Numinosity Beads Meets Altered Art

"Derive" by Kimberly Rogers

I have been meaning to start using some of my beads in my altered art projects. I had just picked up a handy little metal hole punch at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show from the gals at Beaducation that were at the To Bead True Blue show at the Doubletree Hotel in Tucson.

I had a goodly batch of rusty bottle tops that needed holes punched for my bottle top earrings.

While I was at it I got inspired to fasten on of my beads to a rusty aged metal tile that I'd picked up next to our desert property near the Chiricahua Mountains.

So with some old coins, buttons, beads mounted over the smuggler's burlap and asphalt roofing I found last week, I fastened them and added a bit of text and framed it in a thrift shop frame. One of my first finished pieces using a Numinosity Bead.

Back to Business... Beads That Is

I used silver leaf in these beads and was playing around with some of the new CIM colors I had ordered from Frantz Art Glass

These lentils are a good size for earring sets.

These two didn't quite fit in with the rest of today's batch. The nugget on the right was made with the nub ends of some of my silver reactive glass that I couldn't hold anymore. I like to make some beads at the end of a session by using small pieces that are cluttering up the worktable.

It feels good to be back at the torch although my arms seem to be a bit sore from my first day back at the gym and yoga yesterday. I'm trying to get back into some of my pre-trip routines and keep the right balance of art and fitness for my well-being. In the past I've had to sacrifice one for the other and now that I'm "retired" I'm finally finding time for both.

Yesterday I went for a little walk for treasures. I didn't have to go far for some good rust pieces at the neighbor's vacant lot. A beautifully rusted lock and part of a red glazed ceramic figure caught my eye. Funny, I didn't see them last year when I was rummaging.

On down the street to the desert hills of ocotillo and cactus, I follow a trail, all within shouting distance of the road near our house. I find a stash (literally) of burlap and rags of Mexican blanket strips and rope, most likely from a smuggling operation. I find the burlap to be nicely tattered and aged and suitable for a future project. We're quite near the Mexican border so there's foot traffic occurring of different sorts occurring nearby. As my walk progressed I inexplicably start to find golfballs. I don't have any use for them in my art but I'm sure my husband might decide to put them to use one day.