Who's paying attention?

Okay, okay, okay!  You've all been reminding me for a while now.  You know who you are.  I have finally gotten off my duff and I am blogging.  Now is the time for me to turn the tables.  If you've recently taken a class with me, you know I've talked about this metal working technique.  What is the name of the method?  The first student to name the technique will win this pendant.  As soon as I get an answer, I will post again and explain it to those that don't know.  Good luck!

Can't help myself!

Am I precog or what?  Emerald!  2013 Pantone Color of the Year?  I knocked these babies out fast, huh?  Just kidding.  These beauties were designed for a Brea Bead Works class just held a couple of weeks ago.  Wendy Remmers who co-owns the store sends out email snippets on trends.  She sent one in the Fall calling for big, dramatic earrings for the Winter Session.  I had just designed them and knew they'd be perfect for a class.  I call them Diva Earrings.  Ironically, the peacock seed beads were the inspiration and I knew that I had some Emerald Swarovski teardrops in my stash.  Just in time for Color of the Year!  One of my students asked in class if I was going to sell the pair I was making in class.  They weren't perfect, so I said "no, but the green pair I'll sell".  I think not.  I'm gonna put these on today and show off my green pride!  It helps that I'm part Irish!  Erin go braugh!  Or, as the lads in Ireland would say, "Erin go braugh-less"!  ;)

Everything's coming up Emerald!

Just announced!  Pantone's Color of the Year 2013, Emerald!  I love it.  I'm a "Winter", which means rich, saturated gem tone hues look best on me.  Inspiration is just around the corner (okay, maybe across the pond).  Think Emerald Isle.  All those green hills.  Before you know it, March will be upon us along with green bagels (sorry, but they've never looked appetizing), shamrocks, green beer and SPRING!  I know, I know....Christmas isn't even here yet, but I can't help it.  Green means renewal and I am really done with this year!  I am looking forward to a fresh start and this just gets my creative juices sparked.  You know that great trends begin with a great idea.  In a couple of weeks (I kid you not) you're gonna start seeing this color in everything!  Before Grandfather Time magically transforms into a baby on New Years (enough with the cosmetic surgery), catalogs, ads, furniture, clothing, and fashion accessories, i.e. JEWELRY will be this color!  So, get off your duffs, wipe the eggnog off your face, and start thinking GREEN.

Red, White, and Blue!

I have a couple of students that provide a lot of inspiration.  They are the two Shellies.  Shelli Keller and Shelley Herbin. They take most of my classes and are a lot of fun to have in class.  And double the fun when they take a class together.  Shellie Herbin took my first Infinity pendant class.  She made her pendant in copper with beautiful Padparaschda and Golden Shadow Swarovski, along with bronze pearls.  Using copper for the armature and the pearls on the bottom half was a true inspiration.  She also said she thought she add a crystal drop to the top half.  Unfortunately, I haven't seen her since she finished it and she hasn't sent me a pic! (Hint, hint)  The original sample is the one in the middle on Silver-filled wire.  This is a replica of the one I made for Andrea at Christmas time.  The blue one on the left is Shelli Keller's.  She used Montana AB rounds and bicones, along with dark blue pearls.  She's my color guru.  She has an innate sense of color and whenever I'm stuck, she helps out.  So when we had class, she ran around BBW grabbing colors that she thought would work for me.  I love the burgundy, and Satin Rose combo.  This pic doesn't do justice to these pieces, but when you see them in person, they are fab!  Thanks to my groupies....Shelli & Shelley!  Anyone else game?  Send me a pic of what you've done with your piece.

Buy Smart!



Purple Haze sunset over Orange, California



You've all heard the real estate adage "Location, location, location"!  In the world of jewelry design and production it's all about resourcing.  I'm a proponent of supporting local bead stores in Orange County.  Actually, in all truthfulness, I'd support a bead store just about anywhere, in any vicinity that I happen to find myself.  Yes, it's an obsession, but it's particularly important to shop locally.  For one thing, it keeps a percentage of the sales tax in your own locale.  Secondly, it keeps businesses open that are a vital resource for so many of us.  The product offerings and classroom instruction are a relatively inexpensive form of therapy (physical and mental) and keep most of us happy and connected to other Crafters that appreciate and understand the importance and cultural significance of handcrafting.  Yet we've seen numerous stores close due to a lackluster economy, joblessness, Internet competition, increasing costs, and sometimes poor business planning.  It is always sad when a store closes, and the trickle down effect can be disastrous.  Understandably, there is only so much money to go around.  Buying smart and having a plan is your best bet.  Like my last blog about mise-en-place, planning your purchases by the project will be the biggest aid in managing your resources.  Buy the smallest quantity you can get away with for that given project.  Remember, anything you don't use in the project will have to be stored, and in a sense is wasted money.  I'd rather buy as much as I need for the project and reserve the rest of the money for the next design.  If you tend to purchase from the Internet because you find it convenient or for the best pricing, instead consider buying with a group of bead buddies and buy in bulk in local stores that offer bulk discounts or tiered pricing.  Or in the very least, shop with a friend and split strands or quantities.  Instead of crafting in Sterling Silver if that's prohibitive, try Silver-filled wire and/or sheet.  Or, craft in copper.  Copper's been a hot material for some time and is truly inexpensive.  It's very forgiving and looks beautiful when combined with most colors of beads.  Buying locally means not having to wait for product to arrive, and there isn't a shipping charge.  Some would argue that the cost of gas is probably the same, but the advantage is you have your product in hand.  Let's try to support our local bead stores as much as possible and be a little more creative with buying strategies (i.e., exhibit control when entering a bead store).  So what's the significance of the pretty pic above?  It's to remind you not to get caught in a hazy daze after entering a store and then feign innocence when the hubby mines your stash cabinet (or closet) and finds your cache! Just be smart about it and shop locally as much as possible.

Mise-en-Place?

 

What is Mise-en-Place (meez en plas)?  It's a french cooking term that means "have everything in place".  You've seen those cooking shows where the chefs have all the little bowls with different, pre-measured ingredients in them ready to use when they start to cook, right?  It's not just for show.  It really makes sense to have all the elements of a recipe in place before you start.  How many times have you started to follow a recipe when you suddenly discover that you don't have one of the ingredients?  And this always happens when you have something disgusting on your hands like the turkey meatloaf you've already started to mix by hand.  The same thing goes for making jewelry.  A good execution of design is to have all your parts ready to go before you even start.  There are some students that like to work off of a spool of wire, rather than pre-cutting the wire ahead of time.  I like to start my projects with everything cut and ready to go.  It's not much different than prepping for a class ahead of time.  All of my classes at the Pasadena Bead and Design Show include everything a student needs to take a class, including the use of tools.  No need to lug all your tools when you attend the show.  My student Cathy Burton wanted to bring her own tools, but promised me she wouldn't be bringing a U-Haul or something to that effect!  The Climbing Vine Bronze Bangle (in the violets) is my newest addition to the class roster for the Pasadena show this July 26th through the 29th.  This twice a year show is one of the best local shows for classes and materials, as well as finished goods by an impressive roster of artisans and well known instructors.  Plenty to ogle, buy and have a great time in a great, air-conditioned venue.  I hope one of my classes is on your list of things to do this summer!

What is Wonky?

No....it's not a pet name for a famous chocolate confectioner or a Star Wars creature!  Wonky is one of those words that is often used by beaders.  Just last Saturday in class, my new student Marie let fly the adjective.  Oh, the things my students will say!  Wonky means wibbly-wobbly or better yet, skew-whiff.  Plain English?  Bent, crooked, uneven.  But....I embrace wonky.  To me, it means something is very interesting to look at and requires further examination.  Ah, but you say, "it doesn't look right".  And maybe you're right.  But it's all really semantics.  You know....I say potatoes, you say patahtows.  Sometimes wonky definitely isn't good.  Like when you need your wire to definitely go in the other direction.  Sometimes wonky is great.  Like when you didn't mean for the wire to do what it did, but now it looks so much more interesting and possibly sends you on a different path of creativity.  That's when wonky is truly great.  Okay, so what am I really talking about here?  I'm saying think outside the box.  When working with wire, be forgiving of yourself and your skills, especially if they are newly acquired.  Repeat my classroom mantra, "This is Art....not Science", take a deep breath and ask yourself, "do I really need to re-work this"?  If I'm there, we can work through it.  If not, you can always call me (just don't be hysterical or call me at 3 a.m.), or you can send me an SOS email with a pic.  Step away from the project and take a break.  A solution is literally at hand.  As evidenced in the above image.  I had a nice cuff armature that I had begun to bead.  The beading started going in a direction that I didn't like and I kept thinking, "do I really want to do ANOTHER cuff like this"?  I didn't, so I literally cut the cuff in half and then had two very interesting shapes to play with that were partially beaded.  Thus, the concept for Free Form Wire Pendants was hatched.  I taught the class at the Pasadena show in January, and it was a huge success.  Keep your eyes peeled for a class offering soon.  Keep up the great work and keep me posted!  I love to hear from you.