Eagle sightings, power animals!

My time on Camano Island with my dear friends and the out of doors, including probably 40 eagle sightings, was lovely, restful and fun. These 2 days were the final reward for a hectic paced, non stop extravaganza running hard since Tucson in February....not kidding. I have no shows or teaching dates planned for the ENTIRE month of July. Sunapee starts on August 1 and goes for 9 days so it really is just a delusion/illusion that the month is 'OFF', but I can make progress with out total interruption during this time. Karen Flowers will arrive here towards the end of the month so we can work together on new ideas and she can 'ransack' my stash,and go home with an influx of new materials.

All is well here, I'm setting my sights on creating order and paving my way. Maybe even some time to update this blog?

From one coast to the other...

I witnessed the Manhatten skyline in so many permutations as I drove into the city from NJ for the past several days. My favorite was early Sunday morning. The Statue of Liberty to my right, bold and beautiful, lower Manhatten somewhat obscured by fog on the lower parts of the buildings, Midtown still shrouded in a bit of mist and Uptown was bright, clear, beautiful fluffy clouds and blue sky. Too bad I was driving so I couldn't capture it with a camera....I just blinked a couple of times trying to imprint the image.

Tomorrow I head for Seattle/Bellevue/Camano Island. A trunk show, teaching three classes and a badly needed couple of R&R days.

I'll be back July 1 and have the month of July to try to catch up on ALL of the things that have landed in the 'defer' pile!

Quiltworks, NW and Beads and Beyond....become one!

Bronze Clay, an Embellished Brooch or Coloring Metals/Pendant Class???? Come to one or to all, my first visit to Quiltworks NW, blending with Quiltworks, NW and Bead and Beyond in Bellvue, Washington. There will be a trunk show on Thursday, June 25, when I will 'man' the table, classes start Friday and someone else will be 'manning' my table through the weekend.

Yay, the pacific Northwest and the people that live there...the best!

Taken from a barnacle.........

Karen has been working overtime, LOOK at this incredible bracelet!

I am back in the studio for a few more days...it feels good to be making things.

Who out there in 'Feltland' wants to learn how to make your own glass buttons and findings as well as incorporate them into felted accessories? If so, there is an ultra fun week planned at Snow Farm in Williamsburg, MA. The Felters Fling is where you want to be, scheduled for August 27-30, I'll be teaching Borosilicate Glass and Feltmaking in session 'B'. During session 'A' I will be in Philadelphia at the Beadfest show teaching and vending, either place I would love to see you!

Hoover Dam Construction

A minute to update from the Phoenix airport.

Let's just say that Las Vegas and I operate in a totally separate reality with an aesthetic that is equally as polarized! My trip out of the frenzy of the 'Strip' was a welcome change, the mountains, rocks, lakes and dams were a great reprieve.....and a reminder that all is not 'sin city'.

Where these favorite things lead me....

The eggs lead to larvae which leads to explosives.

Sort of like the inside of my brain this morning as my ADD really gets rolling. I leave tomorrow EARLY AM to head for Las Vegas, I'll spend three nights, hopefully with my friend of 45 years! Nothing like last minute decisions. Tomorrow evening there will be the Saul Bell awards dinner, followed Sunday by a photo shoot of all of the winners to be used in next years ad campaign. Also going on in L.V. is the Wholesale Crafts show, I'll plan to stop in as well as sniff out sequins in the land of glitz.

Tuesday I head right to Milwaukee where I will meet up with so many of my friends and acquaintances to laugh, teach and sell things at the annual Bead and Button show. Always a good time.

If you place an order I won't get to it until after June 8. Thanks for your patience.

My favorite things.......

Yesterday was just great, from early morning as I headed into Needham to meet up with a powerful group of women artists..... where we showed and told and talked of our creative motivation and examples of our inspiration, until the evening. These were some of the topics of the day. In my case the forms that continually pop up are eggs, seeds, pods, shells. Simple forms that house potential....with a hint of mystery.

Mid afternoon I headed into Lexington and met up with my dear friend Plum. We had an early dinner prior to gathering at The Lexington Center for Crafts where I was scheduled to give a talk on essentially the same topic. Notions, we all have them. Some are grounded in experience and reality and some are just bizarre accumulations of percieived untruths. The title of my slideshow was "Evolution of an Idea: Illustrating a Notion" which is really a survey of the last 25 years of my artmaking. In thinking of this presentation I was able to identify some of the common threads that permeate my mind and work. My reception was touching, many people showed up and they had comments and thoughtful questions, many people went home with a new creation in their pocket, or around their neck. Many thanks go out to Bead Designer International and all of the people and the efforts that go into keeping a society of like minded people together! Thank you.

I am thinking ahead. For all of you Pacific Nortwest people. I will not be exhibiting at the Puget Sound Bead Festival this year but will be in your area a few weeks earlier than that. I am scheduled to teach 3 classes and have a trunk show at the new Beads and Beyond/Pacific Quiltworks newly combined superstore! I'll be teaching classes in Bronze clay, Coloring Metals and an Embellished Felt Brooch class. I would love to see you there.

Green, the color of the season.

Everything is GREEN. Growing , growing, growing. My fertile ground is working overtime. I am always amazed at how quickly we go from stark to lush.

Inside as well as outside.

Michael and Bradley

An addition to this mornings' post. While I was away, Bradley, from The Farm School came down with his two plow horses and they extended the garden with the help of these two great animals, so sorry to have missed it, just glad that there was a photographer who thought to capture the moment!

Chicago from the river....

Studio Beads in Deerfield, IL is fabulous, made more so by the team of proprietors Jessica Lundevall and Donna Zaidenberg. My week in their company and with the students of the area made for an action packed creative time. Thank you to all of you, I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Monday I had a day in Chicago with my weeklong accomplice, Jess of Jess Imports. We went to the new wing of the Art Institute and took an architectural tour of the river, then met up with my LONGTIME (since second grade) friend, Michael Desmond, who was in Chicago for the restaurant convention where we got together for a lovely meal!

Next up? A slide show in Lexington, MA on the 27th through the Bead Designer International group and then off to Las Vegas where I will be attending the awards ceremony for the Saul Bell Awards, then directly on to Bead & Button. Whew, so much to do, so little time!