The Precious Right to Vote

Maybe I won't get back to my jewelry blog - I'm enjoying this and lots of people are viewing...so for the time being, I'll be a political commenter with a jewelry business on the side.  But, please come take a look at my shop and purchase some of my cool jewelry.  Scottsdale, AZ is loving it in the shops that carry it.

Okay - let's talk about the right to vote.  It is a special and treasured right that our constitution bestows on us and it is a right that more citizens should use.  During most elections only between 40 something percent and 60 something percent vote - that is criminal... it should be over 90%,, as close to 100%  as it can feasibly get - but I guess that isn't going to happen in my lifetime.  The only good thing about that is, it means that anywhere from 60 to 40 % of the citizens of this country are not allowed to bitch or complain about anything that happens here.  If you don't vote - you must keep your mouth shut about ANYTHING that occurs that is somehow touched or influenced  by a politician...and there isn't much that they don't touch.   So remember this the next time that someone is ranting and raving about something - quietly interrupt their tirade (unless you totally agree with them) and ask them if they voted the last time they were given the right to vote - if they didn't, tell them that according to Linda's Law they are not allowed to bitch.  Now they may question you on what that law is - but by the time you are done with explanations - they will either have forgotten what they were upset about or they won't care any more.

In order to qualify to vote, I think that we seriously need to make some changes.  First of all we must have to show a valid picture I.D....you cannot cash a check without one, you can't travel, you needed to show that 3 times to get into the Democratic convention, you can't win a jackpot in a casino, you can't check into a hotel... surely we can show one to vote.  We have four years now to get this passed and it MUST  be passed.  Illegal aliens have no business either being forced to vote (Las Vegas this election cycle ) or just voting for their own reasons without becoming citizens.  Everyone and anyone either has a valid picture I.D. or has plenty of time to get it before the next election.  We must enact this for the sanctity of our elections.

Now let's talk about voting machines. There has been allot of talk after this election about voter fraud and voting machine irregularites.  This has to  be addressed and fixed.  If little Joey, the computer nerd down the street, can hack into the Pentagon's computers, how are we to stop a determined individual, or political party, from messing with our votes.  There are several areas this time that have numerous precincts that supposedly voted 100% for nobama - not one vote for Romney and that just isn't possible. Look at all the reports of people casting their vote for Romney and the machine changed the vote to nobama..  One reporter - egad, there is a Republican leaning reporter still left out there - had so much trouble with his machine trying to vote for Romney,  that he forced the watchers to open it - and there were no Romney votes recorded during the time that he voted...this has to be fixed.  Maybe we need all paper ballots and manual counts - but no ballots with chads, please - but we need to insure that not only is the voting process honest, but also that machine that records it is also honest.

I'm going out on a limb here - but it's my blog, so I can say what I want, and no one has to agree.  In the original Constitution, Thomas Jefferson, a genius, wanted anyone who voted to be educated and to be a land owner.  I personally think that he was on the right track.  In order to vote, people should be prepared to show that they can read - either letters or braille.  If you can not read, how can you possiblely vote??? Have you ever listened to "Man on the Street " interviews around election time? They are truly frightening - people who have no idea who the vice president is - people who admit to getting their news from Jon Stewart - people who thought that "Stu Ped " was a candidate for election...it goes on and on, and it is humorous until you think about the ramifications - this person is going into a voting booth and voting for the person and people who will control your destiny....A truly scary thought! ! !

So voting is a precious right that we need to protect and practice.  It is also a severly abused right that needs some dramatic fixes.  Now is the time to institute those fixes before we enter the next election cycle...til next time...Have a happy Turkey Day to all of you...

Fun with Steel Wire or Making Steel Magnolias

I purchased a new book a few weeks ago - Brenda Schweder's "Steel Wire Jewelry  " and it is the best book I have purchased since I started purchasing books about making jewelry about 6 years ago.  I buy books more for the tips and background of the material rather than for ideas or how to make a specific thing.  I am one of the fortunate ones who is usually overflowing with ideas, I poccess a kind muse. But I might need help getting a certain finish on metal or just to see a process - I bought a book on making beads and I am never going to make beads - but I so admired this artists' beads that I wanted her book to see what she went through to get the product that I admired so much.  Basically the same thing happened with Brenda's book...I was looking through the class schedule for Santa Fe and saw one of her pieces, and loved it.  A little while later, I got an email about Tucson and some classes that were being offered - and again there was a piece that I loved, and it was the same person I'd admired from Santa Fe - so I did some Google work and finally found her Etsy shop...bought the book and a bit of wire and I was hooked.

I found out that steel has been used for jewelry since forever and that steel is one of the most recycled materials in the world and is the most recycled material in the U.S.. I also found out that    Alexander Calder did much of his jewelry in annealed steel...anyone who makes jewelry should take a look at some of his pieces. He made a chandelier earring that I think was big enough to use as an actual chandelier.  By the way, annealed steel is steel that has carbon added to it, but not more than 2%.  It is  soft and very workable, and unlike other metal wires - it does not get brittle and break if you work it too much.  It usually has a coating on it, that needs to be removed for most jewelry, this is put on as a rust inhibitor.  That is the one drawback to steel wire - it can rust, but if it is coated with an archival wax, like Rennaisance, that won't happen.

These are some of the pieces that I have created with steel wire and I have loved every minute of the creative process.  Before this, copper wire was my favorite medium, but the steel is a little firmer and it most certainly is more forgiving.  Steel does not require the lengthy finishing and patinas that copper does either, so the process is less expensive.

I have finally gotten some pictures taken so these will be in my Artfire shop as soon as I have a few   free hours - it's such a time consuming boring job to enter pieces and pictures onto your website and I do tend to put it off as long as possible.  These are the first pieces that I made and I do like them allot.