Do you remember I promised to clean the studio?

If you were visiting LMAJ two weeks ago, this is what you saw ...

 What follows are photos of how the studio looks today.  Tomorrow may be another matter entirely.  I'm a little bit of a tool junkie. Many times I'll ask for tools for presents: Christmas, birthday, anniversary. One year I asked for a stationary tub for Mother's Day ... !  So, this studio has been acquired over about 15 years.

The studio is in a detached building a few steps from the house.  Here's the view when I walk into the studio. 

Work tables.  Across the continental divide is another set of tables.

5 lb containers of Thompson Enamel.  We're up to over 75 colors!

The packing area ... with the ever-present stereo!

Beads, beads and more beads ... waiting for a little color ... or your color!

3 oz. and 8 oz. jars of enamel waiting to fly off the shelves!

A rolling mill, bench shear, and a hydraulic die press, which I'll use when I get more time!

One of the torch areas with a vent hood!  This torch uses propane and oxygen from an oxygen concentrator. 

A polishing/grinder gizmo with a filter. To the right are two kilns I've never used to fire enamel!

Soldering area with pickle pot.

Bench for working with metal.  I simply turn around and I have dapping blocks at the ready.  

Enamels that David, my son, and I use to add color to our beads.  Right now they're in alphabetical order but don't check back next week!  To the left are plastic bead trays.

What's on my work bench ... some pendants ...

and some hearts waiting for paint and resin!

The studio is very industrial looking.  It will never be in "Where Women Create," but it's my little piece of heaven on earth. :-) 

"Call to Create"

by Barbara Lewis

Have you ever stopped to think, "How is it I got involved in making jewelry?  Do I have talent? Should I continue making jewelry even though it doesn't sell as fast as I would like?"  I remember talking to my first art professor about doubting my "talent."  He said, "Talent is the need to create!"  I found that so freeing ... because there was no doubt that I had the need.  I had been sewing since I was 12 years old and now I was working with a new medium.

My favorite quote, and one that has kept me in good stead, is by Martha Graham, the inventor of modern dance:

There is a force, an energy, a quickness, that is translated through you into action.

If you block it, the world will not have it.

You do not have to believe in yourself or your work.

It is not your business to compare yourself with others. It is your business to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you,

to keep the channel open.

It's a "calling" really.  To deny it is to deny God's gift.  How are we to know whether or how our work may impact another ... what joy will another derive from it. We at Love My Art Jewelry have been inspired by the Art Bead Scene monthly challenges.  Personally, there have been many times that the challenge gave me the impetus to give a little extra so that I could participate.  Even when I thought there was no way to add another thing to my plate, I did.  Thank you, ABS.

Today, Love My Art Jewelry announces "Call to Create," which will be based on a selection from Pantone's color chart. Remember, your work needs to FEATURE handmade elements. Here's how it operates:

• Weekly we will select an artist to highlight based on photos submitted to our flickr group.  Your work will be highlighted in the sidebar for the week, which we can link to whatever site you choose.
• Monthly we will randomly draw a winner from our flickr group. Your work will be featured in our sidebar for the month and on an entire page at our website devoted to you, the monthly winner!  Links will be made to whatever site you select.
• Donors of handmade beads and components will be honored in a sidebar ad with a link to your shop. We want to reinforce our conviction to our slogan: Creating Handmade with Handmade.  

So, here comes the fun part!  Color, color, and more color!  A beautiful palette of rich colors that have been grayed down for the Fall.  November 1 ... it all begins!  

The winner will receive all of the beads that were used in my necklace, "Autumn Bliss," which appears on the cover of Handcrafted Jewelry, just released.  I'm not saying you have to recreate Autumn Bliss, but you're welcome to if you'd like.  Please pass the word ... we'd appreciate it. 

An Artist in Dreamland ...

Hi, I’m Barbara Lewis and a member of this great group of artists at Love My Art Jewelry. I have a question for you. How does one go from being an Apparel Design college major to earning a degree in Ceramics to being a torch-fired enamel artist with a jewelry book on the way? Who the heck knows … but it’s been one heck of a ride.

Today I’m writing to you from the Hyatt Hotel in Cincinnati, OH, which will be my home base for the next week or so while I go through my photo shoot at North Light Books. Last December I got the crazy idea, with the encouragement of friends, like Mary Jane Dodd, to submit a book concept to North Light on torch-fired enamel jewelry. Lo and behold, on March 5, I got the good news from Tonia Davenport, Acquisitions Editor, that it was accepted! Now what?!!!

Next came several months of fumbling around in the studio, trying to get momentum, writing how-to’s as I made things. How-to’s were sent, projects were sent … and here I am … at a time and place I thought would never arrive. Below are some small close-ups of some of the projects for the book. I hope you see something you like. Please stay tuned to LMAJ for the continuing adventures of an artist in dreamland. I'd also like to invite you to visit my blog: http://www.paintingwithfireartwear.blogspot.com/ or my website: http://www.paintingwithfireartwear.com/. And, you can also join me, and over five hundred of my closest friends, at www.paintingwithfire.ning.com if you want to learn more about torch-fired enamel.