New Pretties

I need to share with you my treasures from the meet and greet at Artbliss.

There was so much to choose from,  but these are the pretties that came home with me. Aren't they beautiful? The fold formed and enameled earrings on the left are from Melissa Manley. The copper and turquoise earrings on the right are from Deryn Mentock.  The gorgeous lampworked bead set is a limited edition for the bang gals bracelet from Kerry Bogert.  I haven't had the pleasure of taking a class with Kerry yet, but I met her at Beadfest Philly and watched her do a demo and purchased her book Totally Twisted. These colors are all my favorites! Yummy!

The Vikings are coming!

Last week I had the pleasure of taking a class with Denise Peck , editor of Step by Step wire jewelry magazine, at Beadfest Philly.  At first when she started the demo I was thinking "what have i gotten myself into?"  But in short order we were all merrily knitting away on our bracelets. I found it to be very zen like once getting going and i hope to make many more pieces using this method, especially some neck chains.  My son was especially impressed with the weaving when i showed it to him.

The beads that I added are artisan lampworked beads and Kazuri beads along with some hill tribe silver.

Trade Ya

I intentionally left these out of yesterday's post as I think they deserve attention all their own.  The first picture is of African trade beads, more specifically Dutch donuts.  They are from the late 1800's and most likely were used in the slave trade.  A lot of these  glass beads were made in Thuringia Germany and Europe and were used as barter for trade in Africa.The seller had one strand left in this beautiful cobalt blue.

This next picture is of beads known as Padre beads getting their nickname from the time when European and Spanish priests came to America and gave them to the American Indians in their efforts to convert them to Christianity. 

The next strands of beads are the pinnacle of my hunting and gathering.  They are called tradewinds beads.  They were of course pricey and the seller had 3 strands, I picked up 1 but upon hearing of their age and history promptly went back and picked up a second strand!  They are about 2000 years old, they hail from a time when the tradewinds carried sailing ships in season and they had to wait for the tradewinds to shift to carry them home. They were used to purchase spices and incense and other wordly goods. Their age is very evident in all their beautiful imperfections!

The last picture is of Roman Glass shards. I was actually searching for them when I came upon all of the above beads. It was a very reputable dealer and i felt confident that I was getting what I was paying for which is very important if you should choose to purchase some yourself. Roman glass is antique shards of glass that have recently been found during site excavations. Due to the high mineral content of the sand and water in the mideast, the glass has taken on an iridescence on the surface.

Now the hardest part will be to actually USE these beads and not hoard them away!

Under The Influence

I am back home now from Beadfest where I had a wonderful time. Meeting up with old and new friends, learned a few new techniques and of course shopped and shopped and shopped! I got some cool new tools and metals and of course beads of every description.

They had made an announcement that there was to be NO PICTURE TAKING ON THE SHOW FLOOR- but I asked permission for a generic shot into the entrance. This was Sunday morning, no where near as crowded at the start as was Friday and Saturday

The reception area had a ginormous necklace on an even bigger display

I came down from my room about an hour before the show opened because I thought it opened at 10 again and it was 11 on Sunday. Apparrently so did a few other people.

Now when i say that I was under the influence I don't mean alcohol, although a nice glass of wine after all that shopping would have been welcome . No I am talking about how what we see in our daily experiences have a way of creeping into our subconscious and coming out in our work.  Remember a week or so ago when we went to see the Tiffany exhibition? As I unpacked my stash today i noticed a theme happening. I didn't realize it when i was shopping but I was clearly drawn over and over to the colors and feel of that exhibition. Take a look-

Lapis beads in several cuts

Real turquoise

cultured pearls

Czech glass beads

Handmade artisan beads, Raku, clay, lampworked and Kazuri beads

Glass and Agate beads

Misc. beads

See what I mean? As an artist we can't help but be influenced by what we see- nature, the change of seasons, fabrics, decor and even exhibitions of another artist's work.

All in all, being at a show like this is like being in a huge candy store, all filled with colorful confections set in beautiful displays, just tempting you at every turn!

As fun as it is to go away, it is always best to come back home. Some of the loveliest colors I saw were waiting for me when I arrived. My love, my husband always has a bouquet of flowers waiting when I return from a trip. I am a lucky girl indeed!

New Inspiration

I am here at Beadfest Philly, and I am going to try to get this post done although I am sitting in the foyer  by the elevators because the wireless reception in my room is virtually non existant tonight.  I had a wonderful class today with Anne Mitchell and Gail Crosman Moore called Colors and Patinas on metal. It was so much fun, lots of cool new techniques and the atmosphere in the class was very laid back.

These are some of the class examples provided by Gail with her beautiful felted beads.

More samples to inspire

These are the 2 pieces I finished in class.

I had to edit these in flickr so forgive the pix but wanted to try to post while here. (Corrected the pix now that I am home). Tomorrow the show opens with 280 plus vendor booths so I need to say goodnight to rest up for the big day of shopping ahead!