Portland Art Collective September Giveaway

The Archeologist's FindYou Could Win This Necklace!

If you want a chance to win it, go to Portland Art Collective and post a comment about the necklace. A winner will be picked at the end of the month and it might be YOU! We will contact you by email for your shipping info then. Good Luck! Sorry to say, PAC members are ineligible to enter this give away.

Turquoise is one of my favorite stones to work with. It is such a powerful stone and paired with copper and coral, it reminds me of ancient jewelry worn by great royalty from long gone civilizations.

History of Turquoise
Turquoise is a stone that has been prized for many years. The ancient Egyptians used turquoise in jewelry. Turquoise is greenish-blue or pale sky blue. The name means "Turkish stone" as it came to Europe by way of Turkey. Turquoise was mined more than 6,000 years ago in Sinai. The best turquoise comes from Iran, but not much is exported now. Much turquoise comes from Mexico and the United States today.

Turquoise Gemstone meaning
Turquoise is one of the oldest protection amulets, and was also known as a symbol of wealth in many ancient cultures.

Strength, protection from harm, psychic sensitivity and connection to the spirit world

If given a turquoise by a loving friend, that stone would protect the wearer from negative energy and bring good fortune. The turquoise is the symbol of friendship. It also brings peace to the home.

This stone is a very personal and meaningful stone to one who wears it. Turquoise takes on the characteristics of the owner.

Turquoise carries great wisdom of basic truth within it. It is one of the oldest stones known. This is a stone that a person must learn to attune to instead of the stone attuning to the person. It is important that the owner of a Turquoise give it the proper attention.

Healing properties of Turquoise

Neutralizes overacidity
Alleviates rheumatism, gout, stomach problems, viral infections
Increases growth, muscular strength
Alleviates pain, relaxes cramps
Contains anti-inflammatory and detoxifying effects
Application: should be worn on the solar plexus

Use with copper to increase the power of turquoise.


Red Coral meaning
Coral has been called the 'garden of the sea'. It was once believed to be a plant, but is now known to actually contain living animals called polyps. Coral is the result of accumulated skeletal masses from these polyps. Red is considered the most sought after color but coral also can be found in pink, white, yellow and black.

Records dating back thousands of years confirm that coral was used in decorative art objects. It was believed to prevent ill fortune and offer protection from skin disease when worn as a necklace. Dreams about coral are believed to foretell recovery from a long illness. Ancients believed that Mars was composed of red coral.

Coral is a good aid for meditation or visualization.

Healing properties of coral
Coral symbolizes life and blood force energy. Dark red coral is used for heating and stimulating the bloodstream. Pink shades restore harmony to the heart. It is used as an aid to depression, lethargy or deficient nutrition.

Sources of coral
Locations where coral can be found include the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Australia, the South Pacific, the waters of Japan, and Africa.

Copper meaning
Any stone set in copper or used with copper with have an enhanced energy field. Copper even enhances the energy of silver and gold. There are some stones that are very powerful when used with copper. These stones are:

Azurite
Chrysocolla
Malachite
Turquoise

Copper is a healing metal
Copper has long been used as a healing metal, especially for arthritis and rheumatism. Copper has been used with blood and metabolism disorders. Copper acts as a conductor when worn on the body. Copper will help the healing effect of any stone when both touch the body.

The above information was found at Emily Gems. Search their site for further information on other gem stones you may be interested in. (I am not affiliated with this site.)

Meet Andy

After a lot of tears and the breaking of hearts, HB decided that he needed a new dog. A trip to the hardware store produced an ad with a phone number. He had to wait over the long Labor Day weekend before he would know if the puppy was still available. Tuesday was the day he was able to go pick up his new pride and joy. Andy came into our lives at 12:30, Tuesday afternoon. And what a bundle of energy and joy. This time, HB will be the teacher and caretaker of the new puppy. (I got that job with Bear, and what a job it was!) HB has his office set up for a puppy prison when it's time for bed and Andy seems to feel right at home there.

My 3 Seconds of Calm

At eight weeks, he is all GO then all STOP. He is wearing HB out and it's not even a full day, yet. We started him in a collar today and HB put the leash on him. He is learning very quickly. I think that's why I love the Aussies so much. They are so smart, even at this age.

The Cat is not so happy about this new THING. She is curious, but not to the point of actually going over to it and sniffing it. For now, Andy mostly stays in the shop with Dad and Mira stays in the house with me. I'm sure there will be a meeting of noses sooner than later and a lesson from the Cat right then.

In Memorium

BearMarch 1, 1997 - August 30, 2010

A companion, a friend, a jester, intelligent and kind. A good dog. We love you.

Pirates in a Dragon Boat

Today was the day Portland Art Collective Pirates took to the water and drove a Dragon Boat up the Willamette River. We were truly a sight to see. I don't have pictures, because I didn't want to either lose my camera or get it wet. But, if you go here Portland Art Collective there will be pictures to keep you entertained for quite some time.

We dressed the part and had a rollicking good time. Paddling up and down the river and scaring the water fowl. I'm sure if we had been a bit more graceful, we could have raided the submarine at OMSI. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) But as it is, we stayed in the boat, sang, laughed and got wet. And then we had pizza!

It was a wonderful day!

Strange Goings On

Western Screech Owl

I was sitting at my computer the other night, cruising and perusing. All of a sudden I heard a thud on the window and looked up to see a screech owl trying to get hold of something to land on. His little face was right up into the window, just glaring at me. I don't know if he was trying to catch the moths that are attracted by the light or wanted to try for something bigger, but it was strange indeed!

This little guy was caught by my cat two years ago. She had brought him into my studio. I rescued him and took him outside to recover. He was NOT very happy, to say the least.

More Earrings

I think I'm making up for all the jewelry I didn't create last year. I made these today after I got my daily pair of earrings completed. I'm feeling very good about getting one pair of earrings done each day. It's helped quite a bit in sitting me at the bead desk, and if I don't do anything but the earrings, I do come up with design ideas for other things to do later.

More Beady Things

I've been busy at my bead desk lately. These necklaces are for upcoming shows through the end of the year. There are still a bunch more that I haven't taken pictures of, yet. And...still more ideas for the beads I have and recently purchased. There can never be enough beads!

New Format for Earrings 365

July 25

I decided to change the format for my Earrings 365 page. I was scanning all my earrings and a lot were not coming out well. Actually, very badly. Round things don't like being scanned. So, I will be taking pictures of all my earrings at the end of each week. Sundays will be post day. It's easier for me to do this each week instead of every day. I will still be making a pair of earrings each day, though.

If you have a question or two about certain pairs, please note the date on them and either write a comment on the page or send me an email. I'll gladly answer any questions you have.

All That Jazz

Night and Day

Returned from a reception for the All That Jazz show at the Gresham City Hall a couple of hours ago. It is a wonderful show with lots of beautiful art. I am the only jewelry artist in this particular show. Had a great time making "musical" beadwork for the theme with lots of instrument charms.

Gresham Art Committee is putting on this art show and has pictures up on their website of all the art submitted. Click on CURRENT SHOWS and enjoy the music.

I'm a bit concerned...

The wildflowers have all blossomed out since we had our little heat spell last week. They look so lovely in the pasture, but when I take a stroll through them, I hear very little buzzing. There are white and red clovers, foxgloves, daisies, lupines, dandelions and assorted wild grasses and hardly any bees. I'm out at different times of the day and still very few bees.

This has me worried.

9-18-10
Update -
The bees did finally show up, a bit late. They were busy around all the wild flowers in late July and August. I guess they were just trying to warm up after the cold and rainy Spring we had. I have seen three different kinds of bees on the Stream Orchids by the back door. I feel better now that I know they haven't all left us.

If you are overheated and need a place that your mind can go, here are a couple pictures of a cool, green wood. Enjoy!

Ah...The Wildflowers

All the wildflowers are blooming so beautifully out here. I thought I'd bring a little woodland to you all today.

Daisies
Lupine
Foxglove

Happy 4th!

Earrings 365

Well....July 3rd and I've got three pair of earrings up on my Earrings 365 page. I didn't forget and that's saying something for me lately. Must have too much on my mind. I decided to scan all the earrings so I can get them posted every day. If I wait to take pictures, I might not get any of them up until the end of the month. Not good. Some will be fuzzy, like todays pair, but you can see the basic shape, color and texture. I won't be doing anything with the earrings for now, just storing them in a box to keep the dust off. There are a few ideas that I'm tossing around for the end of this project. I'll let you all know as this thing comes to a close.

Stayed tuned for more beady goodness.

A little catching up and new project

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I wrote last. Life does go by fast when you're having fun, that's for sure! Been busy with a number of beady projects and Z'oodle things. I can't show you anything yet. The show that the beady things are in does not start until the 13th. And...the Z'oodle thing is under wraps until I get my prototypes finished and critiqued. I'm also trying to get some of those books read that I bought earlier this year. (Just bought the 12 volume set of Foxfire books. They are very fun and enlightening to read.)

After reading an article in the latest Somerset Studio , "A Collage A Day" about Randel Plowman's art, I decided to try to do something like that, too. I thought a pair of earrings a day was doable and it will get me at my beading desk. I can't promise I won't miss here or there, but I will give it a good try.

So check out my page - Earrings 365.

The Big Reveal Is Today!

Here is the complete picture of my entry using the Muse as a centerpiece for my Medallion. Scarlett unveiled all the beautiful pieces from the Use The Muse IV challenge today!

Wow! All the fabulous pieces from around the world are so creative, so inspiring, so beautiful! Head on over and check out all the beady wonderfulness.

Detail of centerpiece

Magna Mater Medallion

It's May 5th and It's Snowing

This is what I woke up to this morning. Quite unexpected for this late in the spring. Occasionally it will snow lightly during the day and then melt as it hits the ground, but this time we got about half an inch on the truck! Life in Oregon, wait five minutes, it will change.


It did finally melt off before noon, then the hail storms and the sun breaks filled out the rest of the day. Gotta say tho', I love the clouds this time of year.

Having More Fun At My Bead Desk

Been busy at my beads lately, my Muse keeps coming up with wonderful ideas.



The Rhyolite and Pearl necklace is very rich looking in person. It's so hard to translate colors, texture and feel in pictures. I tried to get a close up of the beads so you could see the patterns. I like working with these Rhyolite beads and will be making more jewelry with them.

The red button earrings are made with two vintage buttons, one stacked on top of the other and then stitched together with seed bead fringe. They are very fun to wear and not heavy. The purple spiky beads are just plain crazy! They are soft rubbery vinyl and so light you forget you are wearing them. They look extremely dangerous, but won't leave a scar if they graze your neck.

Using the Muse

I finally finished my necklace and uploaded my form for Use The Muse IV, a beading challenge hosted by Scarlett Lanson. This was a great challenge. It had some wonderful beads to use and the Muse fit perfect with all of them. According to the rules, I can't say, in any way, what the Muse is until the Big Reveal. Then all of the pictures of the pieces that were sent in will be posted to The Beaders Muse.

I can show you a bit of my piece, tho', but not the Muse.

Magna Mater Medallion Necklace

I was able to use a strand of Rhyolite, some faceted Tigereye rounds and a strand of faceted Picture Jasper rondells with some tinier Tigereye and Jasper beads I had in my stash. While looking through the rest of my stones, I found a bag of Tigereye drops and decided to bring them out and see if they would fit. They did. I ordered extra beads from Artbeads.com (great supplier) and added two colors of green seed beads to it. The colors from the kit inspired me to go with a nature theme and this time of year the weather here can be very dark and rainy with brief flashes of sun. I can look out my window and see the hemlock, douglas fir and cedars. Green branches and great woody trunks, the raindrops on the tips of the branches look like crystals, sparkling when a splash of sunlight hits them. The Magna Mater Medallion Necklace was created from these inspirations.

At first, I was going to make a large barrett, but as the piece grew bigger, decided it would be a necklace. I very rarely sketch things out, and audition fringe and necklace designs on my design board as I need them. I had about five different designs for the fringe this time. So...I did four, saved one for one side of the necklace and made a completely different one for the other side. I like asymmetrical stuff and with the small wooden connectors, that were part of the kit, it was fun to see what I could do. (Of course, I had to order more because we only got two in the kit.) These are very lovely pieces, laser cut and varnished. I think I need to have some more in my stash.

Now comes the frustrating part. I have to put the necklace away and wait for the Big Reveal. I can't wear it out or show it to anyone. As soon as Scarlett gets all the pieces up, (she does this all by herself), I will let you know. In the meantime, go on over and take a look at the previous challenges and don't drool too much on your keyboard. The Beaders Muse

New Spring Drawings

It's Spring and time to get out and see all the beauty popping forth from the ground. There are wild rabbits and a ton of birds all over the place here. I guess that's why these two popped out of my pen. This "bird" started out as a completely different design, but instead wanted to be tall and something other than what was coming out from my brain.

I found a stencil of this bunny and decided to pattern a rabbit for Spring.

Happy Easter to you all!

My Weird Dream

I have to tell you about this VERY weird dream I had earlier this week. It was one of those early morning, just before you wake up dreams. I was in a house cleaning up various rooms. (This is NOT my usual lifestyle. I hate to clean, although I do it with great angst.) I enter a back room that has a number of computers and tons of electronic equipment in it. There is a large closet off to the right which I notice can be organized to better fit all the stuff in it. So...I get it set up and it looks right nice. I decided I won't say anything to my husband (this is his room) and see what he says about the closet. Just as I'm closing the door on the closet, he walks in. It's Jack Webb. I am married to Jack Webb! You know, the Jack Webb of Dragnet fame. Why I am dreaming of him as my husband only a shrink could tell. In my dream he is funny, loving and familiar. It seems we've been married for years. This room is his place for retreat and all the equipment is there for his hobby....to listen to air traffic controllers all over the U.S. Now....I know you can't do that in real life, but dreams have a way of making things seem very realistic and normal. Jack goes over to a desk and pushes a button, a voice comes over the loud speaker, Atlanta is sending another plane off into the darkness. I wake up. "What was that???"

This is one of the strangest dreams I've had in a very long time. I never did get to tell Jack about the closet.