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Simbircite is a kind of calcite, semitransparent stone with yellowish and reddish tints. Its glitter is like of glass, silk; it is fragile, can be easily processed and polished. Its other names are "volzhsky amber" and "simbirsky calcite".

Simbircite is embodied history of mineralogy: intricate mixture of pyrite, hematite, mother-of-pearl and marble onyx accreted to a single alloy tens of thousands years ago, when dinosaurs inhabited the Earth. Sometimes crystals germinated to air holes of seashells-ammonites so that in the Mesozoic era they filled ancient seas instead of modern fish that didn't exist in that time, forming "ammonite" simbircite, the most uncommon stone that doesn't need to be treated; but "veined" simbircite is found more often in the shape of druses and crystals.

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Orange, green, red, black, brown and white stripes and beads match with shining grains of "fools' gold", and the whole precious stone makes the impression of a living picture of autumn colors, warmth and joy. No parts of simbircite look alike, sometimes extracted stones seem to be "distant relatives". Simbircite is called "volzhsky amber" for some similarity of appearance - but the crystal of this stone looks more like creation of a cutter of real amber that took and united a lot of colorful varieties of fossil resin.

Simbircite is not widely known - this stone is rare and is extracted only in the territory of the Ulyanovsk region, in the single deposit in the world, on the bank of the Volga. It got its name due to the previous name of the city of Ulyanovsk - Simbirsk in 1985, though the gem was mentioned for the first time in the 18th century. Local residents didn't try to treat the mineral for a long time, as it was used as material for mineralogical collections - but thanks to actions of the local scientist-enthusiast V.M. Efimov simbircite turned to a sort of signature of Ulyanovsk.

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Gladys Seaward and her daughter Wendy from the USA are not in a family business although both Gladys and Wendy make sculptural freeform beadwork. Wendy began to work with beads several years before Gladys did and introduced her to the idea of making beaded jewelry.

Gladys says, "If you wanted to trace back the origins of our interest in artistic works, you would have to go back to Wendy's grandmother and my mother, Mona Jordan. She was a very successful abstract artist who began with classes at the Corcoran Museum of Art. Throughout her years of traveling as an army wife, Mona Jordan continued to paint wherever she happened to be. She became an accomplished portraitist during the few years we lived in Japan, painting, mostly in pastels, many of the Japanese people when we lived in Tokyo.

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A number of these portraits were of the 5 servants who lived in our house. When her army traveling days ended she spent many years (1957-1990) in Florida focusing on abstract, intuitive paintings and portraits. She had done many notable portraits, including Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and his wife, Grace. The official Kennedy White House photographer, Cecil Staunton, also modeled for his portrait.

Another artist in our family was my mother's cousin, Katherine Hobbs, who had a studio in Georgetown for number years where she produced many beautiful animal sculptures. She spent many hours at the Rock Creek Park Zoo studying and sketching the animals she would bring to life in her sculptures. She sold her works to many prominent Washingtonians of the 40s and 50s, to include Drew Pearson, a well-known journalist of his time.

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One of the most important lessons, which my mother applied to her paintings and I learned from her, is to frequently stop and study the progress of the design element as the construction of the piece progresses before continuing. It is also helpful while beading and stopping to stretch and move around from time to time. Frequent short breaks help to prevent stiff and tight joints and muscles, etc.

The flow of freeform work continuously changes directions so that it is hard to recognize the finished piece from its beginnings. I have discovered that if I don't like the looks of the way the piece is progressing, I can easily start off in a different design direction, or even switch from constructing earrings to the construction of a quite complex necklace. I hardly ever begin with a design in mind..."

Full article by Gladys and Wendy Seaward
 
Beaded Jewelry by Gladys Seaward
 
Intuitive Jewelry by Wendy Seaward
 
Beaded masks by Wendy Seaward
 
Gladys' Facebook: facebook.com/gladys.seaward
 
Wendy's website: www.wendyseaward.com
 
Wendy's Facebook: facebook.com/wendy.seaward

The Battle of the BeadSmith is in process. The first round is over, and the battles of the second round are made up pairing 96 bead artists from many-many countries.

The battles are juried by the group participants and by a group of 38 invited judges. The public will also be invited to vote for each Battle. The general public favorite will be awarded 10 "votes". This will maintain the importance of the artist votes, while giving the public a chance to be involved throughout the competition. We wish success to all bead artists!

2013 Battle. Second Round Pairs
 
Battle of the BeadSmith rules
 
Battle of the BeadSmith on Facebook

The Ann Arbor Art Fairs

July 17-20, 2013
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Established in 1960, the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair is the Original of the now four award-winning Ann Arbor Art Fairs:

Together, the fairs attract over 500,000 attendees from across the nation. The Original Fair was named the Number One Art Fair in the country by AmericanStyle magazine readers survey (October 2004) and has made the Top Ten Fairs and Festivals list every year since.

The mission is to increase public knowledge and appreciation for contemporary fine arts and fine crafts by creating opportunities that connect artists, the Ann Arbor community and the general public to their mutual benefit, culminating in a top quality juried street art fair.

The Street Art Fair is set on North University Avenue and on the University of Michigan's Central Campus, amidst elegant architecture and beautifully landscaped pedestrian walkways, including the landmark Burton Carillon Tower.