Wicked

Love my new rings! Wicked cool and changeable too! 

Headpins

Yesterday I made a little over a dozen Whimsical Headpins. This afternoon I'll spend a little time placing them in my Etsy Shop. Hope you like them!

VW Bus next to my White Starbucks Cup....Lets Have a Party!

Really. I have been making things. Work has been CRAZY....so many changes pending and tension is high thru out our building. So needless to say, I've been a bit distracted.

My time at the torch has been very therapeutic. Today I've been making some whimsical headpins. I'll post them tomorrow and place them in my Etsy Shop.

Stick with me people......just knowing you are out there somewhere helps me deal with the chaos called my job!

This little toy is a reminder to me of what we hope to do in our retirement....thats 14 years away but I can dream........we will be traveling around the U.S. for a year in a painted VW Bus! Torch, kiln and all......

How the ARts Saved Me

I'm a big reader of many sorts of books. My tablet is filled with all sorts of genres and subjects. I also read multiple books at one time.......this drives some crazy but to me its like changing the channel to a different show.

One of the books I'm reading now is, Art Saves, by Jenny Doh. Its several artists stories on how art effected their lives and how art saved them.  Naturally it got me thinking about how art has guided and saved me in many ways and throughout the years. So today's post is a little snippet of how Art Saved Me.

Art has been in my life for as long as I can remember. I was raised a dancer...my mother was a dancer and we had a dancing school in our home. Dancing was a hugh part of my early life right up until my mid twenties. I loved dancing. And I must say, I was very good. Good enough that I could have pursued this as a career........but my life was led down a different road. Visual art too was always with me. I drew my inner feelings.....things I'd never say but certainly felt. Art in my young days was a means of expressing deep feelings without necessarily showing them on my face. Hurt, sadness, isolation and uncertainty were themes in my youthful art......I couldn't identify them as such then but I see that now. Art was my therapy.....

Then my life got down a really dark road and there was no art. No dancing. No painting or drawing....I laughingly call this my dark period. I won't go into this part of my life but it lasted a good 15 years or more.....when I was getting out of this dark time I actually had to re teach myself to draw. I remember crying that I couldn't draw any longer....if frustrated me and that something that was once easy was now so difficult. But I kept at it. I began doing stained glass once again...and then moved into raku clay and finally landed with hot glass and making beads.

So....fast forward to now. I teach art and I create art daily. I still hide within my art .......meaning I find peace when I am creating and often use art as a distraction to unpleasant feelings. Oh, I could go on but I think you get the idea. Wonder today how art has saved you.  I bet you'll be surprised as to what you remember.....

Just a Little This and That

Spring break is here and I've been enjoying time to myself. Its a stressful time at work and this week off has come along at a perfect time. Along with celebrating Easter with family, I've been able to do some well needed house cleaning and extended time at the torch too!

With no really plan as to what to make, I've been busy making this and that....buttons, skulls, and even a few lady bugs. Lady bugs and bee's were THE thing to make when I first started making glass beads years ago. I have a kindergarten students who wears the cutest lady bug dress so I think that is why lady bugs were something I decided to make.....who knows how or why something creeps into your head at times?!

So here is the little happy family of 3 that will soon be in my etsy shop!

Then of course my skulls. I've had a couple requests lately for skull so I figured I'd make some. These are a little larger than my typical ones...I started making them larger this fall.....this size looks great in necklaces! Yes, these will be in my etsy shop too.

Buttons! This is just one but I have a few large buttons going into my shop also. I use buttons in my jewelry but may people who buy my buttons use them to upcycle denim jackets, felted bags and on sweaters.......endless ideas!

So please check out my etsy shop later today and I'm sure to have some sweet things in there for you to purchase!

From My Book Shelf: How Georgia Became O"Keeffe

I picked up a book recently that caught my eye by Karen Karbo titled, How Georgia Became O'Keeffe.  I love Georgia O'Keeffe's skulls and of course her amazing flowers. But what I really want to know, is how she was as an artist....as a person. What were her methods? Did she get blocked? How did she overcome this? I think once you know more about anybody, the more connected you feel....so this is my next read!

For the last few months I have been a little bored with things. I haven't had an "Ah, Ha" moment it what feels like an eternity. I know it will come eventually but waiting and wondering can be tough! So, I continue with my artistic musings in other areas, take walks, pick up rocks or leaves that catch my eye, noodle around in a florist shops, daydream.......and ponder. Hoping my muse will give me inspiration........soon!

Dream Tool

I noticed this tool about 2 years ago and thought, "who would want or really need this?" Its expensive and I have lots of other ways to spend 175.00. This is how I thought until last June when I developed a bad case of tendonitis! 

Tendonitis is not fun. Last June, after a month long fundraiser where I had to make hearts, I developed tendonitis in my right forearm. I noticed that it hurt using my hand to open things, may arm swelled and I couldn't lift weights! My bout with tendonitis lasted the whole summer, into the fall and winter and would flair up anytime my elbow was even slightly bumped! It has taken almost a year for it to "heal"....thankfully I'm fine now...and thanks to my massage therapist, Gail!

With my June fundraiser approaching I'm thinking seriously about this tool...the Bead Releaser by Jim Moore.  No more  taking stubborn beads off manually.....this removes them with ease!! Go to Jim Moore's Bead tools to watch the video.........Yes, I will be purchasing this tool!!

March Lion

With the arrival of show applications and other signs of spring, its time I do some studio clean up and bead making. I am not a slave to cleaning so I will keep my organizing to a minimum and really spend most of my time bead making. I typically gather some things to sell so be watching.....I generally sell my orphan beads, glass rods and other goodies at great prices!

Last week I was in NYC for an art educator conference and made a stop at MOMA. This image by Rousseau is one of my favorites........really I have lots of favorites :) It made me think of March as a Lion and I've been the sleeping Gypsie........I've got to wake up and get busy! I'm just starting to think of jewelry ideas and display ideas too for upcoming shows.  I'm also dreaming up my next Open Studio event........Gosh, I do have lots to do.

As many of you know, I'm an art educator by day in a local school district. I'm going into my 17th year and have seen many changes.......Districts across the country are under hard times and ours is no different. The school I work at will consolidate with another school making our building next year a k-5th grade. I say GREAT! I look forward to teaching the older students. However, this consolidation means jobs cut, teacher shifting and room changes........needless to say, this atmosphere brings out the worst in people.  Paranoia to the extreme.

To keep mindful of all the wonderful things in life and to keep everything in perspective I feel the need to focus on what I am grateful for. So for the next week, my posts will be on the beautiful things in my life.

Today's beautiful things:
:: Waking up and hearing the birds chirping. I love listening to the birds and know that spring will be here soon.
:: Our warm comfortable home. Time spent at home is so relaxing and restful to me....filled with art and art making materials, my home is where my heart is.
:: Two loving little dogs that no matter what, will always love us. Kisses in the morning, tail wags, and snuggling.
:: A great cup of coffee and watching the sun rise. No matter what happens, the sun will rise each day!

Inspiration

inspiration  (ˌɪnspɪˈreɪʃən)
— n
1.	stimulation or arousal of the mind, feelings, etc, to special orunusual activity or creativity
2.	the state or quality of being so stimulated or aroused
3.	someone or something that causes this state
4.	an idea or action resulting from such a state
5.	the act or process of inhaling; breathing in Just looking at things that interest me...maybe they interest you? Bright colors...what colors are next to what..Lines, shapes.... Nature is just so amazing......look at all these patterns.. A symmetrical design...line, shape, color..... I love the spiral....simple yet visually interesting.. This week I've been just watching, looking, exploring.....finding inspiration in the world around me. Looking to be inspired.......looking for a new direction. Dinner with a friend tonight.......poking around my favorite florist shop, strolling thru the Conservatory......playing with things.  This is how I go about looking for inspiration. I wish I lived near the ocean........I'd love to walk a beach right now :)