Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Procrastination


Mermaid's Grotto, July Art Bead Scene Challenge

Like an idiot, I decided at 10:30pm that it wasn't too late to enter another piece in the July Art Bead Scene Challenge (the theme for this month is "Mermaid's Grotto" - visit www.artbeadscene.com for details). This would not have been a problem, except that the deadline for entries is Midnight tonight (not sure which time zone, though), and I hadn't even started stringing the piece. Optimistic, eh?

A few weeks ago, I won a set of gorgeous reactive glass beads from Jenn Kelly of Cali Girl Art Glass (www.caligirlartglass.com). The reactive deep blue color of the glass reminded me of the deep sea, so when they arrived, I thought immediately that the beads would be perfect in a bracelet, with stick pearls. Tonight, I added a Terra Trinket from Melanie Brooks Lukacs of Earthenwood Studio, a button clasp that I had made earlier from PMC3 and a few seed beads.

By the way, if anyone is wondering why I often use this deep red background, I have to tell you - this is actually the seat of one of my dining room chairs. Although it would be nice if the color were more neutral, the ultrasuede is finer than any other fabric I have in the house right now. One of these days I'll buy a light box...

Perfect Summer Color


Cherry tomatoes, fresh from the garden

Nothing says summer to me like the vegetable garden that my husband cultivates in our backyard. It's cherry tomato season right now. We only have three (okay, large) plants, but we have more tomatoes than we can eat at the moment. These are destined for a pasta sauce, as soon as I can tear myself away from the computer.

I love the rich, red color of a ripe tomato. It makes me want to break out all of my red glass and start torching. Or maybe some red resin beads? Hmmm.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Fool, said my Muse to me, Look in Thy Heart and Write


Ophelia's Garden, May Art Bead Scene Challenge

Hello and welcome. Thanks for visiting my brand new blog - I hope you enjoy what you read here.

The title of this blog refers primarily to strands of beads and strands of yarn. I have been a casual beader and an avid knitter for several years. Earlier this year, I started lampworking and working with precious metal silver. The necklace photographed above contains some of my early glass beads and my very first fine silver beads. Over the past two months, I have quickly become obsessed with making beads and jewelry. I remain obsessed with knitting. My intent at this stage is to focus primarily on these two mediums and the sources of inspiration for both.

By the way, I'm completely new at this - I'm more of a lurker on other people's blogs than anything else. I hope you'll bear with me as I gain my footing and learn the finer points of blogging.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the title of this entry is a quote from the sonnet sequence "Astrophel and Stella" by Sir Philip Sidney. I've always loved that quote.

Thanks!