Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Flying High in Santa Fe

Beadfest Treasures

The very first Santa Fe Beadfest five years ago launched the jewelry side of my creative life. Prior to that, I had only admired beads from afar, never thinking that I could blend stones and other objects into something wearable, maybe even intriguing and desireable. I came home from that excursion with a suitcase filled with precious objects and my life has never quite been the same.

This forage wrapped around me like a dream manifested—every possible beautiful object, from earth treasures to raku and handmade glass, strung about the walls or heaped upon the tables. Much in the manner I select yarns for projects, a lead stone served as the talisman for drawing in other kindred elements. For instance, I discovered a lady who makes the most magnificent raku with luminescence ranging from sky blue to cobalt shot through with a deep, fiery, copper that married perfectly with a copper artist's funky creations. And then I discovered the 'fire torched 24K gold over copper' merchant whose pieces shifted with the most nuanced of metalic surfaces.

 Beadfest: multiply this aisle by 35+

And, deep in a alley in Santa Fe, my favorite amber merchant, a Navajo named John, had exactly what I craved in the rough, butter-brittle amber that mates so well with my beloved agates and jaspers.

So, other than bead and yarn forage, what did I do on this beautifuil spring week in New Mexico? Ate, of course, and yes, I did rediscover the glories of a really good marquerita, at least until I reminded myself how a really bad headache feels the next morning. After that, no more tequilla, thank you, just water and lots of it. Being a sea level girl, it's best not to add extra altitude to the high.

I did get out for a little bit of country and Northern New Mexico's sagey green-golds are magnificent this time of year, just weeks before the big bloom begins. John took this photo of me standing by the Rio Grande. We're not sure what I had in mind with my arms in that position—attempted flight, maybe? Whatever the case, I felt truly uplifted this entire vacation. I feel a year younger rather than the opposite truth.

Stay tuned for lots of jewelry, with many pieces to be made available for sale through my newsletters and web site. I'm inspired!