Trip to Iowa 2014, the Goodies!

One of the things I love to do when visiting a new place is to go junking.  This consists of visiting every single thrift, charity, and antique store I can find, along with spur of the moment flea marketing and town festivals.  This can be especially fruitful in small towns, where dealers are less likely to realize what they have, and can't command big city prices anyway.  So here are my goodies from small town Iowa!

I've been looking for a Ganesh for awhile now - not your normal small altar statue, but something unique.  Who knew he would be hanging on the wall in a small oddity and antique store in Iowa?  And yes, he is a planter too...

I also got this little raku bell at the same shop.  It doesn't sound very nice, but it's so pretty!

Guinea fowl statue anyone?

I found this awesome tumbled slab of tiger iron that will make a great necklace for my boyfriend.

"Greek" brass masks...I'm determined that these are not too big for focals...

Carved serpentine fish focal.

Baggie of large rough cut seed beads...who could pass this up for 99 cents?

This is actually a bolo tie slide...I would love to meet the man that bought this!  I think it'll make a great necklace focal.

All of this was in a baggie for $2...what?  Yes.

Vintage glass necklaces from a variety of shops.

More organic necklaces - 4 strands of bone, cedar ghost berries, cultured pearls, and a necklace of mother of pearl rounds and really nice turquoise.  

Why did I buy this horrible thing?  Well, it was $1, the pendant is weird and interesting (capiz shell, peacock feather and resin), the wood donuts are useful, and the fur inlaid links were just too weird to pass up.

Bits and pieces of broken vintage beadwork.  I love finding stuff like this so I can retrace the threadpath and recreate it in new beads.

All of these crystals and chain (sterling chain I might add) came off of a broken necklace from the Goodwill...for $1...

Vintage glass buttons...I just can't say no.

Look at the texture on these!

When you're out and about, keep your eyes peeled for anything useful!  The trick is to start seeing old, broken, or costume jewelry as more than just it's current state.  It really is situation where the parts might be worth more to you than the whole piece.  Seriously, I buy garments at the thrift store on a regular basis, just because of the buttons.  You never know what you'll find if you keep your eyes peeled!  As always, you can keep track of my daily beadventures on my Facebook page, and in my Etsy shop.  

Trip to Iowa 2014, Part 2

Well, ok, this is a week late.  Funny, it always seems to take at least that long to recover from vacation, doesn't it?

Our trip to Iowa culminated in an even that called A Day Out with Thomas, with all the kids.  Probably due to the fact that I have a much younger brother, I watched children's programming much longer than a lot of kids my age, and I've always had a soft spot for Thomas the Tank Engine and all his friends.  It was really fun to not only see the little Thomas engine, but also take a short ride in a train pulled by him!  The kids all loved it too, of course.

 He even talks and looks around!

The very next day we were headed back to Tennessee.  I am so thankful that we realized the kiddo was just about to the point of being too big for her car seat - we bought a new one while in Iowa, and it shortened the drive back to TN by several hours.  Having a more comfortable kiddo was a huge relief for all of us!  

One of the things that I always keep an eye open for on long car rides, is trucks hauling weird loads.  What do I mean by that?  Well, this truck for one:

Yes, that is a truck load of turkeys...

Or how about this load - ok, I know it's not a semi, but still:

Yes, that is a cannon!  We were in Kentucky by then, so I can definitely say "Only in the South!"

We made it back to Nashville, and my friend plus kiddo to Knoxville, safe and sound.  Tomorrow's blog post will cover all of the awesome finds I brought home.  As always, you can keep up with me on my Facebook page, or shop on Etsy anytime.  See you tomorrow!

Trip to Iowa 2014, Part 1

Hello all, from the Heart (so I'm told) of the Mid-West.  I am in the middle of a 10 day long trip to a little town in Iowa - invited by a friend to accompany her and her 2 1/2 year old daughter on a road trip to visit family.  I'm not occupied employment right now, so how could I pass up the opportunity to spend some time in a part of the country that I've not even driven through before?  Visiting new places, near or far or virtually, is always inspiring to me, so I said yes and the adventure began!

All packed up and ready to go.  Neither of us were sure we could fit all of our own gear, plus the stuff for the kiddo and food in the car, but somehow we managed.  Left Nashville around 8:30 or 9pm, and didn't reach our hotel in Paducah KY until nearly midnight.  The next day we drove from 8am to 8:30pm, stopping nearly every hour for potty breaks...none of us could get in sync with the others!  Here are a few pictures from the drive:

A storm started coming in when we were just South of the IA state line in MO.  Look at those cool washboard clouds!

Here's another view of the storm, just a few more miles down the road.

Just before sunset in IA.  I just love how silvery the clouds get at this time of day.

When the sun finally set, we had this amazing color show.  Ok, I know the picture is incredibly blurry, but just look at the colors.  I want to make this necklace!

Well, we finally, arrived and after a weekend of visiting family members (all with multiple kids), we've spent the last two days lounging and recuperating.  I did get out into the yard and take a few pictures of my friend's mom's garden plants:

This awesome morning glory has blossoms in variegated blue and white with a teeny bit of blue...on the same plant.

Don't ask me what this plant is...it's just soft, silvery and pretty!

Dinner plate sized Hibiscus in a color I haven't seen before.

We also went to Ledges State Park - you can read more about this local attraction here!  It was so nice to get out with the kids, wade in the water, and see how the water has carved the stone over the eons.  I think we're going back next weekend so I'll make an effort to get some more interesting pics than these:

I hope you're looking forward to parts 2 (the rest of the trip) and 3 (all the beady goodness I've scored) sometime next week after I get back to TN.  Thanks for looking!

Beadwork Collaborations: Episode 1

There is one thing I love more than making a new friend...making a new friend that makes beads!  From a very early age I have appreciated and used artist beads in my work.  I love making an environment for someone else's art - something that enhances both their work and mine.  Often I find it is a challenge to bend my style to someone else's, but I really feel that challenge is what continues to push my work forward.  Because of this (and my normal bead-hoarding, magpie tendencies) I make an effort to both use art beads, and show bead artists the jewelry I make with their work - it is often the start of wonderful friendships and collaborative opportunities.

For the first episode in this series, I am going to introduce my friend Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio, LLC.  Diana is a New Jersey ceramic bead and component artist, and I first encountered her work through another bead friend that was able to attend a Suburban Girl trunk show.  I loved the themes that spread through her work - the maritime ocean, sea life, organic forms, fossils, steampunk, color and humor.  My friend shopped for me long-distance, and picked up these things for me (the little stone cab was a bonus gift - you gotta love the generosity of fellow beaders).

  

As soon as I had this package in my hot little hands, the idea juices started flowing.  The jellyfish link was actually the first thing I used!  It ended up on a chain with a TON of other art charms...but that's a post for another day :)

What came next was this necklace - oh, how I love that trilobite!  I really wanted to keep it as the focal point of this embroidery, so the beads are in a earthy palette that is mostly darker than the glaze.  I originally intended this piece to be for my boyfriend, so I kept the strap down to two coordinating strands of sari silk.  They provide visual impact fitting the scale of the piece, without adding weight and are simple enough to work for the masculine wearer.  The brass pieces are all from Tandy Leather, where he is a store manager...don't they look awesome?

Well, of course when I was done, the first thing I did was message Diana via her facebook page with a ton of pictures.  This opened up a dialogue between us, that has blossomed into an awesome friendship!  We have discovered that we have a ton in common, and we often chat about beads and life on Facebook - even though we haven't met in the real world.  When she was in need of ultrasuede a bit later, I sent her an envelope stuffed full...in exchange for more cabochons and components...see what I mean about making bead friends?  

So, how could I pass it up when Diana asked me if I was interested in making a few pieces for her table at Bead Fest 2014 in Philadelphia, PA?  You're right, I couldn't!  I made more than a few pieces though...I might have gone a bit overboard.  

I made this Greenman necklace first, using some of the components that she sent in our ultrasuede swap.  The leaf on the bottom, and the two flower shaped components above the face are all cabs that I captured - no embroidery on this one.  Building the structure of this piece was a huge challenge, along with finding ways to capture these pieces in a way that still showed the beautiful glazes and shapes.

 

After rooting around in my stash of goodies, I made these two pairs of earrings next.  Again, these are fully captured with beads, rather than embroidered onto a backing.  These are quite a bit of work, but the end result is worth it.  Here you can see the maritime influences in Diana's work.

 

 I had already glued this starfish to ultrasuede months ago, but never got to beading it until now.  Personally, I think this is not only the most successful piece that I ended up making, but also the most comfortable to wear.  Diana seemed to think so too, as she decided to keep this piece in exchange for beads!  My favorite kind of work trade...(insert maniacal cackle here).

 

A day or two after I finished the starfish necklace, a package arrived from Diana with three sets of components for inspiration.  I haven't used this one yet...the root beer glaze is gorgeous...but strangely outside of my color comfort zone.  I decided to save it for later (and have since come up with the PERFECT idea).

 I just had to do something with this steampunk themed set!

I ended up using the pair of small oval cabs with the large gear topped cab to make this piece I call Cog, Dog, and Key.  

 

You might be saying "Well, I see the cog, and I see the key, but where's the dog?"  Do you see that rectangular object on the end of the fringe?  It's an antique, bronze, Chinese, stamp...and the figure on it is a dog.  I really experimented with this piece - the key capture is totally invented.  I didn't want to hide the pretty brass.  I've never used O beads before, nor have I used lace as part of an embroidery in this way.  It is very different than my default work...but apparently successful, because one of Diana's lampworking friends love it so much she is trading me for beads!  I'm gonna be rich!  Only rich in beads, but that's what matters, right?

 I love to challenge myself with color, and the third set of beads was definitely that.

I tried out several combinations before this necklace congealed.  I call it Grapefruit Garden.  The colors in the set remind me of my favorite citrus, and, well, the garden part is obvious.

I really need to take some better pictures of this one when Diana sends it back...its hard to tell from these pictures how juicy these colors are!

After all of this, I'm sure you have a favorite.  I definitely do, and it's this one!  Remember that tentacle from my very first purchase?

  

 I have loved this tentacle since the moment I saw a picture of it!  It is a bit of a rarity - Diana doesn't make a ton of them because they're time consuming, and rather a niche item.  I am so excited to finally be able to wear this thing!  And it's just enhanced by those vintage, matte Venetian glass beads, the sari silk, the architecture of the beadwork, and how the O beads mimic little suckers...I just love it.  Diana, I want another!!!

You can find Diana's work on her Facebook page, her blog, and ready to buy in her Etsy shop.  She is also a regular contributer to the Art Jewelry Elements blog, and published in numerous magazines.  The Fall 2014 issue of Jewelry Stringing even has an interview with her!

Thank you for looking!  As always you can see more of what I'm up to on my Facebook page, and in my Etsy shop.  Thanks for stopping by!

Hello after 4 years!

I started this blog with every intention of not becoming a "blog fader" - yet that is exactly what happened!  It has been just over 4 years since my last post...wow, where does the time go?!?  Part of the issue is that life just got in the way.  Two moves, three different jobs, lots of new friends, and I still made time for beading.  I just never took the time to post new work, or even really think about blogging.  And that leads me to the other two reasons:  building a new habit is HARD, especially when writing is not one of your talents or joys!  Unlike beading, writing anything has always been a real chore for me.  I am going to make a real stab at it this time though, complete with a schedule for posting and a list of ideas for posts!  Having a reference like that always helps me.  Even with those assists...my posts will probably always be picture heavy.  That is just how my brain works, and who doesn't like eye candy of the bead and beadwork variety?!?

With all that being said, let me show you a sampling of what I've been up to for the last 4 years - my beadwork has really grown by leaps and bounds.  Can you tell the difference between these and my previous posts?  I sure can!  It's always educational looking back at your old work.

 This one features a borosilicate glass squid pendant by my favorite Knoxville TN glass artist, Shawn Bungo of Bungo Glass.  He is self taught, just like me, and I think our work goes together phenomenally well.  I have quite the collection at this point!

 This is the first of my Third Eye polymer clay faces that I made into a necklace - I love how this one turned out, but the shape was incredibly difficult to capture...lesson learned!

 One night driving from Maryville TN home to Knoxville, I drove (white-knuckled) through a phenomenal electrical storm.  Seriously, I have never seen anything so spectacularly illustrate the immensity of weather before or since.  I was immediately inspired to create this thunder and lightening necklace!

 The Man in the Machine is one of my favorites!  I made all of the polymer clay gears, along with the face, and it is beautiful on the back as well.

 I just love the color combination on this necklace.  This was a bit of a break through piece for me as far as composition too.

 This piece is full of experiments!  Experimental strap, ruffles, netting, brick stitch ring, and toggle out of bugles...I just love making a bunch of disparate components come together into a piece.

 Primordial is one of my favorite pieces to wear out on the town.  It is, in a word, EPIC!  I lusted after this ammonite for at least a year before I bought it.  The cut side of it was full of little druzy crystals inside of the chambers - but it was the back that really got me. 

 Just look at that texture!  It is so rewarding to bring a creature like this back to life.

Thank you so much for looking!  If I fall off the blogosphere again, please do pester me via my Facebook page or my Etsy shop - I really love hearing your feedback!