Sunday, October 16, 2016

A Piece for Me and a Rust Warning

Good afternoon! Today I wanted to share a short post about making pieces for yourself. Just do it. All the time.

For years, I was caught up in making humongous 'pieces of art' that nobody in their right mind would wear on a daily basis. I do occasionally wear such things to gallery openings on campus or to other fancy one night events. I was also caught up in trying to make things that would sell at craft shows. Both of these endeavors eventually resulted in Tamara burn out, meaning I just quit making altogether. Those were an unhappy two years for me.

The moral of the story here is to listen to your mother. Mine also happens to be an artist. (Emily Allison Studios) K.I.S.S. Keep it simple, stupid. Those words still echo in my head every time I'm about to get ahead of myself. And I pretty much always listen to them now. The times that I don't inevitably end up as sad little U.F.O.s (unfinished objects).

One day last summer, my mother sent me a text of my niece Emmy, short for Emily, as she was named after mom. She was wearing some necklace that I made eons ago. (Imagine picture of adorable mini me here. I can't find it on my disorganized hard drive. *sad*) So I sent her back this picture:

Ugly mug of yours truly featuring fly away hairs, bottle cap necklace, and my "Don't Worry, Bead Happy" shirt!

I've had this necklace for about three years now. I made it right in the middle of my artistic slump. Because JD brought me home the Root Beer bottle cap beads and a shirt from a bead store he found in the Mall of America. Something about the beads made me want to make something for ME. And I did.

And when I did, I kept it simple. There is no clasp, since the repeating pattern is long enough to slip over my head. The peyote tubes and bottle cap beads are strung on beading wire and attached to short segments of gold plated chain (which have since rusted to copper since I keep this piece in my bathroom). Don't keep cheap metals in your bathroom!!! Don't!!! Unless you don't mind the oxidation and/or erosion that happens. In this case, I didn't mind, since I didn't really like the gold color in the first place. It was just all I had at the time.

Ever since I made this necklace, something has changed about my beadwork. I make things that I like. I make things that I WANT to wear. I make things that match my wardrobe and personal style. I make things for ME. And that's important.

Today's listening pleasure: Don't Wanna Know by Maroon 5. I can't say that I'm a big fan of their new work. I think I've grown out of it. Sad day. Oh well, on to better music to bead to!


Monday, October 3, 2016

I Win at Chinese Checkers!!

A quick blog post as I wind down form work tonight/this morning. Chinese Checkers is one of those games that is very nostalgic for me. It always reminds me of summers at my grandmother's house. She had an elaborate wooden board and a tin full of colorful marbles. Fond memories. :-)

It turns out that a love of this game is something that JD and I share. And last year he asked me to buy him a game for his birthday. So I did, but just the board. I had to do a lot of searching in the thrift stores here before I found a board made out of tin. Sadly, the drawers don't open very easily due to a few dents. I don't have legitimate marbles anyways. I decided to make my own!!

Typically, I was very very late getting JD his present. He got to stare at the board for a couple months while I stitched together 60 little beaded beads from old Twist A Bead necklaces. I've always called them fossil beads because my mother did. As always, I underestimated the amount of time it would take for a big project. Here's the finished result and my winning move:

My best game of all time. JD lost by a single move.

If you've never played three colors on three, I suggest you should. It makes a mess of the board and things can heat up pretty quick. I played a game recently with five players and my friends got super intense, which was a surprise since a couple of them had never played before.

Anyway, here's the tutorial I used to make the beads. I had tried a couple designs on my own before giving up and asking the internet for help. My skills in independent 3D design are sadly lacking. :-( After stitching all of them, I gave them each a good dunking in Mop and Glo for stability. Now none of them squish. Best trick ever. It dries clear!! And true to my nature, I also have stored these 'marbles' in a tin of my own, one featuring Gunter the Penguin from Adventure Time. *nerd*

That's all I've got for now. Enjoy your week!

Tonight's listening pleasure: Empire of the Sun. Their new single To Her Door is making me a little sleepy with it's soft melody. I may nod off soon.