A Bead Makes the World Go Round

Okay, I know it is corny but this is how I think...they are "beadicisms" and they run through my head to the point that I drive myself somewhat batty. Here are a few:

All beads great and small

Life, liberty and the pursuit of beads

Grin and bead it

The importance of beading earnest

Bead us not into temptation

Give us this day our daily bead

I want to bead alone

Busy as a bead

Only a bead in a guilded cage

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your beads

Well, if you want to bead that way

Far from the beading crowd

A bead is a bead is a bead

Anything you can bead, I can bead better

A bead in time saves nine

Stop! In the name of beads (are you humming this in your head?)

The Beads of Wrath

Gone With the Bead...

Okay, enough! You are probably thinking of additions to my list right now. Can't help it can you? Sorry, blame me. Hah!

Since my last post, I am still dealing with pain from my arthritis but such is life. I fell off a horse when I was eighteen and he landed on top of me...I landed on my right side and that shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip and knee are what plagues me now. Just shows that every thing you do in life, stays with you. I was doing something foolish at the time and now my old bones are paying their dues.

The reason I mention my aches and pains (really, who wants to hear about that!) is that next week I am leaving for Tucson, Arizona for my annual bead buying trip and that means carrying around bags of rocks and metals all day for three days. I told my Mom and Dad that I need a donkey just to haul the goods. If you don't know about the gem and mineral show in Tucson, you aren't a beader. It is an incredible experience...the whole town is filled with vendors from all over the globe, selling their specialties...venetian glass, austrian crystal, bali and indian silver, african trade beads...and this is only a brief sampling. I buy for the entire year because the prices are so very reasonable compared to other sources and you can find some items that you would never see anywhere else. It is definitely worth the trip! Janice and Robyn are going too which always makes the trip fun. More about the show when and if (hah!) I return.

Now, if you have made it this far...bless you, for I can ramble on and on about my passion and I am well aware that most people could care less. I feel the same way about a host of things but I am always interested in what turns on those that I love and appreciate because having a passion about what you do is what makes life such an interesting journey (and it blunts the pain.) Have some passion on me...salud!

Spent this last week making 'purse jewelry' for a shop in Ruidoso where Robyn works and had a great visit with John who was in "El Pisso" (as he calls it) for a few days. I also worked on the following since my last post:

Remember those beaded small mirrors? This was done on a pine heart for a charity auction to be held on February 3. The charity takes care of families that are in need and to raise funds they hand out the pine hearts for artists to do with what they want. Last year was my first time to donate a heart and this year I made this one which I call The Bead Maiden.

This is the bracelet with the oriental feel that I mentioned in my last post. It is made with origami paper, beautiful silver/grey pearls and austrian crystal. It doesn't show up very well on the scan but you can 'click' on it to see a better image.

Another pair of my long, fringed, beaded earrings but this time I used some different materials and style. The body of the earrings are made of Japanese delicas (a type of seedbead) which are very consistent in shape unlike most seedbeads and make the finished work very smooth. I also made a diamond shape in the body instead of my usual triangle. And, as a experiment, the drops at the ends of the fringe are made of flat circular beads called rondells. I used these on a vertical plane instead of how they are usually used on a horizontal plane. Cecil said they reminded him of India so that is what I call them...

Please let me hear from you as this is one way I keep in touch with all my friends...

Art of Rock keeps Rolling

Another year has come and gone and I must say it was one of the busiest ever for me. My business (that sounds so formal, doesn't it?) kept me hopping all year long and I did more shows this last year than ever before. Unfortunately, my schedule doesn't leave much time for writing, something I truly enjoy but there seemed to always be a show or deadline looming and sitting down to write was a luxury of time that could or should be spent in my studio.

We had a quiet Christmas with a tree for Nathan and a equally quiet New Years Eve with just the three of us celebrating...yes, we celebrated. This 'off time' since the last show in December (Hal Marcus Gallery open house on the 17th) has been spent resting (I was exhausted) and working on some new designs of things that take more time and creativity than I usually have just keeping up with inventory. Lots of detailed beadwork and experimentation with wire. I still have so many ideas running around like wild animals in my head and would like to tame a few and make them a reality. Being the first of the year though, I had to sit down to figure and pay my state taxes in both New Mexico and Texas. This is not a task I enjoy but has to be done and since I have licenses in both states, I have to pay in both states. Ugh!

Health wise, Cecil and Nathan are both doing well. I have had a few issues with fibromyalgia and osteo arthritis especially on my right side, but have gotten used to dealing with ongoing pain. Just a fact of my life but it tends to drain energy and make getting things done a challenge. This is probably another reason I don't write as much. My right wrist aches and part of the reason is that I twist it like a pretzel when I use my pliers or a needle and thus typing at this keyboard just strains it further. So, it becomes a matter of choice...do I use my limited mobility in that wrist for working or writing? My work usually wins out.

Cec gave me a new dremel tool set for Christmas (I love tools!) with a flex shaft and a drill press, courtesy of Ebay. The flex shaft attachment should make using the drill much easier for me and having a drill press will also ease my work. Right before Christmas, I was hammering pennies into flat copper disks (don't tell the Treasury Dept. about my disfiguring our currency. Hah!) and Cec was sorely tempted to give me my gift early. When I saw the huge package wrapped under the tree, it made me cry because we have agreed these last few years since money has been tight not to get each other gifts. I knew I had nothing for him and the sneak waited until the last minute to wrap and place it under the tree. Still, I was thrilled.

So you know what I have been up to since my last post, the following are some of the labor intensive pieces I have been working on and keep in mind that you can click on the pictures to see a larger image:

This piece is called Mardi Gras and was inspired by the past of New Orleans and the fact it may never be the same. I tried to capture the color and spirt of the event. The technique is peyote stitch in a wirework base using as colorful beads I could find, mostly Chinese lampwork. I was pleased with the effect.


I call this set Neo-Tribal for it is new, yet incorporates bone, amber and some incredible carved prehinite beads I found in a large tub of stone beads at the Santa Fe flea market. I spent a good amount of time rummaging around in that tub for these beads which, because they were groved and carved, I knew they could be beaded, I just didn't know what the final pieces would be. I also used some of my wire work and beaded beads as well as some hill tribe silver which are made by the Karen Hill Tribe individually by hand.


This bracelet reminded me of the beach and the sea, a place I don't get to visit but memories still inspire me. It is a wire work base beaded in peyote stitch with some nice lampwork beads. The wire and clasp are copper.


I am not sure what these are going to be but I decided to use some small mirrors and bead around them on a felt base. I think I may turn them into pins with an suede backing but they may also end up as pendants. They remind me of Mexico, the gaudy colors and the sun shape. As you can tell, these are still works in progress and please excuse the smudges on the mirrors.

So you see, I have been busy and this is just a few of the things I have been doing. A bracelet is awaiting some more work right now in my studio using charm pictures which has a decidedly oriental feel. If it turns out, I will post a picture.

Happy New Year to you all. I hope you are blessed. Keep smiling...