The Big Debate

I'm posting this entry from the beautiful  Bahamas !!!
I am truly enjoying a Wonderful  Vacation !!!
Wish you were here  with me  !!!
To me vacation equals sun, sand and scuba diving !!!
My husband and daughters agree .We spell vacation B-E-A-C-H !
My son on the other hand ,will be spending his holiday  by a  mountain lake.
He prefers streams and forests, to surf and beach umbrellas.
He once told me he felt that sitting on the beach was as much fun as sitting on broken glass in a hot oven!
That does seem like a strong statement !!! LOL!!!

Vacation destinations do seem to divide us all.
There are "seashore " people and there are "mountain "people . Most folks feel surprisingly  strongly  about their preference !
We may tour the great cities or small towns .
We may visit everything from the national  parks to amusement parks.Our vacation might  be spent enjoyed any of the wonders of the world . But deep down inside we are still in one camp or the other. No matter were we wander, in our hearts ,we are either  Beach Babes or Mountain Men !
Take a poll sometime ...you'll see !!!
Beach versus Mountains can be the  subject of great debate and some  strong opinions !
Are we genetically programed to love one or the other best ? Maybe  childhood summer vacations influence our choice .
As a child  I did spent a few weeks of every summer at Ocean City Maryland .I loved  searching  for shells and  playing in the waves !
 I took my own children to the beach and they always had a great time . So how did I end up with a Mountain Lake kinda  kid ???
I guess I'll never know . LOL!

In the end the really important thing is we take the  time to vacation somewhere ...
even if it's only in our own backyard .
We all need time to relax and refresh !
We live in a busy ,busy world .
Too busy I think. But, that's a discussion for another day !
Today I'm going to enjoy the beach and come home with renewed energy and  new inspiration!
No matter which side of the vacation fence you  are on....
this week plan some time off  to just RELAX !
and
Bead Happy ,

m.e.

Rocks in My Head

Every month I look forward to the Art Bead Scene Challenge.
http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/2011/06/june-monthly-challenge.html
Every month it seems that I am inspired by a different aspect of the chosen painting !
Sometimes the theme touches me ,sometimes the colors catch my eye. Other times one element or shape captures my imagination .
When I saw this months painting "Ophelia"  by Odilon Redon
what popped into my head ?
ROCKS !!!
Really  !!!      I just thought of Rocks !!!
How did I get those Rocks in my head ?

First  let  me explain , I Love making faux stones out of polymer clay . For some  reason I am fascinated with the idea  of making light, life like polymer rocks.
I really don't know why this seems like so much fun to me .
Maybe I don't want to know !!!
My family is certainly less than enthusiastic !
The times  when I have joyfully showed them how closely I have been able to reproduce the pebbles in our drive way,
they just roll their eyes ,shake their heads and  silently walk away .
But, faux rocks continue to make me happy !!!

When I saw the beautiful mottled blues in the painting ,
I imagined smooth river rocks lining Ophelia's pool . 
I mixed up a big batch of  blue granite color and made lots of  faux stone beads !
Needless to say, I was very pleased!!! LOL!!
I thought a necklace in these soothing cool tones might be perfect for  a Hot Summer day !!!
But, it did seem to need a  pop or two of color . A touch of  the painting's bright orange and yellow  seemed just right.
I used the shapes of  a rounded flower and a heart  shaped one from the picture . I  hand carved the beads to give them a rustic "wooden"  look.
Some nice twigs made by Mother Nature and some lovely blue sari silk  ribbon ,finished off my necklace  .
A simple, bold design that I think I will enjoy all Summer.
I  already had rocks in my head.....
Now I can wear them around my neck as well !!!
Faux is FUN!!!
This week have some fun with your faux favorites
and    
Bead Happy !

m.e.

Tomato Romance

First Harvest

I LOVE Tomatoes !!!
Not the  hard , tasteless grocery store type
I love sweet juicy homegrown tomatoes,vine ripe and still warm from the sun !
Due to an unusually cold and wet spring , my plants were late going into the garden this year.
I'll have to wait for those wonderful huge beefsteak varieties .
But , I'm finally able to  harvest a few little cherry tomatoes.
The sunny  shades of  fruits on the vine inspired me this week .
I made up a blend of "ripening tomato " colored  clay.
I enjoyed those sweet delicious tomatoes and I enjoyed making  beads to match !

Beads made ,photos taken, next step ... list in my shop.
But, what to name this series ???
"Ripe Tomato Bead Set"   "Homegrown Tomato Pendant" ????
Somehow those names don't  bring to mind glamorous  jewelry creations .
How important  is a name for any piece of jewelry ???
I'm not really sure how much the name affects the buyer.
If I named  beads "Victorian" something or other, and a potential buyer  wanted to use them for a funky modern creation,
would the name throw them off ?
How much are you influenced by the names of things ?
I do worry about it . Maybe I shouldn't even name my beads .
But, I do. And believe me, I struggle to come up  with decent descriptive titles.
I decided to call this week's series "Jungle Rhythm "
It sounded much more glamorous than any tomato name I could think of .
The colors do remind me of  steamy jungle foliage and bright  tropical flowers .
I hope the name evokes an exotic and unique color  blend that will spark people's  imaginations.
But,
Dear readers, please keep my secret ...
my beads did not start off in some Gorgeous imaginary  Jungle,
the inspiration began  in  my humble little vegetable garden !

this week give a little thought to how  much names influence you
and
Bead Happy !

m.e.

Homegrown Tomato ...I mean ... Jungle  Rhythm series

What's Next?

JOY

This week was a big week for my family !!!
My youngest child graduated from college!!!
I am so PROUD !!!
This is the daughter who takes the really Great photos that sometimes appear here .
The less than great ones I take myself .
Of course on graduation day the whole family was taking snapshots ! At first glance my photo seemed to be a miss.
But, as I thought about it, I realized I might have captured one of the truths about life !
As joyous as the moment was, my daughter can not really see her future .
All of her plans and preparations do not guarantee a specific outcome .
Sometimes things turn out the way we expect , sometimes not .
Either way , there are always lessons to be learned.
There are memories to make . There are moments of joy !
I hope I have taught  my children that as they follow their paths in life, they should enjoy their journey !

Since Annie's Graduation was such a  big moment , I have been thinking on a  momentous scale this week.
But on a  much  smaller scale, my bead making  endeavors  mirror  life. I plan and I prepare.I think I know where  I am headed .
I hope my skills will increase . I hope my shop will grow .
I hope to make enough money to ease the prospect of living on  meager retirement funds in the future .
I want to continue  making the wonderful bead connections that bring me so much happiness. 
I  want to be a  Working Artist when I grow up ! LOL!!!
But, I really can't see the future .
I will do all I can to meet my present goals.
I  will take each bend in the road as it comes and continue to enjoy my journey !
this week
travel where your road leads you
enjoy the trip
and
Bead Happy !

m.e.

Rain, Rain go away....

Key West Rain

If you visit this blog in August I will likely be saying the weather is Too Hot and Too Dry!!!
But, right now it is way Too Chilly and way Too Wet at my house !!! Were is the Sunshine ???
I want to spend time in my garden . I want to plant some  new things and find  fresh  inspiration in the flowers that  are blooming.
But, week after week we have had  rain .And not just any rain !
Thunder ,lighting, twister producing ,windy rain!!!
I am very tired of it !!!
I am not an ungrateful person .
I realize some people could use more rain and for some people rain has caused disaster.
I pray for those whose lives are affected by recent floods .

This post is just about my superficial grouchiness .
I  keep a very special  picture on my desk to lift my spirits in times like these .The photograph was taken by my daughter two years ago while we were vacationing in the Florida keys.
We were very excited to begin a shopping trip to Key West .
But ,we had to sit in the  stuffy car and wait out a long rainstorm .
Not about to waste a moment of  her  precious vacation time,
my daughter started taking pictures of the rain.
This is my favorite, a bright flower  petal  that blew onto the hood of our car . I keep it on my desk to remind me to enjoy every moment I possibly can.
The photo also brings back wonderful memories of our trip.
The  current rainy weather certainly placed  a damper on my intentions to work with flowers both real and polymer!
I had planned to make  new floral pendants and bead sets .
But , I  couldn't seem to get started on them.
My heart just wasn't in the project.
Instead, my rainy day photo made me dream of the Florida Keys!
My head said make flowers. But, my heart said sun , sand and sea !
So  I've been working on beach /ocean inspired designs .
They brought me some  needed Sunshine for my soul !

This week try following your heart
and
Bead Happy !

m.e.

Happy Surprise !

l'amour d'été

What a Happy  Surprise to find  my necklace design chosen as one of the ABS designer of the week choices !!!
The truth  is  the design itself  was a Big Surprise  to me !!!

I was delighted to see that the monthly challenge painting was "Cache-cache" by Berthe Morisot !
http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/2011/05/may-monthly-challenge.html
Several weeks ago I made a series I titled  "Jardin Potager"  Wonderful ! I already had beads that seemed perfect for the color pallet and I had even given them a French name !

But ,the ABS challenge is my time to play . I always try to make something new to enter,something  just for fun.
So I started  working on my entry in my usual  manner.
I  really would love to tell you I sat down with sketch  book in hand and carefully planned my necklace .
But ,that would be a Big Fat lie!!! My method is this ...first  dump everything on my bed that matches color,shape or  theme of the painting . Then keeping putting things into little piles until I come up with a group of  elements that inspire some sort of  design idea . Gather up tools ,wire ,jump rings etc and try to figure how to make the elements come together  to form a wearable piece of jewelry !!! Creative Chaos ... LOL!!!
Challenges  are always a  good excuse to go shopping !
So I  ordered some Fabulous chain and  rings from missficklemedia in the Perfect white patina.
  http://www.etsy.com/shop/missficklemedia?ref=seller_info
I couldn't resist making some beads to mimic that beautiful patina! And of course I made a big bright flower!!! Then I selected  several ribbons that were in just the right colors. But ,I  couldn't  pick which to use and which to leave out. Finally I decided they looked so nice together I would try  to use them all !
I set everything out  on my worktable  ,trying to figure how to best  connect the ribbons ...then....SURPRISE  !!!!
The leftover ends didn't look "leftover" !
Instead they  looked  very much like the ribbons in the painting !!!.
The  free flowing ribbon ends also created a scarf  like effect that somehow reminded me of  both Paris fashions and soft Summer breezes !!!
My design had really created itself !!!
What a wonderful Happy Surprise !!!
this week
allow  yourself a bit of design freedom
see where your elements take you !
maybe you'll have a nice Surprise
and Bead Happy !!!
m.e.

m.e.

What's A Weed?

Violets are growing in my strawberry patch!
I must find the time to pull them out !!!

They have become weeds ! I do love the look of wild violets .
I  have never received any  bouquets more beautiful than the bunches of dandelions  picked for me by my children .
But, when things grow were we don't want them, then they become weeds ! Unexpected plants sprouting up in our neat garden rows are not welcome !

But, what about our  beadie weeds ? Do you know what they are ? They are those  unexpected sprouts of creation that happen by mistake...those wild ideas that sometimes appear in our design gardens .What to do with  those beadie weeds ? Do you pluck them out and stick to your orderly rows if inspiration? Or do you modify your  ideas and turn those weeds into bead-uiful  blossoms ?

Many  people make lovely design sketches.They  plan each  piece  carefully on paper before they begin .
Sometimes I wish I could work that way .But , my creations always seem to have a mind of their own .My  designs start with a vague idea and then just evolve topsy turvy until I am pleased with the result . Maybe that's  why I find so many beadie weeds popping up as I work! Some,like the violets in my strawberries,would be lovey  somewhere else. But,they just don't work where they are! Some are more like poison ivy,I don't want them anywhere !!! Other times ,I 'm happy they sprouted up .They might be perfect in the design at hand . I  might be able to use them another time .
I have discovered some of my favorite ideas and inspirations by mistake . An idea  that didn't work out as planned ,sometimes works out better than I imagined  ! Of course sometimes the idea doesn't work at all !!! Those beadie weeds have to be pulled from my  garden of design!!!  But, I do try to take a a moment in the creative process to determine  what is a weed and what is not !
this week watch out
is that idea a weed or a blossom  ?

Bead Happy !

m.e.