The holidays are over, the New Year is here and January is slipping through my fingers! I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year even if it is a little belated.
I recently got an update on Sam Supernova, Mike Mercury and Ray Gamma — those simian space explorers are on display in Mesa, Arizona at the Arizona Museum For Youth along with the other incredible beads that went into space.
On January 2nd they had some very special visitors, a whole lot of children and one special astronaut – Tony Antonelli, Mission Pilot for the STS132 mission that the beads flew on. Mr Antonelli was on hand to sign posters commemorating the Beads In Space event, and who talked his way into being right up front on the poster but Ray Gamma!
It certainly looks like he’s enjoying the spotlight! I have to admit he looks great in his NASA space suit.
Here are all the beads that took the historic flight -
Beads In Space poster - thanks again Beads of Courage!
As you can see the monkeys had some amazing company from some very talented beadmakers. These posters were designed by fellow Canadian (now living in the US) Arlene Pederson – you can see more of her work here .
Here is Mr. Antonelli signing posters for the children that were at the event – I tell you, it’s no wonder Ray Gamma is smiling — he’s not the only one!
Mission Pilot Tony Antonelli signing posters
I wonder how many of these children are dreaming of becoming astronauts?
And here are my monkeys in their display case at the museum, thanks so much to Kathryn Wreschinsky-Guler for being at the event and taking a whole lot of great pictures of all the Beads in Space beads and events of that day – she has them all up on Facebook.
Sam, Ray and Mike on display in Arizona! Beads by fellow artists Lauren Mazursky and Judy Carlson on the left
Ray Gamma - Monkey in Space!
Sam Supernova Skipping Craters
Mike Mercury Mission Monkey
It was just the heads of these monkeys that went into space, I had a request from Beads of Courage for bodies for the museum display and they kindly added them for me.
Once again I have to mention Beads of Courage for their wonderful program that has brought joy to kids and artists alike, and to NASA for allowing this incredible event to happen.
Beads of Courage have just announced the presale of commemorative Beads in Space beads. These are beads created by the artists whose space themed beads went into orbit on the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Some of the reproductions are in limited quantities so don’t wait if there is a special design you’d like!
Click the image to jump to the presale info at Beads of Courage
This is wonderful opportunity to help Beads of Courage and also snag a bit of history — during the presale each bead ordered will ship with a numbered certificate AND a special pewter space shuttle bead! All proceeds from the first twenty of my space monkey beads in this sale are going directly to Beads of Courage, I felt it was a nice way to show my appreciation for the incredible opportunity they have given me.
It’s amazing what you can achieve on an unexpected day off work! I’ve been on the computer all day but have got quite a few jobs done – it feels good to have made progress!
I’ve been looking at setting up a shop right here on my website. Etsy and ArtFire are fine but folks have to click away from site to get to them, so today I set about putting that right.
You can still find me on Etsy and ArtFire for now, but I’ve set up a shop using Ecwid right here on my site!
What is Ecwid you might ask? Well it’s an online storefront. The basic storefront is free to use and can easily be integrated into websites. If you click on my ‘buy beads’ link you’ll now get taken right to my very own store!
I’ll be adding items over the coming weeks, for now I have put some of my brand new recycled glass beads in there (I’m looking for a name for these and having a Giveway – check it out here), you’ll find a section for Goddess beads as well as Monkey beads and my Historical recreations. I’m thinking it might be fun to add a surprise section where I might put beads on sale, or offer free shipping, – little surprises like that are nice now and then!
Beads from Bottles - recycled glass
My latest newsletter is out - see it here – updating the NASA/Beads of Courage space monkey story, and giving a little insight into what really happened up there on shuttle mission sts-132 – lets just say it involved UFO’s, Secret experiments and Bananas! If you want to find out more check out the newsletter link. It’s a story that might be fun to read to your children or grandchildren — awww heck, you could read it to anyone!
Last Wednesday ( I know, I’m a tad late reporting this!) Shuttle Atlantis landed safely! Space Monkeys are now getting ready for their road tour along with the other Beads of Courage beads that went along on the mission.
It was almost as exciting to see Atlantis land as it was when it lifted off. It’s amazing how far and how fast the Shuttle travels during it’s return — and what a tiny little speck of land it ends up coming to a stop on!
Rumours about that Mike Mercury, Sam Supernova and Ray Gamma are busy writing their memoirs and are currently looking for someone (read local blog owner) to publish them! Stay tuned if you want to know the REAL story about what went on behind the scenes on Atlantis’ last official mission into space!
In other news –
I now have a location for my beads in Ottawa — The Glass Shoppe Studio is a brand new venue, owned by Lauscha Lady, Grace Edwards.
Grace's studio at Collonade Rd in Ottawa
Grace has 8 torching stations available at the studio and many classes lined up! In her shop you’ll find lots of luscious glass – CIM, Lauscha, Double Helix and Vetrofond along with tools, books and magazines. Grace is showcasing the works of several local beadmakers and mine are one amongst them.
If you’ve ever wondered about Lampworking you NEED to stop by and say hello to Grace!! She’ll show you wonders you never dreamed of and you’ll be guaranteed to come away at the very least with lots of new knowledge and maybe a beautiful bead or two! Perhaps you’ll even decide to give this artform a try yourself!
Now for even more really, Really, REALLY exciting news!!
In August I am going to be taking a three day class with Tom Holland!
Tom Holland's Islamic Folded Bead process
Tom and his wife Sage have been bead making for many years – imagine taking a class about time and space with Einstein, or songwriting with Bono – well it’s a bit like that!
Tom Holland's Warring States
For me, it is especially exciting because Tom has a great interest in ancient beads and has recreated many designs from these. I think most of the folks who are taking the class would agree – none of us particularly want to turn on a torch – we all just want to watch and listen!!
This is a HUGE accomplishment for Ottawa, I think probably the first time such an Internationally known bead ‘Guru’ has come to town!
I thought it appropriate to add this message to my blog (received via Ham Radio channel last night)-
Mike Mercury to Merrickville Control EST 19:58 May 23
Space Shuttle Atlantis mission STS-132 is proceeding according to schedule. Docking and un-docking to and from the ISS (International Space Station) has occurred.
Simian Specialist experiments have er… not gone EXACTLY according to plan, more to follow on that. I will say that it’s a good job that Sam’s experiment involved ball bearings, especially as Ray’s and mine involved banana’s and the search for extra terrestrial life forms. Please contact Acme Fruit & Veg and tell them to halt all further experiments with the genetically modified fruit ASAP.
Mike Mercury, Simian Specialist on STS-132 signing off for now.
Today is the day, the final launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis — unless something holds up the procedure or they need to use the Atlantis in an emergency in the future.
The Atlantis shown here with crew members and the specially designed patch for this mission. Did you know that each mission has it’s own patch?
Here are the crew for this special mission -
Image above: Pictured clockwise from bottom are STS-132 Commander Ken Ham, Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman and Michael Good, Pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Steve Bowen. Image credit: NASA
At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, space shuttle Atlantis is revealed Thursday evening after retraction of the pad's rotating service structure. Image credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
You can see the walkway that the astronauts will enter by in the above photo.
As I write this the crew started their activities for the day about an hour ago (5am EST), the Atlantis is currently in the ‘tanking’ process where liquid hyrogen and oxygen are pumped in to the tanks from the bottom. It takes about three hours to fill the big external tanks.
Everything is looking good for today’s launch – set for 2:20pm EST.
It is hard to really grasp that something I have made is on board waiting for blast off! I had no idea that so much ‘STUFF’ went up with each Shuttle. Each mission has an Official FlightKit that is normally stowed in the middeck and contains all kinds of things from school’s, charities, businesses etc.
Here’s a link to the official flight kit for this mission – you might be surprised to see just what and how much is listed! The beads for Beads of Courage are number 20 and that includes my three space monkeys, who report at this time they do have a few butterflies in their tummies!!
Since this is Atlantis’ final flight there are additional containers full of flags, patches and other memorabilia. I read that these items will be given to NASA employees and dignitaries — jealous??
I’m excited for Beads of Courage, and thrilled to bits that my Space Monkeys are a part of this historic event, the final voyage of the Space Shuttle Atlantis!
If you’d like to try and spy the shuttle as it flies overhead visit this link for information — first sighting should be the space shuttle on it’s own and then later it will be docked to the International Space Station.
For anyone following this story the countdown is on – check out Judy Carlson’s bead that is going to be heading for space in this Beads of Courage blog post. Judy created a rocket bead with a little green frog riding it.
Also Terri Fout made the news on Wink News Now — TV no less!! Click here to see Terri’s segment. Terri’s bead has the space shuttle flying across a starry background. It’s fun to see the different designs that got chosen for this event! To see these artist’s beads click the links!
News from the Kennedy Space Centre is that Space Shuttle Atlantis is on the launch pad as preparations go ahead for it’s launch on the 14th of this month!! Details here.
I received this in an email today from Jean Baruch at Beads of Courage — what a thrill!
It’s my first ‘official’ press release ever!
*Ontario** Artist’s Work to Be Launched on NASA’s Next Space Shuttle
Mission*
* Tucson, Ariz. – (April 29, 2010)* Hand-crafted glass beads, created by
Ontario artist Louise Ingram, were selected by Beads of Courage to go to
space and back on NASA’s next Space Shuttle mission. Her inventive space
monkey beads are part of Beads of Courage and NASA’s /Beads in Space/
project. The STS-132 mission is scheduled to launch on May 14, 2010.
The Beads in Space project is the brainchild of Jamie Newton, an
employee at the Marshall Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Newton’s
daughter has been battling cancer and is a participant in the Beads of
Courage program. He pursued this idea in hopes to raise awareness about
Beads of Courage and the work the organization does helping children
undergoing medical treatment.
Beads of Courage hosted a contest for glass bead makers around the world
to enter their artwork for consideration in the Beads in Space project.
Out of —54 beads entered, 17 were selected from nine different
artists. The 17 beads weigh precisely eight ounces, the maximum allowed
by NASA for the flight. Upon their return, the winning beads will be
returned to Beads of Courage.
Monkeys have been one of Ingram’s main inspirations since she began
making beads in 2007 because of their mischievous reputation, allowing
her endless creative possibilities. She crafted her first Space Monkey
bead in 2008 and so when she heard about /Beads in Space/, she
immediately felt connected to the project. She hopes that her three
beads will bring a smile to children’s faces.
“We are very grateful for the dedication and enthusiasm of our artists,
not just in this special programs but every day of the year. Without
their help Beads of Courage just wouldn’t exist,” said Jean Baruch,
director of Beads of Courage. “We are very fortunate to be given the
opportunity to work with NASA to send such fine artwork into space. This
mission will bring inspiration to the many children and their families
battling serious illnesses.”
Beads of Courage is a non-profit organization, based in Tucson, Ariz.,
focused on arts-in-medicine programs geared toward helping children cope
with serious illnesses. Patients are given beads to represent
significant treatment milestones during their journey. Beads of Courage
programs have helped thousands of children and their families at over 60
hospitals. More information is available at www.beadsofcourage.org.
Yes, it’s really true!! Three Space Monkeys are now part of the next Space Shuttle Mission set to soar into orbit on May 14th!
At the moment they are secluded in training for their special trip, but they did manage to sneak out a crew shot for us -
The shuttle crew looks quite happy with their new Simian Mission Specialists don’t you think? As you can see from the image, Ray Gamma, Sam Supernova and Mike Mercury will go down in history as being part of Shuttle Mission STS-132. It’s rumoured that some banana experiments are going to take place and probably a good dusting of the Canada Arm. I know the three of them are hoping for a spacewalk, and we’ll just have to cross our fingers!
So, you might be wondering ‘how on earth did all this come about?‘
These three Space Monkeys
have been selected as part of a very special payload on STS-132. The payload consists of 8 ounces of glass beads that were created especially for Beads of Courage ‘Beads In Space’. The beads will travel up in the Space Shuttle and upon return from the mission flight, the beads will be returned to Beads of Courage.
The Space Beads will then go on a traveling tour to Beads of Courage member hospitals to bring joy to the children who are members of the Beads of Courage Program. Beads of Courage will also be creating a colorful poster with the space beads featured to give to all members of Beads of Courage with words of encouragement from the mission astronauts, and the contributing bead artists..
If you are unaware of Beads of Courage, it’s a wonderful program that provides beads for Children who are hospitalised with a serious illness. Each time a milestone in the child’s treatment is passed a bead is added to the child’s string. It’s heartbreaking but also very inspiring to see just how long some of these strings of beads are that children have collected.
Each of the beads for ‘Beads In Space’ needed to be a space theme that children would recognise. Some of the other beads chosen include a space dog, a space frog, and aliens! I think I can probably speak for all of the artists who participated when I say what a total thrill and honour it is to have our beads chosen for this project.
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that something I created would travel into space — it just goes to show that life is an amazing journey in itself where unpredictable and wonderful things can happen!
. . .The real mission of my Space Monkeys is to make people smile, and I hope that they can be successful in bringing some smiles to the Children who get to see them.
Read more about Team Beads of Courage and NASA here
Learn more about Beads of Courage and how you can help them here
I can’t help but say that in the old Muppets way of saying ‘Pigs in Space’!
What you might ask is Beads In Space all about?
Beads of Courage is a wonderful charity that supports children coping with serious illnesses.
Many glass beadmakers donate beads that are in turn given to children who add them to their strings to signify a particular stage in their journey. Perhaps they just finished a round of treatment, or had surgery.
Beads of Courage are going to be sending 8oz of beads into space on the next Space Shuttle!
Bead artists are encourage to submit three beads which will be juried and possibly chosen to take that trip into space. How exciting is that!!!
Here’s a link to the info – the deadline is looming – so be quick if you want to join in the fun.
Now, if you know some of the beads that I make you’ll realise that I have some very excited monkeys here in Ontario! Yesterday I mailed off three of them and now we have to wait and wonder. Regardless of who’s beads get picked one thing is for sure – it’s a win/win/win for the children, for Beads of Courage and for the artists!
I’m so excited to see the beads that are submitted for this – they have to be space themed and I’m imagining all kinds of colourful space vehicles and critters. I suspect there may be a few ‘Pigs IN Spaaaaaace’ too!
— he’s not the only one!
Sam Supernova Skipping Craters
