For your Goddess within.........

I have been having so much fun in the studio lately revisiting a bead style that I haven't made in years........goddesses! When I first started making beads about 8 years ago, goddesses were among the first beads I made. I love sculpture and the human form is one of the most lovely things to sculpt! Looking back at my earlier goddesses, there is a dramatic difference to the ones I am creating now. I am finding that my recent goddess beads are more curvy, sensual and realistic than before. Whereas my earlier goddesses were more of a tribute to "Barbie" - with sculpted abs and long and lean figures, these goddesses are more classic in form and have a softer, more mature beauty - rounder, fuller and reflect the natural beauty that evolves with time and a life well lived. I will be posting more in the next while and would love to hear what you think!

Vintaj jewelry design contest!

I can't believe that January is almost half over! Where does the time go? I have to say, that I had a great start to the New Year! On Jan 1st I heard that 4 of my jewelry designs were accepted for publication in the new bead magazine, Bead Trends! It's a beautiful little magazine that looks like a book and I'm proud to have my work featured in it. Also, I entered a blog contest with the brass jewelry finding company, Vintaj, and won one of their necklace kits! Not a bad start to the year! lol! I really like the Vintaj company and have started to order some of their brass findings to go with my beads. They are lovely and have such a rich patina which I adore! I also just entered another of their design contests for which I created a dragonfly necklace using large quartz crystals and a few of my favorite pieces from their collection. I call it "Winter Flight" and it's # 17 on the blog page. While this necklace does not feature any of my beads, it was still incredibly fun to make! The contest voting runs only for one week so if you want to check it out, you can visit their blog here www.vintaj.com/wpblog (or click the title of this blog for a direct link to their site) and vote for your favorite design!

I have also been working on new beads and will be posting them over the next few days! Stay tuned!!

At Year's End.......

I can't believe that the end of 2008 is actually upon us. Looking back, this has been a year full of amazingly exciting events and the toughest of challenges as well! I have learned a lot over the course of these adventures, and feel decidedly blessed to have the life I lead and the freedom to follow my passion each and every day. As I write this, the sun is shining, the snow is melting, and I am getting ready to head out to the studio and flex my creative muscles at the torch! I'm excited to wake up each day and get to work - because my work is play to me and I love every single moment of it! I want to thank each and every one of you who has collected my beads over the course of the year, or simply sent me a note or took the time to drop by my bead booth at one of my shows and say hello! It's because of you that I do what I love to do each day and I couldn't do it without you!

I hope the year ahead brings you all of the things your heart desires, and inspired moments of creative joy that make each day something to look forward to!

See you next year!

Too much snow!

Well I guess lately I haven't been living up to the title of my blog........"the daily bead!" lol! Ah well, it's been a hectic holiday season and here on the west coast of BC we've had record amounts of snow the past few weeks. I spent Christmas Day shoveling a path to the studio and was so exhausted by the time I got there that I spent the day on the couch - no energy for beads! Oh well, it was nice to have some much needed down-time and I'm happily back at the torch again and rejoicing in the warmer weather that has arrived to help melt all this white stuff.

Yesterday was so beautifully sunny that I had hopes of an early Spring.........wishful thinking, I know! But with those bright and cheery thoughts I found myself making honeybees again! They always make me happy and even though they are quite challenging to make, they are a lot of fun. So, you will be seeing a few more of these happy little guys in my Etsy store and I hope they make you think of warmer days to come!

Canadian Bears

Oh how I love bears! Grizzly bears, polar bears and my all time favorite - black bears! I grew up on a mountain in the interior of BC called Silver Star Mountain. We lived in several places on that mountain and at one point, we lived in a large cabin on 40 acres of which about half was densely wooded forest. As kids, my brother and I would play along the trails and always had to keep a look out for our shy yet curious neighbors - the black bears. They would often wander up to the house, looking to see what offerings we had left them (in the disguise of a garbage can which they perceived as a gift basket) so seeing them was a regular occurence. How I miss seeing the babies in the spring - although when we did we had to make a bee-line in the opposite direction as babies meant that a momma bear was not far behind!

This little curious bear bead is a tribute to my enchanted childhood and all the wonderful bears that still live on Silver Star Mountain.......

Tapestry Beads

A few years ago I started making beads with delicate vine scrollwork inspired by late medieval and early victorian tapestries. I love the ornate look of vintage fabrics and the scrollwork that edged the pages of medieval manuscripts. I use this tapestry design on many of my beads and love the way it looks on it's own or as the backdrop for my dragonflies, ravens and other creatures I depict on my beads. Well, I am finally working on a tutorial that will explain the techniques I use to create my little tapestry beads and other beads too! Hopefully in about a week or so I will have the first tutorial available in my Etsy shop......stay tuned!

In ancient times, glass was a rare and coveted commodity. It was valued as much as precious stones, for it's color, rarity and for the skill which was necessary to produce it. In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, glass was used to imitate some of the most precious stones of the day ........turquoise, lapis and agate to name a few. The reason I am writing about the fascinating topic of glass history is because when I took this bead out of the kiln, I was delighted with the mottled colors and stone-like effect I was able to achieve. Once I etched this bead it had the soft weathered feel of something older, something precious......and I wondered that even though our advances in glass seem so astounding, why often the biggest thrill can come from such a simple achievement.