Artful Muse

Holiday Madness . . . .

2011-01-26T13:32:00.000-08:00

For the first time in nearly fourteen years, we had all six of our children gather in one place to celebrate Jim's 70th birthday in mid-December. Pictured above in the back row are son Dave Hornak (of Indianapolis, Indiana), daughter Elena Seaberg(of Albuquerque, New Mexico), son Scott Vorenberg (of Seattle, Washington), and daughter Melissa Davis (of Albuquerque, New Mexico). Bottom row is daughter Jennifer Flowers (of Pojaque, New Mexico), Jim, daughter Mandy Vorenberg (of Knoxville, Tennessee), and moi!

I was determined this year to make an afghan
for each of our children and as many of their spouses as time would allow. Nearly made my goal with the exception of one still to come.
This is my son-in-law, Dave Seaberg, grandly posing with his very own afghan!

And here is son-in-law, Nick Davis, admiring my attempt to match Notre Dame's colors in his afghan.

Daughter Elena is surprised at receiving this afghan -- she was so busy with birthday celebration preparations, she never noticed me working on these squares right in her own home!

Daughter Mandy's kitties are absolutely certain that her afghan was made specifically for them!

The last time I made our son Dave an afghan he was eight years old! Knowing how cold this winter has been already in Indianapolis, I think he will get a lot of use from this one.

Daughter-in-law Shelley has a birthday two days before Christmas and we always try to make it special for her. And her gift was the impetus behind the idea of making all these afghans for everyone!

And here is the true test of how comfy an afghan should be -- daughter Melissa's cat, Iggy, soaking up some warmth.

We don't have photos of two other afghans that were made for son Scott and son-in-law Anthony, but at last report they were being put to rather good use in this long, cold winter.

Time really does fly!

2011-01-26T01:03:00.000-08:00

When I looked at the date of my last post, I nearly fainted! How could so much time have gone by without writing anything on this blog?

Hmmm, let's see -- there have been 22 book signings for Tierra Red since last March, several cross-country travels, momentous occasions such as milestone birthdays in the family (Jim and I both turned 70 in 2010), and all six of our children and their families traveled to New Mexico in December.

Then there was the madness of making afghans for each son and daughter and their spouses and all the jewelry making for gifties. But I'll leave those photos for another post . . . .

It's a Mystery!!!

2010-03-11T23:59:00.000-08:00

And I do mean a MYSTERY -- the past few months have found me scouring books on rocks and semi-precious stones to no avail.

When I received an order from Fire Mountain Gems in January, I was so excited to discover just what would be in a large assortment of cabochons. I was able to determine all of the others but the majority of the stones I received were those pictured here.

I emailed Fire Mountain Gems to see if they could answer my riddle. The first contact thought the stones might be brown zebra stones. The second response was certain they were red "malachite". After researching both suggestions, I doubt seriously these stones are either of these.

Thoroughly frustrated, I began to wonder if the wood-grain appearance was a faux finish. So, being a good detective at heart, I took a hammer to one of them and sure enough, the surface grain runs straight through the stone.

If anyone has any idea what these stones are, I would love to hear from you. In the meantime, I am still trying to puzzle out just what to do with them!

And the winner of the OWOH Giveaway is . . .

2010-02-14T23:31:00.000-08:00

The random number generator worked it's magic and spun up post number 113 as the winner! A signed copy of my novel, Tierra Red, will be riding the magic carpet to Diane of Turn Left at the Pigs in the next few days.

Congratulations, Diane!

This year's OWOH was a blast -- I can't believe that I visited over a thousand blogs in the past few weeks. That sure was one heckuva carpet ride . . . .

One World One Heart Giveaway 2010

2010-01-25T14:19:00.000-08:00

Wow -- it's hard to believe a whole year has flown by and here we are participating in the fabulous OWOH giveaway again! A huge thank you to Lisa for organizing this "magic carpet ride" and the biggest get-together on the internet.

I will be giving away a signed copy of my novel, Tierra Red -- 428 pages of mystery, adventure, and romance at a thrilling roller-coaster ride pace. Set against the backdrop of territorial days in New Mexico, a Gibson Girl heroine and an unforgettable cast of characters sift through clues on two continents in their search for truth, justice, and love.

The full synopsis for Tierra Red can be found at http://kpvorenberg.blogspot.com/ or simply click on the book cover in the right-hand column of this blog.

I will also include a Victorian-inspired beaded bookmark with the book.

Be sure to leave a comment and a way to reach you if you are a winner of my giveaway. Have a happy ride on Lisa's magic carpet and I am looking forward to meeting all of you!

April 2009 BJP

2009-08-20T15:43:00.001-07:00

(My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project is based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.)

Fire Element

I recently read two very interesting books by Katherine Neville -- The Eight and The Fire. The Eight was written twenty years ago and it's sequel, The Fire, was published earlier this year -- imagine waiting that many years for a sequel!

The ultimate point of the stories is the quest for eternal life, hence the use of the Phoenix bird on this month's memory book. The bird's head and neck were embroidered in satin stitch with cotton perle and metallic thread. The focal stone is a piece of Sunset Calcite from Mexico. I used size 15 beads for the wings and Robin Atkins' method of "bezeling" a cabochon for the first time.

March 2009 BJP

2009-08-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

(My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project is based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.)

Water Element

Ten years ago this summer, Jim and I spent the night in a cabin at Yellowstone National Park. We were driving from southern New Mexico to Spokane, Washington for our son's wedding. Before we left Yellowstone, we covered as many of the highlights as possible. Unfortunately, time did not permit to visit the most impressive area -- the Grand Prismatic Spring.

My grandson, Marcus, gave me a marvelous polished stone slice several years ago. It has sat on my desk begging to be used in a project. When I saw the issue of National Geographic featuring the Grand Prismatic Spring, I knew I had finally found the perfect use for this object.

The stone slice is surrounded by seed beads. The rocky, stony areas are made up of fossil nuggets. Can't wait for Mr. Marcus to see what I have done with his gifty!

February 2009 BJP

2009-08-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

(My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project is based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.)

Air Element

Oboy, this was a fun book to make! And it is destined to become the property of my little granddaughter, Phoebe, some day.

The focal point of the design is the back of a card from a deck made by ArtChix. The fabric is very old and has an abstract butterfly design.

Many sequins of various sizes were used on the largest butterfly's wings. The crystals are acrylic -- remnants from the play bead stash of our youngest two daughters when they were still in their crafty play mode.

A piece of pink tulle was stretched over the beadwork before the binding edge was worked in pink pearls and iridescent seed beads.

January 2009 BJP

2009-08-20T15:18:00.001-07:00

(My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project is based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.)

Earth Element

My ancestral heritage lies in the Mediterranean. All of my grandparents emigrated to the United States from Greece during the early 1900's. My thought for this memory book was to emulate a shard of Minoan art.

The focal piece is a large coral fossil stone and the smaller focal stones are picture jasper. I vainly tried to create a feeling of mosaic tiles. Since I am still not entirely comfortable using bugle beads, I made myself practice by including them in the borders. The fabric choice was made because it reminded me of the color of the Aegean Sea.

December 2008 BJP

2009-08-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

(My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project is based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.)

Fire Element

December is a special month -- all told we have seven birthdays in our immediate family. But this month's memory book has been specifically created for my husband, Jim. And, yes, his birthday is the week before Christmas!

The dragon's eye (gotta use your imagination here, folks!) was created with a vintage crystal stone, matte finish bugles, matte and metallic triangle beads, and seed beads of every size. The three fire opal crystals at the tear duct just seemed to belong there.

The spiral rope trim on the book binding edge was an attempt on my part to represent the upward glow of a flame.

Kara's Bracelet Commission

2009-06-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

I can finally post about this commissioned bracelet. Way back in February, a lovely young woman in Knoxville, Tennessee emailed me and asked if I would make her an earth/sky theme bracelet. Unfortunately, I was smack dab in the middle of publishing my novel and this wonderful project got put on hold for quite a while.

After five false starts, I finally settled on these two designs. Somehow, in between
proofreading the galleys for the book and life in general, I started work on both
bracelets at once.

Kara had her heart set on turquoise as a focal stone and the most beautiful piece I had was a bit too large for the cuff size. But, she asked me to go ahead and try it anyway. To make a long story short, Kara chose the bracelet with the larger piece of turquoise pictured here in the last two photos. Guess who gets to keep the other one? And guess which one was my favorite in the bargain?

The bracelet in the upper photos was made with antique Egyptian turquoise,
adventurine, jasper, amazonite, carnelian, cultured pearls, vintage crystals, and assorted sizes of glass beads.

Kara's choice was made with turquoise, carnelian, petrified jasper, fossil stone, antique Egyptian turquoise nuggets, sunsitara beads, cultured pearls, vintage crystals, carnelian beads, and assorted sizes of seed beads.

Kara's bracelet is on it's way to her!

November 2008 BJP

2009-06-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

(My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project is based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.)

The Great Lakes

This particular little book is destined to become a true memory book! I grew up on Lake Erie and lived there until I moved to New Mexico in 1979. When the History Channel ran a segment of How The Earth Was Made featuring the Great Lakes, so many memories surfaced for me.

The beadwork features antique crystal stones of various sizes, Swarovski crystals, cultured pearls, seaweed agate chips, and a large variety of seed beads.

The charms dangling from the center design are a dragonfly, a turtle, and fossilized fish.

Now all I have to do is find time to fill this book up with lots of little treasures . . . .

October 2008 BJP

2009-06-04T18:29:00.000-07:00

(My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project is based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.)

Solstice Wood by Patricia A. McKillip

What stitcher or beader could resist this marvelous book? The story revolves around a Fiber Guild whose chief occupation is to stitch and weave threads to keep the Fairies from entering Lynn Hall. Their fear of the Fairies has been founded in ages-old stories passed down from the previous owners of Lynn Hall. But wondrous things occur to bring the two worlds of human and fairy together in the end.

This piece is based on the element of Air. The Fairy charm is covered with silk lavender threads which are embellished with crystals. The tiny crystals in the background are meant to be fireflies
(or perhaps fairies) in the evening time.

The enchanted flower was made with an antique ruby crystal stone. Pale pink flower beads, silver leaf charms, and a pearlized clear heart bead dangle from the scene.

I simply must add that making this little book brought back so many pleasurable memories of my paternal grandmother and her "magical" gardens. Many wonderful moments of "fairy sightings" were made there when I was a little girl . . . .

Playing Catch-up with BJP 2008-9

2009-06-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

My selected theme of memory books for this year's Bead Journal Project was to have been based on the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire.

September 2008 BJP

Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Three rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-Lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne,
In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all.
One Ring to find them.
One Ring to bring them all and
in the darkness bind them.
In the Land of Mordor where
the shadows lie.

September begins with Earth and what better representation of that element could there be
than Tolkien's masterpiece.

The symbol representing Tolkien's initials was
painted on this earthy batik fabric. An old bronze bangle bracelet was covered with bronze metal beads in peyote stitch, then attached to the fabric background with metallic thread.

The border was worked with seed beads and
carnelian crystals.

This is the only memory book to date that has completed pages within. (All books are 4 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches)

Creative People are Adventurous!

2009-04-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

So, if you would like to participate, please leave me a comment and your email.

Here are the rules, and happy posting!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations, so please read carefully.

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. This is an adventure!

2. What I create will be just for you with love and good wishes. It will be made of actual materials, not of cyberspace.

3. It will be done this year (2009).

4. I will not give you any clue what it's going to be!

5. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and create five things for the first 5 people to respond to your post.

6. Send your mailing address after I contact you.

IMPORTANT: This offer is null and void if you do not post on your own blog to pay this forward. This text was used from noeasybeads.blogspot.com.

Thank you and spread the love!

TIERRA RED was published this past week . . .

2009-03-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

Although my novel has nothing to do with my beadwork, in a way it has become quite connected to it. When Robin Atkins started the Bead Journal Project in 2007, I had just completed the seventh and final (we thought) edit of Tierra Red and submitted it to the Tony Hillerman Competition. Learning the results of that competition would be six months away. And I needed something to keep my hands busy!

My first BJP piece was done for the book (June 2007 post). I used that wonderful Dover art clip of a beautiful Gibson Girl and had a whale of a time learning how to make a beaded page. Dover Publications was so very gracious in permitting me to use that same image in my book.

The BJP has also become an extended family for me. So many wonderful online friendships have come about because of this fabulous project. Even though I am so far behind in finishing this year's pieces, many have been started and will be showing up here soon.

In the meantime, for those of you who have expressed an interest in Tierra Red, you can click on the book cover to go to my author's blog or go directly to http://outskirtspress.com/TierraRed to check out it's availability -- it is even available in ebook format for those who enjoy that method of reading.

Incidentally, I will be posting character studies and historical points on my author's blog every week. And there will be a contest or two (or perhaps three or four) coming along in the next few weeks and months. Can't have all work and no play, right?

This is going to be one heck of a busy time . . . .

WOW!

2009-02-11T22:02:00.000-08:00

If anyone had even suggested that this little ol' blog would receive nearly 300 visitors for this event, I would not have believed them!

I so appreciate each and everyone of those visitors and their comments -- it has been quite a humbling experience to receive so many compliments and good wishes.

So, without further ado, we have TWO winners:

Lisa Jurist of Mud Hound Primitives

and

Robin Atkins of Beadlust!

I know Robin will be astounded to win something. In her post she asked if I would tell how my winners were chosen. As always, I employed some rather unorthodox methods to determine them. For the first winner, I added together all the numbers in my heroine's birthday and Lisa was that post number.

Then I averaged all the ages of our six children, eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, and -- guess what? Robin's post was that number!!!

This was so much fun. I don't know how we will ever be able to adequately thank Lisa Swifka for initiating and maintaining this remarkable project. I have visited nearly all of the blogs of my visitors and hope to visit the rest and then revisit those blogs again and again in the future. So many talented folks and so much eye candy to be found.

One World One Heart Giveaway

2009-02-03T12:49:00.001-08:00

2/11 Addendum: I am so amazed at the wonderful response my blog has received through this giveaway! So, I am adding another purse charm and book offer to make TWO giveaways. Winners will be posted this evening at 11pm MST (that's New Mexico time, y'all).

Although I am knee-deep in proofing the galleys for the publication of my novel, I so wanted to participate in this exciting project this year.

This purse charm or key fob is composed of Russian Picture Jasper and Australian Jade -- an unorthodox color scheme for a Valentine theme to say the least.

When the winner is drawn for this item on February 12, they will also have the option of receiving a free copy of my novel, TIERRA RED, which should be published sometime in mid to late March.

Looking forward to seeing who wins this treat!

2/5 Addendum:

Many folks have asked about the novel -- if you just click your mouse on the book cover in the right-hand column it will take you to the book's back cover blurb. Still working away 0n those galleys!

My, how time does fly!

2009-01-14T23:04:00.000-08:00

No, I did not fall of the edge of the world. But I sure feel like I have been around it a time or two or three over the past five months!

As a matter of fact, there were times when I felt pretty much like our granddaughter, Phoebe, in this photo -- enough, already!

We had the busiest Fall that I can ever remember having which then extended into the busiest holiday season on record. Aside from all the hustle and bustle of making holiday gifties and traveling, there never was a moment to photograph even one single project.

The most exciting end result of all these busy months, though, is that we are finally in the process of publishing my novel. Wanna talk about something eating up all of your time? My beads have been screaming loudly from the worktable -- such neglect!

All kidding aside, stay tuned -- beading projects will be turning up shortly, just as soon as I get my head out of this publishing process . . .

Been a Busy Bee . . .

2008-08-04T23:38:00.001-07:00

And I thought July, 2007 was a busy month. I honestly cannot say where any of July, 2008 went to because my fingers were buried in beads up to my ears!

Found out in mid-June that New Mexico Magazine will be using one of my necklaces in it's September issue. You know what that means, right? Yep -- scurry like a bunny to get other beaded pieces done and get a website up and running BEFORE the magazine comes out in early August. Nothing like a crashing deadline, right?

The blue-green necklace shown above is titled Ophelia I, the tragic heroine from Hamlet. It is the first in a series of projects that I have been planning -- don't be surprised to see another Ophelia necklace in a completely different colorway soon.

This is the necklace that will be showcased in New Mexico Magazine. It was made last February and is titled Carnivale -- a gypsy's memories.

Full descriptions of both of these necklaces and other beaded pieces can be seen at -- tah-dah! My new website -- www.artfulmuse.com -- which is far from being completely done, but it is live and running.

Gotta say that building a website is not for the faint of heart! Thank goodness for templates. The huge blocks of time that are necessary for working on a project like this are incredible. And we thought the beading itself was time-consuming . . .

A bit of catching up here . . .

2008-07-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

Since our daughter Mandy's birthday is today, I can finally post her gifties. Hard to believe the youngest of our six kids turned 29 today.

All these birthday goodies were completed a few weeks ago before I came down with some strange sort of flu. Only good thing about being tied down with an achy body and sore head was getting to finish several great books.

We are experimenting with different methods of photographing beadwork here, hence the different shots and exposures.

For those of you who have asked about the Comfort Doll Workshop that I gave last month, believe it or not I was so darn busy helping folks I forgot all about my camera until I unloaded all the workshop supplies back home! Quite a few of the workshop attendees had never even threaded a needle let alone do any beading previously. But they became the most enthusiastic participants of all.

One of the sample practice dolls I used in the workshop has become yet another birthday present for the Mandy daughter. Pictured below, she is decked out in July's birthstone color -- a color I knew Mandy would never wear in a bracelet but would enjoy in a doll.

Will have more projects to post soon (I am knee-deep in them at the moment!) and a few more of the sample practice dolls that have been developed further since the workshop.

That's a whole lot of dollies!

2008-06-12T23:54:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you, they aren't like those potato chips! Five days and two and a-half bags of polyfil later, we have 42 comfort dolls ready for a workshop. These little ladies are going to be suitably decorated come Saturday afternoon.

Since most of the workshop attendees have little or no beading experience, the faces on these dolls were printed on fusible fabric. Didn't think they would be ready for polyclay faces and all the beading necessary to finish them properly.

We will save that for the next workshop . . .

Summer heat is upon us and I have been tagged twice!

2008-06-08T16:39:00.001-07:00

Both Bobbi of Beading at the Beach and Freebird of Freebirdsings have tagged me in the current meme. I have skillfully avoided this game for almost a year but when one gets tagged twice, I guess they need to play:

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

After quitting my job as a corporate human resource director in the hospitality industry, I started my own business -- event planning and decorating. Two years into it and several hundred weddings and conventions and parties later, I was happy but slowly becoming disenchanted with the fact that people wanted all my good services but did not want to pay what they were worth. But I hung in there and started writing my novel, too.

2. 5 things on today's to-do list:

Finish sewing up 37 comfort doll bodies -- giving a workshop a week from now to many eager participants.

Wrap birthday presents and gifties brought back from vacation

Catch as much of today's spacewalk as possible on the NASA channel

Watch the NBA Celtics/Lakers game

Try to keep my mind off all the new beads that arrived two days ago until I am finished with those comfort dolls!

3. Snacks I enjoy:

Frozen fruit -- especially raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries
Low-fat cheese of any kind
Lightly salted baked Peta Chips

4. Things I'd do if I were a billionnaire!

Wow, that wild fantasy of no more house payments, owning a lot of land near our Organ Mountains and a vacation home and land in the central mountains of Ruidoso, buying houses for all of our kids, providing funds for all of our grandchildren's education, THEN building an exploratorium for our community's children, more community swimming pools, establishing free summer camps for sports and arts for all the kids, too. If there is anything left after all that, you can bet I will buy zillions of beads and yarn and books for me and lots of model train stuff for my husband!

5. Places I have lived:

Cleveland, Ohio -- yeah, I was born and lived there for 38 1/2 years!
Phoenix, Arizona for six months when our oldest child was a baby.
Roswell, New Mexico for eight years and where I met my wonderful husband.
Las Cruces, New Mexico for nearly 21 years now.

6. Peeps I want to know more about

Brenda at Luna C Bede
Susan at Beading Inspired
Vivage at http://vivage2007bjp.blogspot.com/
Monica at Girl Gone Thread Wild
Heather at Jeweled Elegance
Acey at Nichobella

Anne of Green Gables

2008-05-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

Fifty-eight years ago I was gifted with this book on my tenth birthday. It was the first "big" book that was my very own. And I cherished that book, read and reread it so many times it was a miracle it did not fall apart. It was easy for me to identify with Anne for she loved to read, too, and was full of wonder and imagination and adored all of nature's beauty. She was an incurable romantic, something I have been accused of myself throughout my lifetime.

Anne Shirley's exact birthday date is never given in the story but it seems to occur around the time of my own and I always believed when I was a child that we probably shared that birthday. Anne was always yearning for puffed sleeves, lace, and pearls -- and she adored wearing fairy flower wreaths in her flaming red hair, which she wove herself on her way to school or church.

I recently finished reading this book once again and found it as wonderful as it had been to a ten-year old's eyes. My brother and sister and I grew up in what folks today would call a dysfunctional family -- we, of course, did not know of such terminology in those times. My way of dealing with the innumerable crises that arose was to pick up the nearest book and retreat to the farthest corner of our house, then bury my nose in that book.

Anne's fairy wreath is composed of tiny silk flowers with beaded centers and accents. An unfinished freeform peyote pearl bracelet that has languished among my beading projects lies below the stack of books. The dragonfly button with emerald inlay wings is for this month's birthstone.

When I signed up for the Bead Journal Project on May 31st -- my birthday -- last year, I had no inkling of how dear this online group would become to me nor how much I would enjoy and learn from participating in it. It was the best birthday present I could have ever given myself!

So this is my birthday Bead Journal Page -- a thank you to Lucy Maud Montgomery for writing so wonderful a book that a woman can remember it with such fondness.

We will be gone . . .

2008-05-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

Instead of a finished May BJP page (which insists it is not finished yet), here is our youngest grandchild, Miss Phoebe, all decked out for play as a spring butterfly.

We will be traveling from May 13th through May 23rd. Off to find a bead shop or two and some yarn shops in downtown Boston while my husband goes to classes at his annual AIA convention.

See y'all soon . . .

April BJP Page

2008-04-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

The Crystal Cave
by Mary Stewart

This book is very dear to my heart for many reasons. When it was first published in 1970, I eagerly added it to my fledgling collection of King Arthur legend writings. As each subsequent book in the trilogy was published, I greedily snatched them up and reread them many times. Our oldest son discovered the joy of reading about King Arthur in the early 1980's and read these books so many times they fell apart! Now, I ask you -- can anyone not love a book that turns a young man onto reading in such a manner?

The Crystal Cave tells the story of Merlin as a young boy and his journey to discovering who he is and ends with the begetting of King Arthur. I have chosen to illustrate the moment when Merlin, at the age of seven, discovers the Crystal Cave. While trespassing in a large cave, the boy tries to avoid discovery by hiding in a small space in the rock wall as the cave's owner comes home.

I heard the quick hiss and chime of flint and iron, and then the flare of light, intense in the darkness, as the tinder caught hold. Then the steady, waxing glow as he lit the candle.

Or rather, it should have been the slow-growing beam of a candle flame that I saw, but instead there was a flash, a sparkle, a conflagration as if a whole pitch-soaked beacon was roaring up in flames. Light poured and flashed, crimson, golden, white, red, intolerable into my cave. I winced back from it, frightened now, heedless of pain and cut flesh as I shrank against the sharp walls. The whole globe where I lay seemed to be full of flame.

It was indeed a globe, a round chamber floored, roofed, lined with crystals. They were as fine as glass, and smooth as glass, but clearer than any glass I had ever seen, brilliant as diamonds. This, in fact, to my childish mind, was what they first seemed to be. I was in a globe lined with diamonds, a million burning diamonds, each face of each gem wincing with the light, shooting it to and fro, diamond to diamond and back again, with rainbows and rivers and bursting stars and a shape like a crimson dragon clawing up the wall, while below it a girl's face swam faintly with closed eyes, and the light drove right into my body as if it would break me open.

This page is heavily encrusted with beading, black jet, and polished stones and rocks from my personal rock collection. Vintage red, gold, and clear rivolis are surrounded by silver beads and various sizes of AB crystals and flat crystal rondelles -- April's birthstone is the diamond, after all.

March BJP Page

2008-04-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

The Lady of Shalott
by Alfred Lord Tennyson

This stunning epic poem is fraught with imagery, any stanza of which could prompt a page in itself. Realizing my limitations timewise and designwise, I tried to focus on a pivotal point in the poem with this page.

The Lady of Shalott is bound by a curse -- she must never look directly upon the landscape of Camelot but instead view her surroundings through a mirror. She weaves a magic web

with colours gay,
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.

You will never know how tempted I was to try to bead a magic web!

One day she was a little down and that is when the pivotal point of the poem occurs:

A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley-sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro-the leaves,
And flamed upon the brazen greaves
Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,
Beside remote Shalott.

The gemmy bridle glitter'd free,
Like to some branch of stars we see
Hung in the golden Galaxy.
The bridle bells rang merrily
As he rode down to Camelot;
And from his blazon'd baldric slung
A mighty silver bugle hung,
And as he rode his armour rung,
Beside remote Shalott.

All in the blue unclouded weather
Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather,
The helmet and the helmet feather
Burn'd like one burning flame together,
As he rode down to Camelot.
As often thro' the purple night,
Below the starry clusters bright,
Some bearded meteor, trailing light,
Moves over still Shalott.

His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down to Camelot,
From the bank and from the river
He flash'd into the crystal mirror,
"Tirra lirra," by the river
Sang Sir Lancelot.

She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces thro' the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott.

I sure hope my sister (who adores this poem) isn't disappointed in my interpretation of "the mirror crack'd" and Sir Lancelot's "helmet and helmet-feather burn'd like one burning flame together".

Believe it or not, the Hoffman floral fabric is entitled The Lady of Shalott and beautifully depicts the bloom of the water-lily. I have hoarded this fabric for over twenty years! Aquamarine is the birthstone for March and my attempt at a pseudo Celtic border features beads in this color.

If you wish to read this wonderful epic poem in it's entirety, go to http://www.fontcraft.com/shalott/

February BJP Page

2008-04-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

My Quirky Queen of Hearts

We grew up in a generation of card players. My first work experience after graduating from high school was for a large bank in Cleveland, Ohio -- we played Hearts or Bridge at lunchtime and even brown-bagged our lunch to save time for card playing!

When I started sewing the piece of manufactured Battenburg lace to the background of this page, I realized I was heading for trouble. It was nearly impossible to get a needle through this stuff! Although I have several lovely antique pieces of Battenburg lace, I did not want to cut them up. So I had to rethink my original intent to bead the outlines of all that lace.

The end result was that I got really silly with the ornamentation of this page. Scrounged through all my sewing and beading supplies and even "borrowed" a few of my husband's antique keys. The large heart is an old Christmas ornament that I kept for my 17" fashion dolls. The amethyst hearts came from an old supply of craft items left over from our younger daughters.

The Queen's cuffs are peyote stitched tubes and her hands were done in peyote stitch as well. A large vintage amethyst rivoli forms her lower bodice.

All those amethyst hearts represent our six kids and our first grandchild. The large heart is for Jim, the love of my life. You can guess which key goes with which heart(s) . . .

January BJP Page

2008-04-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Supernova 1987A
A Tribute to the Challenger & Columbia
Shuttle Crews

I have no doubt that all of us can remember where we were or what we were doing on that fateful January day of the Challenger launch. And I did not work on this page until March during the anniversary of the Columbia shuttle disaster -- another such day when one remembers only too well where they were in their life.

Glittering stars and wisps of gas create a backdrop for the self-destruction of a massive star, Supernova 1987A, in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby galaxy. Astronomers in the southern hemisphere witnessed the brilliant explosion of this star on February 23, 1987.

The remnant of Supernova 1987A is surrounded by inner and outer rings of material set in a forest of ethereal, diffuse clouds of gas. The many bright blue stars nearby are massive stars, each more than six times heftier than our sun. They are members of the same generation of stars as the star that went supernova about 12 million years ago.

In a few years, the supernova's fast moving material will sweep the inner ring with full force, heating and exciting its gas, and will produce a new series of cosmic fireworks that will offer a striking view for more than a decade.

I must share my experience of beading on real suede -- it is nasty stuff to work with! But I have a large piece of yardage and thought it would be a perfect background for this astronomical depiction. Unlike Ultrasuede, real suede is tough to get a needle into, but I am a stubborn old girl and stuck with it to the finish.

Garnet is the birthstone for January and many, tiny garnet beads have been worked into those rings of gas. Crystal AB rivolis have been used for the bright blue stars and flat crystal rondelles and 4mm crystals were used for the smaller stars.

December BJP Page

2008-04-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

The October Horse
by Colleen McCullough

a novel of Caesar and Cleopatra

I was coerced into taking into taking Latin by my high school principal. What began as a reluctant study ended up becoming a wonderful adventure. And I even managed to score straight A's in the subject for two years!

Thus began a lifelong interest in any book surrounding the times of Julius Caesar. My December page represents the parting of Caesar from Cleopatra and his sea journey back to Rome. McCullough masterfully puts us into Caesar's mindset at this point in time:

A voice whispers: where are you going, Gaius Julius Caesar? And why does it seem to matter so little? Is it that you have done all that you wanted to do, though not in the way and with the constitutional sanction you yearned for? No sense in ruing what has been done and cannot be undone. No, it cannot be undone, even for a million gold crowns studded with rubies or emeralds or ocean pearls the size of pebbles.

But without rivals, victory is hollow. Without rivals, how can Caesar shine?

The sting in winning is to be left the only one alive on the field.

December's birthstone is turquoise. The Tibetan coppery print fabric is mindful of a rolling sea. I vainly attempted to reproduce an outline of the Mediterranean Sea against this dark fabric and ended up beading far more than I intended. Caesar and Cleopatra's lives are intertwined around the Egyptian symbol for eternal love.

November BJP Page

2008-04-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

Autumn

Fall arrives late and suddenly in southern New Mexico. On any given late November day, the air turns colder, the leaves drop all at once and voila! It is autumn.

Autumn makes me think of my favorite poet, Robert Frost.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both,
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Topaz crystal beads radiate from a polyclay molded sun face during the shortened daytime hours of this page. Dark amethyst polished nuggets and beads were used in contrast with the yellow "turquoise" jasper stones.

October BJP Page

2008-04-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

Bless Me, Ultima
by Rudolfo Anaya

Ultima came to stay with us the summer I was almost seven. When she came the beauty of the llano unfolded before my eyes, and the gurgling waters of the river sang to the hum of the turning earth. The magical time of childhood stood still, and the pulse of the living earth pressed its mystery into my living blood. She took my hand, and the silent, magic powers she possessed made beauty from the raw, sun-baked llano, the green river valley, and the blue bowl which was the white sun's home. My bare feet felt the throbbing earth and my body trembled with excitement. Time stood still, and it shared with me all that had been, and all that was to come . . .

I chose this book for October's page for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is one of the most special books I have ever read. I wanted to do a page in tribute to New Mexico and my dear New Mexico-born husband, too.

Bless Me, Ultima is an important piece of literature. It was written in 1972 and the author is considered to be the father of Chicano literature in English. Anaya is a professor emeritus from the University of New Mexico. This book is required reading for every high school student in the state of New Mexico and is featured in university literature classes throughout the nation.

A large piece of Opalite has been substituted for this month's birthstone, the Opal. A painting by one of the most beloved New Mexico artists, Frank Howell, was used as a background for this page.

September BJP Page

2008-04-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

Queen Elizabeth I

A loose interpretation of a sleeve detail from
The Phoenix Portrait by Nicolas Hilliard, c.1575
National Portrait Gallery, London

I was so taken with the costuming details in this portrait that I simply had to try my hand at duplicating the beaded motif used throughout. The few motifs I completed gave me pause for thought at just how much time it must have taken to bead the entire gown!

There was an interesting side note in the commentary about this painting and the Queen's gown: "This gown is of blue velvet. Blue was, by the Elizabethan period, considered a color worn mostly by servants, due to the cheap cost of indigo dye. Who knows? Perhaps the queen was trying to make one more symbolic point."

This beaded page was made with antique pearls and five different shades of gold beads. Since the sapphire is September's birthstone, I used deep blue velvet for the background. The silver netted fabric was gathered and sewn to replicate somewhat the lace trim on the gown.

Love Squared -- Pink Artist Charity Doll

2008-04-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

I can't remember when participating in a project has given me more satisfaction than this brainchild of Monica Magness. "Love Squared" was a collaboration of 182 artists who placed their 2x2 inch squares in the capable and wildly imaginative hands of Monica. This 40" tall beauty is destined for a grand adventure and, hopefully, will garner a huge auction price. The proceeds from this pending auction will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Thank you, Monica, for bringing all of us together in this community effort and for your wonderful, arty ways!

I'm late, I'm late . . .

2008-01-25T21:40:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I meant to post the following weeks ago! But better late than never . . .

As part of the PIF venture, I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment here on my blog requesting to join the PIF (pay it forward) exchange. I am not sure what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within the next six months. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

NOW THEN, I need to amend that paragraph to read that I will send a handmade gift to the first SIX people who leave a comment and commitment to the PIF venture since I participated in two PIF announcements.

Soooooooo -- let's see who makes it into the first six . . . . .

A heartfelt thank you . . .

2008-01-16T17:37:00.000-08:00

to all of you who voted for Galilea and offered so much encouragement and compliments. She did not win the competition but when she arrives back in southern New Mexico in late March, Galilea will be on exhibit in both our local bead store and a marvelous art gallery in downtown Las Cruces.

Participating in this competition was an amazing experience and you may be sure there will be more beaded art dolls in my future.

77 Days of Elving . . . more or less!

2008-01-10T17:37:00.000-08:00

Well, the Vorenberg Workshop elves were a pesky lot this past holiday season. Nag, nag, nag -- and bicker, bicker, bicker over their employer's project list. Then they dragged their heels about leaving, insisting that there surely must be just one more thing to make.

No photos were taken of all the knitted and crocheted headwarmers, caps, shawls, scarves, and toddler and baby sweaters nor of the wardrobe of handmade dolly clothes but those rascal elves did allow time for quick shots of most of the beaded items.

This is the Mandy daughter's Christmas bracelet, the first cuff bracelet I have ever made. It is titled "From Sea to Shining Sea" because it was conceived and executed throughout the 2007 World Series baseball games and you just know which song is played during the 7th-inning stretch of every game, right? Mandy holds an MFA in media arts so I took great license with the design which was centered around a misshapen face I molded, then stained. Vintage rivolis and flatback peridot gems flank the bracelet.

Our daughter Melissa loves green nearly as much as I do and her Christmas bracelet is entitled "In a Zen Mood". Yet another handmade face finished with a copper patina is surrounded by Chinese chrysophrase nuggets, green turquiose chips, polished green stone nuggets, and vintage rivolis.

Elena, our oldest daughter, fell in love with this necklace design in a beading magazine while visiting last summer. It only seemed logical that it must be made for her. The necklace was made up with a "gazillion" Swarovski crystals, black charlotte beads, black and crystal seed beeds and finished with a sterling silver S clasp.

We have eight December birthdays in our family now with the addition of tiny Baby Natalie on December 15th, who is the granddaughter of our daughter-in-law, Shelley, and our son, David. Shelley's birthday is two days before Christmas and we always strive to make it extra special. She is a burgundy girl and this bracelet features vintage rivolis surrounded by freshwater pearls, garnet chips, and crystals.

Son David's birthday is the week before Christmas and he is always a great challenge to make an interesting gift for. A beautiful edition of The Tolkien Miscellany was accompanied by this "Tolkienish" dagger bookmark which I crafted out of another face I molded and gave a bronzed patina. The hilt of the dagger features a piece of faceted Tibetan turquoise held with bronze metallic beads and the blade is fashioned out of the same beads in peyote stitch.

Daughter Jennifer is a blue person and this bracelet's design seemed a natural fit especially with all the snow she experienced in the northern part of New Mexico in the weeks before Christmas. Her cuff bracelet was done in a different manner in that I made a peyote strip the width and length of the brass blank, then embellished it with freshwater pearls and cobalt blue glass beads of every shape and size. It is titled "Arctic Blooms".

"Winter Zen" was made in a similar manner to most of the gift bracelets utilizing a winter palette of colors. It, too, has a handmade face and vintage rivolis, freshwater pearls, and green sea glass pieces. Since it has not gone to it's intended recipient yet, she shall remain nameless here . . .

Alas, my dear husband's new sweater is far from being finished. Knitting for a six-foot, seven-inch tall man is a great challenge under normal circumstances but with all the handmade gifties being churned out by those boisterous elves here, I am sorry to say that only twelve inches of the back of Jim's sweater has been completed.

Knew I shouldn't trust those elves to get it done . . .

Holiday Greetings!

2007-12-23T21:59:00.000-08:00

May the peace and happiness of this holiday season be with you throughout the coming New Year.

Voting begins for Beaded Art Doll Comp

2007-10-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

Received word this evening that all entries for the All Dolled Up: Beaded Art Doll Competition are up on the Land of Odds website and ready for voting.

Galilea and five other fascinating dolls are patiently waiting for your vote.

Go to http://www.landofodds.com/store/alldolledup2007contest.htm and check it out . . .

Face Pin Swap

2007-09-27T21:21:00.001-07:00

Sassy Art Goddess runs the most fascinating swap I have ever participated in. This was a fun challenge and I learned a bunch of new things making these pins. From molding the faces to experimenting with beaded bezel designs to learning how to make the faces into pins, it was a terrific experience!

Can't wait to see what I receive in this swap . . .

Roxie's Dresses

2007-09-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

Heather (Bejeweled) over at Jeweled Elegance invited us to join a paper dress swap. We were asked to make two dresses -- one an Autumn or Halloween costume, and the other a design of our choice. My swap partner, Roxie Morrow, does not like black and orange, so here is her Halloween costume -- a Jane Austen gown fit for any Halloween Ball.

Since Roxie loves pink, I decided to make her a real old-fashioned party dress for the second requirement.

My camera was not in love with me the evening this photos were taken, so they are a bit dark. This paper dress swap was a fun challenge and if I would have a better supply of papers (I am a fabric, yarn, lace, and bead hoarder!) I might have done something a bit different. I am already looking forward to doing a project such as this again.

Hope you like your dresses, Roxie!

Competition Beaded Art Doll Story

2007-09-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

. . . for those of you who requested the short story, I have posted it at my author's blog, http://kpvorenberg.blogspot.com/ .

2007 All Dolled Up: Beaded Art Doll Competition

2007-09-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I learned that my entry into this competition was selected as one of the six semi-finalists. No one can imagine the excitement this news generated among our family and friends! Although online voting won't take place until November 7th at www.landofodds.com/store/alldolledup.htm , I am pleased to present my entry of Galilea here.

This year's theme was Celestial Reflections -- both a beaded art doll and a short story of 1,000-2,000 words was required for submittal. The first paragraph was mandated by contest rules.

. . . don't worry, I will unabashedly remind everyone to vote when the time comes!

The doll's costume is composed of sections of three Hubble photos:

. . . and if you can't stand waiting for the November 7th date to read Galilea's story, I can be coaxed to put it here . . .

Beaded Journal Project -- First Quarter

2007-08-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

My pages for the Beaded Journal Project will feature some of my favorite literary themes combined with the birth stone for each month. I had a late start with these pages due to several tough deadlines in June and August -- both the June and August pages were completed in July and the July page was finished in August!

June BJP Page

2007-08-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

Pearls & Lace and a Gibson Girl's Face

It was to have been her wedding day. It became a day of utter treachery and madness. Lily's life changes drastically when she finds herself entangled in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder -- and learns that her father and her fiance are part of a criminal conspiracy. Suddenly the unwilling guardian of encrypted documents and a stolen fortune, Lily engages in a dangerous game of unmasking the men behind the crimes. But solving the mystery is not enough -- Lily and her newfound true love must survive the consequences of learning the truth.

This Gibson Girl face resided next to my computer screen for seven years, urging me on through five rewrites and four edits of the novel Tierra Red. She simply had to be the theme of my June page since the novel was finished in June, 2007. The ivory lace piece is a remnant from my oldest daughter's wedding gown that I made in 1986. The pearls are a mixture of those used to embellish that wedding gown and from a necklace worn by a relative in the late 1900's. Since both the pearl and the alexandrite are gemstones for the month of June, I added the pink glass pieces and beads.

The irony of the clear glass seed beads that were used for the "webbing" is that their purchase had been a mistake when I bought them a year ago. They were relegated to the bottom of one of my bead boxes in disgust. Wow, did they ever come in handy when mixed with the rainbow clear and other beads for this 6x8" page!

Lily's face was printed on ecru patterned cotton with an inkjet printer and an overlay of ivory lace was placed over it.

July BJP Page

2007-08-27T18:13:00.000-07:00

Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Alice never could quite make out, in thinking it over afterwards, how it was that they began; all she remembers is, that they were running hand in hand, and the Queen went so fast that it was all she could do to keep up with her; and still the Queen kept crying "Faster! Faster!" but Alice felt she could not go faster, though she had no breath left to say so.

The most curious part of the thing was, that the trees and other things round them never changed their places at all; however fast they went, they never seemed to pass anything. 'I wonder if all the things move along with us?' thought poor puzzled Alice.

And the Queen seemed to guess her thoughts, for she cried, "Faster! Don't try to talk!"

Not that Alice had any idea of doing that. She felt as if she would never be able to talk again, she was getting so much out of breath; and still the Queen cried "Faster! Faster!" and dragged her along. "Are we nearly there?" Alice managed to pant out at last.

"Nearly there?" the Queen repeated. "Why, we passed it ten minutes ago! Faster!" And they ran on for a time in silence, with the wind whistling in Alice's ears, and almost blowing her hair off her head, she fancied.

"Now! Now!" cried the Queen, "Faster! Faster!" And they went so fast that at last they seemed to skim through the air, hardly touching the ground with their feet, till suddenly, just as Alice was getting quite exhausted, they stopped, and she found herself sitting on the ground, breathless and giddy.

The Queen propped her up against a tree and said kindly, "You may rest a little now."

Alice looked around her in great surprise. "Why, I do believe we've been under this tree the whole time! Everything's just as it was!"

"Of course it is," said the Queen, "what would you have it?"

And that is exactly how our month of July went here in sunny, southern New Mexico.

After three tries, my July page finally morphed into its present form. First try was to make a red and white chess board in perspective in the foreground out of peyote stitch -- hated it. Second try was another chess board in black and white in the foreground in backstitch -- didn't like this one any better! Reprinted the illustration on the fabric in red ink, turned the illustration 90 degrees and said the heck with the chess board, then added the challis print border.

Found the red and clear mirror tiles a week later and said, hmmm -- maybe this would work for a chess board pattern of sorts. Hence the stylistic approach to the chess board. Since the birth stone for July is a ruby, I used ruby colored glass stones on the Queen's crown and scepter. The secondary stone for July is the black onyx and black charlotte beads were used for the border trim.

I had always assumed that Alice Through the Looking Glass was written in Victorian times -- it was actually written in 1871. I tried to make the border trim reflect the jet jewelry that was worn from Civil War times through the turn of the century.

Alice and the Red Queen was printed on white cotton fabric with an inkjet printer.

August BJP Page

2007-08-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

If we shadows have offended,

Think but this, and all is mended,

That you have but slumber'd here

While these visions appear.

Anyone who has visited my blog in the past will recognize the painting by James C. Christensen from the Voyage of the Bassett. Christensen takes his voyagers to an island where Queen Titania, Oberon, and the fairies live. They encounter most magical things and learn important values. This is an exquisitely illustrated book and this particular painting is my favorite.

The painting was printed on canvas fabric on an inkjet printer. The peridot is the birth stone for August and the top border of the page was done in peyote stitch with peridot beads. The bottom border was also done in peyote stitch following the painting's design edge. I used 3mm and 4mm peridot and topaz crystals, 3mm clear Austrian flatback crystals, and 4mm Swarovski crystals in combination with the seed beads and glass pieces. The largest glass piece is from an antique earring.

"Glamour Girl" Story and Costuming Contest

2007-07-06T00:02:00.000-07:00

In the fall of 2003, Marsha Olson of Perfect Patterns(perfectpatterns.com) hosted a contest based on her design of a Gene Marshall Doll Convention pattern set. We were invited to use at least three of the costume patterns and make up our own "A Day in the Life of Gene Marshall" story. The Gene doll is a 1940-1950 movie star.

I was honored to be the winner of this contest with the following story and costumes:

A Dream Come True

Gene Marshall hurried home to her cottage on the cliff above Malibu, clutching the script for her new movie. The early evening sky was filled with scudding clouds, promising a rainstorm some time soon. Which suited her fine, exactly what she needed this evening -- cool breezes and the sound of rain -- the perfect atmosphere for all the reading that must get done before tomorrow's meeting with the director.

Not that she was unaware of the story matter. The coveted script was a screenplay of her favorite book and the most recent bestseller, The Lily Saga. Gene resisted the urge to pinch herself to be certain that all of this was real, that she had truly been chosen to play the role of a character that meant so much to her. Humbly, she hoped her portrayal of Lily would be the finest possible. Tears filled the corners of her eyes as she reminisced about Lily's mysterious adventure. The fact that Lily's story took place at the turn of the century made the venture all that more exciting for Gene -- she absolutely adored the clothing from that time period.

"Oh, my --," she exclaimed. "I wonder who they will cast for the two leading men?"

She privately did not envy the difficulty the casting director would face in selecting the actors for all the exciting male roles in this tale. Nor, for that matter, any of the rest of the especially strong women's roles, either. If she had not been so taken with playing the lead role of Lily, she secretly would have enjoyed very much playing the juicy role of the rather villainous woman, Leticia. And although she was truly not suited for playing the role of the mystical Serena, Gene knew whoever landed that part would be a shoo-in for a shot at an Oscar, the character was that extraordinary.

Buoyed with excitement, she had little appetite for dinner. Instead she took a cup of coffee with her into the bedroom and prepared to spend the evening with the script. Gene threw the windows open to capture the sea breezes and sounds, then reached for the book on her bedside table. Lovingly, she brushed her hand across the cover and traced the letters of Lily's name.

"I promise you, Lily," Gene whispered, "that I will give the performance of a lifetime in telling your story.

*****

It was nearly midnight when Gene laid the script down, tears streaming down her cheeks much the same as the first time she read the book of The Lily Saga. The tale always tugged at her heartstrings. She changed into her nightgown and robe, then sat before her vanity to brush her hair.

Moments later, she stared into the mirror at the reflection of herself in a Gibson Girl hairdo.

Gene laid the brush on the dressing table and continued to stare with astonishment at the mirror. She raised a hand to touch the free-swinging hair on her shoulders and the reflection in the mirror patted its 1898 updo in place as well. Gene shook her head and blinked her eyes -- and now saw herself instead of the Gibson Girl.

"Must get to sleep -- have a long, long day tomorrow," she murmured, then stumbled into bed. Exhausted, she pulled the covers up under her chin then realized the windows were still open. Too tired to get up and close them, she drifted off to sleep with the draperies gently dancing in the cool sea breeze and the sound of soft misty rain falling.

Gene's dreams were filled with Lily and her adventure, the tangled mystery Lily had become involved in upon her arrival in the West and the years spent trying to unravel it -- of the heroes and villains who affected Lily's life so greatly and her courage in facing all of her problems. She could hear Lily's voice telling the story, could see her in the golden pink satin gown discovering the love of her life, then nearly losing him forever. Tears stained Gene's pillow as she slept.

*****

Morning came all too soon. Awaking, Gene felt as if she were still in her dreams -- Lily's presence lingered. She rushed through a light breakfast, then dressed for her early meeting. Turning to her mirror to inspect her appearance, Gene half-expected to see Lily's image there once again. She was not disappointed.

Although Gene was dressed in a modern dress and jacket, the reflection staring back at her was that of a smartly dressed woman from 1900. She reached out to that woman in the mirror and touched the cool, clear surface -- Lily's hand extended toward her from within the mirror. And then she smiled at Gene, nodding her head in approval.

Gene picked up the script and the book. Looking again at the mirror, all she saw was her own reflection. Lily was gone.

*****

Later that day Gene returned home, her head filled with costume sketches and fabric swatches and the faces of many possible candidates for the other roles in the film. The fact that the movie might be partly filmed on location in New Mexico thrilled her for she had been fascinated by the detailed descriptions in the book about that place. And the idea that she might actually be able to visit some of the places Lily had been was enticing as well, especially the prospect of seeing the majestic Montezuma Castle. She was as determined as ever that this movie would be the best possible performance of her career.

Gene had been hard pressed to keep her unusual experiences of the night before and this morning to herself. And she had the oddest feeling throughout the entire day that someone or something was guiding her all the while. She beamed with pride at the director's exclamation over her dramatic reading of one of the most critical scenes in the script -- he had actually accepted a few small changes that she suggested.

"Well, I think I made those suggestions myself," Gene said aloud. She was still a little mystified over how she knew to make those changes. "No matter -- this role is a dream come true. I don't think I ever wanted to play a part so much as this one!"

*****

Tonight she would be attending a most important event. And she must be ready on time. She had been so wrapped up in thinking about The Lily Saga film project that she had not chosen what to wear. Now, she was rummaging through her closet trying to decide on a gown. Nothing seemed to appeal to her -- her mind was still centered on all the costume designs for the film.

She narrowed her choices down to three gowns. One by one, she lifted them from the closet and laid them on the bed. Turning to the mirror, Gene lifted a gown and held it up to herself. The image of Lily peered back at her, cocked its head to one side, then frowned.

"Okay," Gene said to the mirror. "How about this one?"

Again, Lily's image considered the proffered gown, then rejected it.

"Hmmm," said Gene. "What about this one?"

Lily's image brightened, her approval was instantaneous.

"I'll be right back," said Gene. "Don't go away!"

Ten minutes later, Gene was dressed in the gown Lily had chosen.

She stepped up to the mirror and was not surprised to see that Lily was dressed in a gown of similar coloring, albeit a different era of dress. And then she understood why Lily had made this selection. Lily was wearing the most romantic gown from The Lily Saga, every detail of it could be clearly seen.

Gene must make certain that the costume designer used the right details. Of course, it would never rival the French dresmaker's art but Gene would make sure it was as accurate as possible.

"Thank you, Lily," Gene said to the mirror. "Does it make you happy that a film will be made of your story?"

The Gibson Girl image smiled at Gene, then faded from view. Gene reached out and touched the mirror, sad to see Lily gone.

A phone was ringing endlessly. Over and over, the sound repeated itself. Drowsily, Gene reached for the thing and her hand bumped into the bedside clock -- the face of the dial read six o'clock in the morning. The bedroom was chilly and damp, the sea scent strong on the air.

"Hello . . ."

"Miss Marshall? Sorry to call so early but I have the most wonderful news!"

"Mr. Amesley?"

'Yes, yes! I tried to call you last night but the rainstorm must have knocked the phone service out."

"Mmmm -- why are you calling?"

"You got the role!"

"Which role . . .?"

"Lily! The Lily Saga will be made into a movie and you got the lead role!"

Gene's eyes flew wide open. She sat up in bed and looked around herself. A book laid half open on the bedcovers. It was The Lily Saga.

"Miss Marshall? Did you hear what I said?"

She reached for the book and turned on the bedside lamp. The book was open to the very page on which Lily wore the gown . . .

"Miss Marshall! Wake up! You have a meeting with the director at 9am!"

"Ohmygosh -- dreams really do come true," whispered Gene.

"Dreams? Sure they do -- and this is one honey of a dream. Only the role of a lifetime -- this will be bigger than Gone With The Wind! See you at nine . . ."

All the Players --

Included in this parade of original and repainted Gene dolls is the Franklin Mint's Lily Gibson Girl Bride doll -- the inspiration for The Lily Saga, which evolved into the novel Tierra Red.

Moonbeams & FairyWings

2007-07-05T23:32:00.000-07:00

Inspired by this exquisite painting in James C. Christensen's "Voyage of the Basset", I created "Moonbeams & FairyWings". She is a 16" vinyl Simply Gene Marshall doll by Mel Odom that was repainted and costumed.

Gene attends the opening night benefit gals of "Midsummer's Night Dream" at the Old Vic Theater in London -- an ethereal vision of moonlit magic as she leaves a trail of "fairy dust from her limousine to her private balcony seat.

Her gown is crafted of silver lame embroidered fairy wings overlaid with iris and crystal silver-lined Czech glass beads, aurora borealis and crystal rhinestones, and "fairy dust" on a background of sage green tulle, mint green silk organza, and teal silk. The underskirt is seafoam green silk lined with white silk. Gene's shoes are silver and seafoam green and aglimmer with crystal rhinestones and "fairy dust" -- even her hosiery shimmers!

The fairy wing stole has been crafted from sage green tulle accented with tiny, tiny 2mm crystal rhinestones and iris and crystal silver-lined Czech glass beads.

A 1930's antique earclip, which rivals Queen Titania's magical crown, has been reworked into a crown atop her tousled mass of golden curls. Crystal rhinestone drop earrings glimmer from her ears.

Gene's elfin teal eyes and pink lips, fingernails, and toenails have been painted with quality acrylics and sealed for permanence. "Moonbeams & FairyWings" sold at auction on Ebay in May, 2000.