Jim and I are notorious for our late New Years Greetings – one notable year our message arrived on Valentines Day. Look at me now – five days early! I wrote the letter yesterday (not mailed yet, as this is Christmas Day). So, for all of you who follow my intermittent blog, I have posted a copy of my newsletter here, and add you to the list of “Family and Friends”. Blessings to you as well.

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s Christmas Eve Day, 2009, and snow is forecast here in Round Top. That, and the fact that I am not at the torch making glass beads makes today unusual.

As I type at the computer, Jim sits at his workbench pounding away on a piece of silver jewelry he is forging. We are both enjoying our fabulous workshop/ studio in our new barndominium, which we moved into in June after a long planning and building period. (I’ve just about learned which switch turns on what group of lights.) We love our larger space, our generous well designed studio, and all the glass throughout the house that affords us views of fields, oak and cedar forests, and wildlife. Our 20 acres is home to deer, red fox, bobcats, possum, raccoons, and armadillos. We love to grab our binoculars to watch them. Many bird species travel through as well, including roadrunners and wild turkeys.,

Jim at his workbench

Our old house, the one we built six years ago is for sale. Not good timing I suppose as far as the press goes on the economy, however, lots of potential customers have looked at it, and we know it will sell soon.

When we are not in our studio creating jewelry, we are most likely out selling it. (This newsletter sounds similar to last years. Well, not much has changed.) We drove across Texas and New Mexico to assorted shows, and used the Internet and the galleries that we supply with jewelry to boost our sales as well. I was awarded three Best of Category in Glass, and one Best of Category in Jewelry. I also won an honorable mention in Bead Star 2009, a national magazine on the stands now. (The winners were voted on by over 26,000 bead lovers across the U.S.A. – sort of an American Idol for jewelry designers).

Jim gets kudos as Best Supporting Actor for all the work he puts into the entire process. Parkinson’s has slowed him down a bit more this year though, and a nasty virus he battled for over six weeks gave him vertigo. Not easy for a guy whose balance is already compromised. He beat the virus though, and has rejoined me in a daily routine of walking two miles each morning.

Chica, the cat who lounges in the warm bead studio, is still with us. She’s eleven years old now – that is a venerable 60 year old in human terms. Well, Jim and I are not jumping as high as we used to either. I am planning my “Welcome to Medicare and Social Security” party in January. That said, our point of view is young, our love of life is huge, and we welcome another year on the planet. Jim and I wish the same joy of living for you, and send you love and blessings.

Happy New Year!

You’ve read my blogs about getting accepted (or not) into juried art shows. The photos of the jewelry are crucial, since that is all the jurors see or know. No names, no Lyn Foley Lampwork clasps, no names showing in the booth photo, etc. etc. I recently discovered that at 36″ x 36″ my photographs were blurry. I have hopefully fixed that problem. Here is one of my latest necklaces, photographed at what I believe to be the correct size (dictated by the form called “Zapplication”) and resolution. Looks good to me – what do you think?

Thanks to Jerry Roek I have a wonderful fresh, clean and clear redesigned site. It has been a challenge, however Jerry made it (almost) painless. Now there are “Buy” buttons on my jewelry instead of that cumbersome “e-mail me if you like this” process. The type styles all match, the colors match, and it is so easy to sign up for my e-mail newsletters (or not, if you don’t want them). I’m having a bit of a learning curve on some of the features. Perhaps I’ll even be twittering someday soon. The entire idea is to make it easier for me to sell from home, and easier for you, dear reader, customer, and jewelry lover, to find me and purchase my wonderful (well, I do say so my self) jewelry.

I so love making jewelry, but I do have to keep selling it in order to be able to keep making it,so the process is  a circle you see. The new website design should facilitate the circle.

Anyway, I’m rather wiped out after two shows in a row, working on the website in between the cracks of the shows, and taking care of “normal” P.D. life with Jim. He’s rocking along, over the virus, however, sticking close to home in all this sniffle inducing weather. We even had SNOW in Round Top last Friday! (And Texans that I know just do not get along with snow.)

So, I’m off for a break. Enjoy the new site, and look at the previous post for some info about the BEAD STAR honors I recently received.  And here’ s photo of something I’m working on for jury slides.

I received an Honorable Mention in the Seed Bead Category of Bead Star Magazine 2009! I’ve known for a while, but had to keep it under wraps.

I’m one of 45 prize-winning jewelry designers in the second annual Bead Star challenge. You can preview the new issue online here. The magazine, Bead Star, is a beading publication comprised entirely of prize-winning designs selected by beaders, and it will hit newsstands nationwide December 8th.

“Bead Star is like American Idol for beaders,” says editor Jane Dickerson. “Each year the competition is even more exciting, and this year’s challenge garnered double the entries and twice as many votes as the inaugural competition in 2008. We were thrilled by the response and are already looking forward to next year’s challenge. Be on the lookout for the call for entries at BeadStar.com on December 16!”

The editors of Step by Step Beads and Beadwork magazines culled down the 2000 unique entries to 180 finalists—20 per category. From there, nearly 26,000 Beading Daily members voted online on their favorites in each category, which ultimately made it into this all-star publication.

Here’s the photo of my winning entry. If you want to make a necklace like it, the instructions are in the magazine, and you can purchase the lampwork beads from me here!
The necklace is titled “Aurora Borealis”, and the design was inspired by my memory of the night we sailed across the Gulf of Alaska under a dazzling display of northern lights pulsing over the icy cold waters of the Gulf.