February Art Bead Scene - The Kiss

February's Art Bead Scene Contest was inspired by The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. I can't believe that they have picked two of my favorite paintings in two months for inspiration. I love Klimt as an artist... there are so many layers and interesting details in his work. His dots and shapes add so much texture and interest. Check out the painting on the contest site.

The Kiss was painted between 1907 - 1908 in what is known as Klimt's "Golden Phase" during which time he utilized a lot of gold leafing in his work. For me, it was the luminous golden tones that make this painting so warm and passionate.

Because of the details of this painting, there were many ways to go artistically. One of my LEST Team members, Marcy of Studio Marcy, did a literal interpretation. It was amazing.

After several false starts, trying to pick up frits and such to play off of Klimt's dots and lines in this piece, I sat at the torch very frustrated. As I sat there visualizing the painting in my head, all the gold in the painting was what kept coming to mind. And I realized the beads I was making were way too complicated...that I could simply encase some 23K gold foil with crystal. As luck would have it, a new metallic glass arrived and I couldn't resist adding some surface decoration.

I like the way the focal and simple spacers came out - although one painter friend declared them a tad too "happy" for Klimt! LOL!

With all that gold, I couldn't fall back on my silver stash for the finished jewelry piece. I priced real gold, checked the old pocket book and opted for gold plated instead!

I wire wrapped the beads with jet 2x Swarovskis and wire wrapped a few more at the back connecting that to a thinner wire with numerous 3mm jet 2x bicones, wrapped into an oval. For the clasp on the other side, I looped some 16 guage gold plated wire and hammered it for texture.

The necklace is 25 " from end to end but hangs more like a 20" due to the layout of the beads.

This piece was made exclusively for sale on GirlPowerGolf.com

Elation

I've been one ecstatic beadmaker this week!

I sold bunches of beads to students and then on Monday, sold one of my all time favorite beads - this cupcake:

And if that weren't enough, my LEST beads team has named me their featured artist. I feel truly honored!

You can read the interview here. And while you're there, check out the other fabulous lampwork artists that make up the Lest Beads team!

Are You Tuff Enough?

"It's cancer."

That has to be one of the hardest phrases in the world to utter. And even harder to hear. That phrase can send your world, your head, your gut spinning.

My own precious sister has had to hear that phrase twice in her 65 years. In November of 1993, we found out she had stage four breast cancer. By December, she'd had a radical mastectomy and the fight was on. Chemo took her hair and brought so many tears. Radiation burned the flesh off her chest. And then, she was better.

Ten years of check ups followed. Every three months for two years, then every four, then every six. At the ten year mark, she was released to yearly checks and taken off Tamoxifen. She credited that drug with keeping her alive and confessed to me she was terrified of stopping it.

And for one precious month, we breathed. That great communal exhalation of "maybe, she's fine now." And then she wasn't.

Her new puppy kept sniffing one spot on her neck. Strange. And then she fell out a van - being a klutz runs in the family - and her neck started hurting. One thing led to another and finally we heard those terrible words again. "It's cancer."

Her breast cancer had returned as a tumor in her neck and it was wrapping around her spinal cord and choking her nerves and if she didn't do something NOW, she would be paralyzed from the neck down! Yes, I know she had a PET scan ONE MONTH before and it was all clear but now it wasn't.

Because of the proximity to her spinal cord her only option was a type of miracle radiation known as Proton radiation. In 2003, there were only two facilities using this revolutionary treatment that can get radiation into the body with pin-point accuracy. And one was Loma Linda Medical Center, 70 miles from my home.

I was recovering from my own surgery when my mom and sister moved in. For over three months, we made the daily trek to Loma Linda. I was so privileged to witness miracles there. I saw a blind person's vision return. I met many, many wonderful men of all ages dealing with prostate cancer - proton was the only treatment option for many.

Daily, my sister was strapped to a table by a custom made mask. The mask was placed over her face and screwed down to the table to keep her from moving during treatment. She was x-rayed and the techs would move the table across several axis' to ensure proper placement of the proton beam. Then they left the room and zapped her and it was over. They had it down to such a science that often, I would still be looking for a parking spot when she would appear, ready to go home.

When my sister first arrived in L.A., any bump in the road would cause her to scream at the top of her lungs! She was in so much pain. I drove with a constant cringe on my face, waiting for her to scream. And after only five treatments, I hit a huge pothole. I crouched, waiting. And nothing. I looked at her...half afraid I had paralyzed her. She was just sitting there.

"You OK?"

"Yeah."

"That was a big pothole. Did it hurt?"

"No."

I knew then, she was already getting better.

She just had her PET scan (five years and counting...) and she's still all clear. And yet she knows, we all know - This is what will take her from us...one day.

So with that, I urge you all to go get your yearly mammary-gram. It's October. Breast Cancer Awareness month. Do it. NOW!

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, my Lest Beads Team is hosting a special beady event called Are You Tuff Enough to Wear Pink? Each of the team participating members have special items in their Etsy shops and part of all of the profits will go to selected Breast Cancer charities. Here's the thread on Etsy where you can link into participating shops.

Buy beads and fight cancer, how cool is that!???!

And go get your boobies squished! NOW!

Just Give

My LEST Beads team is having an August promotion where each lampworker has chosen to charity to give part or all of her profits to.

My chosen charities are: The Animal Rescue Site and Stand Up 2 Cancer.

The Animal Rescue Site raises funds to feed shelter animals in this country. By clicking on the link in their site -- just by clicking - - you can help feed a shelter animal!

Stand Up 2 Cancer is raising funds to provide much needed research and hopefully a cure with the belief that cancer touches all of us (it does me) and that we need to individually help find a cure. You can buy a star in honor or memoriam of a loved one there for a dollar.

I will be giving away ALL monies from my Etsy store in August. No deductions for Etsy or Paypal. I would love to write two big fat checks at the end of the month. Many other lampworkers would love to do the same. Here is a link to a promotion thread on Etsy with links to others participating and each of them tell a bit about their chosen charity.

What a great thing...lampwork and charity!


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Didn't Mean to Disappear...

Really, I didn't mean to launch a blog and disappear, but life had other plans. I have bronchitis and pneumonia. There's a longer explanation over on Creekhiker. In the meantime, I have a bead in a competition with my Etsy Bead Group, Lest Beads. The contest is Red White & Blue and here's my entry:


Patriot by Hollysfolly
Originally uploaded by HollysFollyGlass

Contest is over!

Thanks for voting and I will be back soon!




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BITACLE.ORG steals content. JESUS GLEZ is a THIEF. If you are reading this post on BITACLE.ORG, you are supporting theft of intellectual property. This post was written and copyrighted by CREEKHIKER, who has not given consent for material to be reproduced. Please visit Holly's Folly Bead Blog to enjoy this content LEGALLY.

If you want to know why this message is at the bottom of every post, read this post.