Seven years ago to the moment, I was sitting on the floor in a crowded TV lounge in the GPC Student Center with dozens of fellow faculty and students, watching in horror as the news replayed video of the World Trade Center towers burning and collapsing, of the gaping and burning hole in the Pentagon, over and over and over, searing itself into our memories.

I have not forgotten.  I will not forget.

The fall issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry was on the stands at Borders Saturday afternoon.  When I picked it up, the first thing I turned to was the Letters to the Editor section.  It contained four very brief, nothing-but-praise entries — not even a breath about the negative responses to the Carter Seibels feature in the last issue.  I know that they received critical feedback from several people, including me, but you would never guess from the letters, nor from the Editor’s Comments, nor any indication of any response anywhere from the table of contents.

At first I was a little perturbed, but then I remembered that this IS a Stampington magazine.  In all the years I’ve read their various magazines off and on, I have rarely if ever seen a negative comment.  That seems to be in keeping with their whole editorial philosophy — much of their published artwork has a definite sameness about it; rarely do you see anything outside very narrow boundaries in there.  (There’s a reason I don’t buy many of their magazines any more — in truth they get boring quickly.)

Since they chose not to publish my comments, at the risk of being repetitive I’ll post them here:

Dear Editor,

My delight in seeing a lampwork artist featured in the Summer 08 issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry rapidly turned to dismay as I read Rice Freeman-Zachary’s article on Carter Seibels, for two reasons.  Apparently neither Ms. Seibels nor Ms. Freeman-Zachary fully understands the use of presses in making lampworked beads.  Pressed beads are indeed hand-crafted, formed one at a time at the torch, unlike furnace glass beads which are mass-produced using molds and then cut into individual beads.  In the hands of a lampworker, the press is simply another tool in their arsenal, allowing creation of forms that would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, without their use.  Let us not forget that “hand-formed” beads are actually shaped with tools, not actual hands, as well!  The quality of the resulting bead depends on the skill and vision of the artist, regardless of what tools are used to form the bead — whether pressed or hand-formed, a bead can be exquisite or merely ordinary.

Far more disturbing, though, was the paragraph where Ms. Seibels equates “middle-aged” beadmakers with traditional work, and younger artists with experimental and thus more creative work.  Such generalizations are dangerous! To many people, “traditional” implies boring, stodgy, and ordinary — words which no one wants applied to themself or their work. Had this ageist remark referred to differences in race or gender, I hope it would never have seen the light of print.  As a “middle-aged” artist myself, I hope that the editorial staff, Ms. Freeman-Zachary, and Ms. Seibels will consider their words far more carefully in the future.  Furthermore, I suggest that you take note of such creative lampworking visionaries such as Andrea Guarino-Slemmons and Lydia Muell, both decidedly older than Ms. Seibels herself and both of whom have abandoned eBay for other, more artist-friendly, sales venues.

Sincerely,

Sara at On Simplicity wrote:

what three non-essential things would you save in an emergency? Your family, friends, pets, and any medical needs are considered essential for this question, so we’ll assume you’ve already got those.

As I think about my own answer to this, it really brings home how little I really need in terms of material possessions!  It also makes me realize that I don’t have a current backup of my data on my computer, because an external hard drive or flash drive containing that would probably be at the top of my list.  Perhaps I should do something about this???

Let’s say that number 1 is my hypothetical external data backup.  Number 2 might well be my rolling case containing my bead inventory.  A couple of thousand dollars of inventory would do quite a bit to help me restock my studio, or give me an opportunity to recognize the generosity of anyone helping me out in that emergency.  Number 3?  Hmmm.  I think I might have to quickly grab my little metal lunchbox containing my journal and journaling supplies.  I would probably need to work through a lot of angst as we rebuilt our life, and I’ve always found journaling a good tool for that.

So I would say that’s my final answer:

1. A backup copy of my computer data on external/flash drive
2. My bead inventory case
3. My journal box

How about you?  What three things would YOU save?

With the Russian invasion of Georgia (the one on the Eurasian continent, not the one on the North American continent), and Google Maps’ colossal blunder in locating the correct Georgia, we once again are going to be subjected to comments such as these.

• From Mark O’Neill, contributing writer at Geeks Are Sexy:

you’ve probably still got the crazies in Georgia, USA hiding in the bushes with their shotguns waiting for the Russian tanks to come rumbling past muttering to themselves “that Google map thingie said they were coming!  Gotta stay vigilant!

• From freebsdgirl, commenter at Valleywag:

I *do* know what it’s like in the south, and the post that was made on Yahoo! Answers was completely typical.

Do you honestly think that people in the South aren’t racist? Think again. What does MARTA stand for again? Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta, or so I’ve been told *many* times. Just because whites are a minority in Georgia (ed. note: not according to current Census Bureau figures) doesn’t mean that they aren’t making all the comments their grandparents made when they think no one is listening. Also, when is the last time you saw a Mexican in Georgia in a suit?

Sigh.  Here we go again with the stereotypes.  Apparently they think it’s okay, though, because this is a Politically Correct stereotype, the Ignorant Redneck Southerner.  Sorry, folks, your high-mindedness is badly misplaced.  It’s NOT okay.  Bigotry is bigotry, just as ugly when it’s PC as when it’s not.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going into the studio to do a little cleaning while Gretchen Wilson’s cranked up on my stereo…

It must be too hot to play with glass in many locales, because the blog posting has picked up. After all, it IS usually cooler sitting in front of a computer screen than in front of a torch!

The Carter Seibels feature article in Belle Armoire Jewelry’s Summer issue continues to generate reaction among the lampworkers:

• Susan Lambert takes offense at the characterization of middle-aged lampworkers and points out that the article was a put down of a very significant demographic among BAJ’s readership;
• Andrea’s scholarly analysis shows the flaws in the reasoning behind the ageist comments;
• I’m grumbling that it’s the hands, not the tools, that make the artist.

In other postings:

• Lori Greenberg has not only been busy interviewing Sarah Moran of Z-Beads, she’s been conducting more experiments of her own for Watch Me Create.
• Rachel of Inferno Glass Beads jumps into the blogosphere to try and explain the cost of artist-made lampwork beads to the rest of the world.
• Luann Udell is also blogging about the rise in prices of art along with everything else.
• At the Art Bead Scene, Jennifer Stumpf introduces us to Canary Islands artist Lina Khan.
• An anonymous Etsy Bitch reader shares why, in his opinion, having a sale in your Etsy shop is a Bad Idea (gasp!).
• Even complete flakes need to get things done. Sonia Simone has some ideas on how to make it happen for you.