I'm a terrible blogger!

My days are so haphazard. I want to do A, B, C, but often it's A, oh crap, I forgot to do D yesterday! I want to blog, post to my Facebook page, post to LinkedIn, take photos of newest pieces, list said pieces and draw. It just never turns out the way I want it to. I would love to have an assistant, but since I can't support myself through my art at this point, I can hardly pay an assistant!

I am working on new pieces. I have completed a horizontal beadwoven bracelet in 24k gold and ivory and have just a closure to put on another filigree style cuff also in 24k gold and ivory. These are pieces that may be for my daughter's bridesmaids but I'm sure they'll sell quite well if they aren't used for the wedding.

I've also been drawing more. 

Someday, I hope to learn how to allot my time better and get more done in a day. Until then...I'm in progress...

Blooming Zentangle in progress

Zentangle ACEO in progress

24k gold and ivory jewelry in progress

So Much To Do, So Little Time

The bane for most artists is the lack of time. I literally have projects lined up, along with the beads I'll use, on a table in my studio! And after a wonderfully successful show at Kent's Art in the Park, I've started creating a lot of new pieces for the two shows I have in the next six weeks. But there just are not enough hours for everything I want to do!

Popular pieces at the last show were the triangle bead cuffs, Victorian style pieces, sterling silver pieces and my swirly filigree cuffs. I have several new triangle bead cuffs already created, a couple of new sterling silver pieces and am now working on the first of at least a half-dozen new filigree cuffs. Sometime in the very near future I really need to get a few more photo cuffs created as well!

There are two chokers here in the Victorian style. The top one (crystal) was sold at Kent's Art in the Park. I'll be creating a few more of these pieces in various colors, along with matching earrings. 

This is the latest of the beadwoven images pieces that I've created. This is based on a photo of a pink rose in my neighbor's yard, but I've altered the colors a bit to make it more a mauve-purple.

So, I have a lot of things I want to get done and in the midst of these projects, we are planning our youngest daughter's wedding plus I'm working part time, too. Oh, if only I could have a few extra hours in each day!

Emotional Rollercoaster

On Saturday, August 3rd, we lost our sweet Sadie. She was just over 12 years old and she was our fur baby. She had suffered from skin allergies for most of her life. In the last several years she also suffered from awful arthritis in her back legs. She never complained though, she was always a happy pup. Yes, she could be stubborn, but that was as much a part of her as her very expressive eyebrows and her "Chewbacca" grumbling. 

She was by far the sweetest, most loving dog. She helped me keep my sanity after losing my mom. She would stay by my side and lay her head on my lap whenever the sadness overwhelmed me. She certainly knew who the soft touch was in our house (my husband) and would gaze at him longingly whenever he had food, not to mention, follow him anywhere. She also liked having conversations with several of our friends who knew how to speak "Sadie". She was definitely a people dog and believed everyone who came to the door was there to see her.

Our house is so quiet without her and there is a definite hole in our lives and hearts that will never be filled. I know someday we will get another dog, but there will never be another Sadie.
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I did have something positive happen today, I received acceptance into Kent's 20th Annual Art in the Park . It will be held on Saturday, September 7th and Sunday, September 8th at Kent's Fred Fuller Park. I'm really happy about it as I did very well at this event last year. I hope this year will be just as successful. I feel I have a lot more to offer and definitely new and unusual items, such as my beadwoven images. I also hope the weather is beautiful and the turnout is huge.

Frameable Pieces and Upcoming Events

This is my second frameable piece. This one is called "Into Chautauqua Lake".
It was created using over 20 different Delica colors and consists of almost 4,300 beads.
I created and sold a cuff which featured these trees as well,
though it was based on a different photo.

Here are both frameable pieces..."Into Chautauqua Lake" and "Serenity".

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Sunday, July 21st at the Terry Macklin Center in Solon, OH from noon until 5:30pm
(Proceeds will benefit the Cleveland Animal Protective League)
and
Saturday, October 19th and Sunday, October 20th
at the St George's Fellowship Center in Fairlawn, OH from 11am to 5pm both days
(Proceeds will benefit Jade's No Kill Rescue)

I will also be participating in the Oddmall "Chrishanukawazmadan"
on Saturday, November 2nd at the Clarion Inn & Conference Center in Hudson, OH
from 10am to 6pm

 After a lot of thought and consideration, I decided not to apply for Winterfair in Columbus this December. If, by some crazy chance I had been accepted, I would have to be prepared to spend three very long days on my own, as well as have enough pieces to last the entire event. An event of that length would require months and months of preparation and I have not had enough time this year with work and the shows I've already accepted. Next year I am going to plan out which events I would like to apply for and keep them to a minimum. I would also like to inquire about having my pieces in the Cleveland Natural History Museum gift shop or the Akron Art Museum and possibly at the Don Drumm Studio. It is still my goal to create art full time and I'm hoping the experience I've gained through these shows will be the catalyst to make that goal a reality.

Beadwoven Images

Though I have created many beadwoven photo cuffs, this is the first time I've created a piece suitable for framing. I am really happy with how it turned out and I am now working on the next piece! I've always had a love of water and it shows not only in my photography, but also in my beadwoven images. The next one is also a water scene!

"Serenity"
3"x 5" beadwoven image from original design

Going to Try Something a Little Different

So, I've been creating the photo cuffs for a while now and at different shows I've had people ask if I would sell the photo with the cuff. I've decided that I can do that with all the cuffs created from my own photos. (The NASA photos are property of NASA.) Then I thought, why don't I create an actual picture, sort of a mini-mosaic of a photo? So, that's my next project. I'm going to create a 3"x 5" photo piece. I've decided to start with a more simple design, in that there isn't too much detail, just color and this is the photo I'm using as my inspiration...

Chautauqua Lake at Sunset

It's going to be a lot of work, but I'm really excited about this project! Then I'm going to have to figure out how to display it! 

Shows/Sales

I had a good show in Akron and a really good show in Hudson. The one in Akron was Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show (http://www.avantgardeshows.com/). I sold the Crab Nebula Cuff there and then the purchaser came back and bought my Reflections Cuff from my Etsy Shop! The one in Hudson was Oddmall- Emporium of the Weird (http://oddmall.info/ohio/). I sold four of my smaller pieces, had a special order for two cuffs and several inquiries regarding personalized photo cuffs. Hopefully the last will pan out.  

Reflections Cuff - sold to a young lady who had already purchased my Crab Nebula Cuff

Silver Scrolls Cuff - special Order for Jynjyr (Kay), along with a Hemitite cuff

Avant-Garde Art and Craft Show

Don't forget...if you find yourself in the Akron, OH area today, I'll be at the Tangier (532 West Market St., Akron, OH 44303) with Avant-Garde Art and Craft Show. It runs from 11-5 and the admission is $3, which benefits Stewart's Caring Place Cancer Wellness Center (http://www.stewartscaringplace.org/). And remember...Mother's Day is just two weeks away and I know you'll find wonderful things for Mom at this show!

Free Day!

It's been a rough couple of weeks at work, but I finally have a day off and I'm taking total advantage of it! Beading, blogging and of course, started the day by sleeping in!

Finishing another sterling silver bracelet and then I'll be starting on a new photo cuff. This one is a photo from Lake Chautauqua, NY...well, it's really a place on Goose Creek. This was my last Goose Creek piece and it sold at last year's Kent Art in the Park.

Goose Creek Cuff - sold 

New piece will be based on this photo. Love the reflection.

Latest Photo Cuffs

You can find all these pieces, along with all my jewelry at my shop arosebyname.etsy.com and you can find my shop on Facebook ARoseByName. 

Bello Nebula Cuff OOAK

Crab Nebula Cuff OOAK

Purple Agate Cuff OOAK

New Year: Not So New Anymore

Wow, February 1st...where did January go? Like many, we spent much of January sick with the flu, hopefully the rest of the year will be much, much better. 

I did get to set up my studio and it's coming along, although I am in desperate need of an area rug and some wall decor. My oldest did get me a lovely calendar that I will probably use the photos from to decorate. It's a Hubble Space Telescope calendar with gorgeous deep space photos. 

I've also gotten some beading done. The Bello Nebula piece is finished, but I have yet to take photos and the purple agate piece needs better photos, but you get the idea. I'm currently working on lovely little bracelets in sterling silver, white or cream for the upcoming bridal season. I'll be selling them at the Avant-Garde Art and Craft show in Rocky River, March 23-24. If you're in the area, come in to see my pieces!

Bello Nebula

purple agate

Latest Creations and Other Stuff

I cannot wait to get my "studio" set up so I can have my light box all set for photos. These were taken outside, but I just didn't have the control to capture the colors! The triple wrap bracelets really look nice worn as necklaces! Thanks   to Bonnie for showing me how pretty they could be!

Golden Lace triple wrap bracelet or necklace

Sweet Golden Rose bracelet with vintage shell button

Midnight Moonlight triple wrap bracelet or necklace

Red Creek Jasper on light topaz diamonds cuff

Rhyolite triple wrap bracelet or necklace

Cosmos with Silver Stars triple wrap bracelet or necklace

Verdite on golden sea diamonds with vintage button

And some other photos...

Superstorm Sandy raised our creek to almost overflowing

Our ol' Sadie! Sweetest dog ever!

Beautiful Fall Leaf for inspiration

Special Order

Here is my latest piece...I just finished it. It is a special order piece for a customer on Etsy! Now that it's complete, it's time to dig into making some more gemstone bracelets for the December 2nd art show!

Listings

I've finally gotten around to listing many of the pieces I created for the Art in the Park show. I still have about 10 more to list, but the majority are up in the shop now! http://arosebyname.etsy.com

I've had great response from my latest pieces and have had some lovely email conversations with people I met at the show. I now have a lot of new ideas and I'm excited to get moving on them! If only there were more hours in a day!

It's likely I will be a part of a show on December 2nd and possibly a future show at the art museum. We'll just have to see how things pan out. I really feel like I have grown a lot in my art over the past year or so and I'm actually finding it easier to refer to myself as an artist. Believe me, this has been difficult! I have amazing support from my family and that makes it even better!

This weekend Baby Girl is moving out, so that will rearrange the upstairs and I may just have my "studio" finally! I'm very excited about that, but I'm not heartless, she is just as excited to have her own place, too!

Best get back to work on my latest order...

1st Art Show was a Success!

On the 8th and 9th of September, I participated in Kent's Art in the Park and it was an amazing first art show for me! I was extremely nervous about it beforehand and didn't sleep much at all the night before, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience, even with the rain and chilly temperatures! I had a lot of interest in my pieces and sold quite a few. I made enough to cover all my costs (including the tent!) and still made some money...you can't ask for more than that!

I would like to thank my family for all their support. To my sweet husband; thank you for all your patience and putting up with my beads and jewelry covering every surface in the house, for setting up and taking down my booth and for supporting me each and every day as I create, and especially for telling me, "Don't worry, if it doesn't work out at this show, there's always another one." To my beautiful girls; thank you for your love and support and giving me new and fresh ideas all the time. Amy, thank you so much for being there and helping me both days...all day, I couldn't have done the show without you! To my brother-in-law, Todd (of http://toddalanstudios.com/); thank you so much for the display ideas and prodding me to charge more for my art.

I would also like to thank a very special couple, Pete and Lois; I know it was my art that got me in the show, but they wouldn't have looked if you hadn't shown them! I cannot thank you enough for that! And I hope to be a part of Art in the Park every year from now on.

I'll post pictures of my booth set up as soon as I get them from my dearest!

Pretty, pretty!

Lapis Deco Cuff
(using grade B 4mm Lapis Lazuli beads)

Red Creek Cuff
(using 4mm Red Creek Jasper beads and a vintage metal button)

Tourmaline Bracelet
(using grade B 3mm natural tourmaline beads and a vintage button)

Rubies and Pearls Cuff
(using 6mm Swarovski garnet crystals and 6mm Swarovski cream pearls)

Sunrise in Central Washington
(based on a photograph my dad sent me)

Newest Corsetted Pretties

Bridal Bling

Champagne and Pearls

Coral Shimmer

Pink Conch

Jumbled Gemstones
(mix of jasper and agate gemstones)

Platinum Pearls

Rock N Roll

Summer Shimmer

More Reasons Why I've Been Absent Online

My potential set up for Art in the Park

Triangle bead earrings and cuffs

Sparkle and shimmer corset-style cuffs

Photo inspired cuffs

New diamond cuffs