Lots Of Places
posted on Thursday, 27 March 2008
I'm still working away on my latest piece in my Geometric Series, the picture is a sneak preview of it. This is the beaded clasp at the back.
I finally manged to get to the new Swarovski shop in London to see the new range to be launched next year. It's a great space worth visiting to just see the full range of beads, pendants etc. It's so nice to see Swarovski no longer ashamed of their beads! They always seemed to be their 'dirty secret' which you'd never even know they produced if you looked at their website, shops etc. So it's about time they're shouting about them. Very hard to resist buying some of their new kits- but had to remind myself I own far too many crystals as it is- but it was nice to see some really fashion forward kits rather than the usual amulet purses ones we beaders usually get to choose from!
More online browsing and whilst doing so I stumbled across some great art sites. One I could resist was h.r.fricker's place of places series. So I'm now eagerly awaiting my own place to arrive. I found some other great ones as well, but seeing as they're limited pieces I'm not going to mention them until I own one- don't want you all rushing and buying one beating me!
Ever wondered what happens when you combine a budding actor and writer brother-in-law and a new video camera? Click here to find out. Warning- do not click if easily offended or not appreciative of stupid humour and swear words! But if you are that way inclined, look out for part 2.
All Kinds Of Weather
posted on Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Wow- what a weekend!
Went to France to enjoy the long Easter weekend and I've never seen weather like it (ok- apart from that strange 24 hours in LA- hmm, I'm starting to see a theme develop!).
When we set off we weren't optimistic the ferry would even be sailing as it was so windy- but we drove to Dover and took a chance. The sea was so choppy I almost wished we hadn't! There was much stomach churning and use of sick bags, not good.
Then we drove off the ferry into lovely sunny France - a complete contrast- but it didn't last long.
Our first evening we went into town for a coffee and a walk and managed to get caught in the most severe hail storm I've ever seen- add to that torrential rain and lightening and we were glad to get home.
Our second day we spend in Rouen. We visited the cathedral and did lots of wandering in the rain and purchasing of fine French patisserie and other treats.
The third day began with a lovely walk in the gardens of the Abbey De Valloires. The weather was beautiful, if cold, and the gardens were so wonderful- well worth a visit. On the way back we decided against walking over the hills, fortunately as it began to pour down with rain again.
That afternoon it was another drive into town and it was on the way back it all changed. From nowhere the heavens opened and snow began to fall, and fall, and fall. Within minutes the surrounding fields were covered and we were driving through a blizzard. Fortunately by the time we got home it had died down- but there was still plenty of snow to make a snowman. I have to admit I took no part in it, I was too busy perfecting my hula-hoops tricks and trying to duck the snowballs!
Our last day involved a drive to Le Touquet for a walk along the cold promenade, a relaxing lunch and a bit of window shopping. I treated myself to some World famous fish soup from Perard's to take home and bring some of that French vibe back to London.
Cracked Art
posted on Saturday, 15 March 2008
A cultured day today with a trip to the Tate Modern, one of my favourite places in the world.
The last time we visited the were installing Doris Saldeco's 'Shibboleth' so we went to see that.
Although it is just a crack in the ground, it was very impressive to see- and great fun to watch children being dangled into it, babies crawling over it and people drawn to walking down its length with one foot on each side- irresistible.
Honeycomb Beadwork
posted on Wednesday, 12 March 2008
I've been having fun the last couple of weeks going through the instructions for my Honeycomb Beadwork series.
I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this series, re-beading samples and making sure the instructions were clear, has re-ignited that. Fortunately all that hardwork has paid off and the instructions are now available for downloading.
I also recently did this with my Cubed Cubes series which was probably the first pieces of my work that I became known for- seems so long ago now that I first wrote up the instructions and began teaching the class- it's been great fun revisiting old friends!
More Geometric Class Work
posted on Sunday, 09 March 2008
Following on from yesterday's post, here are some more samples of work people did in the classes, and for homework!
From the top:
Row 1- Roshni's triangles
Row 2- (left ) A hexagon from Jennifer as well as the beginnings of a beaded bead (right) Roshni's star takes shape
Row 3- Lia's bracelet
Row 4- Lisa's samples
Row 5- Mandy's bracelet in progress
Row 6- (left) Mandy's samples, (right) Kumud's work
If this makes no sense, click on the small photo and all will become clear!
2nd Geometric Day
posted on Saturday, 08 March 2008
I taught the 2nd part of my 2-part Geometric Beadwork Class today. The 1st part took place last Saturday.
I absolutely loved teaching this class as it was so interesting to see what people came up with over the week inbetween, how they each interpreted the instructions and to see what ideas they all had and how they learned from, and were inspired by, each other.
This photo is an amalgamation of some of their work.
From the top:
1st row- Some samples by Gillian
2nd row- (left) More work by Gillian (right) A bangle by Jennifer
3rd row- Claire's sample and beginnings of a bracelet
4th row- Anne's triangle
5th row- Shirley's samples
Amazing what people did in such a short space of time!
If this makes no sense, click on the small photo and all will become clear!
Back To Beading
posted on Thursday, 06 March 2008
Back from all my travelling for the moment and am rapidly trying to catch up on all my work and get some beading done.
I taught the 1st day of my 2-part Geometric Beadwork class on Saturday with the second one in two days time. I managed to get some beading done this week and am cracking on with Geometric 3-4-5.
And if course it's back to procrastinating and browsing the net! Some great bead and jewellery eye-candy sites:
Merle Berelowitz's lovely colourful work
Christine Marie Noguere's wonderful dramatic work
In-Sync's graphic design based jewellery
Neile's incredibly pieces using real butterfly wings and other items
Broken Fingers Art's great graphic jewellery and artwork
Dillon Designs' unique rings- I especially love the gossping birds!
Last Day In Paris
posted on Friday, 29 February 2008
Our last day in Paris and we spent it wandering around - how French is this dolls shop?- and eating more yakitori.
In the afternoon we caught the train back to London and got to see Paul Day's sculpture 'Meeting Place' (look under recent works).
Then it was back home in time to get ready to teach my Geometric Beading class tomorrow.
More Fun In Paris
posted on Thursday, 28 February 2008
Another fun day in Paris and today we decided to head to the Eiffel Tower.
It took us three hours to walk here- of course we had a few coffee stops on the way- as well as a little shopping break at Bon Marche- where I finally got the long length gloves I've been searching out for months. The shop had a great display in the windows which consisted of different fabrics and pictures with kaleidoscopes that you could look through.
Once we reached the tower we had the crazy idea that we'd not done enough walking and headed up the 328 stairs to the first level. Everytime I've visited the Eiffel Tower it's been with people who wanted to go no further than the 1st floor so anyone who's braver than that and wants to go, let me know- one day I'll get to the top!
But still the views from the 1st floor are pretty amazing- especially those of the jaw-droppingly awful dark tower block that dominates the Paris skyline. I have no idea what this building is or how it was allowed as it ruins the view looking towards the Eiffel Tower from The Trocadero Gardens.
Back to the hotel with a stop off for some yakitori and a few beers siting on the street waching the world go by.
Exploring Paris
posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2008
I'm fortunate enough to be off globe-trotting again!
I managed to be home for a total of 36 hours before I was on a train heading to Paris- just enough time to deal with some emails, unpack, do the washing and pack again.
This time I headed to Paris which I have visited before and absolutely love. We took the Eurostar from St Pancras and just over 2 hours later we were there.
We had a lazy first day and then on the next headed to La Defense. This is a business area of Paris and full of tall and interesting buildings. I'd read about La Grande Arche (or here) and was intrigued to visit it, but it wasn't until we got there that I realised that to get to the top meant you had to go up in a glass lift that was outside the building! You can see the lift in the central picture- it wasn't until I got in the lift that I once again remembered my terror of heights but managed to get to the top safely. Once up it was worth it for the wonderful views we had over Paris, the computer museum and the great 3d art of Dimitri.
We managed to get down safely- all the more terrifying this time as we had to wait just standing in the lift for around five minutes before we took off- and were amazed to see some people abseiling down the arch- braver than me.
Hollywood
posted on Friday, 22 February 2008
Off to Hollywood!
We began the day driving up to Griffith Observatory to enjoy the view and try and spot the Hollywood sign- except of course it was so foggy and rainy we couldn't see anything!
Next off to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and then onto the Kodak Theatre, where they were preparing for the Oscars which were due to take place a couple of days later, and Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
As we were walking back to the car I glanced up a side street and finally got to see the Hollywood sign - we'd been too busy looking at the stars on the pavement to spot it on the way up!
Back to the hotel to get glammed up for the gala opening of the Wearable Expressions exhibition which was the main reason for the whole trip.
It was a great evening- the exhibition was amazing with so many wonderful works of art. We walked around it many times and each time saw more and more things we hadn't spotted before.
I was delighted to be awarded an honourable mention for my Geometric 3-4-2 bracelet and got to take home a lovely certificate and especially commisioned paperweight.
Our last day began with a brunch in Palos Verde and then some more shopping- but unfortunately the bead shop I had an address for had closed down so it was back to England with no new beads- how awful!
Up In the Air
posted on Thursday, 21 February 2008
Up early today so we could get on the first run of the Aerial Tramway. I had never heard of this before and am now amazed it's not more well-known- it's surely one of the wonders of the world!
I'm not good with heights- ok, I'm terrified, but even I loved the experience- whilst grimacing and holding on with both hands.
You begin by driving up a long desert road which takes you up 2,643 feet above sea-level- more than enough to get your ears popping. Next it's into the cable car which takes you up 2 and a half miles for the most amazing views over Palm Springs. The cars rotate as they go giving you a full 360 view. When we got to the top we went out to just stare out and be amazed- and of course thrown snow-balls at each other!
It was incredible to stand and watch the other cars come up and realise the trip you'd just taken. If you look at the bottom left photo spot the yellow item which is the 16ft square helipcopter landing pad- yikes!
We then watched an interesting film on the making of the tramway and headed down again- a lot less scary this time!
It was then onto an outlet centre for clothes shopping and a drive back to downtown LA.
Weather And Whales
posted on Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Still in San Diego, when we woke up we learnt there'd been an earthquake in the night- which explained the noise which woke me up in the night!
We'd decided to spend the morning whale watching and of course the day was completely foggy and rainy! Still we're made of harder stuff so drove into town and decided to take a chance. Even though it was so foggy we couldn't even see the tops of the buildings.
We saw a total of zero whales or dolphins but did spot a seagull! Three and a half hours later and we were back in the harbour, wet, cold and sea-sick and headed onto Palm Springs, hoping for better weather.
A few hours later, after an amazing drive through some fabulous scenery and sand storms, we were there. When the sun came out it was lovely but we could see lots of snow on some mountain tops- so much for sunny LA!
As we approached Palm Springs we were struck by the sheer quantity of Wind turbines. I'm used to seeing them driving in Cornwall and France but to see so many thousands of them in one place was awe-inspiring.
We checked into a hotel and chilled out. Later in the evening we went out for dinner and a walk and realised there was a lunar eclipse happening.
So in one day we experienced an earthquake, rain, fog, sun, sand storms, wind and a lunar eclipse- no wonder we were so tired!
Mexico
posted on Tuesday, 19 February 2008
New day, new country.
Today we decided to pop into Mexico, simply because we could!
I hadn't done it before, but it was even easier than I expected. A simple drive to the border, park up in a carpark and jump on a bus which gets priority through border cotnrol- we didn't even have to get off going there- and next thing you know you're in downtown Tijuana looking at a zebra- or not!
Tijuana is a strange place, the main street (Avenida Revolucion) is full of shops selling touristy items, restaurants or pharmacies as lots of people travel here to just buy cheaper prescription medication.
As we weren't interested in any of these items, we headed off to the Cultural Centre instead. It was full of school children but seemed completely not set up for 'foreign' visitors and they were baffled as to how to even sell us a ticket to get in to the exhibitons but after a good hour of asking people, wandering around different buildings and watching animated discussion we eventually got in.
The exhibition was strange and included lots of items such as chinese pottery which we couldn't work out why they were included. But there was this wonderful model of Christ made from a paste formed using corn cane and these amazingly decorative stirrups.
After stopping for coffee we walked back to the centre and walked past some men working hard on car upholstery and couldn't resist watching them for a while and taking a photo- all handicrafts appreciated here!
San Diego
posted on Monday, 18 February 2008
We began today with a visit to Denny's- a must for breakfast (or any time of day) and discovered it was a public holiday which explained the lack of rush-hour traffic. One American Slam later we were ready to hit the road and head to San Diego.
We found a nice hotel and tracked down somewhere for lunch and headed back to the hotel to chill.
In the evening we drove to downtown San Diego for a walk and explored the Gas Lamp district.
San Diego has the most amazing airport- you don't notice it until you spot a plane swooping down low over the city and landing in what looks like the centre of town- very disconcerting when you first see it!
The Gas Lamp district was full of lovely restaurants, shops and little wooden houses.
We'd eaten far too much that day to consider even entering a restaurant so instead decided to drive to a supermarket and just buy some fruit and youghurt- this simple idea led to one of the most shocking things I'd even seen- ok maybe I've led a sheltered life?!!?
Buying fresh food seems a simple enough request right? Well apparently not. We found a nice big Walmart and managed to buy some bits we wanted i.e. a camera bag, some scarves and look at digital camera, then we thought we'd get the food and go.
We began to wander the aisles but no fruit, so we walked around again thinking we'd just missed it. Then again, and then again.
At this point we were starting to laugh as we realised we couldn't find any fresh food (apart from milk and bacon) no fruit or veg, no yoghurts, no meat, fish, cheese etc. Eventuallly we asked someone if they sold any fresh food- the honest answer- 'no'.
There were aisles and aisles of crisps, sweets, soft drinks, snacks etc but absolutely no fresh or 'healthy' food. This was in an area with absolutely no 'local' shops so we knew there wasn't any alternative. The shop was full of people doing their weekly shopping and of course all the trolleys were full of junk- obesity crisis anyone? I wonder how long before shops in the UK follow this wonderful new trend?
Start of LA Tour
posted on Sunday, 17 February 2008
Today's my first full day in LA and what a day!
Woke up exhausted as by the time we got to bed last last night we'd been up a least 28 hours. I'd forgotten that a lot of the US seems to shut down early and we even had problems finding a restaurant that was open after 9.30pm- on a saurday night in LA! But we eventually found Salt Creek Grille where I had the most delicious cheese plate and then straight off to bed.
We began today by going to the Getty Museum which was absolutely incredible. A wonderful example of architecture and to be absolutely recommended. You park at the bottom of the hill and then have to get a tram up to the top- the views are almost worth a visit in themselves!
Whilst there I got to see my first view of LA smog- incredible.
The Getty is absolutely crammed full of wonderful works of art, all displayed so well. I loved the fact that some of the galleries are sparse to emphasise the work and some are so ornate with wallpaper, cornicing etc when appropriate.
Some of the items I fell in love with were this Italian chair made around 1790- love those curves! - and these beautiful sculptures, of a mother and daughter, made by Pierre Jean David D'angers. They were made in 1831 and yet look so contemporary.
For the afternoon we went to Santa Monica which has a lovely pedestrainised area with some great shops. I discovered Anthropologie which was full of covetable clothes. Unfortunately they don't have any shops over here but they do ship overseas.
We walked down to the pier and saw the lovely beach where there was an anti-war protest going on.
Happy Valentines Day!
posted on Thursday, 14 February 2008
Just one more day til I fly away- really looking forward to visiting LA and then Paris but sad I'll be missing two weeks of trapeze and hula!
Loved trapeze last night, such good fun to do a small routine and learnt a new trick- front balance- incredibly painful though!
I've come to a dead-end with my latest geometric piece so have decided to start another one and hope inspiration strikes whilst I'm asleep or not looking at the piece for a couple of weeks- we'll see.
I'm working hard on lots of instructions at the moment and of course as always am looking for any online distractions I can find! So far I've found:
Sleeveface - such a simple idea but very funny.
Pimp that snack - ever dreamt of chocolates as big as your head- find them here.
I'm also loving watching videos and reading all about El Bulli here
and finally another great bead related blog
Another big love of mine is magazine, I read as many as I can and have huge stockpiles of ones I just can't get rid of. Here are a few of my favourites:
Adorn
Bust Magazine
Craft
Make
Mental Floss
Good Magazine- amazingly all the basic subscription money (i.e. not the added extra for overseas postage) goes to the non-profit organisation of your choice!
Now-that's enough procrastination- back to work!
Run Away With The Circus
posted on Saturday, 09 February 2008
I've always loved circuses but they now hold a special fascination for me, so I jumped at the chance to go and see Varekai by Cirque du Soleil yesterday- and it was wonderful!
I especially loved the Flight of Icarus, the amazing juggling (how do you juggle with your mouth?!!?) and the wonderful children who performed an act that reminded me of poi spinning and made me long to do it again- I suppose for now though I'll have to be satisfied with hula, trapeze and pole!
If you get the chance to go and see a Cirque Du Soleil show take it- especially if it's at the Royal Albert Hall- a beautiful venue.
I taught my wirework class today which I think is probably my favourite as everyone goes through such a steep learning curve. They usually start the day with either no experience or very little and leave wearing their own hand-made silver jewellery!
After posting recently about how nice it is to see what others have made after being inspried by my work, I discovered today Nicki in Austria who made a necklace after seeing my pieces Geometric 3-5-1 and 3-5-2.
I spent Monday with a friend looking at Viking Weave and stringing and began a new piece all in copper. It had been a while since I'd done it or even looked at my finished pieces so it was a lovely reminder of how much I like it and how great it looks when done.
I'm delighted to announce that anyone attending a class with me at the Kentish Town venue will receive a 10% off voucher which can be used the day of the class at the London Bead Co in Kentish Town.
Countdown To LA
posted on Saturday, 02 February 2008
Still working away on my latest piece- I'm keeping it fairly secret at the moment until I'm happy with it- but you can see the colours I'm using in the picture.
Only 2 weeks til LA and 3 til 'Wearable Expressions'- how excited am I?
I've been searching the internet looking for what is going to be featured there and have come across some amazing work which I'm really looking forward to seeing:
Jon Ryan has some fantastic jewellery, also check out his blog and his flickr account to see more. I love when an artist shows you some of the 'background' to their work, whether it's where their inspiration comes from, some details on how items are made etc- so thanks to Jon for taking the time to do that.
To add to my keep fit in different ways I started Hula Hoop classes this week. It was great fun and so far we've learnt waist, hand, knees and neck spins as well as different ways of passing the hoop around your back and under your legs- all very circusy!
All Sorts
posted on Tuesday, 22 January 2008
I'm busy working away on my next geometric piece. I'm enjoying watching this one develop as although I have a rough idea in my head of what I want, I have no real plan and the results will depend on how the beads and geometry work together.
The scribble in the picture was done at bingo (!) and contains a rough sketch of what I'm working on along with a future idea and my workings out fo some diagrams I'm working on- I'll leave it to you to figure out what is what!
I was delighted to hear from Frany (who I linked to back in August 2007) that she had made a necklace in my honour! You can see the necklace developing from here.
I've had lots of nice emails recently from French beaders- now just need to find out where I can buy or see beads or beadwork near the Pas-De-Calais or Picardie!
3-4-4 Part B All Done
posted on Saturday, 19 January 2008
I've finally finished 3-4-4 part b which goes with part a to form a set.
This one took me ten days and I'm really pleased to have it done and am raring to begin my next piece.
Been web browsing once again and have found some more interesting site:
Kerrie Slade is a great beader whom I've been delighted to feature in Bead.
Virny Meijer-Kortekass is a dutch beader with some lovely work on her website.
Jennifer Airs is another beader whose work has been featured in Bead.
Snakes And Ladders
posted on Monday, 14 January 2008
It's been a bit of a muddled week, to say the least. It's veered from being a complete nightmare- my emails totally crashing (apologies if you've emailed me and I haven't got back to you, I'm still trying to fix it and work out how many are permamently lost!) to being great- teaching on saturday and buying lots of nice jewellery!
I managed to track down the rings I wanted and was delighted to find that they're even more gorgeous in real life - so I ended up buying them all! They're simple perspex rings in the shapes of animals and plants and come either individually or in sets - either 'Enchanted Forest' or City Farm'.
If you want to see them on Etsy click here or you can check out their website here where you can see all their other wonderfully designed items.
I didn't manage to get to Tatty Devine on Friday but made a special trip today and treated myself to Trapeze and Horse & Carriage.
Other good things are:
- Someone sent me this link to a fun example of good website design- it's best viewed with your sound on!
- I've now added the option of paying for classes with PayPal to make it easier. But do make sure you email me first to check there are still spaces left!
- And rather excitingly I've decided to go on a road trip in february to LA- partly to go and view my work in the Wearable Expression 2008 exhibition and partly just for the fun of going on a road trip with my dad!
So I'm open for all suggestions for places to visit, buy beads etc (just don't tell dad!)
3-4-4 Part B
posted on Thursday, 10 January 2008
I'm merrily beading away on the next piece which will form the 2nd part of Geometric 3-4-4. I've already beaded 3-4-4a and this one just changes the placement of the colours.
I'm teaching on Saturday and need to grab some supplies tomorrow, so may just find the time to pop along to Tatty Devine on the way!
I got my much desired for Swing Girl necklace for Christmas (thank you web monkey) and just feel the need to add to my jewellery collection.
Obviously this is a need I feel everyday but sometimes I need to feed it. I've also discovered some wonderfully unique rings on the internet and may have found somewhere to buy them in London- so will have to take a detour to find those- check back next week to see if I got them!
All In A Weeks Work
posted on Saturday, 05 January 2008
Wow- my last geometric piece took me 13 months to finish- this one was completed in just 6 days!
It would have been quicker but I decided to add some extra pieces- and then to remove them all adding about a days worth of beading!
Ok I did devote every spare minute of my week to beading it but I'm so pleased to be off to a roaring start with my plan to bead a piece in my Geometric Beadwork Series once a month.
Click here to find out more about this piece as well as to view it from the side where the effect of alternating the triangles is more apparent.
Been browsing the net again- no surprise there- and found this great link:
Wire Magic
Just wish I could find the time and space to do some wirework- maybe that should have been a resolution!
New Patterns And Website
posted on Wednesday, 02 January 2008
OK- this isn't news to some of you I'm sure but it's the first time I've mentioned it!
I now have a lovely snazzy new website with lots of great features and more room for pictures of my work. Along with this I now sell patterns and instructions directly from my website. They're all available to download and if you need any help or more information you can check out the details here or contact me.
Pictured is a copper variation of my Crystal Components Bracelet which is one of my wirework instructions for sale.
New Year And New Beginnings
posted on Tuesday, 01 January 2008
Welcome to 2008!
2008 got off to a great start for me with a night out at the Comedy Cafe where we watched Junior Simpson and Glenn Wool (who we'd just seen at the wonderful Office Party at the Barbican) consumed great food and lots and lots of alcohol. Fired up by this we danced til gone 3am and very tiredly made our way home.
Today was a much quieter day and I spent most of it beading. I'm working on a new geometric piece which will form one of a set of two, or possibly three, bracelets.
I'm full of new years resolutions especially around beading and some of them are:
1- Bead a new geometric piece a month
2- Complete a colour challenge with a colour inspired piece every month (January is white)
3- Bead a geometric beaded bead every month
4- Take part in the Four Seasons of Jewelry 2008 (having previously done 2006 and 2007)
The idea for the colour challenge came about last July after I bought some new books on colour and I've decided to keep it simple and make a piece each month inspired by a particular colour, my feelings about it and what I learn about it.
I received some exciting news today, two of my bracelets have been selected to appear in the Wearable Expressions 2008 exhibition- very exciting.
