I need this now...Ira Glass

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

I am not really fighting my way through FAWM, I am enjoying it....But if I start reading other peoples lyrics or listening to their songs, I start to doubt myself....The good thing about this songwriting challenge is that it doesn't leave much time to think about others because you are too busy writing the songs and recording them and networking on the Fawm site....


Here is my page on the Fawm site...I think you can listen to the songs without signing on to the site...
These are demo songs...not fully polished....quick!  one a day for me!   and on a very very simple (compared to some !!) iPad app, not a proper recording studio...

/Fawm Cynthia Wolff

A brand new Fawmer is a Fawmling.

Portrait of a brand new Fawmling.

I have signed up for Fawm, which stands for February Album Writing Month.  It is a songwriting challenge that invites the participant to write 14 songs in one month.  This is quite a monumental task for me to take in hand, seeing as I have only just started to write my own songs and am very new to the actual recording process. I think. however, that this will move me forward into becoming a better songwriter.

The challenge begins on February 1st.  I have already signed up for a "skirmish" which means you have to write a song within one hour of opening time...Yikes!  I do feel that this will be nothing but a win-win for me...it will propel me forward and get me past fear and procrastination.

I have already connected to some real nice folks...Fawm is a lot like the blogging community.  They are kind, caring people with similar interests and goals.   I have had a lot of my questions answered by total strangers, people who have taken the time out of their busy schedules to contact me -some who I hope in time will become friends.  You can also collaborate with other songwriters...something I would love to try, but due to my limited recording facilities and file sharing 

ability with the program I am using, I shall have to wait until I get the hang of Garageband.

 Garageband, which is built into my computer is a maze...really difficult...I haven't even been able to record my music...  Wish I could.  I did manage to make a pretty freaky Techno Trance song which is a bunch of loops, sounds and me singing like a banshee, with lots of echo and effects...Kinda Kool!  But for this challenge, I will be using a simple app on my iPad called Spire.  It records 4 tracks and ought to work just fine for me at this stage of the game....it is, after all, about the writing of the songs, so the production of the actual recording, at least for me, is not as important as finishing the challenge, meaning getting those 14

songs written. 

So if this sounds interesting to you, you have until February 1st to join in.

If you want to keep up with my writings here is the link to  

My fawm site

I Want to be Adored

After many years of dreaming, practicing, writing, throwing away and trying again, I have written a song that I finally had the courage to get professionally recorded...

My friend Jay Perris was kind enough to invite me to his recording studio and after spending a day

recording, mixing, laughing, sighing and crying we came up with a song I wrote a week ago called

I Want to be Adored....I have a dream...a big far fetched crazy nearly impossible dream of being accepted at The Holiday Music Motel songwriters week coming up in February called Love On Holiday.   To do this I have to submit orignal songs.  I Want to be Adored is my first submission...

I really jumped off the ledge into the unknown this time...I opened up an account on Soundcloud...I made my "album cover"!!  I just kept at it, one step at a time...when I got frustrated with the music I switched to working on the cover.   One tune down, two more to go...

Have a look and a listen.

UPDATE!!!!   I HAVE SINCE RECORDED TWO MORE SONGS WHICH NOW APPEAR ON MY SOUNDCLOUD......

I want to be Adored-Songs from the Edge of a Faultline

Happy Veterans Day

My father Lt. Col Henry J. Wolff

Lead Navigator B17 Flying Fortress

World War II  

War Hero and My Hero

Love and miss you so...

Long Beach Open Studio Tour

Long beach open studio tour kept me so busy making earrings that I didn't even post it here...
Had a really time...GeriatriX got to play on Sunday and that was very cool...
Realized I had no interest in promoting my jewelry...I did' even hand out cards...Music seems to be my main thing now...
I did have some nice sales however and to some very nice people...Husbands buying their wives a little something....
No Pics...I was too busy....

The GeriatriX

 I am in a ukulele group with a couple from the Long Beach Ukulele Club...An old friend of mine jumped on board to play bass with us and his contribution has added so much...Nothing like a seasoned bass player to take things to another level...
Here is a photo of us playing at Fox Coffee House, a cool little place that conveniently opened up at the end of my street...Open Mike nights on Thursday and Saturday got us our first taste of performing.

This little band of ours is a lot of fun and the people who are involved, Jeri, Mike and Gerald have made our little group a joy...

The Monarch Butterfly needs your help

I spotted this little cocoon near a vent on my house

I kept a close eye on it...

Then one morning I saw this

A darkening and the faint image of orange wings!

Within minutes this happened!!

slowly pulling itself out of the cocoon

found its way to a Milkweed bush

Full beautiful splendor 

This was an absolute joy to watch...

and now you can have this happen in your own backyard!!

Please plant milkweed in your garden ....

The monarch butterflies need it for their survival..

You will be so happy that you did...this is something you can share with your children and grandchildren...Help to teach them the wonders of nature...and the miracle of birth..

I am enclosing a link...read all the information..it's so informative...then

 get some FREE SEEDS to fill your garden with

color and to save these beautiful creatures.

Here is the link...the butterflies and Beatnheart will love you

milkweed plants

A Fabulous $50 Giveaway

The wonderful people over at THE GREATERGOOD SHOP and Novica are promoting their new GreaterGood shop and are offering you, my readers, a $50 gift certificate.

At THE GREATERGOOD SHOP every purchase you make gives back to a
worthy cause, at no extra cost to you! Each of the
cause-related websites partners with non-profits
and provides support through many
different easy actions.

A portion of the purchase price of each item you buy
goes to your choice of these important causes...

You can decide where your money goes by selecting from various categories within the shop.

How about ANIMAL RESCUE?  one that is near and dear to my heart..   Purchases here have funded the value of more than 450 million bowls of food for rescued animals!

Or RAIN FOREST   everything you buy from this section helps saves and protects the Rain Forest...How awesome is that!

WORLD HUNGER   Purchases here have funded the value of more than 820 million cups of food for the hungry!


  Take a look at the fabulous clothing options in the Apparel section.  Of course I gravitate to shawls...

one of the many amazing shawls

Just think you could get this for your very own while helping a worthy cause...


In case you are not familiar with THE GREATERGOOD SHOP, this fabulous shop sells handmade items made by artisans all over the world.   This provides a opportunity for them to make a living at doing what they do best, make glorious products that are not only quality merchandise but shopping here is a win-win situation for all of us..

HOW ABOUT THIS PEEK A PURR SWEATSHIRT??

And now with the new sister store, you know your money is going to a good cause.  Every purchase helps people, pets and the planet..YOU CHOOSE where you want your money to go.

   Maybe someone in your family suffers from  ALZHEIMERS...Shop in this category and your purchase gives much needed dollars toward research of this horrible disease.. Purchases here have funded over 185 hours of Alzheimer's research.

HOW ABOUT  LITERACY?
Purchases here have funded the giving of more than 187,000 books to children in need.

Or this...perfect for a chilly night by the fire

In this fabulous new shop you can find clothing, jewelry, gifts, pet items and more..

I  love these bright colored mitts!

BRIGHT COLORS HAND WARMERS

HOW ABOUT another fabulous category of merchandise?  HOME DECOR

how about this cool mug?

or something for your sister?

SOMETHING I FEEL PASSIONATE ABOUT...

TELL THE WORLD HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT IT ON YOUR COFFEE MUG

Help save the planet by using these cups instead of plastic throw aways!

You can even get pet supplies....

Wouldn't this Herbal Healing Salve be something you would want around the house for those unexpected emergencies?

I am so excited about this new store...  I love to spend my money here!  So please help spread the word about this fabulous new venture 

THE GREATERGOOD SHOP

Go to any of the links and pick something fabulous out...something you want to win!

 LEAVE A COMMENT AND TELL ME WHAT YOU WOULD CHOOSE SHOULD YOU WIN...

THAT'S ALL  IT TAKES TO BE ENTERED INTO THE GIVEAWAY!!

One lucky person gets  a $50 gift certificate from THE GREATERGOOD SHOP...It could be you...

This contest will remain open until March 15th midnight.

Beatnheart...

Still Here with rainbows in my room

I had this beautiful, mysterious rainbow on my studio ceiling...

it kept me guessing as I ran around touching my many crystals hanging in all my windows ( I was obsessed with Haley Mills and especially the movie PollyAnna...So the crystal fascination is from that movie)...I had to find the one that was causing this amazing and enchanting happening...

It was the CD sitting on my worktable...I had just got it in the mail from a friend in Sturgeon Bay...The CD was by Chris Aaron, an amazing guitarist, blues artist from Madison and associated with the Holiday Music Motel and SteelBridge Songfest ...Chris just passed away two weeks ago .. The rainbow.... eerie but oh so magic.

My time right now seems to full of rest and tv viewing...I am well aware..not very cool  but I think it is just what I need right now...mostly I am watching Netflix and loads of British television ...also I just discovered Doctor Who...I know, where have I been, but I am watching some back series and catching up...I love the show...I'm glad I finally discovered it..so witty clever and great acting...

My Doctor

Hope everyone has a beautiful autumn..  I can finally rest easier ... having made it through the summer...I go kinda crazy in the heat...not my favorite time of the year.

but this is...

Till next time..

xxbh

Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine June issue...

I am in the Summer edition, June 2014, of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine.

I remember the days when I would sit in Barnes and Noble, drooling over this magazine...

This was before I even was making jewelry.   Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would one day actually be in it.  And now, this is my fourth time...each time the article is bigger and better...

This time they used a collection of my polymer clay pieces...

Some wrapped up pods

Southwestern inspired disks and handmade beads...

So grab yourself a coffee at your local Barnes and Nobles, pick up this mag and have a look.

And because it's so cool, take it to the counter and buy it...It's an amazing magazine filled with extraordinary work....

Thanks so much to the editor-in-chief, Cynthia Leavens, for her continued support of my work.

My Brocante Days

As many of you know, I used to be a antique dealer.  I turned professional

some 30 years ago ...first by selling almost weekly at various flea markets in the Los Angeles area and

then getting a space at a well known brick and mortar store in Santa Monica, where I stayed for thirteen years...

Well the store closed down...not for lack of business, but because the building was sold to make way for condos...I panicked at the time, wondering what I would do next.   The idea of selling at flea markets again surely did not appeal to me...loading up the car, getting up at ungodly hours in the morning, sitting in the hot sun all day and then at the end of the day packing all that stuff up again...I just couldn't face it anymore.  I looked at various other places to sell and none were very good...I was in one of the best places in the city and nothing would compare to it ....so I decided to retire from the business all together...The store did re-locate, this time in Venice, but my heart was telling me to back off...it was time to retire and move on to something else.

Wertz brothers antique market  santa monica, california

I had spent 30 some years looking, digging, driving, packing, shipping, cleaning and repairing thousands and thousands of things...I was very successful at it and enjoyed it...but the idea of still doing it had lost its glow...It was also getting harder to find things at good prices...prices so good that it warranted shipping the stuff long distances, many times from England and France, at a great cost and lots of wrapping and bubble wrapping to insure its safe arrival here.

I was burnt out...


I had not had a real vacation since I started the business...everywhere I went involved shopping and packing and shipping...the airport was always a nightmare...I remember in the pre 9/11 days of showing up at the airport with 20 boxes of stuff and slipping the skycab some cash for him to break a few rules and get my boxes on that plane....or arriving at Heathrow airport in London, only to be asked by Custom officals to unpack all my suitcases, which I carefully packed so nothing would break ( those were the days that I would bring two empty trunks and fill them up) and then there I was ...sweating bullets, late for the plane, with bubble wrap and literally hundreds of items laying all over the floor...and then I had to pack them up ...again...hellish!

it felt like all I did was shop...

 I still have lots of stuff left....beautiful things...

 Mr. Beatnheart and I have a plan of leaving LA

(although I must confess, I have had that plan for about 40 years now!)  but I know what happens too, after witnessing it many many times, what happens when people get older...You can no longer maintain the big houses, the storage spaces, the garages bursting at the seams...filled with stuff and boxes of things you don't even know what is in them anymore.  I have gone to a thousand estate sales...and those old houses filled to the rafters with things the old folks kept as the houses fell to disrepair...well I want to be pro-active and begin cleaning out my house and my boxes and pass my treasures on to new homes...

give this beautiful weiner dog a home

So I am listing many of my treasures, the things that I have kept in my personal collection,

 in my beatnheartvintage shop on etsy...

I have hung on to many of these things for years because I loved them and

they meant something to me....but now I am ready to let them go...and I 

want to make room in my life for the new things that have meaning...

So stop by the shop...I will be listing almost everyday ( well that is the "Big Plan")

Wish me luck because I'm going to need it...

beatnheartvintage

A Little Torch action...

Beautiful Mr. B helped me this weekend to get my torch set up and it is located in his studio...who would have ever thunk that he and I would be working on metal side by side...certainly not me.
Now that I have taken metalsmithing and have some of the fundamentals down (well more or less) I can speak his language and understand what he is saying to me about how to work the metal...

This was my first attempt...He gave me some lovely old bronze sheet which I texturized using different techniques...the metal was roller printed at school using bits of old border lace.

the ring base was hammered with a texturing hammer 

and then cross filed...

I just plunked the top onto the band and went for it...

then hammered it to the shape of the band...

I got some lumps...but I like them and it's meaningful to me...

I embrace my "mistakes" as you never know what will evolve from them...

 This ring was my next experiment...everything is an experiment at this stage...

First I hammered this rectangular shield shape and used an old made in Paris metal stamp to create the lines, hammered the whole thing on the concrete studio floor and then made the dimples with metal punches...

next came the ring band..thick metal with a cross hatch design..

I have never worn big rings like this but I tell you it feels powerful to

wear a big statement ring on your pointer finger...


This one is close to my heart as it is my first real made by me ring.

I love working in metal, the torch and all the tools....It is a more authentic way

for me to design as there are not as many bits and pieces to deal with...beads, wires, wrapping...

I tended to get all confused and maniacal with all those bits around me and too many choices..

 I love texturizing and hammering metal...and soldering is magic.

Because I know there is more where these came from I have listed this in my Etsy Shop...

It is my first metalsmithing piece in there...big girl pants on!

Shield...bronze ring from Beatnheart

A trip to the Getty...

A trip to the Getty always makes for a beautiful day out...

I love these structures....

rebar with bougenvila growing in them...

Beauty all around...

A perfect day...

If you are ever in Los Angeles, make sure

you visit the Getty Center and also the Getty villa

on the coast...

oh yeah...

some new earrings in the works...

just listed in my Etsy Shop....

Just when you thought I've done everything...

I bet you didn't think of this....

Tonight at 9pm I start taking drum lessons...

Cray zee I know...I'm a middle aged woman...

but it is something I always wanted to do so I thought why not...

The lessons are at the local Parks and Rec...

Boom boom bang

New work...cause I'm tired of destashin....

Well I did a dang good, no, great job of cleaning my studio/kitchen table...

I have pretty much dedicated the whole room to a studio space...I love it..all my little comforts...my favorite pictures, crystals hanging in my southern facing window, rainbows shooting throughout the room...I have Pandora hooked up now too so it is always blasting away... how much do I love Pandora!!  endless hours of listening pleasure that I designed myself and with lyrics and biographies of the artists...bliss!


 The cleaning does continue ....I have drawers to clean out yet...tabletops with crap on them...I have bits and pieces to assign to new places where I can find them without a mad insane search.  All the things that I know I will never use are pretty much at their new homes or are on their way....two destash boxes are still listed ..filled to the brim with good things...They are just not me anymore  When I first started with jewelry making I went cuckoo with supply buying without any plans....so you end up with a lot of things that don't work together...Also my style has changed and basically I love to make everything myself or get it from someone else who does.   I have found that the more stuff I have around me, the more confused and unhappy I am...It takes away from my focus....My AADD kicks in big time and I become frustrated.   The clean up will help to remedy a lot of the problem...I can feel it helping already.  Clean space uncluttered mind.  I am hoping it will help me to get over some of the slumps I have been feeling lately.

So....

Today I made two pairs of earrings on a table that is clean...unreal!  I made one pair, cleaned up the mess, put everything back in its place ...oh man oh man...I hope this keeps up as it feels so friggin good to be organized..                                


I had these beads that I made a couple of weeks ago...  I made them with polymer clay and two molds that I made from old rosary beads....I never made molds before and this is a really great technique especially when you want more than one of one thing...funny how I avoid doing something that I know will be great but just because I've never done it before... I get scared...silly me...more than silly,  downright self-sabotage.

I am pleased with the way these turned out...I did my super distressing technique...they came out looking old, worn, and dull finished ...just the way I like them...Polymer can look shiny, cheap and well, looking like plastic...I hate that...so I work and work on them until that goes away... they end up looking like old wood.  Several layers of paint and then a waxing and buffing.

I used the distressed pewter findings that I have in my shop right now and my steel frames.  I finished off with some tiny little brass Virgin Mary medals... When I want to keep them, I know I done good...

The next pair I did are ones I did before...I love the design and it's one I can do without to much frustration  since I already figured out all that's needed to make them look like this...

wrecked and wasted

These have Scorchedearthonetsy drops, copper tubing, twirly steel wire

and old wooden rosary beads...

The cleaning and destashing continues meanwhile but the light at the end of the tunnel

is enormous...I have still have  a ton of work to do...the garage comes next or maybe my "dressing room"...

and in the words of one of my favorite artists....

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
― William Morris

peace out ...bh.

Will the destashing ever stop?

I have made a new years resolution to clean out my studio.  I have been gathering, collecting, keeping, hoarding and making myself fookin nutzs in the process...everytime I need to find something I can't...every drawer that I open crap falls out all over the place... Something had to be done...had to...this time I really meant it... sooo
                                                               DESTASH BOXES

I'M TAKING PRIORITY BOXES AND LOADING THEM TO MAXIMUM

CAPACITY...

tons of beads from all over the place...

some I've had for 30 years...

bits and bobs and this and thats..

a mere $35 plus shipping gets you a box...

SPARKLE 

Today I found a lovely post on Creative Bead Chat which has a bead drive to send your unwanted jewlery making supplies to this home for girls ...they have a program to help them make some money by making jewelry...well PERFECT!   So the rest is going to them...which makes me feel good and I don't have to take countless more photograps and then list it all on Etsy...feelin fine in the 2014!!!

click here to donate yourself..

bead drive

Meanwhile

this is happening in Los Angeles...

Big giant fire to the east of us...this picture was taken  around noon on Thursday.

Today everything is covered in ash...

we haven't had rain since i don't remember when...

whatta mess...

but when we did get a drop of rain awhile back this happened...

these are all California Poppy shoots...

more than I've ever gotten before...

ought to  be glorious in a month or so...

toodles bh.

I am back...I think.

To the legions of fans who were wondering what the heck has happened to me, well...

I have finally finished my metalsmithing class and wow... was it ever "challenging" to me...

saw these suckers out......

They became this 3-dimensional  riveted bracelet...

a true anguish to make...

Then...

the little brass box...less torture... even some triumph..!

and on to...

THE HOLLOW RING

I am use to staying at home, going to yoga for an hour, coming back and just putzing around my estate....Make some jewelry, putter in the garden, cook something once in awhile, sit on the porch and drink tea, play my uke....that is my day...and I love it...

  It was hard to go to school!  All of my time went into the class and everything else I do in my life just fell away.  My eating, my yoga, cleaning my house, cooking..laundry....no one had socks, pants or shirts.   My husband starting doing the laundry and the man works some 80 hours a week...

second side added

I loved the class and the teacher and the kids in the class especially...so young, so crazy and just everyone was very different and unique...we became a little family and it was cool...

I did learn some great new skills.... 

I can solder and cut and file and bend and roll and tumble and rouge..

I can make paper models and show 20 drawings of stuff I'll never make....

I can make a box, a riveted bracelet and a hollow form ring....

 But most importantly.... I learned that  I love to stay home and do my own thing..!!!! I am so ok now with my life ...I have found things that totally keep me busy and that I have a passion for...I am not lonely or bored...and I love my house, my garden, my yoga, writing and music.

So here's my final project

A Tahitian pearl  

hollow ring....

see the blood!  see the sweat!  see the tears!

This bugger was hard as hell to make but Beatnheart never gives up a fight

so I kept at it until I did it ...The End!

and so onto 2014 

 I am cleaning up the remnants of 2013 on my worktable.

I will be destashing some things in the up and coming days weeks so pop on by the shop if you need any more crap 

beautiful, unique, findings and beads ...

all the best in 2014

my bloggy friends

blessings 

and peace...

xxbh