Beading artists

You all know I love to bead.  Here are some of my favorite bead artists to share with you:

Larkin Jean Van Horn- A friend of my friend, Linda T Minton, I have long admired Larkin’s work.   I love her book, which was given to me as a birthday present:

David  K. Chatt- he takes beading into the fine art range.  Be sure to check out his gallery of beaded sculptures, vessels, jewelry and cast glass.

Robin Atkins- She does bead embroidery improvisationally.  One of my all time favorite bead works is her “Rosie, the Uncaged Hen.“

Jeanette Cook-  aka Beady Eyed Woman.  I have a copy of her first book from way back when.  I love her work and how she combines beads and color.

Myra Wood- I enjoy all that Myra does- freeform beading, embroidery, crochet.

Linda T Minton- Linda expresses herself using a variety of mediums, beads being just one.  One day, I hope to hang out with her in Texas and just create.

I hope you had a chance to see some exceptional artists that may be new to you.  They are all inspiring in their own way.

Regards, Carla

Bead Therapy, etc.

Went for a little shopping therapy at my favorite Bead store- you know, the one with the HUGE bin? You can run your fingers through this large bin of beads, and fill bags of plastic for $3 per bag. It was a 4 bag kind of day. I also went a little crazy buying other supplies:

Then, on my way home, I stopped at the thrift store and found lots of good finds. My favorite were there 3 costume jewelry pieces that I can de-construct and reuse:

What I am reading:

In preparation for my metal arts class, I purchased Susan Lenart Kazmer’s new book Making Connections:

I’ve admired her work for at least a decade or more! This is a lovely book and can be found on her website.

Enjoy your day!! Remember, only 3 more days (until Sunday Aug. 17, 2008) until the end of my FREE blog giveaway!

Take time in your day to do something creative!! Hugs, Carla

Beadweaving: Russian Spiral Stitch

This weekend, I visited my favorite local bead store to learn a new beadweaving stitch from my beading mentor, a very nice gal named “Emi.”  Once you learn a new stitch, then creativity can take over.  Anyhow,  the stitch I learned is called a “Russian Spiral.”  Here is my practice piece:

As soon as I had the stitch down, I moved to my first actual piece of jewelry, a necklace.  Here it is so far:

This helix looking stitch is very tubular… it has dimension and feels interesting.  Once I have my proper length, then I use a decreasing peyote stitch to make an end cap, then attach the clasp.

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Today, I’m back in my quilting studio quilting.  I need to finish my current quilt so I can get to my next one.

Keep Watching Alert: My good pal, Lori, over at the blog, “Art & Play,” sent me a special mailing I want to share with you all.  Good stuff!!

Retail Therapy and ThriftStore finds

Hello, I thought I would share some of my recent retail therapy and thrift store finds.  There is nothing like a little retail therapy to put me in a good mood!

First up, I couldn’t help myself when I saw this fabric at my local quilt store.  Perhaps it is the theme that reeled me in… after all, chocolate is my second favorite thing in the world.  LOL!

Another delightful shopping completed this week was at my favorite bead store- you know the one where I can dig for special beads in a large bin?  When I introduced Lynn to my favorite bead bin, she was instantly hooked, too! (click on the images for a close up look)

Next up is my thrift store finds.  I visited two thrift stores this week and found lots to share with you:

Some colorful dresses to recycle/reuse by converting them into purses:

See the pretty fabrics??

For the denim side of me:

And while I was there, I couldn’t help but buy these to display in my studio:

I’ve been working on my crochet purse using thrift store dresses tutorial, so keep watching for it.  Enjoy your day!!

Freeform Crochet Basket

Today, I finished a freeform crochet basket:

It’s been awhile since I made one of these. I first learned how to do this basic technique by attending a workshop at ArtFiberfest back in 2006. I then started making my scarfs, then other items- putting my own spin and touch on it. Now I have come back around full circle by making another basket.

If you look closely, there are a lot of embellishments on this piece. The untitled basket looks better in person, too. It is hard to capture a picture of what I see, if you know what I mean.

I will be teaching this project at a retreat later this year up at Tahoe. The retreat is sponsored by my local quilt store. More details to follow in case anyone is interested. I may also be teaching my crochet purse, too.

Hope your day is warm and toasty!! Hugs, Carla

WIP Friday

Yesterday, I had a fun field trip with my friend Linda, who also owns the local quilt store. We decided to hit several new bead stores down in Sacramento. Besides indulging in a little shopping therapy, we were also scouting out wholesale suppliers for some future retreat projects.

Linda outspent me by at least 3:1!! Thus said, I did make my own dent:

Today, I am cleaning house because we are having friends over for dinner tomorrow night. Carl and Sely are coming over and I have talked Carl into teaching me how to cook some dishes from his country of birth- St. Vincent in the Caribbean. He sure does make some yummy dishes, so I will be sure to write down the recipes.

I have been working on some freeform crochet/beaded baskets to show at the local quilt store. First step is to crochet in a freeform manner some yarn:

Next I’ll attach it to an armature and add my favorite step- which is embellishment.  Keep watching for the finished project!

While I was running errands, I happened to see some paper goods that talked to me.  Who could resist these:

Enjoy your day!  Carla

Missing!!

Remember this bracelet from a few days ago? It looks like this:

Well… I got up this morning and it was gone! I have looked high and low and it has gone missing from my work area. I was using it as a reference to make this bracelet, an obvious work-in-progress:

I think I know who my top suspect is… let’s just say he is gray, furry, purrs like no tomorrow and looks like this:

Oscar has been brought in for questioning, but so far he hasn’t confessed. My guess is he played with it and probably batted it underneath the sofa or chair.

Hopefully, it will turn up soon!

Jury Duty

There comes a time in each person’s life where they must buck up and appear for jury duty.  I’ve been summoned about 6 times in my life, but as main caretaker for my younger children with unique needs (when they were younger), I was able to legitimately opt out.

Not so this time.  So, off I go to do my civic duty in the morning.  I will bring lots of stuff to do and pass the time.  Beading, crochet,  a good book, and my iphone loaded with a movie.  I will cross my fingers I do not get on a 6 month trial or something.

Speaking of beading, here is a bracelet I beaded today:

I’ll take another picture in the morning when the lighting is better.  My backup camera needs help this way.

Enjoy your Tuesday!   Carla