Sometimes Life is REALLY GOOD!

Yesterday  was one of those days that brought home to me that I have a lot of good stuff going on.  It was good to be reminded of such things because this whole winter has finally gotten to me.   I woke up feeling gloomy because there was brand new heavy snow on the ground and it's enough already!

Having been a beader for most of my 53 years on the planet I don't get impressed very often.  But....... there are a few beaders out there that impress me with their individuality, their talent and with their generosity of spirit.   Today 2 things impacted me because of  2 of the few beady people the people I admire!

My day opened with one of my Beading Heroines, Eva Maria Keiser blessing me with a second blog post in her Artisan Colorway series!  In this series she explores color choices artists make in their bead work.  I love that she chose some of my Antlers as her subject.  You can see her post at the link below. But Please stop and pause while you are on her blog and take a moment to check out Eva Marias work.  She is Amazing!  A true innovator and an inspiration!
http://keiserdesigns.blogspot.com/2014/04/artisan-colorway-darcy-rosner.html

Waking up to that was uplifting and made me smile. A happy beginning to my day and I would have been content with that alone

BUT ..........Then....unexpectedly in the mail........ Drumroll............

I got my advance copy of Diane Hydes new book,
 BREAK the RULES Bead Embroidery! 

IT is a GOOD ONE!  It is really going to take the bead world by storm.  I Love Dianes work and  I Love that she was able to articulate the idea of being  your own person in your beadwork.  This book is the first of its kind and you will love it!

For me the real personal pride comes from the fact The gallery features 4 pieces made by us. I am sure you can all imagine how proud and honored We felt to be invited to submit work to this book,  We worked our tails off making new things and keeping it all under wraps while the pieces were chosen and the book was being published.  Its hard to keep secrets like that!  I was so excited to see this book at long last.  The process of waiting is so agonizing and you keep all that you worked on hidden for so long that it's just so freeing to finally spill it!


Dianes book is available on Amazon!  and it is a winner!
http://www.amazon.com/Break-Rules-Bead-Embroidery-Inspirations/dp/1454707615/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397664159&sr=8-1&keywords=diane+hyde

We also have 3 pieces in the Steampunk Springfield Exhibit at  The Springfield Museums in Springfield Massachusetts!   If you've never been this is a sweet place and worth the trip! We love these museums and recommend you come and check the place out when you are driving around New England!  We are proud to have our work in this Exhibit which will be up until September 28th 2014

HOWEVER IF YOU ARE AROUND NEXT WEEKEND a special surprise is in store.......You can come to a special Meet the artist Event from 3 to 5pm April 27th!  WE will be there along with other artists to answer questions and talk and whatever!  We would love to see you there!

http://www.springfieldmuseums.org/the_museums/

Today was a great day to remember what it is that I do and that for now anyway I am blessed with the ability to keep doing it!  Today I am reminded of the admiration so many of us have for each others work and how nice it is to share that with each other and the world!

Something to say every fifteen minutes!

Shortly after my fist blog publication I sat down at my computer for my daily email deleting session.  Amidst the junk, with my finger poised on delete, the email I had been waiting for arrives.    I realized I have something to say about something every fifteen minutes or so and that if I had waited only a minute or two I would have found something to talk about.  I would have had a juicier first blog.  

The email that came was about the acceptance of my work into a show I was hoping for. Not a show, show,  Like craft show... But a SHOW SHOW, like an exhibit. At a museum.  Like the real deal.

Suddenly, one little email changed everything.  I called my Bestie.  Texted my brother,  and from that moment on…….. with the clock ticking,  I’m thinking about nothing but this Museum.  I'm thinking about what it means to create and serve up something museum worthy. My ho hum attitude about bead blogging is replaced by excitement, joy and a real sense of something to talk about.

Having something to talk about does not mean tooting my horn.  I’m not big on tooting.  It's about creating on a schedule and making it happen.  Its about making things happen when it's hard to make things happen.

Now, while I have good news on the table:  The exhibition........I have truth on the table also: Limitations.  This is about revealing challenges that far exceed ones abilities.  It's about my struggle to create when I have challenges that are difficult to over come.  It is hopefully the beginning of a discussion about overcoming obstacles and making art.

Before I dump my reality onto you I want to reiterate that this is not me presenting some sort of drama nor is this a “whoa is me".  This is about how one adapts to changes.  These are my personal challenges, yes but,  I  want to raise awareness amongst us about the challenges artists face.  Not just my challenges.......but all of our challenges.  What I want to explore is what  its like to be committed to artistic excellence when I can’t see what I am doing. (literally) and what I want to explore is what goes on for you that get’s in the way of your artistic excellence. I want to hear about what you face and build up community about this. 

So without further ado, I reveal what very few of you know:   I can rarely concentrate. my greatest obstacle:  I am clinically diagnosed  as having Attention Deficit  aka A.D.H.D. (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) which get’s in the way of staying on task, focus, organization and other fine important things needed when trying to get a job done.  This distractibility is not garden variety.  It is ever present and debilitating.

The Second obstacle being Diagnosed with Fuchs Corneal Dystrophy, a rare eye disease, that leads to blindness and is well on it’s way to doing so to me.

Now I could sit here listing plenty of other problems that limit me.  But that is not the point.  The point is we are all evolving all the time.  That our situations change and that we adapt because we have to adapt.

So I leave you with this thought:  I am the Blind Beader with zero attention span and  I am exploring how to make art with challenges like these. What your obstacles are, are,  most likely way different than mine. I start here by revealing what is getting in my way in hopes it can lead us into an open discussion about creating under pressure, with obstacles.