Christmas Beads

Christmas beads… man, I think that  a while back ago I stated that I would show off some of them that I had been working on…. that was a few blog weeks ago!!

Here are my Snow-Girls!

 How about a cute little snow man? 

Snow-Girls and Snowmen are some of my favorite beads to make…. I just love adding all the little details to them!

and then I made a few sets of Santa beads!

I have decided not to seal these beads… I just let them stay as is from the oven.   I really don’t mind the look at all…..   Switching to Kato, and using more Kato in my mixes of clay seems to be helping with the finger prints…  It seems to have a better finish to the beads…    But then, I wonder is it the clay, or have I just grown as an artist, being more aware of my prints and smoothing them out, using a lighter touch when handling the clay…..  Growth… man, it seems that I am always learning something new! 

Each day that I pick up the clay I have no idea what I am going to create….  I have a thought and I run with it.  Some ideas are wonderful…. some are not so pretty…. (like capturing a fairy in liquid clay and burning her alive! that wasn’t such a great one…. but it did lead to my fairy beads and mermaid beads ….. and that has led to an ‘idea’ that I am working on now….)  

Personal Growth =  learning from your mistakes and making it work for you! 

–But also    knowing when to let something go…. and not deeming yourself as a failure, but as being willing to try! –

(It’s working for me  as an artist, a friend, a wife, a mother, a teacher, a “business” woman, a child care provider, and so on and on….)