Tuesday Artist Highlight - Lori Anderson

Lori Anderson of Lori Anderson Designs and Pretty Things is definitely a person to be watching. She is  going places - and quickly. Designing jewelry, organizing Bead Soup Swaps and Blog Hops, hosting groups and forums on facebook, doing trade shows, teaching classes, charity work, writing books and doing book tours - physically and online, and many other things on top of raising a fine young man. In all these hats she dons Lori manages to be kind-hearted and sincere in her dealings. Lori is always there to lend a hand, lead someone on through encouragement and always driving people around her to be better people. She is successful and helping others to do the same. That  is a quality hard to find these days and why she is our spotlighted artist of the week.

With the blog hops, giveaways, and her blog in general Lori challenges people and grants opportunity they may never have been able to realize had they not stumbled upon her or had the good fortune to personally meet her. I am one of those people and I am humbled and consider it an honor to befriended by Lori.

Here is an example of a thought provoking write up entitled Be Good to Yourself & Your Business Will Bloom. She wrote this as a guest blogger on Kind Over Matter a wonderfully positive and inspirational blog focusing on all things handmade and the people behind the making of these products, as well as healthy business ethics. It is a wonderful read on a wonderful blog - check them out!

Her successful online Bead Soup book tour was set up in tradition of the Bead Soup Blog Party . It truly was a perfect way to introduce the book to her following and those who are curious about bead soups and blog hops. All participants that were included in the book took part of this blog hop and hosted giveaways. It was a fun way to celebrate the spirit of the book and the Bead Soup Blog Party.

Lori has hosted and organized six Bead Soup Blog Parties and they have all turned out greater works than the artists themselves could dream possible. The idea is that two beaders are partnered up, they swap beads from their stashes and when they receive what their partners have picked for them to use and mix in a few things  they may add from their own stashes - they get busy creating and then blog about it. At revealing time participants and everyone else who is invited through blogs and other social media outlets visit as many blogs of fellow participants as possible and see what was started with and what it all became. We all come out richer, wiser and more confident. What a beautiful thing, as simple as it may seem, Lori has given us.

This is only a glimpse into who the person our artist of the week is. If you would like to learn more about Lori check out her site, her  blog, look her up on facebook, you'll be glad you did. I will be doing a review of the Bead Soup book within the next week, check back in - you won't want to miss it.

Create something beautiful and make it with love...