Fini

All done and getting ready to start on a couple of heart pin/pendants for my etsy shop....plus I've got the fabric hands all cut out for the february bjp, but won't start it until next month.
The weather has been off and on rain showers but yesterday when we went for our walk we saw some pussywillows beginning to bloom and we have a tiny daffodil already blooming on the sun porch...it may not quite be spring yet, but I'm catching a glimpse of it in the distance!

Mostly Finito

I just have to mat and frame it...but all the stitching is done...

I've been getting more interested in steam punk so I added a few tiny watch gears to this piece and put sequins under them so they would stand out a bit...kind of to remind me once again that everything old is new again and each generation adds their own special twist to the older bits.

Onward

A bit further along...I'm taking it slowly, trying to find a set time to bead again. It's too cold to sit out on the porch and the light, even with my little ott light, isn't the best in the living room so I'm ending up beading at my big desk in the studio. I've been having breakfast and then beading while watching an instant play movie on netflix on my computer.
Also thought I'd post a pic of my mom and son from christmas...they adore each other and get along very well, which I'm so grateful for, as I know that's not always the case in families!
There are so many worthy organizations trying to help the quake survivors in haiti, it's hard to know where to start, but I think I'll contribute to the red cross when I get paid for my last class. There is also a wonderful blog (with links to their shop) of haitian artisans started by rebecca sower...they've sold all the work rebecca had brought back from haiti before the earthquake, but when things get up and running again, it will be a good place to visit and buy if you want to help out in the longer run.

Small Bits

I haven't gotten too far along yet, but it's beginning to pull together for me....I've got to add enough to balance the weight of the wall of 6's on the bottom....I think I'm making sure that luck doesn't escape...and the meandering path of bugles certainly represents the twists and turns life takes, whether we wish it or not...

Improv Hearts

These are just a few of the amazing pieces my students did last night...aren't they wonderful, especially for anyone who hasn't ever beaded or embroidered before (although I think a couple of them must have had some needlework background long ago)!
They were a delightful group to work with which didn't surprise me at all because 99% of the folks I've run into at our local hospital have been just fantastic-hard working, dedicated professionals in a very demanding profession indeed!
And they all rose to the challenge of their improvisational hearts, don't you think?

BJP Progress

Haven't gotten very far, but this afternoon is the felt heart class which I've been making kits for all week, so I'll be able to focus on the bjp from tomorrow on.
I believe the chinese character on the bottom is "Fu" which means Luck and I've put it upside down since I understand that's what is done with it for the chinese new year....coming up is the year of the Tiger.

Heart Class

Our local hospital has a wonderful support group for breast cancer survivors and their families and one of the things they've been able to do is offer art classes for the patients and their families. Well this year they've also been able to find the funds to offer some classes for the hospital staff and I'll be one of the instructors. I've taught a form of dotee doll in previous sessions but this year decided I'd like to teach an improvisational felt heart that can be worn as a pin/pendant or just hung from a ribbon as an ornament or small wall hanging. I've only made a couple of examples, because I want each heart to be special to each student. Improvisation is probably one of the hardest things to teach but one of the most rewarding to the students so I'm really looking forward to the class.
Here are the two samples...I tried to make them quite different to give them some idea of the range of possibilities in improv! Also, the class is only two hours, so I couldn't get too carried away.

Happy New Year

Hope you're all starting the new year with peace and love in your hearts and friends and family in your thoughts.
I'm feeling very thankful to still be here and I hope I remember now and then to let you all know how much I appreciate your comments and the time you take to visit here in my little corner (feels pretty cosy these days) of the web...
I'll also have to thank blogger for making it so amazingly easy to change the look of the blog from month to month...it's sure fun!

I've been thinking about what I'd like to focus on this year and I think it's going to be about slowing down a bit more and not being so judgmental about myself if I'm not as productive as I think I "should" be....I'll be watching my cats a lot since they seem to have perfected the art of relaxation, although I am not planning on spending 18 hours of the day napping, lol!

BJP 2010

I have the fabric cut out and ready to go for january's bjp...the largest hand is life-size and the smallest is about 3.5 inches. I'll be beading the smallest hand and doing minimal beading on the larger ones...at least that's the plan now. As most of you know, once you actually start working on a piece, it sometimes goes off in directions you hadn't planned on, lol! That's the fun of it!

Quiet

We're settling back into the quiet of our house, now that mom and son are back home. It was a wonderful visit...probably the best we've had in years, so it's left a lot of good vibes behind and we're still glowing with them.
This week we're going to a couple of movies with friends and I'm preparing for a class I'll be teaching next month and that's about all I have scheduled for this week. Maybe I'll be able to get caught up on some correspondence and blog visitations...yay!

Happy Holidays

Happy Holiday wishes and my gratitude to you all for joining me on my journey this year....I hope you have much joy in your lives...carpe diem!

Harbor Sunset

Sunset last night from the docks to the bridge....

The Day Before the Day Before Xmas

I've just got a bit of tidying up and making up gift bags to finish and I'll be all ready for my mom and son arriving tomorrow afternoon...I'm hoping they have a safe trip; at least the weather is supposed to be sunny and not frozen....pretty good for this time of year.
I've been clearing out some older work that didn't quite get finished or sold and this piece called to me. Rather christmassy, I think...the center piece is vintage german art glass...sparkly.

Winter Solstice

I hope you're all having a lovely solstice...we had a bit of welcome clearing this afternoon and tonight we're having a small gathering at our house...and now we're heading back toward the light.

January Bead Journal Project

I have the patterns (my right hand in two sizes) and the fabric, but I'm going to hold off on assembling the beads and other embellishments until january, otherwise I couldn't hold back my momentum!

I'm thinking I may frame these like I did with the two practice hands I did while trying to figure out what size and shape I'd go with...

Or...I may do something entirely different with the hands...but it's definitely going to be HANDS!

Homage to Hands, in fact...

Last Reminder

Today's the final day to sign up for the Bead Journal Project and I thought I would mention that this will work for mixed media/fiber artists as well since beads do not have to be the main media in your pieces....if you add beads as embellishments to your piece, it will fit within the rules of the BJP...so if beads aren't your primary medium...no problem!
Robin Atkins, who originated the BJP a couple of years ago, has shown a nice range of the kind of work done by this year's participants on her blog, HERE....take a look; you'll see it's not ALL beads, lol!

And it looks like the final number of participants is 287!

Whoo Hoo!

2010 Bead Journal Project Deadline

Just wanted to mention one more time that the deadline to sign up for the 2010 BJP is next Tuesday, the 15th, so if you want to be a part of this incredibly fun and inspiring project just go HERE and sign up!

No bead police will be sent (not even any fingers wagged) if you don't finish your pieces by the end of the year...in fact, all I've ever heard is encouragement and understanding if the (very flexible) deadlines aren't met.

It's not about finishing...it's all about doing and sharing and inspiring each other...and I'm delighted to be doing it for this third year!

I think I've pretty much decided on the hand shape (patterned after my own right hand), but not quite sure yet what to do with them....my latest favorite idea is to bead the hand, applique it to a 4x4 background and sew on a back before putting it into a clear DVD sleeve to hang from a 4 inch bamboo spacer (similar to how I hung my Basho set.)

And a couple of photos of the last two hands I've been working on finished and framed (the one with 4 pushpins is the one I ended up putting in our local open exhibit...) these were my practice pieces to see if I wanted to do another hand series.

Brrrrr

Occasionally around this time of year we get some colder temps than we're used to, here at the beach, and we're having a short string of that now. I know the midwest folks will laugh but temps in the 20's and lower are rare here but they almost always give us clear skies and wonderful sunsets.

The new header is last night's sunset and I snapped it just before heading inside to our local pushpin exhibit reception. This year we had just over 200 entries which is quite down from last year, and I think the major difference is that fewer children and young people participated. I'm wondering if we need to do a better job of letting the schools know about the event or if it's just a reflection of our shrinking school budgets which lead to fewer (if any) art teachers.

We just had our "civil war game" between two oregon colleges and I understand that both the losing and winning team have brought millions of dollars to their schools because of these results.

I sure wish they could spare a little bit of those millions for the arts.

For some light relief.... a couple of sea anemones from the aquarium friday night. Reminds me that it's our 38th anniversary today...we have another art reception to go to this afternoon - this one for a friend of ours who is a photographer...and then we'll probably go out for dinner if it's not too cold or wet. We don't usually fuss a lot on our anniversary...we took a trip to mexico before we got married and the anniversary of that trip means a lot more to us than the actual day we stood before a justice of the peace. We were together 24/7 for six weeks, traveling in a VW van with our siamese cat, chi sai, and we figured surviving that trip (and even having fun!) probably meant we could navigate a marriage as well....and so we have.

Festival of Lights

Sure feels like christmas around here...lots of light shows, holiday shows, gallery shows and cold nights!
I have to work tonight so will miss the lighted boat show, but we did make it to the light show at the aquarium last night...quite lovely...and I got a few photos of the lights and the huge tree they have up in the entry way...

New Month, New Holiday

Here we are at a new month and it seems like it will be a long time until christmas, but I know the time will just fly by! I think that's one of the most surprising things about getting older for me...how fast the time goes by, even while practicing being in the moment!
I didn't get up early on friday but I managed to get to the stores in time to pick up a couple of 4 gig SDHC cards for the new camera and a sweet little Canon selphy photo printer that does dye sublimation prints that are water resistant like "real" photographs. I'm having fun with the printer and thinking about putting some photo cards in my etsy shop or maybe in a local gift shop or two. But then the photography would be "work" and might stop being fun, so I'm not decided yet.