My Little World at the Holidays & The Best Little Bead Box

Welcome To My Home!

I just love this time of the year. It is the gathering of friends and family to enjoy each others company that I like best. I am not a religeous person, more spiritual. I honor every person's path and feel there is room for all of our spiritual belief systems. Peace to everyone!
My little house in Lemon Grove is so serene and lovely. It is a joy to put up lights and decorations. Candles have always been a favorite way to add warmth and light during the dark evenings this time of year. In my living room is a very old, ugly non functioning heater from 1959 when the house was built. It is disguised with a mirror and a big star. On the floor are several jars and glass oil lamps. Originally these were in the corner windows of my living room behind my purple chase. When I changed the corner, I put them on the floor near the hall until they could go into boxes to be stored. Well, they looked so good they have been there since. Here is that living room corner. Tomorrow I will have my granddaughter over and we'll get a small Christmas tree for this table. That's Jasmine the Wonder Dog relaxing on the rug.

The Best Little Bead Box
I was one of the people chosen for The Best Little Bead Box project! It is very exciting to me to be able to contribute to Beads of Courage, a very worthy cause! A couple of months ago, while I was in the waiting area at the tire store, the man next to me started talking to me. His elementary school aged daughter was in recovery from cancer. While she was in the hospital, she received beads from Beads of Courage. She is now hooked on beading, makes lots of jewelry to sell at school and donates the proceeds back to Beads of Courage. I told her dad I was in the bead business, have lots and lots of beads and would love to contribute. So, The Best Little Bead Box is the perfect opportunity. I have a great abundance of beads in my studio. It will be an honor to share. Just one view of a rack of beads in my Studio.

Talmadge Art Show November 21

The Talmadge
Art Show
is a premier San Diego art show! I am honored to be among the very fine artists at this one day show. Do come see what is new!

Be moved by the creative spirit. November 21, 2010 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Produced by The Talmadge Company • talmadgeartshow@cox.net • www.talmadgeartshow.com


Location: 2557 3rd Ave. 92103
Between Laurel & Maple in Hillcrest
at the San Diego Women’s Club
Questions: 619-559-9082
Free admission • Free street parking
www.talmadgeartshow.com




Artists on front listed clockwise from upper left: Arlene Watson, Karen Hung, Vaughn Nelson, Shelia Schwede, Kathleen Mitchell, Lane Patterson, Vicki Leon, Dani Dodge

Winner! Random Acts "La Femme Spirit" Necklace

We have a Winner!!!
Susan Brown of Carrollton, TX placed the highest bid at $452.00. I will ship the "La Femme Spirit" Necklace to her today.

Susan deposited the money directly into Andrew Thornton's PayPal Account. He is so grateful for the help and you are an Angel, Susan. Thank you and enjoy your new treasure!

There are some wonderful works of art and beads and other great treasures you can bid on at Andrew's website. Click on his name above to go directly to his Blog.

Warmly,
Jeannette Cook
Beady Eyed Women®

Random Acts & La Femme Spirit of Giving

We have a Winner!!!
Susan Brown of Carrollton, TX placed the highest bid at $452.00. I will ship the "La Femme Spirit" Necklace to her today.

Susan deposited the money directly into Andrew Thornton's PayPal Account. He is so grateful for the help and you are an Angel, Susan. Thank you and enjoy your new treasure!

There are some wonderful works of art and beads and other great treasures you can bid on at Andrew's website. Click on his name above to go directly to his Blog.

Warmly,
Jeannette Cook
Beady Eyed Women®

Bead Fest Santa Fe 2010

I love Santa Fe, NM so much. Especially when it snows there. The contrast between the browns of the adobe and the white of the snow is wonderful! This year was the second year of the return of Bead Fest Santa Fe since the new Santa Fe Convention Center was finished. The show location is at the La Fonda Hotel as well as the new Convention Center. The photo above is of the back of the La Fonda Hotel from my hotel room across the street.

Preparing for a bead show is a lot of work, traveling to the show is a lot of work as is setting up the booth. But I love being at my booth, greeting customers and getting to know fellow exhibitors. I had most of Wednesday before the show to walk around and take pictures of this special city. I passed by a church yard where lots of wind sculptures were planted. Wonderful to see on an early morning walk.

My booth neighbors, sisters, Susan and Dawn of Whoop! With Julie from Tierracast,who was visiting for a bit of laughter. Great neighbors. The brown of the adobe buildings almost always have brightly colored window and door frames

and doors. This shop has a very colorful painting on it's outer wall. So cool.

Breakfast at Pasqual's is a must! I had the Chorizo Breakfast Burrito the day I had to set up my booth and work until 9:00 pm. Look how colorful it is in Pasqual's Restaurant! Nice way to start the day.

One of the best things about shows is reuniting with old friends. Pat is a lovely person and one of my favorite students from so long ago. She is such a special person. It is always a joy to see her! We had to get at least three hugs from each other before she moved on to shop.

I had to get a shot of this customer. The minute she came in the door I thought, "What a great look she has

! I must take her picture."

I so look forward to next year's trip to Santa Fe.

More later about my post-show vacation in Taos.

I hope to see you at one of this year's upcoming Shows

This month is the Rocky Mountain Bead Society Bazaar in Denver, Colorado. April 24 & 25. I will have a booth this year with my friend, Hannah Rosner.

Then The Bead&Button Show in Milwaukee, WI
June 6 - 13. I have two classes and a booth this year.

July see me at the Puget Sound Bead Festival in Tacoma, WA
July 8 - 11 where I will have a booth
Then The Teton Bead Retreat
for Mastering the Curl with the PoP Bead Toggle Classes
July 24 - 28
October:
Bead Unique Taho Retreat October 7 - 10
I am working on a special new project for this retreat.

See my Calendar at BeadyEyedWomen.com for more class offerings throughout the year.

Felt At The 2011 Beach House Bead Retreat

I learned Nuno Felting, from Arlene Watson's two day Nuno Felt class. Arlene's studio is quite near my house. How Convenient! Nuno is the the art of fusing roving to fabric. The result is a sturdy and beautiful piece of nicely felted fabric. Arlene will be teaching a one day Nuno Felted Clutch Purse class at my 2011 San Diego Beach House Retreat.
Some people may want to use the skills learned in this class to create a different project. I am quite flexible when it comes to art projects. So we will explore other uses for the Nuno Felted fabric techniques we will have learned from Arlene. After all, felt can be cut, folded, beaded and turned into so many things! I will cover needle felting techniques and embellishing with beads and sequins during the rest of our stay at the Beach House. After all , the Beach House Bead Retreat is a vacation as well as a workshop.

The Hot Pink & Orange Bracelet with the Aqua ball clasp is made from one of the Nuno Felted pieces from the class I took at Arlene's studio. I love this Cuff. I need more in different colors. Today, I decided to devote most of the day to working on felt in my studio. I raised both tables up to counter height, pushed them together and against the window. Now there was lots of space to do some felting. Some of the pieces on my table were made when I took a workshop at Arlene's studio. Every time I work in my new studio, I am so grateful to have this beautiful, versitile space. Here are a couple pictures of the studio. Felting in there today was so great!

Tucson 2010

I hadn't planned on exhibiting at Tucson this year. I was just going to shop and attend the Interweave Party. (Yes, I would drive all the way to Tucson to go to that party. It is that good!)
Then an email came from Kate McKinnon asking if I was interested in a booth at the Best Bead Show. The table space was to be next to Green Girl Studios. Kate offered to put me up at her house. My cushie digs would be in the "Barbie Vintage Dream Coach", a wonderful old trailer Kate has restored into cool and cozy digs. (Photos by Kate McKinnon)

Now I really had to hustle to get ready. It was less than two weeks until the show. Julie, my wonderful helper and friend rushed over and we worked like crazy getting more kits done and packing up the car. I set out for Tucson Tuesday, Feb. 2 at about 7:30 am. The day ahead would consist of driving the 6 1/2 hours to Tucson arriving at the Kino Center where the Best Bead Show is held. Unloading my car and setting up my booth. A quick cat nap, fix the makeup and change clothes, then off to the Interweave Press Party. Busy day!!! As I was extiting the Kino Center into the parking lot, I noticed this spectacular desert sunset! The sunsets are some of my favorite things about the desert. Next stop, the Interweace Press Party! This is one of the best parties of the year. Interweave Press throws a party for it's advertisers. Most of us have known each other for at least 15 years. Most of us are bead vendors or have exhibited our artwork and have advertised in Beadwork Magazine and/or other Interweave publications. The world's nicest people are in the bead business, so it is always a great pleasure to see each other again at this lovely party! Laughter, hugs and catching up are what this party is all about! The staff of Interweave Press are so great! Thank you Interweav for another stellar evening! Below from Left to Right: Jean Campbell & Kate Richbourg, Joella, Me and Carole of Creative Castle, Doris & Judith Schwab both bead store owners in Chicago. These are just a few of the lovely people I am privelaged to visit know in this wonderful bead world! More on Tucson tomorrow!

Seeing Red at the San Diego Art Institute

Last night, my daughter, granddaughter and my friend Cliff and I attended a reception at the San Diego Art Institute. It was very well attended by the art community. Such an interesting and fun crowd. I had to snap some shots. Below is my daughter, Jenni Kai in front of the painting she entered into the show. I love her work and of course am really proud of my daughter!




Among the attendees was the fabulous Diana Duval. I spotted her red and black ensemble topped by her amazing hat from across the room and set off to introduce myself to her.







Thinking about my collection of vintage hats, I thought hers must be from the 40's. No, she said, it is her own creation. She constructed the entire thing and even hand dyed the feathers. It is so fitting for this edgy and beautiful artist. Stunning in front of her self portrait!





When Cliff and saw this young woman walk by, we had to follow her and say hi. Look at the amazing color of her hair. She pulls this look off flawlessly! Her eyebrows are dyed to match and she has peaches and cream skin. Quite the contrast. It is so great to see people play with their looks so successfully. I adore the art world! Here is Amanda posing with my friend Cliff in his very cool top hat.






Here are Cliff and me comparing our pointy shoes which contain tired feet! Time to take our tired feet and hungry bellies to dinner. We all went off to Athens Market Taverna for the some of the best Greek food in town. Lucky for us, it is Restaurant week and we each had a three course meal for $20! You must visit Athens Market sometime. It is at the corner of 1st & F streets in Downtown San Diego.

Beach House Retreat

Beady Eyed Women's Beach House Bead Retreat was a fabulous success. I couldn't ask for a better bunch of fun, happy, creative women to spend a week with. Above is a shot of my students on arrival day toasting with a glass of wine & opening their gift bags. Left to right, Pennie, Nancy, Sharon and Cyndi. It was such a great week that we have already booked the beach house for next year. Arrival day is January 13 and check out will be Jan. 19, 2011. If you wish to join us, please email me. I will open registration soon. The

Beach House Bead Retreat is limited to 6 or 7 students, so reserve your space early. We have a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, two story house. There are two living rooms. The downstairs living room has a huge dining table, breakfast nook and two couches. Wall to wall, ceiling to floor windows looking out onto the bay and a wood stove fireplace. The upstairshas a huge living room with the wall to wall ceiling to floor windows as well. I designated the upstairs living room "the quiet zone". People can stay up and bead and visit, raid the fridge and talk until late into the night downstairs. While those who like a quiet evening can go upstairs where the candles will be lit and the light is dim so we can watch the sparkling lights beyond the bay and sip wine and visit quietly. This house is a perfect fit for everyone!

We had lots of stormy weather this year, which is very unusual for San Diego. But, sitting in front of our huge windows, next to the fireplace, a 6 foot table spread with beads and shells and beautiful driftwood pieces along with plenty of food, wine and good conversation made it an ideal situation for us. Our view was ever changing. We were situated on the bay side of Mission Beach, with he ocean waves just 2 blocks away. Our view was of the Mission Bay Yacht club moorings. Sail boats danced and swayed in front of our house while seagulls played in the winds of the storm undaunted by the rain. The photo to the left is a Sunset Rainbow and the view outside our windows. This rainbow appeared at sunset and was lit orange and red rather than the usual colors of a rainbow. Fabulous!

Classes started Sunday with a day off on Tuesday to go sight seeing and do a bit of

shopping. We started at The Shepherdess in Old Town, and popped into the new fabric store called The Spirit of Cloth next door. Then on the The Art Store and Balboa Park to have a sumptous lunch at The Prado Restaurant. We went from there to The Hotel Del Coronado to walk on the beach at sunset and explore this famous old hotel. A perfect day! Here are Cyndi, Nancy and Sharon posing on the beach in front of the Hotel Del Coronado. Beautiful! Classes resumed Wednesday and Thursday and sadly, everyone left on Friday. But we have 2011 to look forward to and are keeping in touch via email and Facebook. I can hardly wait to gather again next year!

Now that I am home from the Beady Eyed Women's Beach House Bead Retreat, it is time to get ready for a trip to Tucson. I have a table at the Best Bead Show with Green Girl Studios. Please come visit me if you are in Tucson next week. I will have my kits and tutorials for sale and a display of finished work.

My New Workspace

I have been having a little personal retreat. Studying, reevaluating my business, tapping into my creativity. I found myself spending too much time on the computer, playing on FB, so I am limiting my time there. Going out to play with friends was really nice. Since I work so much, I turn down lots of offers. I made more time to visit during the Holidays. But now back to business! It is difficult to yank ones self out of vacation mode. Then there is making kits. That left no time for my creativity to just flow.

My new work room isn't quite finished yet, but here are three pictures of my new work room. I adore the wall colors! There's still a lot of organizing to do for the new work room. I love working in this new space. It's such a bright, beautiful room. It is a bit difficult to get a good picture of it, though. The room isn't all that large, 13' x 14' or so. That makes it hard to back up far enough to get a perspective of it. A few shots of the spaces will have to do.
One entire wall is my favorite chartreuse green. Te top shot looks at my work desk. the remaining 3 walls are a wonderful saturated aqua blue. All the trim is white.

I have one more of the metal racks, shown below, to build. A big shipment of beads is due to arrive today or tomorrow. More space will be needed for kit making ingredients.
Folding tables allow me to convert the room into a nice little guest room. Guests will be surrounded by beads, but why would that be a problem for anyone who knows me.














"Ocean Trees" Seascapes
















Slowing myself down and putting out a palate of beautiful beads, some driftwood and glass pieces and of course crystal does wonders. "Ocean Trees" is the result of just playing. I must admit that I became obsessed with making these little seaweed like sculptures. Like in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind! I had to stop myself from making more and do other things.

I even made one into a ring! Marcia DeCoster wants an Aqua "Ocean Trees" Ring. So fun!