Aftermath

Well the storm has come and gone and we were very lucky....just a ton of downed oak tree branches and a soggy sunporch...power was only out for about 10 hours which is nothing compared to some including my son and daughter-in-law who as of this morning are still without power but pushing through!! Boy is Mother Nature on a rampage...first the earthquake and then Irene.... so very unusual for the NE....but today is a gorgeous day....branches are all gone and the sunporch is drying out! Last week I bought a ton of new botanic beads and of course I had to start playing with them right away! The flower in this piece is actually 3 layers of Vintage Meadow Artworks striated acrylic flowers. I am also incorporating a vintage rhinestone spider pin and a pair of vintage rhinestone earrings along with a raku face cabochon that I picked up a bead show last year and of course some Swarovski sparkle!!! These LadyOfInfiniteSparkle pieces are addicting and enticing! I start with components that seem to want to go together....position them on the cloth....walk away...come back...reposition them....sew something down....reposition....sew something else down....walk away....unsew something.....root around in the bead stash for that thing that is lacking...walk away again...then suddenly a Lady is created!!! I will post more pictures of her as I go along to give an idea of my process.

New stash!!

New treasures!

This past week has been a whirlwind of fun and family and obligation. Last Friday I went (for the first time!!) to the largest bead show on the East Coast....Bead Fest....which was more like a feast than a fest!!!!! It was advertised as the Philadelphia Bead Fest but was in Oaks PA...that's kinda like saying that Fords NJ is NYC.......but other than that is was wondrous!!! I walked in and at first was overwhelmed by the size....which I probably shouldn't have been having gone to numerous Quilt Markets but this was my first major bead market!!! There were so many beautiful displays and works of art done by unbelievably talented bead artists...and there was also a fair share of schlocky imported beads...but there was sparkle everywhere!!! My plan was to walk the entire Fest and then do my shopping on the second round...that plan quickly flew away on the crystal wings of a beaded butterfly....my first purchase was at the booth of Lisa Kang Designs... www.LisaKan.com Lisa creates some of the loveliest botanical themed beads I have ever seen. I purchased two of her "plum blossom" lampwork glass beads and will probably be visiting her website in the not to distant future in order to acquire more!! I then went around and found some stone and ceramic beads that called my name.....a new raku face cab that needed to be mine and various other bits and pieces that spoke to me. I then came upon a booth that just reached out and grabbed me and pulled me right in.... Vintage Meadow Artworks.... www.vintagemeadowartworks.com They specialize in Acrylic Floral art beads and their color palette and aesthetic were all I could ask for!!! I have already incorporated several layers of their beads into the LadyOfInfiniteSparkle that I am currently working on. All in all it was a great experience....but it's a good thing it only comes around once a year...I now know that I must start to save my pennies, nickles and dimes for next August....or maybe the lottery fairy will sprinkle a little of her dust on me!!!

Ladies Of Infinite Sparkle necklaces

I have started a series of pieces that I call my Ladies Of Infinite Sparkle. They all start with a piece of vintage jewelry and take on a life from there. This lovely lady started with a marcasite butterfly pin that found at an estate sale...from there I added her art glass face and lower body and swarovski rivolis for the absolute sparkle factor. Daggers adorn her hair...flowers her neck and crystals and seed beads complete her look. I have always loved the "process" of making art and the hunting and gathering is soul satisfying to me...I never know where a piece will take me until I am there.

Lois

Lady Of Infinite Sparkle....that's me.....L..O..I..S. It's a title I was given many many years ago by one of the people who knows me best and "gets " my love of all things shiny and sparkly. Maybe I was a queen in a previous life...or maybe a magpie! When at fiber or bead shows I always gravitate towards anything that glitters...from yarns to threads to crystals and I you really want to make me happy bring me to a tag sale that has vintage rhinestone jewelry!!!! I am excited to join the blogging community and hope to meet many fellow creatives!