march blues

definitely a working brain could have figured out that i am blue this week. 

the nice weather was swell, 

but it was not quite enough. 

i seem to grow a little mopey this time of the year every year and am sort of surprised each time. 

surely, i should have this figured out by now?

 i have been riding the emotional roller coaster. 

one minute up, one minute down. 

missing my kids, then reveling in the quiet of an emptyish house. 

no pleasing me, 

so i painted new flowers.

things to till in my metal gardens. 

here is what i harvested yesterday...

colorways are called pinata and lace. 

see, i know that there is NO reason for feeling a little down. 

because this is what my eyes and mind see!

rolling joyous color. 

 there is of course more of it to follow. 

i need some more citrusy stuff to curtail my mental scurvy. 

if history repeats itself, the bummer time will end next week. 

it always does. 

here are a few of the recent confections i put together last night. 

they are brighter in life than my editing may show... 

and they are so much fun for the fingers. 

a couple of close-ups Mr. DeMille?

there were a few other rings made a couple of days ago too. 

some of those highlights.

now it is time to do the dishes. 

yup, just in time for my husband to get up for his final hockey date of the season

with his young students. 

he takes the instructional program for our local ice hockey league a wee bit seriously. 

still, it usually makes him very happy. 

and being around a lot of little kids, is kind of mecca for him. 

today, they will be enjoying a last trip with skates this season, 

(within this hockey league)

pizza, music, parents, friends, cookies and fun. 

i hope everyone likes it as much as the mr. does. 

i guess everyone feels Spring is really just around the corner for sure. 

i hope it is. 

i adore the monsoon season, since it makes the trees with fruit blossoms 

spectacular. 

i love the darkening of the tree bark around me, as it is made wet by rain. 

my favorite green comes out as the ubiquitous maple trees leaves 

pop anew with teensy pompom chartreuse offerings. 

they are the hardy cheerleaders for other more timid sprouters. 

time to sleep. 

after the dishes get popped into their magical washing cube. 

xoxo. 

W.

spring is early so my clock is off.

spring sprang this past week or two. 

new england will have to say something about that for sure. 

i have enjoyed reading all about everyone else's plans to plant gardens.

many have grown sure signs of the early good weather,

 sore shoulders from raking and sunning.  

i love all of it. 

as i always seem to feel, cautiously, this is too good to be true. 

 it cannot truly last until the proper time arrives. 

i am a conundrum... an optimistic pessimist. 

what normal people call a walking oxymoron. 

no wiseacre cracks please. 

in the gorgeous temperatures, 

my collective of short or non sleeved shirts has made an annual showing. 

they are brightly colored and make me happy. 

today i wore my watermelon colored top with a bright green flower necklace. 

gosh did i feel spiffy. 

i even washed my hair to give the world a glimpse of it in a clean format. 

why so much primping? 

(yes, a lot of primping considering my generally slacker attitude about this and hiding in my house). 

well i had been asked to "film" an interview. 

ok, so there was no film or tape involved. 

just the beauty of a mac book and a very willing and kind super intern. 

the young man is an intern for jennifer neuguth. 

she is a promoter, genius, kind woman, tireless supporter and all round good egg.

i have met her before the amazing real meeting last june. 

that seems to have been when it took officially in my mind. 

Jennifer is the Queen of creative generosity that started  the whole 

FESTIVAL FETE 

show. 

https://www.facebook.com/festivalfete1

it was held several times last year and i participated in the very first one. 

it was in Garden City.

this is a hugely pleasant open air shopping mall in Cranston, RI. 

i had signed up for it and was sure i would have a miserable time. 

my experiences with doing shows were both limited and freaking me out. 

also i had never done an outdoors show with rain coming down all around me. 

panic mode was in full tilt. 

luckily, Jennifer's husband aka King David, talked me down off the ledge. 

i managed to harness my panic, 

and with the help of my husband, son and eldest daughter was able to set up for the show. 

at the end of the show, 

i was packing up to leave and in my fatigue, i tripped over a curb. 

my lesson in this experience was very rich. 

no matter if it is raining cats and dogs or if i fall flat onto my face, 

my show was and always could be a hit. 

financially, socially, and experientially. 

a fantastic thing to learn early. 

so my luck held out and i participated in several more episodes of 

FESTIVAL FETE. 

i shall not lie and say all were making me an overnight success.

instead, i got to learn so much

 and meet some of the most fantastic people also participating or shopping. 

so now i am a devoted artist within the cache of uber talented participants in these shows. 

this year, i have signed up to participate in the kick starter

in june. 

(i will be posting all the dates and locations soon... i just need to look them up)

Jennifer's intern visited me today and we chatted a bit.

we recorded some of the answers to the questions 

and that was quite a trip. 

he used his computer as i said earlier, however as squeaky clean as i felt i was, 

i could not get it all looking good. 

not as i had wanted to. 

i felt a little like the sweet round inner section of a watermelon.

YIKES. 

anyways, the questions posed were about when i started creating vs. being an artist. 

i am sure everyone has some great story about this. 

it is a deeply personal thing for everyone,

 whether a professional artistic life is pursued or not. 

in my case, i have been making things for as long as i can remember. 

from the butter marble cake when i was 6, in a state of benign neglect, using the grown up oven...

all the way until today. 

it is something about me that says i need to make things every day; 

an itch that needs to be scratched. 

i think this is common for all practicing artists, regardless of the medium. 

 discovery and acceptance of this as my life was a long journey. 

now i am happy on my correct pathway. 

another question posed was: why jewelry? 

it is a long answer... one that i surely have answered a few times already. 

so i will sort of gloss over that answer. 

(it is in this blog somewhere and a thousand redundant times.)

from stringing beads at home as a child, 

to making necklaces for my lifeguard friends during summers at the beaches in my home town. 

 found shells and other oddments suspended as embellishments in macrame knotting

 was my summer thing. 

much later as a mother of 3 small children,

 i found it relaxing and familiar, so i returned to the lure of the bead

all over again. 

since then, 

 no further departure from my bejeweled path has been made. 

i have stayed what has become my own course. 

this allowed mike and me to have a conversation regarding style. 

style to me is what comes from your heart, soul, mind, hands

 and whatever else is needed to create it. 

many can look at a still life set up and no two will ever create the same image. 

they can use the exact same perspective and tools, 

yet it will be as individualized as each person is. 

what comes of this is personal style as i see it. 

this is why copyists fail. 

it is not possible to duplicate someone else no matter how faithfully one may try. 

the final question was to do with what does Festival Fete offer me?

it offers me the chance to act as an ambassador. 

someone who can educate and forward the love of a creative process to the rest of the world. 

a world that may not be as informed as they might be, about handmade creations. 

it also offers me a chance to have my voice heard. 

my creative choices allow for conversations and what is in me, to meet the world. 

i really appreciate this opportunity to share my thoughts through the interview. 

thank you jennifer, 

(thank you david, my artist rep and jennifer's husband)

thank you mike. 

thank you everyone. 

i guess feeling a little like a watermelon with some cute jewels on 

is a gift. 

like i said, 

thank you. 

xo. 

w. 

Spring Equinox

What is it about Spring? 

I actually feel like cleaning up. 

all that should really be on my mind is to remember to balance an egg on its end.

i am fascinated by this twice yearly event, 

and yet have never tried it. 

it must be a plot to overwhelm our senses with the joy of fresher weather...

and an insertion of secret pheromones that create forgetfulness within gentler winds blowing. 

it is never too late to have Spring Fever.

it would be nice to say i was on a tear with cleaning. 

it is only a half hearted one. 

there is so much to contend with, but one little bit at a time is helpful to the psyche. 

yesterday, i vacuumed and built up more of a sweat than i usually do playing tennis. 

i would be more embarrassed, were it not for the fact that i need to sweat.

also, the house is a mote cleaner. 

when halley returns from school, perhaps we can paint the kitchen.

she has mad painting skills, which i surely do not. 

to celebrate the incoming fresh air, 

i baked. 

as a child, i LOVED Drake's coffee cakes. 

so i made the version from Martha Stewart that i like. 

(surely i have bored the heck out of you with this already?)

should you like to have your own pan to secretly sneak extra pieces from....

and crumb topping to pull off and eat like candies...

here is the recipe

http://www.marthastewart.com/355763/new-york-crumb-cake

***

the switch from holiday season into just plain winter is abrupt. 

one of the signifiers is a color palette change. 

it is accomplished simply by switching away from jewel tones, 

and into paler or more fresh bright colors. 

i feel like Alice falling into the rabbit hole.

i found some yummy beads last week. 

as usual, they are vintage ones... and i bought a lot.

when i say a lot, i mean pounds of them. 

lots and lots...  

Mostly PINK ones. 

sometimes even two packed storage towers of beads need to be refreshened.

any excuse to increase a stash, right?

a bubblemania necklace

in bright, almost neon colors.

anyways, it is time to make a fresh pass at my housewifery

and purchase groceries for us.

in addition to another cleaning effort somewhere.

there is also the distinct possibility, that i will nap too. 

 i suspect that a nice coffee accompanied by some crumb cake may firm up plans. 

 i may be lost again in the wilds of playing and snooping at stuff on line. 

after the egg balancing efforts

perhaps some out doors interests may be served. 

the dog always needs a walk. 

xoxo. 

W.

creative block

it sounds silly...

i think i have a bit of a creative block.

i make stuff all the time, 

but i haven't been able to sit still, 

concentrate, 

let the juices flow... 

and make a statement style necklace for a while now.

it's not like i haven't enjoyed the heck out of making them before. 

they got to be my favorite style of expressing myself. 

and i made some money too. 

this was the last one i made. 

and it was for a friend of mine. 

so what the heck is this mental speed-bump all about?

i keep trying to clear out all the static so i can enjoy myself.

still, i feel a tad guilty not taking care of the smaller kind of things that add up. 

my wholesale orders fall into this arena. 

just clearing up some of my mess making things takes time too. 

then there is the need to prep flowers so i have some materials to work with. 

while i enjoy shopping for materials, it too takes a bit of time.

i hope that this is fixed soon. 

the need to create something more meaningful is nipping at my toes. 

the space i tend to spend time in is a green chair in our living room. 

for months i took a lot of my materials to the basement space allotment.

i have tons of stuff stored there and never got to clear off one, 

then two surfaces. 

i have no space to work on things down there. 

and for a weird reason, 

as cool as it is, i wind up putting a fan on to keep the air circulating. 

otherwise i get too hot and give up on what i am playing with. 

to recap. 

have a block. 

space is messy

too many rote creations

and i am in need of a vacation. 

look out world... there may be some vacuuming in my future. 

perhaps you can see what i am up against. 

my own worst messes. 

the last fun thing i made was my leather cuff bracelet with flowers. 

i dragged my hubby and daughter to a resale shop to get some more belts

last sunday... they misbehaved. 

i scored. 

now to make some fresh cuffage. 

this one went on my design board for a wholesale show with my rep last weekend. 

i ordered a cool punch to help make my snaps on the cuffs. 

it works like a dream. 

i can't wait to put it to better use. 

so i think that i need to rip stuff down and create more functional areas to fabricate goodies in. 

three stations. 

one in the living room... by the tv. 

my studio space needs to be cleared up. 

finally, i need my own drill press. and a spot to use it in, 

where i don't overlap space with my husband. 

it was gratifying as can be to have checked into the price for my own press. 

it is completely do-able too. 

imagine not having long irksome wood shavings in my little paired up earrings and such. 

i can see it now. 

also i need a table to be functional in the living room. 

i need a place to keep my computer and some files. 

the joy of picking dog hair out of everything is limited. 

what is really essential at this time, 

is a lot of ruthless trash tossing. 

no matter what the potential for future transformation might be...

making room and putting things away is only gonna work if there is less of it. 

please wish me luck. 

i will be needing it. 

my husband wants to help me with my business and his offer is tempered with 

a month of post-op recuperation. 

he has a small hernia repair to undergo next week.

this will make his life a series of sofa kibbitzings. 

i am not looking forward to this at all. 

like i said, i will start with the trash and keep my fingers crossed that some 

blockage will dissipate. 

i need some new statements... there is too much recycling of my thoughts. 

xoxo.w.

Trust and Flower Rings

i am lousy on trust. 

i admit that i have issues with it... but only in some areas of life. 

tonight i had a small break in its fragile constructs. 

needless to say,

 i am disappointed and the balance that was in play is now severely out of whack. 

with that having been stated cryptically, 

some of my crazy has been vented. 

tomorrow shall be a little better and a little louder perhaps. 

until then, please enjoy some ring therapy. 

i know i need something pretty right now. 

***

FLOWER RINGS

almost a spire of pretty blues.

a mitten of flowers

one ringy dingy...

two ringy dingies...

three ringy dingies...

four...

***

and for something a little different, 

CHAIN NECKLACES:

sunflower

clematis

 chrysanthemum

thanks for looking in..

happy st. patty's day!

xo.W.

just photos for a change of pace...

how about something a little different, just photos. 

necklace B

Class Photo

necklace A

necklace D

necklace D (again)

necklace C

necklace E

necklace F

necklace G

necklace H

necklace H

necklace I

necklace K

necklace L

necklace M

necklace N

necklace O

necklace P

Another Class Photo...

if i can keep my alphabet in order, perhaps you will be treated to the parade of rings tomorrow.

nighty night.

xo

W.

even steven

in this neck of the woods, it was an incredibly beautiful day outside today. 

i woke up and took some pics for my latest collection of necklaces. 

version one. 

version two. 

the rest of the photos will be on my facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/bendywho

it helps me to keep track of what  i am sending to my consignment/wholesale ordering stores. 

i also have some nice combos, that i enjoy the idea of replicating or mimicking for other pieces. 

it makes me nuts, that no matter what i have been able to stack together, 

so infrequently am i able to copy my own combinations. 

this of course lends me to ponder, how so many copycats can. 

really, i am overly perplexed by this lack of whatever it is

that allows for chronic replications. 

is it simply that there is no creative juice left? 

is it a failure to believe that others can come up with any fresh ideas?

do they think it is not going to be noticed? 

what the heck is on their minds?

i am the child of a literature and writing professor.

my academic studies were focused on anything but my mom's specialties. 

it feels bad to copy even her strengths, although my own coincide or overlap with hers. 

through her own specific rearing styles... i found many many things to embrace. 

her feelings were stated time after time on many issues...

one is that plagiarism, which goes by many names, is never right. 

never, ever, ever, ever, EVER, ever right. 

it is intellectual theft. 

because of this core belief, i try to stick to my own ideas. 

ALWAYS.

it is not as if i can count on some lightening bolt reaching from the sky to punish me if i stray.

 i do feel that i have enough failures to re-build from

  and my own potential for personal growth to rely on. 

i know that they always will temper any itch

for copying. 

i can't at all support crummy urges, 

when that green eyed monster grabs hold of me.

a suggestion that i could make the same thing as someone else makes me feel so very unwell. 

it is just really easy to fail for a lot of wrong reasons. 

they should always be my own though. 

to fall on my face for trying one of my own ideas is fine. 

i don't enjoy things when they go flooey.

when it happens and it does plenty of times, 

it just feels a lot better.  

this idea of taking a fresh look at someone else's work to make your own 

is theft. 

plain and simple intellectual larceny. 

at one time i enjoyed a pleasing relationship with a customer or two or three. 

we became on-line buddies. 

then i found my efforts and style being copyied . 

 i found other styles being represented from others as their own. 

the good thing about an email relationship is that you can ignore it. 

eventually, it can dissipate just as it came into existence, it can go away. 

not fun, but sometimes it is necessary. 

this does not make me happy, but it is what it is. 

it feels a little icky to catch other artisans with their hands in other folks' design sketch pads. 

i wish they would cut it out. 

***

as for the glory of today and its pre-seasonal gentle weather... 

i was gobsmacked by it. 

my youngest is trying out for a 3rd sport this year. 

she is currently in love with lacrosse. 

this is wonderful, since i am so utterly sloth-like in my own athletic stylings. 

playing tennis one time a week, is a huuuuuuge step up from just walking the dog. 

as nice and personally fulfilling  as it is, 

it is not as challenging as adding a 5 day a week athletic system for two overlapping sports. 

i admit i am totally couch potatoesque. 

it would not take much to recognize this if you looked at me. 

so i play on wednesdays. 

on other days, when the weather supports the move, i take my dog to chase squirrels. 

he loves chasing them up trees, through the brush, over logs, under bushes. 

he is willing to share his chasing glories with other pups too. 

if they are game and all. 

so today, in the splendor of a lovely afternoon, i went with the doggie to walk as he ran. 

my daughter and her bff went to a field nearby to practice throwing and catching lacrosse balls.

it is good for them to spend some time outside breathing in early Spring air.

moving around a little on the fields, surpasses a future of exclusively 

i-maccing, i-padding, i-tuning and whatever new 'i' product or analogous thing that she may find to do. 

a lot of that is sedentary. 

if history is likely to repeat itself, she needs to move to prevent personal duffle bags from appearing. 

they have for all other members of my family before me. 

after my lovely dog walk, 

with a full and large iced coffee in hand, 

there was still some time to linger and wait. 

i enjoyed reading an actual book. 

it has been picked up and put down more times than i can remember. 

in spite of it being an international best seller, it has been hard to get caught up in its story. 

more to do with my ability to just focus than anything else. 

my bad. 

so i read in the sunshine with my faithful pet aside me. 

we waited for the squidget to finish a day of fresh air and jockery. 

dinner. complet. 

(french. can't find my keyboard circumflex. just go with it please?)

at around 11:30 pm, eldest daughter let me know her apartment had needed to be evacuated. 

she lives pretty close to the prudential center... in Boston. 

i totally missed that she might be affected by the big fire at the Hilton hotel today. 

and that a transformer blew up in that part of the city. 

it was only on the news on all the tv channels out of boston. 

what IS the matter with me?

i totally missed it all. 

good thing she has her head on straight. 

she will spend the night on a different part of the campus with her friends. 

they have a spare pair of beds and she will leave virtually nothing at risk. 

i hope she will feel safe with others. 

my husband and i worry about her sense of independence and

 perhaps sometimes potential for  some loneliness. 

we look forward to her having these gals as her roomies next year. 

i guess this could be considered a dry run. 

seriously, i am feeling a little guilty about not realizing what is happening in her neck of the woods. 

of course, not a single soul checked up on me, the success of my trip into cambridge

 or my general well being during the blizzard of '78. 

perhaps they too were getting socked in with snow?

during that period of winter,

 there was NO movement other than pedestrian or cross country skiing. 

no cars, busses, trucks(except for plowing) were on the roads. 

nope. nobody ever checked to see if i was even in South Hadley. 

good to have this reference. 

i am sure now that hal is fine with her sensible, smart and funny friends. 

we can talk again tomorrow sometime. 

or text. 

modern conveniences really are helpful. 

 all things considered today was a 9 out of 10.

weather, children, dinner, dog, husband... all fine. 

just waiting to hear what happened at a show my rep attended over the past weekend. 

will i have work in the next couple of weeks? or not? 

suspenseful .

i have been worrying for the protagonist on the  MI-5 re-runs i have been watching recently. 

so what, i have a little netflix obsession right now. 

this is probably where you are screaming at your computer... 

"get a life fer cryin' out loud!!!"

i should tell you... i am trying. 

good night folks...

xoxo.

W.