I have had many influences in my life. Some good and some bad. As we all have.
But what I am curious about is who influenced you the most in what you are in life? I would like to know. For me, I realize that my father had quite a bit of influence on me. I did not really think about this too much until recently. But he always worked with his hands. Doing one thing or another.
My late husband influenced me by helping to draw out my creativeness. It was always there; but I was too bashful to explore it.
A gentleman that I met at a local flea market has been a big influence on my wire work. He was incredible at what he did. He loved rocks and gems AND wrapping them up to look beautiful. I only hope that I can be as good as he was.
My current husband has that effect on me, too. He's a perfectionist and apparently so am I! When I discover a mistake in my work-he says 'Don't worry about it. It's not noticeable.' But when he discovers one in something I never hear the end of it!
I LOVE the work of Eni Oken Her work is so incredible! Seeing her work encourages me to push my own creativeness to the limit. Studio Heath is another great place. She does some amazing work, also. And while I'm at it I can't forget Connie Fox at Jatayu.
My most recent influence are me fellow member of the Eclectic Jewelry Artisans. These are a wonderful group of women that have joined together for support and marketing purposes. But they are each great artisans in their own right. They have been a wonderful influence on me. And each time I look at their beautiful work-I marvel that I am 'one of them'!!! TeamEJA
I just joined TheIndiego after reading a blog from one of my 'neighbors'-faewear. As she stated they do require that you put an ad on your blog for them-so to wrap this up. Here's their add:
And don't foget, come and tell
me who influences you.
I really want to know!!!
My twenty two year old nephew got married this weekend. It seems just yesterday that he was a cute little boy with that goofy smile on his face! He still had the goofy smile, but it was full of love for his bride!
And I was full of tears!!! Go figure. I can cry at anything these days!
But it was a beautiful wedding! She wore a white strapless gown with tiny black(!) dots cascading down the front. Her bridesmaids all wore 'little black dresses' that they will be able to wear for other occasions. Quite tasteful.
My sister cried so hard-her baby has grown up. But she got a real treat when her in law told her that she did not look old enough to have a 22 yr old much less grand babies!
I
am always giving jewelry to my daughter and nieces; but I never know
what to give to the boys. So it usually ends up being nothing. But I
had a brainstorm last week and thought to give John D. a gift for his
bride. So I got busy and created this heart pendant for him. I fussed
because all I had was black velvet to put it on.(but that worked out
because her color WAS black!)
He
actually seem really happy that I gave this to him. And went
immediately to give it to her. She came back to me crying saying how
much she loved it. So that (of course) made me cry(again!). But everyone
was happy.
I am posting a picture of it in my gallery.
The Eclectic Jewelry Artisans Present:
The April Fools Day Sale...
"No Kidding"
Handmade jewelry at it's best, now with free shipping and 15% off!! We aren't fooling around!
On April 1, 08 please visit: TeamEJA.Etsy.com
To take advantage of this amazing sales event, just purchase the
item and put "APRIL FOOLS" in the note to seller box. We will send you
a revised invoice with the discounts via PayPal. Other payment options
are available upon request.
But that's not all...
Participating EJA members are also having sales in their individual
stores! Please see their store description for details. For a list of
members, please visit out main web site at: EclecticJewelryArtisans.com and click on "Members 1 & 2". Click on any banner to go to that artisan's store.
Sincerely,
Team EJA
I have recently opened 2 more shops. The first one is to de-stash some of my dad's beads and supplies. When he passed away last year it was decided by everyone that I should get the bulk of his hobby and craft supplies. Well it has taken me over a year to be comfortable enough to go through the stuff. And here I am, now with a lot of beads and supplies that I don't use. So my idea was that someone may be interested in them.
His favorite materials were, turquoise, coral, hematite and vintage crystals. He would go to auctions and tag sale and buy old Aurora Borealis necklaces and such. When he got them home he would take them apart to combine with other materials. It really hurt my heart to see him do that; as I am a true lover of vintage and antiques! But he really did make some fabulous looking jewelry with them.
In any case my new etsy shop is called GWC Jewelry Supplies And if you click you can go right there.
My second new shop is located at BigCartel. I opened this shop to carry some of my woven wire pendants. I really enjoy creating the various shapes. And I am always looking at small things like leaves and trees and such. Just to challenge myself-'Can I make that shape with wire?' 'And if it can where would I take the design from there.' 'Would it look better filled in with gemstones? Just woven with wire? Or not filled in at all?'
Any way if you are interested you can take a look here: Gibson Wire Creations
If any of you are in the Charlottesville, Va area you should really stop into Scottsville next week and see this band. They call themselves Deepwater and they really Rock. My nephew is the cute rhythm guitar player.
A very odd thing happened to me last weekend; and I thought to share it.
My DH & I enjoy going to yard sales on Saturday mornings. We sometimes find rather interesting things. I buy all of the glass ware for my hanging plant rooters at sales, junk shops and flea markets. My way of contributing to the recycling effort. He also sometimes find tools for work at very good prices.
In any case; as we pulled into the driveway of this particular sale, he said that he thought we had been there recently. I disagreed; and headed up to the sale. And as i did, it began to look VERY familiar to me. Instead of turning around and leaving as I would ordinarily do-something compelled me to continue.
I glanced around at all the useless things I saw and kept walking as if I knew where I was heading. I continued on into the garage; glancing around and wondering why I bothered. As I moved further into the garage, I saw the table where you pay for your purchases and 3 women sitting behind it. On the table was a variety of jewelry. Now, I know that I am a jewelry artisan, but I love checking out vintage jewelry at these sales.
Some people moved to make room for me, and that's when I saw it!!! I picked it up and looked at it. Yes! The ends looked like his style! I asked the women if any one of them had made it. No, they replied. Someone gave it to one of them. When I had that answer; I then knew for sure. At first I put it back and then I picked it up again . And with tears in my eyes I explained to them why I asked about it. Trying so hard NOT so sob out loud , I told them that I believed that my father had made it.
You see, last weekend was the one year anniversary of my fathers death. The thought had been looming over me all week. And the item that I was led to at this sale was a bracelet that he made.
I was led to that sale by a force stronger than me!!!
In my heart, I knew that that it was daddy's love that brought me to that sale. So that I could see that he is still with us and always will be!
Here's your chance to vote for your favorite wire project by the artisans of EJA and your chance to win a free gift bag that will include hand made jewelry and other goodies!!
Just visit http://eeja.org/wire_com/wired.html and fill out the form. On July 25th, we will draw a lucky e-mail address from those that have voted. One vote per person. Voting on an item will sign you up for our newsletter that will inform you of future sales and other prize drawings.
Thank you,
Betty-member
Team EJA
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