Wandering Minds Meet Missing Inspiration Fairies

Ever had a time in your life when your brain just wont shut down?  Mine's been on overdrive for the past month, almost to the day.  I had a life changing event a month ago and have seen the rippling effects throughout every aspect of my life.  When it comes to my bead work, it is almost comical at the form those ripples manifest themselves in.

I am so scattered that I cannot seem to think thoroughly through anything, let alone finish something that was only half way ill-conceived to begin with.  I find myself in a Catch-22, jotting down ideas half developed, beginning work on the ideas half heartedly, only to find myself less than confident in their developing shapes.

The inspiration fairy has actually been quite good to me, ideas flash into my mind quicker than I can pluck them from the ether, and I'm left with a shell of what I envisioned.  Usually, this part of the creation process is the challenge I have grown to crave.  I love sculpting a finished product from a fleeting thought.  I have not had the energy as of late to fully apply myself to this feat and my work has suffered, namely from my lack of confidence in it.

I expressed this crisis of confidence on my Facebook page and was immediately responded to by an artist who I truly admire.  Carol Dean Sharpe, from Sand Fibers.  Carol offered her time and energy to critique HONESTLY some of the work I had lost confidence in.  Mostly, these were just bits and pieces of cuffs which I had put down for some reason or another. 

Seeing an opportunity which was the proverbial open window for a shut door, I jumped at the chance (albeit a little scared that I may very well be told--Yeah, you were right, you should definitely just give this beading thing a rest).  I emailed Carol my work and quickly got a response back.  She confirmed some of my opinions on pieces, yet encouraged me to pick up "Mercury" where I had left off, because she "adored it." 

That was all I needed to grab my beads, tell myself to just shut up and sit down and finally finish something.  So, thank you Carol for assissting me in this time of need, thank you for your honesty and thank you for your confidence.  The fruits of my labor, Mercury:

 

Pressure to Create

I love creating new patterns.  I find myself half way through creating one and thinking about what I'm going to do for my next.  Problem is, I find myself half way through the making of a cuff from said pattern and find myself thinking about which color combination's I want to use next.  This would not be a problem at all if only the day were extended to contain a few more hours (5 or 6 would suffice). 

Thus far, I have been able to quell my problems by ignoring my inclination to stitch the same pattern twice and just make new patterns to bead...  Well, I lost the battle this time.  I re-used a pattern, my Coral Wipeout Pattern to be exact and applied one of my all time favorite color schemes; Black, Red and Silver.  I may have to ignore my inner monster every so often now, because I'm kind of liking what came of it :). 

Thicker Than Water Peyote Cuff

Thanks for looking and Happy Beading!

I have just been through the absolute most difficult week of my life.  Every facet of my being has been tested and every ounce of courage I possess has been used.  I have made a decision to see myself and my life through these rough times and am holding fast to the idea that there is and will be amazing results in the end.

I have glimpsed bits and pieces of sheer and utter beauty painfully dispersed within terrible agony and despair.  I will survive and my family will too, I can only hope that we are stronger for our survival.  I have had a lyric from one of my all time favorite songs running through my head while I struggled with this turmoil.  It is reflected in my latest cuff:

Ain't No Sunshine:

Peace be with you and your family.  Hold your loved ones close and know that you can get through anything... together. 

Compliments

This has been a lovely week for Lovelies from Mihana, (I know it's cheesy, but I had to say it).  A very talented beader whom I truly admire purchased my Versailles pattern and within one day had posted a new blog post with her gorgeous rendition featured in it.

The golds and green are perfect for the pattern, although I should not be surprised by her ability to pull the most out of a piece, her shop is full of not just her own glorious finished products but tutorials for her beautiful pieces as well.  Thank you Sabine from "Try-to-be" for your wonderful finished product!

I also was contacted by another beader from Dicopebisuteria who graciously convo'd me to let me know that she had featured my Green Gradations Peyote Cuff in her Treasury!  This is my first Treasury appearance and I am so incredibly honored!  Once I become technically savvy enough to figure out how to get a picture of the treasury here on my blog, then maybe I'll be able to share a little more than just a link :-P.  With that said, this beader is very talented herself and has managed to translate her adorable logo into peyote stitch which she incorporates flawlessly within her work.   

Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about the happenings around here and am looking forward to a productive and fun November!  Happy Holiday Season to you all and more importantly, happy beading!

Fretwork, eh, Gingerbread

I have a weakness for Victorian architecture.  I don't know much about it, other than the fact that I really, really like it.  I love all the loops and swirls of vintage woodworking and the gingerbread like quality it gives a beautiful stately house flanked with swirls cut lovingly by a masters hand.

The regal shapes have shown their faces in numerous place--from gardens of hedgerows (Versailles Gardens has an astounding collection of such), to shelf supports sporting trinkets in the family home.  I decided that this design could not go a moment longer without being adapted to one of my favorite mediums; beads!  I was tasked with designing a cuff for a woman who likes bright colors and wears jeans most days.  It seemed to be the perfect opportunity to try out a new fretwork design.  I created Versailles Fretwork Peyote Cuff for her (It is to be a Christmas present purchased for her by her younger brother), so I will have to wait until December 26th to hear about its reception, but I can only hope it will be grand!

I will be beading up a dichromatic version of this cuff, but for now I jsut had too many blues to not try to use more than one :).  Thanks for looking!

Hearts

So, I feel very blessed in the amount of support I have received for my work.  I logged onto my Etsy account today to find that I had been hearted by 6 people last night, so in honor of surpassing the 100 heart mark, I figured a special offer was in order.  From now until November 31 purchase any cuff in my store and receive a 20% discount and FREE SHIPPING!  Just write "Heart" in your note to seller and I will send you a new invoice to reflect your discount!

Again, thank you so much for your support, it is much appreciated!

Coral Wipeout Peyote Cuff

I finished beading this cuff last night, but, since I have yet to invest or make my own lightbox I had to wait for mother nature to provide me with some glorious sunlight to take photos.  As soon as Ocean's head hit her pillow for her afternoon nap, I marched myself outside and got a couple photos. 

I absolutely love this color combination and can see it being repeated pretty much continuously for a while :-P.  With no further ado, here's Coral Wipeout Peyote Cuff. 

I am still tossing the idea back and forth as to whether or not to publish the pattern.  What do you think?  Thanks for looking.

New Patterns

I'm thinking that I may have to invest some time into transferring some of my hand-drawn patterns onto the computer.  I like the idea of offering more of them for sale in my shop, I suppose it's a way of getting feedback.  I mean, if it gets purchased repeatedly, it has to be decent, right?  Right.  So, that's the logic I'm using to justify the countless hours I'm spending in front of my computer instead of in front of my beads.  Sigh.

The fruits of my labor:

Tomorrow, I promise I will take pictures of my newest cuff.  It's a fun spiral sort of piece in all sorts of turquoise, bronze and golds.  For now, be good or be good at it.  :)

Introductions

I've finally decided that it's time for me to go ahead and do this blogging thing.  I don't know what pushed me to such a decision, but, well, I like it and I hope you will also.  I plan to offer up some of my work for you to see as well as showcase some other amazingly talented artists that I stumble across on my traipses through the web.

I finally figured that it was indeed high time to begin a bead blog after a lighthearted conversation with my husband at the breakfast table.  He told me how happy he was that I was doing something I thoroughly enjoyed (apart from the whole being a mommy thing--that goes without saying), yet he lamented at not being able to be more involved.  He then got this Eureka-ish look on his face and announced that he would be naming my pieces from here on out.

Now, there was some initial trepidation on my part, very little mind you, but a measure none the less.  I through the idea out there that I would like to "consult" with him on the naming process, an idea to which he was most agreeable to.  Thank goodnes, crisis averted.

As far as my reasoning goes for this very conversation being the foundation to my beady blog, well, I just happened to find a little nugget of humor in my big burly tattooed husband wanting ever so much to be a part of my artsy fartsy beading interest and I hope you do too.

On to my latest creation:  Vintage Harvest Peyote Cuff.  Inspired by a William Armes Ltd. rug of all things, titled Innocence.

I just finished purchasing and creating my first pattern (the pattern for this cuff), with BeadTool3 (a fabulous experience by the way), so if you enjoy what you see and would like to make your own, check it out!