Peyton CO

Been awhile since I wrote anything here.
 I am no longer in Sturgis SD, Rebecca and I have traveled down to Peyton CO to visit with my Father, Step-mother and my brother and sisters.
 Peyton is just outside of Colorado Springs and you can see Pikes Peak from my fathers front porch.

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Green Goblet

green goblet made from..... 100% recycled beer bottle glass. Each one is hand cut, ground and polished. They make wonderful gifts or just a great conversation piece and are available at The Engraved Egg

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Handfasting (me and Becc)

"Handfasting" was the word used by the ancient Celts to describe their traditional trial-marriage ceremony, during which couples were literally bound together. The handfasting was a temporary agreement, that expired after a year and a day..... The date may be chosen to be near a full moon. Handfastings during the month of May are rare because that is the month of the union of the Goddess and God. (Most Wiccans are duotheistic: they believe in two deities, one female and the other male.)
The ceremony is often held outdoors; preferably in a wooded area; ideally at a crossroads. A backup location is selected in the case of rain.
The bride will not be dressed in a traditional wedding gown. The couple will wear attractive clothes for the ceremony. The bride often wears red.
A circle is formed on the ground with rocks, crystals or some other marker. It is large enough to handle then entire wedding party, and guests, with plenty of empty space. Candles will mark the four cardinal directions. An altar is located near the center of the circle. It is large enough to support the marriage documents; a knife; chalice; a cloth, rope or ribbon; a small silver box and a trowel! A broomstick is laid beside the altar. Wildflowers may be spread inside the circle. The bridal couple stands to the east of the circle. They wear circlets of flowers. Friends and family are gathered around the circle.
The presider rings a bell three times to indicate the start of the ritual and to demarcate divisions within the handfasting ceremony.
The couple approaches the circle from the east -- the direction of sunrise; this symbolizes growth in their relationship. They walk once around the circle and enter from the east.
The presider explains to the guests the significance of the ritual to be performed.
The circle is then cast. This usually involves a Wiccan priestess or priest walking around the periphery of the circle four times, with elements representing earth, air, fire and water. They will recite a statement at each of the four directions.
Answering a challenge from the presider, the couple each declares their intent to join with the other so that they are one in the eyes of the God and Goddess, and of family and friends present.
The presider asks the traditional question whether anyone present is aware of any reason why the couple should not be handfasted. Hopefully, nobody objects.
The couple recites a statement, saying that they have come of their own free will "in perfect love and perfect trust" to seek the partnership of their future spouse. They exchange rings. Each recites a prepared statement, such as: "I, [name], commit myself to be with [name] in joy and adversity, in wholeness and brokenness, in peace and turmoil, living with him/her faithfully for a year and a day. May the Gods give me the strength to keep these vows. So be it." 10
The presider challenges them to drink from the same cup. Each drinks separately. Then each holds the cup so that the other may drink. This symbolizes the need for a balance between apartness and togetherness in their future life together.
The couple will face each other, joining both their left and right hands together. Their arms and bodies form a figure 8 when viewed from above The a double circle is both the mathematical infinity symbol and an ancient religious symbol for the union of a man and woman.
The presider will place a cord, ribbon, or strip of cloth over the couple's hands. It may be loosely tied; it might be red in color, symbolizing life. This symbolizes that the handfasting is a commitment, but one that is not an onerous one. One year and a day after being handfasted, the couple may return to the presider and repeat their vows with the cord or cloth tightly knotted. This symbolizes the intent to have a permanent relationship. This ritual is the source of the expression "to tie the knot."
The couple each reads a statement to the other, expressing their love and their hopes for their future together. Since their hands are bound, the texts are held by their assistants. The bonds are removed.
The couple uses a knife to cut off a lock of each other's hair. This is put in a silver box. This symbolizes their future relationship, one as intimate as the mixing of their hairs.
The presider offers advise to the couple, perhaps saying: "Be understanding and patient, each with the other. Be free in he giving of affection and warmth. Be sensuous with one another. Have no fear and let not the ways of the unenlightened give you unease, for the Gods are with you now and always." 10 The presider asks the assembled guests whether they will support the couple in their new relationship together. Hopefully, they answer "I do." The presider then pronounces the couple to be handfasted as husband and wife.
The couple kiss each other -- their first gift to each other as a handfasted couple. They then perform their first task together: they pick up the trowel from the altar, and bury the silver box at the center of the circle.
The presider, married couple, and witnesses sign the marriage documents.
At the end of the ceremony, the handfasted couple join hands and jump over a broomstick. This symbolizes the effort required to make a committed relationship work.
The priest or priestess who originally cast the circle now banishes it.
The presider states the the handfasting is concluded: "The circle is open but unbroken. May the peace of the Old Ones go in our hearts. Blessed be."
The bell is rung three times. The married couple then go clockwise around the circle, greeting friends and family.
A feast traditionally follows

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Memorial day

Well it's Memorial Day...The day we remember all the men and women who have fought for the freedoms that we have.

Enjoyed a great cook out at Bob Yorks today, Burgers, anti-pasta, and some very funny conversations, I look forward to attending more of these.

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Type-O-Negative

Everything Dies

Well I loved my aunt
But she died
And my uncle Lou
Then he died
I'm searching for
Something which can't
Be found but I'm hoping
I still dream of dad
Though he died

Everything dies

My ma's so sick
She might die
Though my girl's quite fit
she will die
Still looking for someone
Who was around
Barely coping
Now I hate myself
Wish I'd die

No why? Oh God I miss you
No, why? Oh God I miss you
I really miss you

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Peter Steele ~ Dead at 48

Type-O-Negative's lead singer

Peter Steele has packed his bags and went on the next great adventure. I think this is affecting me so much because I love the music and the deep effect it has on me. There is also another reason and it's a simple one...the age at which he died...I am currently 40 soon to be 41 and I am wondering about my own mortality, when I was younger I didn't care if I lived or died, most people didn't think I would make it to 20....lol...neither did I for that matter.
As the years passed and I experienced more of life....the extreme joy and happiness of a first born child and the soul wrenching sorrow of people close to me leaving or dying I came to appreciate my life and all the ups and downs that go along with it...for years I have gotten out of bed and wondered "What will happen today?" it is my own little mantra that helps me to coupe with the ups and downs that life has to offer.
I am not sure where I am going or how long I have left till I go on my last great adventure but I hope that I have at least 20 - 40 years left but I'm not sure...I have abused this body I live in and now that I sound like a bowl of rice crispies when I get out of bed and say my little mantra I hope that today is not my last day....
Heres a link to the posting on Peter Steele
"every encounter in life, good or bad, could be just the encounter needed for cosmic enlightenment."

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Ticket to ride

Ive got my ticket to Sturgis

I leave Oahu on the 19th of April and arrive in Rapid City on the 20th. I have a 6 hour layover in Seattle, guh....I guess I'll make sure to have lots of beads and hemp with me so I'll have something to do.
I've been trying to get a location to stay at in either Rapid City or Sturgis itself, got a couple of nibbles but nothing concrete yet. I'm also trying to acquire a vehicle preferably a truck or van.
I love Hawaii but if you don't have a lot of money to start with it is really difficult to stay here. The beaches are full of ramshackle shacks and people with broken dreams with empty wallets.

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An interview of me

Little Tesoro did a

Wonderful interview and article on me yesterday for her blog space http://littletesoro.blogspot.com/2010/04/featured-seller-william-r-bonnichsen.html I really enjoyed doing it and it was very kind of her to offer it as well. You should check it out as well as her Etsy shop :http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleTesoro.

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Preparing For Sturgis

Working very hard to go to South Dakota by

April 24th. I have the booth space almost locked down and I have now found a possible location about an Hour outside of Sturgis to live and work in exchange for some carpentry work. Only a few more things to accomplish and then I'm on my way to get this adventure into full swing. By the way if you are an artist and would like me to offer your Items along with mine at the Rally send me an email and we can discuss it.

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100% Recycled Beer Bottle Beads, video creation

Creation of recycled glass beads

Greetings and hello, I have just recently add a two part video that describes and shows the processes that I use to create 100% recycled beer bottle glass beads. I hope you enjoy them and get a better understanding of the reason for my prices. These beads are created by myself on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii.
and here's the link. The Engraved Egg

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Create your own green necklace with this set ~ $30.00

You can create your own unique necklace with this set of recycled beer bottle glass beads

This set of beads contains 10 small lamp-worked beads that are approximately 1/4th of an inch long with a 1/16 (1mm) inch hole. The larger bead is also lamp-worked and is approximately 3/4th's of an inch by 3/8th's of an inch wide with a 3mm hole. All the glass is recycled from a Heineken beer bottle.

Shipping: $1.5

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Art-fest at Waikiki - Jessica Landau's art

Tim Nguyen and I at the Art-fest in Waikiki......

 This is Tim with the person who originally got me interested in Flameworking (lampworking) her name is Jessica Landau and her website is www.jessicalandau.com check her stuff out you can also purchase her work at Etsy. When I worked at Sunshine Arts I would spend my days off watching Jessica work her alchemy with flame and glass. I consider her to be my Master (teacher)........

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A Commissioned Piece $100.00

Woo Hoo! Just got done with a commissioned piece. It has 8 Snail Beads, a Heineken beer bottle mouth and sand from 10 beaches here on Oahu. It is also woven nylon crochet thread and 3mm round black leather cord. Took 8 hours to make and I charged $100.00 for it. I and the customer felt that it was a fair price for the amount of time and energy that went into creating it. The proud owner is moving off Island to get married and begin a new life but wanted something to keep from home.

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Snail bead made from Recycled Beer Bottle Glass

New work for the masses

Aloha!
These are what I call Snail beads, I went to the beach yesterday and as I picked up a discarded beer bottle I noticed that inside the bottle was a snail, when I got the little critter out it's shell sucked me in...the spiral of life feeding out from a central location, it called to me and so I let the little one go gathered the bottles up and came back to the studio where I became a man possessed. The result of this total lack of reason are the new snail beads and each Snail Bead is a unique handmade item.
They are available from my Etsy store and I do ship world-wide now, they come in various amounts with volume discounts. the break down works like this:
1     Snail bead   = $   2.50 each offered as a sample
5     Snail Beads = $ 12.50   ($2.50 each)
10   Snail Beads = $ 22.50   ($2.25 each)
25   Snail Beads = $ 50.00   ($2.00 each)
50   Snail Beads = $ 75.00   ($1.50 each)
75   Snail Beads = $ 93.75   ($1.25 each)
100 Snail Beads = $100.00  ($1.00 each)

and the links are to each ones individual Etsy page. (as soon as I get them on there).

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Possible Logo for my Recycled Glass items

Well I thought about this and I think this is a really good logo for my Recycled glass. It speaks of re-birth through fire, and most of my creations are born of fire....especially the pendants and beads. hope you like it as much as I do.
 I used a hawk as the basis for my Phoenix to honor me Mum.

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My Friend Tim Nguyen ~ March 23, 2010

This is my friend Tim Nguyen, he is well on his way to become an established artist here in Hawaii. I meet Tim 4 years ago when I worked at a wonderful art gallery in Kaneohe, Hawaii. the gallery is called Sunshine Arts Hawaii.


 Tim and I painted the murals on the building, he painted the left side and I painted the right. (when your facing the front doors.)
 Tim has a unique style that blends aspects of Vietnam with the rural laid back feeling of Hawaii. here are some of my favorites:

 if your interested in Tims work Giclee's are available at: www.nguyensart.com. If I were you I would get one before his art becomes to expensive. 

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Investors, Sponsors and Artists for The Engraved Egg

That's right I'm looking for Investors, Sponsors and fellow Artist's and Etsians for an excellent chance for some marketing.

Aloha!
 There is lots of room to write here so let's get started.
 I am currently working on going to Sturgis, SD for the 70th Anniversary Bike Rally and I thought to myself why should I have all the fun, so this is what's up:
1. I am looking for investors, these people will get there initial investment back after August, hopefully at the beginning of September with a bonus (not sure what the bonus amount will be until after the Rally) they will also get a spot of glory on The Engraved Eggs website for as long as the site exists, ( it has been up and running for a year). The investing amount is $250 and can be done on the home page of the Engraved Egg. People that have invested can be found at this link Investors.
2. I am also looking for sponsors, a sponsorship will get you a spot on the sponsors page with a link to your website, blog spot and/or your Etsy store, for the life of the Engraved Egg website ( it has been up and running for a year). Now you may ask yourself "why would I bother." it's simple, at the Sturgis Rally there are going to be an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people and I am planning on handing out flyers and business cards to as many of them that come by my booth. 
My business card looks like this:  
 I will have 2000 business cards and a flyer / brochure that will have the website address and the back will be the addresses to all of the sponsors and investors of the engraved egg. This is the link to the Sponsors page:Sponsors

   3. I'm looking for artists and crafter's that would be interested in having me sell there works at the Rally. My qualifications are thus, 20 years experience working as a custom picture framer in various art galleries  across the US.  I will be taking 10% of your sale price and you are responsible for getting your pieces to me. If your interested, become a sponsor and in the comment section state that you want  "more info".
 I plan on traveling to Sturgis at the beginning of July and staying until the middle of August. I do how ever need to secure the booth space before April 9th so the sooner you get involved the better. 

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creating a recycled beer bottle glass

This vid is cutting the bottle:

and this one is smoothing the edge, I don't do it for vary long in the vid so if you can suffer through the noise then you will see the rest of the process.

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March 20th ~ Shipping to Finland

Ello boys and girls,

  I just got back from the post office, woo hoo I think I successfully shipped two necklaces to Finland. Yippie! It was not as bad as I thought it would be. $4.21 first class international for a package weighing 2.8 ounces. These are what I shipped:   

 I just hope they survive.

more later.
~Will

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Saturday, March 20th, 2010

Well let's see if  I can blog. Lol this should be fun....
  Okay, lets get this started, I moved to Oahu Hawaii on Dec 7th 2009 from a small town in South-Western Pennsylvania named Waynesburg. Waynesburg's claim to fame is a yearly festival where people bet there hats on whether or not it's going to rain on one particular day....(farmers, go figure)
  Over the past 25 years I have traveled around the U.S. learning different artistic techniques and have now come to a point where I feel comfortable selling my creations. Not to mention that I finally found something that gives back to the earth as well.
 That would be recycled beer bottle glasses I also sell them at Etsy. These bottle glasses at present take me about 30 - 45 minutes each, from cutting them to smoothing the edges. They are a lot of fun to make. Here are some pics of them:

 These are just a few of the ones I make. I am always experimenting though and have found even more ways to re-use them. such as:

 The brown bottle is engraved by hand with a wonderfully in expensive tool called a Turbo Carver. and the necklace is a pendant made from the mouth of a Heineken(tm) bottle. 

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