Written by columnist Linda aka LindaGJ
Photo courtesy of VintageScrapBox

Wreaths go back to the ancient cultures of Persia, Rome, and Greece way before symbolizing the coming of Christ and it's not known exactly when, as there are so many theories.

I would like to tell you a little history about wreaths before you see my display of some gorgeous Fall wreaths I found on Etsy in my slide show!

Many wreaths date back to the Persion Empire. Originally the circlet was called a "diadem" which is Greek meaning "a thing bound around" and were worn as headbands.

Beginning in 776 B.C. wreaths were made of laurel leaves and were used to crown the winners at Olympic Games. When the Olympics began going to other cities, they were awarded with head garlands made of branches of local trees.

The Roman upper classes, such as the military and public officials wore garlands of oak leaves and laurel. It was custom for the for soldiers rescued from a seige to present a wreath of grass to the commander of the rescuing force. Olive leave wreaths were worn by consuls and senators. Olive leaves became the symbol for peace. Julius Ceasar was crowned with a wreath of fresh laurel.

Other countries started to design head wreaths of their own using metals and precious jewels called "crowns" that we associate with royalty. The word crown comes from a Latin word called corona, which means garland or wreath.

The use of evergreens for Christmas wreaths probably started in Northern Europe, Italy, and Spain in the early 19th century. The original colors for Christmas are green and red. Green represents eternal life through Christ and red symbolizes the blood that Jesus shed at his crucifixion.

In these modern days, wreaths can be used all year round and a common custom in New England is to use a different wreath for each season!

I am featuring these Fabulous Fall wreaths from Etsy shops in this slide video! Remember to enlarge the screen to see the full view and I have added their shop name so you can visit their lovely shops!

Posted by Barbra aka:All About The Buttons

Article by columnist Linda aka LindaGJ
Photo above courtesy of NicoleHouff

I happen to have loved dolls since as far back as I can remember!

We all know the rage about Barbie who was born in 1959, G.I. Joe, the Army soldier born into the world in 1964, as well as many other dolls made into the replicas of famous people and action figures. The list is endless!

Historians have traced dolls back to the ancient times used in ceremonies and rituals related to religion. There are so many types of dolls, cult objects to the primitive people, well preserved dolls fashioned out of stone, wood, clay, bone, ivory, and bronze have been found in Egypt, Greece, and Rome!

Dolls were used in a symbolic way, but also as play toys for children. In ancient Greece, examples of puppets with moving arms and legs have been found to be used.

For the Roman Catholics, most crocheted dolls were considered artistic masterpieces and used as representations of the nativity.

Before the 17th century dolls were not limited solely for children, boys and girls, they were also used for adults! Sonneberg, Germany is well known for it’s wooden dolls, and later also became the hub for the heads of dolls and by the dawn of the 19th century were made of china. The Parisian’s began developing dolls that would open and close their eyes, as well as speak!

Dolls have been made out of all kinds of mediums and surely have come a long way! They have evolved into resembling humans, animals, imaginary creatures, and the latest trends and fashions. Adults and children in all cultures, of all races spread throughout the world enjoy playing with the “the little play people”!

I searched for dolls on Etsy and came up with some of my faves, but oh, there are still so many more!
Today’s dolls come in so many forms, I pretty much stuck with the human doll in this article with a few other kinds. These are all handmade and a couple of them are even a “one of a kind” handmade pattern so you can make yourself or gift of a doll!

I hope you enjoy my little journey into the doll world, especially if you love dolls as much as I do. Make sure to enlarge the screen to see these fabulous “one of a kind” handmade dolls I found on Etsy!

Edited by Barbra aka All About The Buttons

By Columnist Linda aka LindaGJ

“What could be better than creating works of art based around you and what you love?” Cathie Carlson”

Cathie Carlson’s inspiration is found in vintage beach images, surfing scenes, and her ocean side surroundings. In her sunlit studio you can experience her passion for color, whimsy, and the coastal environment in which she lives and creates.

“Although I love working in different mediums, my main medium of choice is paint, whether on canvas, wood, or bisque.”

Cathie always thought that growing up in a beach town, marrying a man that loved to surf, raising children who grew up with the sand between their toes, having well-ridden beach bikes and beach gear always ready to go, and spending almost every family vacation at a coastal town somewhere, were what stimulated her love of painting colorful images of beach babes and surfing scenes.

“But upon closer introspection, I now realize it goes much further back than that! The love of the sea and all things beach related, run deep within my blood!”
Here, in this slide show are some pictures of Cathie’s work. I also included some pictures about her very own Art School.
Enjoy!

“I hope that I have encouraged you to consider from who or what comes the motivation behind your creative spirit.” Cathie Carlson

Her grandmother and sister, as teens, would go to the Jersey Shore with Cathie’s great grandfather. The love of the beach continued throughout each generation of Cathie’s family. She grew up in Virginia Beach with her 2 brothers and 2 sisters. This is where Cathie got married to her surfer husband and now they are raising their 2 children who are now teenagers!

Cathie also teaches art classes in her home to children of different ages and to women! She offers so many fun classes along with a variety of subject matters. You will want to to go visit her Art Studio site to see all that is offered. I love the class offered that is called “Surfer Art Camp”! Her own art and passions just shine through Cathie’s classes! She also shows a lot of her classes activity on her blog!

VISIT CATHIE’S AWESOME SITES!
MagicMarkingsArt- Cathie’s Etsy Shop
Magic Markings Art Studio – Cathie’s Art Studio & School
Magic Markings Art- Blog including all kinds of inspirations and also pictures of her art classes!

Edited by Barbra aka: All About The Buttons

Written by columnist Linda aka LindaGJ
Photo courtesy of Texas Eagle

I’m sure most of you remember making sand castles at the beach when you were young. I sure do, yet my favorite was dripping the wet sand over and over again until it made a huge lumpy mound.

A couple of weeks ago, a couple of friends and I drove to Galveston,TX to see a sand castle contest event taking place. With the crowd, and the long line to the shuttle buses, I admit, I did not see these sand castles, until the very end of the day, but it was well worth the effort. I was able to capture some delightful photos to share with yall!

“You really don’t know what the teams are going to do. I kinda have an inside track because I get to see the spreadsheet of all the categories the the teams are signing in at – most hilarious, most lifelike, or something like that – but when you go out there and see what they’ve sculpted out on the beach, it’s amazing how tall they can sculpt the sand” Rudy Del Bosque (Sand Castle Committee Chairman)

For over 20 years in the first part of June, Houston area architects, designers, engineers, and contractors take their tools to the East Beach in Galveston for what is considered one of the world’s largest sandcastle competitions. AIA is the American Institute of Architects who sponsor this annual contest where 60 teams, along with their shovels, buckets, and a beach load of sand and water, aim to win the prestigious “Golden Bucket” award! There is even a kid zone where children can try their hand at building their very own sand castle.

In this 24th contest, teams begin months in advance generating ideas, developing designs, and assigning duties. On the very date of the event, the teams stretch along the beach sculpting their sand piles and working non stop for ONLY 5 hours!

The judging of the sand castles is rated on originality of concept, artistic execution of the concept, technical difficulty, carving technique, and utilization of the site. In addition to the Golden Bucket award, awards are also given 8 different themed categories, as well as for the best team T-shirt design, best signage, best costume, and public favorite, but I was strictly looking for a good aim for a photo of a castle and rushed through the less than 60 sand castles.

In addition to fun in the sun, the competition also has a “green” side to it, requiring teams to recycle plastic and aluminum at their sites at the end of the of the event, and also they were not allowed to use generators to pump water to the sand castle construction site. Instead, the rules encourage teams to be creative and find alternate methods of carrying water between the surf and their sites, including-but not limited to-wind power, solar power, the tides and good old fashioned human power.

In the slideshow, you are about to see some of the sand castles. Of course I’ve seen more amazing ones, but I think these amateurs did fairly well, in only 5 hours and all of them are at least a lot of fun to look at!

Enjoy!!! And remember creativity comes in all forms, sometimes for sale, sometimes not. If you do sell your work don’t forget to prepare your shop when you go on vacation. Helpful hints may be found here.

Edited by Barbra aka: All About The Buttons

Article by columnist Linda aka LindaGJ

“My favorite subjects are drawn from nature, my imagination, childhood fairy tales, dreams, and occassionally a combination of all the above.”

Deborah Hill grew up in the Appalachian foothills of northern Alabama and she has been living and working in Houston, Texas since 1992.

“Art has always been a part of my world. My grandmother was a bird watcher and I enjoyed sharing that knowledge as a child. We would sit on her front porch and draw birds together, talking about the color of their feathers and the different calls each bird made, what color eggs they laid, and which one migrated. I found it all fascinating and still do.”

“My grandfather was a storyteller and could spin a yarn so well that my head would fill with images of talking animals, trolls and pixies.”

“My Dad is also quite the talented artist even though he never pursued it as a career. He would often sketch us at the table when we were doing our homework.
He’s especially good with the human figure. He knew so much about the natural world as well and would point out specific characteristics about trees, plants, animals, and their habits. He’d also talk about the changes that occurred with the seasons. I really appreciate having learned how to observe nature from my family; it has a huge influence in the art I produce today.”

Deb grew up in the country at a time when there were no computers or gaming gadgets. The television was black and white and there were only two channels, so naturally she spent a lot of time reading in the summer. She read in color!

“It was great fun to “redo” the illustrations in storybooks to me, Grimm’s Fairy Tales is and incredible source for the imagination. Authur Rackham remains one of my favorite artists/illustrators. I was enthralled with Frank Frazetta too. He did all those wonderful covers for the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan series and I read them all! Then I would try and copy the art from the book jackets or paint pictures of other passages from the book.”

“You know when you used to ask children what they wanted to be when they grew up? The girls would say ‘a nurse’ and the boys would say ‘a fireman’. I knew when I was 5 years old that I would be an artist. It is my personal opinion that we are all born creators of some sort and as we grow older we forget that important part of ourselves.”

After Deb went to college, she began painting large outdoor murals, billboards, and faux finishing for two decades! She was also taking private watercolor classes with Wayne Spradley, which is now one of her favorite mediums!

“I enjoy working with acrylic in thin layered washes in much the same manner as watercolor. Mixing various water media, such as watercolor, gouche, inks, and acrylic continue to fascinate me. I’m most comfortable working with acrylic, but prefer the challenges that watercolor presents. I’m also a wee bit compulsive about adding ink to my pieces.”

Trees, with an unique quality of Deb’s, are actually her very most favorite subjects to paint.

“My preferred time of year to observe trees is in the winter. This time of year, when the leaves fall, I miss that. Oh I love the shade summer trees provide and the beautiful colors of fall, but there is something starkley majestic about a tree with all it’s limbs exposed and spread against the sky. I think I must have something to do with the feeling the quietude and patient anticipation of the coming of spring. Trees are my favorite subjects to paint. I have a few old friends I watch through the seasons around the neighborhood.”

Deb has participated in several group shows in Houston, has artwork and murals in private homes and public institutions. She lives with her husband, Greg, and a menagerie of pets, paint, and adult children flowing in and out of their home.

To see more of Deb Hill’s work please go to:
www.DebHillArt.com

or DebHillArt

Check out Indiesmiles “Happy Made Tweets“

Articled edited by Barbra aka All About The Buttons

Ancient Egyptian faience burial beads photo courtesy of Ronal63p
Columnist Linda aka LindaJG
“Artists should always use themselves, their own inner world, life experiences, and their lens (world view) as a resource for their expressions. I want to tell artists not to look to what others are doing or what the art market is relishing. Remember your first love, remember why you started in the first place.”

I had the pleasure of meeting this extremely talented artist because I was paired with her in the last 2 art festivals I’ve been in! What a fascinating person she is, and since her art work is just as awesome, I felt like Caroline and her gorgeous art should be introduced!

Caroline Marcos was born in Alexandra, Egypt as a Copt (Christian Egyptian) – this has some cultural significance as they are closely linked with the Ancient Egyptians in descent before the Arabs came and islamized Egypt, stripping Egyptians from both their religions and language – Coptic. Caroline migrated to the US with her family when she was 9 years old. She is also 1/4 Greek! She currently lives in Houston, Texas with her husband, where she worships in a Coptic Orthodox church at: www.saintmaryhouston.org

Caroline’s multi achievements partly include a B.A. in Studio Art and Psychology (double major) from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy/Art Therapy Psychology.

She’s had to endure the tragic loss of her father at 50,a very young age, when she was 18, the summer before she went off to college. Her family was camping and her father was caught in a riptide and suffered drowning and heart failure. With all this, she still thrives as a brilliant artist.

“I don’t remember my life without art, I grew up painting, even in my coloring books with water paints as my parents told me stories about my paternal grandfather’s oil paintings. His paintings (mostly landscapes and figures) adorned our home in Alexandra, Egypt, and I always enjoyed the scent of oil paints and admired his old paint set. Ironically, I never personally used oil paints like he did.”

In high school, Caroline was part of an advanced after school Watercolor Club where she refined her talent with watercolor.

“On my own, I really enjoyed oil pastels, their tactile quality and the great renderings that I achieved with them. In college, the emphasis in my degree was conceptual and philosophical, so I didn’t get specialized training in any particular medium.”

Caroline did have some very inspiring instructors (Frank Galiuszia, Tim Craighead, and Don Fritz), who worked in painting and mixed media using Mica, Acrylic get transfers, and Bees Wax.

“I think that what started in their classes, was what turned into what I do now with the encaustic painting, collage, and initiated my freedom into experimentation. Finally, when I studied art therapy, art became a vehicle for me to search my own depth, soul, psyche, and give meaning to my life experiences. This all started something for me that I still am working on today!”

Caroline traveled to London, England where she studied under the mentorship of Dr. Shepard Rene, who is a PHD student of Professor Isaac Fanous Yousef, the father of contemporary Neo-Coptic school of Iconography. She did that because she wanted to learn more about the art of her church and because she believed her spirituality is closely connected to her art. There, she learned the fundamentals of the “written” icon, including the geometry and the theology of the icon. She practiced and completed writing the face of Christ using egg tempera. (www.firstimageicons.com).

“I am inspired by nature, by color, by a text (whether it be a poem, a scriptural verse, or lyrics and of course, by archetypes (symbolic images that have layered meanings throughout culture/history and the pshyche.”

“Artists should always use themselves, their own inner world, life experiences, and their lens (world view) as a resource for their expressions. I want to tell artists not to look to what others are doing or what the art market is relishing. Remember your first love, remember why you started in the first place.)

You may view more of Caroline’s art at www.carolinez.com

Slide Photo courtesy of ArtcyLucy
Posted by Barbra aka All About The Buttons

Written by columnist Linda aka LindaGJ

“Do not worry about what anyone tells you about what you create…your heart will know when you get it right. This alone will draw folks to you..art from the heart! That is what will touch others and that will bring sales. So be brave and put it out there. Be patient and keep doing that and the success will come to you. If you create what you love, it will fill you too!
So Let Fly!”

Sarah Sullivan is the creative force behind “Cottage Garden Studios” as well as the founder of http://magicalholidayartists.blogspot.com/. This is a new team on Etsy that I happen to be a member of! She wears many hats as an Artist, Photographer, Teacher, Wife to a Rock man, as in minerals, and Mom to 5 wonderful children, Julia-22, Kate-22, Hanna-18, Fox-11, and Mhanon-6. The 3 oldest have flown the coop & Fox and Mhanon are still home, along with her extended family, Lucy Lu – their Border Collie, Tink – their Maine Coon, and Foo Foo- their bunny!

Her family lives in the Pacific Northwest, North Idaho, and has lived in Coeure d Alone for about 12 years now. Sarah loves it there! She’s lived all over the country and would like to think that this is now home! Her family just purchased their very own little garden cottage.

Before I get into Sarah’s more than happy ending, I must mention that she has not always lived in a world of roses without thorn’s. She left an abusive relationship about 12 years ago. In short, it took her 9 of those years to just fight herself back from it all and find her real self. Child custody fights and loss were so very painful. Sarah went from upper middle class to being deeply poor in a very short time.

“But the lessons that all this offered me were priceless! I guess my goal these days is not only to create, which is my bliss, but to encourage other women through the lessons that have been offered up to me…there is hope, there is a path to be happy. Hopefully to help others to learn to learn how to let it fly with all the wonderfulness inside of themThat is what I want to offer up. I will be launching an online class to address just these things…to offer up a little about what I know in hopes of helping others to find ways to Let Fly and step out there with their own gifts.”

Sarah just opened this new blog. She calls it Let Fly at: http://lettingflyclasses.blogspot.com/

This eight week course will help guide you through each of the above aspects of your life one week at a time. You will discover your natural rhythms and learn a system to manage and organize your time more effectively.
“Why Let Fly? My goal with this new home it to offer up ways to help and encourage you to Let Fly with all the wonderfulness that is you! To help you be brave, step out there, find your True North path, your bliss…to find beautiful, amazing you!! Are you ready? Lets Fly!!!”

Sarah was very lucky to have parents who fed her passions. She started taking private lessons at age 11, took art in high school, and then later college. So you could say that she’s been formally trained. Yet, the medium that she does most of her work in, is pen, ink, and colored pencil. She had to learn this from the bottom up.

“I adore whimsy and illustrating for children…anything that will make you smile when you look at it. I guess that is always my goal to make the viewer smile and feel that wonderful magic that a good illustration can create…at least, that is what I’m aiming for. I can do realistic when I choose to I guess. I just prefer illustrating. I have created for years, sold in galleries, crafty stores, etc.
But it wasn’t until 2 years ago when a friend encouraged me to sell on line. That is when my art world exploded into so many different directions. I adore it! I really do.”

When Sarah is not drawing, she is photo snapping…another artistic love of hers…that is all self taught as well! She has a passion for Macros – those tiny little worlds fascinate her! She also loves snapping candid shots of her children!

“I have worked in so many mediums over the years, clay, fimo, paper clay, acrylics, fiber arts, tie dye, quilting, and colored pencil and ink. I think though I still come back to my favorites more often than not and that is pen and ink, colored pencil and acrylics. More often than not, it’s nature that inspires me. I love sifting through images on google…to see some wonderful new subject that I can create a new character through. I love walking and hiking…brings me a lot of balance and ideas. I also love soundtracks…big sweepijg orchestrations…lots of wonderful ideas come to me as I listen”

Sarah also is very fond of patterns in nature. Pen and ink allows her to recreate these in deep detail and she loves that. Whether it be the bark on the tree or scales on the dragon..the repetition of pattern is so rlaxing to her.

“I love movement in my art, also…jumping, flying, etc. Of course color is wonderful..I love to use the colored pencils to enhance the layers of depth of an element.”

I asked Sarah what would be the one thing she would say to inspire other artists:
” I guess if I had to say one thing about inspiring other artists it would be this…There is a huge market out there. Do not worry about what anyone tells you about what you create…your heart will know when you get it right. This alone will draw folks to you~art from the heart! That is what will touch others and that will bring sales. So be brave and put it out there. Be patient and keep doing that and the success will come to you. If you create what you love, it will fill you too!
So Let Fly!”

To reach Sarah, you can find her at:

Main Blog: http://rowenleaf.blogspot.com
Photography Blog: http://cottagegardenstudiophotos.blogspot.com
Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CottageGarden
Etsy Photography Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CottageGardenPhotos
Let Fly at: http://lettingflyclasses.blogspot.com/

Edited by Barbra~All About The Buttons

Tiger photo courtesy of Tim Kant Photography
Columnist: Linda aka LindaGJ

I found this fabulous artist on Etsy while looking for pictures of cats. And what a treasure I found in this delightful artist’s work!

Her name is Jennifer Lambien, 35, and she lives in NYC now. She is not only an artist but a designer, licensor, and owner of Studio Petite. You can find her at www.studiopetite.com and studiopetite.etsy

Jennifer grew up in Naples, Florida and her family moved to Ohio to be closer to her mom’s family towards the end of High School. She moved to Manhatten a little over a year ago and she’d LOVE to travel to Europe, and will some day! Jennifer loves NYC, as the eclectic and creative vibe is what brought her there. She still is very close to her family along with her brother, that she misses dearly. She also grew up with 3 kitties and only one kitty named Boris is still living. She loves dogs and cats equally. She does have a lot of cat paintings and plans on adding more dogs to her collection eventually.

She attended Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio and majored in English and minored in art. She really considers herself self taught especially because she never painted until a couple of years ago. One would think, by looking at her paintings, that she was born with a paintbrush in her hand though!

I asked her what got her started in the arts, what mediums she has worked with and what inspires her.
“Hmmm…I can’t even say when I got started. I feel like I’ve always been an artist. I started out using a combination of pen and ink, marker, and colored pencil. However lately my passion is watercolor. I’d love to find the room and time to get into oils someday. I would also love to get into ceramics. Anything and everything can truly inspire me. A song, a person, a moment, a movie a book, a flower, another artist…anything. I liked seeing the results other artists I admire were getting in their career. Both success wise and technique wise. I wasn’t sure if I’d take to painting. I honestly used to be intimidated by it! However, luckily, I sat down with a paint brush in hand, dipped it in some paint, touched the brush to paper, and the rest is history! Of course you never stop evolving and improving.”

Her great Uncle, Grandfather, and mother are all artists. Her mother, Deborah was a cross-stitch pattern designer for “Leisure Arts” for several years. Jennifer had 2 books published under “Leisure Arts’ some years ago & she thoroughly enjoys what she is doing now. Her father is so creative as he plays a myriad of instruments and has always loved writing.

“I’m very fortunate to have parents who have always supported my artistic dreams. I’ve heard several stories from others involving their dream of becoming an artist, only to have their parents sadly tell them to get a “real job”. Don’t get me wrong. I do understand their concerns. This is a very competitive industry. It’s in no way for the impatient or overly sensitive…ironic that I can be both!!! But you have to keep pushing yourself to break past the crowd and stand out! With your art utensils in one hand and a brightly colored flag in the other, raise your hands in the air madly hoping someone will notice. If your hands are high enough and your flag is bright enough…SOMEONE WILL!!! Though it’s challenging and worthy of some tears from time to time, over all it’s an extremely special and rewarding career. I can assure you.”

To explain further of what Jennifer exactly does, is that she licenses her designs out to be placed on products. This can be anything from a placemat to a mailbox cover. The possibilities are endless! She’s had agents in the past, but she is on her own now. She’ll be doing the Surtex Licensing show in NYC at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center in May. She admits that she’s a little overwhelmed but SO excited! She still sells greeting cards that she prints herself on Etsy

“As I said earlier, this career is a slow uphill climb. Especially today. Due to the internet, the competition is stronger than ever. Having said that, the internet allows you to be seen in ways you never thought possible. Also, with the economy being the way it is, many companies have done away with their in house art department. It used to be that they were responsible for doing everything beyond creating the actual art. Now you are much more responsible for doing your own mock-ups, collections, etc. to present to the company. For example, I’ve had to learn Photoshop even though I paint by hand. I’ve also had to learn to be a business woman aside from being an artist. Anyone thinking of getting into any kind of art as a career, REALLY needs to pay close attention to this. You HAVE to see yourself as both an artist AND a business person. If you don’t, it will never go beyond just being a hobby. Worried about selling out? Ok, well then I guess you’re not worried when you don’t sell enough to quit your day job. I’m not saying you shouldn’t stay true or stay you. I’m simply stating that you have to do it in the realm of what sells. Would Marc Jacobs include ponchos in his fall line if no one else was wearing ponchos? Maybe, but that’s ONLY because he’s built a brand and has a strong following. It’s important for you to do the same. First know what sells and do it. Next build your brand and following. Lastly, paint ponchos if you choose to…I can assure you others will begin to do the same. Ha!”

Jennifer truly loves working on things for the Fall/Halloween and Winter/Christmas seasons. They are such magical months and she loves the colors and subject matters. She loves doing cheery things for Spring as well! Oh, and coffee. She is a HUGE fan of coffee, and it definitely shows in her work. She loves painting kitties too!
She has teamed up with a friend on Etsy to support Susan G. Komen’s fight against breast cancer. You can see her greeting card here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/38121113/greeting-card-breast-cancersusan-g-komen
It’s also available in a set of 5. She also can print more as well.
I asked Jennifer if she had any suggestions on keeping artists inspired:
“I would say turn on “Eye Of The Tiger” from Rocky really loud and jump around the room lol! Seriously though…My advice is to definitely only surround yourself with people and things that inspire you. I’ve had to do a lot of soul searching this past year. I’ve gotten to the place in my life where after asking God for a lot of guidance, I realized the critical importance of kicking all toxicity of one’s life. It can be difficult to embrace change or eliminate a person you’ve had in your life for so long. However, at times it’s the only way we will truly find success and happiness. Embrace change and free yourself from any negatives in your past and present. Having said that, also learn from your past. First and foremost, take responsibility for yourself and your choices authentically. There’s a line from the movie “The Money Pit” that I swear by…”No, this wasn’t an easy one, but the foundation was good, I’ll say that. And if that’s okay, then everything else can be fixed.” Make sure your foundation is solid. If it isn’t everything else will crack, so fix it! Music and movies also inspire me greatly. I have one of the most eclectic iTunes libraries ever. I make mixes that will lift my spirits or put me in a great place artistically. Sometimes I just karaoke! Also, get involved with other artists. Swap stories, learn from them, support them as they will support you. Look, we all have our down days. I have been known to work at very odd hours or not at all. Artists are not by nature conventional creatures. We can be known to be beautifully and delightfully off balance. You will never find me getting up at the crack of dawn or putting my paintbrush down at 5pm. Somedays I paint for 8 hours straight, and other days I don’t paint at all. Seriously! You can coax creativity, but you can’t force it.”

“Thanks sincerely you lovely souls for taking the time to read my Mad Hatter rantings…May you all STAY INSPIRED! “

Editor:Barbra aka AllAboutTheButtons

LindaGJ aka LindaGJ

Lampworking is a type of glasswork that uses a gas fueled torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and colored glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with tools and hand movements.

The Fire Divas were created by a group of friends with an enormous passion for creating these awesome beads! Their main objective is to work together to promote each other and their group on this big world wide web. Their next objective is to have fun creating!
One of their current projects is a jewelry challenge that they have put together for jewelry artists that use artisan lampwork beads in their designs created by the Fire Divas. Many of the Fire Divas have donated either gift certificates or actual beads as prizes. The total cash value of the current donations is over $200!!!
If you’re a jewelry designer or know someone who is, please spread the word!
If you need lampwork beads in order to enter the competition, just search for Fire Divas Team on either Etsy or ArtFire. The small investment in beads can reap you quite a bit more in prizes if you win!
The challenge ends 4/15! Please don’t delay! Go to their blog for details on entering and to see the prize donations and to our flickr page when you are ready to submit your entries:
http://firedivas.blogspot.com/2010/03/fire-divas-quarterly-jewelry-challenge.html
http://www.flickr.com/groups/firedivachallenge/

You will see, in this video slide show, all the Wonderful Prizes!!!

The following lampwork artists have all made generous donations for this fun challenge! Mostly in their own words they share a bit about themselves and then you will see what they donated in the slide show!

Lea Avroch: http://www.lajewelrydesigns.etsy.com  and http://www.lajewelrydesigns.artfire.com  lives on Long Island, NY. I came to lampworking as a byproduct of making jewelry. A friend and I decided to take a lampworking class at a local art league so that we could make our own beads and use their own designs. Although I still couldn’t make a round bead to save my life, by the end of class I just knew that I had to pursue this art form. Often the glass is what dictates the direction it wants to go in. This can be equally frustrating and fun depending on the glass’s mood that day, NOT the operator error…LOL!
Lara Lutrick: http://www.lutrick.artfire.com  I have been making lampwork beads since 1997. While at a local arts and crafts fair I saw and bought my first true artisan lampwork bead. The artist told me that I could take a class at my local bead store. I was immediately hooked. My favorite type of bead is “organic.” This is a loose term for free form or abstract beads that do not have a particular pattern. I like to use metal (silver, copper or gold) foil in my beads to help creating more colors and textures than you can get using just the glass alone. It is always fun to experiment with these techniques and the best part is you never know how the bead is going to turn out. I like being a member of “Fire Divas” as we have camaraderie and there is a group effort to share each other’s artwork with the public.
Holly Dare: http://www.artfire.com/users/HollysFollyGlass  is a former film and t.v. producer and worked on “The Carol Duvall Show” learning about all kinds of crafts and falling madly in love with glass. While working on the show, Holly learned of lampworking. However, her desire to delve into glass was cut short when she found herself in a wheelchair due to debilitating plantar fasciitis. Holly manufactures food safe rubber stamps and does a number of cake shows for her day job. It was there she discovered a market for beads shaped like pastries and candies. She also enjoys making really large focals such as seashells, hearts and leaves.
Susanne Folin: http://www.BabsBeadsandDesign.artfire.com  I live in Uppsala, Swedens fourth largest town, with my husband and two kids. I moved to Uppsala to complete my university studies – 22 years ago! I work as a freelance writer to keep food on the table and do lampwork as soon as I can find time for it. I took up the art of lampwork almost three years ago, after a long period of illness. I love glass. It feels great, it is beautiful and it can be turned into almost anything.
Lauren Mazursky: http://www.maybeads.etsy.com  is from a suburb of Chicago. I’ve lived in the area all my life, except when I was in college in Bloomington, IN, where I got my degree in newspaper journalism. I didn’t become an “artist” until a couple years ago. I had always been a word person, but had admired art and always loved glasswork. I took a beginner lampwork class two years ago and was hooked immediately. What started as a plan to make pretty beads to turn into jewelry soon morphed into my love for critter beads and now that’s pretty much all I make. I love making glass animals – anything from turtles to dogs to cows. As for inspiration – I get that from my kids, my pets and cartoons.
Tera Belinsky-Yoder: http://www.beadygirlbeads.etsy.com  I live in Des Moines, Iowa with my husband and four children where I work from my home studio (lovingly referred to as, “The Torch Porch”.) I’ve had a life-long love affair with beads and glass but have only been making my own lampwork glass beads for about 5 years. It wasn’t until I started working with hot glass that I truly felt I’d found my “niche” in the bead world. I was hooked the moment I turned on the torch for the first time! In all aspects of my life I enjoy brite bold color and my beads are no exception! I don’t make what I would call “grown-up” girl beads, but the beads I do make make me happy as I hope they do others as well.
Janel Dudley: http://www.JanelDudleyBeads.etsy.com  Making lampwork glass beads has really opened an exciting world for me! From the day I learned to make them, to creating original pieces of wearable art, I look forward to each new day and I’m excited to be on this glass adventure!
Theresa Ehlers: http://www.teasebeads.etsy  lives in the Charlotte area of NC. I have an MBA with Accounting emphasis, but I realized while in graduate school that my passion was beads! I started out beadweaving. I won a bronze prize for my “Reef” necklace design, and it was also pictured on the back cover of Beadwork Magazine. Once I learned I could make my own beads I was hooked! I have a sort of “free” style – I go with my intuition and what feels right at the moment. I love to make tabs, off-mandrel hearts, and tubes; my latest infatuation is with flattened bicones. I enjoy adding in additional design elements including spirals, murrini, shards, and metals (like copper mesh), and I am excited to see how my work will evolve in the future.
Melanie Graham: http://www.arensea.artfire.com  I took my first glass beadmaking lessons in 2005, but it wasn’t until June 2008 that lampworking really became part of my life and I got any meaningful time on-torch. Glass has taken over my free time, most of my waking thoughts and a lot of the free space in my apartment. All of my beads are made on a Nortel Minor or Megaminor torch using tanked propane and a 5 lpm oxycon.

Enjoy and join the Contest until April 15!!!
The Best of Luck!!!