OT A favor

LOL Damn, Diana - you *crack me up*!! :)

Thank you! I crack me up too sometimes. You know.. I always thought that was a questionable thing but right now Im thinking Im lucky to be able to do that. Diana

Damn straight! Feed your soul, nurture your spirit. Create beauty. I followed melinda here ... she warned me I would become addicted. I thought she meant to beads, but its the group itself that keeps me here. I *do* love beads, in ways I cant describe... but even if I never do a thing other than collect and look at them I will be forever grateful for the group of people Ive met here. Heck, I just came here cause I wanted to make nice looking fringe and found that the doors were open wide.. tassels, jewelry of unimaginable beauty, single beads that contain an entire world, functional pieces, totally frivolous bits, link after link of wonderful things to look at. Im glad you came too Jalynne. I cant wait to see what directions you take with clay! Hugs Diana

Lots of folk think of Art with a capital letter. High above everyday life. And belonging to, and done by only Special People.

I think of it growing out of the mulch of everyday life, and not at all separate from it. And I think everyone who does something that not only feeds their soul, but -offers- their soul as food for others ... there's no question in my mind that what they are doing is art.

Deirdre

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from Deirdre S. :

]And I think everyone who does something that not ]only feeds their soul, but -offers- their soul as food for others ... ]there's no question in my mind that what they are doing is art.

wow. marking this one to keep. because that's how i feel about the ones that AREN'T commissions.

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

's not what you take, when you leave this world behind you;it's what you leave behind you when you go. -- Randy Travis

Thank you for sharing your story, even if it had as much gargoyles as beads! Its all part of the tale! Im glad youre here too! Diana

I'm too old to remember when I first started beading. We always had paper, paint, clay, beads, natural materials, etc around. My mother was a den mother and Camp Fire mother for at least a dozen years. She was also an artist, and we had professional artists, dancers, architects, opera singers around us as we grew up.

When my children were growing up we were always broke and making things by hand, wood carvings, decorations, jewelry gifts. I also was interested in local plants for food and medicine -- ethnobotany. And I had a natural affinity for Native culture.

It wasn't until my divorce and my move to Alaska that I got seriously interested in beads. Alcoholism had begun to rear its ugly head and I got a DUI within a week after arriving in Fairbanks, Alaska. While I was in jail for DUI, an Athabaskan man taught me peyote and shared some of his beads and feathers with me.

That was 17 years ago. I started with simple stringing and a few other odds and ends, and cheap findings. And my interest has continually grown. First seeking seed beads, then floral beads. I also discovered catalogues. And I took a course at the U in Silversmithing, but did not do very well. And I found RCB. And hand made beads!! And I took courses in various weaves and also got certified in PMC this year.

I got my first computer in 95, but didn't use it much. I upgraded in 98 and also got the connection for e-mail. A year or two later, I discovered newsgroups. I had looked first for Depression newsgroups, then after 9-11, I began interacting with a group in response to that. It was shortly after that that I found RCB.

I can't remember what my first questions were, only that they were kind of stupid. It was the welcome from the people that really drew me in. I enjoy some people very specially, and I also like the ones I don't agree with. I have family in Calif and AZ and have met a few people there. Sooz was the first one I met, and we just slid together like magnets. I've also met Vickij and AnnieBee, Nicole BlackCat, and Karen DDAZ. And I have more on my To Meet List.

I admire RCB as a group. Even if we do get off-topic way too much.

Tina

Very interesting story, thank you! Off topic to much? How can that be? All things relate to either beads or quilts in some way so nothing can ever be considered truly off topic. Even beads and quilts are closely related! :-) Thank you for sharing your journey to beads with me. All these tales have been inspiring in some way. Its been enlightening to find that there are many paths that lead here. Diana

wow what a nice thread, and such moving responses...

i started making jewelry very young, at our local craft store kit kraft, i used to get bits and peices from the stacks of findings and take them home and make earings. people really liked them and that made me feel good :) i liked making them. then i got into origami for a long time, then my mom took me to a few bead classes, and my gramma taught me origami. then i became a teenager so everything turned to shit for a while ;) but when i was done i found myself in college as a business major. when i graduated i had fallen in love with a very nice man who didnt care if i made money or not, as long as i was happy, so i put off getting a real job. and i stared doing beadwork and stuff for fun, to pass the time while i wasnt working, and he really liked it, and that made me feel good :) so i kept doing it, and here i am. still no real job, still very happy beading (aside from a bad cold) and hoping to sell some stuff. i have a show tonight, ihope i am well enough to go, everyone think good thoughts for me please.... best to everyone. :) alia :)

Does 'not just for breakfast anymore' count as a food reference from Diana?

jewitch

Since I've been reminded that I haven't properly introduced myself yet, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to do so. Startle two birds with one stone, as it were (no reason to kill the little guys, is there?). BTW, thanks, Diana, for starting this thread; I've enjoyed reading the stories of those who came before me.

I'm not sure I can tell you how I became interested in beads. I've had a moderate interested in crafts all my life. I grew up with felt over toilet paper tubes (Christmas Elves), and trees made of Styrofoam balls, toothpicks and canned snow (that was prettier than it sounds). My mother made most of our clothes and somewhere along the line, I learned a bit of sewing, rug hooking & braiding, needlepoint, embroidery, counted cross-stitch, candle wicking, a bit of tatting, bead embellishing, quilting, etc. I learned stringing and some weaving, but because I grew up on a farm, I always coveted jewelry that was store bought and looked like everyone else was wearing. Needless to say, I didn't perfect any of these skills - or keep up what level of skill I had. In the past 25 years, I've picked all of these "hobbies" up and put them back down several times.

Last year, when a pair of earrings broke, a friend who does beadwork offered to show me how to fix them rather than fixing them herself. Because I'm a "Real-Size" Woman (22-26, depending on cut, quality, etc.), I have a hard time finding jewelry to fit - so I jumped at the chance to learn a little bit about jewelry making. Well, I still haven't got my earrings fixed, but I did buy some cheap beads and make a bracelet. I've had women walk up and offer to buy it off my wrist! The same with other bracelets I made. It didn't take me long to know that I enjoyed this more than I remembered, and to start buying better beads and actual silver. I enjoy adorning myself, for the first time in years. I feel better about my appearance, and all I've done is put on a bit more jewelry. I've also gone back to embellishment, doing a blouse for my mother-in-law, and working on the uppers for a pair of shoes I'm making for myself. I'm working on some goddess/angel/fairy dolls and a few purses. I'm also branching out into other media, but that's another post or another newsgroup.

As to how I found this group, I've been on the Internet almost forever (10 years), and have been reading newsgroups all that time. When I was ready for a beading newsgroup, I just searched on beads, and there it was. I've lurked here three or four times over the past 18 months, and gotten different kinds of vibes from it. I've never spoken up until recently, and I'm so glad I did. I was instantly welcomed and brought in to the fold. I'm so impressed with the amazing amount of knowledge here, and the willingness to share. So many times, people with knowledge (especially where people are making a living with their skills and knowledge) are proprietary about it; they don't want others to know what they know, because then the others may do as well - or even better - than they are doing. I don't sense any of that here.

Now, about me. I'm closer to 40 than I can believe I am, but thankful for it. I had a severe heart attach at 36, with no idea that I had a blockage. I also didn't have high cholesterol or high blood pressure. I have "treatment resistant" bi-polar disorder, with psychotic tendencies; I'm fun to be around. On the bright side, my diabetes is under control, with little help from me. And I have a wonderful husband (met him on IRC about seven years ago), three beautiful kitties and a pretty great bird.

This is starting to get longer than I meant for it to be, so whoever was interested in my screen name - let me know who you are and I'll email you the details. Can't imagine everyone is interested.

Thanks again to Diana for starting this thread, and to everyone else for telling their stories. I've loved it!

May you all be blessed,

Jewitch

I'm a belly dancer, too!

Jewitch

There's a HUGE difference between genuine patriotism and flag-waving jingoism. Most of what's being called the former at the moment is actually the latter IMNSHO -- particularly when you see people who express any sort of reservation about the actions the US government is taking being called "unpatriotic" or even "traitors".

The line "My country, right or wrong" has a second part which is almost never quoted: "When right, to keep right; when wrong, to SET right." Leaving that off almost reverses the intended meaning!

Celine

Y'know, I hear this kind of thing a lot -- from men and women both. Some men seem to think it's a tremendous compliment to talk about how they like REAL women, not stick-figure fashion models.

I'm going to ask you -- not just you, Jewitch, but everyone here -- exactly how you think it would feel to be a *natural* size 6 and hear something like that. Do you think it would hurt as much as being dissed as a "fat broad" does? I know several women who *are* naturally very slender, and believe me, they say it does.

Why is it necessary to put down one body type in order to admire another one? If the answer is "because everyone else puts MY body type down"... well, if everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you do that too?

There are a lot of positive phrases *without* attached putdowns that a large woman can use to describe herself, starting with the ever-popular "Big Beautiful Woman". I'm rather fond of "Woman of Substance" (and we have that on a T-shirt, at my instigation). And there's always "voluptuous", which carries the additional connotation of "sexy and gorgeous"... isn't it worth the effort

*not* to do unto others what we hate having done to us?

No personal offense intended -- you just happened to push one of my hot buttons.

Celine (size 18)

I understand your frustration about the occassional derogatory comments about slender women, which is even worse for women who need more weight and can't attain it. Actually I've been known to tell people that if 12 is average, and 18 is plus, then 6 must be minus. That's mean but at least balanced. The thing is, though, while small women are occassionally bashed, it is quite normal to bash large women. It is more common than not, to have large women described as being lazy, disgusting, self-indulgent, lacking in pride or self-respect, etc. This is the usual attitude toward large women. There is also an attitude that spectacular looking women spend more energy on their bodies than their minds, but that is a minority opinion. In this country good looks (which almost always includes being exclusively slender for women) equates to intellegent and successful, especially for women. A large woman can be seen as intelligent and successful too, but it will be inspite of her size.

I agree that people should not react defensively. Life is too short for that.

Tina

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com

Oh dear, is that the impression im giving in this group, that I am food obsessed? I am, but I didnt mean to make it public fodder! LOL Hey, wanna to die for chocolate cake and frosting recipe? Diana

yah know, something I like in some stores, is when they name the plus size "women's". I think I like the "jr's", "misses", and "women's" better than "plus size".

Mary

Not me. "Women's" means "matronly" to me. Yech!! Though I guess that's what I am... kinda. .. maybe.... er...

Tina