Art Spark Designer of the Week

by D'Arsie Manzella

I hope your creativity is on overdrive and you are engrossed with your Art Spark challenge project! I am excited to see your interpretations.

This week I am sharing the work and inspiration of MaryAnn Carroll. Her soulful creation illustrates a beautiful truth. Read on...

You Just Need to Look...

One thing that I am excited about with our new challenge called "Art Spark", which will be replacing the former "Call-to-Create" is that we (the blog authors) are invited to join in. We won't be eligible, of course, for all of the fabulous prizes, but we will benefit from thinking creatively in different ways each month. The other part that I like, which is different, is that the submitted piece can be finished jewelry or a handmade bead/component created by you that you feel fits the theme of the month.

When I saw that our challenge was the word "CONTAIN" it made me think of the troubles that I have been experiencing over the past couple of months. Right away I thought of my favorite bead which I have kept for myself. My family and I have recently been faced with a crisis that I'm quite sure will not be common in the lives of most people. At least I hope not. It was a tragedy that brought me to my knees. Someday I will be able to talk about it, but for now I will talk about it through this bead.

It was a phone call that left me almost unable to move....frozen...... but I knew that I had to be there for my son and his family. I didn't even remember how I left work that day until I was recently told by a friend that it was she who drove me home. After many sleepless nights, daily trips to Syracuse, etc. we had to bring some sanity and stability to what we were going through.
That is where this bead comes in. When I look at it, it reminds me of feeling so lost inside of a darkened tunnel, but then.....slowly....I started to see the openings. They were there already, I just had to see them myself. When life seems so overwhelmingly hopeless, there are always those openings that you will find if only you look. Although, we are still experiencing the pain that this tragedy brought, there were so many people out there willing to guide us and support us...... we just had to find them. Like sitting inside of this carved out black bead surrounded by holes, things just seemed to fall in place. I started to look through those little openings and began moving my way out from what felt like my own little desperate lonely world.

My son Ben made this bead months ago and I glazed it. I didn't make it specifically for this challenge since my bead making has come to a halt for now but thought it worthy of sharing. I think now I will add this to a chain and remember to take it out during those times when I just can't see a way out...... There is always light somewhere when you are feeling lost in the dark; you just need to remember that it's your job to find it.

MaryAnn :O)

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And here is a glimpse into my (D'Arsie of Mamacita Beadworks) sketchbook for this month's challenge. My next step will be the clay sculpt. Because I am in the middle of a move, I will need to wait to mold the pendant and cast the finished work in pewter until I am settled in NY.

Hope is a Seed,

to cultivate, to protect and to give tenderly to others. It is a great gift contained inside every moment. Be a steadfast gardener and hope will nourish you through the sparse moments in life.

Hope is a Seed.

Have a wonderful week!

"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.