Ruby Lane Creative Hands Newsletter for July 2004

Creative Hands
Ruby Lane's monthly newsletter celebrating the Arts & Crafts
community
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Welcome to Creative Hands!

IN THIS ISSUE:
o Featured Shop: Pilula Jula Artisan
o July Shop Sampler
o July Craft Shows
o 4th Of July Trivia, 2004
o Share Creative Hands With A Friend

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FEATURED SHOP: PILULA JULA ARTISAN

Adornment is a way of life for me, whether it be decorating my
surroundings with meaningful beautiful things or designing
jewelry for others with the same passion.

Pi Rocks Jewelry is one of my contributions to the further
embellishment of today's woman. Yet just another way to set you
apart and be noticed is to wear meticulously designed and
original jewelry.

All of the jewelry at Pi Rocks is composed in one of my favorite
places in the world, my very modest studio which is brimming
over with gems and rocks, and charms and silver. If it weren't
for the fact I have a family I would probably never leave my
little sanctuary, rather remain buried in beauty and thoughts of
future trinkets and baubles. My designs typically start with a
drawing; I jot down notes and quick sketches of ideas as they
come to me often setting them aside for weeks only to come back
and add or change to them before they actual come to fruition.
Being my full time profession, I spend as much time searching
for the perfect gems and components as I do actually designing.
Striving to use only top quality gemstones and components is my
goal and obligation. †

I love all gemstones, the unusual and rare obviously fascinate
me but I enjoy bringing style and new life to more common stones
also. Rarely do I add a stone to my collection with the specific
intent of a particular design, I usually wait for it to inspire
me and that is why my style evolves around unusual combinations
of gems and textures.

My inspiration initially came from the incredible jewelry of the
past. Two of my favorite designers being Cini and Peruzzi, I
still collect their pieces today.

The very first piece of jewelry I ever assembled was an ankle
bracelet. The year was 1975, I fashioned an old Sterling chain
with a handmade black enameled stylized heart charm and
embellished it with seed pearls, and I still have that piece
today.

I went on to actually designing and cast my first piece in 1977,
a Sterling ring with a long green malachite cabochon that I hand
mounted and then embellished with silver granulation. Being new
to silversmithing the casting was rather crude but the design
was original, hand formed and true to the trend of the 70's. My
mother is the proud owner of that piece, the first Pi Rocks.
Even back then I was drawn to mixing old and new, creating very
detailed, unusual and eclectic pieces that combine bits of our
past with new modern aspects.

I believe jewelry should be so intriguing and melodic you can't
help but become memorized in its creation, rhythm and
brilliance. Every day I thank my lucky stars that I am motivated
and satisfied by such a wonderful profession, one that has never
been just what I do, but is who I am.

Traci makes designer studio jewelry handcrafted with sterling
silver, semiprecious stones and vintage charms. Make sure to
stop by her shop, Pilula Jula Artisan .
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JULY CRAFT SHOWS

Arts & Craft shows are always fun to go to any time of the year.
Below is a listing of a craft show near you. Just a friendly
reminder to check the venue because shows do get canceled
sometimes.

Jul 3 - 4, 2004 Heritage Days Arts & Crafts Show Library Park,
Bath, ME

Jul 4, 2004 Blairstown 4th of July Celebration Footbridge Park,
Blairstown, NJ

Jul 6 - 11, 2004 Art & Craft Show Belz Factory Outlet Mall,
Orlando, FL

Jul 7, 2004 Falmouth Village Professional Street Fair Main
Street Falmouth Village, Falmouth, MA

Jul 10 - 11, 2004 Harwich Professional Arts & Crafts Festival
Brooks Park, Harwich, MA

Jul 15 - 18, 2004 Art & Crafts Show Concord Mall, Wilmington, DE

Jul 16 - 17, 2004 College Hill Arts Festival 23rd & College
Street, Cedar Falls, IA

Jul 21 - 24, 2004 Ann Arbor South Univ. Art Fair on the Street
of Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI

Jul 22 - 25, 2004 Art & Craft Show Parmatown Mall, Parma
(Cleveland), OH

Jul 23 - 24, 2004 Maryville Festival of the Arts Historic
Nodaway County Courthouse Square, Maryville, MO

Jul 30 - Aug 1, 2004 Downtown Aspen Art Festival Wagner Park in
Downtown Aspen, Aspen, CO

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4TH OF JULY TRIVIA, 2004

No other holiday arouses patriotism in us like 4th of July, and
nothing stirs our patriotism as our American Flag. With this in
mind, here are some interesting Flag trivias from PBS.org:

- In 1909, Robert Peary placed a flag, sewn by his wife, at the
North Pole. He also left pieces of another flag along the way.
It is the only time a person has been honored for cutting the
flag.

In 1963, Barry Bishop placed the flag on top of Mount Everest.

- The first time the American flag was flown overseas on a
foreign fort was in Libya, over Fort Derne, on the shores of
Tripoli in 1805.

Pamela's Collection has incredible selection of Fine Art items!