The Gossiping Goddess: Beads of courage auction

Friday, 15 November 2013

'Beads of Courage' Art Charm Exchange and Auction...

This year for the first time I am taking part in an Art Charm Exchange and Auction organised by the talented and indefatigable Jennifer Cameron in support of 'Beads of Courage' a charity providing innovative, arts-in-medicine supportive care programs for children coping with serious illness, their families and the health care providers who care for them.

The premise of the exchange is that each participant makes 11 charms based on a given theme and sends them to Jen, who then sends each of us a collection of 10 charms including one of our own. The 11th charm goes up for auction for BOC and you can find details of the auction later in this post.

The theme for this year was 'Love' and as I'm not much of a romantic and a bit of a free spirit I went to music for my inspiration. I decided on the Sting song 'If you love somebody set them free' because I've always been intrigued by that part of the human psyche that draws us to people and then sometimes causes us to try and change the very characteristics we found so attractive in the first place. I made my charms in the form of bronze clay doves and impressed the 'set them free' lyric across the wingspan, highlighting it with alcohol ink.

On the other side I added a tiny heart...

I felt the lyric also held a second message relating to the work done by Beads of Courage and how this can maybe set the children free from some of their pain...

So those are my charms but what about the ones I was sent...? Well what a fabulous selection in all sorts of media and here they are...

Beautiful lampwork...

Lovely ceramic...

Wonderful detailed beadwork...

Fabulous and intricate wire work..

And last but not least, fun and colourful Polymer Clay...

You can find out more about the inspiration behind these charms by visiting the makers blogs below along with those of the other participants. All participants will have a charm up for auction so If you'd like the opportunity to get your hands on one... including my design, while donating to a fantastic cause, you can take part in the auction which starts at 7am EST today >>here<< and will be staggered 2 minutes apart. There will be further staggered starts from 9am EST Saturday am 8pm EST Sunday. You can buy each of the charms individually and the listings will be staggered through the day so keep checking back for new ones!

We’re hoping to raise $1000 dollars for the Beads of Courage project, so dig deep!

Note: I will have a few of my Dove charms for sale after the auction with the proceeds also going to BOC but having managed to fall last week and put myself in hospital with a broken ankle I've not yet managed to list them. If you're interested please e mail me at theajewellery@sky.com....thanks.

Jen Cameron: http://glassaddictions.com/blog/

Toltec Jewels: http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com

Vanessa Gilkes: http://culturezine.com/blog/

Caroline Dewison: http://blueberribeads.co.uk

Lesley Watt: http://www.thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com

Susan Kennedy: http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com

Nancy Dale : http://www.nedbeads.blogspot.com

Alicia Marinache: http://www.allprettythings.ca

Cassi Paslick: http://cassisbeads.blogspot.com

Alenka Obid: http://www.pepita-handmade.blogspot.com

Renetha Stanziano: http://www.lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com

Shelley Graham Turner: http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com