As I have been slowly but surely unpacking my art supplies from my move a couple of weeks ago, I found my March page neatly wrapped up in one of my moving boxes. I had gotten as far as placing the polymer clay glazed face cabochons created at my January guild meeting on the fabric and then had stopped around mid-March so I could pack everything up. I was so delighted to finally find my page and sat down almost immediately to give each face a beaded bezel. I used the “barnacle” technique as explained on page 50 in Robin Atkins wonderful new book called “Heart to Hands Bead Embroidery”.

Back in March when I was so looking forward to Spring’s arrival after a long cold winter, I found myself studying trees very closely to see any signs of Spring. In one of my meditations, an image popped into my mind of each knot in a tree having a face in it that was waking up from a long winter’s sleep. Shortly after that I was purging some old magazines and found this image.

It reminded me so much of my image of the faces in the tree. The feeling I want to convey with this piece is one of an organic awakening. Robin has another bead technique on making twisted tree trunks (page 67). I think this beading technique will be perfect for the look I want. Stay tuned for more progress!

Today is a day to celebrate and honor all women - daughters, sisters, aunts, mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers - who have given birth. Given birth to a baby or a piece of art or a book or an idea or whatever their deepest passions have manifested. We are all connected in our fertile bodies and imaginations.

About 3 years ago I presented this plant to my S.O. because I know how much he loves lilies. Called Clivia Miniata or its common name Bush Lily, it is native to South Africa where rooibos and honeybush tea come from. In the wild, it grows in the shade of trees because it doesn’t like full sun. We have it in a northwestern exposure to the side of a sliding glass door. This is the first time it has flowered. I’d like to think that it is welcoming me to my new home.

Today I am spending the first part of the day by going to a bead show with my daughter. I haven’t been to a bead show since last year so I’m very excited to go and share my “beadie” passion with her. In the afternoon, my sons will come over for a visit and we’ll play Blokus, a new board game I discovered while visiting my brother and his family in Michigan last March. Each player gets a bunch of brightly colored semi-transparent tiles in different shapes. Starting from a corner, each player takes turns placing their tiles down so that only the corners are touching with the object being to lay down as many tiles as you can. So, of course, there is opportunity to strategize and block your opponents while also trying to fit your pieces onto the board. I like it because it really taps into your right brain’s spacial ability. Currently, my son Brendan is the champ but we will see what today brings.

While the woods outside my window are swelling with green, the weather remains cool and cloudy, much like April days instead of May days. As I listen to the sweet song of a robin in the early morning quiet, I am sipping a cup of a China green tea called Xia Zhou Bi Feng. Produced high in the mountains of Hubei province, the full leaves have been rolled into thin strands. Hubei province’s rich, fertile hills and mountains are ideal for growing tea.

I steeped the leaves in 180 degree F water for 3 minutes. While some of the leaves uncurled a little, most remained curled in their originally processed state. Their color reflects the beautiful spring green of our trees. The liquor is a very pale brownish olive green with a distinct vegetal aroma.

The liquor has a pronounced tangy astringency to it reminiscent of a Japanese green. However, that is where the similarity ends because it is also sweet with that sweetness lingering in the aftertaste.

Mmmmm, time for another cup!

I worked most of the day yesterday organizing and finding a place for everything in my new studio space. I am feasting my eyes on this new creation as often as I can because a) I can’t believe that one of my dreams has finally come true and b) I don’t think it’s ever going to be this clean again. There’s even vacuum marks on the rug! The rug…..which is probably the one thing about the space I don’t like. I have visions of spilling a tray of beads and……..oh dear…….well, you can imagine the rest. Maybe someday we can install a ceramic floor or even a hardwood floor down here.

The space in front of the heater on the far wall is where I want to put my metalworking table. I have a few options I’m looking at, including an offer to have a table made for me!

Here is the beadworking area. I was able to fit all of my beads on the shelves and portable storage units for easy access.

My good friend Amy, who has a fabulous studio BTW, told me about this nifty cube storage unit that’s perfect for organizing polymer clay. I just loved sorting the little squares by color and lining them all up in neat rows. Thank you, Amy!

My light tent has found its home on a drafting desk in the corner. The box under the table contains the lights, waiting to be set up. The pegboard leaning against the left side of the table will eventually be screwed into the wall above the heater, I think. So, my tools will be hanging behind me. I’m not sure how that will work out but I’m going to try it out because I can’t place the table against the heater. My sewing machine is also waiting for a home somewhere in my studio. I have been very drawn to quilting books lately so it might come in handy for some future pieces.

Here is the beading command center. My mosaicon hangs in a place of honor above my table. I enjoyed creating that piece so much! Resting on the portable storage units are a couple of beautiful Native American design needlepoint pieces created by my Mom.

I store most of my seed beads in the Tic Tac style storage containers. They’re sorted by color and placed into clear rectangular storage units, fitting quite nicely together. I also have a lot of tubes that I store in a pen caddy. Each 3-sided unit is standing up on the table next to the wall.

This weekend I will be looking for a task chair and some lights! Stay tuned for more studio stories…

I purchased 2 six foot tables at Lowe’s this past weekend. Everything needed to shift over to the other side of the space to make room for them and the shelves I installed. I actually had these shelves in my bedroom in my apartment and that’s where I stored all of my art supplies. I slept surrounded by all of my beads and polymer clay and tools. Good energy but very crowded!

Both Home Depot and Lowes have all sorts of nifty storage shelving and products. I bought the coated wire shelves which attach to the wall by way of slats that screw into the studs. Then there are metal pieces that fit into the slats and the shelves rest on them. There are little hooks on the metal pieces and the shelves fit right into them for security. It’s important to plan out item placement so the weight is well balanced since the shelves aren’t super heavy duty. I placed them up high so I wouldn’t be hitting my head all the time.

Now that my structures are in place, today will be spent finding a place for everything. This weekend I’m hoping to purchase a task chair and some drafting lights to fit on the tables. I also need to purchase a metalworking table which will be placed perpendicular to the existing tables. That way I can swing around from station to station with my chair placed in the middle. My command center. How exciting is this?!!

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment.

I want to give that world to someone else.

Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower.

I want them to see it whether they want to or not.

-Georgia O’Keefe

I’m gazing out my window on another cloudy damp day. We’ve had quite a few of those this past week. The tops of the trees are swaying in a gentle breeze. It is so quiet here save for the occasional bird call and the hum of my computer. This is the type of quiet that allows me to access my inner space, a nice balance to the busyness of my life lately.

This morning’s tea is a China black tea called Pu-ehr Tuo Cha. The leaves are compressed into small bowls or what I like to think of as tiny birds’ nests. Pu-ehr tea is divided into 2 classifications, raw and cooked, depending upon the processing method. This particular tea falls into the cooked category. It undergoes a double fermentation not unlike what happens in a compost pile. The leaves actually begin to decompose, giving them a strong earthy taste when steeped.

There have been numerous studies done on Pu-ehr tea with results that it appears to lower cholesterol. The Chinese have long enjoyed its medicinal benefits for aiding digestion, especially with fatty foods.

The leaf is so dark after steeping. I usually break up the tuo cha a little bit to help the leaves unfurl from their compressed state. I steeped them for 7 minutes in boiling water. The strong earthy fragrance was mirrored in the taste. I find that I enjoy its rich, dark flavor much more with milk and a little honey added.

This afternoon I am going out to purchase some tables for my studio. A big thank you to all who offered suggestions on tables and lighting and set up!

Where shall I begin?

I started bringing my art supplies over to my new home a couple of weeks ago. I was very lucky that I had time to do that instead of having to get it accomplished all in one weekend. However, now that I look back, it might have been a good idea to set up the structure - shelves, tables, portable storage - first before I dumped everything in the room. Now it looks like this.

The room is actually a downstairs family room in a split level house. There’s even a brick fireplace on the left hand wall behind where I was standing when I took the photo. I can have some nice cozy fires in the wintertime while I work. A couple of months ago this room was walled with dark wood paneling. I think the “slipper shell” color we painted it really brightens the room. My studio space is approximately 11′ x 12′. I’d like to have 3 work areas for beading, polymer clay and metalwork. This weekend I’m going to take a ride over to BJs to check out their portable tables. I’d like to purchase two 6 foot tables, one for beadwork and one for polymer clay. I’d love to find a jeweler’s bench for the metalworking area. A good friend suggested that I make paper cutouts of the components for my studio area and play around with placement. I love that idea and will probably play around with that this week before I get my tables. So, step one is to make paper cutouts to determine how the structure of my studio area will be setup.

Libby Mills has been interviewing artists and their studios in her blog posts, Studio Snapshot. You can read the latest one here. Knowing that I was setting up a new studio area, I’ve been avidly reading every interview. Two important considerations that have been consistent in each interview is lighting and the ability to face outside (if you can) while working. As you can see from my photos, I do have a sliding glass door leading out into the backyard. There’s a wooden deck over it so that does limit the light. Right now I just have one portable OTT lite so I’ll have to invest in more lighting.

Does anyone know where I can purchase a wooden jeweler’s bench?

I’m all moved into my new home here on Ramble Road. It’s a wonderfully quiet place, surrounded by woods in the back. The physical move was so amazingly easy, taking only about 3 hours. I’m very blessed to have 2 big strong sons who helped their old Ma out on moving day. What a wonder to watch them take over and methodically dismantle my apartment and put it back together at another place. We are definitely even now for all of those early morning hockey practices!

This morning I am sipping a flavored Sweet Almond green tea. The dry leaf is a blend of green tea, slivered almonds, cinnamon bark and lime leaf.

The liquor has a very sweet “almondy” aroma and the taste is the same only not as sweet. Usually, flavored and scented teas smell stronger than they actually taste which is fine by me because I don’t enjoy a strong sweetness. I like to be able to taste the tea notes underneath the added flavor.

This tea would go well with an almond flavored cookie or, my absolute favorite candy, chocolate covered marzipan. Marzipan is a delicious confection of ground almonds and sugar. When my brother lived in Germany about 10 years ago, I visited and found it right in the candy aisle at their local grocers. I was in heaven and brought home a whole stash of it.

Now that I am all moved in, it’s time to start putting together my studio. Right now the floor is covered with all of my art supplies. Stay tuned for the birth of my studio!

Today is my big moving day so Saturday Morning Tea is postponed until tomorrow.  Time to go get the truck!