Room to Contemplate

Bead and Button 2018

It's been ages since I posted. I want to get back to this. It was fun but I don't know if this is a valid way to reach people anymore.  People want quick hits. Seems like the internet has made us all a little attention deficit these days.

I want to share the classes that Cristina Leonard and I are teaching at Bead and Button this year.

The Moroccan Pendant Class. This is double layered PMC pendant with a focal charm in the middle.  It's a fun class and you will learn a variety of construction techniques in putting your pendant together.

 

PMC Vintage Ethnic Pendant and Earrings.  In this class we will show you how to use antique molds to make a pendants and earrings.  We will show you to make a spinner earring with a special wire wrap technique that I perfected.

Twisted Sisters Twisted Bracelet. A really fun technique to make gorgeous bracelets. You will learn how to twist the wire, forge into a bracelet and rivet. You will want to make an armful of these!!

Retail Therapy....

For anyone who has been to Bead Paradise in Oberlin....you know this is, by far, the best bead store ever!!  BEST EVER!!  If you haven't been to Bead Paradise, you need to go.  It's worth the trip.

In desperate need of retail therapy...I stopped in on Saturday.  I must have been in a metal mood because most of what I came away was metal of some sort or another.

Desert Bells. These make such lovely sounds. They had a tree of them and it was hard to walk away with just one....which you see I didn't. 

Stirrups from Nigeria. I don't know why...but I just had to have them.  I actually can see hanging these up on the wall and putting candles on them. 

Brass hair pin from Niger

Stone beads from Africa. These are yummy!!

A shell pendant.  I liked the striations. 

Bracelet, which is too small for me but a great model for something to make, and a really cool tubular bead from Nigeria

Tuareg coin silver beads anda great strand of irregular beads from India

Brass cornerless beads. vintage tubular beads from Burma, and those nubby brass beads you see are from Yemen. 

More cornerless beads, these are Tuareg, a shield pendant and button from India

Ganesha. remover of obstacles and patron of the arts and sciences, intellect and wisdom.  Things we are badly in need of these days. He is now one of my many studio companions. 

White brass cornerless cube beads from Niger and some very thin metal discs from Thailand. There are some really teeny tiny metals beads in that mix too. 

Christmas Spirit

I'll be honest....I don't have much Christmas spirit. It's been a shitty year...I'm not in the mood.  But I decided to stop at Pettiti's Garden Center in Avon on the way home today.  After looking around I found myself smiling.  They have one of the best displays of Christmas trees and decorations. Everything from pink bunnies...purple fairies...sleepy moose...to dinosaurs hiding among the trees. There is so much you can't see it all in one visit.

Maybe I have some Christmas Spirit after all. I think I will go back tomorrow to take another look.

Bead and Button Classes

It's that time of year again....the Bead and Button Show catalog will be coming out soon.  Once again I will be teaching with my partner in crime, Cristina Leonard.  Cris was recently featured on Facebook on the Society of North American Goldsmiths page.


Congraulations Cris!!  Such a well deserved honor!!

So once again we will be offering classes at Bead and Button. Here is a sneak peak....

Boho Chic Disc Earrings

Buttercup Earrings In Silver And Bronze

Dangling Bead Earring

PMC Fine Silver Bracelet

 

Fine Silver Shadow Box Pendant

PMC Fine Silver Earrings With Scratch Foam

Twisted Bronze Bracelets

Over the next couple of weeks I will post about each class, the date, the length of the class and the techniques you will learn.