Bead Oasis first time in Halifax, NS

Textured Net class photo by CTV reporter

Day I: These ladies definitely enjoyed my Netting Intro class at the Canadian Bead Oasis Show. They got to choose their style from an assortment of beadwork kits so we could get right to learning about beadweaving and the technique. We were thrilled to be filmed while beading during class and then again at the end when one student gave feedback about the workshop. CTV ran this with their feature about the first bead show ever coming to Halifax on "Live at Five".

Jean and Maria showing off their 'V's

Day 3: Jean wears her Scythian Gold V necklace which she started in a 3-hour Friday afternoon class. On Saturday she brought in the embellished mirror image of what she began the day before to my Cascading Twig Chip class. Since the bulk was done, I joked about completing the whole thing for the end of the show. That evening Jean managed to finish the netted bands and make a beaded ball clasp for her necklace. Here she is wearing the finished piece on Sunday. That's determination... inspiration...

Lighthouse at Peggy's Cove, NS

It wasn't all hard work in the Maritimes.... I went on the Harbour Hopper Tour on Saturday evening. We got a chance to see Peggy's Cove before and after the show. There were rocks to climb, quaint coves and a tidal bore to see. Now there's a ton of photos to sort through but excellent memories of the spectacular scenery.

Beaded Eggs & Greeting Cards

Beaded Eggs by Vira Pavlova-Witkowska, Lviv, Ukraine

as seen in "A Conversation on Ukrainian-Style Beadwork with Maria Rypan",

BEADWORK, Oct/Nov 2009

Best wishes for a Happy and Blessed Easter full of peace, health and God's blessings. May you enjoy a springtime full of creativity.

Last week I created a greeting card with the above image as an Easter/note card. There were a lot of people to thank in the past two months of travel and presentations, bead shows and workshops. Alberta Council for Ukrainian Arts (ACUA), Edmonton and all the museums; Kule Folklore Centre at the University of Alberta, Grand River Beads and Gift Gallery, OH; Beads N'More and Hall of Fame Bead Guild, OH; GLBG, MI; Canadian Oasis Shows to name a few.

If you'd like to purchased beaded eggs or cards, please let me know. I have a few of Vira's eggs, as well as cards for sale. This just could be a start of a new line...

Happy Easter,

Maria

Rypan Designs in Dutch newspaper

What a thrill it was to hear back from Sandra once she returned home to Holland! In her quest to learn everything she possibly could about beadwork, Sandra found the Oasis Bead Show on the internet. She came to Toronto specifically for the show and managed to cram in seven workshops in the space of three days. As her first "teacher", I was proud of her accomplishments in my "Suspended Swags" beadweaving class and gave her a copy of my BEADWORK Oct/Nov 2009 as a souvenir.

After a brief visit to New York City with bags full of tools and beads, Sandra delivered on her promise of getting her story about her beadwork odyssey published in a Dutch newspaper. Here's the intro in translation:

"Sandra's Atelier/Sieradenparadijs has already got a good name on beautifull and her exclusive jewelry, but Sandra is always looking for new posibilities to make the new trends and techniques fit in collection......"

Visit Sieraden Paradijs. Engage the translator. Better still, the eye candy needs no translation.