work with?

 

Is there a metal you have been wanting to try, but just haven't done it yet?

Warning: Beaded Beads are Addictive

Beaded beads are like those infamous potato chips: you can't have only one.  Seriously.

Case in point, I set out to create a beaded bead so that I could take step-by-step photos for you. I ended up with not one beaded bead, not two, no...I ended up with THREE beaded beads.

As addictions go, these little peyote beaded tubes are pretty harmless and have positive results.

If you haven't worked peyote stitch before, it's okay. Don't be nervous. It's as easy as threading a needle and stringing some beads and...well, you'll see.

For our sample beaded bead, I chose two of my favorite colors, zircon blue and copper.  The beads I used for this are delica cylinder beads (10/o) but any size works as do many different types of beads, so don't limit yourself.  I do like the cylinder beads for learning peyote stitch, however, because they have such a wonderful habit of fitting perfectly together.

Okay. Get your beading needle (I used a size 11 tulip needle), your favorite beading thread (I used #10 Fireline), and your beads together in one place, preferably on a nice bead mat that will keep your beads from dancing around too much (if you don't have a bead mat, use a piece of suede or the back side of some leather to help you corral those little creatures).

Step 1. Thread your needle with a comfortable (one wingspan) length of your thread (nymo, fireline, c-lon).  No. I don't have a photo for you.

Step 2. Pick up one bead with your needle; size, color, and shape matter not. Just a single bead.

Step 3. Take your needle through your single, lonely bead once more

and pull the thread taught, leaving 8-10 inches of thread. This simple act has transformed your lonely bead into a "stopper bead." This acts as a temporary "knot" to keep all the other beads you will string on from falling right back off your thread. It's an important job, yes, but any bead will do.

Step 4. Pick up 14 beads, alternating colors A (blue)/B (copper) as shown.

Step 5. Pick up one Color B bead and take your needle through the closest Color A bead, from right to left.

Step 6. Pick up another Color B bead and take your needle through the next Color A bead. Do this four more times until you have reached the end of your beads. 

Step 7. Sit back and admire your work:  you have just beaded the dreaded first three rows of peyote stitch. It's easy-peasy from here on in.

Step 8. Turn your beading over so that the working thread is on the right. Pick up a Color A bead and take your needle through the first Color B bead in the previous row.

Step 9.  Add six more Color A beads, always taking your needle through the Color B bead in the previous row.

Step 10. Keep beading rows of peyote stitch until you have reached your desired length. In this case, we want a rather short rectangle and have only beaded a total of 16 rows (count up the number of beads on each edge to determine your total number of rows).  You could keep beading like this for 6-7 inches and have most of the work for a bracelet complete, but that's another story.

Pull out your stopper bead and unthread your needle.

Step 11. Rethread your needle with the 8 inches of thread you left at the start of your work. It's time to weave this thread through some beads (change direction a few times) before cutting it off. 

Step 12.  Rethread the needle with your working thread. This next step is not required, but I find that it helps anchor the tension for the thread zipper you will create. Take your needle back through the bead immediately below the bead it exited from. 

Complete this little "thread circle" by taking your needle through the upper bead again, leaving your thread at the same location we started this step at.

Step 13. At this point, you have a beaded rectangle. We will now turn it into a beaded tube (read: beaded BEAD) by sewing/zipping the first and last rows together.

 

 

Step 14. At the end of this process you will find that the last two beads facing each other are not connected. Perform the "thread circle" maneuver you used in Step 12.

 

Step 15. Secure and finish your thread as you did in Step 11.

 

Step 16. String your beaded bead on whatever medium (in this case a simple wire choker) you prefer.

Step 17.  Decide that your beaded bead could use a companion or two...

These little beaded tubes of peyote can also be sewn directly onto elements that you can't string them onto because of awkward curvatures, as with these eye glasses, or because of permanent attachment (purse handles). All you have to do is close the tube around the element/with the element in place.

I told you it's hard to stop with just one. ;)

Earth Day In The Home Studio

The weekend before Earth Day, which is officially April 22, people start the celebration of this beautiful big blue planet that we live on.

EarthDayKids

Every day I try to live my life through best practices for sustainability of life and the natural ecosystem. Earth Day, Every Day is a mantra that goes through my head regularly as I move through my day. And I try my best to show my children how to make better choices.

And even though I am not anywhere close to my goal for attaining best practice in everything, I do try to make better decisions and feel confident in that I do pretty good practice - even better practice than most of the general public. It is not a competition by any means, but rather it is all about educating people and sharing things that work and are easy to implement into daily life. Then making those changes.

Here are some recent sites that I have come across that are inspiring me for change:

Daily Acts: How to Move the World Every Day

The Nature Conservancy. Protecting Nature, Preserving Life

The above Nature Conservancy link brought a new book to my attention that I think in this day and age is quite a great topic to read up on: Mark Tercek. Nature's Fortune. Not from the approach of how can we make money from nature, but rather, what does nature offer, that businesses can benefit from and support the conservation of nature and changing ways they do business that makes a positive impact on the environment.

Locally, you can reach out to your Land Grant University - through their Cooperative Extension to the Master Gardeners if you have questions about your home landscape (PS - I became a MG in 2011).

Marsha Neal Studio dry ceramic clay scraps - add water + mix = usable clay.

Here is a post I wrote up last year for Beads of Clay about Earth Day Every Day in the Ceramics Studio.

When you are trying to obtain best practices in your arts studio, you should always take into account factors of safety above all else!

Are there better materials available today for you use to obtain a certain look you are going for in your work?

How do you dispose of your materials?
Does your community support Hazardous Waste Disposal?

Do you recycle and re-use as much as you can?
Where do you send your scrap metal?
What do you do with your "seconds"?

Marsha Neal Studio Scrap Metal (Sterling, Gold Filled, Base Metal)

What do you do to make every day Earth Day in your studio, in your art, in your home, in your community?

Leave a comment or better yet, if you have a blog, write up a post, then add the links in the comments.

Little things that you do may be little changes someone else can make in their every day too.

Ideas are like little seeds in the garden.

Let's see if we can do a follow up series of post with highlights of ideas and topics you mention and pull together some resources that are useful to allow everyone reading this blog to have easy access so that they can make changes in their every day life (and to be able to check back and make sure they are keeping up with those changes).

Happy Earth Day!

Searching for a new studio

My husband and I are in Fayetteville, Arkansas this week, trying to find a new home.

I am also trying to find some studio space to rent for a while, as I don't want to work in a small apartment until we find a house to purchase.

I have had outside studio's before, and love having a place away from home to work.  I can decorate the space exactly how I wish, and I feel like I am able to concentrate more on my work than when I am working from my home.

How about you? What is your studio like? Do you have a dedicated space for your creative play or work time?

My brother and I will be collaborating on a written project as soon as I move to Fayetteville, and we were discussing the importance of having a physical space to do our work together that allows for a comfortable and open creative environment.

For me, when it comes to making jewelry, it means having space to put all of my creative materials where I can easily access them; and for metal work, I aim to have safety as my main priority.

Creating a safe and creatively nurturing space for myself, no matter what its purpose, helps me so much with the quality, as well as quantity, of work I am able to produce.

If I can find a good space to rent, I am also going to splurge on getting a real jeweler's bench. I have my eye on a few pre-made ones, as well as some fairly easy to build bench plans.

A girl needs her dreams!

I Wanna Do that AGAIN!

by Staci Smith

Ever make something in polymer or metal clay, that you wished you could make again?  Well, I have, and I have found that two part molding compound is my friend.

 

I use it ALL the time.  I make most of my own textures, stamps and molds and it is something that I do not live without.

 

Yesterday I tried my hand at it using a more three dimensional, and detailed item that I made.  I thought I'd share how easy it is to make a mold of your beads so you can easily reproduce them.

 

Here is what I made free form, in polymer clay.  (It's a lotus flower, not sure if you can tell or not).  I baked it, and wanted a way to make more without so much time invested into it.

So I got out my two part molding compound- it is a silicone product.

 

Use a designated plastic spoon to scoop some out of each.

 

Make sure you have an even amount of each color.

 

Mix them together.............

 

until they look like this (some brands are yellow and will turn light yellow)

 

Next flatten it a little (not too much) and press it over your item.  Try to make sure it covers all the parts, and in this case, because it was very 3-D, in all the crevices. 

 

Then leave it sit.  The package says it takes 5 minutes to set, but I think its still too soft at that point and find 20 minutes to work best.

 

Voila!  You have a mold.  This one got a bit messy, I had to clean it up a little byt trimming some extra silicone off.

 

To test my mold, I pressed some new polymer clay into it, and got this.........

 

I am pretty happy with it.  I needed to use my needle tool and such to clean it up a bit, since the edges have excess clay, but it is still much quicker then starting from scratch!

 

I am going to try to use it in metal clay too.

 

So, remember- molding putty is your friend!

 

And saving time with the production, allows me more time to paint and create and make pieces like this with it.

 

 

 

 I leave you with Peace Lotus, my newest design.