Hello Everyone. We live in the Midwest and have gotten a good deal of snow and cold weather. Cold weather and my mood have an inverse relationship; the colder it gets the lower my mood. It is as if the cold and my mood "thermometer" have plummeted. So, after much thinking about what to do about this, I cleared an area in my bedroom to put a folding table in front of a window just 24 hours ago. Since this time, I have more productive creatively than I have in many moons. I share this information with you in the event that you are also having these lulls in your creative inspiration during these frigid months. Just pony-up a chair to a window and do some creative work or reading and see what happens. It also helps to have some groovy music playing.
Tucson Bead Show
About six months ago my parents announced that they were going to Arizona. They offered to take me with them for the entire month of February. I gave this some real thought, as I don't take many vacations. I have many commitments here at home, including a family as well as an exchange student from Korea living with us. And then there is our small pooch, Daisy.
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| These Boots are made for walking: Daisy our Pooch (photo credit: Mike Barzacchini) |
After many supportive discussions with my husband, I decided to go to Arizona and to the Tucson Bead Show. I had no idea that Tucson boasts over 30 shows being held through the city of Tucson the first two weeks in February. Thirty!! Am I the last jewelry creator to know this? Perhaps, but I am taking full advantage of being in town at that time. I will take a two day Photoshop and Photography class by Doug Baldwin who is a professional jewelry photography artist. This will be followed by a two day teacher certification class on torch enameling metals with Barbara Lewis using her Painting With Fire technique. I look forward to sharing all of this with you on this blog upon my return in March.
New Tutorial!!
I have just completed and posted my 4th tutorial: Lotus Petal Fringe Earrings. My first three tutorials are: 1. Patterning Metals with the Compact Rolling Mill, 2. Two Sided Patterned Puff Heart Pendant 3. Hinged Wire Woven Earrings. The Lotus Petal Fringe Earrings can be found on my Etsy site by clicking this link
Click Here to Wired Lotus Etsy
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| Lotus Petal Fringe Earring Tutorial |
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I started creating this tutorial several months ago. First, I start with the concept and then work on that concept over and over until I am satisfied. Once I feel it is good to go, I then photograph every step. In this tutorial there are 145 photos and 54 pages of instructions. I take nearly 500 photos and choose the best of the group and then enhance the photos for viewer clarity. These photos are then put in a digital folder.
I then write step by step instruction with every turn and twist of the wire used to create the earrings. The photos are matched up
with each written step and formatted in an easy to read step by step tutorial format. Believe it or not, I then let all that is done simmer for a month or two. I literally want to "forget" what I have done. Why? So that when I return to it I can make the earrings based on the tutorial photos and words. It is a sort of check and balance system to make sure that it all makes sense and that all of my measurements within the tutorial are accurate. I don't just make one or two, but rather multiples of the earrings. I then edit the entire tutorial based on what I learned from creating the earrings. Everything is saved in PDF and then submitted to Etsy. Whew, that is a lot of thinking. Now my wheels are turning for the next tutorial.
I do hope that you are all staying warm and cozy in your homes. If you are in a warmer climate, please send the Midwest a little of that in a bottle. We would give you many thanks.
Namaste, Susan
