Making Progress

Last night, in preparation of the show where I'm vending this weekend, I completely cleared off three of my work tables in my studio, folded them, and set them aside. Considering each one was piled full of crap before they were cleared, I call that Making Progress.

I found my list a couple of days ago that I made so I could get to sleep. They say if you have problems sleeping, make a list of your next-day chores, so your mind can let them go and actually get some productive rest.

Here I will bore you with the list I made. Some items have been packed...some haven't...and none of the little square boxes I drew next to each item have been checked. If you can think of anything I should bring, please let me know by Friday. This blog is just to take up space and keep it current. My next one will likely be about the show, after the fact.

Show list!

- change for box $200.-
- calculator
- credit card slips
- ball point pen
- mini-clipboard
- Sharpies
- packing tape
- lint roller
- table cloths
- chair
- extra cigar boxes for display
- pliers
- display tree
- mini display couches
- small bowls
- spinning rack
- lazy susans
- drill (charged)
- cooked canes
- business cards and holders
- fabric bowls
- ear plugs!

Pendleton

- framed piece
- earring rack
- other display items
- necklace and bracelet holders
- magnet board
- type tray

YART Sale on Etsy, June 10-14 only!

Hey Etsy buyers! Starting today, ending Sunday, is the annual YART sale on Etsy, where sellers can have great deals and specials, sales and bargains, all at the same time.

My merch in my ovenfriedbeads store is all 20% off, and regularly-priced buttons in my ovenfriedbuttons store is also 20% off.

Remember, it's only through June 14~~!!

Artist Spotlight at Glendale Handcraft Gallery

Visit the website of Glendale Handcraft Gallery to see the interview featuring Yours Truly!

I sent a ton of Stacker jewelry to the gallery and it is on the sales floor, ready for eager Stacker-seekers! Tomorrow I will be sending them a box of buttons, pendant necklaces and more earrings to replenish what has been sold, plus some.

Thanks, Jennifer, for putting so much energy into promoting my work!

If I Were Ever Incarcerated.....

...I would immediately request to lead a crafters group. Give me my polymer clay, tools, seed beads and fabric and I would have a whole gang of women (no pun intended) creating a line of Prison Gear.

Creating small treasures is about as close to Nirvana as I can get on earth. Art is a therapist.

Above is a new pair of earrings......polymer clay cabashon made using the Stacker method, with Czech faceted glass and seed beads. Earwires are Saki silver. You can buy them on Etsy or come buy them at the Pendleton Art Center this Friday. I'm having a great sale....

Buy One Get One Free on ALL BUTTONS.

Buy Two Get One Free on ALL EARRINGS.

Visit my website for more info about Final Friday and my work.

Sermons that Knock You Off Your Feet

This morning I attended church where I used to attend and serve for several years. It's one of those insanely huge, modern "megachurches" called Crossroads in Cincinnati. I took time off from it for several reasons, but the main one was transportation issues. After visiting last week, I knew I had to come back, and boy am I glad I did. If I grab a 7:45am bus, I can get there in plenty of time to not miss a minute. The other services are just not in synch with the bus at all, which was why I stopped going. It was too "inconvenient" to get up to go that early.

Today's sermon was about reconciliation....in relationships with each other and with God. A minister I hadn't heard preach in a LONG time was Chuck Mingo, and I am really glad I got up at the crack of dawn to get there to see him. Just an hour there this morning packed a punch that I just couldn't take my mind off until I could talk about it here. Communion usually isn't celebrated during the weekend services, but it was today as part of the reconciliation message.

I had been craving communion since last night, when I watched Passion of the Christ. Holy Moly. People had talked about how much of a "bloodbath" it was, and they were right. As a follower of Jesus, I was totally emotionally WRAPPED UP in it. I was a mess. Part of me had been craving something that severe to wake me up again. I bought the DVD at the library book store for five bucks. Worthy price.

The tattoo above was applied about a year before I was baptized at Crossroads in 2006. There were periods where I thought I may have made a mistake. But now I'm so glad it's there. It is more like a reminder for me where I come from than a cool cross tattoo.

Other People's Stacker Beads ... Part 4

Margit Böhmer, from Gera (Thuringia), made these Stacker beads months ago. She contacted me about them, and when I saw this picture I remembered that it was probably the first Stackers I saw after publishing my simple tutorial. After a little tour of her Flickr page, I feel so inept in my variety of techniques. Margit is one of those clayers who can do so many things so well, probably partly because she's a member of the same German guild as the others I've featured here so far. I'm particularly attracted to her African-inspired beads (or should I say as-close-to-African-beads-as-one-can-get). The store where I work, St Theresa Textile Trove in Cincinnati, has many of these beads (but are not featured online...sorry!), so I can attest to their accuracy not only in design, but how they're strung.

Thank you Margit for contacting me! If there wasn't an ocean between us, we'd be claying together for sure! There must be something in that European water.

Other People's Stacker Beads...Part 3

Greti Botka made this lovely bracelet out of her Stacker beads. I just love this photo. What a clever background. Greti is from Austria and is also a member of the German Guild, like the other featured Stacker bead makers. To see more of Greti's work, visit her Flickr page.

I decided to stop using tags or labels for my blogs. The program wants to plug in words I don't want to use. Example, suppose I want to use "Art" as a tag. When I write in "Art", the word "Art Beads automatically fills in and can't be edited. If you know a way around this, please let me know.