Bead Dreams 2014

Happy day!

I recently got word that my beaded necklace, Arabesque,

has been juried into the Bead Dreams 2014 show.

I'm super pleased to be included in this amazing exhibition!

There will be pieces in the show from as far away as Russia and Japan.

I can't wait to see them.

Wishing you a wonderful week full of 

color and good news.

P.S. we're in the midst of a huge snowstorm.

I bet you can't top that bit of craziness!

Comments are off.

VanDemark Designs

For some time, I've wanted to redesign my website so that it reflected

 all the different mediums that I enjoy working with.

Well, that has finally happened, thanks to lots of work on my husband's part!

Now, at VanDemark Designs you'll find beadwork, textiles, and photography.

We still have some things to tweak and a couple images to replace...

but, please take a moment to check out the new, improved

VanDemark Designs.

If you have an old link to my website homepage, replace it with this -

www.vandemarkdesigns.com/home.html
(blog remains - http://vandemarkdesigns.blogspot.com)

Wishing you a wonderful, creative week!

Bead Frenzy

There is a whole lot of beading going on in my studio

 as I'm working on an elaborate project for a show.

Since I want you to think I'm very neat and tidy,

there will be no studio photos today.

Instead, I'll tell you about what you'd see ~

a large Chinese Writing Stone Cabochon

from Gary B. Wilson Lapidary Design - it's a looker,

Swarovski crystals - the ultimate in bling,

Pyrite stone beads with an AB finish - subtle shimmer and texture,

seed beads - bags upon bags of them in a rainbow of colors,

drawings, tracing paper mock-ups, Ultra Suede,

 and the usual beading tools -

long beading needles, Nymo thread (size D), plus scissors.

If you're wondering what this amazing peacock street art mural

 has in common with my project....

well, they're both colorful,

both large (my necklace only in relative terms, of course),

and

both stop you in your tracks!

(hoping this necklace will when it's done - we'll see).

Wishing you a colorful, creative week!

Sightseeing

It's a mountaintop forest?  Maybe.

It's a miniature forest?  You're closer.

It's a miniature frost forest?  You're much closer.

It's a miniature frost forest on top of a Subaru?  You've got it!

I kinda love my macro lens

because it opens up a whole tiny, tiny visual world 

for me to explore.

Feeling a bit like Gulliver, today.

Hope your world is filled with wonders,

both big and small!

The Latest

A couple bits of goodness ~

Recently, I was featured in the Impossible Project's Analog Travelog Series.

This is the Polaroid version of my summer trip to the city,

 taken with Impossible film.

Hope you can check it out - here.

Secondly, I just got back from teaching at the 

Indian Summer Quilt Show & Conference.

Many thanks to Muriel, Marcia, the friendly guild members, and all

the enthusiastic students that I had the pleasure of working with.

It was a delightful week!!!

Wishing you joy in creating.....

it's a wonderful way to live.

Once Upon a Time...

Today, I'm a guest contributor at the Mortal Muses site.

 My post is titled, Once Upon a Time...

I hope that you can stop by and say, Hi!

Link

Wishing you wonderful light
and happy times creating.

Comments are off.

What you see!

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." ~ Henry David Thoreau

I live on an old paved road.

As far as paved roads go, this one is pretty idyllic looking.

A lake flanks each side of the road which is lined with stately conifers 

and overhanging deciduous trees.

Add a couple tiny backwater ponds, which the frogs love, 

and I've got a great place to walk, bike, and photograph.

This old road has been patched many a time,

creating some interesting designs.

In some spots, these patches remind me of elegant oriental writing,

while in other places they look more like the work of a 

paint splattering modern artist!

Are you seeing beyond the obvious today?

Have a wonderful week "seeing".

Dancing

Today, I want to share with you the color and bokeh dancing across my beadwork.

Enjoy!

Wishing you a colorful and creative week!

Simple Gifts

Lately, I've received some simple, special gifts.

Glads from a family friend. 

Plus, colorful postcards in the mail.

The later treat was due to Kat Sloma's Liberate your Art Postcard Swap.

How wonderful to find beauty in my mailbox instead of the usual junk mail and bills!

A big thank you to ~

Leigh, Jenny, Sassy, Tonia, Melissa,

and 

Kat Sloma;

 the mastermind and hard worker behind this project.

(links where given)

Hope your week is filled with creativity and simple gifts!

Beautiful Bokeh

Today, I am a guest contributor at the Shutter Sisters site.

Hope you can stop by, say hi, and soak up some bokeh and bling!

I'm also happy to have one of my photos recognized over at
 Darwin Wiggett and Samantha Chrysanthou's blog, oopoomoo.

Wishing those in the USA a wonderful, relaxing Labor Day.

Lensbaby Alchemy

Alchemy ~ any seemingly magical power.

One part beauty + one part "Radiance" necklace + one part velvet cape + 

one part rainy day light + one part Lensbaby =

magic captured.

Lensbaby 2012 Photo Story Challenge

Bead Heaven

Recently, I traveled to Milwaukee, WI to attend the annual Bead and Button Show 

and Bead Dreams Exhibition.

The Bead Dreams Exhibition included a group of amazing beaded pieces from around the world.

I was very fortunate to have my necklace, Tudor Splendor, juried into this exhibition.

Besides the inspiring jewelry, there was also a huge vendor mall.

It was like dropping into bead heaven!

Needless to say, I now have plenty of new, beautiful cabochons and beads

 to use in my jewelry and textile work.   

I'm feeling kind of like a magpie, as I eye my new stash of glimmer and bling :)

Hope you're basking in the warmth and sparkle of summer!

P.S. I've got comments turned off, as summer is so busy.

You can always reach me by email, if you'd like.

Theodore's Wisdom

Unfolding - quilt detail

Our daughter came home from college for the summer with a quote she wanted to share with us.

"Comparison is the thief of joy"  ~ Theodore Roosevelt

This quote certainly gives one reason to pause and think!

In how many ways has comparison touched our lives, and not in a good way?

All of us have probably compared our looks, intellect, talents, or material possessions 

to those of others, at some time or other.

When thinking about my own life, the competitive quilt shows 

that I've been involved in the last eight years first comes to mind.

Although I have a whole box full of prize ribbons -

along with prize money, they are the signs of success in this game -

I know all too well the joy stealing element that comparison can bring.

For me, true joy lies in the creative process and

 no one can tell me if I've succeeded in my vision for each piece,

as only I know the answer to that.

So, Theodore's wisdom now hangs, magnetized to our fridge,

along side family photos and other stellar quotes...

reminding me to hang on tightly to my joy and 

ward off the grasping hands of comparison.

Wishing you joy in all your creative endeavors.

See you again in a couple weeks. 

The Spark

It starts with a spark - all art, that is.

A thought, feeling, color combination, light pattern...

any of these may be the spark.

These sparks excite our imagination, make our hearts beat faster,

and start us on our creative journey.

For me, the spark may ignite a creative art quilt project

 that ends up 60" x 80" and hangs upon the wall, 

or an elaborate beadwork necklace that is months in the making, 

or a photo that I'm proud to put my watermark on.

I've been involved in art making long enough to know 

when I come in contact with that spark,

I grab it - then and there.

So, when I looked up from my morning coffee and peanut butter 

toast to see branch patterns splashed across our silk curtains, 

gleaming dust covered table, and illuminated dried daffodils - 

that I really should have thrown out - 

I grabbed my camera and tripod.

Who says that creative spark can't come before your morning coffee is finished 

and you're still in your PJs ?!

Hoping you seize that spark and have some wonderful, creative adventures.

See you again in a couple weeks.

Linking at The Photo Heart Connection

with my favorite photo from March (the first).

Beads, Bling, and Bokeh

Today, I'm linking into The Photo-Heart Connection with my favorite photo from last month.

Here's the story ~

In May, I will be teaching a textile workshop at Asilomar in CA (more about that later in this post).

So, I took a number of project photos for the students -  the f/8 kind with every bead, 

painted foil shape, and stitch in sharp focus (not pictured).

Then, I made some photos using a wide aperture... just for fun, just for me.

In these images form seductively slips into an abstract reality;

 with color, bling, and bokeh dominating.

The first capture in this set is my favorite.

But, quite frankly, given the dreary, colorless landscape outside my door, 

I think that I'd like to crawl into any one of these photos...

set up camp, and soak up all the luscious color!!!

The workshop details - Link.

Empty Spools Seminars at Asilomar, Pacific Grove, CA,

May 27 - June 1, 2012.

Workshop - Sumptuous Surface Design and Embellishment:

Come learn about foiling, bead embroidery, stamp-carving, paint stick rubbing, and 

creating dimensional bugs and dragonflies.

If you're looking for the perfect textile get-away,

ESS at Asilomar's "Refuge by the Sea" is the place to be!

Wishing you a colorful and creative week.
See you again in two weeks.

Linking at The Photo-Heart Connection.

Away

I'm away from my desk, enjoying some family fun.

See you in a couple weeks.

Hope your days are filled with happiness and creativity!

Creative ADD?

Someone told me I have Creative ADD.

I think they may have Tourette's Syndrome.

Seriously though, I will own up to finding joy in working in a variety of creative mediums.

I make art quilts for national shows and beadwork, too.

VanDemark Designs 

quilt photo by Steve Tiggman

(painted face on fabric)

I am fascinated with writing haiku and 

learning historical embroidery techniques.

I am totally in love with photography!

I don't see all this variety as a problem,

 but instead feel each medium informs and enriches the others.

It's like one happy, creative family working together.

So, where do you stand?

Do you enjoy one creative medium, or are you mistress to many?

Please tell!

Wishing you a wildly creative week!

Linking at The Creative Exchange.

Outsider Art

Outsider art, quirky, creative, unusual -

all of these words could be used to describe the 

Wisconsin Concrete Park in Phillips, WI.

Retired lumberjack, Fred Smith (1886 - 1976) was the mastermind

 behind this menagerie of 237 concrete sculptures.

A "green" artist ahead of his time,

 Fred used shells, glass shards, beer bottles from his tavern - The Rock Garden Tavern, 

and other junk art materials to create a cast of historical characters.

You'll find larger than life cowboys, miners, Indians,

soliders, horses, oxen, wild animals, and gigantic fish

standing against the backdrop of a pine forest.

Built over a period of 14 years,

 this self-taught sculptor said of his obsession,

"It's Gotta Be In Ya to Do It".

As they say in northern Wisconsin,

"Yeah Ya Betcha!"

Wishing you a Blessed Holiday Season

and a wildly creative New Year!!!

I'll be taking a holiday break......

see you on Monday, January 2, 2012!

Linking at The Creative Exchange.