My last big show of this year

Almost another year gone by.

So this year is close to being over and it's time to come up with some new designs. I want to retire these necklace designs and come up with some new ones. This is gonna be difficult....
Here are the designs I will retire by the end of this year.

I am looking forward to exploring new designs and will continue to post them here.

Another of life's questions....

Trying too hard or not trying hard enough is the question that I have been asking myself a lot lately. 

My surroundings are still pretty new to me and not having many friends where I live has been hard. 

Life is weird, especially when you have an over developed sense of responsibility and are a people pleaser with a strong personality. I know that sounds really complicated, and it is. Then, shit gets real and you stop worrying about what others think about you and focus on yourself and your family. And when that feels really good, I feel guilty for it. How do you find a happy balance with that kind of thing? Or do you?

A few months ago one of my girlfriends lost her battle with cancer, she was the same age as me and one of the few people that I have met here that I can relate to. We had a lot of the same personality traits and would joke that we were sisters from another mister. I have survivors guilt about her passing, I think about her every day and I miss her tremendously.

One of the questions that is always in the front of my mind is am I trying too hard or not hard enough? I think that question can be asked about many aspects of life, friends, family, my job and my art. A few weeks ago I read an blog entry by another jewelry artist and they were talking about their artistic expression and how they got there. How they were able to look at their past work and decide that it was time to move on and try something different and what that looked like for them. I often think about how you reach the goals you set for yourself and look back to finally see that you have achieved them and you are who you wanted to be only to then decide that you now want to be someone else. I think it's fear. Fear prevents you from giving yourself permission. I can only imagine what I could accomplish without fear, which is really weird, since I have such a strong personality and appear to have my shit together. But that's only what other people see, a projection I suppose, but maybe that's also an incorrect observation on my part? I'll never know, and right now, that's alright. 

Tomorrow may be a different story though.

Chelsea Art Festival

I just wanted to show you some newer work that I had at the Chelsea Art Market. Big thank you to everyone who came out and braved the heat!

2015 Show Schedule

This is my show schedule for 2015- hope to see you soon!

February 6th- Teresa Robinette's Home - Chandler, AZ
May 13-16th - Soft Glass Invitational- Teaching and show - Pennsylvania
June 5-6th - Art on The Mall- Downtown Kalamazoo, MI
July 3 -  Teresa Robinette's Home - Chandler, AZ
July 24-25th - Chelsea Art Festival - Chelsea, MI
August 1st - Art in the Park - Holland, MI
October 4th - Bead Bonanza - Southfield Center Pavilion -Southfield, MI
November 7th - Winter Wonders Holiday Glass Show - Birmingham Unitarian Church - Bloomfield                            Hills, MI
December 4-6th - Detroit Urban Craft Fair - Masonic Temple - Detroit, MI - pending application
December 12-13th - DIYipsi - Ypsilanti, MI - pending application

Circle or square?

Shapes are everything and everywhere. Do you prefer a square or a circle? For the past year I have been obsessed with circles. When we remodeled our house, all of the new parts ended up being angles instead of curves, so all I want are circles in my life. 

http://www.icancraftthat.ca/2011/05/craziest-art-you-could-make.html

See you in Kalamazoo!

This weekend is one of the many fun outdoor art shows going on in Michigan. It is located in Kalamazoo and is this Friday and Saturday in the downtown area. Here is more information: http://www.junejubilee.org/
I have done this show for the last 2 years and I have the pleasure of sharing a space with 2 other talented bead artists and we have lots of laughs. Here is our table from last year:

And here is a preview of what I am bringing with this year:

Hope to see you there!!

No excuses

So, it's been a really long time since I posted here and I am just going to be quick!
I just wanted to show some of my newest work.

Enameled wire and beads

Copper riveted bangles and lampwork with copper pendant

Sterling silver bangles

Revisiting an older style of beads and adding extra sparkle