Feed You Creativity Friday

So what's on the menu for today? Let's see how about a Main course of Art and Fashion first?

In the New March issue of Harpers Bazaar Paloma Picasso Designer of 30 years for Tiffany's does an exclusive interview with them on her life. Here are some excepts:

• On her father, Pablo Picasso: “When I see some of his paintings, it brings back the memories of when he was creating them.”

• On her career, from costume designer, to accessory, home décor and jewelry designer: “I felt I had to prove myself. I don’t have anything to prove anymore. I can relax.”

• On her fragrance: “Paloma Picasso was a self-portrait, and I still wear it, so I did the right job for me.”

• Tiffany’s John Loring on meeting Paloma: “When Paloma was a teenager, she was extraordinarily shy and put upon by people staring and pointing at her, because she was Picasso’s daughter. It reduced her to tears.”

Above is a photo of Paloma in her beautiful Moroccan Home. Read more about her and see more of her fabulous home in the March publication of Harper's Bazaar 2010. click to see more on the article and more photos including a portrait of Paloma as a child by her father, Pablo.

And speaking of Fashion, Macy's has released it's Spring Fashion look. Now you may be an artist and not a Fashionista, but to make your jewelry for those who are you need to know what's new, trendy and especially what's the color palette! So in essence you become a Fashionista from an Artists POV. So where am I going with this? Right here! This is the 2010 Spring Fashion Look Book (for those with flash blocker, scroll down to fins the flash 'F') I love that asymmetrical tunic, don't you? There you will find Trends, click on that and then click on RTW and Accessories Spring 2010 trends. There you will see a very cool palette of what's hot this spring. Palettes culled from Master Artists such As Van Gogh and PICASSO! You can also click on the HOT list and download a pdf , see what's hot to wear and also what accessories are in! Sure to help you in fashion and Your Art this Spring! I'm especially intrigued with the infinity neck wear.

And now for some desert.................

Need a break? is it bleak out today and you long for color? How about a quick coffee break and a puzzle? Beautiful photographs turned into jigsaw puzzles you can do in a couple of minutes. JIGZONE lets you choose from all kinds of subjects, from nature, animals, mountains, beaches, rivers, trees, waterfalls and that is just in the Nature section. There are also Sports, Ocean life, Transportation and Travel and 'Things'. That is an intriguing one and one which most artists will appreciate. There are close-ups of ordinary things, and you know how I love those! And colored pencils, bars of soap and even a scrabble board. Got only a minute? then you can choose a puzzle in only 6 pieces, yes 6, quick enough for you? How about a bigger challenge? You can go all the way up to 247 triangular pieces! You choose number and shape from a drop down menu that sits right in the middle over the puzzle choices, called "Choose your cut". So they can be tailor made for your time allotment. Why not give it a try right now? I've chosen a simple but pretty one for you to see how you like this. Just click on it and it will take you to the puzzle. Just don't get lost there and forget to come back here (click your back button it won't open in a separate window).

It even shows you how long it takes you to solve, the average solving time and the fastest it was ever solved. When you get there it will give you the default of 48 pieces, on the left side you can see where you can change the cut and piece amount. Click 'Change Cut' and choose how many pieces (and what shape too, like birds) you want to try at first. Remember to always do the corners first and then the edges, makes it easier. You can just click and drag the pieces out of the way from the center to make room to do the puzzle.



I love this very artistic wrought iron gate against a blue sky! I did this one in the 20 piece bird shape and it was quite a challenge, especially if you are used to regular jigsaw shaped pieces. It helps you to think outside the box. Hope you have fun with this!

How about a second helping? I hope your creativity has been fed, now how about sharing that with someone else? I meant to post this last week but it was such a week I forgot. I read this over at Treasures Found blog by Erin Prais-Hintz and have been gathering things to share myself. You all are aware of the Earthquake in Haiti and the disasters that followed. Please go to Erin's blog and read about how you as a crafter or artist can help the women of Haiti with your extra helpings of craft supplies, and join Haiti by Hand in doing this worthwhile project. Then download the list and print it out so you can go through your stash and help another. I think this is a wonderful way to help, not just sending money but sending hope and a sense of worth and be sure to include a note as Rebecca suggests to the women and share a bit about yourself with them, I'm sure it will be worth it's weight in gold!

We didn't start you with any soup, but here's something for the 'nuts' course. :)

Now go and have one of these kinds of weekends, relaxed and at peace.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

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Feeding your Creativity Friday - One World, One Heart

Bienvenue! Dobro pozhalovat'! Bienvenidos! Benvenuti! Irashaimasu! Merhaba! Foon ying!Huan ying! Velkomen! Brucha haba'a! Bine ati venit! Witaj! Welkumme! Dobrodošli! Tervetuloa! Vítejte!Velkommen! Bonvenon! Tervetuloa! Kalos orisate! Suswaagatam! Benvenuti! Sveika atvykusi!

I'm sorry but the deadline is here! I won't be taking any more comments towards the drawing. I will be drawing the 9 winners later on today and announcing them as soon as possible. Thank you all who visited and participated!

WELCOME! And THANK YOU for stopping by my Blog! I've rolled out the Welcome Mat (my special Magic Carpet!) for old friends and followers and new friends to be from around this great green earth of ours! I am pleased to have stumbled upon the blog of Lisa Swifka, A Whimsical Bohemian, it is a fantastic blog , you must save that link and go back and visit it often. I honestly don't know how I got there, I go through dozens of emails per day and hundreds of websites, especially when writing for my own blog or just looking for something and one link leads to another, but somehow I found this wonderful event. Designed by Lisa in 2007 it is in it's fourth years and each year the participants grows abundantly.


UPDATE!!! I will be taking entries until 6am EST Feb 15th , then I will draw the nine winners and make an announcement later tomorrow morning. Thank you all for visiting me! :)


In a nutshell each participating blog owner is offering a heartfelt giveaway. When you get your ticket you go to the link above and you will see all the participants from around the world listed on the right sidebar. Just click on them and you will be taken to a page on their blog similar to mine. You will see this same poster. Visit them, learn about them a bit and leave a comment and you are entered into their giveaway. All winners will be announced and posted on Feb 15th (unless otherwise noted on individual blogs).

What a wonderful way to draw us closer together? I love it, I am just sorry I didn't know about this back in January when it started, I would have had time to plan better but since it's still open until the 8th I am throwing my blog in to the wonderful mix!

So welcome fellow Bloggers from around the world.

Rules: Very few!
Please leave me a comment so I know you were here and tell me what country you are from! Also please make sure that your icon links back to your blog where your email is listed somewhere so I can contact you if you are a winner! That's all you need to do to be entered into my drawing!

I am sorry to say I don't have a giveaway all prepared, but between now and the drawing date I will make something special just for this occasion, and knowing me, it will be more than one, so we may have many winners! (Please see below for update) For those who are new to my blog I already run a weekly giveaway on Mondays, called Mystery Monday, you can look back through my blog to see what that is about. I also have other weekly features such as:

Team T International Tuesday where I highlight a member of my etsy team which is composed of all kinds of artists and craftsmen/women.

What's New Wednesday - where I let you know what's new with me, my artworks, shops, contests I'm entered into and more. This coming week I will reveal the creation I made with the Beads I received in a huge Bead Soup Party Swap! So if you love beads and Jewelry stop back and see what I and over 80 others have created with our 'Soup'!

Thrifty Thursday I share what I've found in my searches and also from my many emails that will help you stretch your money further so you can have some left over to help others and buy craft supplies! :) Also eco friendly tips!

Feed Your __________ Friday, this day I present something to feed your soul, mind, body or as the case in this post, your creativity and sharing and learning about others. Always something different, and hopefully inspiring for you!

I don't post much on the weekends, time to rest, and regroup, but sometimes I have pre-scheduled posts, or reminders about the Mystery Monday giveaway to get your entry in, or maybe just share with you some of the joys I find outside my window each day with all the wild life in my yard there is always something interesting or amusing going on! So I hope you will enjoy your time here and please come back again, or subscribe to RSS feed or click on the Google button over my followers in the sidebar! Let's not let this be a one time visit, I'd love for you to come again!

Now getting back to the GIVEAWAY.......................
I am currently in a large bead swap which will be revealed next Wednesday so as I finish off my project for that I may also make something special for the giveaway here. I will try and post pictures of them as soon as possible.


Right now we are bracing for a Blizzard, BRRRR, and I haven't had great photography weather but will do so as soon as I can. If you would like to know a bit about my artwork you can visit my shop in the sidebar or my Flickr site for more pics!

I can tell you this, although I am mainly at present an Artist working in Polymer Clay, I also like to do paper art, recycled and re-purposed art, collages, photography, textile art projects and more! So it could be anything! The anticipation makes it more fun, don't you agree? :)

Again Welcome!!! I am so happy to have you visit me and I hope you enjoy your time spent here and will come back soon!

Now get on your magic carpet and ride on out to discover more wonderful blogs!

GIVEAWAY UPDATE! I love it that so many have come to visit me even though I started late. I have been gathering some prizes together and so far have these teasers to offers (no pics I still like the idea of a surprise!) Something green, something heartfelt, something to inspire, something to be creative with, something to wear, something to read, something to share, something for fun AND something to listen too!

Ok, I couldn't resist, must post some teasers for you. Some of these are prizes, others may be components I may use to make you something with. I'd love to tailor each prize to the winner drawn so these may change.




That's right, one prize for each day I have been on the ride!

How's that to peak your interest? :)

Again, thanks to Lisa for organizing this fantastic event!

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What's New Wednesday? Beginnings

Beginnings.

What's newer than a beginning? I think one of the best things in life are new beginnings, and always the chance for new beginnings. Every day we have a chance to start over again on many things, not everything mind you but enough to keep life interesting. But there are some beginnings that take awhile to develop.

New beginnings for those with a creative soul can be quite different than others. Sometimes there are those who are born with that soul and it is pushed aside for schooling for a 'job that will pay the bills, a career', a family, and other pursuits, but soon that spirit cries out for attention and outlets are sought to answer that need.

For Beaders or Jewelry makers that beginning most likely started long ago as a child looking through Grandma's button box, or better still, if you promised to be careful, her Jewelry box. Treasure upon treasure could be discovered there. Strands of pearls, sparkling crystals, earrings and pins of all shapes, colors and sizes, some elegant, some kitchy, some whimsical, something to fit every whim of a woman, but all a feast for the eyes.



The Love Affair begins.........

Sometimes if you got to look when Grandma was in a generous mood you might be allowed to have a bead from a broken necklace, or bracelet, or an orphaned earring, to play with or even better, to keep! These things you would hold in your small hand, the light catching them and flashing back in your eyes and holding all kinds of mystery. You put it in your pocket and carefully take it home with you. When you get there you rush to your little jewelry box and tuck it in a place of honor. It stands out among the little trifles you have and each time you open your jewelry box there it is, shining out like it has a light source of its own, whispering of things not yet known to you but you know, are full of wonder.

But that never truly ends, does it? We all have a treasure box that contains jewelry we wear regularly, then there's the special occasion pieces and then there are those that just don't fit into your wardrobe or style any longer but you just can't part with them no matter what.

The Love Affair continues..............

What began as a small child is a love affair most women will have all their lives. And those with that creative spirit that has been squelched for 'more important things' will gravitate to that treasure box of long ago. She can show you her first ever 'real' bead, or necklace, and that mystery and attraction is still there. Many of these woman will look to find a way to fill many treasure boxes full. First it is justified by , 'I'll make gifts', thus assuaging the guilt that buying all the makings one has to when beginning a lifetime fulfillment of treasure making entails. But soon, those strands in the store or bead show beckon more and more and after all your friends and relatives have been gifted with your makings for so long and your treasure chests are overflowing, the guilt returns and many look to sell what they make.

And another beginning begins. Sharing the love affair with others. By now you have graduated from what every craft store holds that looks basically like what you could find all put together and much cheaper at your local K-Mart or Wal*Mart and start wanting more. Wanting something special, seeing jewelry transform from an accessory to an adornment to an Art form. And when you reach that stage you seek out specific pieces we call focal, or Art Beads. This is what takes you up from the hobby jewelry maker to a investor in art. And not only art, but art that can actually be shared with the world wherever you go.

I have been making Art Beads before I knew that they were Art beads. I used many different mediums but in the last 8 years or so I have been mainly concentrating on Polymer Clay beads. Polymer Clay is known as the Chameleon Clay because you can really make it do just about anything you want. If you want a certain kind of bead and can't find it or afford it, you can probably make a great reproduction in PC. Each artist has their own style and can give the jewelry artist a great focal place to start with their creation. I can't say I have a certain style because that's what I love about PC, I can duplicate a natural stone, or make impressions of organic materials, or use the clay to make 'paintings', or come up with something totally new!

But art beads can be made of so many other materials too: Silver, Ceramic, Lamp working, Bronze, Wire, wood and even multi-media creations.

I think what makes Art beads so special is that they are small works of art that can be held in the hand, yet intriguing enough for more than a casual glance, they are a tiny treasure that takes you back to that beginning of the love affair when you first held that pretty plastic 'pearl' in your hand. Small enough to gather a large collection from many Bead Artists and still not cost a fortune or take up too much space.

I think that having an Art collection that can fit in a box and can go with you anywhere is better than one masterpiece hanging in your home. Art should be appreciated, shared and most importantly, touched and held and treasured. All those things can be done with Art beads, and who says you really have to make something with them? They are treasures to be displayed how ever you wish, it's your collection!

Remember that Love Affair that started long ago, and if you haven't taken it to the highest level of Art Bead collecting or designing with, do so now, you won't regret it!

Instead of showing you my beads which can be seen in my Etsy shops, I have chosen to show you the works of some fabulous Art Bead makers. You can click on each photo to take you to more information about each bead. These are the works ( in order) of Cindy Gimbrone of Cindy Gimbrone Beads, Jennifer Haynen of Jangles, Tari Sasser of Creative Impressions in Clay, Heather Powers of Humblebeads and Patty Lankinsmith of PattyLankinsmith

But I will leave you with one of my focal Art Beads that came as a great surprise to me, a bit of spring today on a wintry day!


Impressionist PoppY Fields Focal Art Bead -from Studio Art Bead.etsy.com

Please stop by ART BEAD SCENE to see all the other posts in the Carnival. Also please take a moment and read my post for today, Feb 17th on The Carnival blogging and to see my entry into Art Bead Scene's February Challenge, LUNA PARK.



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Negative Space

Do you employ negative space in your artwork? I've always been fascinated with this from childhood looking at those pictures like the vase that turns into two people kissing. I've never been subjected to a formal Rorschach test but I'm sure they would find some interesting results about me!

Some of my favorite things to look at are filigree in style , or cut-work in fabric or ceramics, I have two beautiful plates of lacy edged open work, one even broke and normally I would have thrown it out but loved it so much I glued it back together even though it can't be used now.

One of my favorites is looking at ferns, especially the ones hanging in my front bay window in the morning when the sun shines through them. The negative space is colored like the sky and the sun lights up the fronds from behind and it is a beauty I can't explain.

My fascination resulted in this latest treasury Called Fantastic Negative Space of similarly related items. Take a look and comment and click if you'd like and come back and tell me what you think. I'd love to hear your opinion of negative space!

Oh, these are pictures I took right at sundown about a month ago at our local park. I loved how the willow tree branches were silhouetted against the lake and the darkening sky, one of my favorite trees! Come to think about it, my favorite plants are ones that have that negative space look. I love ferns and have many, also a 5 foot wide split leaf philodendron that is taking over one whole corner of my living room, spider plants, striped and solid, a palm tree, and a date palm I have been growing from a pit for the last 5 years. And some of my favorite botanicals to work with also have that same look , dill, anise, asparagus leaves, Queen Anne's lace, carrot tops, Dusty Miller.

I will be adding these new hand painted buttons of Anise seed heads, again that great lacy look, to my StudioARTBEAD shop today.

So are you attracted to lacy negative space type things?

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Ever Wonder?

About your art, you know you have those days you think what you came up with is really cool, then there are days you think that everything everyone else does is so much better. I fluctuate between this all the time. I was given a chance recently to advertise in a well known, art magazine. At first I turned it down, knowing my old camera couldn't take a decent picture good enough for magazine work, and secondly because I didn't feel my art could hold it's own with all the names I could imagine would be there. Ones I've long admired in the Polymer clay world as I have courted and left and come back to this medium even more enamored after time away.

So after much encouragement I decided I would give it a try. I didn't realize how hard on the nerves something like this would be. I went and purchased a new camera, after not having a new one since like 10 years ago. Wishing my old Canon SLR could function with instant success but knowing not to go there, I can just imagine the film developing costs. As it was I took over 60 pictures of what at first I thought I should feature, and it was suggested to me, then I decided to go with something else, so more pictures, probably over 100 this time.

Do you have any idea what it's like to go through 100+ pictures ( and being a perfectionist) to find the perfect one? I can't tell you how many hours it took me to decide on one, just one, and to finally submit it. Then when It came time to approve I had changes, I didn't like how my background looked, so asked to use another picture with a gradient background I quickly photo-shopped in. They were so very nice and very accommodating. But I really wasn't so nervous for myself, it was about being amongst all these top artists and I didn't want to bring their art down by having 'me' there.

But all in all I think I blended in quite well. It is simple but it is also as complex as you can get , since my pieces come directly from the source. I just try to make sure I don't make them look bad. :)

Oh, here is the winning picture, it is of one of my favorite to immortalize in clay, even though I don't much care to eat them, the beautiful aubergine, the Eggplant and its companion, one of the Eggplants fuzzy leaves, that leave such a wonderful texture.

Oh, and if you are interested in which magazine, check it out here, but to see my ad, you will have to visit your local Borders or Barnes and Noble and flip through it in the Polymer clay article section.

Another Treasury Feature!

One of our newest members to the Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Esty ( she joined when I did), Milica Bubanja of Slovenia who is a wonderful Artist and has many fine pieces in her etsy shop , recently made a Treasury featuring Polymer clay pieces with a nature theme. She graciously included my Edamame Brooch made from copper metallic clay, highlighted with a verdigris finish. I am honored to be among such wonderful artists, each with their own style of nature interpretations.

She Calls it "Top Art Jewelry"
Be sure to stop by her shop at etsy: MilicaBubanja.etsy.com and see lovely and very unique pieces like these:
I love this one, The Butterfly Poem which has a great transfer of a delicate butterfly and a handwritten poem framing it. Very beautiful!

Also this caught my eye, these fabulous 'sponge' beads which she makes into retro modern earrings, necklaces and charming charm bracelets like this one seen here.

I love the colors, so fresh but serene! They remind me of warm Tropical seas in a fresh and modern design.

If you like the wonderful art seen in this treasury, be sure to visit the etsy shops of these great artists: JaelsJewels, studiobijou, laurabeestudios, jkollmann, slavko, scdiva, marciapalmer, beadworx, cocojaneandme, utopiabeads, juliespace