Bead & Button show

Milwaukee was great... incredibly nice relaxed people and many talented people. It was thrilling to be able to see with my own eyes the work of the bead artits I usually read about.

Nice food, nice drinks... and a surprise : I was still following my friend the Monkey's trail (tail ?) !

Exotic sights (post office) - exciting !

A revelation ; I love metal work.
Lady in the background enjoying all the hammering is a psychology professor at University.

Disc cutting. Then dapping, piercing into earrings. I have had a fascination for copper since I was 12. Only this June did I start working on it. Bliss !

Metal forming : flattening silver wire

Shaping square wire into bangles

I am so happy I took all these classes !

Birthday present

I m off to Milwaukee for the Bead and Button show !!!!!

I ve been waiting for this for 4 years and treated myself to this for my 40th birthday.

I m a little scared, but happy and excited.

Take care.

Hello !

Pondicherry street office

For the last 2-3 weeks I managed to sneak out of my office and... went back to Tamil Nadu, India. I had a great time of course.

This time I managed to get a little closer to textile and jewellery craft people. This was possible thanks to the information found about Indian crafts on the CDs sold by the Craft Revival Trust. Thank you Lainie for the link !

I found my way to the wonderful Tribal Research Centre (TRC) in M Palada, near Ooty in the Nilgiri mountains. With a total tribal population of about 28,000, the Nilgiris is an important tribal district. You can read more about the tribes here. In the museum you can see many fascinating objects made of clay, wood and vegetals. Here are a few pictures relating to Toda embroidery, which is world famous.

Toda woman embroidering a Poothkuli shawl - Photo (c) TRC museum

Tribe scissors - Photo (c) TRC museum

Toda ancient shawl - Photo (c) TRC museum

Toda modern shawl with traditional flower motif bought in Ooty

If you are in the region, you can buy Toda embroidery in Ooty and there is also a recommended Woman's Cooperative in Kotagiri.

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In Pondichery, I saw a patchwork exhibition at Aurodhan Art Gallery. The artist name is Vatika and he has a shop and guesthouse near the gallery, François Martin Street. I love the way he mixes printed textiles, embroidery and beads.

Vatika at work

Across the road there is a shop named Excellent Bengal Handicrafts specializing in fairtrade ecofriendly Kantha embroidery from Bengal. Ms Bharati Dhar, director, aims to save traditional arts of India, provide skills and jobs opportunities to under priviliged villagers and use natural, waste and recycled goods to manufacture simple and stunning products of a vast variety. She is trying to expand her work. If interested in helping her, she has a facebook page, her email address is bharatidhar@yahoo.com

Update on September Bead Journal Project

This is an update on my September page, "That old black magic (called love)". I don't know why, but I don't have a lot a creative energy at the moment, and I work even more slowly than usual.

I have thought a lot about eyes in September. There was this poster everywhere in Paris for a theatre show about Maria Callas giving a lesson when she had lost her voice :and then at the end of the month I learnt through this delightful blog and this one that it was festival time in India for Durga and from link to link found this :

So it has been a journey from fear and magic to love and feminity back to magic and fear :o)

September BJP

First there was this...
Then this...Then this...

nothing finished yet,tsss...

To bead or not to bead

I am having big trouble with this year's Bead Journal Project. I am amazed that just musing about 3 colours, I get to visit powerful archetypes and uncomfortable emotions. My theme of the month is love, my piece is entitled "That old black magic"...

Anyways, I have heard interesting news today. Near the town of Toulouse, there is a church in which you find a Black Virgin Mary with child, la Vierge Noire of Notre-Dame de Daurade. This statue is adorned with clothes, and she is supposed to help especially pregnant women, mothers, and people affected by floods and fires.

A few days ago the Society for the Protection of the Statue, APPD, has asked famous stylists to design new clothes for the Black Virgin (Sonia Rykiel, Christian Lacroix, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Paco Rabanne, Prada, Gucci...). Saddly enough, they haven't responded yet.

Anybody interested ?

Here is a link to her old dresses. And here is another link more general (in French).

Little hearts given to the Black Virgin

My workpace

Denise has challenged us to show our beading workplace. So here is mine ; the kitchen table. This summer I finally put all my beading books and materials in just one cupboard, what a relief ! In the corner, near the spice basket, you can catch a glimpse of the Asa Foetida box that came with us in Italy, because it rolled out of its shopping bag.

And this is what the workspace looks like when I get excited over a project. Yes, I am a very messy person. Personal message : Stellou we have found the Coyote statue at last !

Lazy Sunday

Crédits : 1. La maison rose de la Butte Montmartre, 2. Feuilles, 3. café crème

It has been a very lazy Sunday for me, although I managed to finish a spirit doll called Dream Girl but can't show her off because my camera is travelling around Germany this week.

I have been looking for bead inspiration on the web and found Svetlana's wonderful blog which in turn lead me to this : Tatiana Ekimova's incredible collection for the 2007 Odessa Fashion Show ! Correction on the previous meme ; if I had a lot of money, I'd definitely buy this dress ! And I'd wear it.

BJP February

"Out of the box"

This is my BJP page for... February. When I was a child my parents often stressed the importance of having degrees ; they didn't have any, because life had played tricks on them. I remember a particular message from my mum ; she said I had to put all my efforts into obtaining my Baccalauréat (A levels), she used to say "you are a circle, and you have to find a way to get into this square. Just pretend you are a square for a while and then get on with your life". I didn't know I was a circle, I wasn't sure I wanted to be one, and found all this pretty mysterious and quite scary. I didn't understand either why square society was prejudiced against circles... This has been in my mind for quite some time :o)

Years later, I heard of the expression "getting out of the box". I also learnt that in India, sacred mandalas are based on circles and squares, which are supposed to represent heaven and earth. I also heard the thoughtful phrase "there is no way to happiness, happiness is the way". Thus the arrows that are also tendrils.

I'm in the middle of an emotional turmoil at the moment, and I have decided to use some of my savings to do a trip to India - a dream I've had since I was a teenager. Because I've just realized that no charming prince is going to come my way and fullfill all my dreams, it all depends on me somehow :o)

With love,

Hélène

January TIF/BJP

Sense of direction

This is my January effort for the Bead Journal Project and the Take it Further challenge. Remember I was going to do a potato plant using the colours of TIF and inspiring myself from this design of the website Tête à modeler :

However, January is the month of resolutions and beginnings. I have spent a lot of time thinking about Christine Kane's suggestion of choosing just one word for the year and explore what it means to you. As I couldn't make my mind, it occured to me that what I need at the moment and have been needing for some time is a sense of direction. So my little potato flower transformed itself in a kind of 8 points compass rose - that was the idea anyway. Maybe it looks more like an Impatiens flower bud.In the process, I took much much more space than for my usual BJP pieces, which I have found annoyangly small lately. Impatience, need for space, confusion and sense of direction have been my themes for the month.

I am also preparing for a retreat beginning of February, and this piece mirrors the one I did for October BJP after my last retreat.

Leafy bracelet

I just finished this "Leafy inspiration" bracelet designed by Linda Frechen and published in Bead &Button No.80 (August 2007). I made a few technical mistakes but I think it's quite nice.

Handmade gifts

Now they have safely been delivered by Santa, I can show you the gifts I made this year :o)

Patterns from Biloba

Pattern from Judith Baines

Rune Amulet Purse

This is my first amulet purse and my first brick stitch effort. The pattern is by Judith Baines and is published in the Journal No.35 of the Beadworkers Guild (UK). The symbols are runes associated with well-being. The colours are my own interpretation, I saw them in a dream, and the fringe too. I still have to decide what to do for the strap...

One step at a time

I am very pleased and honoured to announce that I have enrolled for regular bead lessons with Marie Le Sueur until June 2008. Marie Le Sueur is a leading French bead artist and you can see glimpses of her work here for example.

My first lesson was this morning and I have done half a bracelet from one of her models which is called "Fireworks". Having run out of beads I have to wait a few days to finish it, which is terrible. However I am really thrilled as I have learnt a lot of things already.

I know, it is already September 1st but I haven't finished my august BJP yet. It is supposed to be about "one step at a time". I have done and undone a lot on it already. Here it is as it looks today. I'll tell you more about it's significance when it is finished...

Update

At the moment I am fascinated by all the interdictions that seem to pop up in everyday life in my country. All alcohol beverages now bear a sign representing a pregnant woman in a "forbidden" circle. Each time you see an add on TV related to food or drink, there is a text urging you not to eat to much fat, salt, sugar and to go and get some exercise... One of the funniest message I saw recently was on a packet of British cigarettes : it said in very large black letters "smoking causes slow painful death" (well maybe I made up the "slow"). Well, I have to laugh not to scream. Health is important, but this is harassment. In this context, I was striken by the above sign, found at the entrance of the newest public garden in Paris. I must say I am not even quite sure what it is you are forbidden to do.

Fortunately, look what I found on the roof of the largest fabric store in Paris. It is Mr Chat (mister Cat), a street art figure that Parisians have been meeting here and there since 2000. His creator is called Thoma Vuille.

You can see more photos of Mr Cat here.

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We have just celebrated Alice's 14th birthday. I gave her a simple stringed necklace with a medal for her zodiac sign and Swarowsky cristals.

Her little sister gave her this necklace, which she designed on her own. I helped with the focal bead. I think she did a really good job, especially as she gave up some of her favourite beads for this project.
I have been experiencing a lot of frustration with my August BJP page, which is about "one step at a time" and funnily enough I have finally found comfort in painting my brand new shoe cabinet in green and gold. Inspiration works in weird ways, doesn't it ? :o)