Southland in the Springtime

“And there’s something ’bout the Southland in the springtime
Where the waters flow with confidence and reason
Though I miss her when I’m gone it won’t ever be too long
Till I’m home again to spend my favorite season
When God made me born a yankee he was teasin’
There’s no place like home and none more pleasin’
Than the Southland in the springtime”
Southland in the Springtime, Indigo Girls

One of my favourite Indigo Girls songs — it reminds me of an SCA event I used to go to every year, one held in March in Mississippi. I’d drive the long road down I-81 from the barest beginnings of spring in the north — at times it was still snowing — to full-on, burgeoning, riotous southland spring. The scents, the green, the softness of the air…I loved it.

I can’t say that it’s my favourite place and season — Colorado in the fall is truly gorgeous — but it’s a good memory.

I stopped into my local bead shop to chat while my local used book store (which, alas, has no web site!) was looking over a passel of used books I’d brought them. I brought Loiosh — he was an immediate hit and eventually fell asleep on the counter in a small ball. I did not, I wish to point out, intend to actually purchase anything.

I am a fool.

The price they were charging for the jade was irresistable, so I didn’t bother resisting it. And when I saw the quartz ovals — yes, those are quartz — I had to have them. I’d never seen anything like them. The inclusions were beautiful and the price quite reasonable. I immediately snatched up a strand.

At the counter I looked at the beads I held — and immediately knew I’d be using them together.

I mean, look at them.

That was Thursday — the next day I left for Nebraska for the weekend. While there I found a fellow jewelry maker to chat with. She just happened to have some beads she didn’t want, and I happened to have some herbal things she did, and among the beads I traded for were the pale, pale green amazonite rounds.

I knew without even having to check that they would go with the beads I’d already chosen. And the pale green told me what song I was putting into bead form.

It’s sure pretty, isn’t it?

Broadsword

I see a dark sail on the horizon
set under a black cloud that hides the sun.
Bring me my broadsword and clear understanding.
Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman.
Get up to the roundhouse on the cliff-top standing.
Take women and children and bed them down.

Bring me my broadsword and clear understanding.
Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman.
Bless with a hard heart those who surround me.
Bless the women and children who firm our hands.
Put our backs to the north wind. Hold fast by the river.
Sweet memories to drive us on for the motherland.

I see a dark sail on the horizon
set under a black cloud that hides the sun.
So, bring me my broadsword and clear understanding.
Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman.
So bring me my broadsword
And a cross of gold as a talisman.
– Broadsword, Jethro Tull

I bought a whole bunch of lampwork glass beads at the Bead Lounge a while ago, and then they sat…and sat…and sat. I’d thought to use them sparingly, as befits their total awesomeness, but somehow I could never come up with a design I liked.

So I decided to just use nearly all of them in one fell swoop.

I’d had the white beads for probably years — I have no recollection of getting them, so it was quite a while ago. They looked cheap and awful in every context I tried, which was a shame, because in they’re own subtle way they’re also very cool. Their very irregularity proclaims that, like the brighter beads, they too are handmade.

I put the two together, and boy, did it work.

It’s 26 inches long, plenty long enough to hang well on its own or from a pair of brooches with your Viking garb. Which is what directed my thinking when it came to a song.

Most of the sings I know about Vikings are kinda silly, and whie I enjoy them in their place, they didn’t suit this piece. I Googled things like ‘Viking song treasure’ and ‘plunder Viking lyrics’ and got nowhere much for a while until a song I’ve long known and loved came into my head — Broadsword, by Jethro Tull.

It’s simple and powerful. Have a listen if you like. Go ahead; I can wait.

See what I mean?

Like a gleaming hoard of treasure.

A wonderful weekend

I’ve been all week recovering from it, alas, but I really did have a great weekend.

It involved an SCA event up in Nebraska. Yes, I hear you say, Nebraska is at the end of the world and is filled with naught but corn and corn farmers, but at the same time I tell you, it is awesome.

I almost didn’t go. I had a long and stressful week, was tired and feeling a little ill as I packed up the car. I knew this was going to be a small event and I could only hope that I made enough money to cover my expenses — not inconsiderable with the price of gas as high as it is. I also knew that I’d get there well after dark, despite all of my efforts to the contrary, and I find setting up after dark to be extremely stressful.

But I went anyway. And after a half hour or so on the road, I found myself in a pretty good mood. Kitten asleep on my lap, good music on the radio, driving fast through beautiful country. And northern Colorado is beautiful.

Western Nebraska, I thought, not so much. I mean, Nebraska is flat, right?

Actually, no, it’s not.

This is where we camped. It was gorgeous. I indeed got there after dark, but got offers of help with setting up and with holding Loiosh. Camp took about ten minutes and I left the booth for Saturday. My helpers went back to bed and I took Mr Wiggly Pants for a walk.

I have not seen so many stars in years. And years. The sky was bright and crowded with them.

We walked about on the plain, Loiosh hunting bugs and God knows what else, me watching the stars, until the moon rose, and then we went to bed.

Up far too early the next morning — these folks get up with the sun! Farming community, I suppose, though I don’t think any of them actually farm. I got the booth up in good order and settled in for the day.

I spent some time watching the fencing — on a wooden bridge so narrow it bounced as you walked on it — and quite a bit of time hanging out with folks. The merchants next to me had a bored teenager who channeled her boredom into artwork (of which, alas, I got no pictures) and allowed me a piece of foam stuff to make a bit of wearable art of my own.

He wore them pretty much the rest of the day.

Sleeping angel.

His first set of garb — I’m so proud *wipes tear*.

Of course, then he became horrible.

Yes, that’s taken from inside my tent. No, he didn’t actually rip the mesh.

But it was a close thing. Amazing thing is he made it up there with his wings still on!

He wasn’t entirely sure about the whole thing, so I rescued him.

I wound up having an amazing time — the folks there were so welcoming! Even though I hadn’t paid for feast (I love feasting, but money is tight) they invited me to eat with them anyway. I was also invited to the autocrat’s camp for both Saturday morning breakfast and Saturday night dice. By the end of the event we were teasing each other as if we’d all known each other forever.

And I made more than enough money to cover expenses.

I highly recommend events in the Shire of Hinterland to anyone who might be close enough to attend. I had a wonderful, wonderful time.

Big Damn Crafters’ Big Damn Challenge

Another piece inspired by Firefly, this one by the necklace Inara’s wearing during the duel at the end of the episode Shindig.

I went about this as if I were researching a piece for the SCA. First I looked at the originals:

Those were the best shots I could find on Can’t Take the Sky From Me, one of the best places I’ve found for Firefly screencaps and an all-around great site for Firefly fans. Not a lot to work with for the actual beads, but you can get a good idea of the general layout of the piece itself.

My choice of beads was dictated partly by my feel for Inara’s fashion preferences in general and partly by which beads I actually had available. She wears a lot of purple and in fact you can see amethyst used in other pieces of hers, and I had some really awesome amethyst around so that was an easy choice. The smaller quartz beads I used as separators mostly because I had them available and they were unobtrusive enough that they didn’t look wrong.

When all you’ve got to work with is a pair of pretty blurry photos, sometimes ‘not wrong’ is about as close as you can get.

The hard part was the bells. I’m not really sure that’s what they are in the original though after a lot of close examination they sure looked like it. Listening carefully to the scene in which she wears the piece I don’t hear any bells, but then I wouldn’t have, unless they were a part of the plot.

The bells I used aren’t actually shaped like the originals (if that’s indeed what they are) — the ones on Inara’s necklace appear to be acorn-shaped, whereas mine have a ring at the top. A tiny cutout barely visible in one of them, though, tells me that bells are as good a guess as any. And they really do look good in the finished piece.

…I think I did okay, don’t you?

Yes, that’s me wearing it. I did also get a shot on the stand, but I felt that I needed a picture of it being worn to really get the full effect.

I’m awfully pleased with how it came out. The beads I had were perfect and I do like how they look with the bells. The bells chime gently when you move, not obtrusive at all. I’m sure it’d get loud if you were doing jumping jacks, but who’d do jumping jacks in a piece like this?

The one thing I changed was partly a mistake, partly deliberate. In one of the shots it looked like the center drop had only three beads, like the two on either side of it, and that the hang on the necklace made it look a little longer. When I looked at the other photo I realized that that wasn’t the case — the original has four beads there, not three — but I’d have been short a bead if I’d made the center drop longer and I wanted to use the 10mm amethyst along the main part of the necklace as well, at least in the front.

I did use smaller amethyst beads for the rest of the necklace. You can’t see that part in any of the shots I’ve seen of the original, and it makes sense that smaller, less valuable beads would have been used there, where they’re less visible anyway.

I’ll admit I’m completely smug about this piece. It took a long time, between researching the original, planning out the layout, and assembly. But, if I may say this about a piece of mine, it looks good. Damn good.

Also, kitten.

Back in the saddle…

…because I still have three cats to feed.

I knew the whole time I was making this one that I didn’t have the right song in mind. Rather disconcerting, I have to say; as if the music in my head were out of tune. I finished it anyway, and took a couple of pictures, and set it aside.

Which was a shame. It’s a pretty piece, simple but dramatic: Red coral, white pearls, black hematite. Done in a style that’ll work for both modern and renaissance wear, quite deliberately; I’m making enough money at SCA events that it makes sense to tailor things to that audience.

And that’s what helped me figure out what it was.

Skin white as snow, lips red as coral, hair black as night. And I have been poking around at Shakespeare.

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

Shakespeare, sonnet CXXX, and one of my favourites. Because really, who can live up to the legends? It’s better to be loved for who you are.

…but if you want a piece of the legend, there’s always this necklace.

Come to the Green Wood

In the green wood you know anything that you see
Could be ancient gods in some disguise;
In the green wood you touch on the last mystery,
And you can’t put your trust in your eyes.
In the green wood surrender the things that you know,
Let your heart tell you just what it sees.
In the green wood take all that you are, and let go;
Put your faith and your light in the trees.
Seanan McGuire, Come to the Green Wood

I picked up these lovely carved stone beads at my favourite local bead shop, The Bead Lounge. They were tagged as ‘crazy stone’, which as far as I can tell is their way of saying ‘we’re not quite sure what it is, but isn’t it awesome?’. And I’m not sure either, but they’re awesome.

And a few weeks ago — perhaps as long as a month, now — I read the lyrics to a new song by Seanan McGuire, filker extraordinaire. And as I read them, a necklace took shape in my mind.

It was a while before I actually got the chance to let it come out properly, but today as I worked it made its slow way to the forefront.

Before I started the necklace I made a couple of paternosters (about which more later). During that process I happened to lay the carved beads next to the few jade beads I had left and voila! Yeah, those look good together.

I needed more — I only had seven of the jade beads left, and it was still not quite right anyway — so I dug around until I found the gold-dyed pearls. There were just enough of those left, too, proving that this necklace is a truly karmic piece!

…okay, that might be laying it on a little thick.

I’ve had these wood beads for a while and never found the right piece to use them with — well, this was the right one. That’s when I realized which piece I was making, and which song it was for. The tiny gold-coloured seed beads added the perfect finishing touch, just enough to brighten the necklace and set everything else off.

It’s a good long piece, too, at twenty-six inches. Luxurious, one might say. Or at least, well, long. I’m pleased with it.

If you’re interested (and you should be!) the rest of the lyrics to the song are at Seanan’s LiveJournal. Amusingly enough, it’s part of a group of songs she’s written to prompts from yet more jewelry — pendants with bits and snatches of quotes on them, made by the brilliant Chimera Fancies. I can’t find the post where the pendant this is based on (if indirectly) appeared, but have a look here and here to see some of her lovely work.

Kitten not included.

What I Do on the Weekends

I go camping with my kitten.

This last weekend we went to an SCA event near Florissant. It’s up in the Rockies maybe a couple hours south of here, really pretty country. Due mostly to me messing around earlier in the week and not getting things done, we got there just around sunset, leaving me (once again) to set up in the dark.

Fortunately I found help right away — someone to help me set up camp and someone else to watch the kitten. Loiosh went off with a friend of mine while I started to unload the car. Halfway through setting up the tent said kitten-watcher showed up, sans kitten, to inform me that my kitten was at a party without me. Something called a Pamper Party. Complete with salmon and a masseur.

I half expected the guy to jump out from behind a bush with a camera and big lights yelling ‘This Is Your Life!’.

So, I finished setting up camp. Made my way to the party, and retrieved my kitten. Had him for no longer than five minutes before the Queen arrived and promptly stole him from me. So there he is, in the presence of royalty, getting fed cheese, while I float around the edges and try to look small.

Alas, I didn’t get any pictures of him with the Queen.

Eventually I got him back, whereupon I fed him salmon (half the salmon was gone, but people had left a lot of crumbs), and ate a lot of blueberries, and got a lovely backrub. So all in all, I felt better about having missed the earlier parts of the party.

Woke up the next morning and got the shop set up. No pictures of that, either. Kitten only!

Tangled in his leash! I even have a video on Youtube.

He woke up and was Evil Kitty, so I lent him to a bunch of small children for about three hours. ‘Don’t bring him back until he’s asleep!’. He wasn’t quite asleep when I fetched him but it didn’t take him long.

A new friend was kind enough to take a couple of photos of me with my baby — these are for Aunt Ann, who specifically requested them:

I love the attitude of ‘Moooom! People are looking! Stoppit!’ in the second one. Note the paw, firmly placed against my chest. ‘Do not kiss me in public!’

‘Mom!’.

In other news, I sold a bunch of stuff, slept better than at previous events, and decided I want a canvas round tent. Probably will have to wait until sometime over the winter. But really, that’s not the exciting part. I know you; y’all want more kitten!

In other news, yet another Etsy Treasury.

Better Than Sex Chocolate

So I suppose it’s time to tell you guys what I’ve been doing on the weekends.

I’ve mentioned the SCA before, if briefly. And I’ve mentioned that I took the kitten camping with me. What I’ve been doing is going to weekend-long SCA events, setting up my booth (and my kitten), and selling things.

I’ve also had the help of a couple of other SCA merchants, fine folks who run Better Than Sex Chocolate Honey.

They are not exaggerating.

This stuff is so good — so good — I cannot even begin to describe it. You simply must try it for yourself.

They’re also wonderful people — Dharma and Chris have watched Loiosh for me, they’ve helped me set up and tear down, they’ve fed me and hung out with me and generally been wonderful folks. And when I got to the SCA event I attended last weekend, they had a little something for Loiosh and I.

A get-well card, complete with kitten!

They call him Gilligan — ‘little buddy’. (And Hairball, and a couple of other things I probably shouldn’t mention…). Chris shared his breakfast with him, once.

And he really likes snuggling with his Auntie Dharma.

It was lovely to get a card from them — I owe them a lot. Check out their stuff if you like chocolate at all.

And in other news, I’ve also appeared in an Etsy treasury called, amusingly enough, Have Good Sex.

An interview with Nikki of Bastille Blue and Norsecraft!

I don’t entirely remember how I stumbled across Nikki of Bastille Bleu. Might have been through a hearting on Etsy, might have been through a blog link somewhere or other; the facts fade with time. But I’ve admired her beautiful lampwork beads for a while now, and I figured it was about time for me to give her a little more exposure.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that she also runs an Etsy shop called Norsecraft, and that she’s a fellow member of the Society for Creative Anachronism!

For the sake of those of you who don’t already knew what I do on the weekends, I began the interview there.

I note in the profile for NorseCraft that you’re a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism — can you tell me something about that?

I am one of probably 30,000 or more members of an organization called “The SCA” (aka Society of Creative Anachronism, initially started in Berkeley, CA in 1960’s) which recreates daily life in the European Middle Ages from 600 to 1600 century. Currently there are many groups (ie; Kingdoms, Baronies, Shires, etc) all throughout the United States and Europe, and on any given weekend, members get together and camp for events and larger “Wars” (which typically can go a week or more), dress in medieval clothing, learn skills used in the middle ages (ie; card weaving, lampworking, carpentry, scribal arts, dance, armored combat/archery/rapier, singing, cooking, costuming, storytelling [aka bardic], heraldry, etc), hold one-on-one tournaments and mightly battles, participate in courts held by the King and Queen of the land, and simply enjoy the camaraderie of those who also enjoy history and recreating the past.

We are like a very large extended family. No matter where you go, your bound to find someone who is in the SCA, and I think the exciting part is that when you meet a stranger on the street and find out he/she is in the SCA, suddenly smiles are exchanged… maybe even a hug…. and its like meeting a long lost brother or sister! It’s a unique, very memorable, and can be …. a life-changing experience.

You do a lot of different things — not many people have two shops! Lampwork, weaving, origami — how do you keep up with it all? And how do you decide ‘what am I going to do today’?

I chalk it up to being hyperactive with a little attention deficit mixed in, LOL! Honesly…. I have a true love affair with “learning”! When I was a young girl, one of my teachers asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I gave her a list of occupations, to which she replied, “You can only pick one”. I was very confident that she was wrong, and I grew up doing and learning a lot of different things, especially if it was artistic. How do I decide “what am I going to do today” is whatever inspires me at the moment!

I know there’s got to be more things you want to learn. What’s on your list of ‘things I want to learn to do someday’?

I would love to learn PMC3 (silver clay) and make my own silver pieces, learn fusing glass, and maybe even making pottery!

How did you get started with making glass beads?

I actually took a class about 9 years ago, but at the time I couldnt afford the kit and somewhere along the line, forgot about making glass beads. Then last year a friend of mine was selling kits, so I bought one from her and I’ve been making glass beads ever since.

Where do you get your ideas?

My ideas come from thoughts of what I like and what I think others might like, from books, movies, nature, life in general.

What’s something that’s inspired you recently — something that just made you put down what you were doing and go for the torch? (Or want to, if you were too far away to actually start).

Believe it or not…. Watermelon. I was eating the most juiciest watermelon and the idea hit me like a ton of bricks! Watermelon beads!

How did you decide to start selling what you make?

Well, I began simply giving my stuff away as gifts… a birthday here, anniversary there, but I was making so much stuff, more than I could give away or “gift out” that a close friend of mine said, “Wow….You make cool stuff.

Do you sell locally at all? How’s your local indie arts scene?

At this point I dont sell locally. I’m just starting to get my studio built and so I can produce a greater volume of beads and learn to play with some hard glass (boro) for pendants, which seem to be the “hot thing” in the local shops.

She makes truly lovely things — be sure to take a look! She also has a blog, so wander over there to see what she’s talking about, too.