Oh my goodness!!!

Well I entered the Use The Muse III contest this year and the winners were revealed today. I almost fell off my chair, I won First place! Yeah, yeah, happy dance, happy dance. My name is getting out there as a bead artist!

I am very proud of the piece I made and want to wear it all the time but that isn't very practical. Thank goodness I have a nice collection of torsos, I'll keep it on one of them when I'm not wearing it.

It's a good thing my shirt doesn't have any buttons, because I'd probably have busted them off by now. As soon as I can, I'll post a photo of my "Butterfly Stages"

Beadily yours
Susan E Feldkamp
Night Beader

Thank you surprise

I know it's been too long since I've blogged but this post relates to my last post.

Today I received a thank you package from the gal who won the neckpiece I donated to the Pink Artist Breast Cancer drawing.

Her name is Sandy and she sent me a large piece of brown ultra suede, beading needles, nymo to match the suede, 7.5 grams of khaki iris drops, a string of gold pearl drops, a string of dark bronze fire polish type beads and a hank of light bronze seed beads! Her lovely note said "Thought I'd send some supplies for a future wonderful creation!"

I am so excited and blessed! Karma has smiled on me once again. I'll try and get a photo of the lovely gift Sandy sent or a photo of the "future wonderful creation"

Beadily yours
Susan Feldkamp
Night Beader

And the winner is:

I donated my Bronzite stone necklace to the Pink Artist who raise money each year for Susan G Komen Fund to fight against breast cancer. The winner of my necklace is Sandy Gordon of Sun Valley, California. I hope Sandy likes my piece and am happy to help in a small way for ending breast cancer. I know too many women who have suffered with this disease.

Beadily yours
Susan Feldkamp

Lumnije

Here is my representation of Lumnije. I had to use the color brown to represent her. Lumnije's story is very humbling. She lost everything due to the war in Kosovo. Thanks to Women for Women International, she has been taught carpentry and now makes office furniture & kitchen cabinetry.

I had some wonderful brown hand made paper and was happy to have such a project to make use of (been waiting patiently in my art room). Since Lumnije's life was altered completely by the fighting, I tore the paper into pieces and glued them to the form. I chose to bead parts of the torso since my passion is beading.

The neck piece features wooden spools which I beaded together and after beading her name, I glued them onto the spools. My dad was an accomplished carpenter and I inherited his wooden beads into the portion around the stomach.

Lumnije's story moved me and reminds me that my troubles are so small. I hope you are moved by her as well.

The torso show is at Art on Boston in downtown Chandler until October 30th.

Beadily yours
Susan E Feldkamp
Night Beader

Robin Atkins

I so enjoyed meeting Robin on Saturday, Oct.3rd. Seeing her work up close is even better than seeing it online. She is so nice, I figured that since we've chatted via email & blogging. She gives great hugs and her students did a nice job on their pieces.

The only thing I didn't like was showing up late - got my times mixed up - but made a grand entrance!

Thank you Robin for being so gracious and I look forward to another year of Beaded Journal Project.

Check out her web site
www.robinatkins.com

Beadily yours
Susan Feldkamp
Night Beader

Here is the invitation

Join Us for the Artist Invitational
11 Artists by WOMEN for WOMEN

Celebrate the Strength, Beauty Intelligence and Determination of All Women

Gallery Show will run Oct. 1st thru 30th 2009

Opening Reception, October 10th 2009 • 7pm to 9 pm
Closing Reception, October 30th, 2009
with honored guest Congolese Survivor and Peace Advocate, Rose Mapendo

Silent Auction for Embellished Art Torsos
Oct. 30th from 7pm to 8:30pm
at
Art on Boston
11 W. Boston St., Suite 1
Chandler, AZ 85225
480-917-1112
Historic Downtown Chandler

Mixed media artists help women war survivors

I am so excited to be in this challenge and hope the locals will come to Art on Boston and check out all the torsos!

Mixed media artists help women war survivors

Art on Boston Gallery will exhibit artwork and host a silent auction in October to benefit Women for Women International to raise awareness and financially assist the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (www.WomenforWomen.org).

Mixed Media artist L.A. (LuLu) Thompson, founder of “Total Arts,” aka “Tarts,” sent out The Women to Women Art Challenge challenge to 10 other local mixed media artists. They challenged each other to create an art piece that would include information about a female survivor of war from Women for Women International.

They selected a dress form to transform into a work of art, and were also challenged to use one color over 70 percent of the piece.

The resulting invitational challenge is called "11 Artists by Women for Women," where the majority of the proceeds from a silent auction will go to Women for Women International to support women living in war-torn regions devastated by war, poverty and terrorism, including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Congo. Women for Women International programs have helped more than 150,000 women to transition from victims to survivors to active citizens. This has been done by providing these women with direct aid and psychosocial support, job-skills training, small business assistance, leadership education, a commercial integrated farming initiative and other programs.
There will be an opening reception for Total Arts from 7 to 9 p.m. Sat., Oct. 10 at Art on Boston, and the exhibit will continue through Fri., Oct. 30. From 7 to 9 p.m. on Fri., Oct. 30, a silent auction will be held with refreshments and music.

Participating artists are: L.A. (LuLu) Thompson, Gilbert; Cindy Lewton, Phoenix; Meredith Stewart, Phoenix; Jacqueline Castelazo, Phoenix; Sherry Drzal, Ahwatukee; Trish Alger, Mesa; Susan E. Feldkamp, Mesa; Jeni Calkins, Mesa; Susan Katz, Mesa; Mary Poindexter, Chandler; and Jennifer Ahlstrom, Maricopa.

For more information, call 480-917-1112 or visit www.ArtOnBoston.com.