oh, boys -

mary jane dodd

i consider myself fortunate that 3 souls chose me to mother them -

but when the holidays approach and i have 2 teen aged boys, dread settles in... 

my 20 yr. old daughter is easier to gift... i can make her handmade things & find all kinds of wonderful items on etsy (thanks to heather powers for a great post the other day)...

and then there are the boys - (who i love with all my heart, but struggle to get things for... of course, i could buy all kinds of stuff for stuff's sake... but i prefer not to do that - though one can get desperate)

one will wear a necklace and has a favorite charm from beth hemmila on leather that he wears almost daily...

the other doesn't wear jewelry at all... 

the younger one likes to skateboard - and i knew that at the skate shops, people will leave their broken decks when they get new ones... 

what if?

so i called a local shop, and yes, he had some decks -

here are a few of my first beads cut from them...

they obviously need sanding and i learned to try to peel the grip tape off first... but they have potential and i quite like the layered look of them...

my other son loves vinyl records - our own barbara did a post on using those... hey, barbara, think you can help me out? 

how are you doing shopping for your kids? with money tight for so many families how do you balance their excitement with your reality? 

and if you have any great ideas for teen aged boys (or girls or kids of any age), please send them along!

My FAVORITE new artist

                                                                                                                      by Kelli Pope    
    I have found a FANTASTIC new artist who is making handmade components for me!!  I am SO thrilled!!

       Over the years making jewelry, as I began trying to go ALL handmade, I began forming and hammering out my own metal components.  Then I came upon 2 fantastic artists, whose work I just HAD to have, to incorporate into my pieces.  Mary Ann Carroll,  provided me with incredibly beautiful handmade ceramic beads. Her work created a deep desire in me to make my own beads and pendants.    She showed me that I, ME,  I could create the beautiful, rustic earthy beads I longed for in my jewelry.  (thank you thank you thank you, MsMaryAnn!!!)    Shannon LeVart , MissFickleMedia enchanted me with her colorful patinated metal components.   They too became a staple in my pieces.  I purchased her wonderful, patina Tutorial, and have given it a go...  although I don't quite have the patience for it, my FANTASTIC new artist does.  And I still have Miss Shannon to back me up, in a pinch.     

  Then came Painting with Fire by Barbara Lewis.  OH the beautiful colors.   I was in intrigued for a couple years, and finally bit the bullet and bought her enameling kit. I was so excited the day it was delivered.  I set it aside for a rainy day........................................... and the rainy day never came.    But THEN......... yep, you guessed it, came along my FANTASTIC new artist to the rescue.

   OK... I'll give in.   The wonderful new artist is my husband Steve.    He has been helping me over the years here and there with the "grunt" work.   The antiquing, (oh how I miss the lovely aroma of Liver of Sulphur..NOT) the sanding, the tumbling, loading/unloading the kiln.    He decided to try his hand at patina, too...  MUCH more patient than I am with it.     

 After finding himself "retired", he asked one day if I needed help with anything.  He was in need of a hobby.   I was too busy making jewelry at the time, to really think about it.   So I told him about the enameling kit that had been whispering to me from the corner for months, that I just couldn't take time to play with.  I handed him the kit, and Barbara's book, and told him to "have fun".   BOY has he!!!! 

Red enameled copper tubes

With hammered cooper and lovely, wood-kiln fired beads from our own Mary Ann

    I SO wish I had more pieces to show you, but alas, I sold them all at my show this past weekend. :o)  (I know, I know!  I HAVE to start taking more pictures!)  This is the ony one left with enameled components.   People were all but fighting over them.   One piece a lady put on, and several others wanted it.  Lucky for her she kept it on until after she paid for it!!  :o)       I'm so very thankful and proud of my new
FANTASTIC in-house artist!!!   I love to get the surprise components to work with, that just "show up" on my work table.  And I think he's having a ball!!       Just today, he called me at work to let me know all of his new enamel colors and tools had come in..   haha..........     It just makes me smile!  

Steve's work station

Am I a lucky girl, or what?  

The Annual End of the Year Studio Clean Out

by Staci L. Smith

During show season, which runs from about March till October, I don't get much else done. Three kids and shows, leaves me in constant emergency mode, just doing the basics. So since the end of October I have been cleaning up and destashing my house.

I cleaned my studio last year pretty good as well. It's amazing how much stuff just gets thrown in corners after shows, ect..... I am thankful I cleaned it last year as well, cause it was bad.........real bad.

These pics were actually taken after I'd started cleaning....so they are kinda mid clean, with an entire layer of stuff removed. Like the bead bin with the glass top? Thats my misc bead box....it used to be about 9 bowls stacked in all corners of my table, no lie. So I put away the bigger beads and such and the rest went into the mix bin. I love a good mix bin though, often it inspires me to see all the colors and textures together- silver lining to the mess.

I started trays to sort things, half finished stuff, metal to re-work, beads to be completed, ect.....(some are waiting to be riveted to a backing, some need bezels re-attempted, some need to be added to their polymer centers, ect.....) I also began to hang up jewlery that can be put in the etsy shop at a markdown. The rest of the jewelry went either in a pile on my shelves (the part of the studio thats not done yet) or in the bargain bin. Because I plan to have an open house this year, just something informal, so you local friends can come and get some great bargains for gifts.

So I got some of my shelves cleaned up, sorted and destashed. These are looking much better- I have my bags and business cards and boxes on the top shelf, my magazine publication on the next one, polymer clay creating stuff and alcohol inks, empty trays, so I can start filling them with beads for the Berks Bead Bazaar, and on the very bottom is my show stuff that I won't put in the basement. Its my bead totes, checkout station, and my table cloths.

Then I cleaned out the cabinet where I keep my metal clay stuff, my stamps, and my things I don't want kids into- like denatured alcohol and liver of sulphur. Somehow, it had accumulated stuff in there, that just didn't belong. Its much better now.

I took some of the piles of papers from my table, many of them gifts from my kids, other pieces of art from fellow artists, and decorated a little bit.........................

That jewerly is the "mine" stash- and the "needs re-working" stash.

I also cleaned my patina / solder shelves

Those sit on my bead table between my bead area and solder area.

And here is the bead desk re-done............Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

Cleaned out under it, on it, ect........still missing my favorite file though......hmmmmmm.

I still have to clean the big corner shelves from this picture.....but the floor over there is totally clear now, and some of it is looking better. That will be next week, as I have custom orders to finish up, and jewelry to get out to the gallery.....AND Christmas gifts to make. I love making Christmas gifts.

Ready for the new year! Are you?

Toe Rings!

How pretty are these toes?  I have a toe ring that I've worn for years. I remember buying it at the Los Angeles County Fair.  It is silver, a simple half round wire ring.  Not long ago it broke.  Before it broke, it saved my toe from certain death when I dropped something heavy.  My poor toe ring was no longer perfectly round.  I put it on my ring mandrel and pounded it back into shape as best I could.  Maybe I weakened it...all I know is...it broke.   I've been meaning to fix it...but I haven't.  Maybe I'm too old for toe rings?  I don't know...but I kind of miss it.

I wondered if toe rings have any kind of meaning...so I looked it up and found some wonderful information (and this cute picture) on Kelsey's blog.  I have copied from her blog her "Short History of the Toe Ring".

A Short History of the Toe Ring By Kelsey

In the United States, as in most countries, toe rings serve mainly as a fashion accessory for the foot. What most people don’t know however, is that toe rings have a very interesting history. In India, a toe ring is worn on the second toe of the left foot of a Hindu woman to symbolize marriage. This would be similar to the traditional wedding ring in Western culture. Some women in India wear them on just one foot, both feet, or have a set for all five toes. The rings are usually crafted in a hoop form that’s open in the back for easy removal. Men also sometimes wear them to symbolize strength and masculinity. Toe rings are referred to by different names in different cultures; in Hindi a toe ring is called a bichiya (pronounced: bee-chee-ya).

Toe rings were introduced to the United States around 1973 by Marjorie Borell. After returning from India, she started selling and manufacturing them in New York at her own trendy retail outlet called Fiorucci. She eventually sold her designs to other companies and the idea took off. The wearing of toe rings in India is still a commonly practiced custom today, and they remain a sought after fashion accessory in the United States as well.

Thank you Kelsey!  If you wear a toe ring, post a photo on our LMAJ FB page, we'd love to see them!

Finding and losing words.....

I'm finding immense joy these days hammering words into metal. The phenomenon of metal stamping aside, I've long enjoyed using words in my work, whether it is in my paintings, my polymer clay pendants, or most recently, my metalwork.

I'm not an eloquent writer. Therefore, I think I tend to grab hold of lyrics, poetry, and books, to find my mantras. Casually scribbled onto receipts, haphazardly in the margins of to-do lists and my sketchbook, I love to pull these out and emblazon them onto jewelry.......

hoping that others find the words as captivating as I do......
The medium and the words may change....but there will always be things to say :)

Getting ready to wood-fire.....

MaryAnn Carroll

My husband Bill Perrine is the wood-firing expert. I am the lucky wife that gets the rare opportunity to regularly  include beads in those firings. My beads are getting bisque fired today in my little electric kiln so that I can get them glazed in time for Thursday. He's been busy glazing his various functional creations in time for the holidays. Hopefully, by next Sunday, there will be some new beautiful pictures to share.

These are waiting for glaze....

Bill, recently retired, changed the style of his kiln to offer more room, as well as an easier method of loading it. There are additional technical reasons for the change, but I'm not educated enough about the process to explain that.

Here is the rebuilt kiln before the action started.

Below is the opening of the first firing in the re-built kiln. The pieces inside consisted of numerous artists who wanted to be a part of this firing. I was unable to get organized enough to get any beads in......

So.... as you can see, there is something VERY unique about this kind of firing. I feel very fortunate to be able to be a part of the experience. Hopefully, this time next week, I will have all kinds of colorful pictures to share!

As always, thank-you for supporting those who create handmade with handmade.

MaryAnn

To see more about wood-firing, check out more from Bill -

http://splitfirepottery.etsy.com
http://splitfirepottery.com

I have a small selection of wood-fired beads at http://artisanbeadsplus.etsy.com

ripple effect

mary jane dodd

the cool grey skies
of late november
are no match
for the final
flickering
flames 
of autumn.

but this is no contest...

the sky's job is to be the sky
the leaves' job is to be the leaves.

and by the simple presence 
of the other
each becomes more... 

--------------------------

we have here almost 700 readers... people who share their thoughts, have family and friends, interact in the world... 

we are all more because of the other -

we grow

and learn.

we connect

and our hearts swell.

we thank you for sharing yourselves with us -