Studio Time: Demure

It's April 1! It's official! I'm launched as Kanna Glass Studios! The newsletter is done and will be sent out at noon today. Newsletter subscribers have early access to some of the goodies I've been working on...an Inspiration Journal for those who like to print off ideas and something to jog their muse...and another goodie I'll blog about in a week or so.

The inspirations are designed with the reader in mind: sometimes our creative sprite takes a vacation and leaves us with very little to work with. Or, sometimes we're new and trying to switch on the creative engine. I believe people have loads of inspiration swirling in their heads...sometimes it's just learning to lasso and corral those thoughts and give it focus. I'll be taking photos of things that inspire me and show the various directions my mind wanders with the theme. If you do feel inspired, please share your results!

pallid green haze
dove-grey clouds
pale robins egg blue

what is inspiring me?

Muted, subdued shades. It pushes me out of my comfort zone of bright, cheery colors. What about you? How does the photo challenge you? Do the words compel you in a direction? What are you inspired to create when you see and read the above?


First off, here is a fun little necklace named, "A Little Bit East, A Little Bit West." It's a 22-inch necklace featuring a gorgeous Sarah Hornik focal. I have a tendency to love color and create color riots in my jewelry. I tried to tone down this tendency just a bit. While I didn't completely eliminate color, I did try to focus on the beads and materials that would play up the glass bead focal. As a former nine-year resident of Texas and a new resident of Hong Kong, I find myself trying to blend some influences from each area. In my mind, turquoise is synonymous with the American Southwest and cultured pearls are synonymous with the Far East...therefore, a Little Bit East, a Little Bit West. Available in my Artfire shop.
And I must make a sidebar and rave about Sarah's beads. She pushed herself out of her comfort zone and did some encased florals. They aren't exactly "her thing," but she does them so well! (More, Sarah, please!) And they were exactly the type of florals I love...bright and cheery. She did seven of these, I bought six...three of them will appear in this month's blog.

One thing I find with my "signature style" is that some people struggle with how to wear it since it's a little bit, well, different. Here are some of my suggestions: I really like wearing this with a turtleneck or on the outside of a white button-down shirt. It's a slightly longer length and looks great with shirts that have some kind of collar like the ones mentioned. The glass bead has a number of colors in it like turquoise, pink, blue, green...any of those colors look great with this necklace. It also stands out against any of the classic neutrals such as black, white, navy, brown, and gray. If you're a little more daring, you can pick up on a darker shade in the glass bead to really make the necklace pop.