Festival

Woo Hoo, I am home after a wonderful time at the 2015 Spring Ball. This was my first music festival, I have done craft shows in the past, and while it was very different it was a really great time.

I spent a beautiful weekend along the banks of the Shenandoah River, enjoying three days of fabulous music, time with dear friends and the opportunity to sell my glass and batik. While I still prefer to sell my works in art galleries and on Etsy I must say this was an experience I will treasure.

Oh and as an extra bonus the Bluebells were in bloom along the river. I missed the Bluebell walk this year so I was thrilled with the chance to enjoy their beauty.

Spring

It's Spring!! I love this time of year, so much going on!
I rarely do craft show or festivals but this spring I actually have a couple I am doing. I am very excited be be a vendor at The 2015 Spring Ball put on by Big Poppa Productions.  http://www.bigpoppaproductions.com Several of my friends are going so I think it's going to be a weekend of good fun, good music, great friends and hopefully some great sales. I batiks some clothing for this show and I am very excited how everything turned out.

Both the galleries I work for/am members of are going to be attending the Rock the River festival in Fredericksburg on June 6th.  Backdoor Gallery will be introducing more people to our gift shop with fabulous art and gifts by local area artists and Artful Dimensions Gallery will be demoing and showcasing the wonderful 3D art of it's members. I am very excited for both these galleries and the festival which will showcase the beautiful Rappahannock river.

Changes

Again it's been a year since I posted, lets see...to catch up a bit.
My featured artist show last July at Artful Dimensions Gallery went very well, I demoed glass bead making at the opening and had a wonderful turnout of friends!! In September a studio space opened at Artful Dimensions so I now have a working studio in town. I am loving it!!!!

The holiday season was very successful  and now in the new year I am busy getting ready for the Spring Ball in Bentonville. This is a three day art and music festival which will combine fun, friends and a fabulous booth. I have never done this before and I am very excited to be a part of it.

Last summer I had a bucket list dream come true trip to take two classes at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown Tennessee. I spent a fabulous week immersed in Batik and a wonderful weekend class learning the mountain dulcimer. I developed a passion for batik so I have now expanded my art to making and dyeing clothing, I have even been taking sewing classes. I will be taking some of these to the art festival, along with a lot of jewelry.

Working full time has made it hard for me to get as creative as I would like with my bead making but I am hoping as life slows down after the Spring Ball I can spend some serious time at my torch.

I truly wish everyone time to do what they love and follow their passions.
Beckie

An Unexpected Opportunity

I just recently was asked if I wanted to be the featured artist in July at Artful Dimensions Gallery, without a second thought I said a very loud YES!!! I think this will be a wonderful chance for me to show my work and as I always work best with a deadline it will push me to create new work.

Getting to my torch has been a bit challenging lately with working 6-7 days a week and the snowy weather we have been having but I have just been gifted with a paid day off tomorrow and I plan on taking full advantage of it. I hope to spend a good 5-6 hours just working, creating, dreaming and practicing. Among all that I do hope to make a few good beads so I can have some new work for Artful Dimensions and Backdoor Gallery.

My life has been so amazing lately and I am thankful everyday for all the wonderful people, adventures and opportunities that have come my way.

The Muse

   Not sure if the muse wasn't with me or its because I was trying some new things but yesterdays bead making didn't go as well as I had hoped. I also have to realize I have not been on my torch since before Christmas, I am a little rusty.
   So I am thinking of it as a good practice day, I will look at the beads today try to figure out how to change things and get back on the torch later. I have plenty of time before my show and plant of ideas to try.

Back Again!

            Well I am probably the worlds worst blogger, I always say I will write more but obviously that isn't happening. LOL Well I will keep trying!!

             These past 8 months have been crazy, busy and wonderful!! I am now a member of Artful Dimensions Gallery in downtown Fredericksburg VA. This has brought me together with an amazing group of 3D artists, inspired me to really get back on the torch and back to work and has helped me sell and share my jewelry with a wider audience. I had pieces of my jewelry go to England and France this year. I will be the featured artist in July 2014 so I am busy thinking and designing and creating and  what I'm going to show, how I will display and how to advertise and get the word out.

            All this is happening while I still work at Backdoor Gallery and clean houses and garden and dog sit!! I really don't have a lot of down time and I wont say it doesn't get to me at times but it is worth it to build this amazing and wonderful life I am living

My website

And it's done!! I finally got the website up and running. SpiralFireStudios.com, you have to make sure it's studios, plural otherwise you will find the page of another artist.

 I've actually been working on my site for awhile but trying to get good photographs of my jewelry and the descriptions written was overwhelming me. Thankfully my amazing friends have stepped in and help me with photography and writing tips. I find I can get myself almost paralyzed by the need for things to be perfect and so I stall out unable to move forward. As part of the new improved me I am not doing that I am leaping in with both feet and letting things fly!!

I love being part of a creative community. Most artist I find are very giving and willing to help with suggestions and tips to help you improve what your working on.

Overall I think it is looking pretty good and I will keep adding more stuff and tweaking it as time goes by. I have been very blessed with love and support from my friends. They have been sharing my website on their Facebook pages which has gotten me a lot more exposure. So far it's been very positive.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend!

Beckie

SpiralFireStudios.com
Facebook.com/SpiralFireStudio
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Spiralfire?ref=si_shop