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Greetings!
I hope this newsletter finds you well and happy.
The photo above is a Soul Collage I made recently. It commemorates our beloved dog of many years. I have called it Running for Water. And now that summer is upon us that is where I like to spend some of each day, swimming in the river. The amazing thing about making a soul collage is that you use photos from magazines and somehow they come out being very powerful and personalized. If you are interested in knowing more about them you could check out the book Soul Collage by Seena B. Frost.
This month I am adding two new features to my newsletter: Let us Now Praise Famous Beaders and A Book Review section; I have news about being juried into the Bead Star competition, a book review about a new ceramic bead making book, and some new toggle pendants I am working on. |
Exciting News
I have been juried in to the Beading Daily Bead Star competition organized by the editors of Beadwork and Stringing magazines. I am one of 20 finalists in the Under $25.00 category. Here is a link to the Bead Star Competition and the photo of my piece.
. Winning designs will be published in Bead Star magazine, a special issue that will be available on newsstands worldwide at the end of December 2008. And, with the permission of winning entrants, all winning designs will be auctioned, with proceeds benefiting the American Heart Association's women's health initiative.
Sadly, I didn't make it to the final few but I am just thrilled to have made it as far as I did. Thank you all who voted for me. |
News From My Studio
I am working on a series of Toggle Clasps that
you can see now on my blog and in the photo below.
So
If you are interested in purchasing any of these from my website they should be up in the next few days. I will be selling them as one of a kind but you can request a similar one if the one you like is sold. I just don't think I can make them alike exactly each time due to the process.
If If If you want to see more about what I am doing you can check out my blog. I am writing about 3 times a week these days, so check it out. You can also get my blog posts by email. The sign up form for it by Feedblitz is on my blog now. Iis o am featuring a few new piece of jewelry this |
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Book Review
Below is the review I wrote of Jennifer's new book for Amazon.com
A couple of days ago I received a copy of Jennifer Heynen's book Ceramic Bead Jewelry, published by Lark, in the mail from Amazon. This is a wonderful book and especially so because of Jennifer's friendly and enthusiastic voice which comes through on every page. Her excitement about working with clay is catching.
The book covers all the basics of making clay beads and will be a a great help to anyone starting out in ceramic clay. I found the directions easy to understand and was pleased to learn some new things myself. I was especially happy to find a very easy way of making molds and plan to try it this week. Her directions for making bead shapes is also easy to follow and had some new ideas for me. Specifically, the book covers the basic tools needed, how to work with unfired clay, how to decorate the clay and how to fire and glaze clay. These are essential directions for anyone trying out this wonderful craft. Jennifer does a great job of covering all these necessary skills.
The second half of the book is devoted to making jewelry. She has 30 different projects for the reader to make. Again the directions are simple and easy to understand and the jewelry is original and looks fun to wear. I especially like the Multi Strand Bracelet and the Square Bead Bracelet.
I hope all of you who are new to ceramic bead making will take a look at this great book which is the first major publication on the subject.
If you have been thinking about trying out this exciting and rewarding craft you might like to purchase my Ceramic Bead Making Kit which gives you the opportunity to try your hand at ceramic bead making without buying a kiln. |
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Classes coming up:
Right Angle Weave Class
I will be teaching a Right Angle Weave bracelet class at the Handweaving Museum in Clayton, New York on Wednesday July 16, 2008 from 10:00 Am to 1:00PM. You can register online by clicking the above link.
In this class you will learn how to make a basic right angle weave stitch. We will work this into a bracelet filled with a variety of stones or/and pearls. You can expect to finish your bracelet during class time. The class costs $43.00 for non members of the museum and $38.00 for members. The materials are $15.00 which is a kit which includes thread, needle, stones or pearls, clasp and beads. You will have the opportunity to choose the beads, stones and clasp to fill your kit. The clasp in the picture will be available as a square also. There is also a choice in silver. My handmade raku beads in this picture will be available but for an extra cost i.e. $3.00 per bead ( special price for the class.)
Glazing Ceramic Beads Class
I will be teaching a Glazing Ceramic Beads class at the Handweaving Museum in Clayton, New York on Wednesday July 16, 2008 from 1:30PM to 4:30PM. You can register online by clicking the above link.
The Glazing Ceramic Beads class will cover glazing techniques and results in each student glazing enough bisque beads to make two bracelets or one necklace. There will also be bisque pendants to glaze. In this class you do not make the beads--you will be glazing already bisqued beads. The cost for this class for nonmembers is $43.00 and $38.00 for members. The materials fee is $30.00 which includes the glazes, the bisque beads and the firing of the beads. You will have several choices of bisque bead sizes and shapes to choose from i.e. round, square, disk, tube. If you bring your own bisqued beads with you, as I know some are planning to do, the materials fee will be reduced to $12.00.
Future Classes:
I plan on teaching a glass fusing class in my studio in the Fall and Freeform peyote stitch at the Arts Council in the fall. Please email me at mary@maryhardingjewelry.com if you are interested in either of these classes so I can find dates that will work for you. |
Let Us Now Praise Famous Beaders
This extraordinary lady is going to be the photo for a new section in my newsletter I am calling Let Us Now Praise Famous Beaders. And indeed let us praise the children of the Elmwood Village Charter School who created her. She is clearly a beader in her own right with a fabulous necklace in white and a hairdo like multiple necklaces hung together. I just love her.
I will be focusing on beaders both known and unknown with the purpose of exploring some of my favorite artists and finding new ones. And like the late Peter Francis reminded us, I will be focusing on the beader as a person to find out what makes beading such an important part of their life.
So our journey starts with the art work of children and hopefully we all will keep that incredible creative spirit that all children so generously and easily share with us alive throughout all of our life.
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