The October display window for my shops is in and celebrates that October is National Breast Cancer Month. Women need to get mammograms at 40 and over, YEARLY ladies and even men can get breast cancer. I had fun gathering pink things to put in the display. Bras, sunglasses, pink yarns, pink beads, and I even knitted a scarf for my mannequin! It is about the only thing I have had time to knit! A very miniature scarf!




The yarn shop part of the display window on Water Street. It features the crocheted bodacious ta-tas that Cathy P made. I debated wether to display them or not as Phil said maybe customers would be offended as the breasts had nipples! Can you imagine crocheting nipples on boobs? What will we think of next? Butter on bread?!




One of the two glass cubes in my front display window. This little bra needed help and had to be " filled out " or rather in. I swear the color pink has always made me happy just to look at it.





This was an interesting bra to work with and display. It was very pretty and the cups were so padded that they stood up on their own. I didn't need to stuff them with tissue!

Now that the seasonal rains have hopefully begun in earnest; we are treated to some incredible cloud formations and colors within them. Sometimes getting up and walking to the window or taking the walk from the house to the studio; I am treated to an ever changing vista of beauty all contained within the clouds. So very pretty. The sky makes me grateful to be alive and makes me hope that when I pass from this earth I will be an angel that floats and lives among them. The heavens.




More clouds on the horizon. Hidden deep within them are the Olympic Mountains with their brand new, fresh for the season dusting of snow.

Here in my much loved shop or playground is where I have spent the past week. I like looking a the shop in a picture; it helps me see the space much as a customer might see it. Truly it is the home of my imagination and creativity, a fountain from which my energy flows.




Two jewelry displays in the shop on a front counter. I may not get as much time to play in the studio making new things, new designs but I do keep my displays as full as possible. This keeps me busy at the height of tourist season often remaking the most popular designs as they sell. Not a sale goes by that I do not feel happy, blessed every time someone purchases a piece I made!




This is the entry to my shop; accurately referred to as the " lobby ". When the sun streams in through the upper multi paned windows; everything seems perfect and right in its place.

Happy first day of fall! It is here although it is to be in the 80's today and tomorrow; I am welcoming this, my favorite season! I feel energetic and inspired and full of life in this seasons!

On this beautiful Monday I begin this posting with a picture of the waterfront in Port Townsend taken on my early morning walk downtown. It just feels content, peaceful, the water all smooth and the boats barely moving on the current. Somedays, when the world seems crushing and people make mean comments about each other or reference misunderstood acts, it is nice to remember there is calming peace in that which is the everyday.

Respect. Respect for oneself and one's work. Sounds like an ego trip or a mouthful of artist speak. I have always respected my work and the efforts and energies I have put into creating, making and doing a line of work regardless of wether it is one of my charms, a piece of jewelry, a painting or arranging my shop. It is all my creative outlet and all my body of work to me. I respect it and I respect the end result.

As an artist, I have of course had pieces copied or reproduced. It is not at all my favorite thing to encounter but because I am creative, blessed with proliferation; I have work everywhere at all times. I just move on to the next thing. Never stagnant, always working, always respectful of the work and play that turns into my new pieces. Sometimes it seems as though it is through the measure of other's, the imitation of what I have done by others; that lights a fire under me and gets me going in a new, creative direction!

Whatever it is, I am thrilled, THRILLED to be able to do what I do. Not a day goes by that I do not consider it a blessing to be able to do what I love! If I had a wish for the world, it would be that everyone find work that they love and feel happy to be able to do.

Altruistic? Maybe. A wonderful thought? Definitely.

Andrea's birthday dinner at Lanza's Ristorante

These party pictures do not exactly appear in the order that I wish they did so like my life, it is a bit disjointed and tells a story here and there. Anyhow, this is Sally, Andrea's stepmom, with a laugh of redemption after she wondered when I might be turning 50!! HAHA - I am already there and a bit beyond at that! Why did she have to redeem herself? Because she bought a bead ( A BEAD!!! ) at another ( another!! ) store in PT as a gift for Andrea! Can you believe it? I will be teasing her about this for a very long time....


How does this fabulous meal look? Make you feel a bit hungry? It was so full of flavor and texture and I enjoyed every bite of it in celebration of Andrea's 48th birthday! Happy Birthday, Andrea & many more!




A portrait of Andrea and her stash of birthday loot!



This single flower stem was in a vase on our dinner table at Lanza's and it was so pretty in a true scarlet with radiating lines of yellow from the center. It sat right in front of me and I was hypnotized by it!

This is the sky on Sunday evening. Is it not beautiful? Breathing in the slat air on the ferry ride, seeing the mountain and the colors of the sky near the sunset made me feel just happy to be alive in this glorious place!




If you look very closely, you can just barely see the mountain poking through the weather changing sky on Sunday night's ferry ride from Edmonds to Kingston. I never get tired of seeing any of the mountains.

The fabulous weekend bead show banner created in one hour in a hotel room with the effervescent Lisa my creative muse and co conspirator!



The Northwest Bead Society show was a blast. We had so much fun seeing friends and eating great meals with Lisa that I almost did not want the weekend to end! The best part was the fun I had with Lisa of Zizzyzaza Beads. I had forgotten to pack any banners for my booth, I can not begin to tell you where my head was; so we walked across the street to the fabric store and spent $22 buying stuff so I could make a banner. Then I told her Huckleberry Finn style, how much fun she would have helping me make this banner.... and presto, an hour later this beautiful piece of artwork was finished! HAHA - it was was 2 art students putting all their education to great use! How you may ask, did we get all those sequins and paillettes on the banner in just the right places? We shook them up in our hands, threw them across the banner and glued them where they landed! Sparkles are us!

I am going to post pictures that were taken during my weekend at the Northwest Bead Society show, where I did have fun, see friends and ate great food but first I just wanted to whine a bit! My medical bills have started to arrive and so far they exceed my ENTIRE LAST YEAR'S INCOME!!! What narrow minded, ignorant fools ( and I sure as hell hope these fools take no government assistance ie, medicare, medicade, social security, flood insurance etc. ) could say that we, the richest country in the world, does not need a medical plan available AND affordable to ALL its citizens!!! I am certain I will be on a path to war as I begin letter writing campaigns to congress, the senate, Glen Beck ( major fool ) and anyone else I can think of! Wake up everyone!

Before the weekend's journey begins at the bead show ( we do get a pretty ferry boat ride before getting there ) I will leave you with this quote that I like. I can not remember where I found it but I like it nonetheless. Enjoy.




This is where I will be for the weekend, at the Lynnewood Convention Center in you guessed it, Lynnewood! It is the annual Northwest bead society Show and I will be a vendor of beautiful beads, charms and jewelry. Hope to see some old friends and customers and make new friends and customers. The weather is slated to be hot ( 84 -86 degrees !!!!! ) so that may keep people at the beach and parks but really, beaders, the wet weather will arrive and you will need beads for your sanity while indoors!

I really intend to write an actual post today and of course, tell you wonderful arty and creative things but I could not let another moment go by that I did not say this is 9-9-9. I love numbers that have a rhythm or movement to them in the order they are placed and today's date is no exception. Pretty cool.

Corrupters! Andrea who got me hooked watching this HBO series and Kathy who enabled me to keep watching it by loaning me season 1 on DVD! I love it! Part of it appeals to me as it is set in the modern yet sleepy south and a small part attracts me because Bill, the handsome vampire is a Civil War veteran. I am such a Civil War buff. What would it be like to meet someone who fought in the great war of the North and South? What questions would I ask? All of this is interesting and has me thinking about things southern. I will keep watching.

Clouds gathered and dispersed all day as the storms they brought in leapt upon us in brief moments of fury. This raw, full of mystery set of clouds made me want to run and hide under my bed as they looked at once so ominous and angry tonight.






These clouds rose so strong and billowy above the mountains to the west of me. I liked the play of light across their surfaces; the storms they portend.




This grouping of clouds was my favorite as it seemed as if it were illuminated from within and heaven was almost at my grasp.

Driving to work with Jacob, we passed this little landing on the beach of this sailboat and then another boat soon joined it. It was the first big wind of the year and off these two boats drifted! Oops! How embarrassing for the owners. Jacob was very excited to see the; he wanted to run right out on the beach and touch them!




So some days you find smooth sailings on the waters of life and others, you just can't make it beyond the beach! HAHA!

Hearts

I have this thing for heart images. I draw them all the time, design them in silver, tattoo them on my body and see them in the world around me; rocks on the beach, clouds in the sky, puddles of water. People, mostly women, will tell me how much they hate hearts and all I can do is feel a bit sorry for them I mean, it is a harmless, loving image. What's not to like let alone hate? I have even thought of myself as being uncool ( me! noooo ) for liking hearts but now I am embracing them. I will honor them and all that they mean to me and all that I can do to practice my loving heart!

The ceiling of the sky bridge to Tacoma's glass museum with works by Dale Chihuly proteges. It is very impressive!




August is usually the month, and it extends clear through the Wooden Boat Festival; that I do not get to be creative in my studio. I think of it as a time to put one foot in front of the other and just make the jewelry that keeps the racks, cases and displays full in the shop. This year, I fell a bit behind due to the TIA stroke thing but I am in the rhythm now and have been making lots of replacement jewelry. While doing this my mind is spinning ahead to all the creative things I I want to make a do once the fall weather hits. Then of course, there is Tucson to get ready for all the way into February.