Weekly Wednesday Writing Prompt

I've decided that maybe I'll try a Weekly Wednesday Writing Prompt. What do you think? It seems to me that there must be other people out there like myself who enjoy a creative kick-in-the-pants. ;) It's worth a shot, anyway.

So without further ado, here is the first (and hopefully not only) installment of the Weekly Wednesday Writing Prompt.

1. Take two people who can't stand to be in each other's presence and force them to take a taxi together. What happens?

If my prompts inspire you to write anything, I'd love to hear it!

A True Artist

I picked up the latest issue of Stringing Magazine last week. I love this magazine, because it offers not only great technique, but a wide array of visually stimulating wearable art. And as it only comes out 4 times a year, it's a rare treat for jewelry artists like myself.

So, as I'm flipping through the magazine for probably the fifth or sixth time (each time you look, you notice some detail you passed over before) I realize that there are three designs in particular that have really captivated my attention on each perusal. All three unique and different, which is why I was quite surprised to read that they were all done by the same artist, and a man at that, one Mister Andrew Thornton.

The designs are as follows: The Raven Queen, a dark and stunning combination of black Rutilated Quartz and Lava that I will file away in my mental rolodex for my own future designs, Flight Patterns, an artistic blend of peacock pearls, garnet, watermelon tourmaline and copper chain that showcases a darling bird bead and toggle clasp, and last but not least, The Lotus Eaters, which features glowing chalcedony and pineapple quartz, mixed with sterling silver, all centered around a gorgeous green-blue ceramic pendant.

These three designs alone would have sold me on the magazine, but as it is, the pages are packed with many other lovely, original designs, though perhaps not quite as original as those of Mr. Andrew Thornton. I discovered that he has his own Blogspot, by the way. It's andrew-thornton.blogspot.com in case you're interested in checking it out.

Well, Mr. Andrew Thornton, you've inspired me. Inspired me to branch out of my own comfort zone, to say "the heck!" with symmetry and perfectionism, and to begin to design from the heart, from the soul. To just let go and let come what may. To be inspired and to inspire.

Maybe one day you'll find a design of my own gracing the pages of this fine magazine. ;)

The Mists of Morning

Once again, too much time has passed since I posted last. I have been so busy with my business, Whimsies Boutique, I've hardly had a moment to breathe! Above is a pair of earrings I created just last night. They're called "The Mists of Morning". They're made of pale Blue Agate Rounds, 6mm Indian Sapphire Swarovski Crystals, 4mm Light Azore Swarovski Crystals and Bali Silver hung on Sterling Silver earwires. The beads themselves whispered their name to me the moment I placed them together. :) Ah, see, there is the writer in me peeking out!

I'm still enjoying my Etsy store (whimsiesboutique.etsy.com) though I'm slightly disappointed that I haven't made more sales. It takes a while to break into a new site though, so I'm not being too hard on myself yet.

I've had a bunch of special orders lately, which take up the most time, as it is no longer my own vision I'm trying to bring to fruition with gemstones, but rather me trying to capture the vision of someone else, and play it out in a way that hopefully goes even beyond their expectations.

I am severely disappointed though that the bead show I have been attending (okay, I've been there twice, but still) has seemed to drop off the face of the earth. When I was there last, they told me that there would be another in September, same as last year. But yesterday when I logged on to their website, there was no listing at all for that show for the rest of the calendar year! Living in the Northeast, there are not a lot of Bead Shows around here. Even the one I was speaking of required a 2 1/2 hour drive. But it was totally worth it for the variety of unusual beads at rock-bottom prices I always came home with. *Sigh*

Well, I'm off. I have a huge Firefighter Birthday party to throw for my middle son, who is turning 4 tomorrow and aside from the presents, I have virtually nothing done. I am such a procrastinator!