Going Green with the Theme

I had a bit of fun twisting and curling and hammering the copper wire and adding a patina.

Birgitta Lejonklou of AngelWhisperer made this sleek ceramic focal feather.

Wish I could say that the copper chain was hand forged by me but I'm still using the excuse of being too busy making components to put some good soldering hours under my belt.

I've probably shown this before but it needs to get onto someone else's neck out there

Getting all linky with it.

Which reminds me of my pet peeve of the week. Can you EVER opt out of LinkedIn? I swear I got rid of those mothers  a year or two ago and they have resurfaced again and you have to sign in to sign out.

And another thing. I'm going to try the Twitter some more  with the changes coming up on Facebook regarding promoting your work but I admit it kind of baffles me so if you have any advice on how I can make the most of it I'm open to it.

If you're a fellow Twit you can follow me at @numinositybeads.

I think I'm supposed to dispense short and witty drive-by comments. Is that it?

This old focal came up from the murky depths. It wishes it was labradorite or just to be near some.

Speaking of labradorite, That LoveRoot Nikki Zehler is making some OBSCENE beauties of rings out of some otherworldly cabs. Check her out!

I think I thought these were the same color when I made them...or I was going to make a series and changed my mind. $8 not yet listed.

So here is Bea with her boob stain.

Don't we all feel a little tattered sometimes?

But jewelry makes us feel better, doesn't it?

I'm in love with these...and they are still in the shop!

I made these this week too but some stuff is going before I have a chance to show it.

I've gotten all backwards about this promoting lately.

An old spark plug gapper, slightly enameled

Lovely Jana HappyFishThings droppers with a little of the Roman glass

Another focal bead just waiting for some love.

and speaking of green, i can't forget our old traveling doll friend Candace, wherever she may be.

Happy Solstice you all!

Journeying South Again

Putting the fall in snowfall

 I managed to get a taste of winter in Alaska with an early layer of snowfall before we left and had a  graceful cross country ski out back on the old trail.

We had a full deck of plans as usual this time of year which involved several states and visits and a road trip.

My first adventure after was down in the Hill Country at Lucky Star Art Camp

I had met the organizer Lisa at Squam Art Retreat a few years back when she was one of my roommates. It was her dream to manifest a women's art camp down in the Hill Country of Texas and she made it happen. I vowed to give my self a treat after a very business filled summer of pretty much focusing on my handmade component business.  

I felt I had been neglecting certain aspects of my creativity like the mixed media and journaling that I had been doing a few years back.

My retirement pastime has turned into a full time job it seems!

I  I took a workshop with Mindy Lacefield called "Field Notes" and this guy emerged

I let myself do some freeing journal pages there

I was glad I brought along some of my papers from a Ro Bruhn Etsy set!

We did some reflective nature walking

I took a Mixed Media alchemy class with my friend Corrine Gilman

She challenged us to using just a three colors in our palette and the rest is  just letting your muse go on walkabout.

I took a class on How To Write a Story With write Katherine Center.

She gave us some exercises to loosen us up

I met some great people at the camp and boy did they feed us well. Such a gorgeous location on the Guadalupe River

 After Camp was over we explored a bit in the town of Gruene

Took a short detour to Maine to visit my mum and celebrate my aunt's 94th birthday.

So glad we did. We lost dear old Martha just a few days after her grand birthday party. She had said she wanted to go out in style like her brother Raymond (my father) after a nice celebration.

I guess the those Rogers are true planners.

I ate some incredible seafood stew!

and then headed oback to Austin and got a room at this iconic hotel

It was too cold however to see the bats come out from under the bridge

Sage wisdom at the pizza joint.

We road tripped it back to Arizona and I am back in full production mode for a spell as my shop has been vacant for a bit too long.

I really needed the refreshing break and replenish my well.

The numi-sticks torch fired copper enamel matchsticks are proving ever popular and I try to come up with some different styles.

These are "Painted Desert"

I returned to my vintage tin plate stash and had the idea to cut them up to see how they took the enamels.

Success with the experiment. I love the ghost image of the old paint and the uneven application of the enamels revealing the distressed tin.

I am so pleased to use the frit I made for some more subtle effects

Trying out different finishes

I made a series with murrini

and good old beads

This lady followed me home one night when i visited a neighbor that was down-sizing.

I've named her Bea after my mother in law that I never met...also Bis-Bea

Did I show this already. Some lampwonk that I made way last month

Back to doing my daily desert neighborhood walkies.

Glass mosaic cactus

It's good to be home again

I've Gotta Crush!

I just acquired a frit crusher! This means I can turn big glass into little glass all day.

Crush it!

Pretty glamorous! Heavy metal, man.

I had my big push with my last Numi-matchstick auction and rewarded myself with some play time, ever searching for new effects.

I had some bigger chunks that just didn't seem to work that well like this salmon frit. 

dang autocorrect keeps changing it to grit. But the one that takes the cake is when it turns bicones into bacon. I did an OS update andI've got to figure out how to turn it off.

 Now that it's smaller it has more character melted in.

hauling out old stashes of glass and pulverizing them!

revisiting some old techniques just to see what happens if I add a bit of this over that.

these are super sparkletron in person...you just wouldn't believe!

these nummy numi's too

I achieved a more subtle stoney effect with some great milky frit pieces and a mottled background

pearlescence and sparkle!

OK I wasn't going to let loose of any of my shield dagger shapes ever. I was saving for my own designs but I made a lot so now I'm ready but they will be limited.

just plain old topaz glass frit perked up this enamel

More minimalist numi-matchsticks with some real silver leaf pieces.

I don't want to make these all day long but there are some...also limited

Crubbly crusty whorl. Super happy with it's sage wisdom

 I had some beads make there way back to me. They are glad to be home but I think they wouldn't mind some more travel

Just experimenting with my photo placing the bead on the outside of the light box.

another subtle one with milky salmon frit and an underlayment of sparkle. Very organic.

I paired up some "frayed knots" with Lucy Haslam's

"Tangled" ear wires from her FaeryStones shop. She's got a fabulous new shop with ear wires and handmade chain. I've already put in an order and received some finely finished satiny findings. she takes great care in her work, that is evident.

Just a few short weeks until my annual migration south begins and I will be taking a break until I get settled again around the third week of November. If you have any custom orders you need before then I can see if I can accommodate you.