Hello Friends,
 |
| Set of 5 Beads I created for the "Beads on the Trail - 2017" Project |
I joined in on a special bead adventure that I'd like to share with you: Beads on the Trail 2017. There was a
call for beads to support children with cancer or serious illness. These beads
are to travel with mushers on the 1000 mile long Iditarod
Trail Sled Dog Race. Each artist who
signed up for the challenge made a set of 5 Alaskan themed beads. At the end of the race, one bead will be kept
by the musher and the other 4 beads will be used to raise money for BOC and go
to the children in the BOC program.
Below are pictures of the beads that I created and sent along to
Alaska.
Being a part of
this event has added to an awakening I’ve been feeling lately. The need to be an
advocate, to help others; that this life is precious, and I need to focus on what
matters most to me. Helping others has
always been at the core of who I am, it brings me life. Sometimes I get lost, but re-awakening is
humbling and refreshing.
Beads on the Trail 2017 is organized by Beads
of Courage (BOC) with the help of Artmosphere
Studio,
the goal of this annual event is to connect Alaska's Last Great Race (Iditarod)
with the kids in the Beads of Courage program, who are in a race for their
lives. Mushers share the strength and courage they need for Iditarod in
honor of the children who will receive the beads they carry on the 1000 mile
long Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Beads
of Courage has a unique goal; they are a non-profit group that
supports children with cancer or serious illnesses and their families. BOC acknowledges
each treatment undergone by a child by giving them a bead. Each child’s bead collection grows and represents
badges of courage and honors the wars they are fighting with their illnesses;
fighting for their lives. To learn more
about Beads of Courage: http://www.beadsofcourage.org
Artmosphere
Studio, in Anchorage Alaska, is a shared working
studio space. They are open for classes
and special events by appointment. Artmosphere Studio is working with Beads of
Courage in 2017 to send beads on the Iditarod Trail for the 6th time.
Also volunteering and helping with the organization of this
event are the Hot Headed Honeys:
Alaska’s first co-op of lampwork artists dedicated to promoting lampwork
art and artists in Alaska and providing creative and business resources to co-op members.
The Iditarod: “A race covering 1000 miles of the roughest, most
beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer. She throws jagged mountain
ranges, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra and miles of windswept
coast at the mushers and their dog teams.
Add to that temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete
loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness and
treacherous climbs and side hills, and you have the Iditarod. A race
extraordinaire, a race only possible in Alaska.
The race starts in Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the
western Bering Sea coast.” This year's race starts on March 4th. To learn more about the
Iditarod: http://iditarod.com/about/
