Studio Tour - Third Year!

This past weekend was the Open Studio Tour here in Henderson County, North Carolina.  This was my third year of participation.  Its always a lot of work, but when the visitors come in - look around, ask questions and visit - the preparation stuff is worth it!

I've been very fortunate each year because I've been able to display new-this-year pieces.  My friends and visitors walk with me through this life I call my art journey.  This past year, as with the year before, was filled with beads and beading.  Along the way I discovered the ability to create figures using beads and that has been my main focus throughout the year.

I want to thank each of you who attended the Studio Tour and stopped by to visit with me.  It is so much fun to meet new friends and say hello to old ones.

Each 'art' year for me seems to begin and end with the studio tour, or at least it has for the last three years.  The work shown on the tour is a culmination of work done the previous year -- and I always have something brand new sitting on my worktable to share with visitors.

This year is no different.  My work table is covered with punchneedle practice work and a fabric art doll in progress.  We never know what each year will bring - but for me, I hope that the coming art year brings lots of learning and growing and challenges all brought to life through the needle and thread in my hands.

"I have the wherewithal to challenge myself for my entire life. That's a great gift". - Twyla Tharp

Art Trek Tryon

This past weekend we drove over to Polk County to visit several studios which were open for the weekend art tour.  I have to share a couple of these with you because they were just my absolute favorites.

Janet Orselli creates the most unusual and wonderful 'found object' pieces.  She uses 'old' items, like shoe lasts and roller skates, kitchen utensils and vacant wasp nests.  Each piece begs you to look at it over and over again.  Her combination of items to create each piece is pure creativity!  She captures the age of the items used and imparts her own bit of whimsy.  A joy to look at!

Martine House is a fabric artist.  Artist is truly the word for her.  Using fabric she creates collage pictures, quilts and books (just to name a few).  Her most recent work is what captured my imagination.  She has made boxes that open and inside are treasures.  The flower I'm showing here has petals that actually open up and nestled inside is a beautiful beaded necklace.  Yes, she not only works with fabric but with beads (what more could you want).  Because of the intricacy of her work she hand stitches most of the outer work.  Teeny, tiny perfect stitches!

I love studio tours - both visiting them and participating in them.  The whole idea of these artists sitting patiently in their homes or studios day after day creating their art fills me with wonder. 

"From wonder into wonder existence opens". - Lao Tzu 

New Beading Year

After many months of preparation the 2009 Open Studio Tour is over. Two days of magic, when visitors came to visit my studio and to see what my busy hands have been creating. It was great fun to see friends and to welcome strangers. The weather could have been much better – apparently my ‘sun’ dance didn’t work - but it was dry and cozy inside. It is always such fun to introduce people to my work. I had a few pieces of my book art from previous years on display for those who were not familiar with book art. But for me the most exciting part was to share my beading of this past year. It was a year ago that I began bead art and as you know from reading here, once started I didn’t look back. I’ve gone from the first picture that I created to trying jewelry, other pictures and even beaded sculpture.

Now is a good time to sit back and reflect on the past year, the pieces that I’m proud of (I know that because I want them to sit in my studio forever) to those that I’m not quite as enthralled with. This past year has been a wonderful journey – sometimes frustrating, sometimes thrilling – and all of the time just what I wanted to do. As I’ve gone through a year-long learning curve I’ve also felt that I was just where I was meant to be. It has been that feeling that has pushed me forward and tempted me to try things that I never dreamt I could try.

And for the coming year? I have the BJP to look forward to and I’m currently working on a new-to-me beading project. I have another sculpture waiting for me and who knows what else this coming year will bring. I hope you will walk this art journey with me and learn about each piece and its inspiration as I go along.

"Feel yourself being quietly drawn by the deeper pull of what you truly love". - Rumi

Ready, Set, Go!

These have been hectic days for me.  As a matter of fact, the last six months have been pretty hectic as it pertains to the Open Studio Tour for artists in Henderson County (North Carolina).  I was on the steering team which meant that meetings and preparation began last March.  Finally, things settled down after the brochure had gone to the printer and I could focus more on my own studio which would be part of the overall tour. 

I completed a couple of the larger projects I'd been working on and started some less time consuming pieces to place on the shelves.  As I was finishing up the last of these I decided that perhaps I should have some even less time consuming (translate lower priced to the visitor) pieces.  And so I created these 'trinkets'.  They are beaded front and back and then hung on silk ribbon.  Thanks to the instructions in "Beaded Embellishment" I was able to use the spiral stitch on each piece.  I made a variety by choosing three different shapes and several different colors.  I admit that when I started my goal was to make 12 -- just to have them hanging and as an option to the more expensive pieces -- but time, my finger tips and the fact that I'd spiral stitched my way through 8 pieces I decided that it was time to say 'enough'.  So I only ended up with eight.  Perhaps the next 'brilliant' idea I come up with won't be at the last minute.

Here is a picture of one of my shelf units -- I have hung the 'trinkets' from pegs and have set out some of my beading.  My most precious collection of silk ribbons and other fibers takes up the bottom area.

The nice side effect to all of this hullabaloo is that my studio is quite neat and tidy now with everything 'in its place' (for now) and I'm ready to greet visitors this weekend. 

"Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now." - Alan Lakein