Bead & Jewelry Linky Love

Hi there. I hope everyone had a great July 4th. It was a little drizzly where we were, but the Short One still managed to take a fun July 4th train ride at our local festival (barely: like idiots, H. and I took the SO but forgot to take any cash - after spending a half hour to find parking, we discovered we had about $3.00 between us). The SO saw a few fireworks from our house but wasn't terribly interested in them and decided he'd rather go to bed. Next year, maybe.

Above is a necklace I made last year using one of Sarah Moran's beads and one of my fine silver buttons for a clasp. As you may guess, it's called "Firecracker."

Here are you intriguing links for the week:

About.com Jewelry Making
Heard about copper clay or coppr clay? Find out more about this great new metal clay product and check out some new metal clay projects too.

Beading Arts
Cyndi reports on her experiences with firing and finishing CopprClay pieces. This stuff rocks!

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
Cindy learns to make murrini and deals with mud.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi tries Ice Resin and upcycles a greeting card into a necklace.

Art Bead Scene
Art Bead Scene gets creative with the "Best of ABS."

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Instead of continuing on with the tried and true techniques of jewelry design, Lorelei is finally ready to take the leap and try something new.

Barbe Saint John - New Jewelry from Forgotten Artifacts
Sometimes you need to have a jewelry makeover

Humblebeads
Bead & Button stash and Heather's inspired creations

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean gets her cool stash from Use the Muse II, and muses about it

Jean Campbell
Jean gives a sneak peek of her next Beadwork magazine piece

Katie's Beading Blog
Check out Katie's wire-wrapped dragonfly!

A Bead A Day
Do you love Swarovski Crystals? Inspired by talented jewelry designer, Lillian Chen, Lisa creates a Swarovski "sculpture" ring.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Even without a lot of time on her hands, Melanie finishes a clockwork themed bracelet using Swarovski faceted rings from ArtBeads.com

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Stop by and say hello to Andrew in Charlotte, NC this weekend. Check out his new designs and some delicious new metal clay coins!

Strands of Beads
Melissa wants to know what outrageous materials are in your beading stash?

Well, the cauliflower was quite tasty

H (coming in from the garden with a nice head of cauliflower and a couple..weeds?): Here.
Me (squinting): What is this?
H (offended): They're carrots!
Me: ...Uh...Dear...

(For the record, I did wash them and put them in the crisper. A small issue to maintain marital harmony, right?)

Have a great weekend.

Shameless Self-Promotion: Creative Jewelry

I just received my advance copies of Creative Jewelry, Interweave's big annual publication, in the mail today. I have two necklace and two bracelet projects in this issue. The magazine looks great! I'm particularly pleased with the photos of a bracelet I made with Sarah Moran's lampworked beads. My other projects include, well, my own Dragon Heart pendant and Stop Traffic charms, a mermaid button from Green Girl Studios and a porcelain shell bead by Joan Miller. On newsstands now!

He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

- William Butler Yeats

(I've been reading a lot of poetry lately - can you tell? I have this feeling I've posted this poem to the blog before, but I've been thinking about it again, so... The photo is another wedding trip one, also from our first morning in Hawaii.)

C is for Copyright Office

Okay, I pretty much never put my lawyer's hat on when I'm writing in this blog for a variety of truly tedious reasons, and I don't really intend to start here. However, there has been an artists' movement in the beadosphere lately to discuss copyright issues, and I thought I would tack on an addendum to this discussion to share some very simple information with you.

I am not currently practicing, as I am staying home with the Short One right now, but I am an intellectual property lawyer by training. In the years B.S.O. ("Before Short One"), I used to field calls periodically for people looking for information on copyright registrations. I realize that not everyone knows where to find this basic data, so I'm going to offer it to you here. Naturally, the following applies specifically to U.S. copyright law.

As you may already know, you do not need a registration to claim copyright in your original work. However, there are certain benefits to registration, and if, after reading other posts about copyright issues, you are interested in finding out more about the process and legal rights you may be entitled to claim in your work, there is a very easy place for you to go to learn more - the U.S. Copyright Office itself.

In addition to resources for lawyers, the website provides educational materials for laypeople, such as a downloadable article entitled "Copyright Basics" (which I used to hand out to my clients for reference), a concise but quite useful FAQ section and a somewhat interactive section called "Taking the Mystery Out of Copyright" (okay, this seems to have been designed for students - I found the first section, starring Detective Cop. E. Wright a little hard to sit through, but it does contain pertinent information...). (By the way, if you are wondering why some of these links take you to a www.loc.gov website, it is due to the fact that the U.S. Copyright Office is a part of the Library of Congress.)

There is also a searchable database of registrations and other documents recorded with the office since 1978 (although I make no guarantees as to how easy you find the search engine to use - there is a tutorial for it), if you would like to investigate what registrations are already current and subsisting on the U.S. register.

Finally, there are instructions on how to file for copyright registration, if you decide to do so. Unlike some other forms of intellectual property, it is not necessary to have a lawyer file on your behalf. Although, inevitably, there are some cases in which it would be a good idea - in my opinion at least - to consult a lawyer before filing, the Copyright Office itself does not require it. Basic fees for filing remain relatively inexpensive at $35-45.00, depending on how you file. Bear in mind, however, that registration is not automatic and that any application filed with the Office will be examined to determine its fitness, so to speak, for registration. There is more information on this point on the website.

So, in case you weren't already aware: if you are interested in U.S. copyright law or in the U.S. copyright registration process, you can go right to the source for reliable, up-to-date information. The literature available through the U.S. Copyright Office may not answer all of your intellectual property questions, but it's definitely one of the best places to start.

Be not afeard.

The isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked,
I cried to dream again.

- The Tempest, 3.2.148-156

(ps. The photo dates back from our wedding trip. Despite never having visited Hawaii, we found it perfectly plausible to drag ourselves and our immediate family over there to get married. It was wonderful. I believe I took this shot the first morning after we arrived.)

Bead & Jewelry Linky Love

Here's cauliflower from our garden, almost ready to be harvested. I come from a family with almost no talent for gardening (although I understand my maternal grandmother was quite an avid gardener, my mother and I did not inherit her green thumb). It has been a revelation to me since I met my husband just what a difference really fresh produce makes. The cauliflower H. grows is the most tender and flavorful I've ever tasted. We have a great recipe that calls for preparing it with tahini and lemon juice, among other unlikely ingredients - it's fantastic. Who knew fresh veg could be so romantic? I'll take the ones from H's garden over a box of chocolates any day.

Here are your intriguing links for the week:

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Andrew introduces eight new fine pewter pieces from his family's company, Green Girl Studios.

Jean Campbell Ink: Eureka!
Beading in the fresh air clears the mind, bringing fresh creativity

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Searching for some new inspiration? Lorelei's got just the place for you to find it!

A Bead A Day
Lisa shares her selection of summery pink beads and crystals. The "Watermelon Crawl" bead mix is sure to conjure up visions of a family picnic on a warm summer day!

Barbe Saint John
Read Barbe's interview on the Objects and Elements blog

Beading Arts
Cyndi's initial thoughts on working with the new CopprClay. There'll be lots of projects coming this summer!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie mixes up gunmetal chains and components with brass to make a necklace with one of her Toolbox Treasure pendants

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean reviews Wirework, a new book by the famous Dale "Cougar" Armstrong

Art Bead Scene
The Trendy Bead shows off wood filigree pendants.

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi hand felts a pretty bead from wool roving.

Humblebeads
Heather sketches out some new designs using this summer's hottest color.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
A trip to glass city doesn't go as well as planned. Yet Cindy finds inspiration and few new tools!

About.com Jewelry Making
Take these quick polls about wearing and making jewelry. Which are your favorite pieces?

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off her new lunar phases and compass rose designs