Beading the Chill Away

I started beading again during the Polar Vortex.   That’s something I used to do years ago as I found it very calming and peaceful and quite simple to do.  It’s kind of like the grown-up version of stringing up macaroni necklaces.  Till your eyes get old and you can’t find the holes.  Or arthritis cramps your hands up.  Or some spinal nerve games makes it feel like someone shoved a wedge between your shoulder blades and occasionally smacks it with a hammer just to drive it in a little deeper.  Then you don’t do it so much anymore.

Most of my beads are leaning towards vintage as the only beads purchased in the last few years were supplies for a nieces’ bridal jewelry.   They’re still good… stone beads are “old rocks” to start with, silver is still silver, and the crystals still sparkle as pretty as the day they were made.   When the world froze over, I got to thinking that if I turn that hat box full of beads into bracelets, earrings, and necklaces, there may come a day when an opportunity comes along to sell such things.  In the meanwhile, I will just tag things with length and bead information and seal it in baggies so the silver doesn’t tarnish.   I could also pull things out to give as gifts.   At my slow pace (since I can’t do it all the time), it might take years.

I hear it has warmed up a bit out there.  I might actually go see for myself.  Now I feel like “Mid Milly” going out to look for my shadow.  Millicent Midlothian is one of our local groundhogs.  She is not famous or anything.  She just lives in Booker’s back yard, next door to the Carter down there on the Southside of Youngstown.   I can predict this:  only 24 more days till February 2nd.

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Making Posies

I can’t leave the flowers alone.

Okay, the only thing I did “at home” was replace the couple wraps of thin wire holding the posies stems together with a tight wrap of heavier wire. Everything else (except soldering under the seed beads) was done last night while hanging out on the wide sidewalk in front of Metamorphosis Gallery in downtown Struthers.

I hope it is okay to go UP because this “floral arrangement” is going on a tile provided by Art Youngstown, Inc. for the public art project to be displayed at the YSU Summer Festival of the Arts in mid-July.

I picked up two tiles yesterday (the other one will be a flat mosaic using the copper elements shown last post), then raided my studio for supplies with ideas churning while watching the clock so I could hop the next bus out of here to Metamorphosis.

I am a member now, with full access to the shared studio space 24/7. The light there is oh, so much better than this “cave” called home. Sometimes, we drag tables, easels, whatever outside the storefront and work on the sidewalk. It is a busy street corner, a main intersection near three popular dining establishments, so it is like making art in public. People stop by to talk, check out the art, wave when they drive by… it’s all cool.

Found objects, re-purposed objects, recycled… (forget the exact wording) is “strongly encouraged” so my flowers are made out of old bulb end copper plumbing tube things with floral petal looking lamp parts, copper wire in various guages, leftover beads and Swarvoski crystals.

I told a friend that I would finish it at Metamorphosis as she wants to see how I do it, so I’m going to pack it up with whatever tools & supplies might be needed for what comes next, then finish it there.

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