WINNER Color Blog Hop Random Drawing

Thanks to all of you who visited my blog during this past weekend.  Participating in Erin's Color Challenge was such fun -- a challenge and a true pleasure.  Visiting other blogs was a real treat too.  The color palettes from the US Geological Survey Earth As Art are breathtaking and the responses of the jewelry designers were amazing!  I am humbled to be among them.

Now, on to the winner of the Random Drawing for a hand-made Christmas ornament.  This is what I will be sending to my winner:

 Random.org selected #22

 And the Winner is . . .

Kayla from TheEclecticElement.com or http://teejewelry.blogspot.com  Check out her blog!

So, Kayla, send me your snail mail address (I've sent you an email) and I will be sending you a little giftie in time for Christmas.

Color Challenge Blog Hop

Don’t you just love Erin Prais-Hintz’s Color Challenge Blog Hop ?  This challenge was a REAL challenge for me.  Not a challenge in the sense of difficulty, but the time crunch got to me.    I have been thinking about the beautiful color scheme Erin sent me from the US Geological Survey Earth as Art representing the Lake District of England.  I have been to the Lake District and have very fond memories and inspirations from my time there.

 

 However, here’s what I pulled together to begin work on the challenge:

 Left to right, agate green seed bead mix, lamp-work glass beads “turquoise” cross (so close!), crystals, dichroic glass, and braided sari silk among other bits and bobs.

As I was working on the necklace, though, I stumbled on a little project I had been working on a couple of weeks ago using vintage women’s watches.  The light bulb went off over my head!  Here’s what I designed.  It’s called Reliquary for a Fabri-holic.

The watch cases contain tiny scraps of the beautiful sari silk in colors of the Lake District image.  It reminds me of a medieval crystal reliquary I saw several years ago that contained threads from the Virgin’s Tunic.  The necklace of twisted brass links hangs about 30 inches and looks very antique.  

So, did I capture the scheme? (It was difficult to photograph)  Here’s a detail.

Thanks to Erin for hosting the hop.  Now, go on over to Erin's blog and check out the other hoppers. 

P.S.  I'm having a holiday sale in my Etsy Shop with the coupon code hohoho10percentOFF at checkout.

Look What Our Postal Carrier Brought -- Part #2

Yesterday I posted about one of the great packages our postal carrier delivered. Today's post is about the second package.
A few days ago I won a batch of goodies from Amanda Davie. at Articulation. She sent everything in this fab little quilty bag. I love the "Blessings" and the tape measure.

Inside the bag were all these little wrapped bundles. The paper is from an old dictionary and each one is tied up with hand-dyed silk ribbons I can reuse!

Amanda wrote in her post that she was including a surprise which is this great necklace. The hand stamped copper says "We need not think alike to love alike." The dangles include pieces of coral and pearls with a chain linked with green glass beads. I love the resin image of two women and a large sleek dog.

Here is the whole collection of bootie -- lovely copper and resin components. I am so excited and pleased to receive these amazing pieces.

THANK YOU Amanda!

Art Quilts and Last Call for Bead Soup! Day#8

I got a late start on the Bead Soup today because I was working on another art project. I have spent a lot of time lately on beading and jewelry making, but I am also an Art Quilter/Fiber Artist.

At quilt retreat a few months ago, I worked up two small quilt-tops (approx. 25"x15"). They were inspired by my travels and my interest in Art History. For the last few days, I quilted and finished these little wall-hangings just in time to submit them (this afternoon, whew!) for an art show at a local gallery with the theme "Great Escapes -- landscapes and travels". I will not hear until Tuesday to know if they will be in the show, but I thought I would REVEAL them here for you.

This one is called "Older than Stonehenge". It is my interpretation of a relatively complete, small stone circle called Castlerigg in the northwest of England near the Lakes District. My husband and I visited it with two dear friends who were living in England at the time. There it was in the middle of a farmer's field surrounded by a simple wire fence. No guard hut, no gift shop, just out there -- in the natural surroundings. It was very magical.
The next piece is called "Crusaders broke into this mound"-- Maeshowe, Okney, Scotland. The name of this piece comes from one of the many Viking rune graffiti left in the mound in about 1153.

I stitched a plan of the interior of the mound in gold thread . . .

and the Viking rune graffiti (the title) is stitched out in gold thread as well.

I am fascinated by Maeshowe, not just because it is in a breathtakingly beautiful natural setting, but because thousands of years ago, a group of people constructed it over a long period of time and with exact alignment to the setting of the sun on the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice. As a matter of fact, this little quilt shows the two sunsets one sees behind the Hill of Hoy (to the far left).

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The sun sets and then pops out again for a minute or two in the lower crook of the hill. All the while, the light is traveling down the tiny passage to strike a stone in the center of the chamber with a momentary flash of light in the darkness. Maeshowe have may signified the death of the old year and the birth of a new one with the days growing increasingly longer. The mound reminds me of the pregnant womb of Mother-Earth.

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Anyway, here is the last list of the Bead Soup Artists. Please visit them and post comments on their blogs. They have waited a LONG TIME to REVEAL their masterpieces.

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June 26th

85. Melissa, One-Eared Pig Beads

86. Rebecca, 2SistersBeadwork

87. Karyn, Releases by Rufydoof

88. Denise, Bling on the Blog

89. Doris, Glaszwerg

90. Megan, Churchy & Her Sailor

91. Jo, Daisychain Designs

92. Jen, VanBeads Jewelry and Design

93. Kristie, Artisan Clay

94. Jess, Vintaj

95. Suzann, Beadphoria

96. Sharon, Sharon's Jewelry Garden

97. Michelle, bMichelle

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If you have not already, sign up for my birthday giveaway {HERE}. It is going on all week, so come back at the end of the party to see who won. It could be you!! -- (I will do a Random Drawing on June 30th, that way, if you are slow at reading all these wonderful blogs, you will still have a chance to win.)

Day #6 of the Bead Soup Movable Feast

Have you been seeing all those giveaways while checking out the Bead Soup Blogs? I have and so has Cenya over at Emerald Window. I think she will be adding to the list as she finds them, but if you are having a giveaway, let her know and she will post a link to your blog too. These are the latest giveaways she has listed.

Song Beads
Star Girl Jewelry
Artemisia Studio <= Have you signed up yet? No? Click {HERE}*
EB Bead and Metal Works
Andrew Thornton
Second Surf
Spirit Rattles
Denise Yezbak Moore
Organic Odysseys

Now, for Day #6 of the Bead Soup Movable Feast.
June 24th
60. Carol, Carol Bradley Designs
61. Wanda, A Frayed of Fibers
62. Diana, Vintage Blue Studio
63. Marieke, Marieke's Blog
64. KJ, Silver Parrot
65. Maire, Maire Dodd
66. Shannon, Miss Fickle Media
67. Dana, Dana's Jewelry Designs
68. Charlene, The Bead Dreamer
69. Elisabeth, Beads for Busy Gals
70. Cathryn, Chile Cats
71. Missy, Melissa Rappaport

*If you have not already, sign up for my birthday giveaway {HERE}. It is going on all week, so come back at the end of the party to see who won. It could be you!!

Bead Soup Bash -- Day #5

Giveaway Prize -- Alamo Stone Earrings

Some of my favorite artists are in this next list. Stop by and leave them a comment (we all love comments, don't we?)

June 23th

48. Nan, Spirit Rattles
49. Amy, Copper Diem
50. Malin, Beading by Malin de Koning
51. Anne, Gardanne Glass Lampwork
52. Alice, Alice's Beads and Baubles
53. Barbara, Second Surf
54. Amanda, Articulations
55. Heather, Humble Beads
56. Melissa, Melissa Meman, Art, Life, Love
57. Kate, Organic Odysseys
58. Patti, PJ Clark Designs
59. Stefanie, Stefanie's Sammelsurium

If you have not already, sign up for my birthday giveaway {HERE}. It is going on all week, so come back at the end of the party to see who won. The prize is the pair of earring shown above.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life . . . ?

I have stepped off the precipice into the great unknown. Definitely not the best time to be looking for a job. What I will be doing in the next six months is anyone’s guess. This is at the same time exciting and terrifying.

I have been teaching the intro class to the visual arts (art appreciation) at the college level for about 14 years. It is a class that none of the full-time faculty wants to teach, but I have grown to love it. I get to see the light-bulb go on over students’ heads when they begin to make connections. But adjunct faculty are expendable and don’t even get unemployment benefits. And who knows, there may be a class to teach in the distant future, but it is not something I can count on.

I keep waiting for the heavens to open and a great booming voice to tell me what I am supposed to do next.

Times change, and so must I. But it is getting more and more difficult to morph into something else, I have done it four or five times already. Will I be a jewelry designer? Or a quilt artist? Or will I be flipping burgers with my highly prestigious Masters degree in Art History?

If you have any insight or encouraging words, I’d love hear them.

Proving Myself

Friday we had our Taxes done and it was a harrowing experience.

I know, I know . . . everyone hates to do their taxes. Well, let me tell you that as a clergy household and with me working part-time teaching at University and part-time being an artist, and this year also being an author, this was the worst ever. A bunch of the expenses I was hoping to deduct didn't pan out and we ended up having to pay a pretty penny . . . money we had set aside to pay for our trip in May to Amsterdam.

What's more, I felt I had to justify myself. The preparer asked about my art quilts saying with a smile, "Are you sure you don't make blanket-type quilts?" Fortunately, I had my laptop with me and fired it up to showed her all my art I had recorded there. I showed her my Reluctant Accomplice quilt . . .
I showed her my presentation quilt . . . (to which she said, "that's -- interesting.")

I showed her two of my larger quilts (48"x72"), one a contest quilt in an international competition (finalist out of 900) . . .and the other, a commission . . .

and a published piece (Quilters Newsletter Magazine December 2004) . . .

and what was most lost on her was the direction my art is taking now -- art jewelry. Hopefully it will be better next year. In the meantime, I'm proud of my portfolio. My question for you is, "Have you ever had to justify yourself or your art?" Tell me about it, I want to know.