An Overdue Update

I am so sorry that this has been so long in coming. I must admit the last couple of months and all of the coming and going has gotten the better of me, I feel like I have lost track of something, quite possibly my mind.

What was supposed to be a 10 day trip for Wayne ended up being 2 weeks due to a broken plane. He ended up home only 5 days before he was off to Iraq again. We don't know if it will be 2 or 3 months or as screwed up as everything had been who knows maybe longer. It will only be 2 months unless they approve an extension he has requested. His official retirement date is Jan 1, 2009 and with all of his terminal leave (vacation etc.) that means he could be done as early as Sept 10th. Since they may need him to run things there or to run support back here they will probably approve it.

During the 5 days home he had surgery to remove skin cancer on his arm. It was more involved than he expected and the first time I saw it, it looked like a small shark had attacked him. Loads of stitches that he will have for 2 more weeks (surgery was a week ago). The rest of the time was spent on post and pre-deployment doctors appointments, getting gun qualifications, paperwork, and packing. We had the weekend for just us but that was about it. He left for Iraq yesterday, it was a bit anti-climatic for me since they left here on Thursday for some training and to pick up gear.

Now it is time to figure out my life for this summer. The one area that hasn't suffered is my creativity. I swear without it sometimes I would go nuts. I have been putting in lots of time working on my Sacred Tree for my BJP project for 2008-2009. Officially it doesn't start until September but since mine is going to include so much more than the monthly blocks I need a head start. The whole thing is going to be a quilt/mixed media collage with painted and beaded blocks. The entire piece is going to be a sort of self-portrait or things that are sacred, important, or symbolic of who I am. If you are interested I am going to start blogging about it today. I will include a lot of information on my creative process, different techniques I am trying, my goals, and all of the symbology of the piece. I already have put enough time into the project that I have enough info for several posts so I will try to write about 2 times a week on it until I catch up at least. It will be on my BJP Blog. I have also started a new album in My Web Gallery for the piece and if you don't want to wait for my blog to catch up you can see my photos of the progress of the piece there, I will update it as I get new photos.

Although I have felt very self-indulgent since Wayne left I have gotten an amazing amount of creating done in that time. I didn't walk the first 4 days he was gone but have gone out the last couple of mornings so am trying to get back on track there.

Changes in my World

It has been a long time since I have written and a lot has happened since then. Wayne and I drove to Athens, Ohio and met Wayne's folks to go to the opening night of Bead International at the Dairy Barn. It was a lot of fun and I got to wear my Pond necklace for the first time. I got lots of complements for both my piece in the show and my pond necklace. We all had a really good time and seeing all of the wonderful pieces of bead work and basketry was very inspiring. I really enjoyed seeing some of the pieces that were not jewelry since I am planning to explore more bead work that is not jewelry. Saturday morning we went back to the gallery to take some photos and chat with people more.

At this point we split up and Wayne and his Dad headed to Dayton to view the Air Museum and then on to the track event at Mid-Ohio. Marti and I headed to Louisville for some creative play time. The guys had a lot of fun and us girls got a lot of creative work done. I spent most of my time either helping to figure out where Marti should go on her art quilts and how to improve them and getting her help working on the ideas for my next years Bead Journal project. We even dyed some silk fabric that she had to be the overall background for my piece, she also gave me some other treasures to use on my piece and to play with for other projects.

During the time we were in Louisville I went twice to her Wednesday Stitchery group which is always a good time and they got to see my purses and my Bead Journal pages for 2007-8. I also got to see and help with creative input on a couple of her Art Quilt friends, it was so great to be involved with all of the creative process both with my pieces and others.

The bad news during this time was that my Uncle Earnst Throne died. He has been fighting cancer for a while. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of his family and friends.

All four of us headed up to Palatine (Chicago area) to visit with Wayne's brother Doug's family for our niece's graduation. We got their on time on Friday so that we could see Susie all dressed up for her Prom. If you would like to see more pics of Susie all dressed up for prom and those from her graduation go to my Web Gallery. The weekend was full of good food and time with family which was a lot of fun.

From there we headed back to Louisville for a couple more days and then it was time to head home. I brought quite a few small projects along to work on and got 5 necklaces made another one started and some small pieces that will go into some future piece worked on. Combining that with the work I got done on the idea stage of my BJP project and it was a pretty productive trip.

We got back on Thursday and Wayne went to work on Friday and then on Saturday he was off for a short trip to Iraq. We also found out that he will be going back to Iraq this summer for 2-3 months. Looks like I get to spend most of this summer alone as well. At least I have a long list of projects to work on and won't get bored. I think being creative has been my saving grace during all of my time as a Navy wife. I have no trouble keeping myself busy and I usually get tons done while he is gone.

Since being home I have shipped Wayne off, unpacked and gotten things picked up and put away, did some cleaning up, worked on class instructions for 2 classes, and worked on a couple of smaller beading projects. I have also spent some time reading just for me. I have gone walking a couple of times and hope to get back into the habit and back on track with watching what I eat.

The Good News and The Not So Good News

Starting with the good news I got first and second place ribbons at the Southern Maryland Quilt and Needlework exhibit at Sotterley Plantation. My Dragonfly purse got first and my Iris purse got 2nd. I didn't have any competition in the bead work category. It still was great and I got good critiques from the judges and the people in charge said I got lots of good comments so it was a positive experience.

We leave in a couple of days for our trip to Bead International, Mid Ohio Track for Wayne, and time spent with Wayne's folks and his niece's graduation. I have gotten most of my stuff ready to go including the important stuff like jewelry and purses and projects to work on. The back of the car will also be full of track tires and tools for Wayne's 2 days on the track. I am sure we will have a good time. I still have some things to do before we leave but things are coming together pretty well.

The not so good news is that shortly after we get back Wayne will be heading back to Iraq. It is not really bad news since he won't be gone too long, actually he will be going twice in just a couple of months. I should be able to get a fair amount done while he is gone each time and since I have to get my journals and cards done for my BJP pages it won't be all bad.

I am looking forward to our trip, it should be a good time.

12 Pages Finished

As hard to believe as I find it I have finished all 12 of my BJP pages and have them hanging on the wall. It has been an amazing journey and I have learned an amazing amount in the last year. I have played with techniques and supplies that were new to me. I have found out how much I enjoy combining my bead work and photography. The pages have turned out to be far more of a journal of my personal growth in the last year than I ever expected them to be. If you want to read more about my journey in the last year visit my AKP Bead Journal Project Blog for more pictures visit my Artistic Kreations and Passions website, my web gallery, or the BJP section of my website all which have been updated. I have named all of the pieces individually and I still have work to do. I still need to put all of the information on the backs of the pieces, make the cards that go into the backs for November-May and make the journals for the November -May pieces.

I have other things I need to do in the week and a half or so before we leave to go to Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois. I have class supply lists and instructions to write up for the classes I will be teaching at Bead Boutique in June. I need to get photos to them as well to go with the list of classes for their website. I need to get photos of my BJP pages to a few different places as well.

It has been kind of strange weather around here and we had pretty stormy weather this weekend. We lost the top of a tree but Wayne got it all cut up and it didn't do any damage. We last power for a few hours Sunday night but it came back. Today the Sun finally came out again and I went for a walk which I am still not being very good about.

This weekend I will be going to the Sotterley Plantation to see the Quilt and Needlework exhibit that will have 2 of my purses in it. Wayne is probably going to go with me since we have never toured the plantation. I have only been there once and it was just to drop off my pieces. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of work is in the show.

I also need to think about what all I want to pack for the trip. I need to pick out what of my beaded jewelry I want to take along and then pick outfits to go with. I will also be taking my BJP pages so that Marti can see all of them finished. I also need to pack up some projects to take along to work on. I am also thinking my sketchbook to work on ideas for next years BJP. I need to take the time to flesh out the ideas some.

I would also like to send out congrats to my friend Susan who won a contest for one of her lamp work beads. You can see her website and some of her wonderful beads at her website Insanity Beads. You can also see some my necklaces using some of her beads here.

I am still in kind of a strange place mentally but I think part of that is the drawing in before a change. I know that the change is coming and part of me is resisting and another part is focusing inward. It means that I haven't gotten somethings worked on that I should have and I spent four days in a row spending most of my time reading and not getting much else done.

Wayne left last Sunday and will be back this Friday. He is currently in San Antonio doing some kind of exercise with the army. It means we will be apart for our anniversary (May 5th) but the week after he gets back we are going to go up to Baltimore for a couple of days and go to two Red Sox games and see a map exhibit. Maybe not to romantic but it should be a blast.

I have not been very good about watching what I eat or going for my walks. I don't think I am going to lose my 5 lbs for April and May but I am sure once Wayne gets home he will help give me a kick in the pants and help me get motivated again. I went for my first walk in over a week today. It looks like tomorrow is supposed to be slightly cooler and nice so I may try to be good and go again.

The photo is of the start of my Crystal Iris. I was considering using it in an entry for Swarovski's contest this year but couldn't decide exactly where I wanted to go with it. I decided not to do an entry this year. I have been undecided for a while and finally decided that I just wasn't in the right place at this time. It is kind of a relief to not have to worry about it any more. Maybe next year I will consider it but for this year no.

I went out to lunch with my friend Colleen on Tuesday, we hadn't seen each other for a while so it was good to see her. I also went to Bead Boutique and gave them some samples for some new classes so I should be back on the schedule for June. On Friday I made a couple of new pieces to send with my entry for Bead International. I was allowed to send up to 5 extra smaller pieces to offer for sell in their Gallery shop. They are now all on their way to Ohio. Besides mailing those off on Saturday I also went to the Sotterley Plantation, they have a yearly Quilt and Needlework exhibit and they accept bead work in the Needlework. I decided to enter two of my purses (my Iris purse and my Dragonfly purse) I considered trying to enter my BJP pages but wasn't sure how it would work. I have never been to the show yet. maybe if we are still here next year I will consider entering them.

Today I have been trying to do a bit of catch up writing in my blogs, updating my web gallery and if I have time make a few updates to my website as well. It all takes time. I also need to catch up on e-mails. I have been reading them but am overdue for replying to a number of people, eek!

My idea for my 2008 BJP is starting to gel and I am kind of excited about that. It will be different than this years but I am sure will provide many new challenges. I think that I am very glad that I have the summer between the two years. I need to finish all of my cards and journals for the 2007 BJP and will need to work on figuring out more about my 2008 project. Once I have the idea further along I will put a post up for it (probably in my BJP blog)

Thanks for all of the support and comments, it helps that you are all out there and so wonderfully supportive.

Another Day

The photo is a closeup of my March page for my Bead Journal Project. It was a fun and relatively quick page to do. It took me 9 days from start to finish which for me is a quick page.

At this point I am nearing the finish of my April page and then it will be time to start the last page for this year. It has been an interesting year and it is hard to believe it is almost over. Luckily we are doing it again. I have been working on trying to figure out what I want to do for the next year. I think I am glad that I have until September to figure it out. My problem isn't lack of ideas it is way to many and trying to figure out what ideas are beadable. I am seriously thinking of the idea of Sacred Trees but that still leaves me with so many directions that I could go in that I am at a loss. I have been reading some books on the mythology and history of Sacred Trees, it has been fascinating and very educational. I am thinking that I may do a series of pieces on the theme and not all of them would be beaded.

I have been in kind of a fog lately, I feel terribly out of focus and not overly motivated. The good news is that beading and creating art are so ingrained in who and what I am that I still work on that even in my down times. Maybe doing my March page so quickly took it out of me. My guess is that I am just at a recharging time and it will pass. It always does.

I got unhappy news, my Pond Necklace did not get into Bead Dreams. Who knows why, these things are very subjective and a less than stellar photo can do you in as well as other things. Wayne did not find it very funny when I threatened to cut the piece up. Being moody and getting bad news do not go well together. I am glad that I have Bead International to look forward to. I need to get my piece ready to mail off for that. I am really looking forward to going to the opening night for that. Getting to see all of the pieces in person will be sooooo cooool!

Wayne will be leaving me for about 12 days starting on Sunday. He is going off to San Antonio to do some military exercises of some sort. The only bad thing is that he will be gone for our anniversary. I guess I will just have to buy myself something nice.

I went into Bead Boutique last week since I need to see about getting back on the schedule to teach some classes, I got some beads to make up a few new samples and have gotten 3 made since then. I will try to get some photos taken and up of them. My favorite is a single spiral rope chocker that is also the perfect length to go around my wrist twice. I need to get back there and give them the new samples and maybe get some more beads.

This week has also seen another 3-D Iris out of crystal come into being. I have got the main flower part done but am not sure what I want to do with it now. I was thinking of doing the piece for the Swarovski contest but am not sure I want to give it up, would have to figure out what to do with it first anyway. Guess we will see.

Crystal Pond; Reflections

If you don't like bling this piece definitely would not be the piece for you to wear. I got my Crystal Pond; Reflections collar done and photographed in time to enter it in to Bead Dreams for this year. I also entered my July BJP page since the entry fee included up to 2 entries.

I am quite pleased with how the whole thing turned out. There were things that didn't turn out how I expected or that had to be shifted to work with way the circles were connected. It was really interesting to see how the weight distribution effected the look of the piece as the circles changed to different shapes.

In the sun shine the necklace really comes alive and you feel the reflections glistening all the way through you.



The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy trying to get this piece finished, photographed, and entered; a series of doctors appointments; and getting a start on my March BJP.

I am officially down 20 lbs from where I was in August. I don't know that I can tell that much but others have said they could tell. I seem to be keeping at loosing about 5 lbs every 2 months which is a good rate and if I can keep it up I would be thrilled.


The doctors appts have gone well. My cholesterol and blood sugars are good, I had a couple of borderline blood pressure readings so we will have to keep an eye on it but the walking and loosing weight should help with that some. Everything else seems to be good.

It has been fairly grey lately but we are getting some much needed rain. After the drought we can use the rain.

Friday Wayne and I headed toward DC so that we could order some seats for the Integra to make them more comfortable and more importantly better for Wayne when he does his driving events. We stopped for supper on the way home and then went to Trader Joes in DC to buy some wine and beer. On the way home we drove by all of the cherry trees in bloom. Wow, they are pretty. I am glad that we aren't doing it on the weekend though since I am not that big a fan at doing stuff like that with thousands of people, just not calming at all.

Exciting news for the Bead Journal Project, Pink Moon Hallow designed a wonderful web site for us. It is looking great and all of the participants who have finished 8 or more pages will get a page of their pieces on the website. Need to get my photos figured out so I can send them to her. We will also be doing another year of the Bead Journal Project which will start in September of 2008. We will have a new BJP Blog for 2008. If anyone is interested in joining the new year with us please checkout the website for the registration information on how to sign up for it. The deadline is August 15. I know I am going to do it. It will be an interesting year since sometime during it I will be moving. I have grown so much as an artist doing this and have made some wonderful friends and been endlessly inspired by all of the very talented artists.