In a Beading State of Mind

Since April 20 and the announcements that there was oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico and that the oil companies had no idea how to deal with it all, I have been working on beading projects. I am extremely upset about this spill and the devastation that is being brought on the environment and the people who struggle to make their living from the gifts from the sea. I am totally apalled at how the compaqnies involved are dealing with this mega disaster. I know that alot of my anxiety goes back to a time when I was a uyoungster on the beaches in Santa Barbara California, during the oil spills in the Santa Barbara Chanel. I walked those beaches and we helped to rescue birds and sea life from the devastation. I have never forgotten coming home after a trip to the beach and having to clean the oil tar off of our feet with gasoline or kerosene. That spill was a drop in the bucket compared to this one. They say that things that happen early on in your life, can greatly impact your adult life. In my case this spill has brought on a huge wave of anger towards the oil companies who are doing all they can to make money and cut corners to get what they want. It has also reinvigorated my energy to fight any forms of offshore drilling anywhere along our shores as it is totally obvious that the Oil companies are not to be trusted.
I also have extended family members who make their livings as fishermen,, who work on the sea and care for the animals and fishes who inhabit it and who depend on the pristine beaches of Cape Cod , for their livelyhood, through tourism and summer rental properties. The oceans give us so very much and there is a very definate limit as to how much we can perturb the environment, before we are left with an empty lifeless pool.
In my state of stress I have turned to the rhythmic activity of creative beadwork, in the evening. I am working on projects to encase my own treasured gifts from the sea.

This first attempt at bead weaving around glass, turned out better than I had hoped. I found this piece of coke bottle glass at the mouth of the Potomac river. The color is wonderful and I love the grid texture. The piece is bigger than most pieces that I have, at about 2 by 3 inches. I am planning on making it into a focal pendant for a glass necklace combined with some of my treasured african recycled glass beads.

This is a piece of an old blue glass canning jar that I found in the surf at Nauset Beach on Cape Cod , last summer. This will also be a focal pendant.

This teardrop shaped piece is a lovely sea green color and it is so very smooth. I love creating these pieces and I hope to create several to offer as pendants, in my Etsy shop. If anyone of you has a special piece of glass or a stone that you would like to be able to wear as a pendant , feel free to contact me! (for email see my profile on the right hand border of this blog)
I would love to do some custom pieces for those who might be interested.
I really did not intend to rant about the oil spill situation, I guess that I really did not know the extent of my anger about this situation till I began to write about it!

Once again I have come to realize how very important my art is to my state of well being and to my abilities to manage various stressors that can arise from the most distant of events.
Art heals, art is therapy, art is very important.

And Now for Some Art!!!

Tropical Turquoise Auction accepting bids till Friday Jan 29 at 6pm est!
Scroll down to find the post and leave a bid with your comment, or just leave a
comment and visit the website who will benefit from your generosity!!

And Now For some ART!!!!

After all that has been going on in the world and focusing on family issues (like broken down vehicles, childs first mid term exams and feeding the family every day........) I was in a real need for some ART TIME!! ART TIME of the therapy sort. ART TIME that involved putting on some music and ripping and tearing paper and sorting thru images and tissue paper, and lots and lots of sticky messy glue!!!
I have also been feeling the need to make some art that stays home!! Most of my art lately has been created with tags- tags for selling, tags for gifting, tags for swapping, but NO tags for us/me!!!
I have been clearing out and bagging up items to go to Goodwill and as a result I have been given discount coupons to use when I shop in Goddwill- a very dangerous thing!!!! On one of my drop off and shop trips I came across a nice old smallish (14 inch diameter) Lazy Susan made in wood. It probably came out of someone's old home as it had that long used look about it. It was crying for some color and TLC. So I slathered it with glue and papers and napkin images and then three coats of Triple Thick varnish. Now it graces our kitchen table and holds our napkins and salt and pepper.It also adds a wonderful dash of color and interest ! It felt so good to create something that was a short term project aht has lots of utility and won't be walking out the door!! (Click on the image for a close up view!)

Once done with the Lazy Susan I went on to create 4 full sheets (approx 24 x 36 inches) of Fabric/Paper in two styles.

The first sheet that you see here, I created using my usual technique. Fabric and then text images, sheet music, different language text etc, all coverd with tissue, painted paper towels and napkin bits. (going for a flowery red Valentine theme here- I do have to think about sales, at some point!)

THe next three sheets (see the 2 above) were done using printed images and papers covered by a sheet of white tissue and then a wash of acrylic paint. The tissue over the top gives much more texture than my usual method This is the method developed by Fabulous Artist Beryl Taylor. ( Beryl has a new book coming out and a new DVD available now- I am SOOO excited to get my hands on both).

I have several things in mind to do with these various sheets in combination with some of my photographs and other printed/painted fabrics. I will be cuting and combining and stitching and beading and I will be sure to share as soon as things develop. For right now it was just wonderful Therapy to get my hands messy and create!! I highly reccomend this sort of thing to anyone who feels the pressures of our world closing in.

Go out there and get some paints and paper and fabric and glue and have at it!! Go On, Get Messy!!!!!!!

And then plaster a smile on your face and go out and do something for someone else, maybe even someone that you don't know!

You will feel so much better, I PROMISE!!