February 16, 2011

2011 Teaching Calendar, February-June

Spring has sprung!! Today marked the change. A little bit of hail and rain with the sun shining bright. I look out my kitchen window and there is a rainbow, wait a second, it's a double rainbow! I will take this as a sign that my annual winter creativity slump is on the upswing.

I walk outside to my studio and there is the first daffodil of the season standing tall. Upon closer inspection I notice many little tulips beginning to push through the soil. I'm so excited, my bulb planting project from the fall is beginning to pay off. There are nearly 40 freesia now standing at least 5 inches. I can't wait for that sweet scent to greet me every time I walk outside.

Now I can look forward to a year of blooms. It will be a busy year. From Bead Fest to Bead & Button to Wire Masters and a guest appearance at a New Jersey bead store near you. Take a peek at my class line up and see if what you have been waiting for is here.

Baubles & Beads: Berkeley and San Rafael, CA  Ongoing

I am so lucky to have a local bead store that offers a full range of classes and products. This is my home turf where all my new classes debut and where the smaller class sizes allow me to delve deeper into each technique and how we can take it a step beyond. If you visit the San Francisco Bay Area be sure to check out their current class listing, it is ever changing and always moving forward. Take a look at my current class offering and be sure to peruse great classes by other nationally known instructors: Joe Silvera, Steven James, Anat Silvera, Colin Mahler and many local artists.


Bead Fest Wire: King of Prussia, PA April 7th-10th, 2011



A little bit of wire...A little bit of metal makes for a great show! If you have never been to Bead Fest in PA you are in for a treat. King of Prussia touts itself as the East Coast premier shopping destination. If you still have energy to shop after all that bead buying and class taking, shop till you drop at the nearby mall. Click here for a quick link to all of my class offerings at this show.


Beads By Blanche: Bergenfield, NJ April 29th-May 1st 2011


I have long heard of this beadstore and its classes. I usually only teach at my local bead store and bead shows but when the invitation to teach at Beads By Blanche came around, how could I resist? Textile techniques in wire and a little metalsmith hammering to let off steam.



It will be a great weekend! Check out the details of the classes I will be offering and while you are there be sure to look at all the other classes this store has to offer.




Bead & Button Show: Milwaukee, WI June 4th-12th, 2011

B11253 Wire Bezel Wrap






When you think of the Bead & Button show, think dizzy thoughts of glitz beads piled row after row with the clink of 650 classes going on in the background.

The energy at this show is amazing. In 2010 over 14,000 (yeah, look again at that number) attended the show. Milwaukee is close to where I grew up. For many years I finished the show with a stay a Grandma's house. I remember one year she saw an ad in The Kenosha News that featured one of my pieces. The memory of this warms my heart because Grandma was one of the few in my family never had a bad word to say about my wanting to grow up and make jewelry for a living. I will always think of her when I attend this show.

I'll be busy this week! 10 classes makes for a bead & jewelry workout!
B11248 Fused Fine-Silver ChainsB11249 Herringbone Weave Wire WrappingB11254 Wire Flower LinksB11252 Fundamentals in Wirework with Lisa ClaxtonB11250 Fused Ball-Link ChainB11817 Crochet Wire RosettesB11251 The Eclipse ChainB11816 20-Minute Spiral Ring