Bead Dreams 2012

Another wonderful year at the Bead&Button Show!  And more amazing entries into the Bead Dreams competition!  As always, the artwork is behind glass so sometimes there will be a glare on the image that cannot be avoided.  Shawn did his best to take nice photos so those who could not attend would still have the chance to see all the amazing beadwork!  Enjoy!

Up first is the piece that won Best of Show!
Predator by Guzel Bakeeva from Russia.  Entered in to the Crystal Jewelry Category!

More of the entries.  We tried to get photos of them all during breaks.  If we missed someone, we're very sorry!

Ta Da!

Congrats to all the entrants!

If I'm able to find time in the next few days Shawn also got some photos of the Japanese bead exhibits.

The Beauty That Surrounds You!

I thought I would share some of the beautifully amazing sights I have on my one mile walk to work.  A walk I should try to take more often, but sadly, my busy life gets in the way of that.

How often do we leave our houses for work, or the grocery store, or to drop the kids off at school, or any other number of reasons?
Now how often do you take the time to look for the amazing beauty you are surrounded by?
I cannot count how many times I have taken this walk.  Some days I notice the hawks on the wire hunting in the field next to my house, some days I notice my neighbors garden in full bloom, or the creek babbling a little louder after a nice rain.  Some days I have on mental blinders and I spend the entire time going over in my head the myriad of things I need to accomplish the second I get to work and I miss everything along the way. 

I have decided I am no longer going to waste that precious time running through my mental to-do list.  Instead I am going to enjoy every moment of this short walk and take in all the amazing scenery I am blessed to live in.

Join me on my early Spring walk to work?  (remember you can click the images to enlarge them for a closer view)

Just down the hill from my house is a lovely gate with white Wisteria.  The trees in the background are home to some beautiful birds of prey in the area.

A few steps down the little path the city created on our street is a riot of shades of green with a splash of yellow blooming on one of the bushes.  A creek runs the length of this street so the foliage is usually nice and lush.

20 feet more and across the street is a purple Wisteria, this one growing mainly in the shade of the beautiful tree behind it.

There is a slight bend in the road before the street turns on to one of the main streets running through town.  There are some amazing oak trees in this area.  Here is a shot of one of them with the gorgeous clear sky as the backdrop.

Another 30 or so feet brings us to this very majestic and very old oak tree.  It has suffered some serious damage through the years from storms, stupid drivers not taking the turn slow enough, and also just from sheer age.  I have no clue just how old this amazing tree is, but it has some pretty amazing character growing into its branches. 

Almost before the main street are some flowering bushes planted by the city to decorate the area where the first two bus stops are located.  I have no clue what the bush is, but it sure is pretty.

At some point, just before that last amazing oak tree the creek crossed under the road and is now on the other side of the street.  It makes a sharp turn and even though it is not very full the sound of rushing water under the eucalyptus trees is beautiful. 

This is California, so we must have some California Poppy's, right?  The sun has just started to shine over here so they aren't quite open all the way yet.  I bet if I had the time to sit for awhile I could watch them open up for the sunshine!

Another yard with some pretty flowers blooming...

These blooming bushes are all along the fence line by the Police station and city hall.

And just across the street from city hall is this historical piece of property.  There used to always be sheep out in the field, but the folks who live here now use a riding mower to keep the grass under control.  I miss the sheep.  And I miss seeing the little lambs in the spring. 

And then just across the street is a quaint little church.  Oftentimes you will see artists setting up easels along the sidewalk where we are walking right now.  This church is very picturesque.  Tons of weddings are held here throughout the year.  It is named Church of the Oaks.  Recently, the three huge and very old oak trees that sat in front on the corner needed to be taken down.  I know they had sustained some damage from a storm, but I think the main reason was due to an illness.  The church had a big party when they planted some new young oak trees in their place.  You can see one of them flourishing on the right side of the photo.

Back on our side of the street sitting a little bit back from the road is a beautiful country barn.  This is just one block from the center of town.

At the end of this block is a house occupied by a very old woman who tends to her garden year round.  She has her lawn mowed in a particular pattern, and somehow (I am sure with some major diligence) she rarely has an gopher holes in it!  Here is a photo of the garden on one side of her house. 

Now I will reveal my dream home!  I have wanted this house for as long as I can remember.  It is only 2 blocks from my store and this area is zoned so that you could operate a business from the home.  So, wouldn't it make a perfect bead store!?  It has gone up for sale twice in the past 30 years.  Sadly, both times the asking price was a bit out of my reach.  But I won't give up hope!
And while I appreciate the subtle gray and white paint job, I envision it being painted a deep sage green with turquoise trim.  And that porch is just begging for a swing!

OK...we really need to get a move on....we're already late for work!

We needed to hustle past the park (it was too shady and the photo didn't come out well anyway!), past the intersection in the middle of town and the fire station and then....here we are!  The open sign is on so we must be late!  Check out the crazy huge redwood tree just outside my shop.  I am so grateful that it is protected and that the building had to be designed around it. 

Thank you for joining me on my walk to work.  I have to let you go now as I have a ton of things to do today.  But before you go, one final comment.  I hope this little journey will inspire you to get out and take a walk yourself today.  And while you're out there, be sure to take the time to appreciate all the beauty that surrounds you.  Healthy for your body and your mind!

Have a great day!

 

A Brand New Forest

I am blessed to live in Northern California!  Within less than an hour drive I can be gazing up at Giant Redwoods. I can hear the Pacific crash against jagged rocks, or hear it gently flow to shore over a beautiful sandy beach.  I can be in a major city (San Francisco) to enjoy an opera, world class dining, a Giants ball game, visit historical landmarks.  I can be driving across rolling golden hills on my way to a babbling stream high up in the mountains.  I am basically surrounded by a plethora of magical sights and wonders all within a moments reach. 

This past Sunday, Shawn and I took a drive through our old home town (where we lived when Nick & Justin were born) of Fairfax.  This is where Jerry Garcia used to just show up and play at The Sleeping Lady, and where the hustle of Marin county slowed way down.  I am not so sure it is the same as 25+ years ago when we lived there, but it still holds some very special memories for us.  Just on the other side of town lies the northeastern edge of Mt. Tamalpias.  A breathtakingly beautiful mountain that sits right along the Pacific and overlooks miles and miles of the North Bay area.  There are 100’s of hiking trails, a favorite area for bicyclists, several small lakes for fishing, and a very special pond that Shawn has been visiting since he first moved out to California from New Jersey when he was 18.  This pond is the home to a very special breed of newt and the folks who frequent this area will watch over the pond carefully to make sure nobody is mistreating the newts. 

We headed out on the short hike to the newt pond so Shawn could try and capture a photo or two of the little creatures, but we ended up being totally amazed by the very beginnings of a pine forest.  It seems after our recent rains that fertile pine cones dropped to the ground and with the soil being soft and moist they took root.  Everywhere we looked were these amazing wee little baby pine trees in their first few stages of growth.  It was just magical.

They were growing all along one sunny edge of the newt pond and also a small way into the pond itself. I imagine the little newts were totally loving all the new little hiding places that the wee baby pine trees brought with them.

The brand new little pine forest is very thick and dense so we had to be very careful where we walked so as not to disturb any of the baby trees.  Shawn found a clearing along the edge and laid down to get some of these amazing shots.  I’ve left the images really large so you can see the little mini spider web and the spider that his camera managed to find.  And also the amazing colors and “glow” that seems to be coming from the brand new little tree trunks as they sprout up out of the fertile ground.  

I’d also like to take this time to point out what an amazing gift Shawn has for photography.  I’ve known for a long time with the fabulous shots he’s able to take of my beadwork, but to just be able to lay down on the ground and snap photos like these blows my mind!  Be sure to click the images to enlarge them so you can see all the amazing detail he caught in these photos!

 We're hoping to take our kids there this coming Sunday for a picnic and to let them see the wee beginnings of a pine forest, too!

My 12-Steps of Beading

Below is my 12-step beading process....

1) Have an ah-ha moment for a new design.

2) Pick out the beads.
3) Change my mind about the beads I picked out and pick out new beads.
4) Settle into a comfy chair and begin the beading!
5) 1/4 of the way into the design get flooded with ideas for variations on the design.
6) Work in vain to try and shut my brain off to the new ideas so I can finish the first idea.
7) Give in and put down the design I am working on so I can go pick out new beads for the new design that won't be quiet in my head.
8) Change my mind about the beads I picked out and pick out new beads.
9) Scoop the beads and the partially finished project from the first design that got bumped out of the way into a UFO baggie.
10) Settle into a comfy chair and being the beading!
11) 1/4 of the way into the design get flooded with ideas for variations on the design.
12) Repeat steps 1-12

I am concerned that I'm not fully understanding the 12-step program. But I don't have the time to figure it out right now....I have some beads I need to pick out for this awesome design idea I have.....

Must like leaves!

I know I do!  Well, I better like them since I spent the past couple of weeks beading over 50 of them and then using 47 of them to create this Falling Leaves II necklace for a kit.

My original Falling Leaves necklace used almost all the same colors as this new design, except I removed the Colorlined Cream size 11 that I use for the veins and added a new color of Delica in a Raspberry Goldlustre for some of the leaves.  But the feeling of Autumn is pretty much the same.

My original necklace has been a best seller for us in kit form for over 7 years now!

I've had a few requests to do a necklace that wasn't meant to be worn so close to the neck.  So I designed a new necklace using the same Russian Leaf technique as well as a Russian Spiral Rope.  The neckstrap is longer than shown in the photo, but can be adjusted to fit the beaders own personal needs.  There is a hidden clasp in the front under the fall of leaves.

I'm hoping to have it available in kit form very soon in reply to all the lovely requests!

I also had a request to do one in Winter Blues and Whites....not sure that's gonna happen this year!  Maybe next year.  ;o)

Do Your Creations Have A Story?

Most everything I have ever created comes about because of an event, or a series of events in my life.  Many times through dreams (hense the online name of DreamBeadr), but sometimes just because I saw something and it struck me in such a way that I felt compelled to "recreate" it.  Usually in beads. 

Sitting one day in my livingroom when the light started to filter through our back patio sliding door, it hit just right on this candle holder I have.

A week or so later, while sitting in the passenger seat of the truck returning home from a show, I started beading this bracelet....inspired by the candle holder.

I ended up naming it Julz after an online friend admired it.  I've also made it in other colorways.  It is a very popular kit for me.

Another recent creation is my Enchanted Necklace (which I am beyond thrilled will be included in Lark's 500 Beaded Jewelry Book due out later this year).  Part of the inspiration came from the Dragonfly button I beaded around where I had an idea in a dream that I wanted the button to look like it was nestled into a comfy pillow of beads.  The other part of the inspiration came from the ornamental plum trees outside my shop.  In the spring time they are full of gorgeous blossoms. 

And here is Enchanted

For my Ancient Seas necklace I was mostly inspired by the Ammonites.  I was trying to replicate the colors, while adding a touch of another brighter color that is often found in nature, Turquoise, but without having it be too distracting.  I had to dream about the design of Ancient Seas for several months before it came to life.  Because it is out of my normal "style" of design, I have needed to learn to love this necklace.  I certainly enjoyed the process while I was creating it, because so much of the design was new to me, which is always a fun place to be in my mind - exploring something new, but when it was completed I did not embrace it as quickly as everyone else around me seemed to.

I remain, however, very proud of this piece of jewelry.  Last year my first time teaching Ancient Seas at the Bead & Button show the class sold out within minutes of going live.  That was certainly a wonderful, and much needed ego boost for me.

And recently I've been playing around with Cubic Right Angle Weave (CRAW).  I've also been totally enraptured by the series of books by R.R. Martin and recent HBO series Game of Thrones.  Shawn and I have watched it twice now, and I am ready to watch it again!  And we've also listened to the second book, A Song of Ice & Fire on CD while we traveled to our show in Tucson.

As I played a bit with altering bead sizes and making the CRAW turn corners, this necklace began to emerge.  It reminded me a lot of Aria, one of the young female characters in the book who many times would much rather have been a boy.  She is beautiful and slight of build, depicting her feminity, but also rough and fierce showing her masculine side. 

So I named this necklace after her....Aria



So what inspires you when you create?  Nature, books, music, dreams, something sitting on the table in your livingroom?