I'm Still Here

Yes.. I've been AOL for about a year.. but a busy year it has been!  Between growing my jewelry business and my hair salon business I have also been Ballroom Dancing!  The last year and a half has been about trying to take better care of myself physically and mentally.

On the jewelry side I've been accepted into shows I never dreamed I'd be in.  This will be my second year at the Hyde Park Art Show  and my third year at Autumn Air Art Fair.  I've lost track of how many times I've been in  Art in the Park and Art Off Pike.

I've added some new events/shows to my list as well.. Mellwood Art Show in Louisville KY, the Holiday Market and Winterfair in Cincinnati and Winterfair Columbus OH.  I'll also be back at the Cincinnati Home and Garden Show in 2015.

I only realize how far my work has come when I see these shows on my list that I attended but never dreamed I'd be a part of.

Added to the shows I will have a necklace featured in a book coming out in the fall.  Mastering Torch-Fired Enamel is the newest book in the Painting With Fire Series by Barbara Lewis.  I was truly honored to be asked by the author, who is also my friend and mentor to contribute a piece for this book.  I can honestly say knowing her and learning to enamel changed my life.

Next up is a trip to Bead Fest Philly.  A great chance to meet friends in person that I've known for years online in the Creative Bead Chat Group on Facebook.   I just got featured in their online magazine.  And I have some upcoming posts for the magazine and for another online blog.  I'll be hitting up all my favorite stores in NYC with my side kick Heather of HeHe Beads and a few new bead hoarding buddies.

So yes, you will see me around here more.. but hang on cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride!

What's Happening

So, I have made a few things out of my bead soup beads, but you won't get even a hint here about what.  You will have to check back on reveal day.  I challenged myself and did a new technique with some of it.

Yesterday I had two really great things happen.  I woke up to get ready to go to breakfast and an antique show with my friend Paula Provenzano.  We were having breakfast at First Watch then up to the Cintas Center at Xavier University for the first Cincinnati Indoor Antique Market.  I got a few bargains and found a jewelry box to use as part of my display at shows.  I have been looking for unique items for jewelry display and loved the way this one opens to reveal several levels and drawers.  It will make it easy for me to do a mini trunk show at the salon I work at as well.  Just open it up and show off jewelry to potential customers.  I love poking around and looking in all the booths and bins for bits and pieces to add to my jewelry designs as well.

Like I always do, I opened up my email while I drank my first giant cup of coffee to see that I was featured on a blog by Barbara Lewis of Painting with Fire.  She had sent an email with some questions awhile ago and life got a bit too busy for me to respond.  I sent her an apology and once the first of the year hit I sat down to answer her back.  I was really honored and surprised to be asked.  I mean, I'm just Lynnea in Cincinnati making stuff...who'd want to read about me?  But, I answered the questions and as I did I realized there are people like me all over.  Making stuff....not sure where they are headed.  So I had to say....Why not me?

I've been doing a lot of reorganizing and restructuring my webpages and blogs and stores as my work has evolved in the last year.  I have a few close friends who insist I call what I do art, so I have in fact started to use that word more when I describe the creations I make. I was looking thru an old photobucket album and realizing that what I sold even 3 years ago is almost unrecognizable as my work today.  My friend Paula said maybe that whack on the head in my car accident was a really good thing!  I had to laugh, but could have really done without that whack thank you very much!

I really appreciate all the support I am receiving from my family and friends and the arts community both local and virtual.  I never dreamed that I'd be doing what I do now and have anyone notice it, let alone someone who wrote a book know who I am!  I'm looking forward to 2012 and seeing what I create and how my work continues to evolve.

As I said in my interview....there is no wrong in art!  Make what you love.

Sari Ribbon Party Blog Hop

So in my previous post I showed off some of my pieces using sari ribbon, but I saved the best for the blog hop.  I was excited to put this piece together and made many of the components myself.  The name of my piece is Autumn Garden Bracelet.  My inspiration came from Barbara Lewis and her wonderful book, Painting With Fire- Torch Fired Enamel Jewelry.  She has a piece in it titled Harem that I borrowed the idea from...and then as usual I expanded on it in the way only I can.


First I made the lamp work "flower" bead for the center of the bracelet and enameled head pins and beads to add to it:

 

Then I picked out my sari ribbon, which I purchased from Barbara Lewis .  She sells everything you need to get started with torch fired enameling and some beautiful sari ribbon too!

I then used a 7 inch piece of cotton rope and covered it in a coordinating fabric and began wrapping it in all the beads and fibers.  Here are the pictures of the end result....

I hope you enjoyed seeing my piece...stop at the other blogs and enjoy and be inspired by all the creations!

Sari Ribbon Party Blog Hop

Vickie Wills
http://www.jewelrybyvee.blogspot.com/

Susan Kennedy
http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Michelle Mach
http://www.michellemach.com/blog/


Michelle Lee Hardy
http://fireflyvisions.blogspot.com/

Ruth Crawford
http://www.home-with-ruth.blogspot.com


Hilary Frye, FryeStyle
http://fryestyle.blogspot.com/


Diana P.
http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com

Brenda Sue Lansdowne, B'sue Boutiques
http://www.bsueboutiques.typepad.com/

Elizabeth Owens-Dwy
http://www.clarityofpurplesage.blogspot.com

Connie Rios-Relyea
http://www.JewelsDesignsCreativeCorner.wordpress.com/

Jennifer Justman
http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/   

Deb Davis
http://www.naturaltreasuresbydeb.blogspot.com

Beanzie
http://www.thevintageheartcharmbracelets.com/the-vintage-heart-charm-b/
             
Cathie Carroll
http://www.cathiecarroll.com/

Rosemary Cowit
http://www.gemrosedesigns.blogspot.com/

Georgene Lockwood
http://sylvanavintagedesigns.wordpress.com/

Cathy Buckley
http://cathybuckleycatsmeow.blogspot.com

Harry Wood
http://www.oscarcrow.blogspot.com

Sonya Stille
http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com

Mary Deis
http://mdeis.blogspot.com/

Heather Goldsmith
http://asibeadit.blogspot.com/

Susan Rouleau
http://mountainshadowstudio.blogspot.com

Terry Matusyk
http://pinkchapeau.wordpress.com

Pam Chesbro
http://afortunatesoul.blogspot.com/

Mary Shannon Hicks
http://uptwnsh-fallingintothesky.blogspot.com/

Janice Everett
http://JLynnJewels.blogspot.com

Davinia
http://www.daviniadesign.com

Kristina Johansson, Maneki
http://wildrosesandblackberries.blogspot.com

Kris Binsfeld
http://www.cherishdesigns.wordpress.com

Alice Craddick
http://Alice'sBeadsandbaubles@blogspot.com

Mandy
http://www.beadsforbrains.blogspot.com

Charlene
http://thebeaddreamer.com/blog/

Catherine Jeltes
http://www.galleryzooart.com

Jackie
http://kydojewellery.blogspot.com/

Sharon Palac
http://www.sharonsjewelrygarden.blogspot.com

Deb Beechy
http://beetique56.blogspot.com/

Jean Yates
http://prettykittydogmoonjewelry.blogspot.com/

Patrice Pfeiffer
http://treeseatreasures.blogspot.com/

Dorcas Midkiff
http://wondrousstrangedesigns.blogspot.com/

Lynn Perry Bennett
http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com

Linzi Alford
http://www.magpieintheskyspoilheaptales.blogspot.com

Deb
http://greenshoot.blogspot.com/

Cynthia Wainscott
http://www.exoticperujewelry.blogspot.com
Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp
http://skyejewels.blogspot.com
B'sue Boutiques Creative Group
http://www.flickr.com/groups/bsueboutiques/
If you couldn't play this time, no worries.   Please come on over on Friday and cruise the blogs and see all the pretty jewelry!

Art In The Park

So yesterday was my first experience at Art In The Park in Bellevue Kentucky.  This was the tenth year for the show and there were 73 artists there.  Thanks to Jodi Robinson for her encouragement to enter.  There were a lot of jewelry booths.  Some were great and some were ok.  Apparently I was one of the great ones....because I won third place in the fine art division.

 I was the woman with the enameled jewelry that the judges kept talking about.  I was consistently the busiest booth in the entire show and at times there were people waiting to get into my booth.  And...people were not only telling my how much they liked my jewelry they were taking it home!  I gained a whole new group of fans.

Here are some pictures of my booth

I love selling at these shows when someone picks up a piece and says "I have to have this!"  And I heard that a lot yesterday.  Here are some pictures of the things I had at the show.

Much of this did not make the trip back to my house!  I want to thank Barbara Lewis of Painting with Fire for inspiring me to make the enameled and fold formed pieces.  Now to get ready for my next show in October ...Art off Pike!  Can't wait to see how that goes.....