Artisan Clay Trunk Show and Staci Louise Originals Drilling Demo this weekend! Be there!

Look at us!  Aren't we cute?

We are wearing each other's work :-)  Staci is wearing a necklace that she made as one of the Artisan Clay Design team challenges and I am wearing a necklace that Staci made for me YEARS ago!

Today was the day that I set up my Trunk Show at Bead of a Feather in East Greenville, PA..... That is just a 20 minute drive from my home and just a few miles from Staci's. 

Staci is doing a couple of demonstrations at the shop tomorrow.  I love the subject, drilling your beach finds, sea glass, shells.... for your jewelry making.  So.... be there!  Staci is your girl for tips on making jewelry that will LAST!  BE WEARABLE!  Hang straight!  Not be junk!..... which we happened to discuss while setting up the show ;-)

Thanks for coming by and setting up the show with me today Staci!   You rock!

After this weekend my work will travel to Beads of a Feather's Kutztown location..... SO..... if you are in the area, this is YOUR chance to see a larger selection of my work than is available online.... after this, my work heads to New Jersey before stopping in Virginia :-)

In other news.... I am super famous now  ;-)  .... My bead is featured in a new E-Mag put out by Interweave called Live Wire..... I downloaded my copy last night and I am really impressed!  I hope to work up the project and show it off soon!  So there you go!  I'll say I knew you when ;-)

Don't miss our Artisan Clay Design team reveal next Friday!  This month we are working with my glass fused donuts.... It should be fun. 

I hope you are having a great summer!  Mine has been a blur of choices and people and hope for the future...... and this weekend.... camping with my girl scout troop.....in 100 degree weather.... but I think we will figure it out.
(and I even get to hang out with my Clay Bead and metal buddy Melinda Orr at THE BEACH on Monday!  OH my gosh!  What fun!)

And the Winners Are....

And the winners are....
Mimi!  and Carol Dean!   Thank you all SO MUCH for coming to the blog yesterday and all your wonderful comments...  I really love hearing from everyone.  Mimi-- Could you please email me with your address?  artisanclay @ hotmail.com
 I think I am going to have to make some more of those flowers!  All the pieces I added to the etsy shop yesterday are already gone. 

Today I hope to get the rest of my Bead Cruise Sponsorship beads packed up and carded up and on their way to Heather Powers.  Here's a picture of @50 or so pieces bagged up to go.  I wonder if I can get my daughter to tape business cards onto the bags for me before she heads to kindergarten for the day.  ?

And then maybe get more beads ready for my next Trunk show and work on the kids room some more and, and, and.....    I see a lot of evening bead making in my future this week....

Mondays are always so busy while I try to finish up all of Artisan Clay's business from the weekend before I head to my office job with my brother for the week.
?Do you have a "busy studio day"?

New work! Adding to the Etsy shop tonight!

I just opened up the kiln this morning!  Whoo Hoo!  I am very excited about what I found inside!
I am going to be adding quite a few sets to the etsy shop this evening.  You can check out my Facebook Fan Page-- Artisan Clay, if you would like to see what I am adding as I add it.

 I am going to start with a bunch of these Charm sets.  Then some glazed heart sets in Blue, Bronze and a color I am going to call, Heart of Stone...if I can get it all in... It's will take a while and may going into tomorrow night, too.

And  I'll add some heart sets in this style this week, after those who requested them get their picks :-)

Fresh out of the kiln

I opened the kiln this morning.

I made a lot of Dot Cabochons.

And these larger Cabochons with the painted rim.

I really like that yummy bleed of color along the edge.  :-)

And check these out!   They are a collaboration between myself and Marla James.....  They are made from the bisque from her Bisque bead supply website.  You have seen her bisque work used by quite a few ceramic artists, but maybe you didn't know it.  :-)

I really like these bright clean colors.  I do love making this style of bead.

And I made some pottery!  I should have spread them out to take photos.  There are tumblers, and serving bowls and one "perfect" soup bowl.  I am going to be taking these pieces to the Accessories Boutique in Bethlehem (next to the Hotel Bethlehem-Moravian Book Store area )  But I felt bad sending them off so soon, so I decided to have a sidewalk sale and let my Facebook friends know about it.  :-)

Sidewalk sales are my kids' FAVORITE thing to do!  As soon as I said it, the kids grabbed their handy work and set up shop with me.  I sat on the porch and the kids sat out by the sidewalk.  Lydia sold 2 butterfly necklaces and Sonya sold 2 of her beads.  :-) 
Then they spent it all at the grocery store.... Belgian Waffles and ice cream for dessert tonight! 

I filled the kiln up again as soon as I emptied it.  I am kicking myself for it.  It's 8pm and I am going to be awake tending it for a while....... But tomorrow morning, when I get to see all my new pottery..... It will be great!

Show me your LOOT! Art Charm Swap

The AWESOME Jennifer Cameron recently hosted an Art Charm swap on her blog.

These are my goodies.

I tried to include each artist's contact info in each photo. 

 Here they are clockwise from top:

http://www.suebeads.etsy.com/

http://www.lorettasboutique.etsy.com/

http://www.janeldudleybeads.etsy.com/

http://www.glassaddictions.com/

http://www.spiritedearth.etsy.com/

http://www.emakaye.etsy.com/

http://www.copperdiem.blogspot.com/

http://www.paigemaxim.com/

me-- http://www.artisanclayetsy.com/

and my FAVORITE! http://www.maybeads.etsy.com/

This bead is so tini tiny!  and so detailed! 

Everyone did such a good job!

I actually forgot to add a jumpring to my charms....Whoops!  So much for the reading rules.

Anywho--- get in on the next round of fun.

Jen is thinking of doing another swap. Check out her blog for more info

New Work

I added new work to my Etsy Shop last week. 

I also added these bead sets to my shop as part of a DESTASH SALE.  The prices listed are a steal!
Check it out.

Sisterhood of the Traveling beads--My gives, Round 1

I went through my supply drawers last night and found several things to add to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Beads box.   Here is a dozen plus strands of stones.  I have many wood beads to add as well.

I found a ton of necklace cords and hair findings from my days doing a zillion art shows every year.  I really love these hair findings.  It took a while to find ones that were made well.....  and then I bought hundreds, because I sold so many pieces every year.   Now that I only do a few select shows, I do not need to keep so many.

 I also found a bag of ID badge holders/ badge reels--- There was a few years when it seemed that my entire family was graduating nursing school.  I made them each a pretty badge holder with one of my clay and glass cabochons and beaded necklaces for them.

I still have not gone through the dozens of trays of my own handmade beads...,  which will happen soon, but I am afraid that I will have to take A LOT from the box in order to fit all the things I want to add.  If it does not all fit I will need to save some things for the Best Little Bead Box Project

If you would like to have the Big Bead Box next, Please enter to win it on this past blog post titled GIVEAWAY.  The box is open to US residents only, but I will be giving a grab bag of my own Artisan Clay beads to one international winner so please enter anyway and let me know you are not in the US in your comment  :-)

30 = 60 + much more

30 earrings sets came out of the kiln this morning.

Now I need to decide where they are going.

I made a few other pieces as well-- Some evil eye pendant/beads~~

Bead Fest Philly 1

I just have to share some quick photos of my booth at Bead Fest Philly this weekend.

My generous friends Mary Lou Holvenstot, Carol Dean Sharpe, Marcie Abney and Staci Smith lent me their work to display at the show. 

I am so thankful to have the opportunity to have their work with me.  I admire them all so much as artists and friends and I love to talk about their work with new friends.  I would like to show off their work in more detail at a later time.  Every single piece deserves a spotlight.

I am so tired from the show.  It was a really great time.

I didn't have a booth helper this time around and I couldn't get out and walk around except for before and after hours and even then I needed to be brief.

That's a little bit different than I am used to.....  I am usually the artist known to not be at her booth.  Usually I end up wondering around and chatting with all my favorite artists for most of the show.  This time when I did run out to take a quick break I found people at the booth and security hovering nearby. 

Somehow I still shopped at the VERY LAST MINUTE and found some fun chain and wood.  I kept to the list.  Thank YOU ----->  (pointing right at you) Yes, Thank YOU for coming by and saying hello! 

And Thank YOU----->  (pointing finger again)  for following my work :-)

So now I will rebel from my 10x10 cubical and go on a road trip tomorrow.  Quite quickly following, I will need to figure out what work is going out to a few new venues.  This is a pretty cool job ;-)

I've got mail!

I received my package of Humblebeads from Heather Powers last week!

Oh Boy!  I lucked out big time! 

What a gorgeous pile of beads!  I have no idea how to start.  Usually I am a fan of the mental sketchbook....you know look at beads, day dream for a week about possible connection points, pull out all possible findings and whip it together.  I don't think that approach is going to cut it this time.  There are just too many beads and too many possibilities!  I am going to have to actually take out a piece of paper.  GASP!    Ha!  Whenever I grab the sketchbook I am reminded of why I never thought I could get anywhere as an artist when I was a youngster. 

How could a person make art when they can't draw worth a darn?  

A ha! The mental sketchbook was born.  I discovered that my brain makes it's own drawings... and I can follow them just as well as an actual drawing.  Sometimes I feel like an engineer.  I'm always working out a construction project, be it wearable or be it with wood and nails....  Laying on my pillow planning my next big project into the night. ;-)

On second thought, I think I may arrange the beads in different ways and photograph the options and pick out my favorites before I put it together.

What about you?  Do you sketch out your designs?   Do you have a design method???  A plan of action?

PS--I blogged about the bead soup blog party on the beads of clay blog today.  What's in the soup?--http://beads-of-clay.blogspot.com/2010/05/whats-in-soup.html