I am fortunate enough to have three of my jewelry designs featured in the new book Chain Style by Jane Dickerson. I recently got my copy in the mail and I am really impressed with it! It shows so many different ways to work in chain, interpreted by several different designers. The projects are detailed and rich looking, but none of them are overly complicated. It is a great source of inspiration for those who are new to beading, as well as seasoned beaders. I can tell by looking at the projects, having worked in chain for many, many years, that Dickerson did a great job of finding the designs that fit her aesthetic for the book, with designs that pushed simple chain and beading techniques to the limits! It is a visual treat and an inspiring look at the great creativity that can be found in the seemingly simple idea of chain.

For many years, I have hoarded the pieces that I have had published in magazines and books. I liked to keep them for when I have a bead show, so I could make a nice display of finished work to give my beading customers ideas about what to do with my beads, and to show off my recent press. It sort of just became a self imposed "rule" that I keep it all, and I have had the good fortune to have had a lot of pieces published over the years, so at this point, I have a huge collection of finished jewelry pieces hanging around the studio. I have decided to start letting them go, so I started with posting this one, Under Lock and Key, in the Earthenwood Galleria on Etsy. I figured the holidays would be a good time to offer finished jewelry, so I intend to fill up the shop, slowly but surely...

Today has been an odd day of constant movement, but I don't feel like I really did anything. Looking back, I know I did... I got quite a bit of stuff done, actually. Its sort of odd stuff though, bits and pieces here and there. It adds up, but it can be hard to see it as a big accomplishment. One of the small tasks I did was listing a set of beads, shown above, in my Etsy shop. Two sets, actually, as one was requested by a customer, and I made a few extra. These beads are the ones used in the Treasured Secret necklace design that was created by Jess Italia Lincoln that appears in the Best of Stringing Magazine special collectors edition magazine, shown below. It is a lovely piece, made with lots of Vintaj brass and glass beads along with my porcelain pieces. I love the asymmetry of the design and the way the bird is used as a toggle. I also love the combination of the pale milky glass and my pewter glazes against the brass. Nicely done!

Speaking of secrets and treasures, I have a little bit of both of those today! Yesterday, I was out on a lovely window shopping date with Alex and we came across some unusual materials in an unexpected spot. We both immediately knew we had to have them and spent much time picking out our treasures. They were plentiful and cheap items, and although we didn't know what we would be doing with them, we knew they would be a great crafting material. Today, I made a sample of something that we are going to start to make, and I am super excited about it. But alas, there lies the secret... because I don't want to show or tell any more about them until we are ready to sell them! It might turn into a little side business... just what I need! hehe. If only I had enough hands to keep up with my ideas. Anyway, keep checking back... I will reveal it someday soon, before the holidays!

Well, almost a week has passed since I set out to Cleveland for the Beads, Baubles, and Jewels taping. Since then I have had a lovely few days off, and then a couple of days back in the studio working hard, while getting ready to take another couple of days off. It has been quite a whirlwind! I wish I had blogged right when I got back and my thoughts were fresh, so it feels a little strange to blog about it all now. So to sum it up, I was terribly nervous, but after meeting the staff of the show and the other great artists who were also filming, I calmed down and got more comfortable, I gave it my biggest and bestest effort, and I ended up having a great time! I am so excited to see how my segment turned out, but it will take a few months before the tape gets done and longer still before the show airs.

Kerry from Kab's Creative Concepts wrote a big post about the day, and she took the pictures I am using in today's post (thanks, Kerry!) Also, Jean Campbell and Marcia DeCoster wrote great posts about their filming experiences. Above, a picture of all my stuff on a tray in the green room, getting ready to go. I was really happy with the project I picked to show, a quick but interesting Steampunk pendant made with a brass filigree bead that unfolds to create a bezel for one of my porcelain gear discs. Its a pretty dramatic thing to show, so that's fun! I also talked a little bit about steampunk. It was very casual and conversational... not rehearsed and scripted... so I hope I sound reasonably coherent when I see it on tape. I think my ideas and creativity burst through my nerves and I got my thoughts across clearly.

Above, a picture of the television screen in the green room showing the feed of me and the host, Katina, in the middle of taping my segment. It was SO weird to see myself on TV, and all made up! The make-up artist did an amazing job, especially since my eyelids were all pink and itchy from my allergies. We sat down together with the producer, and I tried to ignore the big cameras and just chatted with Katina about Steampunk and my beads. It went so quickly! Did I mention that the staff was awesome, and made us all feel at home? It was a great experience and I am so glad that I did it! Stay tuned, I will certainly keep you all informed when I have updates on show times!

Wheee! *flailing around* I am very nervously busy today, and will be for the next couple of days! I am getting my things together for my big TV debut! I am driving to Cleveland tomorrow, to tape for the PBS show Beads, Baubles, and Jewels on Thursday! Its very exciting, but I am also a little bit scared, as I have never done anything quite like this. But you don't grow unless you take risks and do things to push yourself, right?

My plan is to talk a little bit about steampunk, and its influence in fashion and in jewelry, and then demo a pendant made with Vintaj brass and a steampunk inspired ceramic stone, like the one above. I am feeling a bit unprepared, even though I have been thinking about it and have had it going through my head constantly for a couple of weeks now, since I met the producer at the Bead & Button Show. I think I am going to spend the rest of the day getting my notes and samples prepared, and getting myself ready as well... maybe a little spa treatment is a good idea?

I won't have much time once I get home to blog on Thursday, after the taping. I will probably run and do some shipping and errands, but then I am being whisked away early on Friday up to the North, for a wedding and a little weekend vacation. I will need it after the next few days. I will check in when I can, but until then, I hope you wish for me to break a leg (or whatever you tell someone who is going on tv...*giggle*) Whee!

With all the running around I have been doing, I almost forgot to post about my newest piece of press! I am in the special issue of Interweave's Beads 2009, out on bookshelves now! I have some beads in the editors' picks for Steampunk, and a full project as well! The piece above, Gears of Elegance, is in this issue, and it looks amazing. The photo is gorgeous (not the one above... that is the one I took) and I am very pleased with it. I created this necklace for myself for a very special event last fall... an elegant chocolate party which just happened to be on my birthday. I am very pleased that it made it in print, and it makes it extra special to have my personal memories intertwined with it, for all to see. It is always an honor to be apart of this special issue, and this year it is especially touching.
 

Well, since I have been away from the home studio so much this summer, I missed telling you about an important piece of press I had recently. The picture above is from a product review in the Bead Soup section of the August issue of Bead & Button Magazine. I was really surprised and excited to get the advanced copy of this, because it was very unexpected! I don't get a lot of coverage in Bead & Button, and it is a major publication, so I was very pleased with it. Thank you to Bead & Button Magazine!

It was also the first appearance of the Steam Stone line in print, other than my advertisements. I can't tell you how interesting it is to experience this process...from the conception of an idea to the creation and production, to the marketing, to seeing it take off in print and with customers, where it starts to spread. This is just the beginning of the press that is coming out about the Steam Stones, and I will be talking about the other exciting things that are starting to trickle out, press wise, this week. It is a very exciting time here for me in the studio.

Well I have been a pretty sporadic blogger lately, eh? I have missed blogland a lot lately but I have been very busy with travelling and piles and piles of real life things. It's been hard to collect my thoughts to share. Well, I suppose that is ok, some things can just be a private part of my process. I have many secret things happening! I am bubbling about them, but it's not time to share them yet! Some of these things are new press items that will be out before I know it, which I can't wait to share with all of you! I also have just poured a mold for a fourth new tile mold, which I am excited to launch this fall. Not much on the bead and design front, just trying to keep up with orders and work on website changes and etsy stuff. Its slow, but coming along. I just wanted to check in and give a little *wave* hello, to let you all know that I am well and working, and hope to be my regular bloggy self soon. I am taking another few days away from the house and studio this weekend, but hope to check into my email on occasion, so drop me a line if you need anything. *whee!*

 

How about I leave you with some vintage Depeche Mode until I "see you" again?

ooh shiny! Check it out! One of my very favorite bead suppliers, Rings & Things, has written up a great article about one of my favorite subjects, Steampunk! ooh and even more shiny...a mention of Earthenwood! Here is a little snippet:
"A phenomenal exploration of steampunk for jewelry purposes can be found in Melanie Brooks Lukacs' (Earthenwood Studio's) recent blog series Steam Week. Down in the lab, Melanie sifts through decades of cultural influences from film, literature, music and art. From these, she synthesizes the essential steampunk design elements like watch cogs, biplane propellers, portholes and rivets into attractive ceramic beads. She applies a series of sepia-period glaze colors that she names "antique iron," "rusty engine," "motor oil," "moss leather" and others. We commend Melanie's work as a great launching point for any expedition into steampunk."
Check out the whole article here in the Rings and Things newsletter.

So, I am thinking about inspiration today and how it can come in both planned and calculated ways, as well as entirely unexpected ways. Take the piece above, called Sunken Treasure. This was a piece I made right around this time last year. It was the first Collaboration Exploration I did, with Cindy Gimbrone and Jean Yates. This was a project, where all three of us had some of the same elements to work with (namely, Cindy's glass spiral beads and my porcelain shell charms) and where we all had to make something. Sometimes, a limitation such as that is a good way to find inspiration. When you are limited, it makes you think creatively about how to solve a problem, and all three of us did very different things with our sets of beads. It was a very fun project!

 

I liked my piece from the Collaboration so well that I submitted it to Simply Beads Magazine. It is out in the summer issue right now as a project! It is so rewarding when something you do for fun and play ends up turning into something bigger.

 

I have been feeling very inspired lately by many things, which makes me feel very fortunate. My brain is definitely storming! And it is swimming in the ocean, discovering sunken treasures of imagination, things that I didn't even know I was looking for. It is an exciting time, when an artist can experience this, it is sometimes hard to be open to it, especially when wrapped up in other projects, or working on mundane details.

 

I would like to encourage you to discover inspiration's treasures too...to keep your eyes and mind open to them. You may never know where they will be swimming in the ancient ocean of creativity! It might be in a collaborative project that presents itself to you, it might be in a studious and calulated effort, or it may come in the form of an unexpected instant message one morning before you have even had your first cup of coffee...

Super quickie late night post today. From the new summer issue of Stringing Magazine, another pair of earrings I designed with a pair of my porcelain beads, Vintaj brass, and some crystals. I have not much to say lately, I am spending a lot of time in listening mode, and has been a very good place to be. I have some incredible people around me with amazing things to say, so I am fortunate to be able to spend some time just listening and responding. Yawn, bedtime for me...

Whoa the day really got away from me today! A super rare, late night post. Better hurry, it is almost tomorrow! Above, a pair of earrings from the new issue of Stringing magazine. A perfect design for night time, eh? The bottom Celestial charms are from Earthenwood, and the cute polkadot stars are from my friend Carla of Bag Lady Beads. I designed these earrings for the magazine, and they are one of several new press items I will be telling you about in the next few days.

 

I am up to the eyeballs in work today, and my morning was full of unexpected and exciting things. I got a full night's sleep, though, so that's good. And when I say full, I mean I slept for 12 hours. oops! Sometimes you gotta do that. I must have needed it. And that is the best thing about being self employed, I have that luxury to be able to do it when I need it. 

Today I was going to blog about the earrings in Bead Style magazine that feature my beads, but I will do that tomorrow, because I woke up to some emails about my beads being on the Etsy front page last night. YAY! I did not catch it, the front page had changed by the time I woke up. So the treasury is Lost in cyber Space, but my friend Beverly was kind enough to take a screen shot for me, which you can see above. My Mermaid pendant set is in the top left corner. 

 

Thanks to LunaLove for including me in her treasury, filled with lots of rainy, oceanic, moonlit items. It is quite a beautiful selection if items, isn't it? Click to go to her shop, which is filled with gorgeous jewelry, made with fine stones and materials and art beads.