Ruby Lane Creative Hands Newsletter for September 2004

Creative Hands
Ruby Lane's monthly newsletter celebrating the Arts & Crafts
community
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Welcome to Creative Hands!

IN THIS ISSUE:
o Featured Shop: Out Of My Mind...Mosaics And Jewelry
o September Shop Sampler
o September Craft Shows
o Share Creative Hands With A Friend

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FEATURED SHOP: OUT OF MY MIND...MOSAICS AND
JEWELRY

"Wouldn't it be neat".......a harmless enough little statement.
But when those words roll out of my mouth it sends children and
adults scampering like rats abandoning a sinking ship!

"Wouldn't it be neat" means that I've had another whirlwind idea
that almost always turns out to be costly, out of the realm of
my knowledge, labor intensive, and something only a professional
should attempt to do! Now you throw in a dash of my sister's
favorite statement...... "Oh, man, we can do that"! And then add
the most important ingredient, a heaping dose of support from my
very understanding husband and my children, all who are
convinced there is nothing I cannot do! Stir this around a bit
and add a pinch of Adult ADD and you end up with Out of My Mind
Mosaics and Jewelry!

Five or so years ago, "wouldn't it be neat" led to a mammoth
remodeling job, which led to my first ceramic floor job, which
led to my first shard art work on the backsplash in my kitchen!
It was the most fun I'd ever had "working!" I used tile pieces
from the floors I had done and began gathering personal items,
some of which only made sense to us! I incorporated badges and
bullets from my husband's many years in law enforcement, pieces
of artwork that my children had done over the years, parts from
our first tractor, a favorite broken coffee cup, baby spoons,
casino name tags, broken cup handles for towel hooks.....if it
could be stuck with mastic, it became part of our "Memory Wall!"
Our friends and family were fascinated and took great pleasure
in the discovery of all the little hidden treasures tucked in
the cracks of those broken tiles. It was about at this point
that my mind went into overdrive, and took on a life of its own!
Now, I just hang on for the ride!

I'm all about color and texture and dimension. I'm about
interesting, unusual, unexpected. I love to "dig" for treasures
and I try to add that element to all of my work.....to hide a
little something special that you may not notice unless you
really "pour" over the piece! If it makes me go ooh-ahh, wow, or
cool, it has my attention! If it's the last thing you would
associate with a piece of art, it's the first thing I want to
use!

I shop everywhere I go....even the grocery store....for things
that I can use in my mosaics and shard art! I see potential in
almost everything. Some of my most favorite things are from
hardware stores. I adore copper tubing and use it whenever I
can. I've used scrap pieces of cable, nuts and bolts, screws,
keys.....and of course china of all kinds! I may see a sink
strainer, and before I can get it in the cart, I have ideas for
three different projects that it would be perfect for! I rarely
go looking for a specific object for a piece. I find an object
and a piece is created.

My jewelry was "born" is as much an unconventional manner as any
of my other passions! I use a great deal of costume and vintage
jewelry in my mosaics and shard art, but am usually left with an
equal amount of pieces that aren't appropriate for this type of
application. After a couple of years of this involuntary
collecting of useless dangles and baubles, an old friend of mine
suggested I try making charm bracelets with these leftovers! My
adoring husband went pale....clutched his chest....Wouldn't It
Be Neat!!!

Well......that was a million pounds of jewelry ago! And as many
hours spent scouring the Internet, books, and magazines for
information, supplies, and instructions for an art that I knew
absolutely nothing about! I am self-taught and I learn something
new every time I sit down at my workbench! It has been a great
journey and learning experience. And I hope that my efforts to
offer quality as well as entertainment in my art is apparent.

For me, the shard art and jewelry, allow me to create art in
"free-form." It allows me to mix colors...add dimension....play
with textures. I have the opportunity to give new life to an
object that has outlived it's usefulness, and to give a new
usefulness to those things that others would never dream of.
There are no rules or boundaries.....no right way or wrong
way.....just the products of a not-so-sane mind!

My shard art pieces and jewelry are made purely to bring a
little fun and whimsy into your life! To view current offerings,
please visit my shop, Out Of My Mind...Mosaics and Jewelry.
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SEPTEMBER SHOP SAMPLER

We invite you to visit these Ruby Lane shops for some "creative
eye candy":

Graceful Earth Jewelry: Handcrafted Gifts From the EARTH to
GRACE Your Spirit. Visit my shop to see pendants gemstones and
silver in unique combinations. Own a one of a kind design for
summer fun!

Darna's Baby Boomer Dolls & Treasures Too: Provides you with
special exquisite dolls just like the ones we played with when
we were little girls.

Art Glass Nouveau: Exceptional Art Glass At The Right Price! We
specialize in fine art glass by Lotton, Tiffany,
Lundberg,Karg,Murano,and other glass makers of
vases,bowls,lamps,etc.

Denny Plesea Art Gallery: Original Etchings and Watercolors by
Denny Plesea Make an Offer now and save up to 50%! Put some
original art in your home or office today!

Blue Firefly Designs: Fine Hand-Beaded Jewelry You Won't Find In
Any Store Truly one-of-a-kind hand-beaded jewelry using
semi-precious stones, pearls, czech glass 14k gold and silver
beads and more!

Emmie's Antique Doll Castle: Authentic fashion for all types of
dolls.

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SEPTEMBER CRAFT SHOWS

Here's list of upcoming shows throughout the United States for
the month of September:

Sept 9-12, 2004: Yellow Daisy Festival, Stone Mountain Park,
Stone Mountain, GA

Sept 10-12, 2004: Saint Louis Art Fair, Streets of Clayton's
Centeral Business District, St Louis, MOountry Folk

Sept 11-12, 2004: Oswego Fine Art Fair, Downtown Oswego on Main
Street, Oswego, IL

Sept 16-19, 2004: Art & Craft Show, Parmatown Mall, Parma
(Cleveland), OH

Sept 17-19, 2004: Craft as Art Festival, The Nasau County Museum
of Art, Roslyn Harbor LI, NY

Sept 22-26, 2004: Fall Arts & Craft Show, Northgate Mall,
Chattanooga, TN

Sept 24-26, 2004: White Mountain Fall Festival, Blue Ridge
Schools, Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ