Long Time no Beads

by Staci Louise Smith

I know this blog has been vacant for sometime now.  Life gets in the way like that at times.  However, it has been calling me back. I miss blogging about my creative life.  I miss that interaction with everyone, because you know what?  We inspire each other!  

I am prepping for Bead Fest Philly again, and have been hitting the polymer clay after a bit of a hiatus.  I am both intimidated and excited.  This year I have some new work that mixes polymer clay with two part epoxy resin and crystals- I must say, I am loving these so much!  

Dragon Eye bead / polymer clay, epoxy resin, crystals, paint, other mixed media stuff

Due to life's complexities, I know I am not going to have the amount of beads I like to at Bead Fest this year.  I do know I will have enough.  I used to freak out and work 16 hours days prepping for this show making everything I know how to.  This year, I am focusing on making what my heart is telling me to, rather than what I think others would want to buy.  I am listening to my intuition.  I will have a table full of unique items for sale in addition to my beads, like I have in the past.  I will have my jewelry, ceramic offering bowls and other things.   

You can find all that event info here on my Facebook page.  Please follow it if you have not in the past.  It is the best place to keep up with where I will be and what is going on in my creative world.

I also recently finished converting y Gold Rush class I did for Craft Art EDU into a PDF file you can purchase in my shop.  I was so very sad to see Craft Art EDU disband, but I am thankful they gave us our classes.  The tutorial is an entire class in one!  You learn to form the polymer clay beads, do the faux gold, cure and paint them with a crackle to make them look like stone, and then it even gives complete instructions to make two different necklaces.  You can purchase that here if you are interested in learning some techniques.  The best part is that this class is so full of different techniques and tips, you can use them many different ways.  I really believe this class can take you on a creative journey to new places! 

Well guys, it feels good to be back!  I am hoping to also do some posts to highlight some of the wonderful tutorials we have on this blog.  Click the tutorial link above to see a list of all the wonderful tips and designs posted by various artists over the years.  

David Bowie Blog Hop

It was such a sad day the day we lost Bowie.  He touched so many with his art, his music, his fashion.  

I really found it hard to pick one song, or one thing, or one picture that inspired me to create a piece of jewelry to honor him.  

However, there is a theme that I kept going back to, and that was the stars.

maybe it's because the first Bowie song I loved was Space Oddity.  Maybe its the amazing Sun, or heavenly object he would sometimes adorn himself with.

To me, he was always other worldly.  Whether he was Ziggy, or the Goblin King, or just a man who could wear anything and stand out completely.  He never blended.  He was unique through and through.

My first memory of him was riding in the car with my mom.  My mom was awesome, and she introduced me to all the GREATS of classic rock.  We were always listening to good music.  I remember when Space Oddity came on.  And as I listened, I remember being so very sad at the story.  I asked her if they guy died in space, and she said yes.  I was in love.  It moved me, as music should.  Being an avid reader, with a love of personal stories, that song hit me hard and touched me deeply.  Suddenly, there was a connection.  Any man who could write such a sad and haunting story, in a fashion that makes you love it and want to sing along, is a genius.

So, his celestial quality, and the reemergence of it as a theme in his work inspired my piece.

or 

Maybe its just this...........which sums up Bowie himself perfectly.  He did blow our minds....over and over again.

So I chose this star bead I made out of polymer clay.  I thought the way the gold crackle came across it reminded me of the way he would paint a lightning bolt on his face.

I figured, any piece I made to honor him, would have to be bold!  

I originally wanted to do something really outside of my comfort zone.  However, I felt it was better to make a piece, that was my style, but in honor of him.  It would make a small connection between him and I, and so, here it is!

It is called "Stardust" of course!

I am cleaning today, but I am wearing my fabulous piece and listening Bowie.  

If you want to hop along and see what everyone else has done, check out the links at the bottom of the Love my Art Jewelry blog

http://www.lovemyartjewelry.blogspot.com/2016/04/david-bowie-blog-hop_14.html

Asymmetry Blog Hop LMAJ

Today, and throughout this week, is the bi-monthly blog hop for Love my Art Jewelry.

I have only had time to make one new thing, but I have a couple other fairly recent designs that I can share as well.

For me, most pieces I make are asymmetrical.  I like the drama it creates in a piece.  I like that slight chaos it implies, and then, it balances out in some sort of way anyhow.

It's a challenge, its fun, and it allow me to use a greater variety of beads in one piece then if I matched them up.  I don't know about you, but to me, having more beads is a good thing !!

I can't be sure, but this may have been how I got started pushing the asymmetrical designs.  I am known to often lay out twice the amount of beads then I can fit in a piece.  Yet every time I hope I can somehow fit them in.  In order to use the variety I had hoped to use in a piece, and keep it on the shorter side, I had to make some asymmetrical designs.  Now, like I said, I can't be sure, but I think that played a part in it.  

So here are my pieces.

This first one is a longer piece, which is typically harder for me. 

 This one features my scrimshaw beadm ammonite, bronze pieces, a marsha neal studio drop at the bottom and a Suburban Girl studio donut

 Rustic Pink focal and rusty stone bead by me, donut by marsha neal studio

This is my newest one- made with some new beads I had made for another project (that didn't fit into it....lol)

I hope you like them.  I know, I won't be going back to symmetrical anytime soon ;)

Please go on over to LMAJ and see what others have made as well!

http://www.lovemyartjewelry.blogspot.com/2014/03/love-my-art-jewelry-asymmetry-bootcamp.html

  

October Art Spark

This months Art Spark Challenge at Love my Art Jewelry is Color and Movement.  Check it out here, because Mary Jane Dodd gives some great tips for ways to accomplish this in your jewelry, just to get you started.

One of the things she reccomended was creating a trapeze to invoke movement.  I really liked how you could take this simple idea and do it a million different ways!  I also enjoyed the challenge of adding movement to my jewelry, since my designs can flow visually, but be very static physically.  So for me, the challenge was to create flow in both areas. 

I made my trapeze, and wrapped the top with some great yellow recycled sari silk.  It added just the POP of color my piece needed.  After all, we can't forget about the color portions of the challenge.  If I haven't mentioned this before, I get my sari silk ribbon from Lisa Jurist or jmozart on etsy.  She hand cuts old sari's and sews the strips together to create these fantastic, organic, recycled, handmade ribbons!!!!  Check her out, you will find something you love, I promise.  Ok- back to the design.
From my trapeze I dangled one of my lentil beads, with a slight hint of yellow patina, added some copper beads and a piece sea glass that I drilled, then I added a nice dyed agate of some sort to one side, yet, it still needed more movement.  So I decided to make wire wrapped links, and connect them with large jumps, to allow them to move around.  Voila!  Just what it needed.  I added another sari silk (can you tell I just adore them???) and a handmade clasp. 

So here it is all finished up!  Hope you like it, and I also hope you will enter our challenge. There are some great prizes!!!  Push yourself to create more handmade in your pieces.  Make the clasp (here is a great tutorial by Cindy Wimmer on that), hammer some wire to make paddles, use some handmade beads to add color, and you are there!!!!  You CAN do this.  I started out simply stringing beads.  I never went to school for this.  Just try it.  The more of your jewelry that you make by hand, the more rewarding it will be, and I know you can do it.  We'd love to have you and your creations over at Love My Art Jewelry.  Hope to see you there!!!!

P.S.  each week we pick an artist to be highlighted, but the grand prize is chosen randomly.  (and we at LMAJ don't qualify to play)  So don't be intimidated, you have as good of a chance as anyone!

Art Bead Earring Swap

Thanks so much to Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio LLC for organizing this great swap!  I loved the idea of just swapping jewerly- especially with art beads.  I mean, even if we all make our own, you know we drool over everyone elses designs too!

I think earrings are both fun and challenging.  I am in a place in my jewelry making where I want all my work to be cohesive, and honestly represent my style.  When you make earrings, you don't have much room to make a statement.  They are an artform all their own!!!!!  So it can be challenging, but its always fun to make mini- art too!  (if you have seen how chunky and large my necklaces are, you will see why I call earrings mini-art!)

I got paired up with Lisa Petrillo of Lucid Moon Studio!  I was really excited, since I have "met" her through a couple of other hops.  I love her work, she really has an eye for design.  Her blog is full of life, and I just know she would be so much fun to hang out with in person.  Lisa is in the process of moving this week, I don't know how she does it all!!!!

Here is the amazing package I got from her.

We emailed each other prior to creating our earrings for each other, and I told her that I don't really wear earrings, but was excited to get a pair as a gift for my mom.  My mom is a BIG fan of earrings, and certainly not loyal to mine!  LOL!  I thought she'd like a pair from a new artist for a change.  The box is perfect and ready to gift!  I just love getting a nicely decorated package!

Then I opened it to find these adorable and versitile earrings!  Love them, and so will my mom.

But thats not all, she also included these, in case I wanted to make a matching pendant.

Isn't that so thoughtful???? 

So, I am looking at these beads, going, "these look so familiar".  So I emailed Lisa and it turns out they are made by Love My Art Jewelry's own LeAnn of Summer Studios!!!  Small world!!

If you want to check out what everyone else got, here are the links!  There are some great artists in this bunch.  I can't wait to have an excuse to browes their blogs all morning!!!

Happy Hopping!

Diana Ptaszynski http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com

Jenny Davies-Reazor   http://www.jdaviesreazor.com/

Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp http://www.skyejewels.blogspot.com

Lisa Petrillo http://www.lucidmoonstudio.com

Patty Chaban Gasparino http://www.mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com

Susan Kennedy http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Shannon Iko Chomanczuk http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com

Cilla Watkins http://www.tellyourgirlfriends.com

Diane Hawkey http://www.dianehawkey.blogspot.com

Pam Ferrari http://www.ferrarioriginalsyahoocom.blogspot.com

Lori Bowring Michaud http://www.artfullyornamental.blogspot.com

Stacey M. Curry http://www.starhitchedwagon.blogspot.com

Linda Landig http://www.lindasbeadblog.com

Norma Turvey http://www.moonlitfantaseas.blogspot.com

Melinda Orr http://www.orrtec.blogspot.com

Holly Westfall http://www.silverrosedesigns.blogspot.com

Rosemarie Cowit http://www.gemrosedesigns.blogspot.com

Staci L. Smith http://www.stacilouise.blogspot.com

Sarah Elder http://www.mysocalledjunkylife.blogspot.com

August Art Spark Challenge~ HAPPY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Little
dirty hands, raised up
presenting a gift
flowers picked and wilting
full of radiant love
full of pure joy
full of thankfulness
received in humility
received into the heart
held close
Happy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please hop on over to Love My Art Jewelry to read the full post and learn what inspired me, and how I made this piece.

Thanks.
Happiness to you!

A Day Trip, A New Discovery and BTW

Last Friday, the family and I took a day trip to LBI, NJ.  The weather was perfection.  We packed some snacks and a lunch and off we went.

We ALWAYS walk out the rock jetty from the light house, to where the bay meets the ocean.  If you have been to see Old Barney, you know where I mean.

Its always a beautiful walk, with little tide pools and lots of cool rocks.

When we got to the end of the island, we had a happy surprise.  The tide was WAY low and there was a ton of "stuff" to salvage on the beach. We found sea glass and shells, and lots of junk (which we try to clean up while we are there).

 The kids could go out sooooo far and never be in deeper then their knees!

If you want to find out about my new discovery, please click here and hop over to Love My Art Jewelry.  Its about a piece of jewelry~ and the beach........................but I won't tell you here!  Sorry!

And, it is Bead Table Wednesday again!  Here is what's on my bead table.........patina'd wings and such. 

I should be doing an Artisan Accents shop update by the end of the week, and these should be part of that.  So stay tuned!


So, how's your summer going???  Any fun trips?  Has it inspired anything new in the studio?

My Art Spark Entry ~ Nautre Inspired

I am drawn to water. Whether it is the grand ocean, or a little stream.....that is where I want to be. Around here we have marshy ponds, and the woods behind my home is wetlands. I started making these lily pad bezels, and this one really looked lily pad!!! So the piece was designed with that thought ~ marshes around ponds, all the shades of green and the great textures you will find in the grasses, and mosses and water plants.

What you will find in this piece: a copper and fine silver bezel with sea glass in the center (remember, I made 18 of these??), a rare and awesome green color turquoise donut (love love love that shade of green), some kind of crakle agate in green, a bronze starburst bead from my Artisan Accents shop, a greek ceramic / bronze bead, handmade clasp, and a hand dyed silk cord from Marsha Neal (you can get lost in all the great colors she has in these!!!)
Anyway- please check out the Art Spark Challenge this month here.  Create something that is inspired by the world around you, and then upload it to the flickr group, with a description of your inspiration and credit to who made the beads. 
Prizes this month are.......

This is a great season to walk outside, smell and listen to all the wonderful summerness going on, and let it fill you with ideas!!  So enter, and these could be yours!

How many of you are already inspired by nature in your designs????  (I bet its a lot of you)