Black Friday Sale at Wind Dancer Design: Nov. 29

The Friday after Thanksgiving has been the largest shopping day in the US for decades.

Now dubbed "Black Friday" by people who want Americans to shun Big Box Stores and chains on that day, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday are promoted as days to buy local.

What could be more local, than buying directly from local artists?

This Friday, November 29, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., my daughter Alexandra Queen and I will be selling our artwork and jewelry from my studio-- Wind Dancer Design. (Check out the Facebook Event, here.)

 Alex will be selling her handmade jewelry, wearable art, and unique dream catcher wall hangings. Check out her work at Mermaid Heart.

I will be selling mosaic wall hangings, shrines, beaded jewelry, and Wind Dancers. My buy-one-get-one free sale on all beaded work continues through Friday. For those of you who stopped by my studio during the recent TPAC Open Studio Tour-- I have created several new mosaics since the tour.

So-- this holiday season, forget the cheap imports and buy one-of-a-kind gifts from local artists and local merchants.

Come on down to Wind Dancer Design, 3553 E. Camden St. in midtown Tucson this Friday! (BTW- cash, checks, and plastic are all accepted.)

'Tis the Season to Forsake the Chinese Children and Buy Local

It's almost Halloween in the US, which means it's time to start shopping for the holidays! :-)

Seriously, folks, with all of the economic doom and gloom, retailers around the world are quaking in their fur-trimmed Santa boots for fear that we will cut back our holiday spending this year. Although I agree that prudent shopping is a good idea, I'd like to suggest that you forget about buying cheap goods made in the world's sweat shops and instead shop locally for your holiday presents.

Tucson has many fine artists, crafters, galleries, and gift shops, which all have one-of-a-kind locally handcrafted goods that would make memorable holiday presents.

Besides shopping the local galleries and gift shops that have regular business hours, there are art openings and arts/crafts shopping opportunities in the coming weeks-- including the Tucson Pima Arts Council Studio Tour, the Tucson Museum of Art Holiday Craft Market, the 4th Avenue Street Fair, and the Cascabel Christmas Fair.

Here is a list of art openings where you can buy or view my work:

- My studio will be open for the Tucson Pima Arts Council Studio Tour, November 8-9, noon to 5 pm Saturday and Sunday. I have several new mosaic pieces and lots of jewelry for sale. I will be offering a studio sale special on jewelry and beaded wall hangings-- buy one piece at the regular price and get the second piece (of equal or lesser value) at half price! Such a deal. You know what I always say, "You can never have too much jewelry!"

- Celebrate Life mosaic wall hanging at the Tucson Pima Arts Council Studio Tour Preview Exhibit, October 23 - November 6 at Galeria Mistica, 2318 S. 4th Avenue. Artists' reception on November 6, 6-8 pm.

- Dove of Peace mosaic shrine at the Artists for Obama Exhibit and silent auction, Saturday, October 25, 6-9pm at Representative Raul Grijalva's Campaign Office, 452 S. Stone Ave.

- Danny Boy, the Pipes Are Calling digital photograph in the Go Boldly Exhibit at the Central Arts Gallery, 274 E. Congress St., November 8 - 28. Artists' reception on November 8, 6-9 pm.

- Mi Corazon, Mi Vida mosaic wall hanging currently showing in the Basically Simple Exhibit at the Central Arts Gallery, 274 E. Congress St.

- I also will be participating in the Cascabel Holiday Fair again this year, December 6-7.

As the dates approach, there will be more details on these future shows.

In addition to these special events, I have a number of mosaics at the Bohemia, Tucson Museum of Art Gift Shop, and the Triangle L Gift Shop.

So with all of these opportunites, I urge you to forsake the Chinese children this holiday season and buy local!

Playa Blanca: El Paraiso

The most beautiful (and most challenging) part of our trip to Colombia was our time on Playa Blanca. We caught a mid-sized motor boat (below, left) at a market near Cartagena for our trip to Playa Blanca on Isla Baru. It took FOREVER for the boat to load and leave the dock. They didn't take off until the boat was full of people and goods for the island. The baby (below, right), sucking purified water out of a plastic bag, was one of our fellow passengers.


To say that Playa Blanca is primitive is an understatement. There is no running water for showers or toilets, no fresh water for drinking, and no electricity. Ok, to set the record straight, I'm not an overly prissy person. (That person would not have gotten on the boat at the market!) I have been wilderness camping in many remote parts of the US. I guess the differences between those experiences and my time on Playa Blanca were that: I was prepared for the wilderness camping (ie, plenty of water and food, the right clothes, bug repellant, my blankets, a tent with a floor, etc.) and I had a vehicle and could leave at any time. Once you're on Playa Blanca, you're there until the boat comes back.

Playa Blanca was remote and absolutely gorgeous. We spent our time there playing in the Cariabean, drinking ice cold cerveza, walking on the beach, and chatting. Our host was Mama Ruth and her husband. They own one of the many clusters of thatched roof buildings along the beach. She cooked all of our meals. The best fish I had in Colombia was Mama Ruth's. The beach at Playa Blanca was serene compared to Boca Grande (in Cartagena). Boca Grande was FULL of tourists and vendors working the tourists. There were a few bead, water, and beer vendors on Playa Blanca and some small groups of tourists. Unlike us, most of the tourists didn't spend the night there.

Our accommodations were rustic (above). The four of us stayed in one "room" in a thatched roof hut that had a sand floor and blankets and quilts for interior walls. The beds were minimalist, but after plenty of cerveza, I can sleep anywhere. Since there were no showers to wash off the sunscreen, salt water, and sand on my skin, the beds were a little sandy. At left is a picture of Alex with Mama Ruth; at right is picture of me, Jorge, and his mom Elsa.

Also here and far below are pictures of some of the signage. Apparently, a tagger spent some time at Mama Ruth's and dressed the place up with funky signage.

The best part of Playa Blanca was the absolutely devine starry night. The sky was deep midnight blue with thousands of stars, including shooting stars. I saw constellations that I have not seen in years. As we stood in awe on the beach at about 3 a.m., one of my companions remarked, "Es el trabajo del gran artista." (It is the work of the great artist.)


Playa Blanca is truly paradise. Unfortunately, there are corporate giants who are fighting to make Playa Blanca into another Boca Grande, with skyscraper hotels and condos on the beach. Mama Ruth and the others who offer hospitality on Playa Blanca are being threatened. For more on the politics of Playa Blanca, check out this link to the Save Playa Blanca blog. Above the sun is setting on Mama Ruth's kitchen.

Beads...and more!

After having read the Gem Show posts, you may be asking yourself, "What does this woman do with all of those beads?" Good question. Back in '96, I started making jewelry for myself. Although my life-long motto has been, "There's no such thing as too much jewelry," I found that making jewelry grows your jewelry collection exponentially. I also found that I receive many, many compliments on my jewelry and questions about retail outlets for my creations. In addition, after several years of regular Gem Show attendance, I had LOTS of beads.

In 2003, I started my own craft business--Wind Dancer Design. I make and sell jewelry and Wind Dancers. What is a Wind Dancer, you ask? It's a beaded hanging. I combine wood or heavy wire with glass, stone, gem, and bone beads; crystals; and bells to create hangings for walls, windows, and car mirrors.

In addtion to bead art, I also make faces. OK, you make faces too, but you haven't found a market for your frowns? No, not those faces. I make faces and other designs from clay and clay mosaic. Here are some of my designs. Currently, I'm selling my work at three shops in Tucson: Bohemia (voted best gift gallery in Tucson), Butterfly Gallery and Gifts, and the Tucson Museum of Art Gift Shop. Watch for future posts about shows and studio tours.

African Art Village and More at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

OK.... as always, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show was a blast today. The first weekend generally is the same as Super Bowl weekend, but this year the Super Bowl falls on the second Sunday of the show. No matter, regardless of the hype the Super Bowl receives, the game won't put a crimp in the foot traffic at the show!

Alex (my daughter) and I really wanted to go see the African Art Village. I parked west of Interstate 10 off of Congress because I also wanted to poke around at the motels (see previous post). I had looked at the maps online and saw that the Africans were south of the motels, but WOW I didn't realize how far south they were. The African Art Village is south of 22nd Street. It was quite a hike from the parking on Congress Street. If you're going to see the Africans, there is parking south of 22nd Street, right next to them.

The Africans were wheeling and dealing-- beads, wooden and brass statues, beaded chieftan head gear (above), beaded arm chairs (amazing), baskets, hats, African food, very cool drums, kalimbas, gourd percussion instruments, original African paintings, $5 tubs of shea butter (often in fancy $20/tube body lotion at Bath and Body Works), you name it. I bought several different types of brass beads for necklaces (ranging from $7-$10 per strand), some recycled glass beads ($20/strand for thin beads-- lots per strand), and some smaller glass beads for $5/strand . The Africans deal some but not too much. Also, now some of them take plastic and checks. The African Art Village used to be primarily cash.

In addition to spending hours in the African Art Village, Alex and I visited a few booths at the Howard Johnson, the River Park Inn (formerly the Pueblo Inn), and the Days Inn. At the River Park Inn, I bought 300 feet of .015 Beadalon for about $10; this is the price for 100 feet in town!!!! I also bought 50 long headpins for $3.50 (very cheap) and a large bag of crimp beads for ~$13. At another booth in the same motel, I bought some really nice coral for $4/strand and beauthful abalone strands for $3 each.

In the yard of the Howard Johnson's, there were some great lapis lazuli deals and plenty of belly dancing gear! I bought a really nice lapis necklace for $12 and matching earrings for $2. I also bought several lapis and brass pendants (very ornate) for $2 each!!! Alex bought a fancy seed beed bracelet for $2. All of these were made in Afganistan. I liked the prices (obviously), but this made me feel sad. Those poor people. Imagine how much they were paid for such beautiful work! This is worse than Wal Mart.

Star sitings at the Gem Show: remember the TV show Dharma and Greg? I swear I saw Dharma's mother in the African Village. It was her hair and voice. Also, near the Afgan lapis, there was a guy who looked just like Hamid Karzi (Afgan president). He had the hair, the beard, and the clothes, but not the hat. I wanted to go up to both of them, but I didn't. So, these are unconfirmed sitings.

Anyway, now it's time to make some jewelry and some wall hangings! More on the Gem Show later. I didn't find everything on my list.