What Did You Do on Your Holidays?

Holidays? What holidays!? I gotta tell ya, it was no picnic!

I shake and quiver: that's just the way I am. I like to tell family and friends that I provide the comic relief in their lives and, heaven knows, we all need a good laugh these days.

But this event, the one that has influenced my decision making and fund allocation, was a loo-loo!

I was moving a bottle of beads from one side of my computer to the other while replacing the screw top. Well, the bottle went one way, the top went another way and the beads, lil 15/o beads, went a third way: all over my keyboard and under the keys. It took a couple of weeks to clean out those wee beads and in the process I can no longer replace:

- the F3,
- the up arrow,
- Letter L,
- Letter O.
Stop laughing! It isn't funny! Yet!

The need for a new computer has just been moved up the list of new requisitions to 1st place.

Now, keeping in mind the results of the Great Bead Spill, I have occupied my mind with writing a couple of new kits. It was meant to take my mind off my Spill but all it did was to refocus on the Great Bead Spill (aka The Troubles). Duh!!

Why are you still laughing? The Troubles are real and painful and challenging. You look for words not laden with 'l's' and 'o's'. It's not funny. And being without the up arrow brews murder in my soul because it is so very difficult to draw pictures without it. It's NOT funny. Really! It isn't!!

During this month's absence we 3 sisters have been to McMichael's in Kleinburg. They became famous for their Group of Seven and Canadian artists collection. Decades ago they opened a gallery so everybody can see these important paintings.

Well, this month we saw a Karsh exhibit at McMichaels. Yousef Karsh made Canada his home in 1925 from Armenia via Syria. He is to portrait photography what Bill Reid is to fine jewellery: instantly recognizable. His portrait photographs include popes, heads of state, icons of entertainment and more. Why were we so interested in Yousef Karsh? I own an original Karsh. It is of a man who was 'bloody minded' according to my father. The subject was the president (?) of Hart House on the downtown campus of University of Toronto. As a wee-un I thought it was a picture of my grandfather. (see http://www.karsh.org/ for more)

We are already planning our next visit to McMichael's: Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast. I lived in Vancouver and Whitehorse for more than 25 years and I'm keen to visit this exhibit. It's from June 27 to September 20, 2009.

If you are interested in what's happening at McMichael's, visit http://www.mcmichael.com/.

I have been working hard to finish up my wedding commissions. Oh, they were wonderful evenings when I 'played' those freshwater pearls. I was sad when it was all over and the bride and bride's mother received their finished artisan jewellery.

There was a real void left by those commissions. So, when you need a boost in creativity, start cleaning your studio. And that's just what I did. I found stuff I'd forgotten about. I found stuff I've been looking for.

AND!! The studio is looking much better. You can almost fit my wheelchair through the door. This mass tidying made me take decisions I've been putting off: Do I keep the fake lavender plant I gave Daddy for his 83 birthday? Or do I let it go? I let it go. Do I sort the beads I have picked up from the floor from old spills? I started separating and returning them to their proper spice bottles (3/$1 CAD). As the pain in my back and neck crescendoed, I made the decision to pull out the bigger beads (easier to see) and the expensive and other beads have been mixed up in a 'bead soup.' This one is colourful: I have a white and silver bead soup already made.

Our friend Romayne invited us to a workshop/brainstorming session for women entrepreneurs a few Saturday's ago. We met some women with great ideas: a bit of bonding went on. It was all good. The result of that afternoon is that I bought a table at the Echoes of Africa Newmarket show. Visit http://www.caabwa.com/ ~ Canadian and African Business Women's Alliance.

Last Saturday we went to a popular teddy bear show and were saddened that our favourite teddy bear makers Steven and Shane were MIA. The show, in general, was much smaller and there was nothing 'new' to see. Marg and I are strong believers of the soothing nature of teddy bears but this might be struck from our list of important shows next year. Hopefully the fall show will be better.

And last Sunday we spent in Burlington at the Burlington Art Gallery's summer show. When we spoke with the vendors they were very disappointed: the show was poorly advertised. We were pleasantly surprised because we had been given the impression that the event was to be held inside the Gallery with considerably fewer vendors.

I visited with our favourite people and, because of the poor attendance, we had time to chat.

And I heard again that I am a good writer. (I never tire hearing that) My friend Asem, La Glasserie (hand blown glass), offered wonderful words about what he had read on my blogs. Thank you so much Asem. His glass ornaments, candlesticks, liqueur glasses, perfume bottles, ... are to die for. He and his wife Laura are a real team and they share a wonderful sense of humour. It comes through his work: every year he has something new. Right now he's working on glass leaves for me to accompany the glass leaves he delivered in April. I want this new batch to be small enough to be used as earrings.

So! I've been busy even though I've not spent much time online.

And, in the months coming up I'll be even busier. I have the Fairy Lake show in August and in September I'll be at the Fall Bead Oasis Show in Toronto. I've also booked the Spring Bead Oasis Show 2010.

Gotta keep dancing. ...Helen