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SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 MEETING UPDATE

Sharilyn Miller has regretfully canceled

Due to lack of enrollment in her classes, and the spiraling transportation costs Sharilyn Miller has cancelled her trip to Chicago for our September 2008 Meeting.

The September program will be the 2008 BEAD CHALLENGE judging (those BSGC bags with beads) and a Members' Show and Tell of current work or their collections. Bring a work in progress to share, or some gossip/news about the bead world. A food snack will be served. See you there.

2008 BSGC BEAD & BOOK SALE CANCELED

After much consideration, the board has decided to cancel the BEAD AND BOOK SALE SHOW 2008. Reasons for this action include cost-effectiveness, changes in the bead and book marketplace, and perhaps most critically, lack of volunteers. We thank all of the many artisans, vendors, and volunteers that have been involved in the show. We appreciate your patronage. If you have any questions, please contact Pat Jeffers -- jeffersdesign@aol.com

BSGC NEEDS YOUR HELP IMMEDIATELY!

Due to a job change our treasurer Patty Wanninger, has moved to Wisconsin. Replacing Patty will be Vanessa Walilko, who will be dutifully trained by Judy Zeddies our interim treasurer.

Newsletter Editor will now be Jay Johnson, welcome both Vanessa and Jay to the board.

We are still in need of a program chairperson. This job is not hard, but requires some time and fun looking for programs that BSGC members would enjoy. This is a great way to meet people, you could travel to conferences, get on the pulse of the bead world.

ISTANBUL BEAD CONFERENCE

Background

My first portent of things to come occurred in February 2007 when my wife and I signed up for the conference and a pre-conference tour. On the conference website the page for collecting funds, linked to Tourag Turizm's site was not secure ( http//... and not https//...). When informed, Tourag claimed it was secure thus revealing their ignorance. Consequently we elected to pay with a bank transfer and not by credit card. We also ignored their request for full payment for hotel reservations and independently booked our own rooms.

Throughout the Spring & Summer of 2007 we regularly watched in vain for updates on the conference website for such events as vendors, speakers, and workshops. In June a speaker list appeared; exciting but so lacking in information one had to go to the website of Valerie Hector, the Co-Chair of the academic sessions, to get more details.

In early July we learned of the venue change from the Hilton and Swiss hotels to Kadir Has University. At the same time we also learned that Asli Mutlu, the owner of Tourag Turizm, moved from Istanbul down to Bodrum many hours outside of Istanbul. And last we heard that Asli was planning to sell 215 booths at the bazaar for $750.00 each. Needless to say the lack of any bazaar information on the website only confirmed Tourag's incompetence.

In mid July we tried to book rooms at the Daphnis hotel which was closer to Kadir Has University. We eventually rejected their offer since full payment was required. Puzzled by their insistence of full payment I undertook a study of hotels in the Golden Horn within walking distance of the conference and not unexpectedly found many hotels none requiring full payment. (Golden Horn hotels 3.9 Mb)

By August 1 the conference website was finally reporting that the venue had changed to Kadir Has. However, other than the links to the academic session and the schedule of events, those for the workshops, bazaar, and exhibitions were still "under construction". Throughout August a clearer picture of Tourag Turizm, read Asli Mutlu, emerged as an incompetent organizer and one in financial trouble. I was now firmly convinced that due to inadequate publicity Tourag did not receive adequate pre-registration monies and was now scrambling to meet expenses. I also learned Asli was not answering many emails particularly those that concerned payment for such items as airline tickets and shipping exhibits. In late August I heard Asli had been claiming since June 2006 that Turkish Airlines was a sponsor and was providing 30 free international tickets which seemed incredulous as there was no mention of their sponsorship of the conference on either their website or on the conference website. On August 29 feeling that there may be people wanting to book rooms without paying the full amount, I published my hotel study along with a story of the venue change to Kadir Has on BSGC's website expressing my doubts about the competence of the organizer. ("Istanbul Boncuk Venue Change")

In September I learned that Asli was not only incompetent but was also a liar. She had lied about Turkish Airlines being a sponsor and was using them to defuse speaker inquiries about airline tickets. It was also in September I learned that Tourag Turizm had been hired by the International Conference on Oriental Carpets, ICOC, to provide various services for their rug conference which took place in April, 2007. To say that ICOC was unhappy with her services is an understatement, they were outraged and felt cheated. Indeed we learned that some ICOC people suspected Asli had stolen funds.

One very disquieting thing I learned in September was Asli had asked Valerie Hector to sign the beadwork teacher contracts and, as I learned later, had asked Jamey Allen to sign the bead speaker contracts. All contracts were badly written and placed undue liability on Valerie Hector and Jamey Allen as signatories for Asli Mutlu. Fortunately, Valerie did not sign and mailed the beadwork speaker contracts to Asli in September receiving the promise that Asli would sign and return them to the various speakers as soon as she received them. Needless to say Asli never did so. Jamey Allen, I was to learn later, did sign the bead speaker contracts.

In September I was disappointed to learn that Kadir Has would publish the conference proceedings. I had hoped that this could be done by The Society of Bead Researchers, SBR, but sadly Asli was the organizer and could chose whomever she pleased. Parenthetically up to this point there was nothing on Kadir Has' website on their hosting the conference.

September was also the month we found out we could not attend due to health reasons. Despite my fears, we still wanted to go since the academic and bead sessions along with getting together with friends we haven't see for years would alone be worth the trip. Of course being after September 1, the no refund cutoff date, we had to forfeit our prepayment.

By the end of September Valerie and I were so concerned that we decided to inform Kadir Has of our concerns. Two faxes were sent to Kadir Has' rector, one on September 27 and a second on October 1 expressing our concerns. We received a reply that they had suspended the conference and would look into it. By October 3 we were informed the conference would take place.

On October 2, I began monitoring the bead conference website for changes on the home page and in workshop registrations. I was interested in the latter since I knew of teachers that had cancelled but the signup for their workshops had not been removed from the website. Shortly after Kadir Has informed us that they were going ahead the logos for Turkish Airlines appeared on the website. Also for the first time, less than two months before the conference, email contacts for interested vendors were published on the website! Some weeks later Valerie wrote Asli two emails asking her to remove from the conference website the classes of two teachers who had cancelled their participation in the conference a few weeks earlier, and were distressed to discover that their workshops were still posted on the website. Valerie received no response to these emails.

In a phone conversation of early October, Asli again told Valerie that 30 free airline tickets would be offered by Turkish Airlines, but declined to provide the name of her contact at Turkish Airlines. Asli told Valerie not to worry about the purchase of the speaker airline tickets, that by the terms of the speaker contracts, she would purchase all tickets no later than 30 days before the conference was to begin. Asli also told Valerie during this conversation that “all but 20” of the 111 booths in the bead bazaar had been sold. By querying Asli’s assistant Zergul Baktir only a day or so later, officials at Kadir Has learned that in fact only 10 booths had been sold as of early October.

I would like to add here that all my information was confidential and not first hand. Much as I wanted to, I could not and, indeed, was asked not to disclose any of it. Throughout October and into November I learned of tale after tale of no tickets, no responses, no contracts being signed, and no payments forthcoming. In November a new Yahoo group was setup for matters just pertaining to the conference. At last Asli's duplicity was coming out in public but sadly too late to stop many people from being hurt. A week before the show, having read enough on the new Yahoo group, I assuaged my conscience and published my thoughts. ("Istanbul Boncuk - a Turkish Delight?")

Scott Bartky 12/15/07

The Good,

For those attendees who took no workshops or had no hotel difficulties, the conference was wonderful. The city was exotic and the pre-conference tour was said to be exciting and informative. Although the bazaar may have been a disappointment to some, many thought it fascinating encountering dealers and offerings never seen before.

For those who went to the sessions, the academic and beadwork papers were excellent and the number of renowned speakers was the most impressive gathering in many years. It was a pity that a number of them could not attend.

The Proceedings, despite the lack of index and page numbers were nicely printed on good stock with very good color. But here too some papers were omitted for reasons unknown. Still, given the rather short time allowed to put it together, it was an impressive accomplishment

The Bad,

I am reminded of the nursery rhyme: "when she was good she was very very good but when she was bad she was horrid." No words can describe the total incompetence of Asli Mutlu, the conference organizer.

The majority of speakers and teachers who did not or could not attend did not do so because of personal reasons. Most did not show because either Asli Mutlu failed to provide tickets for them or they were fearful of not being paid since Asli signed no contracts.

The program handout was a fiction and probably purposely misleading. It was obviously printed shortly before the conference since Joyce Scott, who had cancelled, was absent from the list of speakers. Yet, Joyce was still listed as a teacher giving a master class along with other teachers who had clearly canceled well before it was printed.

For an international conference over two years in the planning, the bazaar was a failure, not surprising since the vendor contracts were only ready two months before the conference. The program listed 24 vendors and, save for a few, all were from Istanbul. The actual total was about 40, a far cry from Asli Mutlu's October claim of 91 booths having been sold.

And the Ugly.

Sometimes being right is not a comfort. Everything I feared would happen did so. Asli Mutlu is not only a proven consummate liar but in all likelihood, a thief.

To date signed affidavits have been obtained from more than 20 individuals charging Tourag Turizm and Asli Mutlu with failure to pay or reimburse amounts totaling over $25, 000 broken down into the following catagories:

  • participants' credit cards were overcharged for services by Tourag Turizm.
  • participants who cancelled long before the cancellation date have not had their fees refunded.
  • students who paid for cancelled classes have not been reimbursed.
  • teachers who taught classes have yet to be paid.
  • speakers who paid for their own flights have yet to be reimbursed.
  • participants who had prepaid for hotel rooms via Tourag Turizm found them unpaid.

Along with a number of other people I remain concerned about the safe return of the Trajectories Exhibition of contemporary glass artist-made beads, currently on display at the Rezan Has Museum in Kadir Has University through the end of January, 2008. Last fall, Asli Mutlu contracted to pay all of the exhibition's transportation costs to and from the United States. These costs are expected to run in the neighborhood of $8,000-10,000.00. If Asli does not pay the transportation costs, it is conceivable that the Bead Museum in Glendale, Arizona will end up bearing them, an unfair burden for a nonprofit organization such as the Bead Museum.

Thus, it is possible that the total estimated amount that Asli will end up owing the bead community will reach the $35,000.00 range."

Scott Bartky 1/1/08

KADIR HAS UNIVERSITY

Duped or Duplicitous?

Most puzzling is the role played by Kadir Has University. To be sure it was most gracious of them to lend their facilities for the conference and to publish the Proceedings. Also they were quite sympathetic to all the people who had been cheated and lied to by Asli Mutlu as well as those who were double and triple charged by Tourag Turizm. But sympathy is all that has been received to date. Was it just an act? Did they believe Asli Mutlu that all would be OK after being warned of her chicanery in October? Or did they choose to ignore our warning and go ahead for the prestige of hosting an International Conference and publishing the Proceedings? In other words, were they duped or duplicitous?

When I first learned of Kadir Has' involvement I looked into their facilities and curricula and passed on my findings to a few of my friends. At the time they seemed to be well endowed with three campuses and were billing themselves as the fastest growing university in Turkey, not difficult to achieve considering their short history. However, they only offered one PHD program which, to me, does not a university make. Moreover in computer science, a field in which I have intimate knowledge, not one of the staff held a degree in the subject.

Looking at it from Kadir Has' viewpoint, in a few year's time the Proceedings will be the one thing remaining of the conference. Few will remember the grief, the hurt, and the theft, that took place. Indeed, one could make the case that in the future Kadir Has wants to be thought of as the actual organizer of the conference. In the Proceedings there is no reference whatever to Tourag Turizm and only one reference to Asli Mutlu who is mentioned in Ahu Has' opening introduction as just having "brought the idea of organizing the Conference". It is as if Kadir Has is the organizer and Asli Mutlu simply gave them the idea.

At the time that Kadir Has was warned, the Conference pre-registration was disappointing, the workshops were unfilled and the bazaar was still a myth. Still at that time all the speakers and their subjects were known and an impressive lot they were. I now suspect that Kadir Has chose to ignore the warning thus continuing their conceit of being a university and not just a vocational college masquerading as one.

Scott Bartky 12/30/07

ISTANBUL BONCUK - A TURKISH DELIGHT?

Sadly no for a number of speakers, teachers, and participants!

First a bit of history. In mid July I learned that the venue for the Istanbul International Bead & Beadwork Conference, IBBC, had been changed to Kadir Has University yet there was no mention of the change on their website. In July, knowing that the venue had changed, I tried to find a room nearer the university. The closest hotel I found was the Daphnis but in the end did not book it since they wanted full payment for our entire stay (something I refused to do back in February when we made our reservations). Since a few friends of ours were also interested in finding nearby rooms, I did a research study for three and four star hotels within walking distance of Kadir Has. In late August, IBBC finally updated their website with the venue change and I wrote an article about it on BSGC's website and published a hotel study.

During September I began asking people I knew about what they had heard about the conference, if they had received contracts, or anything else they might tell me about Tourag, the conference organizer. I also began monitoring the website for any updates to their website. In particular there was nothing about the bead bazaar which along with workshops are the two main reasons people attend a bead conference. "As the days dwindled down to a precious few" my initial puzzlement began to morph into suspicion that something was amiss. Why, for example, are hotel payments required for the full stay and not for one night as is customary? Why are no contracts being signed and many e-mails not being answered? Why was the policy of no refunds for tours and pre-registration set so early at September 1? Why will workshop refunds only be given if IBBC cancels the workshops? Why hasn't the organizer acknowledged teachers who have canceled and has not yet removed their workshops from the registration page? Why do we still not know who are the vendors? Why, for that matter, are payments being collected by Tourag and not paid into in a separate account capable of being audited? Why, at this late date, are there so many speakers who have not yet received their tickets? Considering that IBBC's website was created over two years ago on August 31, 2005, why have we not seen more publicity and advertisements for the show? Why is there no mention of the conference on the websites of Turkish Airlines and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism who are listed as their sponsors? Why is it not prominently promoted on the home page of Kadir Has' website and why is KH publishing the proceedings before the conference takes place? Incredulously, why doesn't Tourag Turizm promote it on their own website?

The one disquieting thought I have arrived at to answer all these questions is: Tourag is incompetent, has misjudged the number of registrants, and, perhaps, is now "financially challenged".

That Tourag is incompetent is obvious from their handling of the bead bazaar. On Oct 2, I noticed on the website that the four links under "Bead Bazaar" had changed from "Under Construction" to giving a contact person. Through a friend I received copies of their "Terms and Conditions" and their "Price List" both written in Microsoft Word. When I examined their properties I discovered both were created in mid September, 2007! Two months before the show! What? Most important vendors I know make their show arrangements many months in advance. Even if a vendor could come at the last minute two months is not enough time to arrange for a Turkish carnet, temporary sellers license, transportation, and insurance.

The venue change from the Hilton and Swiss Hotel to Kadir Has University would explain the lack of sufficient pre-registrants. When you contract with a hotel for a block of guest and meeting rooms, particularly with large hotel chains such as the Hilton or Swiss Hotel, you are obligated to make installment payments starting several months before the show.

As for being financially strapped, you will note I used the word "perhaps" to indicate that it is conjecture on my part. But based upon what is happening a week before the show (*), I now fear the IBBC will be a disaster with a bazaar full of local vendors drawn from the Grand Bazaar, canceled workshops and speakers, and many people financially and emotionally hurt.
...(*) Check out the new Yahoo group recently formed "istanbulbeadconference".

Sadly all my fears came to pass. In closing I would like to add please, PLEASE, do not accuse Jamey Allen, Valerie Hector, or Gul Ucar of having anything to do with the disaster. These three people selflessly spent countless hours recruiting all the speakers and putting together the workshops and teachers. They have truly done a professional job.

The blame should be placed on just one person, Asli Mutlu, the owner of Tourag Turizm and the organizer of the IBBC.

Tourag Turizm A.S
Ýstasyon Arka Sok.
Serdar Han no 23 Kat 1
Eminönü / Istanbul
Turkey
252 316 2902

252 316 9500
info@tourag.com
www.tourag.com 		Asli Mutlu
Club Pirinc Hotel
Akçabük Mevki TMT Üstü
48400 / Bodrum
Turkey
252 316 2902
252 313 1624
252 316 9500
clubpirinc@clubpirinc.com
www.clubpirinc.com 		Asli Mutlu
Kanada Park Evleri No:3
Beykoz
847605 / Istanbul
Turkey
216 479 7277
0532 573 9602




Scott Bartky 11/15/07

11/19/07 In perusing some of the postings on the new Yahoo group, "istanbulbeadconference", I noticed that some speakers are buying their own tickets and hoping to be reimbursed. If, as I suspect, Asli is in financial straits, I would not hold out much hope for this. Actually since Asli has signed no contracts she is under no obligation to reimburse anyone. Even if Asli did sign the contracts and still did not reimburse anyone, she would probably get away with it. The reason is the Turkish court system has two rules which would make it impractical if not impossible. First, individuals do not have to respond to a court subpoenas, they can simply ignore them - there is no penalty. Second, depositions from foreigners are useless since all witnesses have to appear in court. These two rules alone preclude a class action suit since all injured parties would need to be in court. The best one might hope for is to make the grievances known to the Turkish government and perhaps they would take away her licenses.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

By the time you receive this newsletter, the Bead and Button Show ?will be underway. Many of our members have found a haven in ?Milwaukee, with multi-task shopping, numerous workshops, great friends, old and new, and new adventures. I have found saving a little $$ each month towards the big event, helps soften the receipt shock when they are all added up.

June ends our 2007-2008 program year, as we look back on the many fine lecturers/artists who graced our doors, Barbara Lash, JC Herrell, Beads of Courage/Christy Puetz, and Barbara Frey are just to name a few. Programs are not difficult to plan, you just need to keep your ?eyes and ears open, investigate things you like, and introduce yourself. We are still in need of program planners for the future.

Our theme the past two years has been, local talent, national ?recognition. We have a wealth of artistic work in this Chicagoland area, let us know whom you would like to see/hear.

Pat Jeffers

WEBMASTER's MESSAGE

Although the 2007 Istanbul Bead Conference is over, I still feel obligated to keep the story current. Too many people were hurt by the organizer and events are still unfolding. Perhaps some justice will take place.

That is not to say everybody was hurt. Our Judith Schwab had a great time as she reports in her story: Fabulous International Conference"

Scott Bartky

BEAD CHALLENGE 2008

Black And White With "Beads And Bags Galore!

Here is your chance to make a ?beady? good statement--one you can carry with you where ever you go showing off your artistic talents and the BSGC great name.

Embellish one/or more of our BSGC black/white bags with beads (at least 25), fabric, paint, ribbons, yarn, feathers, you name it! Bags may be dismembered in the creative process! Don't have one of our famous BSGC black bags? Purchase one for $7.00 and receive $5.00 on return when you participate in the challenge on Thursday, Sept llth, 2008..

We are looking forward to your creative adventure..., you can even create matching hats and shoes! there are endless possibilities because black and white go with everything!

Bags available at the June 12th meeting or email jeffersdesign@aol.com

12th ART OF BEADWORK HAS A NEW LOCATION

Click here for a printable application form.

After hours of research and negotiations, the Art of Beadwork sale has a new location-the Skokie Banquet and Conference Center at the Holiday Inn Chicago North Shore. So mark your calendars now for Sunday, November 16, 2008 from 12-5pm.

Located just west of the Edens Expressway on Touhy Ave., the new venue will fill several of the criteria that we had in choosing a new location-accessibility, visibility and a more upscale image while still being in an area close to our current customers.

As many of our members know, the Art of Beadwork has been struggling to break even in recent years. Since the BSGC is not doing the fall Bead & Book Sale this year, we are trying to concentrate our efforts to make this sale a success. In addition to the new venue, we are trying to cut costs of printing and materials as well as the costs of mailing and PR with more online submissions to publications. At the same time we are planning on increasing in our advertising to the North Shore and northern Chicago areas. Our goal is to increase attendance so that sales can be increased for vendors as well as having a better chance of meeting our expenses.

As in past years, this non-juried sale highlights beautiful and artistic beaded work by talented BSGC artisan members. It features beaded works of jewelry, weaving, accessories, home decoration and sculpture created by new and experienced beaders alike. The Art of Beadwork has always been a good place to start for those new to selling their work and we plan to continue that mission.

Contact co-chairs Cindy McEwen or Phyllis Kaplan for more information or to volunteer to help on show day. Applications will be available at the next meeting or by contacting Cindy at macindy@mac.com. Sign up early to submit high quality images of your work for use on the promotional postcard and publicity. Only with good quality images will we be able to project a professional image to the public so please submit your photos early. Deadline is July 1.

We hope all members who have participated in the past will be selling again this year. Without your efforts, our sale cannot succeed.

SURVIVING AN ILLINOIS STATE TAX AUDIT

Two years ago I was audited by the State of Illinois sales tax division. It cost me over $14,000.00- $10,000.00+ for the state and $4,000.00 for the accountant, as it took over 3 months for them to “do the audit. As a result of talking to other store owners and artists I decided that I should pass on what I had learned.

First of all, do not assume that having a customer’s IBT (Illinois Business Tax) number is good enough. “If you have a copy of their Certificate of Registration, and it shows that they collect sales tax, you are ok. However, if they are a manufacturer and it does not show they collect tax, you have to prove they do not need to pay the tax. The only form you should have everyone fill out is the CRT-61 form, which can be downloaded from the State of Illinois website. “This form is what I call your “get out of jail free” form. It is good for 5 years, and with it you are not liable for any sales tax not collected from that person. “I also suggest that you put the IBT number on every sales receipt made with a wholesale customer or another store. If you are audited, they will not cross reference any records you have. Even if you keep a list of all your wholesale customers and their IBT numbers, they will want the information on each individual sales slip. All of this record keeping is not just for bead store owners, but for any wholesalers who are making or designing jewelry, or other items. If you are selling wholesale, such as to a store, some of the art centers, or items on consignment, you need to keep these records. If you sell wholesale, where they pay the sales tax- they will need to fill out the CRT-61 to prove that you do not need to collect the sales tax from them.

A second item a business owner should note is a little known fact. If you purchase items from out of state that are not resold - such as printer ink, paper products, light bulbs, computers and electronics- and no sales tax is collected from the state you purchased it from, you do have to pay Illinois sales tax on these items. On your ST-1 Sales and Use Tax Return line 12a is where you have to declare this.

Although I am not a CPA or an accountant, these two pieces of information would have saved me a lot of angst and money. I hope this information will be of help to all of you out there. Remember, whenever you are dealing with the government and they are looking for money, you are guilty until you prove yourself innocent.

Bob Dubinsky“Chelsea’s Beads div. Smart Creations Inc.

AROUND TOWN

Click here for local and nearby bead related events.

Checkout the Chicago Artists' Coalition calendar of events on their website http://www.caconline.org/calendar.asp for the latest goings on.

At 1:30 PM every Friday, WYCC (Channel 20) broadcasts a half hour jewelry making show.
     Beads, Baubles, and Jewels
     Education, Inspiration and Expression
     by Katie Hacker
     http://www.beadsbaublesandjewels.com/

If you don’t already know, Chicago’s Cultural Center, at Michigan and Randolph has many free exhibits going on all the time. Every Wednesday at 12:15 is the live Dame Myra Hess classical concert series and there are many free concerts during lunch time on other days of the week. Check it out! www.chicagoculturalcenter.org

AROUND THE MIDWEST

Jun 1-? Indianapolis Museum of Art, 4000 Michigan Road, Indianapolis, IN 46208-3326, T 317-920-2662, F 317-926-8931 "Textile and Fashion Arts". An exhibition of beaded bags and Oriental rugs. If you would like more information about this exhibition, contact Niloo Paydar, Curator of Indianapolis Museum of Art, nipaydar@imamuseum.com

The Chazan Museum in Madison, WI will host an exhibit of Judy Onofrio’s work from April 19 through June 29. The opening event will be held on May 9th. Judy’s web site, www.judyonofrio.com, has pictures of her large sculptures which are covered with pieces of glass, stone and beads. She is represented by the Leedy Gallery at SOFA every year. In April, 1999 Judy spoke to us about her work and the influence that grottos have had on her work. Interested in a field trip? Contact Judith Schwab.

The Racine Art Museum is devoted to contemporary American craft, has more than 3,000 objects in its permanent collection including the collection held by the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts. The Wustum campus is now home to the studio art program and exhibits by regional artists. The original collection was begun with a donation by Karen Johnson Boyd of the local Johnson's Wax family. For information about RAM, call 262-638-8300 or go to www.ramart.org.

The Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison offers workshops for jewelry making and, from time to time, beading lectures and demonstrations . For more information, call 608-264-6555 or to go www.wisconsinhistory.org/calendar (it's a bit hard to navigate but everything is listed).

EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY (and the World)

The Lapidary Journal publishes a very extensive list of events. The ones published here are at the specific request of the institution or submitted by BSGC members.


The Bead Museum in Glendale, AZ

The Bead Museum in Glendale, AZ was founded in 1984 by Gabrielle Liese and houses an international collection of over 100,000 beads and beaded artifacts. The museum features permanent and changing exhibitions, and education and outreach programs of lectures, tours, and classes for the visitor. Check out their website at www.thebeadmuseum.com
The Bead Society is a member of the Bead Museum in Glendale, AZ at the Millefiori level for bead societies and affiliates. The benefits include a 50% discounted museum admission for all bead society members and special recognition in the Bead Museum Quarterly. So if you are ever in Glendale, AZ, be sure to stop in this unique museum.


The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore

The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, a museum turning up in more and more articles, is the only one in this country dedicated entirely to outsider art” or the work of untrained artists who often have unconventional visions of art. There is an article in this issue about the museum and there is a picture of a beaded bed by Nancy Josephson entitled Bed for Damballah Wedo.” There is a new store associated with the museum started by the man who owns Uncle Fun in Chicago. If you have a taste for kitsch, you must find this place! It is one of a kind (or was and now there’s one in Baltimore.)


National Museum of the American Indian

National Museum of the American Indian, Washington D.C. The Museum is on the National Mall in D.C. Go to www.americanindian.si.edu or call 202-633-1000 for information.

SCHOOLS, CLASSES, WORKSHOPS & LECTURES

This is a new section which I added in June 2006. The reason was that there is a distinction in participation between an event (passive) and classes (active). Another reason was I recieved an e-mail on June 17 about some nice classes being offered in NJ starting June 23 which was too late for the June newsletter. Having a separate section will make it easier for me to update when I recieve the information and easier for you to keep track of additions


Pittsburgh Glass Center

The Pittsburgh Glass Center is a nonprofit, open and comprehensive glass art studio dedicated to teaching, creating and promoting glass art. Resident space is provided next door at their three-bedroom townhouse with a garden, fully equipped kitchen and laundry. This center which opened in 2001 has a resource library with an extensive collection of books, videos and magazines. The seminar room features a theatre projection system for viewing videos from their collection. Go to: www.pittsburghglasscenter.org. Call 412-365-2145. 5472 Penn Ave., Pitts. PA 15206.


Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

For info on classes go to www.haystack-mtn.org. Call 207-348-2306 or write Box 518A, Deer Isle ME, 04627.


John C. Campbell Folk School

The John C. Campbell Folk School was founded in 1925 as a collaboration of two progressive educators and an Appalachian community. The tradition is to provide information about the Appalachian and Cherokee history that surrounds the school as well as other cultures.

The Campbell Folk School is in Brasstown NC: One Folk School Road, Brasstown, NC 28902. 1-800-365-5724. www.folkschool.org.


Fletcher Farm School for the Arts and Crafts

Fletcher Farm School for the Arts and Crafts is offering a number of jewelry making classes this summer into the fall. This school located in Ludlow, VT will host classes in bead weaving, PMC, Native American Beading, Silver Fabrication and more. Call 802-228-8770 or visit website at www.fletcherfarm.org

MAGAZINES AND BOOKS

Some of you may have noticed that I have dropped the titles of "What's New in Magazine and Books" on the website as well as "What's New on the Web". In retrospect, I should have never used these titles in the first place when I started the website in 1998. Back then it was just a Herculean task to keep up with even the better new publications; now it is humanly impossible.

MAGAZINES

I was flipping through The Best of Beadwork 2006 by Interweave Press and noticed a familiar necklace. It’s the Undulating Necklace by Maxine Peretz Prange. By the time you read this, you may not find it at bead stores anymore but we do have one in the library. It’s a good magazine; I liked a number of the projects.

Ornament 2007 Thirtieth Anniversary Issue has a picture of a Valerie Hector bracelet and a master class by Kristina Logan, a glass bead maker extraordinaire. I’ve always referred to her as queen of the dots, though her beads are much more than the perfect dots she does make. The article also features work by Heather Trimlett whose beads, if you don’t already know and love them have always been at the Bead&Button show. If you like wire work, the article about Biba Schutz should inspire you. They devote a lot of attention to Craft in America, a 3-hour PBS special produced by Carol Sauvion and Kyra Thompson. It will air May 30, but if you are reading this too late, it will probably run several times. The first hour is entitled Memory and goes through the history of craftsmanship, placing some personal stories within a larger historical context. The second hour is Landscape, examining the relationship of artists and their surroundings—how our natural environment inspires us. The third hour, Community, delves into the social and spiritual context of craft. I hope you all get to see this.

BOOKS

The Bellevue Arts Museum (Bellevue, WA) has published the first in a series of monographs entitled David Chatt: Two Hands, Twenty Years and a Billion Beads. It includes an essay by curator Stefano Catalani which outlines the artist’s career and motivations and full-page color image’s of David’s beadwork. We have put a copy of it in the library, but if you wish to order one for your own, call 425-519-0770.

The Beader’s Companion: Revised Edition replaces the 1998 version edited by Judith Durant & Jean Campbell. This full-color version has updated product information and additional off-loom stitch information plus knitting and crocheting instructions.

The Beaded Garden, Creating Flowers with Beads and Threads by Diane Fitzgerald . This is another very good job by Diane who has written this book to show how-to-make flowers with beads and threads instead of the traditional wire. The instructions for the common off-loom beading stitches are clear, the pictures beautiful and the flowers lovely.

Getting Started Making Wire Jewelry by Linda Chandler and Christine Ritchey is the second in the Interweave Getting Started Series. This introduction offers shopping tips, problem solving and goes on to wire elements and techniques. Included are basic jewelry components including jump rings, basic bead loops, wrapped bead loops, clasps. Dianna Mooses who does a lot of wire work and looks over all the new books said that this one has new ideas and is worth inspecting, if not buying.

Beading for the Soul: Inspired Designs from 23 Contemporary Artists by Deborah Canarella has a variety of designs of non-jewelry beadwork, such as fetish bags by David Dean, prayer packets by Sonya Clark, Chinese good fortune pouch by Helen Banes and more. The dedication reads, For all the artists, who agreed to explore the sacred meaning of their lives and their work—and for all those inspired to do the same. Chapter One is Beading for Protection and in the section on Beading for Remembrance, Diane Fitzgerald discusses her Personal Symbol Neckband. There are 26 projects which include a wide-range of techniques. No matter what a person believes about the power of beads—their protecting or healing abilities, their ceremonial or cultural significance, or just their beauty as personal adornment—Beading for the Soul offers great projects that are sure to inspire an artist’s own creativity and self-expression.”

100 Beaded Jewelry Designs by Stephanie Burnham describes itself as "easy-to-bead adornments for all occasions and seasons". Of the many beading techniques presented, the off-loom ideas are the most interesting.

Beads of Glass by Cindy Jenkins is now in print. It features 60 exciting step-by-step techniques fully illustrated with detailed color photographs, 42 biographical sketches and portraits, and an eye-popping gallery of some of the finest and freshest glass beads from around the world. 152 pages, hard cover.

Valerie Hector's The Art of Beadwork is out. This book, integrating the past and the present, is part history and part how-to to. It features 160 color images of beadwork from around the world-Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East. Historic masterpieces from the world's finest museums are included. Valerie focuses on "Inspiration, the most elusive and essential of creative forces." She asks: "What do these fantastic global beadworking traditions mean to us in the early 21st century? Can they inspire us to move beyond what we have already made? Can they teach us about the history of the medium we love best?" The following artists have answered yes and each has chosen a particular historical piece of beadwork and created a wearable piece response to its use of color, form, technique, or symbolic content for the book. Artists' instructions are included. Our own JoAnn Baumann, NanC Meinhardt, and Laura Shea are in the book in addition to: Joyce Scott, Flora Book, Jacqueline Lillie, Mary Kanda, David Chatt, Madelyn Ricks, Don Pierce, Diane Fitzgerald, Wendy Ellswork, Karen Paust and Virginia Blakelock.

The Pearl Book: The Definitive Buying Guide 2nd Edition, How to Select, Buy, Care for & Enjoy Pearls has been donated to our library by Eve Alfille. She showed her generosity during her talk at our September meeting and continues to do so. If you have not been to her gallery, go; it's beautiful and Eve is a marvelous goldsmith and jewelry designer.

Beadwork Creates Earrings edited by Jean Campbell of Interweave Press is the most recent in the series of tall thin project books, which include necklaces, bracelets, beads, rings, etc. This one has a nice variety of beaded techniques and wire-worked projects. There are tassels, a variety of uses of chain, chandelier earrings in a fun assortment of styles.

Beadwork Creates Necklaces and Beadwork Creates Bracelets, both by Jean Campbell of Interweave Press (and Beadwork Magazine) have been added to our library, donated by Interweave Press in exchange for a book review in our newsletter. They are an usual shape, 10"x 4 1/4", which might be a good shape for tucking to your side while you work on one of the designs in the book.
Each book has 30 designs and the "...projects are original pieces created by innovative bead artists," says Campbell. "They feature a variety of techniques... many of them are also possible to complete in an evening or over the weekend, providing instant gratification." The full color illustrations are clear and the directions look good. There are a variety of projects: wire, crochet, stringing, netting, loom, herringbone and gourd stitches, etc. Although they were designed especially for the new beader, the projects are varied and interesting enough so that the books are being bought by experienced beaders also. They are $16.95 each; check out the library copies.

Beadwork Creates Beaded Beads edited by Jean Campbell of Interweave Press. According to Jean, A beaded bead is simply a bead covered with beads or one made solely out of beads, similar to a miniature sculpture with a hole in it. They work up quickly and are much like potato chips-you can't make just one. She says that many of the 30 bead designs can be completed in less than 30 minutes.
There's a nice variety of beads in the book, from small to large, from simple beads to be used as accents, to large important focal beads. They are round, square, free form, wild, sedate and regal. Many different stitches are used and several use wire rather than thread.

CALL FOR ARTISTS, LECTURERS, TEACHERS, ...

"Celebrating Beads: the journey of" is the Bead Museum in Washington D.C's first annual juried design competition Entries will be accepted until July 25, 2008 by mail and August 8 by internet. For details and entry forms goto www.bsgw.org/CelebratingBeads
This international contest celebrates the journey of beads, recognizing bead artistry as a true art form. The tope three pieces in each category and level will be showcased in an exhibit "Celebrating Beads, the journey of" at the Bead Museum in CD from 9/21-12/31 2008.
There are 12 media categories: clay, fiber/textile, gemstones, glass, lampwork/dichoric (handmade), manmade materials (inorganic), metal, mixed media, organic materials, seed beads, Swarovski crystal and trade/ethnic beads. This contest is open to everyone: professional, hobbyist/amateur and students; each level to be judged separately.

Caravan Beads of Chicago and Briolette Beads and More in Forest Park are looking for instructors. If you have a design or project or just like to teach the basics of beading, we’d love to have you teach for us.. Contact Charlene at beadgirl@gmail.com

MEMBERS' NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS:

Member Vanessa Walilko’s piece “Phoenix Reborn” won the Gold Medal in the Freeform Expression category in Fire Mountain Gems’ annual contest. It will be in featured in their catalog plus Vanessa won a $100 gift certificate to FMG. The winning piece can currently be seen on Vanessa’s website: www.gianessadesigns.com/gallery.html

The Spotlight page of the October issue of Bead & Button magazine featured a bead made by Cindy McEwen. The green bead, part of her Cinderella Night series, was incorporated into a finished necklace made by B&B editor Anna Draeger. There was a photo of the piece and a short bio of Cindy.

Virginia Brubaker has two beautiful objects that are being seen in prestigious art venues. One is a beaded wine glass; that is, she used the wine glass base and stem to bead over, but the goblet, in the shape of a white-tipped red tulip, is actually free standing. The second object is a teapot which she made out of wood. It has a beaded spout and features beaded portraits of Ghandi and Mandela on each side.

Donna Fromhagen is excited to announce that she is a finalist in the Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Annual Beading Contest. Her piece, Summer Whites, is in the Organic Inspirations category. To be eligible for the Grand Prizes and $1,000 Fire Mountain Gems gift certificate, Donna had to send her piece to Grants Pass, Oregon, for judging and photography. Her piece may be featured in upcoming catalogs and back cover advertisements, and may win the prize!

Virginia Brubaker’s beautiful goblet was in The Goblet Redefined, a show at Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge, MA. Mobilia took their goblet show to SOFA NY in June. This same goblet has been accepted for Bead International 2008. The teapot with images of Ghandi and Mandela was in Mobilia’s The Teapot Redefined show this fall. The show can also be seen at mobilia-gallery.com.

Cindy McEwen was featured in Bead & Button’s online magazine in July in the article “Torch Time: A Lesson in Lampworking.” Cindy taught a beginning lampwork beadmaking class to five Bead & Button editors at member Portia Mandel’s Gathering Place Studio in May. They each give their perspectives and insights as a result of their experiences at the torch. The article also featured photos of the class and some resulting beads, but alas, as of July 30, could not be found on the Bead & Button website.

Vonna Maslanka won a scholarship to the 2007 Gathering, July 26-20 in Minneapolis MN. The scholarship was awarded to her by The International Society of Glass Beadmakers check out: http://www.isgb.org/

BOOK SALES

We hold three book sales a year. As a current member, you always get a 10% discount and never pay tax. We buy the most books for the September Book Sale held at the Midwest Conference Center. At this show, you need your membership card to get into the show free and also to buy books at the discount. We try to have all the new books and the important older books at this sale.

We have a book sale as part of the December party. Come early to look at the books and consider buying some as gifts for other beaders. For this event and the spring book sale we tend to buy only the new books, and not restock the older ones. The spring book sale is held at the May or June meeting at the church building, depending upon the programs. Since the books are so heavy we do not carry them into the basement at the spring sale, we only bring the sale books to the September and December programs. The date of the spring sale is listed in the schedule of programs.

RECENT BSGC LIBRARY ADDITIONS

The library has recently received three new books published by Interweave Press. All have been reviewed by Patty Wanniger
      Beading on Fabric: Review Encyclopedia of Bead Stitch Techniques, by Larkin Jean Van Horn. Interweave Press, c2006.
      Beader's Stash: Review Designs from America's Favorite Bead Shops, by Laura Levaas. Interweave Press, c2006.
      Beaded Weddings: Review 75+ Fabulous Ideas for Jewelry, Invitations, Reception Décor, Gifts, and More, by Jean Campbell. Interweave Press, c2006.

A World of Bracelets: Africa, Asia, Oceania, America by Anne van Cutsem, A World of Necklaces: Africa, Asia, America by Ann Leurquin and A World of Rings: Africa, Asia, America by Anne van Cutsem. We already have A World of Earrings: Africa, Asia, America also by Ann van Cutsem. We want you to be aware of these big and beautiful coffee-table type books because each offers such a luscious array of design ideas, old and new, from near and far, that it would be a shame if each of you didn’t at least open these books to see if they inspire you. The earring book includes so many materials and shapes that inspiration would seem to have to follow. We’re guessing that the others will follow suit. These books come from the Ghysels Collection. There are reviews of each of these books (each written by a different artist) in Art Jewelry September 2005.

We also have a new DVD: World on a String, The Eternal Bead Part One. This sumptuous DVD was produced by Diana Friedberg, member of The Bead Society (LA) with some financial backing and a lot of support from them. It has some of our favorites talking: Robert Liu, Jamey Allen and others we should get to know: James Lankton and John Picard. It is beautifully photographed, well narrated and goes back in time many thousands of years. There is a long passage about current African use of beads and I would guess that Part Two, which I do look forward to, will cover more of current Europe, Asia and American uses of beads. The video made me feel very good to belong to this most important world of beads. We will try to get some to sell at the September bead sale.

BEADERS DAY OUT

We have changed the location of our meeting place. We still meet on the 3rd Saturday of the Month (the 2nd Saturday for December only) from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm at the Chicago Police Department Headquarter’s Building - Multi-Purpose Room, 3510 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60629. The new location is 3 blocks east of Sox Park on 35th Street at Michigan Avenue. If anyone needs directions, contact Laura Bak.

SHOPPING AT MEETINGS:

In certain instances speakers may sell their wares at meetings. Specific information will be available at meetings and in newsletters.

TAPING AND PHOTOGRAPHS:

Taking photographs, or taping lectures or workshops is not allowed without the expressed permission of the teacher or lecturer.

CELL PHONES:

Please turn your cell phones off when you come to a meeting.

MEMBERS' DISCOUNTS:

Almost all of the stores owned by members in the greater Chicago area and a number of designers offer a discount of 10% to members of BSGC with valid membership cards. See the Stores/Services page

HOSPITALITY:

Please bring goodies to a meeting! We always need hot and cold cups, napkins and plates in addition to healthy food such as veggies and fruit. If your last name begins with A, B and C, you are responsible for September's meeting, D, E and F for October's meeting, and G, H, and I for November. Of course, anyone can bring food at any time. December's meeting will be catered; just bring auction and raffle donations, please. J, K and L are up for January; M, N, and O for February; P, Q and R for March; S and T for April; U, V and W for May; and X, Y and Z for June.

FOUND ON THE WEB


ONLINE DIRECTORY OF BEAD SHOPShttp://directory.beadingdaily.com/listing/

Interweave's "Beading Daily" publication of bead shops, societies, and wholesalers. Free listing availble.

The free listing is essentially worthless in that it only lists the name, address and phone - no other contact information. You have to pay $99/year to get your website and e-mail listed. Yet another example of private equity taking over Lapidary Journal as before the society listing with all contact info was free.

BEAD & BUTTON INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS www.beaducation.com

Bead&Button, February 2008 has a notice that www.beaducation.com is offering instructional online videos taught by Laura McCabe, Lisa Niven Kelly, Dallas Lovett and others. Some classes are free and others range in price from $12-38 each. You get to keep a video for up to two weeks, viewing it as “often as you wish. The classes for which you pay come with PDF instructions.


INTERWEAVE PRESS' BEAD BLOG http://www.BeadingDaily.com

A new online beading community, library of free beading and jewelry-making projects, daily blog, and e-newsletter from the publisher of Beadwork, Step by Step Beads, Step by Step Wire Jewelry, and Stringing magazines.”


JEWELRY BUSINESS SUCCESS NEWS http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com

Rena Klingenberg’s tips for making your home-based jewelry business a success. She features various artists and has sections on display, packaging, party and show tips, consigning jewelry, and more.


BEADING SHOPS - MAPMUSE.COM http://find.mapmuse.com/re1/interest.php?brandID=BEADING_SHOPS

A rather ambitious attempt to interactively list and locate bead shops and bead clubs all around the USA. The listing is free for bead shops, and bead clubs.
It is still in its infancy with only 9 shops listed in the greater (20mi) Chicago area.


THE ANNEALER MAGAZINE An E-zine http://www.theannealermagazine.com/

Claims to be the only venue on the net dedicated to self-representing glass artists and lampwork jewelry designers.
Not completely true. As of 9/7/06, 1,901 glass artists with 82,365 pictures of their work can be found at http://www.glassartists.org/ The site has represented glass artists for years.


INTERNATIONAL BEAD EXPO ANNOUNCES A NEW E-NEWSLETTER

As the new producer of the International Bead Expo, Beadwork magazine annouces a new e-newsletter. The first issue is an update on the Expo’s workshops, events, bazaar and more. Whether future updates will contain more scholarly articles remains to be seen. You may sign up for the e-newsletter at http://www.beadexpo.com/newsletter.asp


THE PEARL SOCIETY HAS A BLOG:

www.pearlsociety.typepad.com Eve Alfille has begun this blog to share her pearl related information, musings and news. She also includes running commentary of the riches on display at the various trade shows she attends. There are meetings of The Pearl Society every couple of months, so call 847-869-7920 for information.

BEADS-L THE ONLINE BEAD KNOWLEDGEBASE PROJECT

Stephany Tomalin brought us the following information regarding BEADS-L THE ONLINE BEAD KNOWLEDGEBASE PROJECT.

The informational flyer reads: For Researchers, Collectors, Curators, Conservators, Antique Jewellery Dealers, Students, Design Historians, etc. The Idea: Beads-L was started in USA by Deborah Zinn 3 years ago who formulated the idea of creating an online Interactive Bead Database which could be accessed and might also receive contributions of data from its users. (The L stands for List)

The Email Discussion Forum, Beads-L, discusses beads from a research viewpoint. It does not cover topics concerning techniques or projects. All messages posted by members are delivered to all, any of whom may reply. At present there are "threads" (ongoing discussions) covering Ojime, lacquer beads, prosser moulded beads, Roman and Islamic glass beads, fakes from the Middle East, excavations of native American sites, faience, Irish bog oak beads, shell beads, and so on.

Membership costs nothing at this stage. All 100+ members are listed and known only by their real names. Messages are not too long as every word of every message is archived. (JPEGS of 72dpi can be included if it helps the discussion, or links to illustrations of any size on other webpages.) Members can choose the digest option, and only receive one email per day with all messages together.

Deborah Zinn and Stefany Tomalin are joint moderators. To join, please email either Deborah Zinn at dzinn@werple.net.au or Stefany Tomalin, StefanytomalinBeads@compuserve.Com; or, use the link given on the website: http://home.attbi.com/~judvan/ or http://home.ease.lsoft.com/Archives/Beads-L.html.

BEADERS' ETHICS

by Mindy Brooks - Editor of Bead&Button

When, if ever, is it acceptable to sell or teach another person’s designs? That’s a question we hear frequently at Bead&Button, and it tells us that many of our readers care about the ethical and legal issues involved when it comes to the money-making aspects of beading. Unfortunately, we also have firsthand experience with beading’s darker side – the dishonest few who cause heartache and financial harm by cashing in on another person’s original work. And when unethical people profit from ideas that don’t belong to them, it hurts us all. Maybe it was inevitable that as beading became more popular, people would look for shortcuts to exploit the growing number of lucrative opportunities, and maybe there is nothing one editor or one editorial can do to change that. So, it’s gratifying to know that my concerns about the ethics of beading are shared by the editors of other beading magazines, including Cathy Jakicic of BeadStyle, Marlene Blessing of Beadwork, Pamela Hawkins of BeadUnique, and Leslie Rogalski of Step by Step Beads. They will also be covering this topic in upcoming issues of their publications. To address the question presented at the start of this editorial, Bead&Button’s position on copying designs is as follows:
  1. It is unethical to copy an artist’s work to sell without the artist’s permission.
  2. It is unethical to copy any work that has appeared in a magazine, book, or website and represent it in any venue as an original design.
  3. It is unethical to teach a beading project that has appeared in a magazine, book, or website without the artist’s permission.
  4. It is unethical to teach a beading project learned in another teacher’s class without the teacher’s permission.
The above was taken from the June 2006 issue and is copyright-free.

NOTES ON BECOMING A VOLUNTEER

by Nan Roche

As a long time volunteer to many different organizations, I'd like to offer a view of the subject that is somewhat different than you usually hear.

Are you one of the many people that shudders every time you are at a meeting and asked to help out with something? We are all so busy with our lives and there are demands made on our time from all sides, friends and family, children, jobs. At times (most times) it seems overwhelming. You think, PLEASE don't ask me to add one more thing to my work load. Do you ask yourself, how on earth do the other folks DO it and most importantly, WHY?

This line of inquiry reveals the underlying attitude towards doing something for nothing (note the word NOTHING) it's WORK, it takes valuable TIME and it may be THANKLESS. But there is another way to look at it.

It seems that in all volunteer organizations and cooperatives, there are a few fools that do most of the labor of running the group. There is often a bit of disgruntlement among these fools about the lack of volunteer spirit offered by the rest of the group. Occasionally, they lose control and berate the others for their lack of altruism and use guilt, threats and lures to get the others to join in. This never works. Again, there is the assumption that volunteerism is doing-something-for-nothing. One can get into the topics of virtue and obligation and the afterlife, but I will stop short of these slippery slopes.

Anyone who volunteers knows that it is anything BUT something for nothing. Volunteers are not FOOLSquite the contrary. People who have not tried it are missing a lota treasure trove of learning and opportunity that you will carry with you the rest of your life. The jobs and tasks of your life constrain you as well as sustain you. In your workaday life, once you learn a job and perform it well, it becomes harder and harder to move into a new task. The risks and the time are just not taken. But a volunteer job will give you the support and backing, take a risk on you and your ideas, in a way that no paying job will do. It's a chance to test out your abilities before you change jobs, to challenge your mind and put forth your creativity into the world. I find that new, formerly hidden opportunities emerge faster than I can make use of them. Volunteering opens you up, stretches your mind and often leads to non-volunteer opportunities that you would not have had before or that you may not have been prepared for.

As a long time volunteer for the Bead Society and other organizations, I have learned how to establish a library, run a small business, operate a computer and set up and manage a database, work co-operatively (most of the time) on a board, organize sales, workshops and conference events. I have made friends with artists and bead collectors all over the country. I have made contacts in the book and publishing world and in a way my opportunity to write my book came in part from my involvement with the Bead Society. I have had the opportunity to meet, work with, and learn from so many wonderful people in this Society and around the country, I had no prior experience with any of these tasks. The Bead Society took a chance on me. The gifts I have received of knowledge, opportunity and good fortune are far beyond any I could have expected. Volunteering put me in that path.

If you want to stretch and change gears, try out a new skill or idea, need some success strokes or are looking for challengetry volunteering! It worked for me. It could be just the ticket for you.

Reprinted from the newsletter of the Bead Society of Greater Washington with permission from the Board of Directors. Copyright, 1997 BSGW.

WHAT DO YOU PASS ON FROM A CLASS?

From Polyinformer, National Polymer Clay Guild newsletter, vol 13, #2
This was taken from an article by Meredith Arnold.

The question at hand is how much of a class one has taken is to be passed on. An originator is defined here as the person recognized for bringing a technique or process into being. The similarities to the bead world are obvious.

A few years ago, some polymer clay teachers had a conference and a consensus was reached. The general consensus of this meeting of minds was that once an originator has published original techniques or processes, they become part of the public domain. Control over that information is lost, as is the ability to solely teach the original techniques.

This delineation makes sense since many teachers in other disciplines learn what they teach from reading books.

Still, there is an element I call 'ethical respect.' Ethical respect dictates that one doesn't share techniques learned for as long as the originator is still making a living teaching them. This helps to ensure that the creative originators can make a living from their innovations. As long as they can make that ever-important living, we will continue to have a high-quality pool of instructors in our polymer clay community. If they feel ripped off, they will stop sharing their inventions.

WAYS TO LEARN FROM COFFEE TABLE BEADING BOOKS

by Virginia Brubaker

When I first started beading, I was looking for books with explicit instructions, simple projects that applied the basic stitches to something interesting, and information about different kinds of beads and how to use them. I still look for books like that to learn something new; for me right now I could profit from such a book on bead crochet or right-angle weave. But the books I love the most, the books I keep coming back to, are the books of amazing bead art. These are sometimes the catalogs of competitions, like the delica bead contests, or the Best of Contemporary Beadwork/Bead International books. Sometimes they are collections of wonderful beaded stuff that has been juried by one or more bead artists, like the brand new 500 Beaded Objects from Lark Books which was juried by Carol Wilcox Wells. The first time through these books is just to generally admire the body of work (I try not to drool on the book), then I go back again and further admire individual pieces. Those that draw my eye get extra attention as I look closely at the details of how the piece was put together, or what kinds of beads were used, or how the colors blend or contrast. After that, the book usually goes on the shelf. But it doesn't stay there. I use my collection of such books as a virtual museum, where I can sneak in after closing and put my nose right up close to the beadwork and really look at the work. I go back to the books either in search of inspiration or to get answers to specific questions. Here are the kind of questions I ask myself to learn more as I go through these books:

1. Photography. How did the artists photograph their work? Who used plain black or white backgrounds? Who used graduated backgrounds? Who used fabric or stone or something else as a background? How well did the chosen background go with that particular piece? What angle did they shoot from? Did they include the whole piece in the photo, or crop some out? How did they pose necklaces or other jewelry?

2. Use of color. What pieces pop out at me because of their color? How do the artists' color choices support or distract from the subject of their work? How does the artist blend colors? (Get out your magnifying glass if necessary and study the seemingly flat surfaces in the works of Laura Willits.) How much power does an artist get from a really limited palette of colors? How do the color choices reflect traditional color-wheel schemes?

3. Different treatment of similar subjects. If you have ever wondered who first decided to try eating crayfish or oysters, you might also get curious about how someone thought of using beads in various geometries, or even of trying to depict something like moving water with beads. If you have a general subject in mind, like flowers, or forests, or people, or pets, take a look at how others have handled that subject matter, and notice what ideas you would like to use, and how their interpretation isn't quite what you had in mind.

4. Presenting your work. Not all of the pictures show you how the artist has solved the problem of mounting and displaying the work, but study those that do so. Did they build a stand, put it in a frame, drape it over something, or what?

5. Using different stitches for different effects. Make your own assessment, based on the photos in the books, of how small you can depict a certain subject and still have it look good. In loom-woven seed bead panels, for example, look not just at the main subject, but also at the smaller stuff in the background.

6. Play games with yourself (or others). Cover up the description and try to guess the size of the object in the picture. Guess what size or type of beads they used. Guess which bead purveyor sells the largest percentage of those beads. Okay, if you can get this one right you are spending way too much time at the bead stores or catalogs or websites and not enough time beading. Get back to work.

OUR MEETING SPACE

ST. JOSEPH PARISH
CHURCH LIFE PARISH BUILDING, 5000 N. CUMBERLAND.

Our meeting room is located in the small building north of the St. Joseph Church and immediately south of the parking lot where Dapper's Restaurant is located. There is a small parking lot immediately north of the building and a large lot in the back of the church. There is some perpendicular parking next to the building which we have designated parking only for those with handicapped stickers or those who have trouble walking very far. There are enough spaces so there won't be a problem if the spaces are used only by those who need them. Please be considerate.

This space provides us wonderful opportunities to expand our membership and also to save wear and tear on those who have been schlepping supplies back and forth.

We will use the side door on the South side of the buildng. This door leads to a short stairway going down which will take you right into the meeting hall. Sign-in will be just inside that entrance.

This space has storage space for our library books, AV equipment, bead sale books, refreshment staples, etc. We have two rooms separated by a folding door. We will have a lot of space in the first for registration, snacks, library and visiting and enough space and chairs for our program in the second.

We are expected to clean up after ourselves, as we do now. We will probably have to set-up chairs, so if you are able, come early and help with set-up and/or stay a little late and help with clean-up.

DECEMBER HOLIDAY DINNER, BOOK SALE, RAFFLE, AND SILENT AUCTION

This multievent which takes place at the White Eagle, 6845 N. Milwaukee, Niles, is a BSGC fundraiser. The book sale begins at 6:00pm and the buffet dinner at about 7pm. The silent auction begins when everything is out to display. The raffle consists of donated beaded items with a retail value of $75.00 or more.

BEAD CHALLENGE

The bead challenge is an annual event where members create a bead related work based upon a given theme. The theme, instructions and tags are now given out at the March (instead of May) meeting and are also available at the April, May and June meetings. You now have a longer time to work on it and for those of you for which Summer may have been a problem, you now have the spring too.

The finished work is due back at the September meeting where winners are chosen.

The entries are put on display at our annual Bead and Book Sale where attendees also vote on their favorites. The Bead Challenge has become a favorite part of the Bead & Book Sale. Many people come to look at the entries year after year.

For those of you who are willing, we will put photographs of your submitted pieces on our web site. The registration form will have a place to sign for permission to do so.

If you have participated in the past and wish to encourage others to do the same, please bring your entry to a meeting and show it off.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
  1. Instructions, tags, boxes etc. will be available at the March through June meetings.
  2. Only current members of BSGC are eligible and may enter only once. Each person in a family membership may enter.
  3. The piece is to be started after the March meeting.
  4. The piece is due back at the September meeting.
  5. Fifty percent of the work done is to be beadwork or consist of beads.

TOOT YOUR OWN HORN

At the sign-in table will be a form called "Toot Your Own Horn". We would like to know about your awards, shows, publications and special teaching assignments. Sometimes we hear about it, sometimes we don't. Fill out the form and give it to a board member and we will include this information in the next newsletter. We are proud of you - let's share the news!

SUGGESTION BOX

The board has created a suggestion box to be placed on the registration table at meetings. We will have pieces of paper nearby so if you have a thought, a suggestion, or a question about anything, write it down and put it in the box. Signed notes are always appreciated but if you don't want to, that's fine. If you have concerns, suggestions, questions, etc., you may also talk to the board member of your choice at a meeting or remember it and bring it up at the January discussion meeting. Please note that all board members want to know more from you.

LIBRARY

BSGC LENDING LIBRARY REGULATIONS


The Library operates during all regular monthly meetings except December and June, or any meeting at which there is a book sale.
  1. Current members may take out books, magazines and videos. Please show your membership card.
  2. A member may borrow two items at a time.
  3. All items are due at the meeting following the one at which the items were borrowed. Fines of $1 per item are imposed for each book and magazine and $2 per video per month.
    Books taken out in November are due at the January meeting, but you are welcome to return them at the December party. Books taken out in May are due at the June meeting. You may not keep them over the summer. Books may be mailed to the librarian within one week after next meeting to avoid fines.
  4. Members accept the responsibility for reimbursing BSGC for lost or damaged items at a value determined by the librarian.
  5. Members should sign and date the card contained in each item and give it to the librarian. Items being returned are to be placed in the box indicated. If fines are due, please give item and funds to the librarian.
  6. When items are overdue, reminders may be sent. Violation of library regulations may result in revocation of membership.

CHATAIN FUND

As we mentioned in the last issue, BSGC has received a generous gift from Laura Chatain to start a fund "to be given in whole or part to the next person who needs it for medical expenses, or any other type of 'real need'." Laura's generosity is a reciprocation of BSGC members' gifts to Laura at a time when her late husband was ill and uninsured. The BSGC board is creating such a fund and will keep you updated as the details develop.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS

One scholarship place is held for a member in each workshop for up to two months before the workshop. If you wish to apply, please compose a brief statement as to how the particular workshop for which you are applying would benefit the work you are doing or would like to do. Also indicate in general terms why the full cost of the workshop would be difficult to incur. Specific financial information is not required and all information will be kept confidential. E-mail your request to info@bsgc.org or mail it to our POBox:
Bead Society of Greater Chicago
P.O. Box 8103
Wilmette, IL 60091-8103

BSGC also awards grants for the study of beads and beadwork. If you would like to look closely at historic pieces or better understand something new and the written results of your investigation will add to the knowledge of beads or beadwork, write BSGC, PBX 8103, Wilmette IL 60091-8103 or e-mail info@bsgc.org. There is no particular deadline for an application.