Cheeky Devil....

Yesterday I received a Spanx catalog in the mail.  Of course none of the models in the catalog have a need for the product.  They are all stick creatures.  But I had to laugh when I came to the Booty-Booster Short.  A sliming under garment that comes with optional pads so you can increase your cheek size.  I'm still scratching my head over that one....of course having a flat butt has never been my problem.  I guess when you wear this particular item you don't ask if they make you butt look big. 

"Does this couch make my butt look big??"

 

Second Earring Class Added

The earring class that Cris and I are teaching sold out....so Bead and Button added a second class.  If you wanted to get into it...now is your chance.  The class will be on Saturday, June 8th.

Mixed-Metal Layerd Acid-Etched Earrings

I'm not getting a damn thing done....

What the hell???  January is half over and I'm not getting anything done.  The weekend went like this....every weekend seems to go something like this.

On Saturday I went home to spend time with mom.  I've been going every Saturday.  She is recovering from a knee replacement.  She and my brother Ed had lunch ready when I got there.  We ate, Ed did the dishes while I did the wash and cleaned up the house.  We then drove out to Ed's house....Mom drove...first time since surgery.  Went to the farm so I could do some "american picking" in the old tool shed.  Back to Mom's house to finish the wash.  Left Mom's.  On the way home stopped at Target and the grocery store.  Made Jamabalya for a pot luck on Sunday.  Made dinner for Lou and I.  Finally sat down around 9pm and gift-wrapped a bunch of books for the potluck.  I think I finally had some time to myself about 10pm.

Today I went to the grocery store to pick up some bowls and spoon for the potluck, forgot to pick up some pop so I stopped at the gas station.  Drove over to Chargin Falls...40 minute drive for the Guild meeting and potluck.  Spent 3 hours there.  On the way I was so caught up in my thoughts that I missed switching freeways.  Got home and had to clean up the disaster that was my living room and kitchen.  Finally sat down around 10pm. I need a weekend to recover from my weekend. 

Some pictures from the farm. This is the farm house I grew up in...without the big building behind it.  Most years, that was a corn field.

 

The old combine out in the woods.  My brother is going to get someone to haul it away.  I told him I wanted some of the metal from it before it goes.

 

 

Close-up of some of the pieces-parts on it.

 

 

Rusted chain and gears anyone??  I brought some back with me :)

 

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My Day in Pictures.....

Today was a strange day. It started out with a meeting that got quite heated...

And I pretty much got kicked in the teeth....

 

I was so frustrated that I started crying (as they shaved my head)...

 



 

and I pulled a muscle in my back.......

 

 

 But the day wasn't all bad.  I weighed in and lost 2.4 lbs....finally....

 



 

 Got a call in the afternoon (from the teeth-kicker) telling me I got a raise.....

 



 

So I'm sitting here shell-shocked....don't know if I should be happy or sad....

 

 

 so I think I will just go to bed.....

 

 

All pics from natgeo.com

 

Just kidding about getting my head shaved :)

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New Classes for a New Year!!

Bead and Button registration opens up on Tuesday.  Something I always look forward to.  It's so much fun looking through the catalog and deciding what classes to take.  Then on registration day I sit at my computer anxiously waiting for registration to open so I can get into the classes I want. 

This year it is different. Cris Leonard and I have 7 classes being offered. I will still be sitting anxiously at the computer but it will be to see if our classes are filling. 

The classes will teach acid etching, sawing, riveting, texturing, bracelet formation, metal clay, and jewelry design. Our classes will be educational and lots of fun!!!

Metal Etching 101

This is offered three times

Mixed-Metal Layered Acid-Etching Earrings

Etched and Riveted Metal Bracelet

Metal-Clay Tube Bead Bracelet

Metal Clay Embellished Bracelet 

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A new year.....

I've been trying desparetely to come up with something profound to say about the new year, but profundity (yes it's a word) escapes me...or maybe I never had it. 

Instead I will leave you with my favorite cat video.  I've posted this before but it is always worth a second look and it's about as profound as I can get right now.

Field Trip - Cleveland Museum of Art

I've been wanting to visit the art museum for a while.  They opened the new atrium a while ago and it has restored the flow of traffic through the museum.  It's gorgeous.  They also have a new gift store which has a fantastic selection of art books and gifts.

We went down to see the Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andies exhibit.  It focuses on the art of this civilization that existed in Peru between 600 and 1000. It's a great exhibit and fills 4 rooms.  The pictures are from the CMA website.

This urn is about 3 feet tall.  It's huge.  This piece was found in fragments and was reconstructed.

The tapestries and weavings were amazing.  Most of the pieces had ~250 threads per inch.

Silver warrior plaque

 Inlaid shell,wood, stone and silver.  This guy was little...about 5" tall.

  This is a handbag with real human hair.  It had coca leaves inside....it's an ancient coke bag.

I have to make the time to get down there more often.  It really is a great museum.

Books on my Wish List

I'm always scouring the internet for sources of inspiration and books are one of my most favorite things. 

Here are some books that I have on my wish list for this year.  Just a little light reading and a little drool...LOL

Gold Jewellery of the Indonesian Archipelago

 

 

 Ethnic Jewellery from Indonesia: Continuity and Evolution

 Motifs d'Oceanie (French Edition)

 

Gold, Silver & Brass: Jewelry of the Batak in Sumatra, Indonesia

All Done...

My shows are done for the year.  LOL...I only had two but both were in the last two months.  This last show was at the Screw Factory in Cleveland.  I love this show.  It's the whole warehouse setting and the transformation from factory to shopping bazarre in a couple hours. 

I have a differnt set-up here.  I only use three tables and put them in a "V".  It's an easier layout to manage.

Part of the ambiance of the show is the factory setting. The estimate was that ~4000 people came to the show. 

 

Now like Santa I'm ready for a long winter's nap.  Actually it feels like I'm coming down with something so I really am ready for that nap...zzzzzzz.

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Pretty Lights.....

 

 

This year there seems to be more Christmas lights up around the neighborhood.  Of course we haven't put any up.....who has the time.  It's the end of the year and I find myself wondering once again....where did it go.  I looked under the couch...its wasn't there.  It's just gone....another year. 

 

Enjoy the lights!!

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Last Minute Market

Come see me at the Last Minute Market on Saturday, December 15th!!!

A Hurricane in Cleveland???

Normally when the east coast gets hit by a hurricane...we might get some rain and a little wind.  Well...Sandy was so large that it hit in Cleveland at the same time it hit the east coast.  And although we didn't have to live through a storm surge from the ocean...we did have 90 mile/hour sustained winds....all night.  Cleveland is called The Forest City...for a reason.  We have trees....everywhere.  Well...now we have a few less.  This is a common site all over the city and the suburbs.

 

We were lucky in that we had some flooding in the garage...it's half underground...and a small leak in the roof.  The biggest thing that we have to endure is no power.  It went out about 8pm Monday night and the estimate is that we won't have it back until Monday night.  We aren't on an important grid.  If you are on a grid with a hospital, police, or fire you pretty much got power back right away.  Next in line are grids that have government buildings.  We are just on a grid with houses...so we have a low priority.  We do have hot water so we can shower.  We also have a gas stove so I can cook.....hahaha....yeah right.  What I have mostly been doing is boiling water on the stove top to add heat to the house.  When I left this morning it was 50 degrees.  It suppose to be sunny over the weekend so I hope that helps heat the house up a bit.

What has been hard to do is live in the dark.  I don't know what is going on in the world which... on the upside I don't have to listen to political ads or phone calls.  But sitting in the dark is making me nuts.  As you can imagine...all the lanterns, generators, kerosene heaters that can be had....are all sold out.  We did manage to snag a couple small Riyobi lanterns last night at a Home Depot about 30 miles west of us.  So at least we have a small amount of light.  And last night we watched TV on my iPad.  We were watching Revolution.  The show starts with..."We lived in an electric world.  We relied on it for everything...and then the power went out.  We weren't prepared".  We both started cracking up.  But we bundled up under blankets and our 2 cats and watched TV. 

I have a show next weekend and this week is usually late nights as I make my final pieces....well...I'm just going to have to live with what I have for the show.  I will get some work in over the weekend since I will be home in the day light. 

One last pictures...Lake Erie waves crashing up over the shoreway.

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Today's Lessons

I'm still prepping for the By Hand show.  Took yesterday off to get some work done.  I spent the day making some bits and pieces of bronze metal clay.  When the kiln hit 700 I opened the door.  I let it sit for about 15 minutes but then got impatient.  So I decided to sift the carbon to find my pieces.  Lesson number 1....don't sift hot carbon through a KitchenAid plastic pasta scoop.

Damn...I loved that scoop.  It's just the right size to sift the carbon out fast and leave even the smallest pieces behind.  Luckily I can get a replacement through Amazon.

The next problem came along when I decided to tumble the bronze.  At the same time I was putting a patina on some brass washers.  Instead of pouring in a capful of Supersheen, I poured in a capful of brown/black patina solution from Rio.  I only tumble for about 10 minutes to knock the the color down.  I opened up the tumbler expecting all the suds...what I had was black....all the bronze had turned black.  At first I was baffled..then I realized what I did.  I flushed it out and replaced it with Supersheen. After another 10 minutes of tumbling, the pieces came out beautiful.  Lesson 2...pay attention to what you are doing... actually turned into a happy accident....so maybe the lesson is to be open to the unexpected!!

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