Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year

2018 comes to its end and I wanted to look back at it.

I have been struggling a real lot with my health. The Summer was too warm and sunny and if you know me, you know how hard that is for me.

Both my desire and ability to write tutorials was extremely low after the Cellini peyote shapes were finally all done. I am grateful to those who bought a pattern: Thank you very much for your support! But I hope to sell more of my Cellini peyote shapes, for I haven't done anything else for sale the past 6 months, except Frosty. Instead, I did a lot for free:

'Frosty' - snowman made of one single Bola Canastas

I founded a wonderful new Facebook group, Cellini Peyote Freaks, where you can learn a lot about the stitch and its applications. Color challenges with prizes are organized.
I wrote and drew instructions for various Cellini peyote techniques, including the Bolas Canastas. I consider it as a technique people can take further, like I did with Frosty, this little snowman. He is one Bola Canastas. You will find the tutorial only in my IndieMade shop.

I was very happy with the two workshops I organized in collaboration with my ergotherapist and am very much looking forward to founding a beading group in my hometown next year.

I was less happy with some painful misunderstandings. And with people who didn't understand my genuine concern, who didn't see that I cared for them. People who understood things I wrote wrong and created more darkness in my life. One of them not only spread hate, tore my reputation to pieces, but thinks that everything is all fine now! Well, some harm cannot be undone. There is no UNDO in real life.

Fortunately, I saw this video about Sunny Jacobs, reminding me to shine my little light of mine. It helped me more than telling myself that Karma would bite eventually. And my many other, real friends on FB were precious allies. You know who you are! 💗💗💗 I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

'Silver Lining'

'Silver Lining' also reminds me that there is light in the dark. If none, there is my light. That there is a tomorrow, with new friends and adventures. Always. And that we learn. and learn. and learn.

I for sure enter 2019 wiser and freer than I was in 2018.

I wish you a Happy Holiday Season. May your heart be filled with love and your days be peaceful. And I wish you a

Happy New Year!!!

May laughter illuminate your days often.

Last but not least, this is the text I wrote on Facebook when posting the photos of my 'Silver Lining' bracelet there. Learn more about this cuff.

What is sacred?

Everything.

Life is sacred.

The birds, the fish, the dragonfly, the pangolin, the big and the small cats, the apes. the trees, the moon, the sun, the stars, the entire Universe. Your life. Your body. Your soul. Everyone's life, body, soul.

Love is sacred.

The love in your heart is sacred. Even the sorrow in your heart is, for sorrow is linked to love that is not acknowledged, may it be because of absence or departure...

Time is sacred.

Your time. Everyone's time. Because life is time.
Your feelings. For feelings come from love or the lack of it.

Your eyes telling how you feel. My eyes. Theirs. Your eyes seeing life unfold. Our eyes seeing miracles happen. Miracles of life, miracles of love.

And all this echoes with that light that you have inside of you, that light that has no name, that light that shines or sometimes dims...

The time you are not gazing at the moon, not holding a kid's hand, not laughing with friends, not making love - maybe because you can't, but still need to put all that love into something to keep that light shine on, is sacred. Maybe just to say to whomever will see it that you exist, with all this love or light inside of you that you don't know what to do with... To say that you are life, still alive, also there, also a part of it all. To be acknowledged.

And so the things in which you put all that time, all that love, a little bit of your soul, making it meaningful things, are sacred. By extension.

And so, everything becomes sacred.

Everything is sacred.

Kitsugi-inspired freeform peyote

I discovered freeform peyote and bead embroidery nearly at the same time. I was completely fascinated by Tina Koyama's and Lillian Todaro's beautiful beadwork.

I have never learned it from a teacher, or book and was a bit lost, but managed to make 2 necklaces.with bead embroidery and freeform straps. Both are dating back to 2006. One is called Atoll, inspired by the beautiful photography "Eye of the Maldives" by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, and the other is called BaBe ('Baah-Bay') - formed by 3 rivers, in Vietnam. Babe means 3 lakes, but it forms only one nowadays, due to all the sediments that have filled the bottom of these 3.

'Atoll'

'Babe'

Although I love the result very much, they are far from perfect, and I wanted to learn more beadweaving techniques before tackling this type of beadwork again. I got hooked on Cellini peyote, and geometric beading, but I knew that I would come back to freeform one day. 

I made progress and created many designs. One day, I dreamt of another, entirely freeform beadwoven necklace, called Liquid Earth. In that dream I offered it to sha-woman Keisha Crowther, aka Little Grandmother and founder of the Tribe of Many Colors. Keisha is a protector of Mother Earth and healer. I respect her work tremendously, and so I made it, and sent it to her.

'Liquid Earth'

Last Summer, I decided to offer a workshop to other persons who are also struggling with health issues, in collaboration with our common ergotherapist.

I decided to teach them peyote, and a freeform ring, and see what would happen. To prepare myself for this class, get my hands back at freeform peyote and have an example to show to them of what can be made with the technique I taught them, I made this 'River' bracelet and ring. 

'River'

'River' - upside down

River has a double glass button clasp.

'River' - ring

I was  pretty happy with the result. And my students were happy with theirs. And now I am in search of a place where to continue the adventure of beading all together. My ergotherapist herself is hooked too, and helping me. She will arrange for another place to visit in February, which is not soon enough, but alas, at least there is hope! And it is so close to my home that I should be able to go there by foot. Please, cross your fingers for me!
 

Now, after completing this piece, I decided to go for a special freeform peyote cuff, inspired by the art of Kitsugi, which is the art of repairing cracks in broken pottery by adding gold to focus the attention on the breach, and the story behind it. To make an item that was already something dear to our heart a piece of art, with more significance. 

I have been wanting to create a cuff like this since a long time. With beautiful materials.

My goal was to make an allegory of a walk of life, with its moments of darkness and light...

with stellar people met, and key moments, be they good or bad, and light passing through all the cracks.

I let my needle and beads take some initiatives and ...

it ended up becoming the Universe... Initially, moon and sun were not meant to be there (and finding the sun button was quite challenging), but the piece simply called for both to be there. 

Also, the moon, reversible, is black on the other side, which allows me to wear it with its bright or dark side to the front.

'Silver Lining' - precious metal seed beads, freshwater pearls, sterling silver
findings, a glass moon bead and a gold plated metallic sun button.

Apparently, when I do freeform, my love for nature makes me create landscapes of all sorts.

There are lots of tutorials and explanations out there to do freeform peyote. I hope that you will give it a try. It is very liberating!