A Little Sunshine for You!

Okay, who else is ready for winter to be over with?! Yes—I knew I wasn't the only one! Being snowed in 3 times in 3 weeks is enough winter to last me quite a while!

Pretty, isn't it? Beautiful for a short walk out—incredibly annoying when you need to go somewhere in a hurry. Needless to say, I've been hunkered down in my studio making beads, only dashing out as fast as I can for a few groceries, post office runs, and to feed hungry horses!

But today, at last, there is sunshine and melting! I never thought I would be so happy to see that red Virginia mud again.

So to celebrate, I'm sharing my some lovely sunshine inspired artisan beads and handcrafted jewelry from the AJE team and a few of my favorite bead makers… snatch these up and enjoy a little sunshine wherever you are…

Orange edged lemon drops by Diana of Suburban Girl Beads

Hand carved feather beads by Caroline of Blueberri Beads

Rustic stamped Tree of Life charms by Jenny

A sweet little yellow bunny pendant by Christine of Back Bay Pottery

Glowing yellow and sterling hand crafted earrings by Niky of Silver NikNats

Mustard yellow moroccan tile polymer pendant by Ashley of Summer Wind Art

Atlantean Earth Discs by Karen of Starry Road Studio

Sunny yellow pressed flower daisy charms by Rebekah (me!) of Tree Wings Studio

Bright melon flower chicklets by Sue of SueBeads

"Orange Tower" bead set by Ramona of Glass Geo Beads

Juicy orange lampwork murrini headpins by Jen of Glass Addictions

Orange Dreamsicle Lampwork disc beads by Karen of Libelula Designs

Enameled tulip bead caps by Nadin from Nadin Art Glass

Beautifully detailed mango and turquoise lampwork bead by Ali from Alive Glass

Rustic burnt orange sun pendant by Lesley of THEAElements

Dainty orange flowered bead by Anke of AVBeads

Hand carved and painted flower petal pendant by Lorraine of LOVObeads

Summer Haze WoolyWire by Nellie

Burned leather coneflower focals by my sister and studio partner, Bethanne

Bright orange and turquoise knotted earrings by Linda

Tribal sun pendant by Gloria of Chrysalis Curiosities

And, last but not least—a primitive stamped connector bead by Red Star Art Beads

Wishing you all a happy and sunshine filled weekend!

Rebekah Payne

Tree Wings Studio

Blog: treewingsstudio.com

Shop: treewingsstudio.etsy.com

February Component of the month by Melissa Meman

I am so desperate for winter to be OVER. While snowfall hasn't been as bad for us as last year, I've been cold since October. So when I got Melissa's February component of the month in the mail a few days ago, I immediately thought summer. I got one of these gorgeous carved flowers, but in white copper. I think it could also be a sun, depending on how you choose to look at it.

I've been considering what I want to put with it, and my murrini addiction has been well documented over the last couple years. So I immediately thought about what murrini matches my idea of summer. 

Here's a brand new mix called Pansy Garden from Lori and Kim (my personal drug dealers murrini suppliers).

But I would have to place another order to get this mix (and that would be wonderful tragic). And I just placed an order like a week ago and got these yummy murrini:

and 

Or even use my "go to" favorite mix used in these beads:

Of the 500 murrini mixes I've bought over the last few years, probably half will showcase the type of summer palette I really want. 

I'm also thinking about using some seed beads, which is totally unusual for me. Also maybe some leather. Matching murrini to seeds already in my stash might be the best method so I don't have to order any....

I've also been working on perfecting the lightbulb link from Cindy Wimmer's Missing Link book (which I really love). I'm getting closer, but trying to decide how long I prefer the "bulb" portion of the link. Yeah, I'm being a bit OCD about the whole thing. 

Maybe I'll sprinkle a lightbulb or two into the design as well. I don't know. But I'm super excited to make the beads, finish it up, and WEAR it. I'm hoping it will inspire Mother Nature to hurry spring and summer along.

In the meantime, if you would like to play along with the February component of the month, it looks like Melissa has a few pieces left in her shop. 

How are you coping with the weather? (Or maybe this is the best time of the year for you?) 

Winter Blues and and a Wayward Muse

So how are you feeling during these cold, dark and dismal months of winter? I've definitely been having a bad case of the winter blues and it's been affecting my creativity because I don't want to make beads - can you believe that?

According to the NHS (UK National Health Service) the winter blues or SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) to give it it's official title could be related to the way in which our body responds to daylight:
 
“With SAD, one theory is that light entering the eye causes changes in hormone levels in the body. In our bodies, light functions to stop the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, making us wake up..“It’s thought that SAD sufferers are affected by shorter daylight hours in the winter. They produce higher melatonin, causing lethargy and symptoms of depression.” If you’re going through a bout of winter blues, lack of daylight is probably playing a part.

Well lethargic is a perfect description of the way I've been feeling and it's curious that the sleepy suns in the image above feature among the very few beads I have been able to make.

I do try and go for a 30 minute walk every day but rather than sit on my butt and wait for Spring I'm also aiming to take myself off to some of my favourite places a couple of times a week for some extra light exposure...

Granted it doesn't look like this right now (picture taken in late spring) but it's still lovely and it leads to a beautiful beach which always calms my soul...

 

Of course there are lots of other things that can affect the creative flow from illness or anxiety about situations that threaten our emotional or physical well being to the everyday stresses and strains of living in a world that seems to run at an ever faster pace. Coincidentally I spotted this in a magazine at my hairdressers (also a quick, short term fix for the winter blues) yesterday...

Spooky huh?

And of course, what you've been doing creatively can also lead to a freeze from time to time. If you're having to be creative in your day job or you've recently completed a huge creative project maybe you're just a little burnt out. Like everyone I was manically busy with work in the run up to Christmas as well as completing an overhaul of my house and as soon as I got back in the new year, I had to dive headlong into preparing for a project with a tight deadline that had me working solidly for several weeks with very little time for anything else. As soon as that was done I had to sort out all my paper work and complete my annual income tax return and that in itself is enough to bring anyone down! Add to that that the studio looked like the aftermath of a Tsunami and I guess it's no surprise that it just seemed easier to walk away and settle in front of the TV for the day with a tube of Pringles.

The key point here is that sometimes there are good reasons why our Muse's may be wayward from time to time and we just need to learn to rest our bodies and souls and recuperate and to deal with all the interferences that are blocking our creativity in order to get the juices flowing again.

But what if none of these things apply and you still don't feel like doing the thing you love the most...? Well that's quite a scary feeling and one that can create its own stress that feeds back into the cycle. I turned to my own therapy group ( The AJE team are a fantastic support network) and they've all experienced this at some point and where unanimous in the belief that exposure to other forms of creativity is a good cure for creative block. Doing something that is not your life's work or passion but interests you without feeling you have to excel can be a real boost.

I've always wanted to try my hand at painting but have never really known what or where to start, not wanting to go down any intensive learning route. My AJE team mate Jenny showed me some of her art journals when I stayed with her last year and I really liked the quick informal style. On her recommendation I've recently started an online water colour sketching class with Jane LaFazio  and what do you know - I love it! I spent a couple of hours on my first lesson this last weekend and completely lost myself in it just enjoying the experience and feeling of being able to create with no pressure.

I've always been a firm believer that different creative activities cross pollinate and influence the different areas of my work and I'm sure signs of this class will come through too. I've never really been one for sketching bead and jewellery designs but after a chat with the team about an upcoming challenge that's exactly what I did last night and came up with lots of ideas so, maybe the funk is clearing...three cheers for that.

If you have any ideas or techniques for dealing with this kind of situation do let us know...we're all for sharing anything that can help our community stay motivated and inspired. Not long now until spring...

Water colour sketch by Jane LaFazio