Category Archives: Necklaces

Necklaces, Pendants, Philosophy, Wire Work

Wear Your Courage

I was driving my car today and mentally complaining about how dirty it was when I remembered that drought conditions here have warranted NOT washing your car. Our area is 40 inches of rain below normal for the last two years and one need only go for a short walk or drive to see the ramifications of this phenomena. Driving down the hill from our house, with smoke dust rising in big puffs, I’m reminded of tales of the Oklahoma dust bowl and know things could be worse. So, I drive my dirty car like a red badge of courage, thankful for the problem solving skills by husband has utilized to care for several hundred animals during dry times. He manages to keep our animal’s flourishing and never compromises the quality we strive to maintain. With a production sale coming up in October, I’m amazed at how he prepares our offering even knowing that this year will probably be a financial winner for the customer. His continual emphasis is on the customer. What would the customer need and expect? He could be breeding cattle for what he likes, yet, he is always looking to the customers to see what would enhance their herds. Surely there’s a lesson in that for me.

Since I’m known for stretching a story and making unusual connections, what is that lesson that might pertain to design work? I believe moving forward during stressful times is key for any endeavor. Even if there is not a show or customer immediately around the corner, I work just as diligently on my designs and maintain the same quality. A lull in business provides a great opportunity to try something new whether it is a technique, material or style. If nothing pleasant hatches, there’s nothing lost. As my husband does with the ranching, I continually problem solve and consider what a customer might want. A color, size or style might not be what I would wear, but the customer is the real boss.  fetish One of my favorite ways to determine the potential of a design is to wear it while I run errands and observe whether people notice the piece. For example, I like the piece shown on the left, but I wore it and no one acknowledged it. The piece below, however, is another story. Folks looked twice at it and guess which one had sold. The one below is already gone. turq

 

  This is the piece that I strung at least four times before deciding it was fit for the public eye. I could have just left it alone the first time, but quality maintenance is important here at Dreamcatcher and I don’t want to give it up.

My dirty car, however, is something I’ll be happy to give up. I look forward to the rain and the return of green grass.

Necklaces, Philosophy

Lingering Women

A chat with Mother at the nursing home today, brings to mind a phrase I often use for the women in my family. I call them “lingering women”. It seems the females in my family outlive the males by a considerable number of years. When my mother commented on missing my father who has been gone 9 years, I mentioned my thoughts about lingering woman to her. She said she’d rather be a malingering woman, commenting that she often hides out in her room to avoid activities. Earlier in the week, she remarked that she had been very unproductive and idle in the three days since my last visit. I tried to explain that I thought that was what she was meant to do at her stage in life, but I don’t think she bought it. She had two novels out that she is reading in tandem. One big book is for her room, and another skinny book is for hauling to the dining room to read while she waits to be served. Her organ music sits near the door so she can go to the living room and play and her crochet is at the foot of the bed ready for action. She doesn’t look at all like a malingering woman to me.

I may age to be a lingering woman, but I don’t think I can ever malinger either. I, too, have a couple of books going at once at well as multiple other activities aside from the ranch work. In terms of the design work, as do most other beaders, I keep multiple designs going at once. The current seed bead project fits well with listening to TV, hammering wire and metal is readily on tap for relieving frustration and stringing projects, organized into small groups on the work table, wait for this human to arrive. collar While yesterday’s blog showed the copper Pascal’s necklace I completed yesterday, today’s picture shows a seed bead collar finished the same day. Diversity is good or as the saying goes, “variety is the spice of life.” 

So whether we linger or malinger, I choose to believe that barring unforeseen medical complications, the strong survive. The men in my family would probably say that the strong-willed survive and looking at my mother, grandmother and great grandmother, I might have to agree.

Necklaces, Wire Work

Pascal’s Necklace

When I was a consultant providing training for teachers of gifted students, one of my favorite workshops to present was on mathematics. I used Pascal’s triangle during the workshop and it provided the basis for the necklaces shown here. If you’re interested in knowing more about Pascal’s triangle, you might go to the link that follows: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_triangle where you’ll learn that it’s basically a geometric arrangement of the binomial coefficients in a triangle. The link demonstrates the process of number development in the triangle and I’ve provided only the first six rows below.

File:Pascal's triangle 5.svg

The copper necklaces are obviously inverted from the triangle above, but you can see how the number of links are based upon Pascal’s work. Pascal and stones The links for both necklaces are made from 18 gauge copper wire and the neckwires are from recycled wire from the San Marcos Green Guy. The necklace with colored stones seems to lay the best due, I believe,to the wider curve of the links. The plain necklace, composed of more links, is more delicate looking, but made from the same gauge wire. I’m hoping this design holds possibilities for further exploration. It’s one of the few pieces I’ve made that doesn’t take too long to complete.

Hmm . . . I wonder what else I used in that math workshop that could stimulate a design idea? I knew I shouldn’t have thrown away all my notes!

Pascal chain only

Necklaces, Pendants, Wire Work

Are You Alone?

6 Comments

This title could indicate a narrative about many different things. Some of these could be quite philosophical while others might be the opposite. My first tendency when reading the title is to burst into song. If you’re past 40 or if you’re a musician, you probably remember “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, a melody I still hum and have played on the piano too many times to count. This song can be spiritual and the blog title might also lead your thoughts to that arena. Of course, there’s the seamier side of hearing a husky voice on the opposite end of the phone asking, “are you alone”, but I’ll leave readers to ponder that one.

Last night while completing the two pieces shown here, cross I had  a strong feeling that I wasn’t alone. The dogs and cat were outside, my husband had gone to bed, yet something wasn’t quite right. We live in a timber frame house and although it is 10 years old, there’s still some creaking and groaning as the timbers continue to split and shift. Those sounds can create an eerie atmosphere late a night; Yet, the sounds were not the whole of the feeling. pendant Finally, I realized I WASN’T ALONE. I checked the kitchen; “sigh”. I checked the den; “sigh”. I checked the other rooms, but no intruder appeared. (I wonder what I thought I was going to do if one DID appear) Thinking I better get to bed before any more illusions crept into my thoughts, I glanced to the side of the work area and met the friend below. Truly - - - I Was NOT Alone.

gecco

Creativity, Necklaces, Philosophy

Six Thinking Hats

One of my favorite techniques about thinking is Six Thinking Hats by Edward DeBono. Dr. DeBono provided all of us with a plethora of books and materials from which to draw ideas for promoting various type of thinking. I was able to glean much from his work that I utilized both in workshop for teachers and articles for publications.

Six Thinking Hats is simple and straightforward. Each color hat represents a specific way of thinking: White is for factual thinking; Black is more thinking about drawbacks or things that might go wrong; Yellow is for thinking about positive results and possibilities; Red is for thinking with emotion; Green is for creative thinking; and Blue is for guiding or organizing the other ways of thinking. Children I’ve worked with as young as Kindergarten have been able to understand and utilize the hats. It has been my experience that although the type of thinking we use most readily changes according to our situation or environment, most of us do have one type of thinking that is our style. I am a natural black hat thinker. It is easier for me to tell all the things that could go wrong with a design or plan than it is for me to see all the possibilities. Black hat thinking isn’t bad. I’ve probably prevented many a disaster in my life by having critical thoughts at the forefront. (I probably saved my children from excessive trips to the emergency room by seeing the negative results of their antics before they acted.) Yet, it can be a real downer. I wonder how many wonderful opportunities I’ve missed because I was squelched through critical thinking. If I don’t keep my natural Black Hat thinking under wraps, part of the time it can be difficult for those around me and can certainly hold back my design work.

For several years, I’ve tried to be conscious of practicing other types of thinking. White Hat = no problem, I can give you the factual details; Red Hat = no problem, crying, yelling and caring are all in my repertoire; Green Hat = I work on creative thinking all the time; Blue Hat = remembering to organize thinking works as I try to use the other colors or gently ask a complaining person if they can come up with any positives about their situation; Yellow Hat = hmmm . . . I think this would be easier if I didn’t listen to the news reports.

It seems to me that I might apply the Six Thinking Hats in the critic of creative work. It’s not necessary to use all the hats each time we apply the technique. Simply select those that are needed. There are two pictures below, but for an example, take a look at the turquoise and pearl necklace that’s on it’s way to a customer in Maine. pearlturq White Hat thinking allows me to write on the tag attached to the piece that it is made of turquoise and pearls and that the lobster clasp is sterling silver. Wearing my Red Hat, I can tell you that I didn’t feel very excited about this piece when the customer requested it because it was quite simple.  Yellow Hat thinking reminds me that I made this pretty quickly with a minimum of steps and was able to mix together some pearls remaining from another project. It’s also a plus that this customer purchases a good deal of turquoise and pearls and I know I can make her happy with this piece. I also feel I should be grateful that I don’t have to think very hard to complete this piece. Black Hat thinking, however, tells me that I’m not learning much from making this combination of beads AGAIN.  If I use Blue Hat Thinking to organize those thoughts turqcarnelian I can be left with a positive feeling as I wrap up the piece. I think the best order might be White, Black, Red and finally Yellow. It works for me and I’m thinking how good it is to sell something!

Necklaces

Native American Roots

I’m proud to have Native American roots stemming from my Great Great Grandmother who was Choctaw. She walked the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma as did so many of our ancestors. That’s basically all that I know about my heritage and, as many of us probably realize when it’s too late, I wish I’d asked more questions of my Great Grandmother.

My husband thought it was unfortunate that I did not have enough Native American blood to help me get a scholarship when we were going to college in Oklahoma. He actually made a big mistake in that regard. When we married, I was 19 and my father, who had saved for my college expenses, offered to pay for my education. My young, macho husband said “Oh, no. I will take care of everything.” When, at the age of 40, I went back to work on my third degree, a doctorate, Don asked my dad if he still had that money. Oh course it was long gone.  I guess age brought financial wisdom to both my husband and my father.

The jewelry pieces pictured today remind me of my Native American heritage. I regret that two of them are not better photos, but you will get the general sense of them. The brown piece is made of bone horn beads with tiger eye, turquoise and silver. It’s pictured hanging on a garment at Dovetails of Wimberley. There is also a picture of my new cell phone fob featuring a bone eagle. The second necklace has the same eagle beads. The other beads are jasper.

bone horn

       

eagle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cell phone

Necklaces, Pendants, Philosophy, Wire Work

Timing is Everything

I’ve heard the saying in the title many times and often believe it is true. For example, as teenagers, my children knew when it was a good time to ask for something and when it would be better to wait.

Today, I wondered if my timing was just a little off. While I’m getting to the top of the “hill” that I may someday be old enough to be “over”, I’m not there yet. I have always worked diligently to know what’s in and what’s not with the young crowd. As a piano teacher, I kept up with the latest music so that my students could play what was popular as desert on top of their Bach and Mozart pieces. I even rewrote many popular songs to make them easy enough for my beginners. Now, I’m thankful that my son keeps me reasonably up-to-date on new music and artists. As for clothing, I’ve even gotten used to young men’s baggy pants that may need a hitch up while the wearer walks and midriffs exposed on young and some not so young women.

Yet, lately I’ve been thinking my open minded/up-to-date attitude may be slipping. I just didn’t realize that I could wear my pajamas to the grocery store. It seems that when I go to the grocery store on Sunday mornings, I encounter young couples in their pajamas who appear to have just crawled out of bed. The first time, I thought it was just a single occurrence, but I’ve noted it numerous times since. Some of these couples even have on their bedroom slippers. One pair of slippers was complete with cute little dog ears. Today I realized that my timing is just off. I’m going to the grocery store at the wrong time or on the wrong day. I’m much more comfortable when I go on Wednesdays, the same day that the bus from the assisted living facility brings their residents to shop. I can converse with those people and help them find their food without feeling odd. I just don’t belong with the pajama crowd.

Timing is also important when we try to sell things. Jewelry designers trying to make sales at outdoor events in this persistent heat need to realize that there’s probably nothing wrong with their work – it’s just the timing. Hopefully, cooler weather will give sales a needed boost.

Right now, copper jewelry seems to be selling well. The timing is right for it and I’m working to create new options for the use of both copper sheet metal and copper wire. Pictured below are a couple of new pieces that will probably work better for fall than summer. Although we are in the midst of our hot weather, boutiques are now clearing their pastel merchandise and preparing for the arrival of fall clothes. Now is the time for jewelry designers to be thinking fall as well.

Timing – such an important element in life. There must be some unique formula to help me get it just right. I sure wish I could figure it out before I’m any closer to the top of that hill!

browncopper spikes

         orient

Necklaces, Pendants, Techniques, Wire Work

Out on a Limb

birdonawire

Today’s photo shows another pin turned pendant from the same family as the dog shown in an earlier post. Although these pins, given to me for creation by the owner of Dovetails of Wimberley, presented considerable challenge, I’m pleased to understand how to alter a pin and will be more open minded about the pendant possibilities that other pins offer. In case you didn’t read the earlier post, the process involves making and gluing a wire finding to the back of the pin which turns it into a pendant.  Thankfully, I’m no longer “out on a limb” regarding this technique.

Color, Necklaces, Techniques, vendors

Summer Colors?

peyote brown

Finished! I’ve been working on this piece for several days and it finally came together this afternoon. It was ordered by a store in Fredericksburg that sold one in similar colors earlier this summer. I’ve always thought of the browns and blacks for Fall, but mixed with the light teal and a touch of yellow and gold, this seems to work for summer. This peyote necklace has a nice Turquoise Jasper cabachon (Magpie Gemstones) in the center and I backed this stone with ultrasuede. I also added an extra row of beads completely around the neckline at a right angle to the peyote stitches. This should help the piece keep it’s shape while it remains supple and comfortable. The piece is stitched with 6 lb test Fireline fishing line.

It was amusing that as I was finishing this piece, the ping of my computer alerted me that I had received an email. It was from Barry at Caravan Beads. This is my main source for wholesale seed beads (Miyuki) and the vendor from whom I purchased the beads for the above necklace. He was offering to trade the cloudy, rainy northern weather in his neck of the woods for some sunshine. I offered to take the deal and said I would throw in some feral hogs from my pasture to boot. He replied that he wanted the weather, but not the hogs. While both he and a store I deal with in Maine were sharing that customers were hard to come by due to their too-wet summer weather. The merchants I talked with close to San Marcos and the Hill Country had much the same concerns with our too hot summer weather. Either way, I guess it’s summer and we’re all dealing with one thing or another.

Just as I’ve had to keep an open mind about those dark colors and their appropriateness for summer, I’ve got to keep an open mind about the weather. When it changes (for the better) people will be ready to get out and will definitely need to shop. I plan to have plenty of options for them to see. As I’ve heard Suzie from Aunties Beads say “you’ve got to have product!”

Metal Work, Necklaces, Pendants, Techniques, vendors

New Vendor Find

1 Comment

cross

I enjoyed attending the Bead Jamboree in San Antonio last weekend. Being a bit of a home body, I tried to talk myself out of going several times, but finally went ahead. I currently purchase most everything from www.magpiegemstones.com and really didn’t need to go to the show. Yet, I wanted to support my friends who were vending and teaching at this venue.

Luckily, I met a “new-to-me” vendor and enjoyed exploring the possibilities her merchandise provided. (www.acharmcollection.com) The cross necklace at the left resulted from the use of her metal products and I have several other pieces that will evolve from visiting this vendor. She sells metal charms, etc. such as those shown in the picture below. While it may not be a new technique, she talked with me about layering gemstones on her pieces. Prices were quite reasonable and I’m trying some of her ideas. The first few customers who saw this cross wanted it and I’m hoping the designs will be pleasing.  findings

Economically speaking, the price point for these plated silver and gemstone pieces will be very affordable for customers. While I didn’t use expensive turquoise in the necklace shown, it is still pretty and Mother says it will be meaningful to those who see it. (She was sure that I had made it for her . . . hint, hint.)

I’m pleased to find another helpful, pleasant vendor, but I still want to support those suppliers who have been good to me. This “new find” simply adds one more possibility to design options.