Spring in the Air

I am late with the BJP, therefore, I am posting the March project until mid-April and will post April’s project the second half of April. From therein I will be on track until June.

We are eleven days into spring today. Although the tree standing in front of my apartment window has not started budding, spring is in the air. It is almost time to don heavyweight winter things and bring in the lightweight spring things. Spring’s gentle and sometimes strong breeze sways or waves my sheer curtains across my futon and its breeze permeates my apartment with its fresh clean scent.

The green and white beads and the cutting from an overgrown philodendron plant seemed fitting for a short spring post. The beads green, yellow and white colors reminded me of olives and shiny granny smith apples purchased at a local grower or a farmer’s market and ready to be made into an apple pie with a homemade golden pie crust.

Things associated with the color green are restfulness, a part of growth, and a sign of harvest for efforts well done. Green is good for money-related symbolism, anything pertaining to nature, luck, fertility, confidence, healing, and hope.

Bead shapes and colors conjure up feelings, images, and story telling and is a wonderful way to express your immediate and distant surroundings.

HAPPY SPRING BEADING!!!

What is a bead? Random House Webster’s College Dictionary definition is a small round object of glass, wood, stone, or the like with a hole through it, often strung with others of its kind in necklaces, rosaries, etc. My definition is an object of various shapes and sizes (2m tiny seed bead to an 18mm large round beads). Beads are made of clay, paper, plastic/acrylic, and metal or iron. Some objects do not have holes in them but you use them as beads, if you drill a hole into them. Today many use coffee beans and the like to make beads. For centuries, people have adorned their bodies and clothing with beads for aesthetic and spiritual reasons using all types of materials.

Although I like to go to craft and bead stores occasionally to rummage through racks of colorful beads and findings, what I enjoy most is leafing through Fire Mountain Gems and Beads magazine that I receive through the mail every three months. Being able to order the 'Boss Bead Bag' is exciting because the bag contains wonderful assortments of gemstone, acrylic, glass, wood, bone and metal beads; findings; cabochons and different kinds of fun jewelry-making stuff. The stuffed bag has with many odds-and-ends as well.

Sometimes you just want to go into nature to find an object for a bead. I live near the University of Akron and shortcut through its parking lot to go downtown or to the public library. Along the way, covering the University of Akron’s landscaped grounds are beautiful stones that I collect and turn into beads using the wire wrap technique. I am always on the lookout for interesting objects to make into beads. Use marbles as beads. “Fried marbles” is a technique that I found on the Internet. This technique works well with clear round marbles. What you do is fry the marbles in a pan until they are hot and then submerge them into icy water, which causes the glass to expand then crack into wonderful patterns. Make a pendant, ring, or bracelet using these marbles. Do not look at things the way they are, but look at things the way they could be.

Not long ago, I was walking across a parking lot and found a single earring that had fallen off someone’s ear wire. The earring had an oriental pattern. Nearby was an oriental restaurant and I wondered if someone that worked there had lost the earring. Found beads, store bought beads, and beads you have made yourself are all endless possibilities for you to enjoy the beading life.

HAPPY BEADING EVERYONE!

Meaning of color

To see pictures of the pink and gray beads please go to www.silkmystics.com

Color has meaning

What inspired me to make pink and gray beads was reminiscent of a living room I painted. Several years ago, I moved into a neighborhood not by choice but because of necessity. The main street I lived on had a bus stop practically in front of my door, a grocery store a few yards away, and a public library nearby. Although I was not happy with the area, it did have some conveniences. The house had an enclosed porch, a great advantage, but had a few missing glass windows and no door. The enclosed porch was important to me because I was opening a new business and was anxious to hang up my open for business sign (dressmaking and alterations). I talked with the owner and he put a door up for me but was unable to do anything about the windows. I solved that problem by putting up plastic and making curtains for the windows and the door. In the winter months, I used a space heater that kept the porch warm and cozy and used adjustable window screens in the summer that kept the porch cool and breezy.

The inside of the house needed work too especially the living room walls. I do not like painting but it was the cheapest way to change the appearance of the living room.
For some reason I wanted a gray and pink living room. It could have been because those were popular color combinations at that time or the way I was feeling living in that neighborhood.

Looking up the meaning of the pink and gray I found out why I using those two colors. Gray means a neutral, non-invasive feeling and to feel detached or isolated. The business world uses gray to denote efficiency and that is what my business to become. My business was different because it was operated from my house in a not so good area. Pink means a peaceful, calm person who is non- threatening and a color often used by the female gender. There was disorder in the neighborhood and I needed to relax and neutralize that disorder. Acceptance and contentment was important to me as well because I would be living there for a few years and getting a foothold in my business.

Shortly after, I finished painting the living room and my first customer knocked on the door. The customer wanted a gray and pink prom dress! She mentioned that she liked the color of my living room. I asked about her date and she said she was going with friends but did not have a date. Her parents rented a limo and she stopped by before going to the prom to show me the dress; she looked beautiful and very feminine. Need I say more about the power of color! Beads are a natural and colorful way to express present and past experiences, feelings, healing, and status. Your color choices are dependent on what you want to express at the time. HAPPY BEADING!!!

Beading Affair

This is the second time writing this blog. I tried previewing it and it disappeared!

Well, I have not posted since August. I have decided to journal a bead or group of beads that I have made from clay or paper. I do not always do things the easy way. If given a choice of buying or making something, I will make instead. The process of making, mixing colors, and shaping beads is exciting to me. In August I made three beads that were inspired from my African print futon cover. The cover has several different African etchings. After mixing the color brown using organge and blue I drew the designs with a black fine tip permanent marker. My son thought that I had bought the beads at the craft store. They turned out well.

I felt lazy one day and thought, "how can I use color without paints and mixing?" My friend Dot gave me a 50-set of Color Workshop Kaps Off markers some years ago and the idea came to me to use the markers to color the clay. Yes, I know I can buy the colors that I want at the store, but then again, I don't always take that approach. I now had fifty additional colors to use in my beadwork and could mix them even further if I wanted to.

I do have one picture of the beads but the photo isn't as clear as I would like it to be. or its not sh owing at all.