I won! I won! I won!

So, as you all know, I entered a piece of my jewelry in the local art show.  For me, this was mostly about networking, getting my name and what I do out there in the community and helping a worthwhile cause.  Oh, yeah!  And for fun.

Imagine my surprise to actually discover a ribbon next to my submission.  I had won second place!  I was pretty tickled with the whole experience--not the least of which was receiving a $50.00 prize check!  (It's already spent on metal-working tools to go along with my glass.)

I know, second place doesn't sound like such a huge deal. But to me it was a big deal.  This is the very first time that I have entered an art show.  And while I make things that I like and are true to my artistic voice it is nice to get a little validation that what I like isn't totally awful.

Fantasia

Our small community has an art show every August.  This year I was invited to display some of my jewelry for the show.

This is what I finally made and submitted.  I have named it Fantasia.

This is (obviously) a close-up of the front dangle.  I was going to hang drop beads from the brass flower and then decided that I preferred the small seed beads on long headpins to resemble stamens.

I loved the frit that I used for these.  It is very fine and gives almost a water-color type effect to the glass.  This is what I always hope to achieve with frit and finally discovered how to get that stain of color rather than obvious spots.

I love the sparkle of dichro and almost always can find a place for it in anything I make.  The charms and chain and front pendant were all procured from a local bead store.

When I took this to the show to have it entered the lady who was accepting submissions seemed somewhat disappointed that I had brought her only one entry.  I was given to understand that next year I need to submit three entries...and the necklace I was wearing was very pretty.  Well, yes, it was, but it didn't meet the criteria of being completed within the last twelve months.

Heredity

Growing up I had two grandmothers--like most people.  There was California Grandma and Saskatchewan Grandma.  Both of them were very different and I only realized recently how much impact they actually had on me.  We moved a lot while I was growing up and both grandmothers provided a sense of constancy--they never moved.

California Grandma was artistic and musical.  She had a grand piano that I inherited and her house was full of books.  There was always something to read and usually a jig-saw puzzle needing to be finished.  She did not like to cook.  In fact she was a terrible cook.  She worked in the psychiatric field.  And her house was always a disaster.  She also loved to travel and would visit us with some frequency.

Saskatchewan Grandma was pragmatic and practical.  She didn't like to cook either, but her food tasted good.  Her house was clean and she had an enormous, weed-free garden.  Although, she was a firm believer in education, there were very few books in her house.  I don't know how many times I read James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small because it was the only book I could find to read.  Well, I guess there were also some Ukrainian books, but I didn't speak Ukrainian, much less read it. Because of the farm and the work it entailed, Saskatchewan Grandma rarely traveled.

Here is where things become interesting.  I am artistic and musical.  I love to read.  However, I love to cook and I am both good at it and can make food that tastes good.  My house is not spotless, but it is not usually a complete disaster.  I have an enormous garden, but it is not weed-free...I am able to preserve what grows in my garden.  My house is also full of books and music.

I am amused to discover that I am not like one grandmother more than another, but am a combination of the two with my own twist thrown in for good measure.

Flying Summer

 July has sort of rushed on by!  I can sort of remember a barbecue with family and friends for the Fourth.

And then I got busy.  I started to help cook for harvest.  Not only that, add in all the job hunting I'm doing, and the somewhat neglected garden.  I'm also supposed to be making something for an upcoming art show as well as make beads for a friend's wedding.

I could be perfectly happy puttering around at home--as long as I could figure out how to pay all those pesky bills.  I have some ideas and would certainly welcome more suggestions.

My morning glories have started to bloom and they are so pretty.  They always make me happy.

Yesterday I had the day at home.  So I did a little yard clean up and did some shoring up of the irrigation ditch.  Then I went to war on the milkweed growing in my raspberries.  I like the milkweed, I really do, but it is completely taking over the raspberry bed.  So it must go.  We have some growing somewhere else for any misplaced Monarch butterflies who might pass by.  But that sap!  It gets all over my skin and makes me wildly itchy!  If I don't wash it all off, it leaves burns.  I persevered and pulled out about a third of the milkweed before I had to go and scrub.  Note to self--WEAR JEANS when working in the milkweed.

Today it rained, so again, I couldn't cook.  I finished most of the beads for the wedding.  And I am now off to find and price out everything I need to finish my piece for the art show.  The deadline is August 10.