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Wishcasting Wednesday: What belongings do you wish for?

I do have a list... I ALWAYS have a list.  But I don't always think I'm worthy of asking for things on my list.

But I have learned lately that being able to receive allows you to graciously help others... Thinking you can, or have to, do it by yourself just cuts off your tether to God. 

So in the spirit in which it's intended, here are my wishes today:

1. a reliable, safe and energy efficient car and the means to afford to keep it on the road.

2. a studio where I can use my kilns and torches and wirework tools.

3. my lower teeth repaired... my plate broke in two a month or so ago but due to my car issue (see above), I've yet to have them fixed.

4. new mattresses for my beds.

5. a new sofa that is as comfortable as the current one has been.

6. a white beadboard Original Workbox - google it... it will house my jewelry making supplies.

7. an iPad

8.  every color and type of miyuki bead on the planet

9. a good pair of walking shoes

10.  a home on the beach at Charleston, SC.

Raising this and the wishes of my friends up to the heavens.  :)  And as always, thank you Jamie Ridler for another great Wishcasting Wednesday!

Cool Jewels on a Hot Summer Day!

So what do YOU do on a hot summer day?  Head to the pool, work in the garden, putter around your home?  Make new jewelry? Why not? 

With Lark Jewelry & Beading's recent release, Making Wire & Bead Jewelry,

all it takes is a short amount of time to get hooked on the totally COOL craft of wirework!   

Can it really be that simple to add those bright summery beads to lengths of wire to make amazing jewelry that compliments the tropical colors of that favorite sarong, rockin' summer outfit or, dare I say...bikini? Yes, it really is! 

The book features an amazing 500 how-to photos as well as informative sections on tools, wire and how to get the best results from each. Not just beautiful visually, this book is a reference book that you will return to again and again when you want to add something special to your original pieces. In addition to wire techniques, you're shown a multitude of ways to use special beads. My personal favorite is the Woven-Wire Bead Pod, a spectacular showcase for those tiny shells and bits of sea glass collected from memorable days at the beach. Get an urban feel with the same piece by building your pod around mixed-media bits found as you go about your busy day. 

Beach Pebble Bracelet, a project by Janice Berkebile in Making Wire & Bead Jewelry

As an added plus, Lark Crafts website invites you to return to an April visit with authors/jewelry designers Janice Berkebile and Tracy Stanley.  Brought to you by Ray Hemachandra, who leads the Lark Books Jewelry & Beading team, this interview with the two creative owners of Wired Arts gives you an insight into the process that you, too, can learn to make dazzling bead and wire wonderfuls that rival runway accessories. 

Wishcasting Wednesday: What do you wish to delight in?

This is a short and easy Wishcasting Wednesday for me.  I wish to delight in my artist book and its tutorial being published in the Interweave Press magazine 'PAGES 2012' and for continued success in my art work. 

Also I wish to delight in the continued discovery and implementation of the ideas that the Universe gives to me.  I'm working toward being skilled enough to interpret them all... well, at least a goodly amount.  :)

Thank you to Jamie Ridler at Jamie Ridler Studios. Wishcasting Wednesday is such an inspiration; I look forward to each week.

When You Give An Artist 30 Minutes...

...you get enough fantastic material for Martha Le Van's Lark Books series "30-Minute" Bracelets, Earrings, Necklaces and Rings!  Every book features a compilation of artists and the work is inspiring. The layout of these four books makes them very user friendly... the pictorial table of contents is brilliant... making for an easy return to your favorites.  With added lists for supply needs, the technique applied to each creation and exceptional pictures, each book makes you want to run to the work table to try your hand at making your own.


The cover of  '30-Minute Earrings' caught my eye immediately.  Featuring New Jersey-based artist, Liesl Carlson, the gentle bend of the silver petal encasing a plum pearl drop is elegance at its best.  Nancy Wickman's use of wire and simple copper washers is an excellent showcase of 'less is more' and how perfectly applied texture makes that simplicity a winner. The 'found art' of Bryan and Andrea Ring's clever license plate earrings and the mixed media of Heather Crossley's little boxes add a whimsical dimension.





'30-Minute Necklaces' varied use of materials makes for a joyful book.  In homage to my couture career, I would so wear Sarah Gazia's bobbin necklaces with bright rounds of polymer clay sitting in for thread and Sunyoung Cheong's imaginative incorporation of silver, pearls and tulle for a happy tutu necklace!  LOVE them.  Dilyana Evtimova uses square silver wire to take lowly illusion film to the ball (brilliant!), while John A. Sartin uses his metalwork talent to feature that perfect stone.





I fell in love with Rachel Sims' Copper and Silver Bar bracelet in '30-Minute Bracelets', really enjoying her use of a varied jump ring chain to set off her beautifully done metal bar.  Dangles of Brazilian natural 'beads from seeds' highlight a beautiful leather braid by Lia Paletta.  Carole Zakkour inspires you to take out your frustrations by hammering copper in her freeform wire bracelet.  And, Karen J. Lauseng, you made me laugh with your happy bracelet made from snaps - yes, sewing snaps - and silver jumprings.  What a great piece!





The last book in the series  - '30-Minute Rings' - is as stunning as the first.  What's not to like about happy little elastic bands?  Nicole Jacquard adds them to her hammered fine silver ring to bring spots of playful color.  Robert Dudenhoefer II finds his color in the art of enameling as he beautifully combines copper and silver with geometric enameled shapes.  Victoria Takahashi's ring evokes the riding stirrup in it's simplistic combination of copper rod and patinaed silver.  Lastly, who would ever dream that plumbing PVC pipe could EVER look like carved ivory?  Karen Rakoski does just that in her lovely leaf-design band.  Amazing, and oh so wearable!




There you have it... four fantastic books that compliment any artist's library.  Head to toe... well, fingers... but I bet many of those rings would look awesome on a sandaled foot!  Enjoy!!

Wishcasting Wednesday: How do you wish to grow?

Jamie's prompt today is "How Do You Wish To Grow?"  I've thought about that off and on all day.  My first sarcastic little comment was 'actually, I need to SHRINK' but after that moment passed, I thought 'actually I DO need to shrink'.  Shrink my doubts, shrink my fears, grow my confidence and grow as an artist.  If I fill my life with those positive paths, there will be no need for me to overfill myself with food and continue building that proverbial protective shell. 
I've done a lot of shrinking already... finishing up commitments I took on to procrastinate with my artistic work.  Self-made barriers set up so I wouldn't fail... or succeed... bc I'd so sidetracked I couldn't even begin. 
So my wish is to grow true to myself, following the happy thoughts that pop into my head saying 'wouldn't it be cool if you did this?'   Yeah, that's how I wish to grow.

Wednesday Words: Showcase 500 Rings: New Directions in Art Jewelry

 

Need Bling?  Serious Bling?  Original Bling?  Finger Bling?

In Showcase 500 Rings: New Directions in Art Jewelry,
Lark Books - doing what it does best - offers the debut title in their redesigned Lark's Showcase 500 Series for our consideration.
And what an offering it is!
From the midieval-inspired simplicity of Aliki Apoussidou's hot-forged Siegelring Rund to Kristin Deiner's aptly named Ring Form: Contraption (truly, a party on your hand),  juror Bruce Metcalf and editor Martha Le Van have selected an eye-catching collecton of jewelry from classic to quirky.

My personal favorites ran the gamut...

Would I wear Julie Lynn Romanenko's elegant diamond and 14-karat gold set Untitled? Absolutely! COULD I see myself wearing the polymerclay fantasy that is Jeffrey Lloyd Dever's Convergence?

The artful sprite in me is screaming "Sure, you can!"

I am longing to own every letter in Trudee Hill's imaginative Letters From Words: Alphabet Rings!

Think of the creative fun you could have wearing those! Ask me how I feel today?

And last, but far from the least, Stefanie Kölbel's Striped Rings spoke to the fiber artist in me with her exquisite translation of a traditional bobbin lace techinique.
 

 This book lives up to the Lark Books tradition.  It's a jewelry store between two covers.