Summer Smoked!

We have been inundated with the sad smell of smoke from all the fires in British Columbia. It has wafted down here and made our days a horrid shade of pinkgray and the smell makes me react in sorrow as I think of all the great forests and trees lost to fire. I pray daily for rain and I want nothing more than the fires to end and the animals and nature recover. I think with pain and sadness for all the people who have lost their treasured possessions. I grieve right along side of all of them and they are never far from my thoughts.

In my grief, I turn to work that is comforting to me. Meditative to my mind and releasing in my emotions. Each movement becomes a prayer. Each turn a wish for rain. I have been wrapping sea glass and turning them into pendants. I have wrapped many as I have fallen in love with the ease of crafting with the bronze wires available now. All through last weekend's studio tour, as the smoke grew into the air all weekend; I wrapped pendants. Here then is a photo.

I think of them as mermaid jewels and like the colors of the waters around here. Aquas, sapphires, cobalt blues. The air may be colored gray and everything coated with a layer of black ash but the water remains...

I have added some of the two hole Carrier Beads into the shop for your design experimentation. These are glass and although I have not tried them yet, I think they will make up into some interesting work. More colors arriving shortly.

Finally, news that makes me excited to share - the building is getting a fresh coat of paint, the first in a very long time. The new sidewalks are in, the rain gardens planted and now, paint!! A great way to wrap up the summer in downtown Port Townsend! 

ps - if you see anything in the photos you would like to order or inquire about, just email me at lois@wynwoods.com or call the shop at 360-385-6131, daily 11 - 5:30. Alas, I am not  modern enough to have an answering machine there but a real person will answer your calls during those hours. Happy Beading my friends! Now off to attempt a rain dance!

STUDIO TOUR

I am studio tour destination # 45 on the map!

Welcome August

Welcome August although I can not say I will be sorry to see you go. I am not a fan of hot weather and each time I view news footage of the fires out here on the west coast, my heart breaks for the people who have lost so much and the many animals that have also had their homes destroyed and lives lost. I say blessings to the people and fire fighters several times a day and include in my prayers one for rain. So August, you can give way to cooler temps and rain and I will rejoice in the better weather.

The days march on in a flurry of shop customers and activity. New beads and buttons are arriving on a near daily basis and that makes for exciting new beady opportunities. Many of the new beads lend themselves for quick stringing and earring projects and we can help you choose them to make the BEST accessories. We are open 11-5:30 daily for the rest of the summer. Come on in, bring your house guests to town and play in the beads!

Here are some of the newest colors in the WHEEL beads. 

I like to use the Czech glass wheel beads, a single hole bead, as a spacer in my jewelry, particularly stretchy bracelets and as cool textural beads in my embroidery work. They add a nice dimension to surface embellishment. They would be striking on quilts and fabric too.

New August display window cube.
The month for beach, sand, shells and treasure!

After the shop closes for the day, since the tides are still reasonably low on my favorite beaches; I like to go and take a quick stroll, breathe the cool salty air and hunt for beach glass, curly little shells and smooth rocks. I have quite the stash of these things, saved for winter days when the beach is cold and abandoned but I can still draw on the memories of sweet finds and in my mind, smell the warm, salty air.

A beautiful dusk photo of Port Townsend by the Mainstreet group.

Port Townsend hovers around the edges of these hot summer days with a slew of activities and concerts. You will find me on the weekend of the 18th and 19th, on the 20th anniversary of the Artist Studio Tour, at my studio...not in the shop although the shop will be open. You can come and see where I bead, paint, do metal work and daydream new projects! My first time on the tour and both days I will be open 10 -4. See you soon!