You'll Never Guess What I've Been Up To......

I had the honor of working with Thomas Mann in his 'Studio Flux' booth at the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee this past week!! Tom contacted me about a month ago to see if I could help him, and I was thrilled that he asked me!!! I couldn't believe it!

The show was open Thursday through Sunday, so by Sunday evening I was really worn out. I have never been to the Bead and Button Show, so when I entered the exhibit hall on Thursday, I was totally overwhelmed with how large it was. I got to roam around a little when it was quiet at the booth, but I always carried my phone with me in case it started to get busy again. Geez...I'd get lost trying to get back to the booth!!!! It was sooo big, and there were so many isles, that I could've used a GPS to get back to it!!!!!

(Tom and Me Working In His 'Studio Flux' Booth)

Tom had a corner booth displaying his wonderful jewelry, metalsmithing supplies, and his new 'Learn to Saw' kits and DVD's. He even had an area in front where we gave sawing demos and people could learn how to saw and try it for themselves, using Tom's techniques. There were five bench pins mounted onto a workbench, so multiple people could practice at the same time. There were always three of us working in the booth...Tom, myself, and either Sarah Mann (no relation), or a gal named Holly. They are both great gals, and we all worked really well together.

(The Booth Before the Show Began)

(Another Shot of His Booth Showing the Sawing Station, Complete With Five Bench Pins)

Tom had a nice counter in the back of the booth, which was filled with all his fabulous jewelry and earrings, with a special enclosed case on the end that showcased his 'one-of-a-kind' pieces. He wanted to display some of my pieces along with his in that case, so he chose 3 pieces of mine, and showed them along with his! I could not believe the response I received to my pieces!!!!! Everyone absolutely loved my work! Each day of the show, I was also decked out in jewelry that I made for myself, and I can't begin to tell you how many people wanted to buy it right off of me!
I was just in shock...one woman even wanted to buy the earrings right out of my ears! I didn't sell them, though, because the pieces that I was wearing were usually the ones that had personal family photographs in them. Hmm.....maybe I should of sold them...I could've used the money.

(Some of Tom's Handiwork While He Was Giving Sawing Demos)


I met a lot of really nice people at the show. The woman pictured below had a great story to tell Tom....she was waiting to get into a show at the Riverside Theatre, and happened to look down at the ground. There was an earring laying there, so she picked it up. She immediately recognized it to be a 'Thomas Mann' earring, so she looked around to see if anyone was looking for it, and then slipped it into her pocket. She told us that when she got home, she decided to turn it into a necklace. She came back to the booth the next day, wearing her earring necklace to show us. I just had to take a picture of her!

(This Gal Found An Earring and Turned It Into A Necklace)

Another person I wanted a picture of was Tony Blackwell. Tony is a wonderful guy from South Carolina who had a booth at B&B. He does glasswork and casting, and his wife Lisa works with PMC and creates charms and completed jewelry pieces. He and his wife are sooooo nice, and are big fans of my work. I could never remember his name, so I always referred to him as 'Tattoo Guy!' Check out their website at www.zoaart.com. I've also got them linked on my "Kewl Places to Visit" on the side of my blog.

(That's me with Tony Blackwell, an Artist Who Does Glasswork and Casting)

(Tom Always Attracted A Crowd When He Gave His Sawing Demos!)
When we weren't busy helping customers, we would sit at the workbench and start sawing. It seemed like that would always attract folks to the booth. They would wonder what we were doing, and would watch. That's when we would show them how, and let them try it for themselves.

(Check out This Woman's Face - She's Thinking To Herself, "Wow, I Really CAN Do This!")



I had to take of picture of this boy. His name was Conlan. He came to Tom's booth with his mom, who is a metalsmith. I referred to him as "Jewelry Kid." He was really interested in Tom's work, and was really looking at some of the pieces he was interested in, seeing how they were constructed. You could just see the gears turning in his head! He even was wearing a necklace that he had made himself...it was a sterling backing that he stamped patterns on, with a vintage keyhole piece that he had found riveted onto the sterling. He really did a fantastic job on it. The part that I found sooooo amazing about 'jewelry kid'.............he was only 11 years old!!!!! Watch out Tom...you're gonna have competition in the future!!!

(Conlan, aka 'Jewelry Kid' - A Little Thomas Mann in the Making!!)

I had such an amazing time representing Tom and his work at B&B. It was sooo much fun, and I made a lot of new friendships while I was there. I also had a few funny 'open mouth, insert foot' moments, too....but I guess if you know me, you know that just about anything will come out of my mouth. Oh well.....

(And Last but not Least...Tom, Holly, and Myself after a Long Four Days of Working!)

When the show was finally over, Tom, Holly, and myself spent the next 2 hours breaking down the booth, and packing everything up for him, as he hits the road for his next stop in Pennsylvania. He took Holly and me to a wonderful little restraunt in Milwaukee, where he treated us to an absolutely wonderful meal. Gosh...he knows his way around Milwaukee better than I do, and he's from New Orleans!

I will be seeing Tom again this year...I'm taking his Soldering Workshop over Labor Day at Valley Ridge Art Studio, in Muscoda, WI.

How I Spent My Memorial Day...

"But the freedom that they fought for,

and the country grand they wrought for,

Is their monument to-day,

and for aye."

~Thomas Dunn English

I was alone on Memorial Day and didn't know what to do, so I went to the Memorial Day celebration in the small village where I live. Everyone in the community turns out for it. One woman there referred to the day as an annual homecoming because even people who have moved away always come back 'home' for the celebration. They have a nice little parade, a program at the cemetery just outside of town, and then have a big brat fry in the community hall. What I found so amazing was that as the end of the parade passed by, everyone got up and walked behind it, following it to the cemetery where the program would take place. So by the time the end of the parade got to where I was sitting, the road behind it was absolutely full of people following it. I think you had to be there to see it for yourself!

Anyhow...here is my day - in pictures..... The local veterans lead the parade....

There were cute childen all decked out in little army uniforms...


Since this is a small farming community, there were many vintage tractors in the parade...

Here they come!.....


Here is the end of the parade as it is approaching me. See all the people behind the horses?...

Everyone is coming to the cemetery now to watch the program and pay tribute to the local veterans who are buried there.

A little boy who was sitting in front of me was sporting a red, white, and blue mohawk!

And finally, here is where the program will be taking place. Take note of all the vintage tractors that are parked along the lane behind the cemetery. The grass looks empty here, but it was full of people when the program began!

A Beautiful Day

The weather here has been beautiful - great weather for the Memorial Day weekend. This morning, I decided to go to "Maxwell Days" in Cedarburg. It's held 4 times a year, and has been an annual event there for many, many years. It opens at 6:00 a.m., but I didn't arrive there until around 10:30 a.m. In years' past, I would get there when the gates opened to look for the 'best pickings.' It never changes -- the same old man's voice announcing stuff over the PA system...kicking up dust and dirt walking around the track...the unmistakable smell of brat grease and smoke billowing from the grills in the early morning hours...just about stumbling into people's wagons and carts when they stop dead right in front of you... the list goes on and on...

I didn't get much there this time. I only found a few little medals and some small, junky tools.

My friend Kim has been coming over to my studio on Fridays. She wanted me to teach her how to make jewelry, ala Thomas Mann style. So I've been showing her how.

(Kim busy sawing out her piece)

I've got a benchpin all set up for her on her side of my workbench. It's fun to have her over, because we are usually chatting away while we're working. Kim is a big "rummager," and she brought over one of her 'finds' from last weekend. It was an old leather jumprope that boxers used to use. She took off the wooden handles to use in an assemblage piece that she's working on at home, and generously gave me half of the leather cord...(probably because she could see that I was eagerly eyeing it up to use in my jewelry)!

This is the neckpiece that I was working on, complete with the jumprope cord.

(My latest Neckpiece)

I'd like to get some more earrings made. But now that the weather is getting nicer, the lawn has really been growing. I've been having to cut it twice a week already, and the yard takes me 2 hours to cut with the riding mower.

An Unexpected Tragedy

When A Pet Dies

When a pet dies,

that special place in our heart feels so empty...

But we realize, as time passes,

that animals have a way of teaching us about loving,

about loyalty, joy, and friendship...

And whatever we’ve shared in their presence

can never really be lost.

Anonymous

This morning Mugsy passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. I'm still in shock and disbelief. I feel so numb and empty. The tears are still flowing at the loss of my sweet little Mugsy. I don't know what happened. He was perfectly fine yesterday. After he ate his breakfast this morning, he got sick. He went to lay down and he started breathing hard and was limp. Mike immediately took him to the Vet. When he got there, the vet gave Mugsy oxygen and took an x-ray. Mike called me and said things didn't look good and that I should come right away. When I got to the clinic, I went right to Mugsy and saw him take his last breath. I couldn't believe what was happening. The x-ray showed his spleen was huge. The vet feels that Mugsy either had an aneurysm in his spleen, or his spleen had somehow twisted on itself. He was such a good dog. He had the most beautiful eyes, and when he looked at me, it felt as if he was looking right into my soul. I'm having a very hard time dealing with this. I am going to miss my faithful little friend so much!