August 6 , 2008

I was one of the eager artists who called Rio Grande the minute I heard that they had begun selling BronzClay from Metal Adventures. This new metal clay wasn't scheduled to go on sale until September, and I'd been waiting to order it. I managed to get a small bag before it sold out, and can't wait to have a day to experiment with it!

I think it must be the hottest new product around - almost every jewelry artist I know has gotten some, and I'm looking forward to an explosion of creativity when we all start firing!

"Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."
Henry David Thoreau

The Hopi Indians call the Burrowing Owl Ko'ko, "Watcher of the Dark." It is their god of the dead, the guardian of fires, and the tender of all underground things, including seed germination.

The quotation is part of a longer one that says, "Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."

When I first began making beads, there were several people who believed that I "had a seed there." I will always be grateful for their encouragement and support. The thought of their faith in me is very comforting when my belief in my work falters, and helps to renew my determination to make the best beads that I can.



"Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom."
E. B. White

To me, this quotation is about the artistic process. The initial creative spark or vision is "the thought of bloom" that leads to an idea - "the seed."



"Mistakes are the portals of discovery."
James Joyce

I was 39 before I discovered that I wanted to make beads for a living. You could argue that my higher education and my subsequent "career choices" (i.e., my multitude of odd jobs) were all mistakes - but as I look back on the various jobs, the majors in film studies and in Latin, I can see that each one taught me lessons that I needed, that moved me (however blindly) towards my destination.

When we lived in Japan, one of our favorite places to visit was the island of Miyajima. In grove of Japanese maple trees, there was a bridge crossing a stream, which wound its way down the hillside. In the fall, I loved to hang over the edge of the bridge and watch the flame colored leaves twirling by on the current. The background design on this bead is based on a stylized design of running water from an antique Japanese textile print. The copper leaf appliqué is a stylized version of the Japanese maple leaf.

REVISITED WORK

"The years teach much that the days never know."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is one of my older beads that somehow slipped through the cracks and didn't get photographed when we made the online catalog. I'm not a person who minds getting older - in my mind, the inevitable physical changes are more than off set by the knowledge that I've gained with time. (Ok, I could do with out the arthritis in my fingers!)