Inside the Studio :: Erin Prais-Hintz, Tesori Trovati

Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive, we offer a prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard and tell us what you think. The following week a winner is chosen at random from all eligible entries.

Congratulations to Terri on winning a $20 gift certificate
to Heather's swoondimples  Etsy shop.
Email Miss Heather to claim your prize!

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Today we visit with Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati.

 “Don't own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire.” 

~Wendell Berry

 

I might not be the ideal candidate for Hoarders but my studio seems to be teetering right on the brink! I am about to get real in here. I wish my studio looked like this....

NOT my studio....but this one would be ideal! Light, bright and filled with tons of storage
~ Photo from paper crafter Richard Garay

But in reality my studio looks a lot more like this.... (raise your hand if you are with me!)

My workspace in early 2015....see that little bit of space to work? Right above the tray of watercolor crayons and in front of the blue pencil? About 6 square inches! And all those useless things on the wall...Oy! All the magnetic tins were EMPTY!
They have been moved and all my storage seems to be going vertical! (See below for a transformation)

When we moved to this house in late 2009, I started with a blank slate of a room. I knew it was the house for us when I was standing there stumped as to what we would do with this, and my husband said that he thought it would make a great studio. Right! It seemed quite a bit larger than what I had known, and I figured that I would have plenty of space. Yet I quickly filled it to the hilt.

Around that time, my office was downsizing and I got some really nice office furniture for the price of free. I also found my prized printers' cabinet on eBay for a steal. And I purchased a series of awesome little rolling drawer carts. But yet I still have a problem with tripping over all that I have amassed. I am ashamed to admit that there are no less than 7 drawers that are mostly completely empty in those rolling drawers! So I clearly have a problem with putting things in their place.

My prized Hamilton printers cabinet.
Can you believe that at one time I thought that this would house all the beads I might ever need?!
BUwahaahaha!
This holds a lot of beads by color (that I really should use or purge!) as well as the majority of my art bead collection... I have drawers for certain types of beads, like lampwork, and even parts of drawers that are devoted to just a handful of artists that I love.

My sister has the OCD bug. Her house is immaculate and looks like Pottery Barn threw up in it. I did not inherit this gene for neakfreakery. But this spring, completely fed up with myself, I really wanted to refocus on coming to terms with and making this space not only functional, but beautiful, and a place that I couldn't wait to create in and even invite people into! The past two years have been fraught with a lot of personal drama, so I truly need this space in my life to be free to experiment and create and find my voice. A retreat. A sanctuary. This clutter and the uncertainty of my daily life has left me with no urge to create, and even less to be in this space. And that is just not right.

The Plan

So I created a little floor plan diagram as a visual reminder and made lists upon lists of what needs to be done. I re-read Heather's great post from earlier this summer on The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Your Bead Room and found this great article on Craftsy about ways to make your jewelry design space work. I searched a lot of magazines and websites that show studios of creatives to get ideas. I started taking stock of the things that I had, including those things that could be repurposed from another part of the house. But I was still confounded by issues...

Repurposed TV cabinet...before...
crammed full of stuff

...and after...installed a shelf
from The Container store and organized the boxes... now I need labels...

One issue comes in the form of Time. I am not a full-time artist. At best I am able to work in here a few nights a week and a few hours on the weekend.  In addition to the organizing that needs to happen, it is also a working studio, in that I have orders that have to be filled and Simple Truths Sampler Club members that are counting on me (if you are one of them, I am working on it!). There is just no space, not even 12 square inches, to do that! Add to that the usual busy-ness of my summer life complete with baseball or softball every single night and weekend (not an exaggeration) from June-the first week in August. We only recently finished up those seasons and are already back in school as of this week. Tonight, as I write this, might be the rare occasion where I am actually sitting still.

I bought this wall shelf from Hobby Lobby. There is a nice top for storage of displays, metal baskets to hold fibers by type and color, and a rod that I hang carded beads by color from shower curtain hooks in easy reach.

Another issue is that I am easily distracted. (Ooh, look! Shiny!) Tiptoeing through my studio (and you must walk gingerly for fear of cave-ins!) it is easy to unearth layers of treasures, like a sort of beady archeological tour.

"Here we have the pile of 'muffin tin' projects put together in 2010 wedged between a destash haul from 2014 and the original half-used containers of resin from the Susan Lenart Kazmer class at Bead & Button in 2008!"

The view from the hallway...that clutter is on its way up and out!

To do the sort of overhaul that I have in mind, might indeed need an intervention! And once I actually paid a professional organizer to come in and help me. Even she was a bit overwhelmed and suggested that we start with my ribbon addiction. (Bah!) I have a friend that is very OCD and loves to organize and she actually offered to come and help me but we have not been able to set a date. Again, I fear she will run screaming from the house and told her as much. Those that have maid service  might understand my predicament (I never have, but I have heard...). I want to tidy the studio up a bit before I have my friend come over and really whip me into shape! :-P

Under the corner L-shaped desk are several of these cherry rolling drawer cabinets Home Decorators. Each one rolls out for additional work space, and the plastic jewelry trays with the flocked compartment inserts fit perfectly inside (2 to a drawer) for handy storage of often used items like jump rings, head pins, clasps and ear wires. Over the door towel bars put my favorite tools within reach. And I still have space for one more... which I might be buying soon! I love them!

Metals station has WHEELS!

Still, I am trying. At the beginning of the summer I made a pledge that I would have my studio cleaned out and put back together by the end of August. Well, guess what my calendar says this weekend is?! I started out good by pulling things out into the hallway and making piles for keep, use, donate and trash. Of course, in all the rearranging, it means shifting storage to other areas which leads to arranging other rooms, notably the adjacent furnace room which has lead to even bigger piles for purging and a clear need to tackle those rooms as well. So clearly, my clutter is not confined to this one room! And then my life starts to feel like one big roundabout story....

If you give a girl a hammer... she might need to buy 7 more. And then she will need to find a really nifty rotating lazy susan for storing them... And if you give her a rotating tool caddy she will want wheels on her table...

ARGH!

{Have I mentioned that my husband is a saint for putting up with all of this?}


 

Before... the black hole bookshelves...

...after... repurposed a cubby bookshelf from another room. It takes up the same amount of space and feels lighter somehow...

I did check a few things off my list...

• I moved the filing cabinet over next to the computer (which meant that I had to get inventive to make the table just a little bit higher to accommodate it by making my own polymer clay bun feet to raise the table 2"!)... 
• I had my husband put rolling casters on the large butcher block table that I use in the center of my room for metal work (hammering, jigging, stamping, dapping, torching - on a proper fireproof base!)... 
• I swapped out the two tall dark shelves that had become a black hole catchall with one cubby shelf that now houses 1/2 of my book collection (for more on where the rest of those are going, read on), the printer and boxes hiding my shipping materials. 

So I can attest, there has been progress!

All of these shelves and storage containers used to be spread out,
but I found a way to go vertical to keep all the clay stuff together and
repurposed the old printer cart to hold art supplies.
This is the same space as my first messy desk shot, but now much more functional.

Today, Friday, as it is my only day off, will hopefully be spent really getting down to the dirty work of making my studio functioning (remember that self-imposed deadline?). I have grand ideas that the floor will be free from bags and boxes and bins... which means that things will need to FIND THEIR PLACE (and then I will need to give my label-maker a workout!)... I want to file all the paperwork that has piled up in a makeshift basket... I must get all the things that are to be trashed or donated out of my sight line... I need to hang some art. For then I might be able to BREATHE and feel ENERGIZED to tackle making new things and taking my art in a NEW DIRECTION.

Rotating bin storage from Harbor Freight for inks, embossing powders, resins and assorted. Going vertical saves space! And I have another one that is not yet put together as soon as I can figure out what will be on it.

So if you are reading this, I have hopefully unplugged from technology, cranked the tunes, focused on the task at hand and will have something to show for it... as of Tuesday. ;-)

One of my favorite storage hacks is to hit up the kitchen accessory aisle. This ornate paper towel holder from Hobby Lobby hangs on my wall and uses fancy copper colored shower hooks to house a lot of my footage chain pieces by type of metal/color. Easy to see and grab when I need it, plus it is pretty. I actually need another one of these for spools of chain, and I am working on getting rid of the cellphone cord clutter by using metal sponge holders for your sink on my wall with a brand new outlets that have USB ports. I love me some funky organizers!

 “There are, it seems, two muses:
the Muse of Inspiration,
who gives us inarticulate visions and desires,
and the Muse of Realization,
who returns again and again to say, "It is yet more difficult than you thought."
This is the muse of form.
It may be then that form serves us best when it works as an obstruction,
to baffle us and deflect our intended course. 

 It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work; and that when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.”

-Wendell Berry

My mind has indeed been baffled by this task, but I want my studio to allow me to sing! So maybe that is the real work that I have to do...for when I do that I will be ready to embark on my true journey, the one that my soul will be ready and open to undertake.
 
I have shown you just the tip of the iceberg, but also along the way a few of my favorite storage and organization techniques. And I am always looking for more help and ideas. So.....What are your favorite storage ideas and tips? or What would your ideal studio space look like? Give me your answer in the comments for a chance to win! Feel free to add links to your favorite products for organizing or even your favorite studio space images.

See that stack of books? (Click on it to make it larger!) That came from The Great Purge (but don't worry, there are like 50 more that stayed on my shelf!)
 
My prize for you is up to 3 of these titles - your choice! - that I will ship to you in continental United States (if you are from outside of the US and happen to win, I will make a deal with you to split the shipping cost 50/50, okay?). There is something for everyone here! Most retailed for anywhere from $15-25 a copy and I am ready for them to find new homes. (And those that are not chosen should be up for sale dirt cheap in the near future!)

Inside the Studio with Rebecca of Songbead

Welcome to Inside the Studio!

Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

Congratulations Karin G! 

You have won  a pair of raku beads from Mary Harding.

Please send Mary an email with your information.

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I'm not sure that I am prepared for this Inside the Studio post - if you've visited my own personal blog recently, you'll see that I've been noticeably absent for over 3 months now. 3 months! Can you believe it? Life has been rather upside down for me recently - moving from Ireland to Scotland, a mega craft fair, a few more craft fairs, turning my teenage bedroom into a studio (that took a while!), taking care of my family whilst trying not to forget about myself at the same time, a family wedding in America which was wonderful of course, but came at a most inconvenient time.....well, you can imagine, I haven't known my you-know-what from my elbow (is that a British saying?!) for some time! 

However, I think I'm getting there. Despite my own blog being silent for some time, I have blogged twice in the past few days. I've updated my etsy shop. My lovely cousin Eleanor is working for me before she jets off on a super exciting trip to New Zealand; just a day or so a week but goodness me, it's making all the difference. I can make jewellery. I haven't had a day/night where I've been up to 1am working, since I returned from America (believe me, that is a fabulous feeling!). 

So we're getting there, slowly but surely. Three steps forward and two steps back - it might not be quick, but it's moving in the right direction! I was hoping that today I would have some new earring designs to show you - new, beaded {song}bead studs. But alas, I have been waiting all week for stud settings and super strong glue to arrive with me, but they still haven't. Hopefully tomorrow! So instead, I have a bunch of new Songbead pieces in the shop to share. I have five craft fairs between now and Christmas Day, and so having Eleanor here, taking a little of the pressure off me, has really allowed me to create without guilt. Have you done that recently? Pencil it into your diary - make a date with yourself and some beads. You'll thank yourself for it! 

You can find some of these in my etsy shop. 

You will see from the pictures above that I am still well and truly in love with hand-weaving my beaded {song}beads. I am loving experimenting with colour, pattern and scale....putting a little bit more of myself in each little bead. 

Do you make your own beads? 

Do you know that feeling? 

Creating handmade from handmade is always a wonderful feeling, whether you use your own handmade art beads or someone else's. 

I'm giving away two pairs of sweet handwoven {song}beads this week - colours, your choice. Here are some of the choices available to the lucky winner:

To be in with the chance of winning - let me know, what is your favourite thing about working with Art Beads. What makes you turn to handmade in your work? I want to know! Leave your answer in the comments below. 

Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer; currently living in Edinburgh, capital of her native land. You can read more about her and her work at her blog, songbeads.blogspot.com and see more of her jewellery at songbead.etsy.com. She also has a supplies shop at thecuriousbeadshop.etsy.com.

ABS Updates

Not only did we change our appearance here on the Art Bead Scene, we've added some new opportunities for you to participate on the ABS.

First I'd like to thank Rose Noble, the incredible designer who created our new look!  Rose was so sweet she even made new banners for our readers to share on their blogs and link back to the ABS. Click here to view them and pick your favorite to add to your blog!

Art Bead Scene Design Team Challenge
I’d like to invite you to apply to participate in a new feature on the Art Bead Scene.

We are going to host a monthly Design Team Challenge and we are looking for designers who love art beads, work quickly and blog!

What is the Design Team Challenge?
One of ABS contributors will send you a set of beads or a pendant.
You have two weeks to create a piece of jewelry and submit a photograph for our blog post.
We’ll feature you and your design in a post on the Art Bead Scene.
The final step is to write a blog post on your blog about your Design Team Challenge entry.

We'll pick 4 designers for each month's challenge.

To apply: email me your contact information and your blog link. Send them to Heather.

We are also looking for news, guest bloggers and more, be sure to visit our submissions page for more details.
 
Ads on the ABS
Monthly sponsors are very special to us.  These are bead artists and our favorite suppliers that we feel exemplify our mission to celebrate Art Beads and inspire those who use them.  In the past, sponsors have been by invitation only but I'd like to open that up to an application process now.  Visit the advertising page for details on how to apply to be a featured monthly sponsor.  We can not accept all who apply.
 
Banner Ads
For beadmakers only, we are offering affordable banner ads. We'll accept the first 10 each month.  Ads run on the 15th of each month.  See the advertising page for rates and details.
 
Scroll down on the blog for a bonus post on the next Bead Soup Party hosted by Lori Anderson!

You Are My People

When I first learned of Art Bead Scene through Lorelei, I felt as if I had come home. I spent hours pouring over the site; past posts, current members, monthly challenges and reader comments. My blood quickened and my Creative Muse was not just awakened but charged as if she had been given Red Bull.

I went to the neglected clay table and pushed aside the embossing powders and flat polymer clay bases I had previously been making a living on and began to create....

An Art Bead.

(insert angelic choir here)

Emerging Pod by me

But the idea of an Art Bead wasn't just for my own creation, there was a whole world of art beads to discover. To obsessively collect and hoard. They would conjure up worlds outside of my own, allowing me to dream and create from those dreams.

Aunali's Etched Copper Beads

This new way of thinking about beads gave the average stone or glass bracelet a purpose, a history and a story. It wasn't just assembly with beads it was a piece of someone's artistic ability.

macarroll's Syrup with Waffles beads  

Their years perfecting their craft, honing their skills and bravely sharing them with the world. We get to own a little piece of them and treasure them as the unique individual they are.

We get to combine their creativity with our own and make something beautiful. 

Barb Lewis's Enameled Filigree Bead

I look forward to delving further into the Art Bead Scene and getting to know other art bead makers and those whose design with them. Thank you for your warm welcome and allowing me into your lives.

You are my People.

Welcome Miss Fickle Media!

It's my honor to introduce the newest member of the Art Bead Scene team, Shannon LeVart of Miss Fickle Media!  True to her name, Shannon's work covers hand forged metals, unique patinas, polymer clay and ice resin bezels.

Shannon is the author of Handmade Underground Jewelry and a frequent contributor to Belle Armoire Jewelry.  You can find her Etsy shop at MissFickleMedia.etsy.com and her blog here.  She is currently working on her second book. 

Welcome Lorelei Eurto

I'd like to welcome the newest member of the Art Bead Scene, our dear friend Lorelei Eurto. A talented and prolific jewelry designer, we are looking forward to having Lorelei share her finds and inspirations with us here on the ABS. Lorelei is an art bead fanatic and one of our long-time readers. We are excited to have her join the team!

To see more of Lorelei's work visit her etsy shop and follow her inspiring blog!

Join in the fun!

Maybe you've just stumbled upon the Art Bead Scene or you may be a frequent lurker (someone who visits without leaving a comment), you love the blog and want to be a part of the community here on the ABS.

Here are a few tips for getting noticed or partnering with our blog.

1. If you are a jewelry designer, the best thing is to leave a comment if you like a particular post. Our readers will probably stop by your blog to see what you create. If you don't have a blog, you can still open a blogger account with your bio and website links.

2. Post an entry to our monthly challenge. We want to inspire you and hope you'll share your work with us! You might even be picked as our featured Designer of the Week.

3. Join us every Saturday for our free bead giveaway. All you need to do is leave a comment on the Studio Saturday post.

4. Share the scoop! If you know of an upcoming event, new product or have a topic you'd like to see us cover here, send me a little note about it. I'd love to hear from you.

If you are a beadmaker, author, or a bead-related company the best thing to do is send a quick email as an introduction. If you'd like to be a sponsor for our monthly challenge, again just a short email to let me know you are interested. Please don't send attachments. All emails sent to the suggestion box are delivered to me, Heather - the Art Bead Scene editor.

Monthly Challenge Winner!

Our winner for this month's challenge is Melanie Connor from Radiant Gem Jewelry.

Congratulations Melanie! You've won an awesome collection of beads from Off Center Productions!

Here is a behind the scenes look at our monthly drawing:

1. How is the monthly winner picked?

All the qualifying entries are printed out and put in a lucky box, stirred and shaken up and one winner is randomly chosen.

2. Sometimes I see a detail photo of an entry, does that count for two entries?

No, if there is more than one photo in the pool, only one photo is placed in the drawing.

3. The ABS editors sometimes throw in their hat, do their entries get placed in the drawing?

No, we are just having fun and providing inspiration.

4. Can someone win 2 months in a row?

No, if someone has won and entered the next month their entries aren't included in the drawing. We do encourage the winner to join in the fun though!

5. Sometimes I post an entry and never see it in the pool, what happened?

All the images are approved by our editors. After 48 hours if your image isn't showing up in the pool, it wasn't approved. Remember each entry must have at least one art bead, pendants by themselves do not qualify and your entry needs to somehow reflect the challenge theme.

The August challenge and sponsors will be announced on Monday. Don't forget to check out Studio Saturday with Gaea to win a free pendant.

ABS Changes & Thanks

You may have noticed a few changes here at the Art Bead Scene.

Most notable is our new contributing editor, Lynn Davis. Lynn is a hurricane of mixed media creativity. Her art beads range from polymer clay, glass to metal. If she seems familiar, that's because she was a guest editor in May. We enjoyed her creative input so much we asked her join the team. You can read our interview with Lynn from earlier this year. And don't forget to check Lynn's blog and bead shop!

Melanie is currently on hiatus from the ABS as her business if growing by leaps and bounds. There is only so much a busy beadmaker can do!

I'd like to thank our guest editors from June, Melissa Lee and Jean Yates! What wonderful, thoughtful and creative posts! It was a true honor to have them share with us.

And a big Art Bead Scene welcome to July's guest editors, Gaea and Jennifer Stumpf.

Take a moment to look over the new items in our sidebar too. I love the new search feature!

Jewelry Designer Interviews

We've had the pleasure of interviewing both well-known and up-and-coming jewelry designers who incorporate art beads in their handmade creations. Here is a handy index:

Melanie Brooks Lukacs

Margot Potter

Shari Bonnin

Jean Yates

Patty Woodland

Melissa Lee

Katie Hacker

Lori Anderson

AJ Reardon

Mango Tango Designs

Lorelei Eurto

Kelly Angeley

Timothy Adam

Ishita Ghosh

Lunalove

More to come!

Studio Saturdays at the Scene

If you are a regular reader, I'm sure you have been enjoying Studio Saturday. I know they are my favorite posts to read each week!

What is Studio Saturday? Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studios, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free bead each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

Here are the Studio Saturday archives. Enjoy them!

Happy Birthday ABS!

Today is our official birthday, the Art Bead Scene is one year old! Help us celebrate by spreading the word about using art beads and send your friends to visit our little slice of daily inspiration.

What would we like for our birthday? For all our friends to give us a shout out on their blogs today! If you love us, tell the world.

And what would a birthday party be without goodie bags? Check out our New Free Projects feature!

For the curious, we now have a page that explains the who and what behind the ABS.

The Art Bead Scene Crew would like to thank all those who have read along, left comments, entered our challenges, sent in ideas and shared in the beady fun! We look forward to another year of celebrating art beads and inspiring those who use them.

ABS Editor Blogs: a sneak peek into the minds...

If you are a reader of Art Bead Scene, you probably know that the editors here are all bead makers who make their own handcrafted beads. But you may not know that many of them have active blogs of their own! In an effort to show you a little into the worlds of each of the editors lives, here is the first in a series of sneak peeks at some of the typical personal blog entries of the editors:

Bling (Confessions of a Bead-Queen) ,

originally posted Sept 25th by Melanie at her Earthenwood Blog

Beautiful lampworked bird bead by Kim Fields of NorthFire Designs

Yesterday was a good work day. I accomplished the things I needed to get done: glazing/loading/firing a small kiln. It is cooling now so that means today is shipping day. Later I will do a big bisque, so I have to finish some beads (sanding, yuck, my least favorite part!) . I am a bit excited about this bisque (I don't say that often!) because I am firing my first round of the new tiles. And I ordered new glazes for the little jewel bubbles on the tiles, so I hope to get them by the weekend so I can do some tests. I am looking forward to finally seeing some finished results.

silver bead by Anne Choi that says "be not forgetful to entertain strangers"

I also spent a little time stringing, although just a little, as the kiln took up most my day. And the time I did spend was sort of spinning my wheels. I have a confession to make. I am a bit intimidated by the bird bead and the silver bead above. I have two pieces in the works with them as the centerpieces. I have thought about them and have even made my own beads specifically to match them. But now I am having a hard time designing around them. I think it may be the *bling* factor. I am having a hard time getting over the fact that they were costly beads (in the over$50 range). Totally worth every penny, and more, but I am sort of pressured by that to make them into something great. I know I shouldn't think this way, yet here I am. I have no problem designing jewelry with my own beads, even though my beads are less involved and thus less expensive, but I can pack a hundred dollars of my beads into a piece and not be phased. I guess it's because I didn't shell out the bucks for my own work.

So it makes me think of all the beaders I meet at shows, who have purchased my beads in previous years. They say things like, "I got some beads from you last year and I am just hoarding them" or "i just take them out and fondle them sometimes". I think that maybe they are intimidated too! If it is not for *bling* reasons, then maybe it is for lack of confidence reasons, or a combination. I am feeling both right now. What if I can't do justice to this beautiful bead?

So I want to snap out of this mindset. Because, these items are just beads. Incredibly beautiful beads made with creativity, skill, and love, but beads nonetheless. And beads are meant to be strung, and worn. Not hoarded away and brought out occasionally to look at and touch. Beads are meant to be strung...they want to be with other beads! They want to be worn...their duty is to adorn! So I am going to finish these two pieces today, and be confident that I am doing them justice, and wear them proudly.

And you know, in the end, the greatest thing about beading for me is that it is only thread and wire and ribbon. And it can always be taken apart and you can start over. The beauty of beading is that state of flux and process. You can complete your masterpiece and then just as easily start again, with a simple snip of the scissors or wire nippers.

Today's song and video is "Bling (Confession of a King)" by the Killers. I feel like I have been slipping way into the past with my music lately, so it was time to listen to something current. I am not exactly sure what this song refers to, but I think it is about fear and breaking through to take risks, and putting life into perspective. I am posting the lyrics below the video, so I can think about it more. But there are some lines that I absolutely love, that pop into my head on occasion..I have put them in bold type. And the video was a great find...a fan video set to scenes from Harry Potter, focused on Ron Weasley. How fun!

When I offer you survival,
You say it's hard enough to live,
It's not so bad, it's not so bad
How do you know that you're right?

I awoke on the roadside,
In the land of the free ride,
And I can't pull it any longer,
The sun is beating down my neck

So I ran with the devil
Left a trail of excuses,
Like a stone on the water,
The elements decide my fate,
Watch it go..."bling".

When I offer you survival,
You say it's hard enough to live,
Don't tell me that it's over,
Stand up,
Poor and tired,
But more than this

How do you know that you're right?
If you're not nervous anymore,
It's not so bad, it's not so bad

I feel my vision slipping in and out of focus,
But I'm pushing on for that horizon,
I'm pushing on,
Now I've got the blowing wind against my face

So you sling rocks at the rip tide,
Am I wrong or am I right?
I hit the bottom with a "huh!"
Quite strange,
I get my glory in the desert rain,
Watch it go..."bling".

When I offer you survival,
You say it's hard enough to live,
And I'll tell you when it's over,
Shut up,
Poor and tired,
But more than this

How do you know that you're right?
If you're not nervous anymore,
It's not so bad, it's not so bad...

Higher and higher,
We're gonna take it,
Down to the wire,
We're gonna make it,
Out of the fire,
Higher and higher.

It ain't hard to hold,
When it shines like gold,
You'll remember me.

Melanie Brooks Lukacs is the ceramic beadmaker of Earthenwood Studio, who blogs from her Metro Detroit, Michigan home.

Art Bead Scene - 5 Months Old!

Why 5 months old struck me as important I really don't know, but it does. Maybe because around our house August is the end of summer and beginning of fall - all based on a traditional school calender. What ever the reason, I feel a transition coming on have this need to celebrate these first 5 months with a reminder of one of the great features of blogs.

Along the left hand side of our blog page there is a long list of "labels". Almost all blogs have this and they let you search for posts on the same theme or keyword. As you are moving into the next season (which remember will include the Holidays and all the sales that accompany them) take a look at these key ideas:

As you get ready for holiday sales, scan through The Bead Biz for smart business advice.

Click on Beading Ideas for inspiration for great design ideas.

Findings Worth Finding will spike your imagination and ordering additional supplies now will prevent that rushed feeling later.

As the Bead Turns will give direct you to great posts from other exciting beading blogs.

Want to help your merchandise stand out in a crowd? Check in on Alternate uses for Art Beads.

It is always a good idea to seek out more knowledge with Education and the Bead Scoop.

As we move into the next season, are there any subject areas you'd like us to cover?

- Elaine

Art Bead Scene Poll

We want to get to know you better! Take this quick poll to let us know who is reading the ABS. Please choose the one that best describes you:


Now you need a treat don't you? Have fun looking at all the entries to this month's ABS challenge.

Uploading Your Photo to the ABS Flickr Group

If you are new to Flickr, adding photos to the groups can seem a bit confusing. Hopefully this will help.

1. Join the ABS Group.

2. Upload your photo.

3. After your photo is uploaded, click on it and you'll get a screen that looks like this:


4. Click on the icon above your photo, it says, "add to group" Choose the Art Bead Scene. (the red is for illustrative purposes.)

That's it, your photo should be uploaded. If you are having technical difficulties, you can email me your photo and I will post it for you. Make sure to include all the important details if you email me your entry.

Good luck!