The art of looking sideways

is a book I received as a Christmas gift. And what a book it is! My husband has several nicknames for me, one of which is "johnny 5" (from the movie Short Circuit, because I required input on a regular schedule or I go nuts!). And this book provides enough input to keep me satisfied each evening. Reading a paragraph, viewing a drawing, contemplating a definition is very much like savoring a delightful dessert treat after a scrumptious meal.

The book is chaptered or sectioned by experiences, i.e. "culture", "dreaming", "automation"...to name a few.

From the section titled "ECONOMY" is a list of quotes that when read in the order written feels much like a poem. I will type the quote in bold italics and credit the owner in plain text. Enjoy.

Less is more Andrea del Arto by Browning
Less is only more
when more is no good Frank Lloyd Wright
Achieve more with less Norman Foster
Less is a bore Robert Venturi
Less is a snore Gianni Versace
For me more is more Gianfranco Ferre
Less is less Theo Crosby
More of less newspaper headline on a political appointment
Less is more - providing you
had more to begin with Rodney Kinsman
As you get older
less is always more Ivana Trump
More means worse Kingsley Amis
I'm for maximalism,
minimalism is very protestant Ettore Sottsass
More matter with less art William Shakespeare


Trust me, this book is way cool. So much so that I intend to share pieces of it with you as I blog about my beadwork and my life :)

No knowledge is useless Charlene

Lavendar and Yellow?

So here's a pendant I came up with that turned out better than I originally envisioned. I was staring at my delica collection and fondling some swarovski crystals when I realized that just because it's winter does NOT mean I can't bead something for spring! LOL So, using ceylon coated lavendar and yellow delicas, I brick stitched this pendant. The fringe includes 4mm Swarovski Jonquil bicones. I'm finishing up a twisted herringbone necklace and am considering doing some earrings with crystals to match :)

New beadwork

I finally got busy and finished a couple of things. As always, any and all comments are welcome!

This has turned out to be one of my favorite pieces. I used black and gold (22k) delicas, brick stitched and fringed the pendant and used twisted herringbone for the necklace. I finished it off with a vermeil clasp. I find myself wearing it with pretty much every mock turtleneck I own, regardless of the color. I get tons of compliments, so was inspired to produce another brick stitch pendant...see below :)

Now, I need help with finishing this one. I used chocolate brown delicas, silverlined copper and silverlined orange delicas. I'm up for any suggestions. Fringing is fine, though I'd really like to do something different. I'm thinking of possibly adding some dimension by attaching matching triangles in the fringe.

Nothing like a work in progress to keep my fingers itching!

Christmas was wonderful, of course!

And why shouldn't have been? Rick and I went to Warsaw and spent the holidays with Mom, my brother Mike, his wife Tammy and the two kids Eric and Kelly. Rick played Santa - was almost eaten by the dog outside! I felt good so was able to really enjoy spending time with Tammy and the kids :) Presents were wonderful, as always. Overall, we're very grateful to be a part of this family, to be able to enjoy each other and especially to want to be with everyone! I'm waiting for pics from both Mom and Mike...so as soon as they're here I'll post them.

Goofy lights and Now We've got the Spirit!

This little guy is our one and only inside tree. I found it at Target. It has fiber optic lighting that blinks different colors, which is why the lights look a bit blurry...they're blinking. LOL
So, Rick laughed at me when I told him we would have an artificial tree...then he grinned when I set this one up in the dining room. Personally, I think it's as cute as can be. The two gifts underneath are for Rick and our niece Kelly. She'll get her gift on Christmas, when we travel north 4 hours to spend the entire weekend with my brother, my SIL, and the two kids, Eric and Kelly. Oh man, are the kids gonna have fun - Rick will play Santa again! I hope to post great pictures this year!
Told you the outside tree looked goofy! We haven't fixed it, or the other tree just like it, because we're not the only ones who did it this way. Down the road is a house that has red on top and blue on the bottom. Yup, looks just as goofy :) The other tree is only about 2 more feet to my left, but just far enough that I couldn't get it into the picture.

The job is good :)

So far, without thinking beyond the fact I've been at the job for just over 30 days, I like it there. They're people who want to make money, are professional in their dealings with customers, and do not whine or complain when I ask them to stay late or come in early or do extra work.

I've given the department the go ahead to decorate for Christmas. I was quite surprised to learn that they didn't do anything special in their cubicles or in the office in general. Not for lack of wanting, just for lack of encouragement. So, I'm encouraging. I'm also hoping to lead by example by bringing in my own tree and ornaments to sit on my desk, in addition to some garland I want to drape around my office. Oh yeah, I'll also either wrap my office door in Christmas paper or hang a wreath...I'll figure it out once I see how difficult finding our wreaths at home will be!

Rick and I decorated two of our trees in the front yard. This is a big deal - we've never, ever decorated outside of the house before. Actually, its been since 2000 that we've decorated the inside of the house. Mainly because the house has been a wreck for that many years with remodeling. Now that we're close to being finished, we're both getting into the spirit. Anyway, even though more lights are needed, and they look a bit goofy with blue lights on top and white lights on the bottom, I like our two spruce trees being lit up at night.

If I can remember - I'll get pictures of the office and home and post them.

My attempt to string! LOL 8mm unakite beads, bone carved beads and red tiger eye. I like it, though I haven't gotten a single comment on it...other than Mom saying 'hmmm, I guess it's ok' .

Pearl and mottled green seed beads turned out to be the perfect combination for this twisted herringbone necklace. I'm currently working on a pearl pendant to wear with it. I love herringbone, it works up so quickly :)

Lightly twisted herringbone. I was thinking, and drinking, heavily creamed coffee and put some brown and tan beads out on the table. About 18" long, it fits nicely with a turtleneck.

Now on to Christmas! I'm currently awaiting the arrival of special order beads for Kate's pendant, have begun beading a dimensional ornament designed by Paula Adams, and am still in search of a handful of 6mm round sodalite beads for my SIL's watchband.

Thanksgiving - Yum!

Rick and I spent Thanksgiving with Mike and his family in northern Indiana. My Aunt Chris and cousin Kate joined us for the day, while Mom stayed through Monday, and Rick and I stayed through Saturday morning.

Tammy did a great job cooking a fresh turkey. It was simply wonderful - enough so that I will definitely use fresh if I ever cook a full turkey again. I was in charge of the sides and didn't do badly at all - mashed potatoes with lumps to prove they were mashed by hand!, green bean casserole (yuck!, but a hit with those who eat it), and candied yams (again yuck!, but with a hand from Mom there were very few leftovers).

Tammy and I got to spend some good time together - yes, we went shopping, but didn't buy anything that she didn't need. I just love having a SIL. Being the oldest and having only brothers really deprived me of some quality sisterhood stuff. Thank goodness for Tammy!

Rick got yanked on, trampled on, squeezed and hugged pretty much the entire time we were there. The kids really enjoy being around him, and I know he truly loves the attention.

I actually got some beading done! Yes, I was surprised. I did up a few simple twisted herringbone necklaces to match a couple of sweaters. Also got a few orders - one from Tammy and one from Kate. Now I'm on a mission to find delicas in a Green Amber color ? Wish me luck!

No pics at the moment. I'll be posting some new stuff this week, though, so keep checking back.

Terrific ceremony

*sigh* what a wonderful experience to have participated in the vow renewal of such grand people. The crowd was small, but the enthusiasm and support was quite large. Essentially, Katherine and David walked through a ceremony whereby they told each other what the past 28 years have been like and what they hope the upcoming years bring...each speaking quite eloquently about the other. Afterward we took group photos (how I wish I had one to share), and enjoyed finger foods, punch and good company. I enjoyed viewing their original wedding photographs and getting the inside scoop on family members from David. The only glitch to occur was that they forgot the music CD :( How I wish I had known a piano was in the room ... I would have been happy to prepare some terrific music for them. Oh well, maybe next time!

Show not so good but the people were great

Well, the U of L show was a bomb. I sold a necklace. Had I had specific U of L items I am sure I would have sold more. The people were a lot of fun, though. I met some wonderful grandmothers - alumni with grandkids currently enrolled. And I got to hear some interesting stories about 'back in the day'. I also met a wonderful gal who had the booth next to me. Her jewelry designs were quite elegant, using semi-precious and strung seed beads. After numerous conversations (between customers) she may contact me about taking a class. What fun it would be to get back to teaching. It is something I really enjoy doing.

The job has been interesting so far. I spent two days at the manufacturing plant. I would have really enjoyed myself if I could have used some of the machinery. Instead, I stood around, watching someone do their job. I asked as many questions as possible, while trying not to interrupt the worker's rhythm. Whew, am I glad that's over! Nine hours of doing nothing really got to me - just ask my dear husband! LOL

I'm back in the office now and have gotten caught up on paperwork. I'm learning more and more about veneer and its applications - which is good because I can't wait to start selling this stuff! Right now I'm handing sales leads over to my inside reps, but am anxious to start making my own sales :)

Rick's mother has taken a turn for the better. She will be leaving the hospital sometime this weekend (if all goes well). The infection is under control, the bleeding seems to have stopped, and though the doctors can't say for sure what is happening, they're glad that she is healing. Keep the prayers coming because she's not completely out of the woods yet!

Tomorrow my friend Katherine and her husband David are renewing their wedding vows :) Its their 28th wedding anniversary and David has Parkinson's Disease. She's always wanted to renew their vows and kept putting it off. Now that David is showing more symptoms I am glad she's taking the opportunity to celebrate their life together now, rather than later. I'm looking forward to the festivities. She has such a cool range of friends :)