A Cup of Soup, Shop Updates and more....

I'm a day or two behind posting this, so bear with me because I have lots to say and this is going to be a whirlwind, so grab a cup of coffee or tea or vino and sit down and buckle up....

I've been so busy over here in my little corner of the globe. Making, making, making. I was stoked to not only be in the Etsy Finds last week and that is in the middle of me making my new Erudite Collection as well as preparing for Indie Craft Parade. Then, on Friday, I had a nice little stint on the Etsy Front Page which led to some sales as well as some custom orders!

I know KJ is cursing right now, because I said I wasn't gonna do it. but I did. I couldn't help myself.

The new batch of Whisper pendants all hanging out together on my favorite rusty thing.

In the midst of all this fun, Lori Anderson over at Pretty Things put up some new designs from her Cup of Soup Challenge....my first thought was a big freak out because I had let the Whisper Collection dwindle down a bit and it was slim pickings up in that section in the shop....



Soooo, I've been busting a hump up in here trying to fill up the Whisper Collection since I know you are going to be inspired by Lori's designs. They are to die for. I mean, putting that copper piece around my focal is pure genius. So go have a look-see, if you haven't already because...well, Lori just plain ROCKS.

Make sure you keep tabs on that Lori girl, because you never know what she's got up her sleeve...like maybe a giveaway...or two (wink,wink). I know she has an awesome one going on right now if you help support an artist in need who lost her studio in a fire....and methinks there might be one more...


Wait, holy hell! I almost forgot to tell you about the owls....



These damn lovely owls. (sorry, I have a potty mouth)

Let me tell you about the owls. I suppose the owls are a bit like children to me. I don't have any children but bear with me here....

You give birth to them and you raise them right and they go out into the world and start to make you proud. Then one day they come home and tell you otherwise, like they hate you for giving birth to them or something or are going through that awkward teenage phase and brought home some god-awful boyfriend...So the owls retired for awhile and I left them to brood in all their owliness on their own...And I suppose the owls started to grow up and finally brought home a respectable mate (i.e. Lori's brilliant owl bracelets) and now I trust them again.

Okay...that was weird, I know....

..just go with it...

In the actual version, I stopped making the owls, as much as I loved making them, because they weren't selling, and because most of my work is one of a kind, I don't keep a lot of inventory and I can't AFFORD to keep a lot of inventory.

But I'm hearing out there in the ethos that people like the owls again so here is my solution:

I'll be selling the owls in made to order sets of 4 (or more). You can have them in all one color or a mix of the colors below. They will be $22 for 4 and you can have them in my four current colors plus my two neutrals:

COLORS
flannel (baby blue)
persimmon (peachy pink)
sage (soft leaf green)
lavender (light purple)
turquoise (deep teal blue-green)

NEUTRALS (not shown here, but available upon request)
white (not a bright white)
taupe (a nice earthy beige)

I do two finishes:

Antiqued: an all-over rusty aged brown (this is how Lori's owls were done)
Distressed Brown: This preserves the overall integrity of the color used in the polymer clay, but has the deep brown finish in the crevices.




For the not-so-selective, I'm also going to offer an OWL GRAB BAG for $18 for 4 owls. They will be a color selection randomly selected by me, which means they will have prototype colors that I am testing and small runs because I often still use the owls in my own work.

The owls will be available in my shop here as soon as I can upload the listings in the next day.

So whew, I'm tired...I need another cup of coffee....this one is cold now.

Updates in the shop....

Hi friends! Well, it has been like Grand Central Station here with folks coming and going at all times. Family left last week, then a friend of Mike's is stopping through on her way home after purchasing a VW bus up North. Next, Mike's cousins will be arriving for a visit. Then, more cousins in a few weeks! Whew!

I had time this morning to FINALLY update the listings for both the Breeze and Whisper collections in the shop. I've posted a few of my favorites here, but be sure to check out the shop for the complete collections.

I will be making more as time allows, but my beadmaking has been limited to absolute necessity with the summer heat in my studio. I do all the sanding and dirty stuff in an un-airconditioned space and I'm decidedly not nocturnal so my beadmaking has been limited to what can be fired, painted, and sanded between the hours of 7AM - 11AM before it reaches the temperature of hellfire out there.

Remember, most of the new pieces are one of a kind, but I would be happy to make something similar for you if you see something you love that has already sold.

Try and keep cool this week!

Collection: Whisper

So I've been developing some new beads lately. I'm trying to get away from stamped images and going towards more original carved pieces, which I then mold, similar to my You were born with wings pendant. But I also want to develop some cohesive collections, that include connectors/links, spacers, charms, and large focals.

I started with the Breeze Collection which I'm currently developing and expanding but I also started on the Whisper collection when Lori Anderson, of the blog Pretty Things, An Artist's Year Off, and hostess with the mostest of the Bead Soup Party contacted me about purchasing some beads, sight unseen, for a little creative exercise on her part. It seemed like divine providence or something, because I was just finished with the first round of the Whisper collection as well.

Lori is going to keep us updated on her progress so be sure to stop over and offer her some encouraging words!

The Whisper collection is all about working intuitively on the beads. I wanted to try for awhile to get away from making beads by rote, and really have them be a reflection of my mental process. When I was in college, my artist statement said that I combined mental whispers and ephemera to create a psychological narrative. Well, I'm still doing that....just on beads. It's funny, my work is much different now, but the way I work is still very much the same.

As for the Whisper collection, the weather is not cooperating today, so I should have some up in the shop sometime tomorrow. I'll be sure to keep you all posted!