Today's the Day

I drive into the morning fog on my way to Tucson, where there are lots and lots of beads and lots and lots of people who love beads. I will get to visit with so many friends that I often get to see only once or twice a year. And spend solid time with friend Susan who lives 8 hours north of me, so we are usually communicating by phone or email but not today. Today we will spend 6 and one half hours together on our way to Tucson. This is our third or fourth Tucson trek together and this time we will both be teaching some classes at the Swarovski Create Your Style event, and fitting in shopping and visiting as time allows.

My friend Susan Blessinger will be there representing Wire Knitz, a product she has done some amazing designs in. And my friend Jeannette Cook will be there selling her eclectic colorful jewelry kits, and my friend Judi Patuti will be there with bead mats, assisted by my friend Susan. And I'll see friends Tracy and Janice the wired arts girls, and Debi from Beads of Colour and Kate, and if I'm really lucky Maggie Meister.

And I will shop for beads. Most of my kit needs are covered and I will concentrate on some things to use in the various book projects that are planned these next few months. Speaking of which Susan and I brainstormed some new designs last night. It's so wonderful to have another
beader in the studio to work through the engineering of design considerations.


Unlike the hard freeze of last year the weather is supposed to be days of 70 and evenings of mid 40's, perfect!



I've got the iPad so I'll keep you posted!

Entertaining

I have always loved having guests....and until this home I have never had a proper guest room, so here I really enjoy being able to have visitors. My friend Lynne just left, was that only two weeks ago?! and today Susan arrives...One of the things I've made tradition is to welcome my guests with their very own sign. And this one is Susan's.


Given our bond over Swarovski Crystals (The Beading Frenzy is a Swarovski recommended store), and I've been known to use a crystal or two...I thought this would be a fitting sign.



I love making and personalizing the signs for my guests.

And speaking of crystals, yesterday I had the pleasure of the Dixon Chick and the Crystal Ninja coming to visit.



Stephanie (aka The Dixon Chick) came from Toronto with a one day lay over in San Diego. She stayed with Kellie (aka the Crystal Ninja) who gave Stephanie her first experience on the Pacific Ocean. Stephanie's enthusiasm is infectious. We met 3 or 4 years ago at Bead and Button and again when I taught in Toronto last year. Stephanie and Kellie are both also Swarovski Ambassadors and so I will spend more time with them in Tucson.....speaking of which I leave tomorrow morning and I really should think about packing!

Will keep you posted on our Tucson outings!

Still keeping it simple

Here is the first of the three Beading by the Bay pendants I completed.



Only, as sometimes happens the button I originally chose was no longer available in quantity. I needed at least 36......so it was time to look for a suitable replacement. Well, not just merely suitable (suitable brings to mind, one that will do). I didn't want to compromise this design at all, with so many participants looking forward to this color way.

I sourced one I thought would work but it turned out the size was not right.

For the bezel to fit, it needed to be 1 1/4" so I knew it was going to be challenging. But I think I succeeded brilliantly with this custom painted button from Susan Clark Originals.



They have been a pleasure to do business with, going through potential options with me and finally coming up with this one. The bottom drop is a verde custom coated Swarovski drop and the pretty little closure bead is a Czech rivoli. Such a soft, romantic color palette.

sometimes simple

Sometimes simple is best.

The Aelia pendant is reversible with an encrusted medallion on one side



and a button on the other.



A bit of crystal swag supports a large Swarovski pendant in Crystal Silver Night.

The pendant is it's own jewel although I did want it to hang from a long necklace. Something simple that in no way competed with the main attraction. So I went back to a tried and true spiral rope. I like that it uses two of the pendant colors to compliment the piece, has some depth and texture, but provides a smooth backdrop.

The beaded bail is another study in complexity, and carries forward the metallic feel of this piece with metal beads from Tierra Cast in it's embellished center.



The pendant's medallion center is a large bali spacer also lending a touch of metal.



Since black and grey are my go to colors for apparel I expect to be wearing this one often!

Deadlines

What is it that makes the task expand to the time allowed? I probably could have finished all that needed doing to meet my first book deadline before the deadline arrived.....but I didn't, although the last book I did turn in a week early.

I suspect it has to do with the fact that prior to the REAL urgency setting in, we take more downtime, more leisurely strolls, or time outs, or days of less then optimum focus and then, the deadline looms and we take less downtime, get up earlier to walk, limit our time outs, and increase our focus.

That is where I'm at, the increased focus part.

I actually love the process of organization. For each project I have screen shotted (yeah, probably not a word), the visual supply list,


printed the illustrations, formatted a word file of text and three hole punched each copy into a notebook. The actual pieces hanging on a bulletin board.

My illustrator skills continue to improve and have gotten to the point where I don't start each new project in trepidation, which is a positive development.

This is one of the pieces I will be teaching at the Swarovski Create Your Style event next week in Tucson.



For now I will be heads down for the next couple of days!

Fresh perspective

As is so often the case, a fresh day brings a fresh perspective. Thanks to all yesterdays well wishers. I spent the afternoon doing some beading and finished up a focal for the new book, now how to work it into a wearable piece of jewelry.

Inspired by my friend Rachel I am walking, although not the 6 miles she completes every day, but I'm feeling good about the commitment to three miles per day. I do wish I had the beautiful West Cliff ocean to walk on. My San Diego ocean while beautiful is in the commute direction so an early morning walk there is difficult. I reserve that for weekends when Maya can come along to dog beach.

I took myself to bed early with an ibook, The Cookbook Collector, recommended by a friend. Since the story takes place in the 90's in both Silicon Valley and Boston, much of the setting is familiar to me and I am enjoying the read very much. I am however impatient for the ipad3 to be released, for it's lighter format. Holding the heavier iPad1 is a bit hard on my hands. I'd opt for a kindle but I want to keep my device inventory to a minimum and I use the iPad features for on the road blogging and when I finally get the 3 (I skipped the 2) I will use it to FaceTime with the grand baby.

I was presented with an unexpected challenge yesterday when I discovered the button I sourced for my Beading by the Bay project is just enough too large to not fit it's crystal bezel. So I will be adding a button search to my day's activities.

And more illustration.....

just a few more days and then off to Tucson where I will stay at the Westin La Paloma resort, teach at the Swarovski Create your Style event, meet with my fellow Swarovski Ambassadors, travel with my Beading by the Bay partner Susan, and shop for beads. That promises to be a good week! We leave Tuesday!

It's that kind of day

the self doubt kind....I know some of you may want to reassure me my designs are good, I've enjoyed success in the bead world, my first book continues to do well, and thank you, on a rational level I know all that. And still days come up when you question your abilities to produce a beautiful design. When you compare your work to others, and even then I know they do their work and I do mine. I'm sure I will banish the blues shortly, after all I don't generally share this part of my life. I know I am lucky to be doing what I love, living in a home that nurtures me, living with a partner who always stands in support of me. And yet...I am having one of 'those' days.

Do you have 'those' days? It's funny, I'm within hours of completion on a piece that I love, I have a bulletin board full of designs I'm happy with.....my illustrator skills continue to improve....some days are just like this. I think a cup of tea and a little rest are in order.

I'm leaving you with a happy image from a fabric produced by Tina Givens.



I want to bead this whimsical little house, go inside and take a nap.....

Keeping me company

My friend Pat sent this darling owl to join my growing owl collection. She pinked his hair to match mine and he just totally cracks me up every time I look at him. It's nice to be reminded to be cheerful since I have a busy week, with the first of the book deadlines arriving at the end of the week with simultaneous Tucson preparation, and some tax work thrown in for good measure.

The owl is keeping me company in front of my iMac and makes me smile multiple times a day.



The good part is that I am feeling pretty confident with illustrator now and can work out how to do most things that need doing. I still find it challenges like the best way to show tubular beadwork, or how many steps to break something into to make it simple enough but not too cryptic. It is getting easier with each new project though.

I had another small studio change, mounting three black bulletin boards above the bank of storage cabinets. I've pinned up all the completed book pieces and it's nice to see evidence of them growing in numbers.



I didn't intend for you to see the pieces, sorry.....just helping to picture the bulletin boards. I bought them years ago at Crate and Barrel. They are mesh and magnetic, so both push pins and magnets work, and their kind of stylish.


Weather Underground predicts 100% chance of rain today so I think I best get my walk over with early since it hasn't yet started. Then back to the computer.

I took yesterday off, had lunch at Balboa park and visited three museums. We're members at the Mingei and the Art Museum so short trips for special exhibits are easy. The Mingei currently has a polymer clay exhibit and the Art Museum an installation of modern Mexcian art. But the highlight was the Natural History museum which had 'All that Glitters' a gem and mineral exhibit with both examples of the raw stone and beautiful jewelry made from the stones. It was exquisite.

On a cold rainy night

Beef Stew seems like a fitting choice. I have a new aqua Le Creuset pot. I love the one pot method of cooking, and as Mark generally does clean up, so does he. As I have lamented before we never get snow in San Diego, but for those of you with snow this would be an excellent dinner on a snowy night.



1 tbs olive oil
1 large onion thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds beef top round, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch chunks
2 cups dry white wine
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
2 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 lb oyster, chanterelle, or white mushrooms

1. Heat oil in medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook stirring, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add all remaining ingredients except mushrooms and thyme leaves. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered 1 hour.
3. Add mushrooms and thyme to pot and simmer, covered until meat is fork tender, about 1 hour longer.

Serve with a salad and crusty french bread and if you're so inclined a nice bottle of red wine. Enjoy!

I do love my sparkle

So this fanciful wall hanging from the Paisley line at Kati Koos caught my eye.



I've been shopping at Kati's for probably about fifteen years. Her store is in San Francisco on Sutter and is a treat to visit. She has a very eclectic clothing line and I always find something wonderful there. Of course these days San Francisco is a trek, so I sign up for Kati's newsletter which is always entertaining and full of enticing photos. And Kati is happy to ship. You just have to be fast, I called within two hours of the newsletter on a 'Dressed to Kill' piece I was interested in and it was already sold! So I placated myself with the fun sparkle wall hanging instead.

Yesterday I visited the LA gift show, found a few ribbons for my packaging, some Roman glass shards, and a wonderful flamed table fire place for the veranda.
Mine is black (surprise). It is from a Belgium based company and I caught the rep off guard when I asked if he spoke Nedelerands in my very rusty Dutch. Turns out he did and his business partner Henrick was actually from Haarlem where I lived in 2003.

It was a fun day of friendship, traveling with pals Susan and Judy. We finished the evening up with an outdoor table at LA Live (where I've never been) think Times Square LA version. I had a beautifully prepared beet salad with small colorful roasted beets, tossed with arugula in a lightly sweetened balsamic, accompanied by soft fresh mozzarella. Delightful.

Back to illustrating beads today....it's rainy, so the perfect day for computing in the studio.

Chrysolite ab2x

So far at least I don't think I have found an ab2x crystal that I don't like, and chrysolite opal is one that I love. I'm having to focus on illustration at the moment, yesterday finishing up myTucson timeless elegance bracelet class, so this project is one ellipse away from coming together....



Perhaps this evening I will get to see it come into the form I am imagining. Jamie used this chrysolite ab2x combination with dorado and bronze for her dream keeper vessel ring, but I forgot the opal part and ordered plain chrysolite. It's still darn pretty though. These are reversible with the other side being a luscious frosted aqua seed bead you can see peeking out the bottom, and that pinky gold metallic seed bead I love so much.

For the record, I used one G instead of fire line and I'm ok with it. I don't know if there is the perfect thread....There was a day I loved silamide and I may try that on for size again. Nymo is the one thread I just can't work with. I seem to fray and shred it somewhere in the first few stitches. Yes, yes I have the cones, but sticking to black and white is more challenging when RAW is your go to stitch and the thread is more showy then in peyote or brick or ladder or most other stitches.

What's your current thread of choice, and if you're inclined what are it's best characteristics?

I'm off to the LA gift show with friends tomorrow. I've never been and there isn't anything I need, and I'll be in Tucson in two weeks, but it is an opportunity to spend the day laughing and getting out and about and off the computer. My neck will thank me. Saturday is forecasted to be raining which will be the perfect weather for indoor focus when I will return to book illustration. There is one waiting for me that I predict is going to be challenging. Sometimes the biggest challenge is trying to show the process simply .....I hope that seems obvious to me when I sit down to do it.

Tucson

Since if you are reading you are very likely a fan of beads, then you also probably know that Tucson turns into a giant bead show, well several giant bead shows, the first two weeks of February. I have been going for the last several years and this year is no exception.

Susan, Beading Frenzy and Beading by the Bay partner Susan and I will be driving together. This year I will be participating in Swarovski's Create Your Own Style event at the Westin La Paloma resort. You can find the link to workshops here.

New this year is a one day design competition hosted by Margot Potter. You'll be provided with inspiration, materials, tools and encouragement as you spend the day designing. Sounds like an excellent way to spend one of your Tucson days.

I'm teaching two workshops, although Diamond Weave pendant is currently sold out, there is room in the Timeless Crystal Pearl Bracelet class on Wednesday from 5:30 to 8:30.





Peruse the catalog as there are many Swarovski Elements projects being offered. There is sure to be one that catches your fancy.

photo shoot

Yesterday was spent at a birthday lunch for Judi Patuti. We to date have done all of our birthday lunches at the C - level lounge where the accomplished Deborah Scott is chef. And when she is in the kitchen she will make an off menu Ahi Tuna nachos with fried wontons which is truly amazing. It's a birthday tradition for us. The day was cool but sunny and the bay side table afforded a lovely view of the water. It made me nostalgic of Mark and I's sailing days.

After lunch Gail and I went to her place to photo all of the beautiful spaces she has created in her home. She is a watercolor artist, and of late has been putting together the most beautiful terrariums and pairing them with her paintings. She has also created vignettes of artistic serenity throughout her yard, home and studio. It was a fun day and here a just a couple of the shots I captured.

I especially love the glass globes

Here is one of several koi in her koi pond. A deck overlooks the pond and creates a serene sanctuary
This is a pairing of a globe and one of her watercolors



My 'days off' have come to an end, and today I will be illustrating. There is much to be done before I leave for Tucson in two weeks!

The red car

I was perusing Lorelei's blog the other day and found this photo of a new bracelet.



and since I now own it, I could have taken a picture, but Lorelei took this one so beautifully, I decided to use hers.

I love the imagination she shows when stringing up an old red car with a bunch of turquoise beads. She always has an eclectic selection in her Etsy shop.

In other news my friend Gabriella and husband Jeroen are blogging, and they always have something of interest to say. They recently spent the week in Tucson with Kate working on the photoshoot for Geometrics, with Gabri being an excellent desert fairy model. The photos by Kyle Cassidy are mindbendingly good (borrowed from Kate's vocabulary, but accurate)

Jean Power is also a force on the Geometrics book and was there in Tucson. You will want to check out all of the blogs and of course order a copy of Geometrics which is going to be a work of art.

Ring love

On Saturdays outing I stopped into Pigment in North Park. It is an eclectic small space with a mix of terrariums, gifts and jewelry. They also have a range of terrarium making tools, vessels, sands and other things to create your own terrarium. That is for another day....but on this day I found this ring.

I was totally enamored with the structure of it and asked about the artist. It turns out it is a collaboration of two former MIT students who are using nature to create images and 3 d printing to render them. The jewelry was very interesting and a visit to their website and blog revealed many more pieces including dinnerware, housewares and lamps.

Of course I want to get out the gilders paste and flat backs and embellish....and I totally want a 3 d printer!

Joshua Tree

More images from our day at Joshua Tree National Park, these from the big camera...

I love the shadows on this split rock

Decide for yourself, it was labeled skull rock

I love this photo of Mark
the ever whimsical Joshua Tree

and the iconic butterfly roof of the mid century modern homes of Palm Springs form the self guided driving tour we did. This is the neighborhood that I thought I might be able to live in. I love the front lawn planters

I loved Palm Springs

Yesterday we did the self guided driving tour of many of the mid century houses Palm Springs has to offer. I discovered a neighborhood where I actually thought it would be possible to l live. Not that I am considering moving mind you, but I was really attracted to the design aesthetic of the low roofs, the clean lines, the small footprint and the backdrop of the dramatic mountains.

Once I upload the photos, I'll share some. We followed that by a meal at Cheeky's, not sure why it is called that, but it had a really eclectic menu and the food was both beautifully prepared and presented. Breakfast was served all day and I passed up the rice porridge with shredded duck and crisp wonton in favor of chantelle mushrooms on toast points with gruyere cheese and two eggs.

We stopped in a neighboring shop where I came across a selection of Tokyo milk which happens to be my all time favorite hand cream, lightly scented shea butter. If I see it I pick it up. Their soap is also lovely.



I've decided to take a break from the project that isn't sorting itself out to my satisfaction and work on a different one for today. Beading is on this morning's agenda followed by a trip to the Grove.

Desert beauty

Yesterdays trip to Joshua tree national park was full of beauty and whimsy.


Here the jumbo rocks fun for climbing


And the whimsical Joshua trees, often referred to as Dr. Suess trees.


These by the way are iPhone photos automatically uploaded to the iPad, it was operator error, the iPhone was not on wifi. Pretty nice shots for a phone.


The Joshua Tree national park encompasses the intersection of the Mojave and Colorado deserts. The drive is easy and scenic taking about an hour with no stops. Had I thought ahead, a picnic lunch and a full day in the park would have been a great way to spend the day...

but I didn't and so we left mid day for a late lunch back in Palm Springs followed by and afternoon of beading. The jury is out on the results unfortunately. An error introduced early on and an uninspired color choice deems this piece not quite right, but I think there is potential and I'm not quite ready to abandon the idea. I do wish it were further along the design curve, but sometimes that is just how it goes.

Technology failure

I sometimes marvel at how technology works and then sometimes I am frustrated. Or in other words I can't show you photos since I forgot the little photo loader to the iPad, photo stream is not working and blog press on the phone, where the pictures are requires a flicker upload to include pictures.

sigh...

we arrived in Palm Springs to beautiful weather and just enough cloud cover to keep the sky interesting. we visited a couple of lovely shops, cocktailed (yes it can be a verb) and dined at Shanghai Reds.

I did cubic raw in my mind all night and I have a plan....but first breakfast and the Joshua Tree national park.

And just because who can resist this precious face I searched the iPad photo library and leave you with Miss Maya

Red in the Morning

Sailors Warning? Well fortunately I won't be sailing today.




Mark alerted me to the beautiful sunset. I took camera outside in my bathrobe and crossed the street in order to get the no electrical wire shot. This is the top of Mount Miquel which we fly over on any approach into San Diego.

Today we're off to Palm Springs where we will visit the Joshua Tree forest, the springs, and do a Mid Century home self guided tour.

I'll be bringing beads as I have some ideas brewing, although I'm not sure I'll find much beading time. I am in love with the last pair of earrings I did but I'm still in non sharing mode, so sorry. I'm making excellent progress as the Beads in Motion designs continue to present themselves. It's always hard for me to know when I'm in the midst of the design process if the body of work is compelling. When I can stand back and take an objective look I'm quite pleased with the results so far.

I think it's time for me to pack a few things for our outing, and remember, it's a sailors warning kind of day, so you best just stay in and bead instead.

Bead and Button Registration opens at Noon CST

This year I offered four classes...it's enough with the other commitments I have. As always the talented Liz will be with me in the classroom. I'd be hard pressed to be organized without her and I hope I never have to face that!

Crystal Collage (a new color way, one of my favorites)

The Rising Sun (last years first our sell out, and the most picked color)

Lilliana (new this year, cubic raw with a St Petersburg bail and necklace)
Dancing Light (new this year, lot's of sparkle!)

Here is hoping that you fill up your class card just the way you want. It is a show where I see many of my favorite people, sometimes the only time during the year. Hope to see you there!

Beaded Laughter

Have you read? The brainchild of Sylvie Landsdowne, who has a quick wit and uses it to entertain us

This one was dedicated to me and Liz, who share a love of Sam Elliot



Although the Beaducation girls got Johhny Depp....

and congratulations go to

Comment Number 51 (I skipped duplicates)



Beadwoman3 said...
Would love to add these to my library! Thanks!

Please click on the link to my website on the side bar and use the Contact Us form to send me your details.

A day of friendship ensues, as I meet my girls at Panera bread company over at Liberty Station where we will knit, bead and catch up with one another. And then I pick up a dear friend from the airport and we will spend a week together. There's a trip to Palm Springs, where this time I've printed out the tour of mid-century houses and that's on the list of things to do. Beyond that, we'll walk, knit, bead, cook and enjoy one another's company.

As promised, a book giveaway

This sweet little set of Lark's Studio series, Leading artists. Signature works. Creative exploration



Here is a close up of one of the pages in Earrings.



Being a jewelry girls I do love the Earrings and Pendants books best, but then there are tables, chairs, dolls, handmade books, ceramic sculptures, and art tiles. Quite a bounty for one lucky reader.

Leave a comment and tomorrow morning I will use the random number generator to pick the winner. Be sure to check back so if you've won I can get in touch with you. If unclaimed by next Tuesday I will pick a different winner.

Ready Set Go!

A day for beads

I illustrated every day last week, and I made huge strides in my learning, and if I worked all day today and tomorrow, I may get close to catching up where I need to be....but I can't.

I need a day that doesn't include being at the computer all day. Yesterday I taught, and today I am going to take the beads, an audio book and some design ideas and spend the day on the veranda.



It's the perfect beading weather and I'm pretty sure I'll be better off for taking the time out.

And after all, beading needs to be done as well, so it's not exactly a day off. I look forward to seeing what I can accomplish with beads today.

Oh and stay tuned....I think tomorrow will be a blog giveaway day, so you may want to check back!

Teaching

A while back Erin, owner of Beadology in Huntington Beach California asked me if I would teach a class at her shop. It's rare that I teach close to home, well relatively speaking....I don't have to take a plane or spend a day of travel, so it's easier to justify and fit in a one day class.

So tomorrow I take a break from illustrating Beads in Motion and drive up to Beadology where I'll be teaching Aurelia.



It's a nice project with ndbele medallions, topped with right angle weave medallions, each tip embellished with a Swarovski loch rosen, one of my favorite sew on stones. It's always fun to see what colors people will choose, it seems to be one of those designs that prompts the most versatility.

On Sunday I'll be doing some prep work for Beading by the Bay and next week will be spent visiting with a friend, and beading while I visit.

But soon, I want to tell you about this years travel plans.

There is a Beadventure on the schedule in New York in October and Maggie Meister will be joining me. We will be traveling to museums, exploring the garment district, walking in central park, frolicking in SoHo,oh and we'll bead of course. We'll be talking about the design process, mine in particular. I really want to tantalize you because it is going to be an exceptional trip and I want you to have plenty of time to plan.

and there is Bead and Button, and there is the Southern Bead Retreat....so stay tuned for more details. There are so many of you I like to spend time with, I hope there will be a class you can join.

Crystals!

I'm getting ready to kit Beading by the Bay's Aeilia and ordered the necessary crystal....and then some. I'm blaming the chrysolite ab2x on Jamie. She made her dream keeper vessel ring (sadly no picture, what was I thinking) using these, or were they chrysolite opal, Jamie? Anyways, that and the dark red coral ab2x on the right side were design stash purchases.

That means they have no immediate kitting requirements, I just liked them. Do I need ten gross because I like them? Probably not, but then if I do use them I have lot's and given many of my designs use up to a gross of crystal (Aeila has 200 3 mm's) it's nice to have plenty.

One of the book palettes calls for the chrysolite, so that should work nicely.

Back to the drawing board today.....I managed to 'lose' a bead yesterday, which translates to ten of my illustrations need to be redrawn. Yes I did hit save, often, it just means I 'saved' the mistake I made by deleting a symbol that was being used, yes it warned me, 'this symbol is being used do you really want to delete it ?' I thought I did, I thought I knew what I was doing, I was wrong. And when the time machine should have saved me, instead the error reads, this adobe illustrator file was not saved with the pdf option enabled, you need to go back and save it again....that's paraphrasing but that is the gist....no back up of the file that I can open.

One more thing to sort out, if I can't count on the time machine back up software to reliably back up adobe illustrator files, that is a bad thing. So today more technology challenges. I wonder as we age if we'll be able to keep up....each new software update seems to bring up things that work differently and many times you have to go ferret out the answer.

Want to lock your iPad's screen orientation (you know so you can read in bed without it flipping between portrait and landscape) used to be a button....now press the home button twice and scroll right on the menu screen until you see the screen lock option. Really? How am I ever going to remember all this?

Photo stream was working on my IMAC, taking a picture on the phone or uploading to the iPad or putting the memory stick in the IMAC, all photos ended up in photo stream to be used....pretty convenient until it stopped working, for no reason I can tell. I will sort it out when it becomes important enough, but cumulatively all of these technology challenges add up and make me weary.

Ok, I'm going to relax now, take a deep breath and open Adobe Illustrator.

More Whimsy

Side by side...we wandered around the yard deciding where the third outdoor (I have my first one in the living room) totem should go and in the end we decided side by side. I am pretty sure that I need one more short one to round out these two, but I am going to refrain from mentioning that quite yet.




Here is another shot of the veranda totem with the sun glistening behind it.



Yesterday was a breakthrough day with illustrator. The one that took me from constantly anxious, to I may actually be getting this.
In the beginning Rachel sat with me an entire day and I have my notes and it was instrumental in me getting started, but at the time I didn't know what I didn't know, so I missed asking things that would have been useful. Sometimes you need to wait until you are further along the learning curve to take on extra bits of knowledge. Yesterday two different bead illustrators came to my rescue with pertinent knowledge and made a huge leap in my learning curve.

And then I accidentally discovered the eraser tool on my wacom tablet pen when I had inadvertently turned it upside down and started to draw. That was a fun moment.

After that I decided to play with 3 d a bit and here is a pretty good jumping I drew. I had drawn another before I discovered the scissors and join anchor point tools, and I had to improvise for the split, then I redrew it with my new knowledge. Which creates the dilemma....Am I going to go change out all the jump rings I already drew?



and then colored in blue, an excellent rendition of an anodized aluminum ring.



Days like this with illustrator are fun, although I know I will still run into frustration with my efforts, I see progress and that is a very good thing.