Happy 2015

This is the first post of the year for me.  Lots of things happening and the year ahead looks exciting. 

I'm getting ready for the To Bead True Blue Show in Tucson the first week of February. 

Then I am going to be doing a presentation/trunk show at the Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild in on the 17 of February to show off my Bead and Button Project. Oh yeah, did I mention I was teaching at Bead and Button this year? 

I am so excited. It is going to be a great class and I promise LOTS of fun. 

Then on Feb 28 I am going to be at the Art fair Garage Sale in Kalamazoo.  But first I am in the Mermaid show at the Allegory Gallery starting this week.

So I have quite a bit on my plate. 

And Just to make everyone feel better about themselves, because I am nothing if not kind and thoughtful like that, here is a picture of my desk.

You can either feel superior about your tidy  compartmentalized life  and  sense of  security it gives you, or you can rejoice and embrace  the chaos in front of you knowing you are not the only person whose work space qualifies for a FEMA grant. Either way  a picture off my desk shall brighten your day. Cheers!

I dont need no stinkin beads and other news

                                 
Its been a week  since I packed up and went home from Bead and Button.  I have now had time to sort myself out and gather my thoughts.

As always the people I get to meet and the friends I get to reconnect with make for a wonderful experience.
Schlepping yourself and your  display around is not a glamorous situation, but all the goodwill and kindness surrounding these events really makes up for the sweaty frustrating icky aspects of the job.

This was the last time I will travel with Melanie Brooks of Earthenwood Studio. We have done this show, and others  together  for about 8 yrs and known each other twice as long as that. She has decided to focus on more finished items and less components and she will be heading in a new direction with her work.
We have traveled well together, shared personal stories and milestones along the way and still manage to be friends at the end of it all.  Some marriages have survived less. I am lucky enough to live a stones throw away, so it will not be the last time I see her, but these events won't be the same without her.

I told myself I was not going to buy more beads at the show. It was a good plan until... 3 separate people sent me over to Beads Direct Inc.  Their lovely gemstones with the AB finish were a perfect match for my new work.

 Absolutely stunning.

And in trading with some of most favorite artists, I was inspired to design a new project.

I am going to make the most epic Mermaid Under The Sea Coral Reef Adventure Necklace ever!

My Mermaid bead has been begging me to do this for years. And if you follow me on Pinterest  you know I have a fascination for  all weird things under the sea. This necklace will be so cool, if I don't say so myself.

                                         


And if that is not excitement enough for you, hold on to your panties.

This Friday at Andrew Thornton's Allegory Gallery, I had my opening for the show "Spirits of the Earth Tribe" 

Check it out, if you can't make it to Ligonier PA, you can conveniently purchase my work on line!

WOOT! It doesn't get much more exciting then this, except for iceskating monkeys.