Project Done & more to Do!

So I got another project done. This one is another wealth talisman:

AND, here's a big project waiting on me to finish! I need to paint all of these faces I molded so they'll be RTG for art dolls & other projects! Whew! It's been a fun, creative time in the studio lately!

Tin Kits

In cleaning my studio...or reorganizing the mess...however ya look at it...I happened to find some really old tins with projects in them that I had never finished! Well, I decided to dump those old projects 'cuz, guess what? They are the exact size I need to put my monthly BJP pieces in!!! Here's a pic of September's project RTG:

I also discovered that I could use this for other patterns I'm working on. I'm making some Prayer Pouches & the designs are the same size, usually, as the BJP pieces. So the graph I made fits in the top of the tin, & I can carry the whole kit, including small scissors, thread heaven, beads & pin with me wherever I go. Just thought I'd share the idea. I had some kind of felt with adhesive that I glued to the bottom so things didn't pop around in the tin. But it's been so long, I can't remember what it was called! Anyway, here's a couple other pics to give you an idea of how it works:

Round Robin Art Doll Done

I've been involved in a round robin art doll project for...has it been a year? ;) We all must have been on island time! Anyway, I still don't have my doll back....it's on it's way, but I did get to deliver this one back home. Here is how she looked when she left the first artist:

And here is how she looked before I delivered her. She is a forest sprite & has developed some boobs along the way! She's glad to be home & her mom is happy to have her back!

Heart Pins

Remember way back in July? I was working on an Angel heart pin? Well, here's some pics of the finished pin.

I also finished another heart pin I called Hidden Love 'cuz as I beaded it, I realized that the heart in the center was becoming hidden! So hear's a couple pics of that one:

I just can't resist the heart motif!!!

"The Gift"

...so, like I said in my last post, I couldn't avoid temptation & joined up with the 2008 BJP. And have all my designs RTG for the next year. My theme? Coming up with that was interesting. In our family, we have a word for people who have an ability to know things, or see things ahead of time... as well as some other abilities. We call it The Gift. Others call it being psychic. Some call it witchcraft! In the Italian tradition, it's called Stregheria...which supposedly predates the Celtic tradition. I've been studying this since I have this Gift. Some Italians say it's hereditary, but I have a feeling that most people have this "gift", but not alot of us use it or want to acknowledge it. I was blessed to never be laughed at for it, & so I continued to use it or access it.

...now the problem is which symbols to use? Us Italians tend to have alot of words & alot of symbols & sigils! So that wouldn't work. And my Scandinavian side had too many Runes! Ah, but I had a book called "A Witch's Runes" by Susan Sheppard. She chose 12 symbols to use for her book, plus one that is all encompassing. She is an astrologer, so her symbols matched up with the Zodiac too. She talks about the history of using runes & symbols...from the Roms to the Egyptians, to the Native American petroglyphs, etc. Some of the runes she chose have been used by several different groups around the world, but her designs are mainly of Pictish origin.

...so, I decided I wanted to study these symbols as they relate to my gift. Each month I will do an off-loom beaded rectangle of the symbol, connecting them with the Zodiac & the traditional gemstone color for that month. This was alot to figure out in one day! But I did it! Here's a pic of my sketchbook so you can see how I tried to match it all up! And a bunch of my beads laid out to see what I needed to order for the year.

I also did a practice piece to see the actual size & what color thread I was gonna use. It was either white or a neutral. This picture is kinda blurry, but I decided to go for white as it seemed not to add to the color of the bead as much. Not sure if you can really tell in this picture.

As I go thru' the year, I will try to explain each of the symbols & it's meaning. And I hope to get a clearer picture of this part of myself. You can follow my progress here on my blog, & also visit the 2008 BJP blog here. There's not alot up yet as we don't officially start until September...and we're not allowed to show pics on that blog until the end of the year. I feel like I'm at the starting gate & can't wait to run!!!

Oh, one other thing! Each rectangle contains 625 beads. The center, which will be my connecting piece for all 12, has a symbol that encompasses the meaning of all of the 12 other symbols. It will take up 4 squares. Now, y'all know how I feel about math, but once I found my calculator & multiplied 625 times the size of 16 squares, I got exactly 10,000 beads!!! I was totally amazed at how this turned out considering I did it so quickly. So I'd like to dedicate each of those 10,000 beads to each of the beings (men, women & pets) whose lives were destroyed during the times of the Inquisition. I know there were alot more than 10,000, but it's a start.

Blessed be & warmest aloha!

More Endings & Beginnings

OK...so the 07-08 Beaded Journal Project is over! Ended! And you can see my page on the official website here! It has all the focal pieces I worked on this last year. Check out some of the other bead artists' pages. They're incredible!
Well, it was so much work that I had decided that I was not going to do it again this year. Over. Done. BUT then there was that notice in my inbox...the deadline was that day! Ack! Suddenly I didn't know if I wanted to do it again or not! There's so much more I wanted to learn about beading! I've always wanted to make a piece to hang in a window to see how it would look with light shining thru' it! Could this be my chance to do that? Well, knowing me, I couldn't resist temptation!!! I quick sent off an email that it was still the deadline day in Hawaii & to please include me! Ack! What had I done?
But amazingly enough, I had the whole theme & all of the designs/patterns done by the next day! For the whole year of 08-09!!! Whoa Nelly!
I guess it is our prerogative to change our minds! I'll talk all about it in my next post!

Gotta Go!

Well, Ron (DH) & I had our summit meeting. We looked at what's gone on this last year & decided we were happy about some things, unhappy about others, & some things we wanted to change. We believe that if you aren't happy doing something, don't do it!

So, I have decided to close my etsy shop after the listings run out. We both don't like selling, but love to create. There's a story online that has inspired us for many years. You can see it here. I hope the link works! If not, here's the site to copy & paste: http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/11/24/hometowns/ht01.txt

This so much more describes how we like to work. After making this decision, I felt so free! I could create for the love of it, not for a store or to chase money! So, since I'm not concerned right now with the selling of things, I am spending most of my time in the studio making what comes from my heart! And I have been creating so naturally the longer I spend in there working! I don't know why we didn't do this before! :) We are a little slow with certain things!

Anyway, hopefully some day we'll have a place to put all of the wonderful things we're creating! But in the mean time, we are happily playing in our studio/workshop!!! Wish us luck!

P.S. Huckleberry Hut is still up and running! We still are enjoying that! ;)