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Monday, December 29th, 2008

Wonder why I haven't been posting? IT'S ALL ABOUT FACEBOOK! Ok... and about kidney stones and about the book. Just a little...!

beautiful embroidered orange Ganesh in a turquoise robe sitting on a pink cushion

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

Now, there is no denying it; the book is well underway. The 2nd author deadline came and went with now little amount of attention or shortage of sleep or inattention paid to my husband or household. At one point I'd been up for so many hours I couldn't see the floor without seeing motion. It sounds as weird admitting it as it was to actually see it. Now, we're on to editing and making sure the I's are crossed and the T's dotted.

Today I took a little time out and ran a bag of clothes to the Goodwill drop-off on cute little alley called Squid Row near the workshop. I've shopped there over the years and made more donations than anything else recently. Today, after dropping off, I popped my head into a shop on the alley called Rivendell. And, found a true Santa Cruz treasure. Perhaps I am still functioning under the recent lack of sleep and altered perception, but this was a mecca of color therapy which jumpstarted my wilted senses into a frenzy of color-swirled ideas. In the front room were imported goods, new and used, for the home, ethnic looking jewelry, and other things I hadn't time to examine fully before the woman of the shop asked if I knew about the bahkrum. That is what is sounded like she said anyway. In troth, she said "back room" and since I previous had not know about this place, I was sent to investigate this gem nestled in the stone of a dark cave--the light about to shine down with glittering results. My GOD! I feel a fluttering in my chest even now.

In flanks of old and new drawers were separated varieties of fabrics and trims and notions and other items by kind or by country of origin. There were wide fabric trims removed from old clothing from India and Pakistan and Afghanistan, handmade lace from who knows where, new batik'd fabric, old Japanese silk, embroidered and beaded ribbons, large swaths of ancient-looking beaded scarves on tattered fabric, gorgeous obi pieces, and a huge pile more of gorgeous items I nary had time even to peek at as covered by a draping red kimono with gold woven in. It was an apropos tactile antidote to the mashing my brain has gone through in the past few days.

Anyway, back in the front room I found the item pictured at left. It hangs over a doorway. The fabric is probably cotton and all the images are hand-embroidered and there is even the person's signature included in the embroidery. I'd have purchased it but will be good to know what the red text says first before placing this item in my home.

Alright... I'm going to take a break and make some earrings. Something simple and sparkly...

With Miho Kanaya at The World of Art Bead

Japan Information and Culture Center, Embassy of Japan

Washington, DC

Taking it all in with Paulette

Joyce singing with the music group backing her.

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

Just returned Monday from a trip the East Coast. After visiting my husband's grandfather near Richmond, VA, I returned to meet up with Paulette Baron who would look after me for the remaining visit. Thursday evening I spoke to the Northern Virginia Bead Society about "Evolution of a Design" at their monthly meeting. Friday Paulette and Amy Cubert-Katz headed into DC to see the incredible work of Miho Kanaya at the Embassy of Japan. Viewing her work was utterly amazing. In the photo on the left we're posing before Miho's favorite of the two kimonos on display. Miho said it weighs 30 pounds, is made of 1,650,000 cylinder beads, and took one year to make with her staff. She had sketches on display from the design period depicting some of the flower blooms. I looked closely at the yellow-petaled flowers, about 50 of them, and asked if there was a repeated flower pattern because I did not see one. She replied that each flower is different. Though I had a notion this would be the case, I was stunned nonetheless with her answer. Saturday I taught Ootheca Cuff to the bead society and later that evening Paulette and I attended Joyce J. Scott's gallery opening in Baltimore, MD and later celebrated her 60th birthday at Maryland Art Place in downtown Baltimore. She sang jazz! She is so my hero!!! Sunday I taught Bhangra Fusion Bangle and had a tapas dinner with my husband's cousin Marie and her fiance Brian at a supurb restaurant in Arlington, CA called Tallula Restaurant. Monday I flew home and rested!

Here is a flyer on Miho Kanaya's exhibition: click here

A blog entry on Joyce J. Scott's opening: click here

Check out photos from this trip and others on Flickr: click here

Thursday, October 30th, 2008

Goodbye to a Cool Listener

The death of people around me puts things into perspective and makes me think a little more about saying goodbye or telling people I love them. It isn't a lover kind of love or even a parent kind of love, but just an I-get-it-that-we're-both-human-and-one-of-us-could-be-dead-before-we-meet-again-kind-of-love. It may also be a little bit that I'm sorry we never made the time to know one another better.

A friend of the jazz community which plays revolving weekly gigs in a certain downtown Santa Cruz, CA restaurant passed away just about a week ago. I cannot say which day it was because I was not close enough to him to know. His name was Curly and I'd guess he was in his late 50's or early 60's. My husband guessed he was older, noting Curly had lived a hard life near his end which possibly wore an extra amount on the way he looked. He was well-bearded in white and wore large, framed glasses which made his eyes seem small at times especially when he squinted them at the end of a bawdy joke. As the musicians sat down to dinner after the evening's music making, Curly would wheel over at the end of the table half like a pet waiting for treats and half like an indignant, wizened old man come to share worldly insight subversively through dirty jokes with punch lines about hookers and more about hookers.

Just about the first time we met, was when he started asking me if I knew "Something Cool". It is a song with lyric popularized by June Christy in her day. There were other songs he'd ask about, and I'm hard pressed to come up with one without looking back through the last few years of Moleskin notebooks for them, so it is possible they will never surface again or if they do, it would only be by chance. But, "Something Cool" was an apparent favorite of his, apparent through the number of times he asked for it and many times seemingly for the first time. Maybe it was a whole year of requesting it one time each month, each time I'd sing with the John Witkowski Group on a Friday night at Hoffman's. "Do you know 'Something Cool'? June Christy sang it. Do you know who June Christy is?" "Have you learned 'Something Cool' yet," he'd ask. These would be his questions nearly without fail, or the subject would be a different song associated with another great singer. On the music stage of Hoffman's I was someone he knew. On the downtown streets, I was a stranger.

In these last months I'd hear through story or from the man himself how his job of managing a local apartment was going. For my part, it seemed a fortunate thing for a man who'd lived in his van for an undisclosed amount of time, finally had a roof over his head. There was even a photo on the bakery counter last night at the Jazz Requiem, which sat in a light painted wood frame beneath a blue-beaded hanging light. There, from the great beyond, Curly was proudly posing from his wheelchair presenting a row of apartments towering above him. The jazz music played and the light shone down on this captured moment.

Before the days of the apartment management, his small white van was his home which he showed me once graciously after a gig. Leaving Hoffman's together we rolled to the other side of the street where his home was legal in handicapped parking. I followed him as he wheeled around to the back doors, unlocked them, keeping conversation the whole time. There was a pause when he hoisted out of sitting position until his butt rested on the bumper. Noting my astonishment at this semblance of standing, he began a brief conversation on his ability to stand, but with great pain. Back to the van, he pointed out where he slept. No narrowed eyes like this was a punch line, like he'd been excited to tell at the end of a joke. This was Curly's life.

Like I said, we were not that close. But, close enough to know he'd have at least appreciated a little that I pulled together a version of "Something Cool" that was not unlike something that would have made him smirk and lean back his head in aural satisfaction. There are long held notes in this beautiful and sad song like a dirge, as though apologizing. It is a strange feeling for being left living with memories and questions. It isn't that it I'd like to do Curly redux and fit his memory into a neat container to filed away with the others, but that is all the information I have and it has got to go somewhere, into each word of "Something Cool" each time I sing it until I die.

Wednesday, October 30th, 2008

This is a small beautiful vase made by Kevin Leopold who lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I bought one like it from him a couple months back. Below it is an example of his recreation of orchids which are just incredible.

-R

PS I love Garrison Keillor.

Monday, October 20th, 2008

The following was from the September 2008 newsletter of the Northern California Bead Society. The title was "Evolution of a Design in a Kaleidoscope of Colors by Rachael Nelson-Smith".

As children, we are told to carefully color inside the lines... coloring outside those lines doesn't even come close to what we saw in Rachel' presentation on January 15th. She takes a basic form and explodes it into a wonderful, wearable fantasy. The mixture of various gauges of wire and beadwork limits her work only to her imagination--which obviously enjoys playing with her.

Rachel took us through an evolution of her style and beadwork exploration. She started working for Bead It in Santa Cruz in 1993, and by 1995, she was teacher. When she is working with students, she openly moves from beginner to advanced beadwork. Most beaders take years and years to achieve the self confidence an ability to teach others what they know. It took her an additional 8 years to be published, and 3 more years to be published in Bead & Button Magazine. She has had a number of pieces feature there and in Bead Style Magazine. By 2007, she had started to teach in bead stores throughout the United States. Since 2005, she has been teaching at bead shows throughout the US and hopes to join such well known bead artists as Laura McCabe an Huib Petersen in teaching in Japan and Europe.

She took us through marvelous work... starting the bases with the most basic of stitches, and then showing how she has developed embellishment to a new height. It is obvious from the slides that highlighted her tutorials that her directions are clean, clear, and very easy to follow. What at first appeared to be extremely complex; became a series of even numbers of beads that freely moved three-dimensionally. She uses an unfettered kaleidoscope of colors--nothing is boring or the same--even the tonal story experiences a panache of wire and beads. She obviously loves net stitch and uses it to play within the structures of the other stitch bases. Then she gives them wonderfully playful names--each one growing with fantasy as they develop with the style.

Rachel's most famous piece is a three dimensional bracelet, encrusted with seed beads and crystals named OOTHECA CUFF. She explained how she came by each of the names she uses, but this one amazed everyone--"Ootheca is an egg case", then she whispered, "of a cockroach"--like I said, she kicks it up a notch! She has made this bracelet in a number of color combinations. It can also be made with reversible colors and contains 7,003 seedbeads and that doesn't count the crystals that intersect each cube on each side. Beginners can expect to put in around 40-hours on this, but she told us that she "knocks them out" with her eyes close... well, partially any way.

Another freeform bracelet BEON FREO (being free) became the home to bunches of UFOs (unfinished objects)--ideas that had previously lived in a little box on her desk. She created a base, then they told her where on that base, they wanted to live. She listened to them and the bracelet took on its own life. In fact, it looks like it could get up and tango/cha-cha off the table with ease.

 

Don't be afraid of "coloring outside the box"--a dogma that Rachel teachers her students. She loves to push her bead people into using wire and her wire people into using beads. The examples she showed us, both in the slides and on the table, prove that she can combine the two most masterfully.

 

Look at her side: http://www.msrachel.com for more inspiration and to see the examples of what she teaches. Or email her at: contact@msrachel.com. She teachers many Fridays at The Beading Frenzy in Millbrae, CA which is just up over the mountains from peaceful Santa Cruz where she resides with her husband and kaleidoscope-bead collection.

 

Visit Bead Society of Northern California.

"The Blue Miranda" by Thom Atkins

Sunday, October 19th, 2008

Everything flows, nothing stands still. Heraclitus said it.

Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

A friend emailed with photo questions. Below is an exerpt from our emails:

Friend   I really want to start taking some better pictures.  I am looking at my camera here at school though and it has something called ISO settings and some little dials with like a flower and what not and flash.. do I need to worry about what those settings are on?

 

Rachel   ISO   You can read all about it on the web, but it is basically this. It began with film photography and describes the "speed" of the film. Since digital cameras do not use film, it is a digital ISO equivalent. Traditionally faster film like 250, 1000, or 400 speeds are used for higher action photography. Since we are shooting things that are static, shoot with the slowest equivalent speed possible. On my camera, while there is an "auto" option, I shoot at 50, which is the slowest offered on my camera.

Flower   Yes, use it. It probably is indicating an up-close or macro mode. Just for comparison, try shooting around with and without the flower on and compare the detail and focus found in the resulting photos.

Flash   Avoid the flash, I do anyway. It is an uncontrolled variable when using most digital cameras and I find it blows out the delicate jewelry photos. However, in a professional studio they would use a light meter to gauge the flash in advance then adjust it to the desired setting.

Here's a link to a significantly interesting Wikipedia entry on the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

Clockwise from left: Teri Dannenberg, Lisa Claxton, Rachel Nelson-Smith, Huib Petersen, Judy Walker, and NanC Meinhardt

Monday, October 6th, 2008

We celebrated a friend's wedding this weekend. It was a wonderful ceremony in a fabulous location--the Randall Museum. After the wedding we paused for a moment for this memorable photo. Lisa noted that this was just another setting in which Huib was surrounded by women! Teri had a couple of very nice beaded bracelets on. Judy and I had a chance to talk a little about her fabulous new self-published book--The Beaded Sphere. And, it was just awesome to be in the presence of NanC. I hugged her three times, once to say hello, once to say goodbye, and once because she was nearby and she'd be flying back to Chicago the next day with her husband and I didn't know we'd I'd get to see her again. Thanks to Kirsten for taking this photo.

-R

PS What economic meltdown?

click to read the interview posted today

Wednesday, September 24th 2008

Odd to think I've been to the East Coast and back since last writing. So much has happened! Colin and I visited family around Richmond, VA then attended our friend's wedding in Shady Side, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay. The sultry wet and warm weather was over the top for us, but we had a wonderful time regardless meeting the family and friends of our friends. Back in California, we went right back to work. Being back in the workshop was a joy for me. The contract for my first book was signed and mailed away and Liz and I put our heads together and began planning, sample-making, and stepped-out shooting.

Today, a little disappointing news arrived that the Bhangra Fusion Bangle is no longer on the front cover of the Bead & Button Show 2009 class catalog, but it certainly was fun while it lasted! After a quick inquiring phone call it is entirely possible I'll be teaching only beadweaving classes in 2009 at the show.

The arrival last week of advance copies of title Masters: Beadweaving was very exciting. I've been looking forward to receiving my copy for some time and it lived up to expectation. The book will be available in a few days at the beginning of October. If you're into seed beads or even anything intricate, this is a great title. Just today Lark emailed with a link to an interview with Carol Wilcox Wells who curated the book. Here's a link to it.

Ok, back to the bead grind! Today the shooting of Lincoln Street Bracelet is wrapping up. This last sample is bright red, orange, and yellow on one side and on the reversible side is cool green, blue, and purple. It's complimentary!

-R

PS Here's a photo of the original Lincoln Street Bracelet which is out at Bead & Button Show at the moment, which has never been posted to this blog but appears on The Beading Frenzy website because it is being taught there on Saturday, October 25th.

PPS Just when you thought this entry was done... This Sunday, I'm teaching the Angelina Collier Earrings at Hooked on Wire in Burlingame, CA! And, I'm attending their "Meet & Greet" Friday night where the fabulous Ron Rock is doing a Swarovski presentation. LONG LIVE RON ROCK! LONG LIVE SWAROVSKI!

Friday, September 5th, 2008

Exciting day today! First. Marcia emailed with great news! The Bhangra Fusion Bangle in the sari colorway made it to the front of the Bead & Button Show 2009 class catalog. Second. The collection of Sea Star Bangles arrived back today from the Lux Center for the Arts in Lincoln, NE. Apparently it was a well attended show and I hope to receive photos to post here in the blog. Third. This afternoon, Bride Lori picked up her sterling silver and sparkling Swarovski crystal tiara from where I was finishing up at a laundromat on the West side of Santa Cruz near the UCSC campus. Trés Romantique! Fourth. Colin and I are headed to the East Cost for visiting with family and going to said bride's wedding at her parent's home on the Chesapeake Bay. Along the way Colin and I are touring Washington, DC, visiting his cousin and grandfather, meeting Gian and Lori's family, going fishing in the bay, eating Brazillian food, going to their wedding, and staying in a bed and breakfast in Annapolis, MD for four days! Fifth. We had an excellent Santa Cruz Bead Society meeting lastnight. New to the area and the bead group is Amy who is involved in graphic design for a successful Twin Cities bead show. In addition to having the opportunity to talk beads with this intimate group, the guest speaker was awesome. Denise Peacock of Delisch came to talk to us about her jewelry design business of which the fruits of her labor are available in nearly every US state. Denise talked first about when has lead up to her current successes, showed off samples from her collections of beautiful jewelry featuring pearls, gemstones, and vintage beads in classic and playful combinations, and finished up by talking about the nicely printed materials used in support of the products. My excitement is overflowing at the moment. It may also be due to the fact that there are four Netflix DVDs which have recently arrived when we pay only the 3-at-a-time price!

-R

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

Even this young Republican likes liliripes.

Three Birds Collaboration Necklace

borosilicate beads by Wayne Robbins

close-up of the birds

close-up of the clasp

Mangambo Seed Beads and lava bird from The Big Island

wild beads by Ronit Dagan

Necklace for mom from Beadwork's Necklaces book

borosilicate by Gail Crosman Moore

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

Many new photos posted today.

Aunt Mary Pruiett with Alexis Pruiett

Sunday, August 31st, 2008

Aunt Mary was a wonderful woman who struggled long and hard against the travails of cancer which finally overtook her this morning.

Monday, August 18th, 2008

A new project O. Crown Cuff and another sample of the Beon Freo Needlecase! If you can make your way to this October to Beads by Blanch in Bergenfield, NJ, you may be able to catch a class on the O. Crown Cuff! Beon Freo Needlecase was submitted to Bead & Button Show for 2009.

I'm off to teach at Beads R Us this coming weekend. Though I'm teaching only the weekend, things were elongated due to circumstance and I'll be flying out of San Francisco Airport this Wednesday to New Orleans. I'll stay there for the night then catch a bus to Alexandria, LA--the final destination. I'll hang out in the shop one day and teach for two days, then it is back to New Orleans for a night and flying out the next day. And, on both ends of the trip I'll be visiting with my Aunt Winny who is helping with the coordination. I normally fly out of San Jose Airport which is considerably more close, but this time around the ticket was a lot less expensive and it gave me an excuse to visit with my auntie who also beads and is very crafty. So, you can bet we'll be up past our bed time on Tuesday gabbing away over Chinese food and projects!

-R

Oakland, CA from the 11th floor of the Marriot Hotel

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

On a whim I calculated my Life Path number and it turned out to be "4". This is what one website says about a person with a "4":

The Life Path 4 suggests that you entered this plane with a natural genius for planning, fixing, building, and somehow, with practical application and cerebral excellence, making things work. You are one of the most trustworthy, practical, and down-to-earth of individuals; the cornerstone members of society. Indeed, as a Life Path 4, you are a builder of society. The cream of the crop in this Life Path can be a master builder in society. if you are among these highly talented people, you have an idealistic nature which is grounded in practical terms, allowing you to conceive grandiose, far-reaching schemes and carry them through to the end. If you desire and are willing to work for it, you can achieve enormous success, prestige, and fame. Obviously, everyone with a 4 Life Path does not become famous.

 

All with this Life Path have the ability to take orders and to carry them out with dedication and perseverance and many 4s live and work happily in this context. But so often, the 4 Life Path is the entrepreneur and manager in the community. In either role, you always demand as much from yourself as you do from others, and sometimes a lot more.

You have the kind of will power that is often mistaken for sheer stubbornness. You don't think of yourself as dogged, but your honest beliefs and that ever direct speech makes you come across as completely unremitting. Once a decision is made, it will be followed through to the conclusion, right, wrong, or indifferent. You are very set in your ways and determined to handle things the way you are so certain that they should be handled. Your tenacity of purpose and ability to get the job done borders on obsession. You are a wonderful manager with a great sense of how to get the job done.

 

You are an excellent organizer and planner because of your innate ability to view things in a very common sense and practical way. This stems from a strong desire to be a perfectionist in your labor. Planning is necessary to avoid errors. It's very likely that a 4 Life Path person invented the to-do list, because it is the rare Life Path 4 who doesn't have one by her side at all times. Your life is programmed in an orderly fashion permitting you to catalog and manage the flow of ideas and activities that fill your day. Indeed, you seem to function best when you are under the gun and facing a tough set of problems.

Loyal and devoted, you make the best of your marriage, and you are always the good provider. Friends may be few in number, but you are very close to them and once friendships are made, they often last a lifetime.

 

The number 4 is solidly associated with the element of earth from which it gains its strength and utter sense of reality. You are one of the most dependable people you know. If patience and determination can ever win, you are sure to achieve great success in life. Often, you are called on to take care of others; to finish what they have started. It may not seem fair and probably isn't, but it may be the key to your accomplishment and reputation.

 

The negative side of the 4 can prove dogmatic to an excess, narrow-minded, and repressive. A lot of skin-deep people turn you off, and you lack the tact to keep your feelings from being totally clear to all around. Additionally, the negative 4 has a bad tendency to get caught up in the daily routine of affairs, missing the big picture and major opportunities that come along once in a while.

 

http://www.astrology-numerology.com/num-lifepath.html

 

Check this website out for some wild jewelry-makers. Just click on the "jewellers" in red:

http://www.klimt02.net/index.php

Self-portrait by Manuel Santana

All Santana by Manuel Santana

Friday, August 8th, 2008

I'm sorry to read today of the July 1st, 2008 passing of a great painter, restaurateur, and  man, Manuel Santana.

Briefly we lived in the same home, I as nanny to his granddaughter, Angelina, whom he and his wife Alicia had adopted from their son as their own daughter. Alas, I was a wilder spirit in those days and a role as nanny was not suitable. But, in the summer we spent together we had fun by the pool, eating Mexican food from the family restaurant in Seacliff, and going to the circus. It was also the only time I've ever driven a Mercedes Benz, gone to Knott's Berry Farm, done someone else's laundry, or had so many enchiladas. I was forever inspired by the accomplishments of this boisterous man. A most engraved example of his exuberance was his choice of home interior paint colors. Never before had I seen one wall painted so differently from another and then another. I remember a red wall next to a yellow wall next to an orange wall next to a turquoise wall.

This short-lived connection with the Santana family came through my best friend Victoria Schuster who lived with the Grova family on the Westside of Santa Cruz and looked after their two daughters whose names nearly escape me--though I can see their young faces in Victoria's wedding photos in which I also posed. Mother Beverly worked fund raising for Cabrillo College and artist father Angelo ran an artist's studio off Highway 9 near Harvey West Park, Michael Angelo's Studio. The details are fuzzy now, but I believe that through Victoria I'd heard that Manuel Santana, a studio artist, was looking for an artist's model.

The first and only visit I ever made to Manuel's studio was memorable. In fluorescent-lit white-walled room he showed me his work and allowed me to leaf through his painted canvases. My eyes widened with his use of bright colors. Pink, red, blue, green, turquoise, yellow! I didn't understand this frenetic art. Could it be art? All bright shades of color were used to embody objects and give them shape and shadow. The vibrancy of those paintings has lived with me every since.

A September 9th, 2008 Art Reception to be held in memory of Manuel Santana's life and works: click here

A July 15th, 2008 Santa Cruz Live article announces Santa Cruz County Artist of Year reception, honoring the life and art of Manuel Santana: click here

Rainbow Skull and Crossbones Embroidery

Big Cat Eye Necklace

Friday, August 8th, 2008

Some new things just shot today.

The skull and crossbones is on a 8.5" x 11" piece of Lacy's Stiff Stuff. It is the first time I'm working with this material and is has really held up. The skull idea began right around when Pirates of the Caribbean 3 came out and stitching began when my step-father was in the hospital for work on his carotid arteries. I often think of him and how it relates to his life. Shining bright in death.

The Big Cat Eye Necklace was inspired by a couple taxidermy eyes I picked up from Gail Crosman Moore's both at Bead and Button Show this year.

Heading out to teach O. Mosaic Cuff at The Beading Frenzy. Expect a frog ring to appear here before too long. -R

Monday, August 4th, 2008

Happy August to you! Here's a little PDF that now exists: here.

Three Birds Necklace with fabulous bead by Wayne Robbins

get an up-close, in-motion view of the 3 Bird Necklace

last moments of Liz' 7/23 workshop visit

on Chardonnay II 7/27 with Captain John

photo by Jeffrey Jay Luhn

Color Schemer Studio screen shot

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

For about a year or so now I'd wanted to collaborate with Wayne Robbins and we've finally done it! A necklace is created based on an incredible glass bead made by Wayne. Out of glass, he's made three baby bird heads with open, hungry beaks. It was definitely a challenge just coming up with a way to work with the bead, let alone wrapping my creative mind around the colors. Over the years one of the overriding themes in my beadwork is bright shades of color. In spite of my desire to work with one of Wayne's beads I had a block over the earthy colors. So, the hole runs left to right behind the baby heads, but because of the weight distribution, their heads fell forward. This weighting presented a challenge--how to re-weight the bead so the fabulous bird heads faced forward.

To begin a "free palette" and the bead was laid out on a grey velvet pad on my workbench and beads were pulled. And, by "free palette" I mean pulling any beads from the collection without regard to how long it was going to put them back and if they were absolutely the right shade. With little steam at first, the grouping grew with taupe and tans and peach, but it just wasn't very exciting, dynamic. Their eyes had said blue to me but I looked deeper, almost with eyes crossed and I accepted and the beautiful colors and shades of purple and blue and brown in them. I remembered a stash of blue pearls originally slated to Wire Chrysalis Bead kits, but never used. There they were in a lunch bag size brown paper bag in the Wire Chrysalis Bead kit tub--over ten 16" strands of blue pearls (seen in the photo). Continuing to freely palette, an old necklace of graduated orange coral branches was added to the mix as well as a bag of long, triangular, horn beads (seen in the photo), more and more beads were added until finally I was stretching to add anymore. That was when the crystal purple haze pendant beads were added. They were given to me as samples. Have you seen this finish? There are four of these pretties shown in the photo at left. You must seek these out. They are gorgeous. But, I digress. The purple haze babies were pretty much the last ones to be added to the palette.

A brace of 20- and 26-gauge wire was created to wrap through the bead hole and around the birds creating a place to stitch in seed beads. Having stitched several times around the wire brace, things were beginning to come together. The wire brace provided a place to add secure stitching a well as a double-wrapped loop at each hole to later attach the strands of pearls strung on flexible beading wire. This worked out stupendously. Not only did the double-wrapped loop at each end provide a strong place to touchdown the strung pearls, but there was enough room for many, many strands.

When the stringing activity was approached, excitement dwindled in spite of the glorious blue color and quantity. But, the excitement rose again when three 11/0's were sporadically introduced amongst the blue pearls. Later, a branch fringe was added to each and every one of these little bead insurgencies with an affect pushing the piece even further into an organic, branching feeling.

From the below the bird necks comes a ragtag and sumptuous waterfall of bead fringe of three different 11/0's--a matte AB topaz, silver-lined dark lime, and a peach-lined aqua with AB--and one 15/0 a blue and purple iris--so shiney!

I checked in with Wayne to when he'd need the piece and turned out he needed it right away. So, that late afternoon I headed up to his place and while we combed his workshop for a suitable bead for the clasp, we came up with another fabulous idea for your beadweaving pleasure. This one is not some involved and complex as the 3 Birds, but shocking and wonderful none-the-less. But, going back to the clasp bead, wouldn't you know he found a bead which doubled as a bird egg with an open-beaked bird breaking it's way out? Holy cow. Holy cow.

Holy cow.

The new 1 bird bead was worked up in a similar manner with wire and fringe to tie everything together and attached to the back of the piece. Then freeform beadweaving was done over all exposed wire and findings so that all you see is bead! BEAD! BEAD! And... a little more bead.

Well, the piece is completed in the workshop in the wee small hours last Saturday morning and was delivered back to Wayne later in the morning for photos. He was off to San Diego for a show--perhaps he's got it on display--and then he's at the ISGB show in Oakland next weekend. I'm glad there is use to be got out it, because this is a time when the piece is at it's highest usefulness--it isn't an every day piece. Oh no. But, I imagine it wouldn't really matter how well one's clothing and jewelry matched so long as the jewelry were so maniacally beady and wonderful!

And, yes, there has been a lot more going on...

We celebrated my husbands birthday over the weekend with a trip to San Francisco for the North Beach Jazz Festival and a Sunday sail around the bay with friends where we saw porpoises swimming around us!

I was also paid a visit by my most fabulous assistant Liz Penn. We talked beads and projects and more beads and more projects. And, we had Thai food!

The day after Liz visited talented photographer Jeff Luhn shot me for a few hours. At left is one of the magnificent photos he took. Soon, a new photo will be chosen to replace the old one. You can bet it is going to be one of his.

And, how can I forget the updated music website? A woman named Anna called on Wednesday looking to book a band for a Sunday event. We determined Rachel and Smith Swing Shop were out of her client's price range, but it did spur me to update the website at www.smithswingshop.com where you'll see another photo by talented Jeffrey Jay Luhn.

Ooooo, neat! It is Color Schemer Studio and the download is 49.99. There is a Color Wheel View, Color Harmonies View, Suggested Colors View, Photo Schemer, Color Mixer, Color Scheme Analyzer, and more. Me want!

And, here are the named 150 colors of the web. Very neat.

Ah, yes, and if you're interested in the beach chair saga, it turns out we actually own a several low-to-the ground models in a lovely bright green over aluminum...

the first chair on the list at right

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

Colin and I were invited and went to a bonfire the other night with friends at Twin Lakes Beach in Santa Cruz. We've been living sequestered away in the mountains for a while with little recent experience of what life at the beach is like. While sitting somewhat dejectedly in the sand on a borrowed friend's sarong, mildly envious of those sitting comfortably in a folding chair we agreed on two things. The first was that we'd shop around for beach chairs for as long as we were going to be living near the beach, we might as well have a dignified way of sitting on it. And, two, that we'd purchase beach chairs made in the United States of America. What does this have to do with beads? This lesson may come a little later. But, for now, check out the findings below, the fruit of 20 minute's labor in an online search for "beach chair made USA" excerpted from today's email to my husband:

1. This one is only $85. Shipping is free, but processing is 9.99. On the upside, there are 8 colorways to choose from.

 

2. From the same site as above, all these chairs are Made in USA. The downfall? The "cheapest" one is $49.

 

3. This one sounds almost like a deal at $49.99.

 

4. At $20 each, are these our chairs?

 

5. And, maybe we'll get some of these... they're made in the USA and are only $41 each.

 

I'm going back to work now.

-R

Fire Ball from spectator's perspective

Fire Ball from rider's perspective

Wednesday July 16th, 2008

Living on Beach Hill is more fun that we imagined. The apartment is situated such that more friends and family have come to visit and spend time with us that ever before! Whether it is like this in the future or not, this will be a summer to remember.

Just Tuesday, Colin's friends came for dinner and after some cocktails at home, we headed to the Boardwalk. Together, the four of us rode Giant Dipper, Ferris Wheel, Haunted Mansion, and Fire Ball. For the summertime 1907 nights all rides are 75 cents along with hotdogs, Pepsi, and cotton candy. The best deal in my opinion is each ride for 1 ticket, though when I was a kid, the tickets we something like 35 cents each.

In any case, we had a great time and got sufficiently sick and disoriented riding Fire Ball. If you ever make it to Santa Cruz and for a visit, hopefully we can have a chance to at least walk along the Boardwalk to see all the colorful flashing lights!

Enough of this amusement park talk! Let's do some beading!!!

-R

Crystal Cubed Bracelet

On Pikake Bead Necklace

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

I can tell I'm almost back into the swing of things because it's been less than a week since the last post here!

This weekend was great. Both Saturday and Sunday I spent with four lovely ladies at the Capitola Community Center working our way through Absolute Beadweaving. We covered flat even-count peyote, right-angle weave, herringbone weave, and brick stitch. Everyone walked away with beadworked samples--even me! It is always inspiring to work with folks who are either getting into beadweaving or looking at getting into it.

After working our way through right-angle weave, Dorothy and I discussed a Crystal Cubed Bracelet sample--which is the same project as the bracelets pictured at the left, but was in a brown colorway. Actually, the sample we had in class (sorry no photo) was a gift from student Stephanie Chang who I know through The Beading Frenzy. In any case, Dorothy liked the sample so we discussed how to make it and I even charted out a couple patterns in her right-angle weave pattern blank. So, this morning an email arrives from Dorothy who is missing the pattern and asking for a replacement. It flashed on me how easy it would be to work up a tutorial page for folks who already know RAW, so that's what I spent an hour on this afternoon. That and a talk with the building owner, a stop for Excedrin and TP, and eating some reheated leftovers from our Thai dinner lastnight--Pad Kee Maow with chicken and green curry with mock duck. Yes, lastnight we had Thai din then saw Hellboy II which was good, but brought on a headache which I woke up this morning and thus the procurement of Excedrin. Hmm... I'm a little chatty today aren't I? Maybe the caffeine in the Excedrin? In any case...

The new tutorial is posted in the free tutorials section and it can be downloaded by clicking here.

Oh, yes. A little not-so-great news. The Pikake Necklace wasn't accepted by BeadStyle for publication. That's okay, you get to see a photo here! Or, see a fuzzed out image of my talk about it at the left. Looks like the recording will need to be a little higher quality. Hopefully the next YouTube installment will be more in focus!

But, the good news is there are some new projects on the workbench.

-R

Pikake Necklace

lampwork beads made by Michele Smith

purchased at Pikake Beads in Kona, HI

recent wedding necklace

brother Joel in our litchen

Colin and Vicky

Jen's wedding necklace and earrings

Colin, Rachel, Loir, and Gian visiting over beers and a game of Settlers of Cattan

Rachel with crazy hair

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

You'd almost think I hadn't been doing anything since May because it seems I've had nothing to write about! So, not true. Since May I've been to the largest retail bead show in the universe Bead & Button Show, gone to Hawaii for my friend Jen's wedding, and traveled by train to teach at Creative Castle in Newbury Park, CA. We've even nicely settled into our new place on Beach Hill in Santa Cruz, CA.

It's definitely been a photo-intense season! Perhaps I'll get a few of them up here at some point. For now, the photos are of new O. Bersten Component colorway called "browns" created from the immense and beautiful stock of beads which can be found at Creative Castle. I'm pleased Carol and I chose to follow through with the weekend of teaching in spite of low enrollment. It was a delightful beady weekend with Creative Castle and the travel wasn't bad either. Since the shop is relatively close to where I live, when originally negotiating a bead weekend, I imagined I'd drive myself down. But, as gas prices have risen, I looked at other transportation options and going by Amtrak turned out to be very reasonable. While the cost of the gas to travel to and from Newbury Park, CA was within $10 of the train ticket cost, I could hardly imagine beading and driving at the same time! See, this is the greatest benefit of all when taking the train! I can bead the whole time! Not to mention, the incredible 60 mile stretch of travel along the Pacific Ocean--just gorgeous!

Then there is a friend's beautiful wedding necklace for a recent wedding in April of this year. So pretty! She liked the Perle Berceau design and wanted it in mostly white pearls and I talked her into a little red. The "little red" was worked in with 2 mm Swarovski crystals in the siam color. So cute!

'Tis the season for weddings! So, some more wedding jewelry. This was the jewelry worn by my friend Jen. She had asked for jewelry for her mom and bridesmaids. When I asked her what she wanted, she just said she wanted it to show more than anyone else's jewelry! So, that's what we did! The design is based on the Angelina Collier Set but in wedding-appropriate colors.

Another thing that has been keeping Colin and I busy is entertaining. Since we've moved to such a fabulous and accessible location, we've had a number of visitors. It may also be all the ice tea I make sure to have on had for our visitors or that Colin is an excellent cook! So, at the left here is a photo of my brother from over the weekend when he visited us from Stockton and brought our mom, Maud, and his girlfriend Lauren. There is also Colin and I posing with Colin's college friend Gian and his fiancee Lori. And, the very bottom photo is Colin with his mom, Vicky, when we celebrated her birthday this past tuesday evening. I'm sorry to say we didn't get a shot of Colin's father, Wayne, but we celebrated none the less and ate loads of homemade chocolate cake; as funky as it looked, it was pure chocolatey goodness.

Now, please excuse me... I have to cook dinner for our friend's Cat and Nick who are coming over for visiting and some Settlers of Cattan!

-R gd

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

The lesson learned while walking to work this morning was to not think about too many things while walking. I wore my red Marcelle Dansko shoes (pictured at left) and was a third the way to work when down onto the pavement I tumbled dropping everything in my hands and falling to my right and scraping my knee, bruising my hip, and wrenching my already lamenting right shoulder. I tried and tried not to fall, to regain my balance and I laughed a little at myself on the way down because I wondered how I could trip and fall so easily on the pavement. There was also was a part of me that laughed because the deplorable lack of cleanliness on the pavement was now my lot and there I was face down in it. I rolled over onto my back doing a body check for a broken bone, sprained anything, no, the body was good to stand. But, the ego still laid on the pavement in wonder, shocked by the momentary imbalance. It, unprepared to turn towards the faces of the workers on the second story of the new blue-treated wood building gaping for a moment on the sight of a woman laying on the street or the quiet passing couple nearby, paused. What was it that I was thinking in the moment before? Look, this is Spruce Street, I've heard about it for years and now I walk past it every work day. Look, the blue-treated wood ends are not treated and I wonder how the building will fair against termites? Look, the city worker across the street collecting change from the parking meters, he's out in the morning when the riff-raff are still sleeping. I wonder if he's ever been mugged by one up so early as he? And, then my foot was askew and my items falling to the ground and I along with them. Moments later I could hear his footsteps near me and his voice asking if I was alright. Are you alright? Are you alright? He took my bag off as requested and helped me up. Me feeling my extra weight and doing what I could to stand on my own and asking him if he'd ever been mugged in the morning. He gave a slow, "no". I secretly hoped then I hadn't cursed him or cast any dark cloud with my words. He was actually fixing the meters.

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

Thank goodness for the passing of time. There have never been many times in my life I've been happy for the passage of time, but during this time of moving I've been very thankful for it.

Now, home and office are at a workable point though it is glaringly apparent we accrued quite a bit of useless items while living in our big apartment in the woods. There is still much work to be done getting rid of things we have doubled up on and must now focus on items which can work doubly as hard.

The new office and workshop space is in better shape and just about presentable for lessons, trunk-type shopping, and viewings of all my work in one place. Now, that is the kind of sentence that makes me think some insurance may be in order!

The workshop is all set up for up to three students at a time so if you've recently had a class cancelled on you or are traveling to the area there is now a bead respite just for you in downtown Santa Cruz!

Now, let's design something new!

Monday, April 21st, 2008

We've found a place to live and a location for The Jewelry Workshop. Our new residence is on Beach Hill just a minute's walk from the beach and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. And, my new office is in downtown Santa Cruz.

On the verge of physically separating home and work in the coming weeks, I've been restless and pensive. Just before falling asleep Friday night, I found myself struggling to recite this poem from memory as the words float out my father's mouth, written by Robert Frost:

Two roads diverged in yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And look down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And perhaps having the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

 

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

 

I shall be telling the story with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Tuesday, April 1st, 2008

Just taking some photos...

Friday, March 28th, 2008

Thought for the day:

We are always learning, so it is helpful to be aware of what is being learned! After 34 years of life, I was given an alternate lesson in the form of a birthday call from my mother on Tuesday. Perhaps it will be a concluding lesson in the chapter on the negativity of preconceived notions. It was surprising to me, who has silently judged parents of newborns with jaundice, that I was a child of those parents and had jaundice the 2nd day out of the whom. This strong will in opine is related to being an Aries and at least third in a line of headstrong women. So, it is a liberating experience to release what seemed so indurate! In life and in beadwork, "A" does not always lead to "B". A plethora of other possibilities may follow "A", of which it is helpful to be aware.

And now, for something more pedestrian:

Speaking of being aware... do you live in the Santa Cruz area and know of an open living space/home/cottage/apartment for rent? With availability May 1st or before, we are in need of 2 rooms, parking for 1, no pets, gas stove preferred, in Santa Cruz to Soquel near the ocean or in good sun light or simply an exceptional residence. Send an email or call if you know of something or feel free to give folks my info: contact@msrachel.com and 408-348-7003. Thank you!

Please join me in thinking positively that there is someone in Santa Cruz with a space for these two sentient beings:

Sunday, February 10th, 2008

Just taking a short breather from writing and kitting for a bit of brightness and lightness! Über fashionable friend and beadweaver extraordinaire, Suzanne Golden made it into the Sunday New York Times! And, while we're on the subject of Aunt Susie here's a You Tube video she posted for 2007. We'll get to meet up in a few days in New York! She has the uncanny ability to brighten my day when we're in person and even across the United States! In the first photo you can even get a peek of her Bead Dreams 2007 entry sitting on the top of the chair...

Saturday, February 3rd, 2008

My step-father of 20 years passed from this world on Tuesday, February 29th from a massive heart attack in my brother's arms. Truly one-of-a-kind, Mitch made an immense difference in my life. He was a bull as a youth and delicate as an elder. He always either affirmed my ideas or constructively suggested other ways to see things and was as near a father as will any man be. He taught me to play tennis, basketball, racquetball, and softball, how to do front and back flips and set the example of how to be a patient and kind person. I picture him now working up a sweat tearing up and down the playing field in front of adoring fans, friends, and family then enjoying a great feast with those who've gone before him. He lives on in my heart.

When I would make a lot of ear wires all at once, these are this the style I'd make. These were inspired by the ear wires made by a co-worker at Bead It in Santa Cruz, CA way back in 1993 by the name of Jessie Leech.

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

This question arrived in my inbox recently posed by Natalie:

Do you know if normal cheap silver plated / gold plated wires are hypoallergenic? or do I need to go get gold filled and sterling silver wire?

And, here's my answer:

What silver-plated says to me is there is some sort of lesser metal alloy (usually containing copper which is usually what folks are allergic to) that is being laid over another stiffer metal. I've also seen the plating on jewelry (and earrings) come of so many times over the years, it is hard to imagine it could be hypoallergenic when it is sloughing off onto the skin or into the ear hole.  So, I can't say I've ever come across hypoallergenic plated jewelry in the bright colors. Now, there are surgical steel ear wires which are darker. Those are the ones I use in class and if you've taken my Earrings Wardrobe or Earrings--Doorway to Wire, those are the ones you used. There are a couple of alternates before going to sterling or gold-filled which are argentinium, a metal which has made it into the jewelry-maker's market in the last few years and niobium wire, which as been around for a while. If argentinium ear wires are out there, they are probably bright-colored but are likely about the same cost as sterling. And, niobium is not bright but not as dark as surgical steel, but may make a suitable replacement for gold-filled. They run electricity through the niobium (an element on the periodic table) to give it various colors (it's natural color is a dull silver). I've noticed though that the strength of this color-finish is dependent on who is making it. On some wire I've used in the green color, the color rubs through to the natural color fairly easy. So... nothing like the real thing, right? The sterling and gold-filled work so well it is difficult to find a suitable, less expensive substitute. However, making your own ear wires out of 19- or 20- gauge wire is less expensive that pre-making them. But, then, you must actually *make* them! Here's a web page on how to make your own: http://jewelrymaking.allinfoabout.com/features/earwires.html

My Best, Rachel

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

Returned last night from San Diego. The San Diego Bead Society was very welcoming. Their Saturday morning meeting is held in the Mingei Internationl Museum in beautiful Balboa Park. After giving the talk "Evolution of a Design" to the group, we had lunch in as a group in a nearby cafe and later I was taken on a walk by Mark, my friend Marcia's husband. The day was gorgeous and I was happy to go. The entire weekend was a pleasure with plenty of visiting and brainstorming along with good eating and drinking with my talented friend Marcia DeCoster whom I stayed with in her fabulous Deco home. On Sunday a class on Oothecal Bede and attended by 12 bead society members was hosted in Marcia's studio and Monday I flew home. After hearing my recant of the weekend, my husband welcomed me home from vacation and back to reality! Marcia and Mark make the most incredible hosting team a traveling teacher could ever desire.

The screen shots at left were sent by an astutely observant beader, Marion Kalcher. If you've made or seen an Ootheca Cuff, you'll recognize its unmistakable influence in this piece posted by a beadweaver in Issy-les-Moulineaux. Notice the blue header in the screen shot which notes "inspiration Otheca". I am quite pleased this combination of stitches inspires this beadweaver in Issy-les-Moulineaux to "riff" on the original project.

Monday, January 14th, 2008

Just got back from getting therapy work on my right forearm and was it lovely! Carol rubbed on a knot about 4" above the wrist, did a little cortisone and ultra-sound therapy and 15 minutes of electro-stimulation. I'm a little sad it was the last in a series of appointments. Now, I'll be doing stretches, contrast baths, hot wax, warm and cold packs, and 1-hour bead/comp-work timers all on my lonesome. Here's to a healthy right arm, wrist, and fore-arm and shoulder for many years of beadwork to come!

Saturday, January 12th, 2008

It is official! I just bought a flight from LaGuardia to West Palm Beach, FL where my friend and Bead Cruise roomie, Pat lives! We'll drive down to Fort Lauderdale the next morning and get on a Royal Caribbean ship headed for Jamaica!  A couple of new developments for this trip which begins with four days of teaching for the Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild in Michigan the third week of February. There is now the possibility of teaching in the Philadelphia area on Monday 2/25 (thanks to an inquisitive beader) and in the Dallas Area the second weekend of March, with a long-awaited visit to one of my best friends who lives in the Houston area. The possible Texas visit will mean I may be on the road for a total of 4 weeks, finishing up