Casting Call: Project Artist, Project Runway's new little sibling

Back in April, I wrote a blog post dreaming of what a season of Project Jewelry Designer, a fictional take-off on the Bravo tv show, Project Runway, might be like.

I've just read, thanks to Alyson B. Stanfield, the ArtBizCoach, that Bravo is having an open casting call for a yet unnamed Art program.

The casting site says they're looking for "emerging or mid-career artist with a unique, powerful voice that demands a bigger stage."

Casting runs July 11-18 in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and New York. The casting site will tell you all about eligibility, what to bring with you, etc.

Project Runway, season 6 is on Lifetime tv this August.

What do you think? Want to go for it?! Do you like to watch?

Miesmama: July's featured Etsy Blogger

Many of the pieces in Miesmama's Shop on Etsy remind me of interesting and vibrant Folk Art. She has a good range of items.

As a fan of buttons and the combo of blue and white, these pretty pins (sold separately) caught my eye immediately.

The one on the right is called the Poppy Blue. They look so nice together. She has a wonderful sense of color. You'll enjoy a visit to her shop just to see the assortment of pins and headbands offered.

There are a bunch of other items available, such as felt garlands that could have many uses year-round in your home. The xoxo felt garland is approximately three feet long.

Hugs and Kisses are nice for any time of year. Maybe it's just right for that champion Tic Tac Toe player in your family? :-) This could be sweet for an anniversary dinner, too. I'm not sure which anniversary calls for Felt, so that material is up for grabs any anniversary at all.

You'll enjoy visiting her beautiful blog.

Goals

We're trying to get this feisty blog onto something vaguely resembling a schedule. The Taming of the Blog is a big endeavor.

My goal is to do more features on my jewelry pieces, and let you in on my process and inspiration. Those things are important and I hope will be of interest to other people.

The different series, particularly the Transition-inspired jewelry usually comes from my own experiences or those of people I meet, challenges we all face. I plan to show more of that and how it impacts the jewelry I make. When someone's life story inspires a design, I may be talking about it here.

In what ways do people choose to commemorate milestones in their lives? I'm looking into different things folks do around the anniversaries of events such as a significant loss, a diagnosis, etc. Planting special gardens, significant tattoos, parties and rituals. What do we do so that events don't go by unacknowledged?

The acoustic guitar half of our business is going strong and we're going to chronicle that more and more, too. Watch for information including photos of Francois' Misenti-Despres Designs (MDD) guitars and his working in the studio.

Fran also upcycles salvaged and leftover 'scrap' wood. using it for beautiful art furniture, and he's made me some useful items such as a designer holder for my beading wire. He made my jewelry bench. There may be a feature on some of that in the future.

Info about the arts in general will be ongoing. Artist profiles, bits about upcoming events, different styles and media out there. I'm working on a series of posts about artists who use nontraditional materials in their artwork and another series about different types of public and guerrilla art.

I enjoy featuring other artists whose work I admire. One way is with the infamous Same Name Game. :-)

There'll be a regular cycle of posts on disability issues. One of the focuses of my jewelry is that it be more wearer-friendly for all women, and I'm always looking for happenings with other disabled artists or interesting stories to feature.

I have plans for more posts on aging, similar to the previous ones on Croning and Kanreki ceremonies and caring for our aging relatives.

Finally there will be some just fun stuff. More British comedy, videos, photos, scavenger hunts, giveaways, you never know.

I very much appreciate everyone who's visited the blog.

Christmas in July

It's early July and the June heat-wave is over at least for this afternoon. What better time is there to start thinking of Christmas? This is a good time of year to begin preparing for the upcoming holidays.

I used to collect Christmas ornaments and still have quite a few. Most of them are cats. Here's one by Irene Spencer in honor of our Siamese kittens. Does anyone remember the program Personal FX on the FX network?

When on vacation summertime or any time, a collector, like a beader, finds a way to scout out shops where they're visiting, places that might carry what they're passionate about. Nowadays, when I'm off on a trip, I ask if anyone knows of a bead shop, something like that near where we're going.

This is a good time of year to start making jewelry for sale at holiday shows and fairs later in the year. A friend and I are getting ready for a home jewelry and art party.

I sit with fans blasting as I work at the jewelry bench sorting, looking for just the right pearls. Sometimes I listen to some Christmas music for inspiration. Someplace I have Bing Crosby and David Bowie's singing Little Drummer Boy. It seems like just yesterday that we saw the Christmas Jug Band.

It's fun now to order special festive holiday bags, bows and boxes to use at holiday-time. If I focus enough, maybe we'll actually feel a chill even though it's getting into the triple digits on some days this summer. :-)

Guitar in clamps, Blue and Tan

After two have recently sold,
Francois is working on a few different guitars at once.

[Snakewood wedge above]


The newest completed guitar
about to make its debut is
an Orchestra Model, O-6-14
Walnut Body
Bearclaw sitka spruce
Cocobolo bindings

Cherry neck

Ebony fingerboard and bridge

Rosette is amboyna burl and cocobolo
Includes various colored linings

Don't fret, information and photos coming soon.

Wild Blue Yonder, Same Name Game

It's nearly Independence Day in the US, so for this Same Name Game, I thought I'd highlight Wild Blue Yonder.

The premise of the Same Name 'Game' is that I look to see what other items on Etsy have the same name as pieces of jewelry that I've created. [Please write/post a comment for information on any of the jewelry you see on this page images and designs (c) ImagineMDD]

My Wild Blue Yonder necklace is sterling silver, aqua Swarovski crystal and Italian glass. The color is vivid and so pretty. I love the sparkle of Swarovski.

I remember when I was in the bead shop and walked by these glass cubes and had to go over and take a closer look. I just love them. The crystals and the glass beads went together perfectly.

I experiment playing with color, with tonal differences, pieces in the same basic color but some components transparent, some opaque, some translucent.

This is a wonderful piece showing off vivid color, different shapes and incorporating the smooth texture of those cube glass beads. Yum.

I found a skirt on Etsy that also combines pretty blue colors and cool textures. It's modern in how it's upcycled, recycled and sustainable. The skirt is called Off Into The Wild Blue Yonder She...

It's in blossomnbird's Shop. Her shop is so cute, consisting of clothes, original art, accessories and fabric dolls. You'll really enjoy your visit.

It's when you mix and match materials that you often get the prettiest and most unique pieces.

Mollie Sugden, Are You Being Served 1922-2009

Mollie Sugden, perhaps best known in the US for playing Mrs. Slocombe on the British comedy, Are You Being Served? died on July first.

Mary Isobel Sugden was born in Keighley in Yorkshire on July 21 1922. Her father ran an iron and steel company. She trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

She was best known for her comedy roles often playing battleaxes. She also appeared as the fearsome Mrs Hutchinson in The Liver Birds, but she played numerous roles through her long career. In the 1990s, Are You Being Served? had a spin-off called Grace and Favour. It was popular in the US as well titled Are You Being Served Again?

"I am unanimous in that."

In early episodes, Mollie Sugden had her hair dyed, bleached and re-dyed every time Mrs Slocombe changed her hair colour. It had been her own idea, but it meant that she sometimes had to turn up at her sons' school with her hair a multi-colored mess. Later, she saved her own hair by wearing wigs.

Mollie Sugden and her husband had identical twin sons, born when she was 41. She confessed that when they were very young she had to keep them labeled so that she could tell them apart and that "more than once I bathed the same one twice". She feared having both name labels off at the same time. Sugden's twin sons, Robin and Simon Moore, were at her bedside, according to her agent Joan Reddin.

Sugden lived in Surrey and was married to fellow actor William Moore, who died in 2000. She never fully recovered from his death, said Ms Reddin. "They were very much in love," she said. "She started to go down when he died."

An interview asked about the high points of her career. "Oh there's been so many. I've been lucky. I've had a lovely, lovely time.

"Obviously ups and downs and worries, especially when the children were at the school, and if my husband was up north working - and he worked in Coronation Street for two years. ... So there were times, but on the whole I've had a lovely time."


Some photos & info from following sources & cited above:
The Telegraph
The BBC
Yahoo UK News
Guardian Obituary of Wendy Richard

Also check out:
Seniors World Chronicle