About the new Botanicals . . .

Hi there...

Yeah, I know... you don't have to say it.

Sorry for not posting more often here on the blog, but I really have been busy in the studio, really.

This time, I've been getting ready for Bead Fest Philly!

So, I hope everyone's summer has been going great and you've been able to spend some quality time with the family. I know that I've been fortunate to do so most of July. Summer will be coming to an end soon and that's when the show season ramps up. I'm looking forward to all the upcoming shows.

In the meantime, I did promise in the last post that I would write a bit about the inspiration and development of the new Botanical series. I won't be able to update the website's online catalog until September so you'll just have to trust me that I've been diligently working hard in the studio. It's always a challenge to work in front of a hot torch in the summer months but the new series and experimenting with colors have enticed me daily.

Before I show and tell you all about the Botanical series, I want to take a few moments to thank all the wonderful beaders that visited me at the San Diego Bead Society Bazaar. It was fun to catch up with old friends and make new connections. Part of my joy in exhibiting at bead shows, in particular bead society bazaars, is that I get to see so many creative folks wearing their lovely creations. I get most excited when I recognize designs from Bead Romantique or a design from one of my bead articles. It is so nice of beaders to drop by the booth and proudly show me what they have created. It is even more exciting when I meet a new beader that expresses their joy in learning beadwork.

I am currently taking a well deserved break from writing and designing beadwork for publication but I hope everyone continues to look forward to the remainder Beadwork Designer of the Year projects. Two more are yet to be published!! After busying myself in writing and designing for magazines and my book for the last three years, I somewhat "neglected" my glasswork. Many glassy ideas were placed on the back burner of "to do's" until I had more time to develop them. This is why I was so very excited when the Botanical series came to life after my writing commitments were completed. Yay!

It has been several years since I have wanted to create this series. I have mulled over the technical aspects and challenges of the creation in my mind, spent countless hours dreaming consciously as well as subconsciously in the execution, and as usual, a design never comes to realization until it's time. And it was time... this July.

So here's the story...

When we purchased our home in 2002, one of the requests I made to my husband Nick was to have either plum or cherry blossom trees planted in the front garden. Not to disappoint, we planted two plum blossom trees. Although the trees are still quite young, this Spring (May) they blossomed beautifully. (see below)

Can you see above why I love plum and cherry blossoms? They are stupendously gorgeous.

The Chinese view the plum blossoms as both a symbol of winter as well as a harbinger of spring. Because the tree blossoms in the winter in China, it also serves as an example of resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity. The Japanese, on the other hand, believes the plum blossom “Ume” as a protective charm against evil and traditionally plant the tree in the north-east part of the garden, from the direction where evil is believed to travel. Interesting tidbits of info...

Below is a sample photo of the first batch of plum/cherry blossom inspired Botanicals. The floral shaping is inspired by the blossoms from my tree above, but since I love to play with color and I know beaders like me do as well, I've since created these Botanicals in a myriad of colors. The photo only shows a smidgen of available colors. And since I've been busy in the studio for the last 2.5 weeks, there will be over TWENTY (20!!) colors available for Philly Beadfest attendees. As colors become standardize, I will add them to the website's online catalog. For now, the Botanical series is only available at shows.

I like to use a 6mm Swarovski margarite in the center, as shown above. Soon, when I have "free" time, I shall design a beaded collar with these flowers to give you further design ideas. In the meantime, at shows you'll see a wirewrapped rendition with five Botanicals. These plum/cherry blossom inspired Botanicals are exactly how I envisioned them and finally after more than two years of thinking about making them... here they are! These flowers range from 0.75" to a little over 1"... just about quarter sized but less than half dollar. I didn't want the flowers to be too large and I think these are perfectly sized for beadwork. What do you all think?

I'm excited... and these fingers are itching to bead but I can't ...

Not yet, at least...

Prepping for shows come first as beading is a rare luxury these days.

You will also see a connection of the Botanical series with the next Beadwork Magazine Designer of the Year project coming up in the Oct/Nov issue. I won't spoil it for you folks but you will be able to connect everything later.

P.S. Btw, many of you have asked why I do NOT teach beading in a classroom setting. One of the prime reasons is that beading is my hobby. If I start teaching beading then it will become "work" and may make beading less fun for me. That's a risk I am not ready to make just yet. A girl's gotta have some fun, so for now I don't teach.

Until next time, stay creative!!

Lisa

Interesting comments on ...

I am still working on stringing and pricing beads for Tucson but wanted to write here a bit to share some of my thoughts.

When I was approached by Interweave in mid-2006 to write a book, it was one of those opportunities that you wished for but never thought you would have so quickly. First of all, I had just started writing projects for Beadwork and Bead Unique magazines in winter of 2005. I had just "entered" into the bead world officially in early 2005 so technically had a lot to "prove" and show the world. Writing a book was an eventual goal of mine but "with time". Like fine wine, with time I would be able to fine tune my craft. When you are approached with this opportunity, you think about it but you know your answer would be "yes" no matter how, you would get it done.

Not many people at that time knew that I could seed bead. Not many people except those at the local beadstore, San Gabriel Bead Company. I didn't have a repetriore of designs waiting in the wings to submit for a book. I didn't have a book proposal ready to pitch to an editor. I didn't have ANY designs. What I had was a sampling of my work of a few classes I took while still working as an engineer, to show my color sense and a "promise" that I had a great passion to share my ideas with the world. I don't teach workshops and had never written seed beaded instructions. My only training in instruction writing was writing step by step "standard operation procedures" (SOPs) for my department. I am the most critical person of my work. What you see in Bead Romantique was designed in an amazing timeframe. All the designs were beaded and written in three month intervals, less than a year's time. What you see in the pages were not the only designs submitted. What you see is what was selected. There were a total of thirty projects. And those that were not used in the book, have since appeared in Beadwork magazine (and two other magazines).

The book is a culmination of the designs in my dreams... this head of mine... and no one expected what would come out for the pages of Bead Romantique... not even me. I generally don't know what I will design when I sit down to work on an assignment. Sure, I collect ideas from images and sketch here and there. However, the best designs are the ones I least expect.. where one stitch moves surprisingly in a different direction to yield a fabulously exciting new shape or component.. Aha moments. I love those. No one knew me as a seed beader therefore there should be "no expectations" of me, right? The only expectations were my own - to write projects that would challenge me and my fellow beaders.

I must admit that when Bead Romantique was just about to release, I told Tricia, my editorial director at Interweave, that I had some trepidation. (paraphrasing) "Will people love my work or will they say "who does she think she is?" I have welcomed all criticism, good and bad. A majority of the responses have been positive. As a bibliophile, I buy lots of books so have an opportunity to wander around Amazon quite a bit. Amazon is the place that has the most open method of criticism for an author's work. You don't even have to own the book or have bought it from Amazon to comment. You can even add pictures of non-related items to a book's page. This leaves a LOT of freedom and POWER to a potential reviewer! Frankly, I have never written a review on any book. I don't depend on someone else's criticism of a book to purchase a book. It is interesting though some of the comments you read.

I found two interesting comments made on Bead Romantique that I thought I would share on the blog with commentary. You can read more on Amazon if you wish...

Not What I thought..., September 17, 2008
(Janesville, Wisconsin United States) - The book had nice designs, but a lot of variations of the same thing. Not what I expected from this author.

Lisa's Comment: This particular review was interesting to me because the reviewer stated "Not what I expected from this author". I didn't know what to make of that statement since I felt no one expected anything from me due to me being an "unknown" in the seed bead world. Was it positive as in I surprised them with exciting projects or they expected much more from me? Hmmmm... I found the comments interesting nonetheless.

Also, the book does have several variations using similar components but in different projects to show you that you can expand from the basics. I can not assume that everyone who purchases Bead Romantique is intermediate to advanced level so there are matching earrings to the larger projects for those who are just starting out with beads. This was one of the premises of the book which was covered in the introduction. It is how I design - modular components. I enjoy seeing what one component can become in expanded designs. To say that the book had "a lot" of variations of the same thing I believe is not really paying attention. I am glad to read that the reviewer found the book had "nice designs". Thank you very much. I worked hard to create every one of those and tried to be unique in my design approach. I hope you enjoy the projects if indeed you really purchased my book and definitely looked through the projects carefully.

An OK read with enough projects to keep you busy, October 23, 2008
(Victoria, Australia) I liked the diagrams showing the progress of steps, the tips and pictures of the designs in different colours. I would have liked to see a sample of at least five projects (pictures only) before buying.

Lisa's Comments: For the next review, the beader noted that the book was "OK" and they would have liked to have seen photos of the projects. I'm not sure why she rated the book a "three" though given her comments above were quite positive. Amazon has a feature that allows you to see select pages from the book. If that is not enough you can also view additional pages from Interweave's site which can be linked from this blog or my website. There are obvious reasons why not all the pictures are shown for every project of the book on Amazon.

Rating systems are a personal evaluation. I ask anyone considering my book to judge for yourself whether the projects interest you. If you are up for a challenge, even if you are a begineer, I promise that I will take you on a journey through history. And take the components that I teach you into a different direction to make a design your own. Bead creatively and your work will speak your own voice.

*****

I want to take the time now to thank those who emailed me directly and shared their comments about their impressions of this book. Many of you have also shared photos of your finished projects. You have also visited my booth at shows to proudly wear your finished projects. Thank you and keep 'em coming. This response and feedback encourages me to continue designing and writing for publication. Please note that I do not teach at this time and don't know if I can find time to do so in the future since I get myself involved in lots of different projects. As to kits, I am still thinking about it. I may just write new projects and create kits based on those in the future.

I have also received many requests from teachers wanting to teach Bead Romantique designs at their local beadstores. Please note that generally this violates the copyright infringement laws. Although some teachers have contacted me to ask permission, I also know that there may be others who will not and I can't do anything about that. I will grant any teacher who wants to teach Bead Romantique designs permission with two criteria

1. That you have the courtesy to email me, let me know which project and what store you wish to teach the project. I want to have a record so you don't get in trouble with copyrights.
2. That you sell a copy of Bead Romantique with the class fee. This ensures that I get "credit" for the original design even if you are selecting your own colors or changing out some components.

I hope that everyone realizes writing a book is a LOT of work. Writing a book with all new projects is even more difficult. The challenge of compiling this book was actually more on the balance of time between my glass work, exhibit schedule, and other things in life. I placed a lot of energy and heart into writing Bead Romantique. I give my techniques in this book and in my articles freely. I write and share because I want to elevate beading to an art form so that many others can continue to enjoy this traditional craft. I don't ask for much in return. Besides, there are many other hobbies I could be doing besides writing/designing for publication. For instance, I could be knitting that dream sweater or finishing my hexagon blanket.

For projects appearing in bead magazines please only use those for "personal use" as one can get carried away with copyright infringement. One thing I encourage beaders to do is to take ideas from the projects to make it "YOUR OWN". I write because I want to "teach" through my writing... not so that someone can take my design to sell it or teach it as their own. Once I write for publication, it is the risk that I take. I take the risks knowing that there are "ripoff artists" out there which is unavoidable as there are always unscrupulous folks in every walk of life and in every industry. I only "hope" that I don't meet any one like that in person. (There is no knowing what I'd do to you! haha)

Thank you for reading my thoughts for today... With your encouraging emails I continue to design with my heart and from my dreams, which are plentiful. I hope to continue to share many more designs with you as one of the Designers of the Year in Beadwork 2009. I am honored to have been chosen as one of four designers for this new feature! I don't design for contests or exhibits and probably never will. I design for wearability, feminity and romanticism not for show. I hope you enjoy and will be excited to see what is yet to come... there are many more dreams in this head of mine.

Back to getting ready for Tucson
Lisa

Ring a Ling Ling ...

Unlike some people, I don't glue myself to the phone. Most of the time, I can't answer the phone because I am in the glass studio usually in the middle of making a bead. It's not like I can stop at a moment's notice, run to answer the phone, and finish the bead later. With other art mediums, the flexibility may be there. As to my cell phone, half the time it's not even charged or on. I just use it for emergencies and to call my husband. Most of the time, I am working in the studio, so the cell phone stays in the car. I have a "pay as you go" cellphone so my costs are minimal!

I had a phone appointment with my editor to talk about the next steps of the book this afternoon. By the way, this is the only way to get a hold of me - send me an email that you will call on a certain day, at a certain time. Is that bad of me or just being very organized? Back to the book - because the book projects are quite technical and geared towards intermediate/advance beaders (with some chain and wire included), the concern was how many of the thirty projects would fit in the book. You see, publishers allot a certain page count to books usually in multiples of 16. I learned this today. Surprisingly I didn't ask how many pages my book was going to be from the beginning. Before I spoke to my editor, I had gone through some of the page counts of recent books from Interweave. I saw 112, 128 and 240. Most of the books were in the range of 112 or 128 pages. So this was one of the questions I finally inquired with my editor. It turns out my book will be *144* pages. This is spectacular news, especially because most Interweave books average 112 and 128. Even with 144 pages, we will not be able to fit in all thirty projects. Oh well.

So the phonecall was to discuss the priorities. Eighteen of the thirty projects were selected to be definite "in the book" category. Eight projects were selected as optional additions should there be extra pages. The remainder projects from these eight not selected will most likely be snatched up by Beadwork magazine. All great news because if I take the time to design a project, I would like it to be published. Four projects were not selected based on several factors which I agree with. Two were not related to the theme as closely as the chosen projects, one was similar to that published already in BW, and the last one had a component that would be difficult to find (even if I really liked this design especially). I think the "jury" selected the projects I would have if I had to omit some.

So I am a bit jazzed today because we are moving forward. The projects are now with the technical editor who will tweak my instructions and condense them. I tend to be a bit wordy with my instructions to make sure I cover everything. After the TE is done, I get to give it a once over. Interweave will be taking test shots for potential covers in the next few weeks. I like the fact that they are keeping me in the loop throughout the process and will send me the photos for my opinion in two weeks. Then the layout editor jumps in and I will have a final once over by end of this year to get it ready for a Spring 2008 launch at Bead Expo Portland!

Of all the editors I've worked with, I would have to say that I am immensely impressed by the professionalism, openness, and approachability of the Interweave team. Everyone I've worked with have been so nice.

Pump Up the Volume...

I consider Michael Barley to be one of my two main glass mentors (the other one is glass goddess, Kim Osibin). I was fortunate to have taken a workshop in Port Townsend, WA July 2005 at Michael's studio. I only spent two days under his watchful eye but since then we have kept in touch regularly! Last year, I wrote an artist profile on Michael for Beadwork Magazine's October issue. Before that trip, I was still working full-time and then after my first Tucson exhibit, I knew I could not place glass as the second priority much longer. So the trip to Port Townsend was a very special turning point in my glass journey.

Once upon a time, I worked as a senior quality assurance engineer at a computer display company. The company was downsizing and their focus was no longer on "quality" but on profit, so the entire department was eliminated on April 20, 2005. I was only six days shy of being there ten years. So much for sticking in there and working towards that company logo (I think it was gold) watch. Too bad for them but good for me. While other long time employees received the same news and cried upon being laid off, I jumped for joy inside. I had been working towards becoming full time with my glasswork, but had planned to make the leap in 2007 or 2008. Well, sometimes things happen in our lives for a reason and Father Time was telling me to get to it.

One of the engineering directors also got let go and quickly took a position in a competing company just a few blocks away. He asked me in an email several weeks later, "Do you need a job?". I happily replied (paraphrasing my original reply but these were the sentiments) "No, I think it's time to leave the corporate world and engineering to work on my glass. BUT I will call you, if for some reason things don't work out." I haven't made that call yet, haven't looked back and don't miss the corporate world at all. Does it matter that I went to school all those years to get a BSEE only to work on glass now? Are you kidding? Besides, working with glass is very technical and so my engineering skills have not gone for naught.

What does this have to do with Michael Barley? I consider Michael's class as the first I have taken (outside of the initial beginning lampwork classes I took at the San Gabriel Bead Company so I would learn the basics and how not blow up the garage.) I consider myself predominantly self-taught but this also means I have unconventional beadmaking habits that may be wrong to some but right to me. Hey, if the results are the same, does it matter how you get there? Well maybe.

Last week, I received a Japanese Volcano Air Torch from Michael. He had an extra torch from a Japanese friend that taught at his studio earlier this year. When I recently voiced that I was "tempted" to play with Satake glass, Michael offered the torch to me with all the accoutrement. It was just the natural next step to jump in and get the right gear. I love new toys and gadgets so couldn't resist! And thanks to Michael, I now have the right tools and will work on the right skills soon. I really won't have time to play with the torch but when I do, it is here waiting for me!

The flame SHOOTS vertically up, which will take some time getting used to. I've lit the torch up, at a safe distance, a few times just to make sure everything was working. I've successfully made two simple spacer beads as well.

Why another torch? Satake glass is very soft with a COE (coefficient of expansion) of 120. The higher the COE, the softer the glass. As a comparison, Moretti/Effetre and Vetrofond has a COE of 104, Gaffer/Spectrum/Reichenbach has a COE of 96, Bullseye has a COE of 90 and Northstar/Glass Alchemy has a COE of 33. American torches would boil and bubble the Satake glass, as we tend to work hotter. Besides, have you seen the lovely Satake lead glass palette? I'm a color junkie and was converted instantly after seeing some of the beautiful Satake beads Michael makes. Not many American bead artists are using Satake, although the numbers are growing, so another enticing prospect. Besides, I'm a gigantic fan of Japanese esthetics and arts, so if I am going to discover tonbodama (Japanese beadmaking) then I might as well do it with Japanese glass and a Japanese torch!

What's neat about this torch is that it is an "air" torch. The torch only requires propane and air to work. An air pump is used and is so much more quieter than my Puritan Bennett oxygen concentrators! The softer flame also means one will be working slower but the rewards for patience is overwhelming.

The fantabulous Craig Milliron of Arrow Springs, an engineer's dream and magical toolmaker, was nice enough to entertain my emails on Satake's annealing schedule. Now my kiln is programmed and ready to go. It will take some time until I'll be ready to launch any bead series with Satake but it is something to look forward to. So, let the Satake adventures begin.

Now if only I can engineer a way to add more time to a day so I can pump up the volume on my production schedule. Hmmmm...