Beads and seeds

August update

2008-08-22T18:17:00.004-07:00

It has been a very busy year so far. I quit smoking the end of February and have not been beading much. My ritual at night after my Husband went to bed was to stay up, smoke and bead for a couple of hours. A very hard association to break. I also lost my favorite beading area in the remodel and the coming of new furniture.....so some changes are finally about to happen to rectify my absence to my blog and my beading. I just photographed December and January pages, they have been done for sometime.
Time
Ages

In the mean time I have completed the 155 tiles for my kitchen back splash. This has been an 8 month project. Today I took my first class on the wheel. The grout is left to do, but it is everything I visualized in the beginning.

The garden has been awesome this year. The harvest has started, along with canning, roasting and consuming wonderful foods.

Have a great day and have fun beading.

November page

2008-02-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

I am almost caught up here. This page is called Progression. I painted the Peltex with fabric paints. I was inspired by Nancy Eha's new book, Bead Creative Art Quilts. Most of the circles have elevated beading using larger crystals. I even used some micro orange bugle beads.

Here is were they hang for now, in my shop. It gives me a wide audiance and perception of how other people may see my work.

Here's a peek of December.

Have a good day

New non-beady things

2008-02-04T07:15:00.000-07:00

Nothing beady today. I have to get a picture of November done and December is in the works. I did finish making the tiles for the longest wall in the kitchen. They just need to dry good before glazing.

This was a visitor I had last week. This picture was taken through a window from my shop. He was looking for my little tweety birds. He is a short tailed hawk. I don't want him around very much, he put everyone in hiding for a few hours.

Off to take pics and play in the studio.

Have a good day.

2008-01-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

Coming back to blogland

2008-01-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

I have set my mind to trying this again. I was having such a hard time getting logged in I lost interest. Now it goes directly to the dashboard, go figure.

I have been keeping very busy these winter months. I am still beading away, painting birdhouses, making my back splash tiles for the kitchen...about 250 tiles, doing mosaic pots and remodeling the office and bedroom.

My August page is called Transformation. The snake symbolizes transformation. Transformation happens whether it hits you like a rock or blows by you like the wind on a blade of grass. Whether you think your on the right path or feel like you are out on a limb, it will happen.

My September page is called Dreams. I used a zipper for the wings along with some Angelina fiber. Starting to feel light at heart again after such a hard spring. The heart break doesn't go away, it just gets easier to deal with.

My October page is called Roots. I feel that knowing what anchors me keeps my sanity. Knowing the difference between your reality and your dreams, what you can change and what you have no control of.

My November page is almost done and December and January are in the works. I have this week off and hope to be caught up. I will be using size 11's instead of my favorite 15's, it will go a little faster.

Have a great day

July page

2007-08-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken at late sunrise this morning. A little crooked but the best so far. To start with, I am not a writer, I am not good with punctuation and all the finer parts of writing. I have never really expressed my feelings on paper, I don't journal, so this was and is a new experience for me. I wrote 10 pages of draft, I will condense it, but it felt good. I also am looking forward to taking better pictures with a light box I just bought.......here it goes

My Inner Self

This last March I lost all communication with my son. He met the woman to be his wife 4 years ago and fell in love. As I got to know this woman my gut wrenched. I didn't understand the attraction at all. She is a very bold woman with little regard to other peoples feelings. After meeting her parents, the apple does not fall far from the tree in this case. She put me to tears many times with her blunt sarcasm and belittling remarks.

What makes me the saddest at this point is the horrible position my son was put in, to make a choice. What makes the most sense out of this situation is that no has to pretend anymore.
Mike and I don't have to feel disrespect from her, we don't have to feel Cary's (my son) struggle and the dark cloud is gone.

I am disappointed that my son lost the courage to be honest with me. When I asked him what was wrong his reply....it is the little things. Oh, my....what I taught him all his life was gone, some where else from that moment on. I always let him be aware that treating people like you want to be treated was a good way to live your life. He told me one time that it didn't always work that way, I told him to do it anyway. That is what I did with his wife, to be the bigger person, to cry alone, to hold back anger and hurtful words.

I went to the store one day to buy buttons, I ended up with the fabric for July. For some reason I wanted a piece of brocade, not for a shirt on this body, but just to have. When I got to playing with it and beads, it started letting me know that it needed to be special. I made the face and put it in place, but it was out of balance. I felt the face reflected wisdom. Then I found the stone of rhodochrosite on my shelf. I am not a pink person in clothing and there it was, the perfect match. When I researched the stone, I hit the wall so to speak. My heart needed to be soothed and I needed to start healing. I am good at covering up for the most part, there are very few people who know my tears and how bad my heart is hurting. And here I am sharing with the world so to speak.

As I began putting the beads on I started to reflect on what exactly I was trying to heal. I had to take note of the responsibilities of all parties involved. What the behavior of jealousy, control and greed can make a person do. With each hour of working I had to decide if I made the right choice, would I have done anything different......the answer is no.

I also pondered my support and my inspiration for my life and the choices I make. Two very special woman came to mind. I was privileged to meet them when I first moved here.

The first I want to share with you is Jewel Butler. I knew her for 4 years before she passed away. She was 70 when I first met her. I would go to her house, have lunch, do perms in the kitchen sink and then chat. She would ask me questions about life, at that time I had no clue how to answer, now I am understanding all that she shared. She believed she lived life in 3 segments, about 25 years a piece. Each being different then the other. She most enjoyed the last segment, she became the free spirit she always dreamed of. Good business woman, nice friends and a lovely house she owned by herself.

The second woman I want to share is Mary Ann Bassinger, whom I had a 20 friendship with. I met her when she just turned 60. She was my neighbor and the first person I met when I moved to this valley. When she divorced a very prominent doctor and left town with another man to Alaska, she had made taboo with some of her children. I had just come from Alaska. I spent all those years watching 3 of her 5 children treat her with the utmost disrespect because she made that choice. What I admired the most was her ability to shun the blame and guilt they tried to burden her with. I am lucky to have been the one to find her at peace, finally. Otherwise she could have been laying in disgrace for days.

My story and theirs is repetitive in generations. What they shared with me was to learn to set your own boundaries without feeling or displaying the need for control. They focused on themselves and in doing so the rest of their lives were guiltless and happy. In the process they never forgot how to share bits of wisdom and support.

My Inner Self

I am grateful to have people in my life who share pearls of wisdom. It is important to listen.

I am grateful to have the ability to heal, to fill in the gaps that pain leaves.

I am focused on my boundaries, firm in line, but soft in design.

I will leave my heart open to new beginnings, the negative may blow like leaves in the wind.

I cherish my safety net, not big, but bold in support.

If I am good to me, I am good to you.

Still here and still beading

2007-08-19T11:13:00.001-07:00

I am having the hardest time getting a good picture of this page. The fabric and the beads are picking up glare, I think when it is done I will have to build a light box to photo.

It has been a real healing page, it just has taken me some time to sort out my feelings and how the page speaks to me. I started my August page and it is astounding how the two are tied together. It wasn't planned that way, it just happened. It happens to have a snake......transformation.

I have this next week off and hope to have both done. I have planted 4 dozen iris, 2 more peach trees and am in the process of moving some things around. I only ordered 1,500 bulbs this year....lol, one year it was 3,000!

I am also going to take a ceramic class and make my back splash tiles for the kitchen. We remodeled this spring, red walls, white cabinets and grey counter tops. Replaced some of the appliances with stainless steel. We will finish the crown molding and trim this winter.

This is a piece I did 5 years ago. It is Mike's hands, yes he does have a short finger, oil rig accident.

Have a good day all!

July's harvest and page

2007-07-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

This month has been completely nuts. I have had 20 new clients in 3 weeks, I was nominated for garden of the month and the harvest is on! I harvested all this in 2 days. I freeze what I want, share with the neighbors and the rest goes to a soup kitchen. My pups make sure they don't miss a thing.

A friend of mine came in last week and laid down a piece of orange ultra suede on my desk and the pallet for August was created. I had been working with some other swarvoskis and just happened to have them laying out, the little sparkly ones, the other was a dichroic glass piece I got at a bead retreat a few years ago. It all came together so well.

This is my progress for July....My Inner Self
I made the Buddha face from a mold, the piece of rhodochrosite I have had for may years. When I am finished I will explain how this page affects a very sad area of my life. One thing for sure, we are never too old or too wise to rebuild areas of our lives. One door has been closed but many have opened in return, I count my blessings every day.

Diana Grygo at http://thelonebeader.blogspot.com is an incredible artist to check out for those of you new to this blog. She is truly an inspiration!!

Have a great day.

Re post of pics

2007-07-16T06:10:00.001-07:00

You just have to see the detail. On the page the bottom left hand color was eliminated, just using 3 colors. On the tray are green beads for a bracelet I am also working on.

July's page

2007-07-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

It has been an extremely busy 2 weeks. I started my July page and have had a bit of a struggle. The fabric is extraordinary to my eyes, but not my beads. I am slowly working it out, thinking about balance and enhancements in life. Staying centered, which is a real challenge in one particular area of my life right now, which involves my only child , a 27 year old son. I believe if I can get through this page, I will have relieved a lot of sadness and put it all on the wings of love.

It just put me to tears writing this so I know I am on the right path, letting go......so very hard sometimes. On the lighter side......while fishing we have been watching a bald eagle with her twins. The nest is beautiful, but last time she had them out. The learning process for her babes has begun. The live in a wonderful canyon, which I am sure is rich with food and protection. We drifted by and I was able to get some pretty good pictures.
This is actually sunrise, with all the fires in our area, the smoke lent itself to a gorgeous sunrise.

Have a good day.

I can't seem to thumbnail the 3 top pictures, any help to do so would be appreciated.

June is done

2007-07-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

I finished this morning, all except how I want to hang it. My main objective on this page was to figure how to make the beads look like the picture. I learned that proper backing is a must, which I didn't have, but I am happy with the results. I haven't picked an actual theme to my pages, but will more than likely do more of my photos because they make me happy.

I have enjoyed looking at other blogs, I have gained inspiration and tid bits of knowledge. I am so happy to be part of this project and really look forward to this coming year.

Thanks for taking a look and have a great day!!

Killed 2 birds with one stone

2007-06-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

I am so thrilled right now. After I started my page I started to read about printing on fabric. I used the freezer paper method, which I have had the paper in my studio for months for other projects. I needed to raise the flower because the red beads were considerably smaller than the other colors. I noticed that Mary T. mentioned she uses felt to raise areas. Well guess what....lol....I accomplished my shading fear of the red poppy by printing it and raised it all in one. It is a perfect fit, so my painting was not so bad there. It re-news my excitement to bead this page!

This is the vest I attached the dragonfly to. It had only the long silver beads across the front. I stitched red beads every 5 sewing machine stitches around the whole thing, embellished the fringe on the sleeves and front.

Have a great day

Slow but sure

2007-06-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

Boy, it has been a week! I still managed to make progress despite a very busy week at work, made four shirts for Mike and myself, boat cushions and the 100 degree weather has me running in the garden. It is by far the most bead embroidering I have ever done. I tend to bunch my beads, but in this case I will use it for texture......lol. I have figured it out and hope to do better on July's, which I picked up a very nice piece of brocade for....yummy. I have this week off and have many things planned. I work 7 weeks on and take the 8th week off all through the year. It keeps me caught up on projects and grounded for work. So far I am very happy with the way my page is coming, the flower will be a bugger, but I think if I take my time it will be fine.

The dragon fly is done in brick stitch and then attached to ultra suede. I put it on the back of a riding vest Mike got me. I will post a pick of the completed vest next time.

Our little froggy friend at the end of a day fishing, thought he was just too cute. He really did want his picture taken and posed quite nicely.

Have a great day

The green leaves are done

2007-06-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

Whew, I knew this would be a challenge for me.....lol. My choice to use only 2-3 shades per color made my focus on the interpretation of shape. I was loose in applying the painting and therefore had to compensate in some areas. I had to remove a thumb....lol....that somehow appeared on the right hand bud. I think you can see it on the picture in the post with my tray. I had to loosen up all the straight lines I kept finding myself falling into. Let the beads do the talking......I am using 15's for this project.

This flower is called a Danish Flag Poppy. I started it from seed last year and the plants I have now are volunteer's. The plant stands about 2 foot high. The leaves are a gorgeous olive green and very thin and jagged, just an awesome plant.

Have a great day!

Catfish Queen!!

2007-06-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

I DID IT!!!! I beat the men, my husband and the men that fish with him!!!! My monster catfish weighed 12 pounds and was 32 inches long. Mike has been fishing the river 25 years and has never taken one that big. We took a 15 mile trip down river early in the morning and Mike got about a 5 pounder. We came home, I changed to a bigger test line, watered and re-baited. Got a whim about 5:00 and headed out again. It was only 20 minutes from my doorstep to catch this guy.....what a day!

This is my beading tray. I bead at night with Mike and watch the tube. I have 4 of these trays and they are very handy. Progress on my journal page has been a little slow the last couple of days. I have a slow work week so lots of beading, a little garden harvesting and pruning. I like the slow weeks....lol.

This is where I bead outside, I love my garden. I will get pics of my studio and post soon.

The blossom of the day.....a lily.

Have a great day

Took a Sunday fishing

2007-06-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

We bought a new river fishing boat a few weeks ago, it has been a wonderful distraction for me. I work from my home, so it is not often I leave except for errands. Mike, my husband is mainly interested in catching the almighty monster catfish. We baited chicken liver hooks, took out stink bait and other luring devices....lol. Does roughen the fingers for beading though. Anyway, along out ventures we came across a small island with a stand of about 6 dead cotton wood trees. A flock of Blue Herring has taken one of the trees for nesting. The evening was grey as it was getting ready to rain, but I love this pic. We won't be able to get back there till next year till the run off.

I have been beading my page, sometimes I like it and other times....well....it bugs me. I will continue, but not ready to post a picture yet. I keep having this image of a Georgia O' Keefe thing and hope my interpretation of my picture comes across somewhere in that field.

Have a great day

2007-06-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

This lily was a first year bloom.

I have been working and un-working my first page. My Mother always told me I started at the back of a book. I will get it and try to post a pic in the next few days.

I am going to start sharing some of my beady works. The mushroom, Purple Fantasy, was beaded around a rock. A very large spring was attached with wire, the the rock was covered in ultra suede. More pics can be seen here http://good-times.webshots.com/album/553782985koTYxt?start=0.

Have a good day

my first journal page

2007-05-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

Here I go, got my page ready and some new 15's came the other day. The picture I took, laying on the ground with my tripod. I painted the muslin, the page is 4 x 6.

I harvested a bushel of spinach yesterday. We have been eating turnips, radishes, beets and peas. The strawberries are to die for!!!!!

Pink poppy

2007-05-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled with this blossom. It reminds me of a petticoat. I don't recall planting this beauty, but sure am happy she grew here! These girls were happy to have a shower this morning. The iris stand about 3 foot tall. More flower pics here http://good-times.webshots.com/album/558596185HCcGRp

My garden is truly my inspiration. Not only the flowers, but the creatures that come to visit. It is my focus day and night. It has been rewarding for my husband and myself. My dogs know the spelling of garden and can't wait to hang with me. It has lightened the hearts of many a passer by. Not a day goes by that someone doesn't stop to have a gander.

I have started my first page and it is a flower.....of course. I am doing 4 x 6 pages. I am using one of my photos. I have painted the fabric, I used muslin and backed it with interfacing. My bead pallet is in it's first round...lol. I am getting a few other small beading projects done this week and hope to put the thread in the needle by the week end.

Have a great day

Judi

First post

2007-05-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

Wow....I never thought I would be posting on my own blog. I have been reading many of those who have committed to the Bead Journal Project. I feel very honored to be among such great artist! Thank you Robin for allowing so many to join you on the wonderful journey.

I own a business and work from my home, a walk across the drive way. It allows me to enjoy to the fullest my gardening and my art studio. I am an avid photographer of the flowers in my garden. Here is one I took yesterday...

Have a great day

Judi