The Break-up!

Saucy Pendant

One enjoyable facet about creating your own jewellery is that you can freshen up your jewellery box whenever you wish. Haven't worn that bracelet in an eon even though the beads are a dream? Then take it apart, Dear Reader and revive & revamp.

This is how Saucy came about. I was looking at some delicious borosilicate beads which were languishing in a pair of tired earrings that were buried in the bottom of my jewellery box and the cruelty of my neglect finally shamed me into setting them free. And wouldn't you know it - as soon as I had liberated them from their old setting, a fresh idea occurred to me & I ran to my bead trays and got out these gorgeous saucers by Emma Ralph. I now have a pendant whose colour I revel in so much that, when I'm not wearing it, it's on permanent display in my study. It's a zinger!

Roll up, roll up, roll up. Head on over to Jean Yates' blog & read about her first selection of favourite jewellery designers. 'The Jean's List' is to become a regular feature on her blog and I'm looking forward to reading it immensely! What Jean doesn't know about jewellery design could be written on the back of a gnat so join her followers and make sure you don't miss any of her posts. I'm extremely honoured & bowled over to feature in her first selection which also includes Naomi Fujimoto, Cynthia Thorton & Margot Potter - how's that for glamourous company!!

So, keep reading her blog because next time, it might be you!!

The Kinks -with thanks to the Rock CHICk ™

My dear friend Jean Yates found this for me on You Tube . Bless you dear heart :-) Sing-a-long with me & Ray - here are the lyrics!

The Perennial Question?

I'm a person of extremes and much as I adore succulent colour & a clashing contrast, I'm also a sucker for the pretty nudes & blush pink dresses that are currently walking down a High Street near you. And here is my solution to the 'What Should I Wear With That?' question; one that I hope would stand out in a crowd.

My fingers tiptoed through my bead trays until I alighted upon this set of beads by Dora Schubert. 'Parfait' as the French say, and then I went scurrying off to sift through my collection of pearls because nothing enhances skin tone better than the oyster's greatest gift to the world.

So here is 'Neutrality'. Could this be an answer to the question?

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Jean Yates kindly reviewed this necklace in this post from her blog.

On friendship...

My sweet friend, Jean Yates, the Rock CHICk™ shared a lovely quote with me about friendship.

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one."

At this point in my life, as I emerge out of a bipolar exile and meet up with old friends and exchange smiles with new ones, it seems entirely pertinent to share C.S. Lewis' fine words with you.

I also liked his quote about the soul; it's delightfully loud & proud! We are each of us so much more that can readily be perceived, but do we always remember that about each other?

Shine your light, dear Reader! And shine bright!

Book Review - 'Links’ by Jean Yates - a source book for the imagination!

My shipment from Amazon has crossed the Atlantic to England & delivered into my hands a luscious, lavish & extraordinary book, namely ’Links’ by the well known American jewellery designer, Jean Yates. I have the good fortune to own an extensive library of reference books, but I can't think of any other jewellery book or manual that explains the craft of jewellery design & creation as thoroughly & pertinently as 'Links'. I’ve been assembling jewellery for several years, but even so, I've learnt new techniques & I've certainly assimilated fresh perspectives about design.

Jean’s designs are so glamorous & gloriously feminine - they celebrate the art of the coquette & her womanly wiles. Turn to page 88 & enjoy the allure of Jean’s ‘Gigi Bracelet.’ Trace back to page 62 & behold the enticing ‘Blooming Chain Maille Earrings’. Tiptoe through the pages once more & prepare for the glory of the ’Sun & Shadow Necklace’ on page 118. Jean’s jewellery is sumptuous and, as I once wrote in a fan letter:

'Am I Madame de Pompadour?' Where is my Salon?' These are the daydreams that drift through my head when I survey your earrings. I may long to have the brain of a blue stocking, but I want to look like a luscious courtesan which is why I am so grateful to you for these earrings. They make me feel like a marquise & I swear that my neck lengthens into that of an aristocratic when I wear them. They are a Rococo dream & blissfully baroque! Jean, without doubt, you are a very special magician!'

In ‘Links’, Jean discusses & shares the wide ranging prompts, clues & cues which inspire her designs. In other words, she has created a source book for the imagination! The word 'inspirational' is bandied around a great deal now & there are times when I feel it's in danger of losing its lustre. 'Links' restores it - Jean’s book puts 'inspirational' back on top of the value pile & far away from any commonplace usage.

‘Links’ is also an account of a voyage. It’s an autobiography in jewellery of a remarkable woman’s life. For those of us who have the privilege of knowing Jean, she has created an emotional touchstone for us all. For those of you who are new to her work, read her stories & reflect & imagine. I defy you not to be moved by her words or inspired by her designs & ideas.

This is an extraordinary & extravagant book, richly inventive & full of fascination. Read ‘Links‘& be inspired - make your own links & begin to chart your unique stories.

To find out more about Jean, check out her blog: 'Snap out of it Jean! There's beading to be done!'

By the way, Jean is a bona fide Rock CHICk ( she puts the chic into Rock Chick, don't you know! )

because her son is in The Ruse!!

Breaking news....I interrupt this absense to report a momentous event....

It's that time of year when a merry band of us join together in order to rejoice & give thanks for

JEAN aka the Rock CHICk!

On behalf of myself & all at Chez Hovel, I wish you a bootilicious, fantabulosa, ginanosaurus. glitzicious ( not quite sure of the spelling of this word), chicidicky, poodletastic

BIRTHDAY!

None of these words can be found in the vast volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary, but in my opinion they should be. When I get round to it, I'll petition those in judgement of such things & will pester them until they give in. Watch this space...

(I should warn you that watching this particular space may take quite a long time!)

Project Procrastination & the Mslexia Effect

I procrastinate every single day of my life. Indeed I would go so far as to say that it's become a fully fledged hobby - let's call it 'Project Procrastination'. So far I've worked on three projects today. Dreaming up the name 'Project Procrastination' was the third.

Number one took place when I added one of the two photographs that I like of myself to my profile. It was a toss up between me aged two & me aged twenty five. Twenty five won. It's a totally misleading photo, but I can be whoever I want to be on the web, so I'm a twenty five year old with permanently wet hair.

For number two, I thought about sorting through the pile of things to read which totters by my bed. This is dangerous - this shows that unconsciously at least, I had no real intention of doing anything today. Fortunately I picked up my copy of July/August's edition of 'Mslexia', a UK magazine for 'women who write' - there is always something in here that I want to talk about so finally I'm active.

In my humble opinion, 'Mslexia' is one of the finest magazines currently in print. Each page is absorbing & full of interest. It's published every two months which is perfect because this gives one adequate time to assimilate the content of each issue.

In 'Diary of a Literary Agent', you can read how 'It's odd to receive a wastepaper bin in the mail.' There's also an update on the 'Save Our Short Story' campaign, an article about shoes (writing about them rather than a retail recommendation) and a feature about writers on the web, 'the marketing tool that's taken the ether by storm'. This is soooooooooo interesting!

My friend, the Rock CHICk spoke to me recently about Tracy Chevalier - Tracy's sister has developed a cool website for her. Erica Wagner is a writer & journalist whose opinion I have never knowingly disagreed with. I could go on ( and on and on), but now that I have dropped these titbits into your lap, I feel I have accomplished something so it's time to move on & do the work I've been trying to avoid.

Having said that, I may have to pay page 5 another visit & re-read the article about shoes by Julie Farnworth. She describes the effect that a pair of ring-a-ding shoes ( my expression & not Julie's) has on her:

'but when I do occasionally wear them I am transformed from a stewed cup of tea leaving an unsightly ring on a glass coffee table into a firecracker.'

I know what she means. I've got a pair of boots that can perform the same trick!

Rockin' Girl Blogger award

A Saucy Set

I am a lucky lass! Jean has bestowed another award on me -isn't she just the coolest cookie in the whole wide world! So many good things emanate from Jean - Jim & Jean have souls which radiate a heady warmth & shine.

I haven't managed to adhere the button on to my blog - I'll work it out tomorrow when I let you know who my five Rockin' girls are.

I've also got a new entry to add to 'The Treats, Tips & Temptations Scrapbook' - something pretty to look out for tomorrow!

This is a tatty message to leave on my blog - it's devoid of all the usual Ditzey Daisiness. I hope that normal service will be restored tomorrow!

Sunday Part I: Schmooze Award

My dear friend & mentor, Jean Yates has very kindly honoured me with this award. Jean has taught me so many things & explained things to me which have never made sense until now - momentous things such as events in my childhood, being a mother & how to befriend bipolar. She is also a lady who knows what I'm talking about when I send her a letter addressed to 'Dear Shoes' which I eventually sign off with 'Love Hats'.

I'm hopeless at explanations which is why I continually drop links into my blog. These take you to other websites which are better equipped for these tasks. Follow this one today: Do you have the power to schmooze?

Queen Jean is the Empress of Schmooze. BJ (Before Jean) I would not have had the confidence to push along the Postcardian Quest to raise awareness of ovarian cancer. Indeed were it not for Jean & the amazing momentum she generated, I would have floundered and fallen to my knees within days! She produced contacts like bouquets & each and every one of them has a beautiful soul. Jean collects angels & they are her friends.

Let me now turn to the awards that I would like to pass on. Please allow me to quote from the award site. 'When it comes to blogging, schmoozing is your ticket to making new friends, getting yourself noticed and building a reputation.'

Emma Ralph
Hands up anyone who hasn't heard of Emma? No paws waving in the air? I thought not - I rest my case! Anybody who is anybody has heard of Emma. Emma keeps an enormous amount of jars of genius in her brain & amongst them is one labelled 'Schmoozability'. If she so desired, Emma could move a mountain. She is a force of nature.

Laura Sparling
If you've been unfortunate enough not to have seen or held a bead by Laura, please visit her gallery & goggle at her beads. Perfect precision - her work is astonishing. It is for this reason that people seek her advice and 'they come not single spies but in battalions', to quote Shakespeare (who, by the way, was speaking about sorrows & not espionage or warfare).

Laura must have one of the biggest mailbags in Bead Land because not only is she a Bead Maestro, but she's also a born teacher who writes in beautifully constructed sentences. Her Inbox must be packed to the rafters with people desperate to schmooze - that's what happens when you've built a reputation like Laura's.

I've known Emma & Laura for a long time. Recently I've had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of some more ladies who impress me with their intelligence, talents & integrity - surely these are prerequisites for schmoozing?

Sisters on Sojourn -Karen & Linda are two of my journalling heroines & their schmoozing is a work of art. They are the authors of 'Visual Chronicles' which just happens to be one of my Battle Books.

Jafabrit's Art Prams in trees, dolls which are not dolly, skunks, the theme from Austin Powers & a looooooooooong list of contacts. I like!!

Penelope Illustration One of the founders of Illustration Friday - need I say more? Actually I will say one more thing - I LOVE Penelope's work!

Clarice Bean is the ultimate schmoozer, but she doesn't have a blog so sadly I can't pass on an award to her. She confines her schmoozing to books & her website - nevertheless she is the belle of the schmoozing ball. In the words of my daughter, Clarice is 'awethome!'

'Beloved' by Toni Morrison

I am going to copy a post that I have just made on Jean's blog. I hijacked her blog & now I'm going to thrust this post in your face too. Please forgive my rudeness. I feel so strongly about 'Beloved' that I can't help myself.

Here's a copy of my post.

"Though I have meant to read this book ('The Girl in a Swing' by Richard Adams) for an eon, I haven't. I've just ordered a copy & I am eager to consume it.

A book that I go back to each year is 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison. I HAVE to read it. The emotional response that it pulls out of me makes me look outside of myself & towards the pain of others.

It is poetic - I think of the 'tree' traced on Sethe's back. Each time I read it, fresh imagery appears in my mind.

Jean, I'm sorry to hijack your blog - baaaad manners!"

I cannot add an image to this post. 'Beloved' must always stand alone.

interpreting roses

Ellie's Roses

I want to tell you a little story. It's quite cute so if you don't like cute, please pass over.

My daughter Ellie may only be 8, but she knows her beads. She can identify beads by Melanie Moertel, Laura Sparling, Emma Ralph & Beverly Hickin with ease. She enjoys browsing bead artists' websites & is desperate to play with the torch in the fullness of time. One day I may pass the bead baton on to her & make her my bead heir. The collection of art in my bead trays deserves an appreciative curator who will cherish & cosset the beads as much as I do now.

Of course it's not just beads that are stowed. There's the silver, Swarovski crystals, pearls & semi-precious stones plus the backbone beads that we all have to hand. What are our families going to do with our treasures? Should any potential heirs be reading this post (unlikely?), let me advise you that there's the bead equivalent of gold dust in our boxes & tins & cupboards. Call in the auctioneer & send the house clearance man on his way.

As is my habit, I digress.

Last year, she alighted on Emma Ralph's website & eventually opened the door that led to the Customers' Gallery. If you follow the link & look in the Gallery for yourself, the first thing you will see is a beautiful bracelet made by Jean Yates which features some fabulous polymer clay beads by Emma. You can also spot more examples of Emma's roses in Jean's entry for Art Bead Scene's competition in May (I've entered too. I'm forever copying Jean. I know I should desist, but I'm hooked on her ideas!)

Ellie was enthralled by Emma's depiction of roses & decided that she wanted to draw her own interpretation of the rose. She doodled & sketched diligently and eventually settled on the design up above. This sketch is an early example. She's firmed it up & it's become her trademark - Ellie has 'ellified' everything with her roses. Naturally I'm biased, but I love her roses & I've even taken to doodling them myself. Roses bloom throughout the house so thanks to Emma, via Jean, through Ellie to me, we have all been interpreting roses.

I wonder what the great man would think?

The rose as interpreted by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

how to embarrass your grandmother with William Blake.

Foxglove Necklace

My dear friend Jean has urged me to relate a story from my childhood, but before I begin, jump over to Jean's blog and have a good wallow in her wonderful words. Amongst other things, you can read about The Ruse, Paul Yates, scuba diving, divine jewellery and on 8th April, 100 things to know about Jean. Jean is very kind to me & she's encouraged me to write a list too. My brain is so tiny that it doesn't have room to think of too many things at the same time so given this limitation, I'll have to lay my facts before you a few at time.

1. I once kissed a man who told me my hair was the colour of a tawny owl's feathers. I believe that men who come up with compliments like this should be encouraged.

2. Eleanor Romy was named after Eleanor of Aquitaine ( my heroine), my step grandmother, Ella & my mother, Romy. These are sensible reasons.

3. My daughter Lula was named after a dog & my son's favourite teddy bear. Indeed 'Lula' was his first word. Loopy's real name is Georgia Alice ( which she hates) and in her case she was named after my dog, Georgie Girl. These are not sensible reasons. To avoid confusion between Georgie Baby & Georgie Dog, we decided that we would give the babe a nickname. This seemed a reasonable solution. James & I couldn't think of anything suitable but when Tom suggested Lula we cheered because it suits her perfectly. BTW Tom's intuition was spot on. I have never met anyone who is as Lulaish as Lula.

4. I embarrassed Ella with the help of William Blake. I was always allowed to rummage through my grandmother's library of books. I fell for 'Songs of Innocence & Experience' with my favourite poem being this. I knew it off by heart. When I was circa nine, I was allowed to attend one of my grandmother's afternoon tea parties. She asked me to recite a few lines of poetry to her friends. She'd been reading Walter de la Mare, John Masefield & Tennyson to me & was probably expecting a few lines from'The Lady of Shalott'. But OH NO!! Ms Dangerfield gave a perfect rendering of 'The Sick Rose' instead. I was still allowed to read any book I liked, but it was decided that I needed fresh air when my grandmother was entertaining so no more poetry recitals for me!

4. I am not ticklish.

5. I know a lot of gossip about the Pre-Raphaelites. In my opinion, a man who has his wife exhumed because he wants his poems back, is not fit for polite society. I would tell you who this was, but I fear that I have bored you so much that you're probably asleep by now. I don't want to disturb you whilst you're slumbering so I'll save my tittle-tattle for another day.

Sweet dreams!

Occasionally Lost for Words

Piccasso's Dog Pendant

I really admire people who are able to add daily entries to their blogs. I just can't do it - my mind goes dry! I spend much of the day on my own so perhaps I've got out of the habit of talking. Thinking - yes. Talking - no.

Just a few days ago I was a blog virgin - it's going to take me a while to catch up. Now I'm a blog novice who's sat on the lowest rung of the ladder and my initial impression which has arisen whilst reading other blogs & writing my own witterings, is that a blog encompasses more methods of communication than I was aware of. I'm also deeply impressed by the blogs that bear witness to what is happening in the world. I came here because I like to write, but I've discovered that blogging is about so much more than the actual process of moulding language for expression. I'm dumb so please tell me what you think. I'm a fan of other people's opinion provided no anger is involved.

On to other matters.

My dear friend Jean has awarded me a 'thinking blogger award' so I'm drifting on a cloud. What an honour - thank you so much! Jean is a whirlwind of creativity, has the most beautful soul which her sons have inherited, a super hero husband and is the scion of the most marvelous family. If Jean & Emma Ralph don't start writing their family biographies soon, BOMBARD them with email demands for their stories as they are magnificent! If I ever want an answer to a question (this happens a lot), I ask Emma. Today she told me that peacocks have bright orange armpits -did you know that? Do you know anyone else who knows that? Don't you think that's such a cool thing to have tucked away in your memory bank. Jean has gifted an award to Emma - if I could I would second it. Since Jean's blog is something I read everyday, I would reciprocate immediately if I could.

I checked out the awards website & I'm going to paste the rules here in case I forget them.

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote
That was that! Please, remember to tag blogs with real merits, i.e. relative content, and above all - blogs that really get you thinking!/span>

Being an aforementioned novice, it's going to take me a couple of days to finish my list but my first award goes to Danny Gregory. Here are a couple of extracts from my fan letter:

"You have been a great source of inspiration to me. Indeed 'The Creative Licence' introduced me to Betty Edwards & the left lobe/right lobe concept & this has had a huge impact on the way I view my bipolar. It's now my opinion that you & Betty Edwards should be prescribed at the same time as meds!

You & your family are the sign posts for the way to live & the way to love that life. Thank you for shining a light - instead of a dark tunnel, I hope to continue travelling in an avenue ornamented with street lamps, many of which will have been designed by Danny Gregory."

Number One: Danny Gregory

Photograph & jewellery design by Jennifer Dangerfield © 2007