The Man in the Moon

Hanging high in the night sky is our moon -- sending light into the darkness -- thrilling us with its mystery -- moving tides against our shores.  Sometimes it is a big orb above us and other times it is but a sliver in the sky.  I often open the blinds on full moon nights --hoping that the light will awaken me so that I can enjoy it.  

I'd like to share with you my version of 'The Man in the Moon'.  His face came to me quite by accident on a jacket that I found at a thrift store. He is beaded in shades of white and grey.  I very much enjoyed using beads to apply moon features to him -- signs of the water that has been recently found upon the moon, moon rocks, glittery beads that represent moonlight and crowning his head are moonstone beads.  This was my very own lunar exploration and I invite you to join me as I 'dance by the light of the moon'.

"Tis the witching hour of night,

Oer bed is the moon and bright,

And the stars they glisten, glisten,

Seeming with bright eyes to listen.

For what listen they"?

- John Keats   

Give Me A Hand

At long last my white glove/beaded hand project has come to an end. For this particularly monumental project I did count the hours - 96 from start to finish. I began this project on January 26, 2009. Of course after the first 46 hours when I had only finished the fingers and my own fingers were raw, it sat on its tray for a long while.

As a learning experience this one was a 'pip'!! I certainly learned a lot about beading on a sculptured object. I stuffed the hand as I went along but working on a piece that is already stuffed can be limiting to the kinds and styles of stitches you can create. Stitching through the kid leather was a little difficult at times but not as bad as I had thought it might be. Using all white beads was another challenge. At times my eyes felt like they were crossing trying to decide which white beads I'd already used, which white beads I wanted to use next and heaven forbid any 'bead soup' because it was impossible to separate them out if they got mixed up (and I have to admit that at times they did get mixed up).

Since beginning the work on this project I have received several kid gloves as gifts but I have to tell anyone who has given them to me that I probably won't be doing another one of these for a long, long time!

"The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work." - Emile Zola