Substance and Longevity

When I was a young girl I remember seeing the movie starring Yul Brynner and Ingrid Bergman called Anastasia. The movie was about whether or not a woman was the real grand duchess of the royal Romanov dynasty or an imposter, since all the children of the Czar were allegedly murdered by the Bolsheviks. Since then the story of the Romanov's fascinated me especially when I later learned of their fabulous Faberge eggs. To me, their beauty and originality could only come from hugely talented artisans, and the fact that they have survived for many to become museum pieces, made me realize that they had great substance to have that longevity. To me that is the epitome of art. If it is to have longevity it must be of substance, and that is what I want for what I make. I know that if I spend the time, use high quality materials, and am honest about making my inspirations realities, my pieces will have substance. I don't think it can be denied that even though styles and trends come and go, those pieces of art that are truly born out of the beauty of the creative soul, will never lose their appeal or fascination, and like the pyramids, the work will stand the test of time.

Onward and Upward

So none of the beads I ordered match the originals and after being upset for a day about it and pondering other options, which was even more upsetting since I didn't think there were any, I decided to use the less lustrous beads. The whole purpose of the goldish beads was to give the effect of the sun around the blossom, so now it will look like the sun is more intense on the right than the left and I will leave it at that. The holes are all actually larger in these replacements so that has helped speed the process along since I can use one hand instead of stopping to have to use both of them.

I think this is a good lesson in more ways than one. Obviously I have to make sure I order current supplies if I have a big project to ensure the lots are all the same. I should have taken as an omen a skein of DMC floss I came across in my supply that I noticed was quite a shade off from the others of the same number. It was a much older skein that I could tell from the label, and I had never come across a color difference like that before with DMC. All the dye lots I ever used matched when I had to buy additional skeins, except this one. So it does happen, even with companies that are extremely consistent in their colors whether they are glass beads or cotton floss. I like to think that I will never be taken by surprise like this again, but chances are I will be so I have to expect it at some point, and that's what life is all about anyway.

Checking In

In the beginning.......

I am still stitching on the Pear Blossom Designs Studio project. I stopped working on the Ladybug Lake project to try to get this other done. I'm thinking I can use the Studio project as not only a sign for my studio door, but also as a banner for a possible Etsy store or web site. Things were going swimmingly until I realized I had to reorder the peachy/gold beads surrounding the flower. The new order of beads arrived and they were not near as lustrous as the older beads. I have ordered more from the original source and hopefully those will match but I can't let myself be too optimistic yet. They should arrive today so I am keeping my fingers crossed. Otherwise, I will have to find a way to finish the other half. Perhaps this is a happy accident and I will find a better more innovative way to finish around the blossom. I've never had this problem matching beads before and it has taught me a valuable lesson.

So far so good but so much work!

Besides this hurdle, this project has really been a test of my patience. The holes in the white beads were a nice size to accommodate my needle and floss to secure them. The goldish bead holes are another matter as the holes seemed to be smaller and so harder to work with, actually eliminating some that were way too small. So in addition to a shinier finish I am hoping the new beads have larger holes too. When I have to use the smaller holes it has a lot of wear and tear on the eye of my needle and weakens the floss making it break more often. UGH! It's a hassle but I love it!

When I get done with the flower....whenever that happens, I have more lettering and then backstitching all the letters. I'm thinking about adding a border too but that is still in the "thinking" stage. I'm trying not to get too anxious about getting back to the Ladybug Lake design, but since that is a piece I want to sell, it is hard not to want to get back to it. Right after that I have the Ladybug Leaves design I want to finish and get to stitching. I have sketched the design on grid paper but have to get a finalized design to begin it. I am going to use a newer variegated cotton floss for that one which I am excited about since I have never sewn with variegateds before. I just never had a need to use them. Maybe I was waiting for these newer colors to come out plus the beads I have to complement them. You just never know.

Waiting to finish the left side with the

goldish beads and hoping to get replicas

of the originals!

Ladybug Lake. I have used silk, linen,

floche, blending filament, and rayon fibers, plus

fabric marker on this so far. Picture

doesn't do it justice! Can't wait to get

back at it!

Why "Pear Blossom"?

What is the reason for selecting "Pear Blossom"? Well, several reasons. First of all I have two lovely Bradford Pears in my yard and I just love them. I think of them as "bulldogs" in the tree world. They have survived major damage from the crazy winds and storms here in Oklahoma, not to mention the awful, awful hot summers we suffer through. They are always the first trees to bloom in the earliest of spring and the last to lose their leaves in the fall. It seems they love to be alive and show it as much as possible. In all the years we have had them, we only had trouble with ants invading one which was easy enough to fix, so they are also pest resistant. And those exquisite little white flowers they show off in spring are just beautiful, as are their shiny green leaves.

So my pear trees are my treasures I guess because they stubbornly refuse to give up no matter how battered and tossed they get and are still able to show how lovely they can be in spite of it. Because of all this they are my inspiration and duly deserving to have something named after them.

Finding the Path

So, 15 years later here I am finally going to make my dream come true. All this time in between has been prep for finally doing the work, and I truly love the work. Anything creative with a needle and thread makes my soul smile. I guess I've always known this is what I want to do. My father told me a story about how when I was very young, probably three, I threw a fit because I wanted to stitch with my mother and grandmothers on a quilt they were making. He said I was relentless until they let me sit with them. On my own I remember how much I loved doing the pictures with the holes punched for lacing yarn through and outlining the designs. I would do that until the yarn would frazzle and break. In kindergarten I discovered stringing large various shaped colored wooden beads on long shoestrings. My mother taught me to use needle and thread and along the way I picked up crewel and cross stitch on my own. It seems all the women in my family had a knack for this work in one way or another, so I am grateful for their wonderful gene pool!

Funny, but it wasn't until I learned cross stitch that my needlework intensified. The problem came when I was dissatisfied doing other people's work. I needed to modify their work to enjoy making the pattern, until I thought it was time for me to unleash my own creativity and let it run amok by doing my own designing. When I ran across seed beads, I was in absolute heaven once I learned to use them on fabric to enhance my stitching. It all just seemed a natural progression to other embellishments and fibers and experimenting to find my niche. I seemed pretty aimless until I realized how I wanted to put them all together, and that has only been in the last three or four years.

What would I have done if it hadn't been for needlework? I can't even fathom an answer to that question. I am a chronic asthmatic that has attack triggers to EVERYTHING except food. Animals are the worst so I couldn't have a career with anything with fur (due to the protein in their saliva which they put all over themselves when they lick their fur). Physical activity and the cold are other triggers so being an athlete was out. Pollen, trees, mold, and grasses were triggers as well so being outdoors and/or gardening were other inhibitors to career paths. This all started before I was the age of five, so I don't think it was a coincidence my talents were turned to stitching, I believe it was pretty much ordained.

Once I accepted this, there was less confusion about the future. My choices were already narrowed down for me, although I fought that notion for the better part of my life by trying to do things my asthma wouldn't allow. There finally came a deep sense of contentment with this realization as well as commitment to doing something that I am capable of doing and at which I have lots of experience. Sometimes it takes a lot of thumps on the head before a point is made and taken.

An Introduction

It has been a long time coming. I first conceived of having my own mixed media fiber art business close to 15 years ago. It seemed daunting but not impossible. I wasn't even sure what my art would entail, except it would be hand stitched. Gradually, as I considered my options, old ideas were thrown out as new and better ones emerged. I learned, with time, to let the process develop at its own pace. If I forced the issue, the results were not good, but if I left the door open to inspiration, it would arrive on its own and it would be worthy of time and effort.

Now I am not a preacher, minister, or priest, so I am not going to mount a sermon here. What I will tell you right here and now is that I have a strong belief system in God, and when I know something is not working, I absolutely know it is by His will that it isn't. When this happens I have learned to let go the reigns and say, "I know You don't want this, let me know what You do.". Then I wait for that spark of an idea to show itself and go for it. After all we are talking about The Designer of the Universe in all its shapes, colors, and glory. The ultimate Creator and Artist. Why wouldn't I want that kind of guidance and have that kind of trust?

The truth is, it really is a no brainer for me. All I have to do is look at Mother Earth and see the kind of work God has done. I mean really, from microscopic tardigrades to the mighty lion, the river rock to the faceted gemstone, and from a blade of grass to the Amazon Rain Forest, it is all inspired and inspiring.

To be clear, this means I am doing my homework too and not just waiting for God to zap me with brilliant ideas. I read, search and observe too, because curiosity is what develops the ideas. It took me a long time to figure this all out and resulted in a lot of bumps, halts and do overs, but I did finally "get" it, and so then began my creative journey as the student to the Ultimate Teacher.