I felt you and just knew it!!!

I felt it and I just knew it was not the same,
I knew if I had left with it
Soon you'll be calling out my name.
So I let my hands and our connection do the talking
And yes eventually with you in my hand we were both walking.

It's amazing how we can identify our tools by just a simple touch. I was teaching a class recently and I accidentally put my crimping pliers in the draw with the tools at work. Oh boy in a sea of blue crimping pliers they all looked the same. All I had to do was hold a few of them in my hands and before long I found mine. So yeah I let my hands and our connection do the talking ...

Creative Block

As I sit here and type away I'm thinking of the fact that what I'm about to 'key' is not form a book but from my experience. I've been told that 'experience is the greatest teacher' and with that in mind I'm typing away.

At times there are so many ideas in my head about things I want to create and that burst of creativity sometimes results in nothing. A situation where there is no satisfying end result. At times is seems like there is what I'll coin ' creative constipation', I suppose it can be equated to writers' block. When that occurs there is that need for a break - a time to step outside and let nature doing the talking. Or perhaps a trip to a mall may stimulate my creativity.

If you are familiar with my work you'll know that my pieces are very abstract in nature - very freeform. Some people cannot think outside the box or outside the anus. Oh boy first constipation, then anus jeez what is this Sunshine? Well I just let myself go in my work, I go with the flow of my mood. When the moment comes when I cannot get the job done  I just leave it alone because there is no sense in forcing the point.

So here I am on a different canvas, putting my creativity to work. So as for tonight goes,instead of rushing into my stash I'll take a rest.

Still Coiling!!!

This Trinisunshine is still coiling away at Beadfx. Come on over to Beadfx on October 26, from 6 - 9 PM. for yet another class in the Coiling Gizmo series " String Me Coils".
 http://www.beadfx.com/classes/class-rae-coilingtechniques2.jsp

                             

Wire she goes!!!

Yeah wire is still calling out to me and I'm enjoying this new adventure in my creatrive journey. Where this will take me next I'm not sure but I'm excited.

I was bead weaving for approximately four years and now I want to turn a new leaf. I still have some tiny beads in my stash and those I may use to create one enormous piece ( yeah right) or they may just get used up in my bead embroidery pieces.

So for now wire she goes!!!!

Coiling Gizmo Classes

I got an idea a few weeks ago about a series of classes using the Coiling Gizmo. October 3rd. was my second class and like the first I really enjoyed teaching and the pieces made by my students were absolutely breathtaking. Three pieces and they reminded me of the seasons : spring, fall and winter. Enjoy!!!

Sarah's Bracelet - reminded me of the spring!!!

Norma's piece ( to be completed) reminded me of the fall!!!

Sarah's Bracelet reminded me of the winter!!!

Chinese Knotting

I took a Chinese Knotting class at Beadfx on Tuesday night. Well I announced as I usually do that I'm left handed. I created history!!! I was the first lefty to be taught by the instructor and as a first I did it the right handed way . Your right my wrong, my left my right and your wrong lol!!!
Angela Peace is a brillant teacher and if I can speak for the other students we all had a grand time. So if you're ever in Toronto log on to http://www.beadfx.com/ and look up Angela Peace's classes. But you have to hurry because her classes fill up fast.
http://www.beadfx.com/classes/class-angelapeace-chineseknotting-beadsbailsandbangle.jsp

I'm back!!!

It's been over a month since my last post ( sounds like confession eh!!!). The person who once called me the once a month blogger will shake her head when she sees this lol. I've not been blogging but I've been busy working on pieces for class purposes.

In my last blog I mentioned the importance of practicing when we learn a new technique and I've been practicing the Viking Knit technique. So much so that I no longer feel ashamed to take it on the subway. In fact I completed two bracelets and I'm now working on a necklace.

My first Viking Knit piece!!!

Yeah this is  my first piece and I wear it with pride because it's a reminder of where this new and exciting journey began.

Practice!!!!

I took a Viking Knit class last evening at Beadfx and one of the keys to be successful at it is practice. I tell all my students when they mention that they are really new at doing a technique that they need to practice to be better at it. So you know what I'm gonna do the same because I'm the boss of this technique and it's not going to get the better of me!!!!! Viking Knit the Trinisunshine is gonna get yuh!!!

Bead Soup.

Bead soup, oh how I love to make you and oh how my work just loves to eat you up. I was inspired to make bead soups by Beadfx in Toronto. Years ago I bought a few bead soups there and the end result was freeform peyote jewellery.

I loved the concept of making bead soups so much so that I started to make my own. Yeah I just put together different types of beads ( seedbeads, accent beads ) in a bowl and mixed them all up. Sometimes we have to go back to base. I now work at Beadfx and I saw a soup that I really loved ( thanks Rosemary)and bought two. One I used in my piece Oh Canada and the other I'm going to make some beads with.

On Saturday I had to make some soups at Beadfx thanks to Rosemary, the store's manageress. I had a blast. So now I'm off to let my work eat them all up!!!

Oh Canada eh!!! Ô Canada! ᐆ ᑲᓇᑕ!( Uu Kanata! )

July is finished eh!!! Previously I mentioned that I started May, skipped June and was working on July. Well July's finished and I have to complete May and June. July is dedicated to Canada, my home away from home.

I really wanted to finish this piece in time for Canada Day but it didn't happen. My next deadline was July 13, which marked the anniversary of my coming here. So yes it's about celebrations eh!! It's a celebration of my gratitude to God for guiding me into coming here. It's a celebration of my gratitude for my family ( my husband and children - I've found a new life). It's a celebration for finding new friends and opportunities to expand my creativity. It's a celebration of all the many races and cultures in this beautiful country that so many of us now call home. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0Y3L0s1m2o

Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee. Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

July's piece!!!

I'm working away at July's Bead Journal Project piece. I started May's and skipped June's for now, but July's is well on the way to completion. I'll post it asap. I'm out of here because I'm going back to work.

April is for Khes!!!

Yes April is done and it's for Khes!!! Khes is my stepdaughter, who turned 13 on April 28th. It's amazing how time passes, the little girl I met a few years ago is now a teenager and she is just getting more beautiful daily.

The piece is about the new life that spring brings and the focus is on the "battimamzelle" - the local name for the dragonfly in Trinidad and Tobago. So Khessy, April is for you love for all the joy and so much more you bring.

Another Canvas Still!!!

Another has been painted. I didn't know what to cook today for lunch so I had to be creative. So I made Fish n Chips or Fish n Fries whatever you may!! So see my creative juices are flowing in many different ways.

I'm using another canvas!!!

Yesterday I got up early and made myself two pairs of earrings and somehow felt bored during the day. I had things to do but wasn't up to doing them, I felt tired of the routine.

The day before I used a different canvas. I worked in my front yard. Yeah my mother will be proud - I pulled up some grass and worked on my growing garden till sun down. I didn't know I would enjoy it so much. Yeah I used a different canvas!!!

Back to yesterday!! The garage door needed a fresh coat of paint and the weather was good so yeah I used another canvas!!! I even played outdoors with my son and had a real good time. Sometimes in life we have to use a different canvas, a canvas that sometimes only the mind's eye can see. I felt happy and was bored no more, so I'm taking a different approach to living and working on the depth of my life. I read recently the " we cannot control the length of our lives, but we can the depth" so that's what I doing. So as I mentioned several times before I'm using a different canvas and yes I'm loving it.

Blank Canvas

Sometimes, it's good to leave the canvas blank for a while. I've done it several times. My craft lecturer at teachers' college gave me a canvas a few years ago and advised me to paint it white. Well I got my brother Marc to do it.

That canvas was blank for a long time. I eventually drew on it, but again it remained unpainted for a long time. The completed painting is now on the wall of my parents' home ( hopefully). But it was a process, it didn't happen all at once. So it's ok to leave the canvas blank.

There are times when I'm bursting with ideas, but still I feel unproductive because I cannot create anything. That's ok too. The wire has been calling my name and yes I've made a few pieces, that call has to continue and I'll continue to answer but that too will take time. Sometimes I have to step back and observe, sometimes I have to sketch and at other times I just play. Don't get me wrong even when I step back some type of play is going on in my mind, I'm just dancing to the rhythm of a different drum. So for now the canvas is blank and that's ok.

The Eye Twitcher

The "Eye Twitcher" is the name I gave to this bracelet recently because this is exactly what it did to my right eye after I made it. I made this eye twitching piece a few years ago and it was not my original intention. I just wanted to learn the herringbone stitch and came across a similar design to my bracelt in a magazine.

Of course I had to go the extra mile because at that I had more time to play with beads. I just filled the entire thing up and really played with colour. Oh yes I just played!!! Something about it reminds me of a big shaggy dog because there is so much texture to it.

So off I go again to just play with some more beads. But that wire is still calling my name.

RAW

I have to learn before I teach  and during my classes I get many opportunities to learn. Because it is in giving we receive, I set out to teach but I also learn .I had to learn the right angle weave ( RAW) in order to teach it. I haven't taught it yet but my class is on Saturday June 19, 2010 at Beadfx in Toronto( http://www.beadfx.com/classes/class-rae-rightangleweavelariat.jsp). 

This class will prepare students for Marcia DeCoata's classes at Beadfx( http://www.beadfx.com/classes/class-marciadecoster-queenanneslace.jsp) in July 2010. See you on July 19 at Beadfx.

I Just Play!!!

http://www.beadfx.com/classes/class-rae-makeandtakeearringsandwirewrappedpendant.jsp

I just played with the wire, I told a lady once when she commented on one of the earrings I made. She said that when she plays she does not get that same effect. But it is how you play. Play as though you are in harmony with the materials, play as though it's a part of you. It is the marriage between my mind, hands and spirit with the materials that results in my creations.

I love what I do and I just play. Like a dancer to the sound of the music, I just play to the beat of the materials. So off I go to just play!!! You can just play too.

Wire on me mind!!!

My mind's on wire these days. I love seedbeads, but I think the wire is calling my name. I want to explore it more and really create the pieces that only my mind's eye can see. I just want to play and have fun with it. So this "Trinisunshine blogger's" gonna play with wire.

Me in my glee!!!

This is me in my glee at Beadfx in Toronto. I work there on weekends and I love it. When you work in an environment that allows you to live your passion it's not work but it's a pleasure.

Featured in the middle shelf are two of my pieces: Fringe Me Strings and an Embellished Peyote Bracelet.

Thanks Dixon Chick ( Stephanie Dixon) for taking the picture.

Thanks Evie!!!

My mother gave me a handbag a few years ago when she visited us in Canada. I just loved it, it was copper with gun metal findings. Part of that lovely handbag broke and  I decided to use the rings etc. to create "Thanks Evie". Everyone calls my mom Evie which is short for Yvonne. So Mommy I added a few more components ( wire, wire beads, semi-precious stones, copper beads, a tutquiose donut and chain) the rest is history.

I'm really excited!!!

http://www.beadfx.com/classes/class-rae-fringemestrings.jsp

I'm so excited, because I've a few classes coming up at Beadfx  Toronto and teaching is one of my passions. On June 8, I'm teaching Fringe Me Strings from 6:30PM. - 9: 30PM.  Just in time for summer, certainly in time for spring. This lariat is excellent for all seasons so come along and Fringe Me Strings.

Not In a Blogging Mood!!!

Not in ah blogging mood. But isn't this a blog? Not in ah blogging mood so in I came and out I'm gone. But wait I'm blogging. But wait don't get caught up not for long. So yeah in I came and out I'm gone!!! Night.

My son and me.

Well a new day has begun even though it's still night. I like the sound of that. We set out on a journey that I did not want to postpone any longer. However, when we got ot our destination , things were not the way I expected them to be. That saying that " A child shall lead them" is so true and having a son whose name is Joshua oh boy did he lead me.

Josh wanted to go for a walk so we set out on one of the most beautiful adventures together. He is truely my little love and even though he I put his harness on him today we were leading each other. We popped into a coffee shop and he wanted something naturally ( smile). Well we didn't go in there to watch!!!! He got his chocolate coated "thing" and I bought myself a sausage roll and we strolled outside. Oh boy if my grandmother was only there that was not going to happen because we could not eat and walk the streets.

One thing lead to another and I ended up buying him a basketball and mangoes and chocolate  and and and and pizza. Oh yes we had lunch together as usual. I just enjoyed it with my little love. My little love is sleeping and so is the rest of the household so you know what I'm going to bed.

Life

My eyes are tired - well extra tired today because my heart is full. So full that the tears were just pouring out. But the tears wouldn't bring you back to us. I love you and you knew it. You loved me and I know that and I feel blessed.

One of my dearest friends died on Wednesday after suffering from that freaking cancer. Yes freaking is putting it mildly. It's like eating good Indian food without pepper man. Yuh know what ah mean. Even though this lost hurts the very depths of my being I know it's for the best. I serve a God who knows me and loves me and He is in control. He knows best. We've been praying for healing and yes sometimes healing comes in death. My friend is suffering no more and I feel great that her faith was strong.

On one of the few occasions when she replied to my daily text messages, she told me that " God will do the rest, " and yes she has been healed. Like a seed that has been planted, by her dying she will be born to eternal life one day. But oh boy death stings hard, but God is in control and he is putting things right.

I feel a little better now and it'll take some time, but time is the greatest healer. As I sit here and type away the initial fullness of my heart seems to be getting empty cause I'm giving this burden to God. Thank God for good family members and friends who were there in my absence for my friend Alicia and who are here for me now. God is love. Amen!!!

I'm Willing To Teach!!!

If one person is willing to learn then I'm willing to teach. I'm very passionate about teaching, I never thought I would feel this way. Three of my dad's four sisters are teachers and my dad used to part time on evenings after his full time day job at the oil company.

I was always encouraged to teach and applied to do so years ago after I felt as though I was drowning in a sea of boredom at home. I've no regrets. I no longer teach at schools but not in addition to my teaching diploma, I'm trained  to teach ESL but my passion lies in teaching jewellery design.

I love it and if you are willing to take my classes then I'm more than willing to teach you.

Blogging again!!!

Yeah tongue lasher, you thought I had fallen back into my old ways eh ( Trini or Canadian it does not matter)!!! Well in some ways I had, maybe, but here I am so don't start. Oh you want to know how long it's going to last - well only time can tell. I even made three postings on the Bead Journal Blog page. Yeah it was about time!!!

Before I really get into this I'm going off to do some things around here before Joshua wakes. I really want to sleep too yes but the work is calling my name - my bed or even the floor or the nearest rest spot seems to be shouting at me. Yeah they all want to know what I'm waiting on to dive in. It looks great on paper - I mean here but hmmmmmmmmm I've work to do.

So yeah I'm off, but don't start to lash that tongue of yours because I'll be back.

Passion

What are you passionate about? Is it gardening? Card playing? Art? Dancing? Yeah what's your passion? And do you do some of it each day or are you like some who plan to do so after retirement?

I live my passion everyday of my life - I'm always creating something and I'm loving it. Do you share your passion with others or are you keeping it to yourself? I'm a firm believer in sharing, because when you share your gifts they'll grow. If you don't it's like have money and saving it underneath a mattress - it'll not get any interest that way.

When you work in an environment that facilitates the growth of whatever you are passionate about - it does not feel like work. I am fortunate to be such a person and I'm just loving it. I work in a bead store with the most wonderful people and customers. At home I design and make jewellery for the purpose of teaching - I want to pass on this knowlegde for the "thing" to grow. Some people believe that if they pass it on others will get better. For me that's a sign of insecurity ( well that's my opinion anyway) and my blessings will always be mine. So when I'm gone - yeah passed on,hopefully as many people as possible would have benifited from what I have/had to offer. "Give and you shall receive...."

Family Time

Here I am again. Wow thanks for that tongue lashing - it really hit see I'm back twice in one day. I'm gonna make dinner ( I don't know what yet) and sit and relax with my family and watch a movie. I'm looking forward to that.

I overheard some ladies talking about the importance of families doing something together once a week and that's my intention for the weekends. It's that time when we'll all be at home and we'll spend some quality time together.

I was taught that "the family that prays together, stays together" and that too has to me a vital part of our lives. there are so many things to be thankful for in this world where selling bad news seems to be the order of the day many a time. But I know in the midst of it God is up to something good, so I'm good.

Now I'm singing that some in my head ... "What if God was one of us.... yeah yeah God is good." For real He is good. So tongue lasher thank you for the inspiration. I gonna make dinner before my family starts to eat each other, I don't think I'll be eaten cause I'm making dinner LOL.

Blog Everyday Rae

I was asked about my blog this morning and mentioned that I hadn't blogged for a long tme. Wow did I get a tongue lashing . It was all good, yeah something good came out of it because here I am. The one month a blog - blogger is gone.

I haven't blogged for a long time because so much is happening, but it's all good. I had no clue of what I was going to do with my Toronto Bead Society's Bag of Beads, but I finally started. Yes I'll be done in time for the big reveal in March.

I'm also working on designs for the purpose of teaching , so there are many moments of creative explosions. More importantly I took some time today to play in the snow with Joshua and we had a ball.

I'll post some pictures real soon but as for now I'm going back to creating. Blessings.

I have started and I'm working on January's Bead Project piece. I'm enjoying this new page in my creative growth I must say. There is such an outburst of ideas that I'm looking forward to working on the months ahead. Since I'm still reatively new to bead embroidery I'm not sure if my ideas will work, but I'll somehow 'bead' around that.

All I'll say is that next month Trinidad and Tobago will be celebrating ' the greatest show on earth'. Yes Trinidad and Tobago's carnival and my piece will be centred around that. I'm going back to work.