Happy Halloween!

three new pages up
http://crowwoman-terri.blogspot.com/

Registration for 2011 BJP begins November 8th

It’s wonderful that everyone is eager to join the BJP for another year! However, to ensure we are all set-up and ready to operate smoothly, please wait until the official registration date of November 8th to send in your registration request!  Beginning Monday, November 8th, you can send a request to beadjournalreg11@gmail.com for registration.

In order to be sure your registration is processed, when you send your request, please include answers to the following questions:

1. Your full name, first and last.
2. Your web name or alias, if you have one.
3. Your email address. Please give us your “best” email address, one that is not likely to change during the year and one that you check frequently. (Note: we don’t contact you very often.)
4. Your home address.
5. Your telephone number.
6. Do you have a website? Y/N – If yes, what is the URL?
7. Do you have a blog? Y/N – If yes, what is the URL?
8. Were you a registered participant in any other Bead Journal Project? Y/N - If yes did you complete the project for the year? Y/N
9. If you are a new participant, where did you hear about the 2011 BJP?

Thank you for honoring the process. We're all excited to be able to participate another year and want to ensure the process is efficient and smooth for everyone!

Happy Halloween

BOO, my October ornament, is posted at: www.lv-beader.blogspot.com

BJP 2011!

It's time to make your plans to join the 4th annual Bead Journal Project! The 2011 BJP will run from January 2011 through December 2011. Registration will begin November 8, 2010 and close on December 8, 2010. General registration information is available at the BJP website. If you’d like to register, please send a request to our registration angel at beadjournalreg11@gmail.com.

The brain child of internationally known bead artist Robin Atkins, the first Bead Journal Project, which began in June of 2007, included 241 women and 1 man from 13 different countries, who were dedicated and committed to creating 12 bead journal "pages", one per month, for a year.

The BJP is about your personal development through visual journaling using any media and techniques you desire, providing each journal piece includes some beading (usually bead embroidery) and all 12 pieces are the same size. Rules are minimal: the commitment you are making is to yourself and your personal growth through art.

Special BJP blogs are used as a means for members to support each other throughout the process. They are used to post pictures of completed pieces, technical questions, or links to participant blogs. Each BJP member will be invited to be a participant on the group blog, but it is not required to read or post to the BJP blog or to have your own blog or website. All are welcome no matter what your level of bead embroidery experience! Please register early!

Lagging Far Behind

After biting off far more than I could chew in terms of projects in March and April, I'm not sure I'm going to catch up before the end of the year. I will, however, give it a try... once I move house in the beginning of November.

I did manage to finally completely finish my March journal project, including beading the necklace on which the yoke hangs, and I'm really pleased with it. Of necessity, the next pieces will be much smaller and simpler, and next year I intend to work in manageable units every month, instead of having one piece eat up 4 months! I'm hoping to at least get through 2-3 more pages/pieces this year.

I'm trying not to consider this a "major bead fail," but instead to see it as a learning experience. I'd never tried bead embroidery before, and I've fallen in love with the art, so even if my first year is a bust in terms of steady production, I think I come out way ahead, and I'm already excited about next year. In 2011 I'll be teaching an Art Journaling workshop twice a month, and I'd like to combine small bead journal pieces with the rest of my journaling efforts. We'll see how that goes...

In the meantime, I've been utterly inspired by everyone else's work, and in awe of your productivity.

October

I've posted my piece on my blog http://focus-on-fiber.blogspot.com/  It's hard to believe that the year is almost up. Everyone who can remember to make a donation, so we can continue to have this wonderful project.

Fun bead assortments for young and old.

First I adore glass beads and second I have absolutely NO affiliation with this company except as a customer having discovered their bead assortments several years ago.... http://tinyurl.com/2ebltsg For a ridiculously low price you get a kilo of mixed beads. This is a large commercial baking tray that this kilo is on and I ordered

3 other kilos besides this one. The only catch is they are only available sporadically and if you miss them it might be 6 months before they are offered again... Obviously they are sweepings from a bead factory but in all colors, shapes, and sizes and even occasional lampwork beads...

I did so because I ordered 4 kilos several years ago and once separated I had trays of beads of every color of the rainbow. and enough to last for all I wanted to do and to share with friends... I was getting low and I missed them when they were available in the spring and had to wait until now.

I particularly like making jewelry with mismatched beads such as these necklaces.. so they are perfect for me but if you know of anyone working with youth groups and any craft group they would be a joyful activities for Christmas bazaars. They would make great needle fobs, key holders, and bookmarks.. In fact if I were still teaching kindergarten I would put them out for the children to sort, string, and learn their colors... They won't be available long but you can get on their list and they notify you when they will be offered ... They also sell other odd assortments of spacers and gemstones....but I love the glass.

Adding Your Page to 2010 Gallery

Now that we are in October if you have 8 pages done you can send your images to me to start your 2010 Member's Gallery page. Click on this link to find the instructions, Adding A Member Page.

Donations have fallen short of what it cost to keep the website running. I have covered those costs, and put in the time to make the website. If we all gave just a dollar it would be covered, we all spend way more than that on beads.

If you have any questions, there is a link to my email on the Add A Member Page.

Thanks
Brenda

Bead Show Recommendations

I will be traveling to Arizona and Nevada in February 2011 and was wondering if anybody knew of any upcoming bead shows that will be in the area of Tucson or Las Vegas. 

My bead journal project has been stalled as I did not like the original shape I selected, but have since rethought it, and will be blogging and posting some pictures soon.

Hugs...

October is here, what happened to.......

Can you all believe that October is really here, and that Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  Before we know it *2011* will be here.  YIKES!!

I posted to my blog, but just realized I mixed it up a bit with the posts, but am sure you will be able to figure it out.

Count me in to continue with the BJP for *2011*, happy to help where I can.

Jody's months of June, July, August and September 

2007-2008 BJP News!

I applied a couple of weeks ago to the Southern Highland Craft Guild - it's a juried membership with a two-part jury process. The first part is an Image Jury. You send them 5 photographs of your work and then you either get a letter of approval or you get your photos back.

I got an approval letter today! I am currently a member of this year's BJP, but due to some personal things going on with me this year, I have not actually been doing any bead embroidery. However, one of the images I sent in was my project from the 2007-2008 BJP, which I titled Elemental:

The second part of the process is an Object Jury, where you send them 5 pieces and they do a final selection. I will be in the January 21, 2011 Object Jury, so it will be a while still before I know whether I made it, but I am very excited and optimistic.

I currently have only one piece completed that isn't jewelery (my framed Elemental bead embroidery piece) so I might use the next three months to complete another mixed media piece. I made bead embroidered inchies for the 2008-2009 BJP and they would make some really nice wall art along with some fabric. I just wish I had enough time to do all of the things running around in my head right now!

So, anyway, I just wanted to share with you all (especially Robin - thank you!!!) how much the BJP has meant to me and how it has helped me evolve as an artist. I'm not sure when I'll be able to complete my 2010 BJP, but I do plan on finishing. I've really enjoyed following everyone else with their projects. :)

Next Year

Some of you have started asking about BJP 2011...

I'm sorry that I haven't addressed this earlier. In my personal life, things have been (and continue to be) up and down a bit lately. My attentions are drawn elsewhere and I've not kept up with blogs in the way I'd like.

So, I'm torn. Part of me wants to continue leading the BJP for another year; part of me feels the need to step down, to continue making one visual journal piece every month, but not to organize and shepherd the BJP program. Sitting on the fence, thinking I can do it one moment and needing to be released from the responsibility the next, is what has delayed notice about it.

I see no immediate resolutions to the personal issues in my life. Therefore, probably the best thing is to open the door for somebody else to take over. I am willing to act as a consultant/advisor, and am also willing to let go of the program as I designed it. In other words, any past participant who would like to take it on, is welcome to alter the program to suit their own style of leadership or run it with the same guidelines and system as we use now.

One other possibility is to take a year-long break and see how things look for 2012 to start again.

I need to know if there are volunteers to take over and/or what you think of the idea of taking a break. Go ahead and state your thoughts by making a comment here (of any length)... or you can email me privately (robin[at]robinatkins[dot]com).

Again, I'm sorry and apologize for my need to let go at this time. Thanks for giving some thought to this and for participating this year!

Robin A.

Paris is finished

I have finished the third piece. a long way behind but still plodding along.
diane's beadwork blog
Diane Lithgow

My July piece

is coming along nicely. Come and have a peek at this work in progress...http://unnur-threadpaintandbeads.blogspot.com/

First Day of School

I've posted my September Ornament, First Day of School, on my blog: www.lv-beader.blogspot.com

Slow progress

I have found a coin - no lira in the house but a suitable face found on an old brazillian coin so i have tried a new method of bezeling with brick stitch and then peyote. I can tell i was tired when doing it as not very even but hoping to finish today as the weather is shocking.

see my blog for what else I have been stitching diane's beadwork blog

Diane, New Zealand

Making a Change for Art!

Hi all,
I"ve just made a significant change in my life and have posted about it here on my blog - although I'm not working with beads but mainly creating sculptural forms with fabric as my main focus, I will be making lots more art and writing about my journey! (I'm SURE beads will find their way into my creations!!
Vicki

August BJP is on my Blog!

Hi everyone!


I just posted my August piece (detail above) here.

I've been missing on the BJP blog scene and feel very badly about it. The reasons are partly personal issues in my life right now and a ton of other obligations, projects, house guests, travel, etc. that have kept me waaaay too busy. There's more of all that on the horizon, but for the next three days, I hope plan to get caught up reading your blogs and seeing all the creative work being done in the BJP!!! And later this week, I want to will write another post about one way to finish BJP pieces that can give them a place in the fine art world.

Reminder... Once you have completed 8 BJP pieces for the year, you are eligible to put them on our BJP website on your own personal page!!! (Here's how your personal page will look... mine from the first year.) There are directions for how to send in your pictures on the website, here. (These are actually directions for last year's BJP, but they are the same for this year.) I look forward to seeing some of your pages and pictures soon. It's so neat to see them all together in a group, don't you think?

Please forgive my recent absence from active blogging... I'm sooooooooo excited to have a day to catch up and see your work!

Beady hugs,
Robin A.

June BJP

Im finished with June! Come see the completed piece here...http://unnur-threadpaintandbeads.blogspot.com/

Sorry for the delay at putting our pictures on The Bead Journal. I have been busy doing other projects and just not putting anything on our blog. This is three french hens done by Evelyn. She chose her hens to be in the fashion field in Paris. Hope you enjoy it.