Meet Jennifer of Mewes Mountain Arts

Raised in Osmond, Nebraska, Jennifer, of Mewes Mountain Arts now lives just outside Denver Colorado, with what her hubbie and she like to regard as their own private mountain. Jennifer has had an interesting path. Earning a BFA degree early on showed her what it was like to be a "starving artist," so she eventually went back to school and got a BS in Information Technology, which she had already showed a great interest for.

Jennifer, eager to show where much of her inspiration comes from states: "just behind our house is OUR self-proclaimed Mewes Mountain. The beauty out here and the love of Jesus Christ are the inspiration for the start of Mewes Mountain Arts and Crafts. I'm excited to see what God has in store for this adventure so stay tuned!"

Jennifer has done painting, pottery, scrapbooking and photography, but her beadwork is what keeps her going now. Several of her creations are above, and you can learn and see more by stopping by her Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MewesMountainArts?ref=top_trail or by visiting her blog: http://mewesmountainartsandcrafts.blogspot.com/

Meet Connie Cooper of Saorsa Studio of Beads

Connie Cooper of Saorsa Studio of Beads, lives in Plantersville, Texas, where she enjoys her passion of beading. She makes her own glass beads and also uses micro macrame with her beadwork. As she stated, "Macrame is my meditation." In working with glass, her favorite is what she calls "Organics" because she loves " watching the reactions and the innumerable ways the glass will behave."

All of Connie's work is OOAK (One of a Kind), and she wants each person who buys a piece of her work to feel "as if they have something special and uniquely theirs." Her friend, Lauri Watson, got her started with beading, and recently she was accepted in to the Self Representing Artist Jewelry Designer (SRAJD) . Connie thanks SRAJD for "promoting those of us who create and design jewelry as well).

Be sure to visit her website and her Etsy store:
website: http://saorsastudios.com/
Etsy ~ Saorsa Studio of Beads: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SaorsaStudios?ref=seller_info

Working With Wire

A few months ago I started taking classes in wire work with a wonderful artist, Penny Cox. Penny is a jeweler who makes the most incredible jewelry ~ each one is a work of art. The fact that she agreed to give me private lessons really made my day (and month and year). Eventually, I will do a feature on Penny.

For now I want to say that through all the ups and downs of bending, curling and twisting wire, I have come to love it. So far our work has been with copper wire, which is the cheapest to learn with, but I can't wait to get my hands on some silver (soon....). I did wrapped loops till I thought my eyes were going to fall out, and then I did spirals ~ oh, they were fun, and so pretty. Now I have just finished my very first necklace where the beads are connected only with wire, rather than Beadalon or Soft Flex. I thought it looked warbly, but I have gotten so many lovely comments after posting pictures in some of the forums I belong to that I decided to share "Santa Fe Afternoon" with you too.

Featured Artist Teresa Rusk

Teresa loves making her one-of-a-kind jewelry creations, and loves using all kinds of materials, especially wire. Teresa, who lives in Hillsboro, North Carolina, believes "that all women should be able to enjoy nice things and not have to spend a fortune to do so!" In her Etsy shop, she offers good quality items at an affordable price: http://www.etsy.com/shop/trusk4u?ref=top
Teresa is married, with two grown children and two dogs. Despite all that to keep her busy, she finds time to fill her Etsy shop and her Handmade Artists Forum (HAF) shop with a plethora of necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Her work is diverse, made from a variety of materials, from semi-precious stones, to glass, to wire. Visit Teresa's HAF shop: http://handmadeartistsshop.com/trusk4u.html


Teresa's stated mission is "to provide a wide variety of quality, limited edition jewelry products for women at affordable prices." In addition to the items mentioned above she also creates custom pieces for weddings and other occasions. And, as if that weren't enough, she is getting ready to open her own real world store in Mebane, North Carolina. You can follow news about her shop on Twitter: http://twitter.com/HollyhocksLLC ... and don't forget to check out her blog for more tidbits: http://www.trusk4u.blogspot.com/

A Concise History of Beads

For a brief and terrific history of beads and beading, visit LTD Beads' blog to see what Joan has written. It's fascinating. The beaded glove is circa 1200, photo by Michael Manas, courtesy of Wikipedia. Here is the link: http://www.ltdbeads.com/history.html

The Goddess Revisited

In the 1970's, along with a resurgence of a new women's movement, came an interest in the Goddess, and there was a surge of books, articles and studies of many of the goddesses throughout history. There was an interest in attributes of the goddess, location, jurisdiction, etc., and of course, lots of different kinds of art. "The Goddess Protects" doesn't come under any of these categories, except that she is a very earthy goddess and I have designated that she protects. What does she protect? She protects the wearer; she protects all things earthy ~ vegetation, animals, soil, etc. She is also more primal, being made of Bone, Turquoise and Copper. The Bone also places her not only in the present, but in the past as well.

Meet Carmen Trueheart, Beader and Animal Lover

Carmen, who lives in Saint Augustine, Florida, first began working with beads in her early days as a "hippie" in Richmond, Virginia. She started out stringing beads, then began to collect all kinds of beads, including vintage beads, and continued to nurture her interest by taking classes in Silversmithing and Precious Metal Clay (PMC). She even earned a PMC certification, which allows her to teach this method of making beautiful sterling silver beads. Carmen says that "To be able to create through art, to experiment , succeed and fail, and learn through creativity, that has always been a desire." Visit both her Etsy sites and see her wonderful work:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/baublezptoa
http://www.etsy.com/shop/bananamiranda

Carmen also loves animals and donates "a portion of all of my sales to Best Friends Sanctuary." She shares stories and pictures of her beloved pets, along with pictures of her jewelry on her blog: http://mooaanysays.blogspot.com/