Red Pietersite

This stone really jumped out at me when I saw it mixed among many others. After reading its description I can understand why! Known as the Tempest Stone, its highly charged energy is almost tangible. Just as lightning clears the air and makes all things new, Pietersite discharges negative energies and emotional turmoil, and cleanses the aura, restoring it to calm.

 

Pietersite is a powerful protection stone, especially against the elements. It calms nervous people and animals during storms, protects when driving in bad weather, and guards homes and businesses against storm damage. It also acts as a shield against the adverse effects of technology, particularly if you work long hours with a computer or live near a mobile phone mast

For those who have tried and failed many times to beat an addiction, Pietersite is an extremely supportive and strengthening stone. It explores causative influences, increases the resolve and lends will power in following a curative program.

Pietersite also boosts self-esteem when worn consistently. It is especially empowering for creative people who lack confidence in their abilities.


Physical healing:
Pietersite stimulates the physical body, providing energy and strength, and is a nervous-system stone, useful for stimulating and strengthening the nerves and brain. It eases headaches, nervous diseases, breathing difficulties, stomach pain and dizziness. It also stimulates the pituitary gland, balancing the endocrine system and the production of hormones governing metabolism, blood pressure, growth, sex, and body temperature. Thought to ease eye infections, Pietersite is also reported by some users to improve long-distance focus and night vision

Emotional healing:
Pietersite is an important tool in bringing pent-up, internalized feelings and conflicts to the surface, allowing the unsaid and unexamined to erupt in an emotional outpouring that not only clears the air, but begins the process of healing. An excellent ally for those who are stuck or unable to make progress, Pietersite helps to clear stagnant energies, habits and life patterns, and reveals new directions for one's life. It also lends the will to take action toward those new goals. Pietersite removes the illusion of separateness, and the beliefs and conditioning imposed by others. It brings one to the source of their own inner guidance, and assists one in recognizing the truth or falsehood of others' words or actions. It promotes speaking out and exploring anything that may hinder access to one's own truth.

Pietersite is a variety of Quartz, composed naturally of Tiger's Eye, Hawk's Eye and Jasper, and is characterized by an incredible chatoyancy (cat's eye effect or optical reflectance effect) and brilliance of life within the stone. It is found in Africa. The most common Pietersite is gold but it is also rarely seen in red and even rarer is blue. 

Note: This information is provided for curiosity only and in no way is meant to be taken as medical advice.

Montana Agate

Aren't these gorgeous? These were one of my first purchases at the bead shows in Tucson last month.I am thinking pendants or set into a bracelet or....?

Montana agate is usually a creamy light yellow to almost clear color with embedded moss structures in varying shades of brownish red to black. This agate is also referred to as "moss agate" (an agate that has colored inclusions that may resemble moss) or "scenic agate". Most are found in gravel deposits from the Pleistocene age (10,000 - 1,6000,000) in  the area of the Yellowstone River and its tributaries. Along with sapphire, it is a state gemstone for Montana.

One of the most attractive features of Montana agate are the colored inclusions, made up of minerals such as iron and manganese. These inclusions form when mineral rich water moves into the rock through cracks or fractures and the minerals in the water are deposited within the stone.

Agate is the Mystical birthstone for the month of September and the birth stone for the Zodiac sign Gemini. Agate is suggested as a stone to give on the 12th and 14th wedding anniversaries. It is a stone of protection, strength and harmony. It is also known as a good luck stone.

Agate is a very protective stone. It is especially protective for children, and makes an excellent stone for children's amulets, medicine bags, jewelry, or just to carry around in a pocket. Agates are said to be especially useful for protecting children from falling.

Agate is said to strengthen the body and the body's connection to the earth. Physically, agate is said to be particularly helpful with tooth and gum issues, stomach problems, physical endurance, and insomnia.

Emotionally, agate gives courage, emotional strength, self-confidence, and dispels fears. It can also lessen feelings of envy by grounding the emotions. In the same way, it assists with acceptance of all things. It can be very beneficial for self-examination as well as examination of the circumstances one finds oneself in. These qualities make agate superior for easing anxiety and stress.

Agate enhances creativity and strengthens the intellect, making it a beneficial stone for both students and artists.  As a stone of harmony, agate balances yin/yang energy. Agate can cleanse and stabilize the aura by removing and/or transforming negative energy.

Because of the harmonizing qualities of agate, and its emotional energies of removing and releasing resentments and bitterness, it is also considered by many to be an excellent stone for helping to heal and improve relationships. Agate is thought to be a stone of marital and romantic fidelity.


Note: This information is provided for curiosity and is in no way meant to be medical advice.  

Biz of Art - Sorting, Counting and Pricing Supplies

Well I finally found my way home from Tucson! Now I have to sort, count, price and store all my new treasures. This will take me several days. I actually enjoy this because I like to organize things. I can see where many of you would find this very tedious.

I added a penny in the picture below for scale.  These are teeny tiny stone beads!! Starting at the top of the pic they are turquoise, green jade, malachite, turquoise, lapis, turquoise, coral, brown jade, coral and coral. I have so many ideas on how to use these beauties.

But before I can do that I need to count them. Yes, count them!! I need to know how many I have, divide that into what I paid so that I can get a price per bead. I lay out the strings of the same type next to each other to see if they are the same length. If yes, then I only count one strand. If no...then I count them all!! Why do I need the price of each bead you ask? Because when I create a piece, I need to know the exact cost of the materials that went into the piece. This number gets included in my pricing formula.

In this pic are about a quarter of the stones I brought back. From top to bottom they are snakeskin jasper, green brecciated jasper, red creek jasper, red pietersite, fossilized coral, amazonite, and opalite. I have finished sorting, counting and pricing the stones and manged to squeeze them into my existing storage. I organize most by color. One more step with the stone beads is to research the healing and mystical qualities of each stone. This information gets put into a summary document and is then used to create the descriptive cards I include with every purchase.

Knowing the prices per stone of the materials I use really helps me when shopping. As I was browsing in Tucson I would take the price of a strand, count the stones per strand and then use my calculator to see if this was in my price point. Usually when the salesperson saw what I was up to they would run over with their calculator to assist. It was also good for negotiating! They were eager to make sales!

Next up are the metal beads and accents. Same process as the other items. I am itching to start creating with all these new baubles, but this is one of those many necessary tasks to my business that must be done before I start creating.

Biz of Art - Jury Booth Photos

This post kicks of a new series on my blog. Besides the designing, creating and selling of my art, there is a whole plethora of activities that fall under the more business side of things. Marketing, bookkeeping, graphics, planning and networking to name a few.

This time of year I spend time filling out applications for the coming year's shows. Most shows I apply to use a jury to view applications and determine which artists to accept. Before I can send out applications I need good photographs of my designs and of my booth. Today I will specifically talk about taking a booth shot.

Sounds easy enough, just take a photograph of your booth when it is set up at a show right?

My very first booth October 2009 at the Fremont Market, Seattle.

Wrong! According to Larry Berman, a well know photographer who offers jury photography services, "A booth image for jurying is a picture of what your display looks like at a show, cleaned up so there's nothing to cause the jurors to look at it longer than just a glance, so they can spend their time looking at your individual art images, which is what you really want to be juried on. "

So what does that mean? For me it meant thinking about arranging my booth for the camera and not for shoppers. Getting my one perfect shot took 3 days, that is not a typo, 3 days!!! I started by choosing a cloudy day to avoid shadows and then setting up my booth in my driveway. I invited a friend with experience in jurying into shows to help with the set up and to bring her digital SLR camera. I had another friend who has photo expertise standing by at her computer to critique the photos for lighting and focus. 

This is the booth shot I have been using for recent applications and my usual set up for a show.

For a jury shot we needed to remove all distractions. This meant drop the back wall,  remove all signs, remove the mirror, remove things that hang from the ceiling, remove the weights, remove the tubs, remove the chairs, etc. Once we pulled out some of those items my tables no longer looked symmetrical (important to me and my helper) so we centered them in the booth and I added more busts for necklace display. After each tweak we would take look through the camera we had on a tripod in front of the booth.

It was hard to switch my mind from setting up for shoppers to setting up for the camera. The camera has to see it or do not bother putting it out. That meant moving things so that the camera had a clear view of everything. If it was behind a bust - get rid of it. We turned everything to face straight forward. We choose items that would stand out.We worked on symmetry and things being straight. Our goals were clean lines and no distractions!

Of course by the time we were satisfied with our layout and finding the right camera setting for focus (3+ hours) the sun had come out! We tried to block it but no luck. We waited a bit longer to see what direct sun would look like.

Nope! Time to give up for Day 1. We carefully slid the tables into the garage, took down the tent and rolled up the rug. Day 2. It was afternoon before I could get back to the project. I put back the rug, set up the tent and put 2 tables in. Next I sent a test picture to my photo epxert.

Her verdict - light is wrong. Back into the garage until tomorrow. Day 3 was very dark and misty. I thought there was not enough light. I called my photo expert she said to go out and take a photo of anything and send it to her. I did and she gave the thumbs up for enough light. So back to the garage! Just to be sure, I only put 1 table in the tent and then sent a shot to my friend. Still thumbs up.

This time went much quicker. I had taken pictures with my phone of the set up so was able to quickly put things back that had moved during the transfer of the tables. I'd take a few shots, send them to my friend, then go back and tweak things. Here is the raw photo she chose as the best.

I had asked her to add the 3 photos of my jewelry I am using for jury's to the back wall to look like posters. Note: during the booth set up we made sure these 3 designs were visible in my booth. Here is the final after she ran it through Photoshop.

I love it!!! Worth every minute of effort. And I could not have done it without the help of my friends. Now lets see if it gets me into shows that I have not been able to get in to. To learn more about jury photos I recommend looking at the articles and examples on Larry Berman's website. I will do another post about the process to take my jury artwork photos. 

Recent Work - Ocean Jasper

Ocean Jasper is known as a stone of happiness. It bestows clarity whilst also promoting positive thoughts and actions. It helps to release stress and bitterness and is beneficial to those who suffer from depression as it lifts the cloud of darkness. Its power lies in its ability to awaken the individual to self destructive tendencies or addictive traits which are harmful to ones well being. In a healing capacity it works on the endocrine, glandular and immune system. It is also beneficial for circulation and the digestive system.

(Note: all of these have sold)

 Here I have added labradorite. This is a stone of magic, power and good luck. For healing ability it helps develop the hands' sensitivity, making it useful for physiotherapists and all who use the power of touch to heal. It is also helpful in treating eye and brain disorders, and helps regulate metabolism and the digestive process. It can be effective in alleviating bone issues, disorders of the spinal column and the wear and tear of the joints. Rheumatism and arthritis may also benefit from this stone's healing powers.

Labradorite's mystical ability includes awakening one's own awareness of inner spirit, intuition and psychic abilities. It tempers the negative side of our personality, the traits and actions that rob our energy and may produce depression or shame. it allows you to see through illusions and determine the actual form of your dreams and goals. This stone also stimulates enthusiasm and imagination.

According to an Eskimo legend, the Northern Lights were once imprisoned in the rocks along the coast of Labrador. It is told that a wandering Eskimo warrior found them and was able to free most of the lights with a mighty blow of his spear. Some of the lights were still trapped within the stone, and thus we have today the beautiful mineral known as labradorite.

 This ocean jasper pendant hangs on a strand of freshwater pearls and grey glass seed beads.

 These stones remind me of what you might see out the window of a spaceship, looking down at a world from above. If you look closely at this one you can see an inclusion of crystals, similar to a geode. The metal beads and toggle clasp are pewter.

This pretty one sold its first day on display.

As always the stone trivia presented here is not meant as medical advice.

Recent Work - Peridot

Peridot is a symbol of fame, dignity, and protection. It is a birthstone for July 23 - Aug. 22  it is also the wedding anniversary gemstone for the 16th year of marriage.

The earrings on the right are small peridot stones. SOLD

 Healing ability: Increases strength & physical vitality. Protects against nervousness and aids in healing hurt feelings. It helps liver & adrenal function. Thought to protect lungs, sinuses, and wrists from illness and injury.
 

Center stone on this one is an amethyst. SOLD

Mystical power: Helps dreams become reality. It is believed to attract love. Calms a raging anger. Dispels negative emotions, and promotes sleep when worn to bed. Legend has it that pirates favored it to protect them against evil. Brings the wearer success, peace, and good luck.

As always the stone trivia provided here is not meant to serve as medical advice. 

Recent Work - Picture Jasper

What attracted me to these stones was their shape. I knew they would make some sweet little necklaces.Picture Jasper promotes emotional balance and wellbeing. In a healing capacity it works on the immune system and helps to alleviate stress.

 Picture jasper with smokey topaz and glass seed beads. Pewter toggle clasp. 

This one is available in my online shop.

 Left: Picture jasper with pewter and dark brown glass seed beads. 

Center: Picture jasper with gold freshwater pearls and brown glass seed beads, pewter toggle clasp.

Recent Work - Dragons Blood Jasper

This version of Dragon's Blood Jasper is a very gentle green. I have accented them with other stones.

Dragons Blood Jasper is a very protective and grounding stone. It brings joy to community interactions. It is also said to increase courage, energy and strength. This Australian jasper is known for physical heart healing and its grounding spiritual energy through the heart chakra. It calls forth the gentle strengths of love, forgiveness, & compassion - the only energies that can tame the inner dragon.

 Mixed with adventurine and pewter with soft green glass seed beads. SOLD

 Mixed with moss agate and copper. SOLD

This one is lovely, mixed with aquamarine, pewter and hex cut grey-green glass seed beads. SOLD

Shop Local. Shop Handmade - Shop Small Everyday!

 

While this is the last of my 30 day series, I hope you will consider adding some shop small alternatives to your everyday shopping routines. Two great things about shopping locally: comfort and discovery. The comfort of knowing you are contributing your community and the discovery of finding new businesses with unique items that the big box stores do not carry. Purchases, even the small ones, have power. Buying local injects desperately needed money into the economy. 

And if you can't shop local this season at least you can shop small and handmade onlne. Below I have a recap of the artisans I have featured during the last 30 days for easy access. Shop small all year!  

Beadware - stone, pearl and glass jewelry
LaGrave Designs - unique wall art
Eastern Wind Glass - glass art, classes and supplies
It's A Perfect Day - casual clothing company
San Nicolas Book Art - hand bound journals
Botanical Creations - real flower jewelry
Corenas Creations - luminaries
Dog Gone Sailboats - wooden boat toys and wind vanes
McCrain Photography - avian photography
Beadmask - leather masks, hair toys and jewelry
Picket Fence Designs - bags and totes
Inky Quills LLC - soaps and lotions
Blue Fox Glass - fused glass dishes and accessories
Snooter-doots™ - huggable art
Restless Chocolates - tasty sweets
Engayla - wearable art - classic design - fashion clothing
SuStudio - sterling jewelry
Kitsap Therapeutic Medical Massage & Bodywork, LLC  - massage
Side Door Pottery  - functional and beautiful
Olympic Lavender™ - lavender products
Echo Art Works Bead Shop & Gallery - supplies, classes and jewelry 

 Local galleries:
Ventures
Crazy Lady on Bay Street

Local Eats:
Monica's Waterfront Bakery and Cafe
Bay Street Bistro
Public Market
Carter's
Amy's on the Bay
110 Lounge
Blue Agave Mexican Grill

Shop Local, Shop Handmade - Day 29 ...Let's Eat!

Do you have favorite small locally owned restaurants in your area? This is a great way to shop local and have a nice evening out. There are a couple in my neighborhood I patronize. Bay Street Bistro is is at the top of my short list. Everything I have had there has been scrumptious. They also now have a small outlet in our downtown Public Market called Carters & Company where you can get soups and lunch fare as well as the yummy Carter's ice cream, chocolates and desserts.

In the same vicinity are two other favorite spots, Amy's on the Bay and the 110 Lounge, a martini bar. For quick casual fare I like Blue Agave Mexican Grill. Don't let the cafeteria style ordering put you off. The food is fresh and tasty while the portions are ample.  If you follow any of the above links you be taken to their webpages for directions, menus and hours.

 

So as you are making plans to dine out this season, be sure to include some locally owned establishments in your plans.

Shop Local, Shop Handmade - Make Your Own!

If you are the crafty sort it is not too late to make your own gift. There are local shops and studios where you can buy supplies or even take a class. Just Google what you are looking for in your community and you will find many options.

For folks in my area, one such place is Echo Art Works Bead Shop & Gallery on Callow Ave in Bremerton. Beth, the owner, teaches a variety of classes to get you started. And the shop has all the things you will need to create beautiful gifts. I shop there for some of my own supplies. Basic classes on beading and wire work. Fridays she offers several make-it-take-it options. All are reasonable priced.

Another fun option is Evening with Glass offered by Eastern Wind Glass, also in downtown Bremerton just off of Callow on Burwell. This month's offering is on Dec 18th. You will make a fused glass plate. Check out their Facebook page for details. Dixie, the owner, also has many supplies for glass crafting. Check out the list of classes to make ornaments and other items on their website.

Shop Local, Shop Handmade - Olympic Lavender

As I wind down this month long series on ways to shop local and handmade, here are some products to help you wind down from the stresses of life.

Olympic Lavender™ , is one of the founding farms of the original Sequim lavender farm movement that started it all back in 1995.  Marco and Christa Hermosillo took over this certified organic heritage lavender farm on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula last year and have done amazing thigns with it.Nestled in the fertile soils of the Sequim-Dungeness valley, their farm grows many premium varieties of lavender flowers, distills lavender essential oils,  and creates artisan, hand-made lavender products and gifts for your pleasure.

They partner with a number of community organizations and events throughout the year, highlighted by the Annual Sequim Lavender Farm Farm Tour & Fair™ , part of the Sequim Lavender Weekend, every third weekend of July.

 

They use certified organic lavender flowers/buds and certified organic lavender essential oils in the products they create. They also use natural and vegan ingredients when ever possible. You will find a selection of bath and body products as well as lavender for your kitchen available on their website.

You can shop from their website or visit them on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram as well.
If you want a nice road trip go visit the farm in person. They are just a couple hours west of Seattle and just a ferry ride away from Victoria, British Columbia.

Shop Local, Shop Handmade - Side Door Pottery

If you have attended my studio sales before then you have seen Linda's beautiful pottery. She describes her work as whimsical, hand built, painted porcelain that is functional and sculptural.  I can attest to all that and more!

Plates, bowls, cups, serving pieces and pitchers. Tiles and sculptures. Bird houses and feeders, garden stakes and birdbaths. There is something for every taste.And the detail on many of her pieces is amazing.

You can view many more of Linda's creations on her Facebook page. You can also see her work at shops in Poulsbo as well as the Port Orchard Farmer's market and occasionally during the Silverdale Art Walk.

Toad house!

Shop Local, Shop Handmade - Online

If you are an online shopper you can still find locally handcrafted goods. There are several websites to take a peek at,  Artfire, Bonanza, Aftcra and Zibbet are a few of the better known ones based in the U.S.

Just listed in Beadware's online Etsy shop.

The largest marketplace, and the one where you will find Beadware, is Etsy. To shop local on Etsy you will need to first register with the site so it knows where you live, then scroll down the home page and towards the bottom right you will find a link that says Shop Local. You then put in where you want to shop. A page showing items from local sellers opens. To ensure you are only lokinig at hand crafted products be sure and select Handmade and then the type of item you are searching for. Be warned there is so much to see her that you may find yourself addicted!!

Here are links to a few of my favorite local shops: 

Blue Dog Rose

Heidi's Pottery

Metal Garden Art

Shop Local, Shop Handmade - Day 24

Hopefully you have been able to do some of your holiday shopping at the many recent bazaars packed with handcrafted goods. Even though those are winding down for the season there are still opportunities to shop local and or handmade. Look for small galleries in your town that feature handcrafted art by local artisans. In my neck of the woods that would be shops like Crazy Lady on Bay Street or one of the many galleries in Poulsbo. I am sure there are several in your own town.

Buy Local -- Support yourself: Several studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned businesses, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms -- continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community.

Put your taxes to good use: Local businesses in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services as compared to nationally owned stores entering the community.

Create more good jobs: Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our community, provide the most jobs to residents.

Keep our community unique: Where we shop, where we eat and have fun -- all of it makes our community home. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of this place. Our tourism businesses also benefit.  “When people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being someplace, not just anyplace.” ~ Richard Moe, President, National Historic Preservation Trust

So many reason to shop local!!