Born Under a Bead Sign

MOVING TIME!

2010-03-28T08:49:00.004-03:00

Wild Wicked Beads has moved her blog to a new address and invites her friends to join her there.

New posts

2009-12-31T12:01:00.069-04:00

All new posts will follow the Introduction

NEW ENTRIES:
May 20, 2009 - Mokgumi Gane & older work
May 20, 2009 - Spring Pendants
May 02, 2009 - Spiraling Along - new spiral stitch necklace
April 27, 2009 - Stripes, Dots, Mango
April 14, 2009 - New work in polymer clay

CLICK TO ENLARGE ALL PHOTOS

Introduction & Welcome (new entries added below)

2009-12-30T18:29:00.002-04:00

This blog serves as an online gallery of my work and, hopefully, a place to connect with the similarly obsessed.

Clicking "archives" or "older posts" or "photos & opinions" links on the right hand side will bring up more photos.

I welcome comments and email. Please make yourself at home. (New entries below)

Mokgumi gane & older work

2009-05-20T06:08:00.006-03:00

The learning curve just keeps swooping upwards and I'm madly following...clay packed under my fingernails and studio wall-to-wall slabs of clay and bits. I'm crazy about Mokgumi gane technique and experimenting. A show I've applied for has asked if I could do vessels as well as jewelry, as they are top-heavy with jewelry applications. My mouth (which is disconnected from my common sense) immediately said "yes!" And so, this long weekend, I began.

The pictures are of work in progress, two vessels completed and the tulip and fire bottle are work from a previous lifetime (back when I worked with polymer clay 10 + years ago.)

Spring Pendants

2009-05-20T06:00:00.003-03:00

I'm trying out Sculpey's Studio Clay. It comes in mouth-watering colors and the ads describe it as having a "suede-like" finish. Working with it (aside from the soft fuzzy feel of the material, which is lovely) is a bit like working with mush, but I found that mixing it with 1/3 Kato clay firms it up enough to make it workable for jewelry.

These are the first two pendants. I like them, but I'm still trying to get things perfect. Clay is forgiving...but there always seems to be nick or fingerprint that all my careful looking doesn't catch.
Practice..practice...

Spiraling along

2009-05-02T10:45:00.003-03:00

I started out to make a chain for one inked polymer bead and although the seed beads seemed a match, they were a little too strong for the focal. The chain looked good though and suddenly I found myself whipping along making not one, but two. The outside chain is a triple-stitch spiral and the inner is double stitch - "fat spiral" as I call the stitch.
Ingredients: Japanese seed beads, Bali Silver, Onyx, Azurite, Fire-Polished beads, Sterling magnetic slide clasp.

Now, back to the drawing board on the focal!

Stripes, Dots, Mangoes

2009-04-27T08:12:00.006-03:00

This is the part I love...getting something new on the design board, pulling out drawers and drawers of stones and beads, trying to decide how to put everything together. I made these giant drum beads and their mates yesterday...and they have yet to be sanded and polished, but I couldn't resist playing. I got an interesting effect on the upper set by brushing alcohol over the base bead, then applying Precious Pearl Powder. The powder clumped and dotted...which gave the beads an aged look. When they dried, I brushed them with alcohol ink to bump the color up.

The accompanying stones are (pale green) Serpentine, Onyx and at the top, I'm considering using Turquoise and Carnelian with the blue-green set. Maybe throw a little Bali Silver in there too.

Contrary to popular belief, I'm still here!

2009-04-14T15:46:00.005-03:00

There are new beads. At the top "Ragtime" a set of ten beads down with layered translucent canes. And below, "Opa!" A set of five, texturized, with applied cane work.

Wow. It's been an age since I posted! Above is the Spirit Woman series, which is ongoing. None of these are transfers. The faces are rendered in colored pencil, ink and/or paint, directly on a cured polymer form. The surface is then painstakingly covered with translucent clay, some of it with inclusions of metal leaf or metallic powders and with partly transparent cane work. Each one is cured in stages, wet-sanded and buffed. Depending on how much glittery stuff is included or how little I trust the ink to be durable, I coat with liquid polymer clay at various stages.
From top to bottom: Dreamer Spirit, Mountain Spirit, Gentle Spirit, Vigilant Spirit.

In progress - "fabric," canes, experimental cabs

2009-03-12T16:22:00.002-03:00

I don't know how many years I spent making polymer clay "fabric"...I do remember saying, on Christmas morning, "Just an hour or so and I'll be done..."

Today I was trying transparencies, which are a whole lot tougher than they look. I'm not thrilled with the experiments in the top picture (uncured, not sanded or buffed yet) but I kind of like the funky "fabrics." It's 4:45 and I've been making canes for hours. My shoulders feels like a herd of Wildebeest have trampled over them - twice.

Tomorrow, I'll try assembling the fabrics and give my poor hands and shoulders a rest.

And furthermore...."lichen beads" and "Copper"

2009-03-10T14:43:00.004-03:00

Second photo: "Lichen"
Polymer clay, hand-inked, with metallic gold leaf, wrapped in transparent clay, sanded with three grades of wet sandpaper and machine buffed with my new Dremel. The largest bead is one and half inches long and its' two friends are an inch and an eighth long. Photo taken in natural light. About 3 hours working time.

Top photo: "Copper"
3 Cabochons, no holes drilled.
Polymer clay, ink, copper leaf.
9:30 p.m. and it is time to quit!

Still here - New beads

2009-03-09T15:11:00.005-03:00

It has to be 12 to 14 years since I last worked with polymer clay. In terms of what artists have been doing with the medium since then, that translates as more like 200 years. So the pieces above are my first baby steps back into the medium.

Not only have the techniques available multiplied like eager little bunnies, but the material itself has seen improvements. I'm starting to work with Kato clay (designed for artist Donna Kato) and finding that it's an amazing material. Like Fimo, it has to bullied into condition but it works differently. I start by literally hammering a slab of clay before rolling it and running it through the pasta machine. Apparently, this makes its' little molecules return to their proper malleable state and there is the added bonus of my getting to whack the crap out of something! Better than a spa day for tension relief! The colors are different intensities too and learning to color mix is a challenge. (With Fimo, I was pretty slap-dash and used to calculate in a bunch-of-this-little-less-of-that sort of way.)

There's a modest amount of new technology. I've bought a Dremel for buffing and have ruthlessly ripped the brushes out of a round-head electric toothbrush and double-side taped sandpaper to it. There are liquid polymers to try and paints, inks, powders.

I'm having a ball. And of course, a lot that I'll be making will need the addition of my beloved glass beads...ropes and bezels and embroidery. But for now, it's just such a gas to be challenging myself with something that, for all intents and purposes, is new.

I'm taking a year off. The last time I said that, I ended up doing the Saturn Return Gauntlet for the Mary Black Gallery. This time, I'm really going to do it. I'm going to work just for me, just for the joy of it and just to learn.

"Fifty-two miles on the #20 Bus Rug" - Mile 18

2009-01-19T13:12:00.003-04:00

I'm so smug about this project. For years I've been traveling to work and back on the number 20 bus and although the distance hasn't changed, the time required to reach point "B" from point "A" has ballooned to an hour. That's an hour each way, folks - to travel 7 miles, five days a week. In good weather. Thank you so much subdivision developers! Ten hours a week of deadly boring time.

Turns out that crocheting 2 inch wide strips is more manageable than reading (cell phone conversations have made that impossible), listening to music (I'm going deaf from turning up the volume to drown out cell phone conversations) and it's more engaging and less enraging than counting how many minutes it takes to move half a car length.

Sooo....above is the progress to date. Behind, on the left, a felted roll and in the middle, the beginning of the roll, strips folded in half and stitched together. On the right, the next roll in progress - not yet felted. About 70 feet in all. Turns out the trickiest part is sewing this big fat Sushi together while keeping it flat. a foot or so out, and I'll have to rest it on a table to work.

Now...if only I could figure out a way to bead on an overcrowded bus, I'd be all set.

More digression

2009-01-10T11:44:00.002-04:00

It doesn't look like beads, does it? My apologies to those who might come here just for that, but I've developed a fascination for fiber recently...big ambitious plans to start nuno felting and needle felting and obviously, I'm crocheting.

This will be a rug (I think.) I plan to felt the crap out of the strips and either weave them or sew them in a roll (a Sushi rug!). Why am I doing this? Well: 1 - I have lots of scratchy yarn not suitable for garments and 2. - It is saving my sanity on the bus. When it's finished, I'm calling it
something like "Fifty-two hours on city transit rug."

Meanwhile, the UFOs are still UF. And I have a backlog of ideas long enough to cover the Great Wall of China.

One of the ideas is a pitch for a magazine article or book. I've been scribbling notes for days.

Anyone know where I can buy another 30 years or so, so I can finish up.

and HAPPY NEW YEAR, ALL!

An end to the UFOs

2008-12-26T14:55:00.003-04:00

I am not, I repeat not heading into 2009 with UFOs haunting me every time I sit down in the studio.
The tiger cuff will have a clasp. The coaster (a gift for a friend) will be finished. And the flower cuff that has been half-done since November (October?) will be finished.
Plans for at least six projects are bouncing around in my little brain and I cannot face myself if I accumulate one more unfinished object.
There. So there. Are you listening, self?

More beads sneak into the crochet

2008-12-22T13:11:00.004-04:00

I started this last night...four days before Christmas and I'm making a Christmas gift. Now, I have to tell you, I swore off Christmas presents a number of years back - giving or receiving. My idea of a great Christmas is spending the day with close friends and otherwise avoiding malls, stress, overspending and consuming for the sake of consuming. Children in the vicinity of your immediate life are a perfectly valid reason for Christmas giving, or big adult children who are still, in their hearts, children when it comes to Christmas.

But my friends and I are at an age when it occurs to us that we are drowning under mountains of stuff. Stuff in the closets, stuff packed in boxes, stuff practically dangling from the rafters. Our budgets are tight and God knows we just don't need more stuff. Me - I spend an inordinate amount of time rearranging, dusting, packing and storing the offending accumulation and trying to convince myself to give some of it up. For Pete's sake.

This year though, I have this one friend who has been down on her luck. She relocated a couple years back and since then she's been barely making it month to month. Finally, this year, after struggling on the below-meager pittance of social assistance all this time, a volunteer position working with special needs people has morphed into a good full-time job. They had to hire her. She was so good and sensitive with their clients anyone would have noticed.

So. This is for her.

We now return to our regular Grinch programming.

Wild wicked what?

2008-12-14T18:45:00.004-04:00

Umm. There are beads, at least some beads. Lately, as three bead work UfOs languish, I'm relearning crochet, just beginning to learn how to crochet with beads, and teaching myself felt making.

Ever get stuck and just need a change? I have the ridiculous feeling at times that I'm being unfaithful to my beads. Or maybe, more realistically, easily a thousand dollars worth of supplies are gathering dust, as I lust over alpaca/silk yarn in colors like "nutmeg" and "lagoon" or haunt the pages of Corriedale and Marino roving. Ohhhh, "Autumn grape leaves!"

Just as I have no time at all - ideas and designs are racing through my mind at warp speed. I've had to practically nail myself to the chair to sit and finish anything... I'm excellent, however, at starting.

I don't know if it's my age or the age - the hyper, shifting, dissembling world in general - but I have such a sense of urgency. So much to learn. So much I want to make, to try...

Anyway, my beads are there (there, there babies, I always come back)...but meanwhile, this is a little shot of what's developed lately.

Hope you are all well and surviving the Christmas season...

A rose is a rose is....

2008-11-20T05:47:00.006-04:00

When Detta and Heather showed up at work wearing gorgeous hand felted poppies for Remembrance Day, I couldn't take my eyes off them and it's prompted the return of my old love of knitting and crochet. I find it difficult to bead in front of the television and end up feeling like I'm wasting time. Voila! Crochet! I can do that in front of the tube. And so I did last night. And I cannot resist a huge corny flower.

This pin is two flowers sewn together, one black, one in red and pink, from a pattern adapted from a Goodhousekeeping needlework book. The leaves are free-form...attached to the backs of stitches at the back. In the center, I've sewn some black glass droplets and there is a brooch pin sewn on the reverse. The yarn is very fine (2 ply, I think) cotton.

When stumped and stale - switch mediums - that's my motto. Thanks to Detta and Heather for the inspiration.

Ear Tapestry Series: Bauhaus 1

2008-11-09T19:14:00.003-04:00

Finally...time to do one tiny pattern!
Note, Nov. 10th. I get up in the morning, glance at the earrings and notice the MISTAKE. And these are square stitch. So there will be no pulling out stitches. Instead, start the second one all over again. Wah!

Deb's first peyote piece

2008-11-09T14:52:00.003-04:00

Somewhere in-between the top and bottom picture, the color would be correct. This is my student Deb H.'s first peyote project. It will be a clutch bag when it's finished. I'm thrilled at how the pattern turned out and Deb did a great job. With my time so limited, I'm very pleased to be able to see my designs made up without having to start putting in 24 hours days trying to catch up with myself.

And a note about "beginner" projects - which is: most them suck. I've found that even brand new beaders (who are determined, motivated) can manage much more than a plain piece, given good instruction and decent word and/or diagram charts. And it's always so gratifying to a new beader to produce something very complicated and splashy-looking on their first attempt.

And the teacher, of course, is just as tickled with the results.

Oh no! Tagged!

2008-11-02T12:43:00.003-04:00

I was tagged by: http://pattylakinsmith.blogspot.com/2008/10/ive-been-tagged.html
(So then I had to go to her blog and be tortured by the sight of a perfect and amazing lampwork bead at the top!)

Seven Facts about me:

1. My pant inseam is 35". Which means that if Tall Girl closes, I will have to parade about in underwear. And don't even suggest I wear skirts because that is just not on.

2. I used to write and have actually published a few things. A fact that now amazes me because I find it hard to complete an email these days.

3. I have lamp work envy and lust. But live in an apartment where open flame, gas, and possible toxic fumes would be frowned upon. Therefore I purchase. And when I want to torture myself, I look at lamp work and calculate the lottery win required to purchase everything I want.

4. I make a mean macaroni and cheese. That is I used to. The problem with making that is that I eat it and don't stop at a reasonable portion. Ditto potato salad.

5. I was once asked by a group trying to improve prison conditions to do research on the psychological effects of segregation and isolation on prisoners . It was hard to find detailed & accurate information and I counted it a triumph when directly contacting a Doctor at Harvard, who had been an expert witness, produced a detailed report. But then I read it and found that what you know can hurt you.

6. My cat is second-hand. He used to be called "Tiny." How could anyone do that to a cat? They have their pride, you know.

7. I am happily divorced and plan to never marry again. I don't have the time. I'm beading.

My tagees are (and some of these are recent finds and I don't actually know the bloggers:

Nancy at Nedbeads
Julie at The Jewellery Goddess
A steampunk jewelry blog at Clockwork Zero
My Aussie friend "Herhimnbryn" at Secret Hill Mosiacs
Bobbi who is Beading at the Beach
Pat, the French connection at Ca'Lucia Creations
The one and only Lone Beader

**And for those of you who revealed tagged facts before? Well. We absolutely KNOW there's more we'd like to know!

Here's how the tag works, for those of you who choose to play:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post, including links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

Veeery loooong earrings

2008-11-01T18:19:00.005-03:00

Or: House Monkey makes new cat toys:
I'm on the last square inch or two of the commissioned cuff. And I could not resist playing with the new "cadet blue" beads. These babies must be five inches long...and are surprisingly light.

More patterns and a new beading blogger

2008-10-26T17:20:00.006-03:00

Greetings fellow addicts. I made a new beading friend on Facebook a little while back and she has just launched her blog with a wonderful embroidered cuff as her most recent entry. You can find her at http://nedbeads.blogspot.com/ I'll add her as "Nancy's Bead Blog" in the links at the right.

Meanwhile, have you ever been hooked on solitaire or online Mahjong? Or plunked down with a new Firemountain catalog intending to browse for 10 minutes only to find that hours have melted away in minutes? Beadtool is exactly like that. It had been some time since I'd done anything much in peyote or square stitch and I'd had the Beadtool software on my computer for months and hadn't used it. I don't know what flipped my on-switch, but now it's become a habit - and once I start, I'm likely to begin around breakfast time and look up at lunch time. So, I've posted the last session's designs.

This weekend I taught the first "kitchen table" class I've done for quite a while. It was a flat, even count peyote class and the two students (I have a tiny kitchen table) chose a version of
"Geisha" and another face pattern I call "Winter Hat" (picture at top) Imagine how delightful it is to find out you can do something that looks complicated - but technique-wise is not one bit different than making up a solid color cuff. We had a ball. The two hour class was in beading hours. In real time, that equals four hours. I'll be teaching for the next three weekends and I've pretty much decided to keep it going on an every-other weekend basis. One stitch always leads to another, as you know. This may cure me of my hermit-like ways. The classes feel the way I imagine an old-fashioned quilting bee felt.

Slowly working on the commission for Katie's blue "heart of glass"...and pining for more beading time. Oh. And I'm developing an interest in Steampunk jewelry. Because you know, I really NEED another obsession in my life.

Hope this finds you all well and creating.

New Patterns: "Circuits" and "Deco Heart"

2008-10-13T07:38:00.004-03:00

I don't know what other people do when they get up 5:30 a.m. because they've been doing more coughing than sleeping, but I brew a cup of coffee and on the pretext of checking my email, I sit down at the computer. Inevitably, I don't check my mail and open my beadtool program instead.

These are two new patterns I'm dying to try out. I figure about Christmas time I should be able to get to these.

"Radiant" framed and Katie's Heart of Glass (in progress)

2008-10-12T15:06:00.005-03:00

I've spent most of this long weekend building soggy Kleenex towers, downing cold remedies and working on a commission for an embroidered cuff for Katie W. It's based on an older piece, "Heart of Glass" but the cabochon is so different from the earlier piece that I found myself doing my familiar old embroider-and-rip-out routine. I had to change the design quite a bit.

I'm still not sure this is right, but I'm beginning to feel hopeful. Because I always work free form with embroidery, I regularly hit points where I'm convinced that the piece is a thousand bead's worth of unmitigated crap. However, with a little picking out (Okay - a lot of picking out) and a little perseverance, I generally manage to finish with something that's respectable. Or so I hope.

Unfortunately, even with good lighting - I cannot get the vividness of the colors of the focal. Dichroic glass color shifts and my camera hates ambiguity of the blue/green/turquoise/purple kind. But this is close.

And (Goatman!) "Radiant" has her frame. Burled cherry and South American Purple heart. I was utterly thrilled when I saw this. I could never have imagined such a lovely piece of woodworking (even knowing how beautiful Ken's work is) - or wood that is naturally purple. Ken says the cherry will redden in time, too. All things considered, and snotty, snuffly cold aside, it's been a good week.

New stuff up on Etsy - finally

2008-10-05T16:21:00.005-03:00

I figured I'd work for two days. Ha! The floor was producing hair and dust bunnies. The underwear drawer had transferred itself to the laundry basket. And somehow, no one had done dishes.

HOWever. I did get "Geisha" done and the pattern tweaked - and they are both up for sale on Etsy.

Now, where did I leave that remote? Time to collapse in a self-satisfied heap before facing another week in the coal mines.

Houston, we have touch down

2008-10-04T10:58:00.011-03:00

I started cleaning and reorganizing at about 11:00 a.m.

I finished at 10:00 p.m. so exhausted I couldn't even find the energy to feel a sense of accomplishment.

At one hideously fatigued moment, I began to count the number of drawers in this room...over 200. Most of which were emptied, reorganized and relabeled during the course of the carnage. Meanwhile, Cat claimed my new soft, cushy throw blanket and slept blissfully through the upheaval...except, of course, to interrupt now and then when he required food.

My big AHA moment of the day? I have enough supplies. This is to be my new mantra. "ENOUGH SUPPLIES, ENOUGH SUPPLIES, ENOUGH SUPPLIES." Enough for who? Twenty beaders, that's who.

This morning I used all of my 10 thumbs to set up my new table top lighting kit.
Oh glory! There is a Goddess of Beaders (related, I think, to Arachne). It works. Check the difference in the photos of the Tiger's Eye bracelet. And for your viewing pleasure, I've included shots of the organized shelves and drawers - just so that you can be impressed and astonished that anyone could fit that much crap in one room! And I'm not posting photos of the 3 drawer cabinets on wheels or the 11 drawer desk drawers.

Work and weather report

2008-09-28T15:43:00.004-03:00

I told myself, in no uncertain terms, that sitting down at the computer and opening the pattern software was a very bad idea. I know how I am.

Five hours later...when nothing else is done, I finally shut it off.

Today I actually made some headway on "Geisha"...the prototype. I've made corrections to the pattern (now that I see how the actual piece looks) and ordered some additional bead colors I hope will reasonably resemble human flesh next time I start on a face pattern. I'll finish the piece and keep it - which is what I do with anything slightly flawed.

And suddenly the weekend is nearly gone. Time passes at warp speed when I'm doing anything beadwork related.

I'm sucking wind over at Etsy. I don't know if that's there are 3000 really outstanding artists working in beads at Etsy, crappy luck, the careening economy, or that I'm charging half of what I think most of my work is worth - and it's twice what anyone is willing to pay.

Instead of continuing with the pity party I threw for myself at the end of the week, I figured it was better to do what always works - sales or no sales - work at something that feels creative and forget what may or may not sell. I'm doing that, by the way, while I wait for Tropical Storm Kevin or Kyle or Keno - the most recent "K" hurricane's tail.

And I cheer myself, too, with the prospect of seeing "Radiant's" new frame. I recruited a master woodworker and I gave him free reign and said I'd pay what it cost, no dickering. He says the new frame is cherry and that the wood curves away from the picture like the cheaper frame did...and he's done some sort of simple detail with the edges. He says there are shades in the wood that are almost the same as some of the colors in the piece. I can't wait. I've seen his work and it's gorgeous.

Hope you're all well, happy and (of course) beading!

Geisha - in progress

2008-09-21T15:30:00.003-03:00

Workin' on the chain gang, lalala...
To describe the last month as "busy" is comparable to calling a category 4 hurricane as "windy with showers."

The day job, folks, is killing me inch by inch. And then there's the endless effort to juggle my own work, keep the house livable, manage to possess at least one clean pair of underwear and keep up with correspondence.

After a binge of earring making - I started playing with my bead charting software this morning.
I bought it a couple years ago because it was nifty and inexpensive and I like to work in square stitch. One quickly tires of graph paper and fatal mistakes one cannot erase. I haven't used the program a lot but since I've recently rediscovered how much fun peyote stitch is - I thought I'd play around this morning and the above, "Geisha" is the result. She's the focal of 2.7 inch wide cuff and I'm at row 43 of 80.

My cat hates me for the lack of attention. I haven't done the ironing. I have hand cramps. But I'm having a ball!

Colors are crappily rendered by my camera - way darker than the piece. I can tell this one if going to be a bear to shoot when it's done!

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Ahhhh. Silver!

2008-09-13T12:31:00.002-03:00

It's that time of the year when I do a lot of supply ordering and the first thing on my list is usually silver. My wholesaler has a minimum order, so it's a huge deal, picking what I need, browsing pages and pages to get the best items at a decent price. I took a risk on a couple clasps this year, sent off the order and prayed I wasn't going to end up with 20 or 30 really awful unsuitable things. Someone must have been listening up there because I'm thrilled with the whole order - in particular the big Bali hooks - both rectangular and the semi-circles.

Meanwhile - the day job is exhausting, The Men in Workboots are coming to yank out the living room carpet and replace it with laminate flooring - which, while it is a very good thing - means that this weekend is for moving a considerable amount of furniture, bric-a-brac, and books out of (and then back into) said living room.

I just want to bead! Please universe! One little lottery! I've been such a good girl!

I need a name for this...

2008-09-07T13:55:00.004-03:00

Recently, I put the peyote cuff in the first photo up at my Etsy shop. I made it quite some time back & it's been hanging on a display board ever since. Normally, I prefer chunkier styles of beading such as embroidery or right angle weave, so this red peyote piece was an experiment. I loved how the peyote felt like glass fabric, but I just couldn't leave it flat. So, a little embellishing...

I had to take a good look at the red cuff to describe it for the store and that led to ideas...which led to the cuff in the second photo. I love the change in textures and the "bead soup" of olive, grey, teal, plum and merlot Matte Raku (Toho) beads. Now...all I need is a name to post it under when it's done!

Any ideas? I kept thinking about pebbles under water (you know how they look when you're in the shallows and the water is clear)...but other than that, I'm stumped!

Even the first few stitches...

2008-08-17T18:42:00.005-03:00

Even the first few stitches are a relief after being glued to the computer setting up the Etsy shop...writing descriptions, grinding the last available adjective out of my weary brain...

I actually wrote, "red and yellow are the new black." Please go ahead and laugh - or groan.

And all this time, while the laundry piled and the dust bunnies became prehistoric in size and mold began to form on the dishes I'd abandoned in the sink, and I had to take care of it, all I could think was - I WANT TO WORK. After a while, that thought was followed by, You know, you might never have another creative thought as long as you live. That's what happens when it starts to be about business, money and hours at the computer.

So ever humble though it may be, the cuff I've started (above) has brought me enormous relief.
I'd intended to do something symmetrical, lovely (I hoped) but formal & not free-form. And when I got the bezel around that extraordinary tiger's eye cabochon (there are actually teal blues in there), suddenly I was falling into the pictures in the stone and...well...hell...free-form. Flying by the seat of my pants again with a few scribbled lines I may or may not follow. And I'm trying Lone Beader's layering finally and I'm just ridiculously excited about it (thanks LB). Most of all though, I'm not caring if it sells - I just want it to take me on its journey.

August 21st Update: Ha! Want to make God laugh? Tell her your plans. Five Hours into the cuff I realize it's heading for a ditch and that THIS is the reason I don't use focal cabs a lot for embroidery. I cut the backing away and save the cab and bezel - and it will be the focal on a RAW stitch piece - where it can do it's stand-alone thing in peace. I may be the Queen of False Starts. Unless anyone else wants to compete for the title!

Aug 23rd - My fingers are cramping. This is a stiff one. But...underway. Only 6 or 7 more hours to go, I figure.

Circus earrings

2008-08-04T10:23:00.002-03:00

Tasteful, subtle, no?

But that's the fun of doing bead work. You always have something to match.
I swore I'd never wear these retro prints - but hell, it's been raining and foggy for an entire week and that blouse kind of jumped off the rack and into my hand. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Besides, it was 60% off. Come on...you know I couldn't leave it there to waste away.

An embarassment of riches: Picks from Etsy artists

2008-08-01T11:05:00.009-03:00

Meet Zuma Single 8. She (don't ask me, I just thought "she") measures 18 x25 mm and is dying to be a focal on something I make. Or something you make, if you beat me to the spare $20.00. She's made by Tera, of beadygirlbeads. And you can see the Beady Girl's shop at Etsy by clicking here. I am a sucker for Tera's brilliant sock-you-silly colors and what I can only refer to as "wit." I grin every time I look at her pieces.

Ooooh. Ahhhh. Michael at Protege gives us Webbed Heart, a magical, glowing focal measuring 37 x 27 x 15mm but taking up much more room on my favorites list. This piece just gives me chills and you have to visit the closeup shots at Protege on Etsy. Webbed heart sells at $24.00

And look at this incredible, elegant piece byMorwyn of anothercountry at Etsy. This, to my mind hits the categories "wearable" and "art" with equal force and style. Morwyn says she's trying to work towards brighter colors. Me? I think she's doing just fine already. This piece is Industrial Femme, and the piece sells for a mere $100.00 Find anothercountry at etsy.

And a bravo for Jane Rovers, my fellow Haligonian, for her utterly gorgeous photography, transferred to canvas. This 4 x 4 inch piece is called Weathered and sells at $35.00 I love Jane's work - and she's traveling soon, and coming back with a whole new collection of work, so watch for her at janerovers on etsy.

**And am I getting any work done? Ummm. Well. I guess I will soon - projects are piling in my studio. But right now, I'm in artisan heaven...surfing all the gorgeousness at Etsy. And I just had to start sharing a few of my many favorites. Enjoy! Visit the artists. Comments are always welcome.

Wild Wicked Developments!

2008-07-25T21:21:00.001-03:00

To heck with retail. I'm trying an Etsy shop. I'd love it if you'd have a peek! Finally - all the making is up for sale. I'll be adding to the items offered as time permits! Yahoo. Please visit!

"Lagoon" beadwork cuff

2008-06-29T12:38:00.005-03:00

This is the latest RAW stitch cuff. Strangest color! The base beads are Toho - Purple lined teal - and when you put actual teal beads next to it, they are only a shade off, but held against a large swatch of steel blue material, they closely match. I've used Aqua Azaro 4mm fire polished and the 6mm fire polished beads are turquoise with a metallic half-coat. Lots of tiny plain sterling and Bali sterling beads in this one, too. The colors brought to mind deep water glinting silver with moonlight.

I've decided that I have enough samples done to show - and now I'm going to do three row samples of different colors.

Meanwhile I'm chomping at the bit to try some experiments. Too many ideas. Too little time.

Square Stitch Earrings: "Agree to Differ"

2008-06-24T11:32:00.006-03:00

ARGHH! The tortures of the damned! My camera hates turquoise. Actually, the blue beads are a deep, very shiny turquoise - and what does it give me? Flat blue, that's what. And the "brown" beads are bronze matte metallic with lovely shade differences, but NO, I get brown! When some miracle of light happens, I'll try, try again. (Postscript: HA! The light changed. This is more like it!)

These were just for fun - I love giant earrings & these are 30mm x 70mm (that's nearly an inch and a quarter wide by two and three quarters inches long, for those who don't think in metric). I was tempted to make the same pattern for both, but I overcame the impulse.

Southwest Jewels: Beadwork Cuff and Earrings

2008-06-21T11:08:00.005-03:00

I've been pondering what to offer for sale when I set up on Etsy and what to present to retailers as a coherent line. Embellished RAW stitch cuffs are becoming a kind of signature bracelet for me - they're much faster to make than embroidered pieces (although "fast" is a relative term in beading, of course) and I thoroughly enjoy trying new color combinations and working on different types of closures. The basic material costs have a wide range - depending on which Toho beads I'm using for the base, whether I use a lot of sterling silver (this one has about 40 Bali Sterling beads) & whether I use fire polished beads, stones, or Swarovski crystals. This particular cuff (work time included at a fairly modest rate) would wholesale at $80.00 -110.00 and retail at $160.00 - 220.00. Not much when you consider that it will last for generations and you won't see it on anyone else. Materials for earrings are lower cost - but these babies take a LOT of time to make, even when you're quick. Still, because the components aren't cost heavy, I can price these for Etsy - at about $30-45.00 a pair, depending on length and I really love making the patterns & trying them out. Might be high cost for the Etsy market, but it will only cost me 30 cents a pop to find that out. Nothing ventured, as they say, nothing gained.

I have an official provincial name search being done on Wild Wicked Beads (it's a $53.00 government-required formality) - and when that comes in, for a mere $60.00 I can register it in Nova Scotia and get my business name changed.

Meanwhile, I'm making cuffs and earrings. Working my tail off - and, as always, it doesn't feel a bit like work!

Dragon's Vein Agate Necklace

2008-06-08T11:33:00.002-03:00

Started playing with these beads this morning. I'd planned to do some beaded beads to add to the necklace, but the stones themselves are so spectacular that I left them to speak for themselves.
This piece is choker length - 16," and the beads are dragon's vein agate, onyx and solid sterling silver. The stones have shades of milky blue & grey...and some even have a slight brownish cast and of course there are those stunning black veins. This is the kind of piece I'd wear with a suit.

Bead Embroidered Cuff: "Vienna"

2008-06-01T16:41:00.005-03:00

Two cuffs in two weeks.
Do I need to get a life? Possibly, huh.

In which she continues to obsess

2008-05-31T21:12:00.003-03:00

As I said in comments below, I suspect the gold one is slightly spooky. I kind of like these - definitely love the fond. You would not believe the hours & hours I lost (What? It can't be 8:00 p.m.!) doing one after another after another. I'm taking pity on you though and don't want to tax your patience! And yes - I am beading as well. Nearly done the new cuff, so photos will follow.

Creativity Awards! Tributes to those who inspire me to stretch creatively.

2008-05-28T10:54:00.004-03:00

I was given this lovely award for creativity by Marylo of Le reveuse de bijoux. What a nice thing to wake up to!

The deal is this: I award five bloggers in turn & they award five bloggers. Great idea and a way to share our work, our favorites. Pass around the inspiration, I say! An awfully tough job to get it down to five, but here are my choices.

1.Bobbie at Beading at the Beach. For her imagination, for always daring to experiment & make art, for technical skill.

2. The Lone Beader, Dianne, whose wonderful miniature worlds fascinate. No one can take an "ordinary" subject and make it as magical as Dianne - and she has an eye for shading, texture and detail that no one can rival.

3. Julie. The Jewellery Goddess who makes things so gorgeous & juicy you want to eat them up. And when she's on a creative streak, she can outproduce anyone!

4. Beadweaver. You can't leave this site out! This is the most ambitious blog in the world - and a map to hundreds of glorious artists & doings in the beading world. We owe a great debt to this site.

5. And for Loomatics: Julie at Gaslight. Gorgeous loom work. (I figure anyone who does loom work deserves an award for weaving off all those warp threads - never mind ending up with something fabulous!) This is a website and not a blog, so I've bent the rules a little.

And I've added a new link! I'm sure some of you know her work, but I've just found her blog.
Kerrie Slade.

For inspiration in other mediums, my good friend Ilga Leja has a wonderful website of original knitting patterns and my Australian friend who goes by "Herhimnbryn" does gorgeous mosaics at Secret Hill Mosaics.

Okay. This is verging on cheating, isn't it? I'm way past five!

"Stained Glass" Cuff finished and a new cuff begun.

2008-05-25T14:24:00.006-03:00

Below, "Stained Glass" completed. No problem using the brass form, although it is tricky whip-stitching the ends without pulling the form out of shape.

This morning I started the top piece. I began with one of the little oval mirrors I found while scrounging at the dollar store. I'd recently bought the vintage copper pieces on eBay and once I placed them on the backing, I knew I had a good beginning even though the fact that the pieces had no holes posed a problem. Although I believe you could repair the space shuttle with E6000, I never trust to glue alone. Sewing over the bottom of the spokes provided a sturdy anchor & looked quite decorative. The other challenge was trying to figure out what to do with the very thin spaces between the spokes so that backing didn't show through. I had a feeling that even size 15's would detract. I settled on permanent metallic gold ink & colored in the backing. Then I remembered the garnet beads in my stash and added those.

Herhimnbryn asked if I charged for design time & I replied that I didn't draw a design first. So, H - this is how my process goes. It sometimes means ripping out the boo-boos & bad choices, but it's pretty organic.

Bead embroidered cuff, spiral rope

2008-05-23T16:41:00.005-03:00

Above are my current excuses for not keeping in touch. I've been on vacation for the last seven days - and these are the latest pieces. Nose to the grindstone. Discipline 'r' Us.
This is the first time I'm using a brass cuff form for bead embroidery. Having just finished the piece, I find myself terrified of slathering E6000 all over the back and gluing it - & the lining - into place. I'll have to get over myself though if I ever want to sell cuffs - because otherwise, everything has to be made to specific wrist sizes. Wish me luck?
The necklace was a treat to make. Spiral stitch just whips along doesn't it? The rope is 37 inches long & could be worn doubled. The stones are azurite, with little Bali spacers & a Big Bali Silver wheel in the center. The little silver magnet catch is astonishingly strong and I love it because it just looks like a small silver bead.

Black onyx agate pendant

2008-05-10T18:27:00.007-03:00

I'm trying to adjust to working with stones (seeing I've about broken the bank buying them) and am presented with all kinds of new challenges: How to embellish without drowning the look of a very striking stone, how to make a very strong necklace without making it heavy-looking. I'm critical of this piece - not sure I've got it just right. It was very difficult to match the snowy crystal shades & ultimately I settled for using black beads and beads close to the blueish shade just above the middle of the stone. The black & blue-grey bead embellishment is worked through a sterling silver chain, so the beads themselves bear no weight and I won't worry about breakage. I love this kind of agate and have two or three more being shipped now - one of them in particular has an astonishing pattern - and that one, I think, will be done with only black beads.
Update: Bottom tassel removed. Too frou-frou for the piece. An additional onyx bead added to the bottom instead. Live and learn, huh?

Rhodonite Necklace

2008-05-04T13:48:00.004-03:00

I've gone stone crazy. Again. This is Rhodonite - a particularly vivid example with striking pinks, mauves & greens. I had to bid pretty high to get this particular piece - but it was worth it. Reminds me of a Japanese landscape painting. The bezel beads are size 8, 11 & 15, the necklace beads are sterling & Bali silver, jet firepolished and of course, Rhodonite.

My spending sins continue: Rhodonite, Dream Agate, Dragon's Vein Agate, Landscape Jaspers, Fire Agate. I'll never catch up with myself - and on top of all that, my brass cuff blanks have arrived from Designer's Findings and are sending "bead me now" signals from the drawer.

I'm putting the push on (myself) to start selling. I've found a store here with the right price range and I'm also hoping to set up a website for the fall. Meanwhile, I'm trying to produce lots of stock ahead of time.

Phantom Quartz - Victorian

2008-04-27T07:32:00.004-03:00

I had two false starts on the necklace for this piece & managed to chew up about 10 hours of work time before I finally arrived at this design. It's embellished RAW stitch, worked over braided leather in Toho size 11s & 15s. The stone is 40 x 28 x20mm - Clear quartz crystal with inclusions from volcanic mud. I've never seen another like it.

Both designs started me thinking about how, although I love gorgeous, over-the-top necklaces with embroidery and fringe, my practical streak insists on asking, "Where would you wear that?" and "What would you wear it with?" I love to make jewelry that works with a suit, or a simple black top. Some of my wildest designs (the bright embroidered cuffs) I wear with jeans and a black top. I think we gravitate one way or the other with wearable art - some of us are more interested in the "art" side and some of us concentrate on "wearable". With these two, my focus has been on "wearable."

Deco Necklace 1

2008-04-19T07:32:00.005-03:00

I'd started making the tube section as support for the Phantom Quartz necklace in the April 27th entry (above). I had the creeping sensation that it wasn't right - the styles clashed - Victorian vs something much more modern. You know how it is when you're 10 hours into working & hate to admit that you're going the wrong way?

Finally I gave up on trying to combine the two & decided to see where the beaded tube wanted to go. The neckpiece above was the result. It struck me as typical of Deco-era design and I kept aiming for that kind of simplicity. And...that's led to borrowing a huge book on Deco jewelry from the library and all kinds of other ideas, so stay tuned and wish me luck. Meanwhile, I'm reworking the bail for the Phantom piece - and the necklace portion.

The Deco piece is made with sterling silver beads, cream lampwork beads and Japanese seed beads.

One of my friends, a young woman with (as she joked when I asked her) "a good neck on her shoulders," is going to model it for a photograph. It looks (pardon the ego) stunning on - and the display stand just doesn't do it justice.

Spring Conjunction

2008-03-23T13:49:00.004-03:00

I've actually logged my hours for this 3.5" x 6" cuff - and I'm at 30 hours, with just the backing left to sew on. Faster than I thought. I love deadlines because they make me get off my butt - and this was done for a Wearable Art Show that raises money for AIDS research. I had about three weeks of work time and am coming in five days early. I've been stitching on lunch hours, evenings and before I'm out of my PJs in the morning. I started out intending a more subtle color scheme but, apparently, I'm just not a subtle kind of person - either that or the craving for Spring to come has driven me mad for color. At any rate, I'm pleased with the result and hope you like it!

Collar - Rust, Purples, Coppery Browns

2008-03-02T12:02:00.004-04:00

I'm starting to love this design. It's easy - you just work two-drop peyote working end-to-end rather than top to bottom. And with the increase in bead size from 15 to 6, lush folds develop on their own. This one was made to coordinate with a pair of copper brown shoes.

Workroom rearrangement #309

2008-02-24T14:03:00.007-04:00

Ok. Maybe it isn't the 309th time I've rearranged my studio - but it felt like that after I lugged all the furniture. But I'm happy to have better storage and more surface space to work - I actually have empty drawers and spaces, although that never seems to last for long.

I love the new desk from Best Craft Organizer (single pedestal on sale now, folks!) and the wonderful 2" deep drawers. If you haven't seen their storage units, it's sure worth a look. The desk I received was sturdy, all the parts were there, the bolt and cam lock system is secure and easy to work with (one Phillips head screwdriver only) and the delivery time (west to east coast in Canada) was ten days. Great service.

Now. Where was I on those dominoes? And PS! I have resolved not to fill those empty drawers too fast. Cleaning and reorganizing, I realized what a terminal bead shopaholic I actually am.
Anyone know the feeling?

Fat Dominos

2008-02-19T11:14:00.006-04:00

Domino! No. Not not the pizza.

I've named these "dominos" because of their shape and thickness. These are reversible tablets & I'm working on perfecting them. The bases are size 6 Tohos and the embellishment are size 11 beads. Stay tuned!

If I ever finish rearranging my workroom, I'll post a pic of the finished bracelet (and a new collar I haven't managed to successfully photograph yet!

Cheers!

Forest Spirit Neckpiece...I mean...wall piece

2008-01-06T07:38:00.001-04:00

I started this piece over Christmas break after doing some digital collage work on a photograph of my friend, Kate. The "cabochon" is an ink jet print on silk. Still two tassels to go - and of course, it's going to need something to hold it around a neck...braided strands? Something fairly weighty...
The embroidered portion (not including the bottom tassel) is 4.5" wide x 5.5" long.

January 13th - Just too darn big for anyone short of a Viking warrior princess. I'll mount this on ultrasuede stretched over a frame. And one of these days I'll get a clear shot of it, too!

Key Lime Collar & Earrings

2007-11-28T15:04:00.001-04:00

It's been a long gap, but lately I've been going through beading books and magazines & I think it's fair to say that the bug is biting. I had something else in mind for these lime daggers, but they're so stunning that I decided a simple netted design would show them off best. The earrings are peyote tubes with dangles.
Oh! And my BIG NEWS is the one of my bracelet designs has been bought by Bead & Button. Look for the embellished diamond stitch project in the February issue. (And if you make it - be prepared to log some hours!)

Jewel Tone Cuff

2007-07-27T14:17:00.000-03:00

This cuff is 2.5 inches wide. Seed Beads - Toho size 8 & 11, fire polished stones, Swarovski crystals,
Bali silver beads and Sterling Silver hook & chain. Don't even ask how long it took! The ends are square stitch & peyote stitch. The base is Right Angle Weave.

"Dance!"

2007-07-07T18:09:00.001-03:00

Page 3. I am having SO much fun I could not resist posting an "in progress." I don't think I can get the wobble out of the peyote but what the heck! This is meant to be joyous and I can darn well color outside the lines!

Garden Party

2007-07-01T09:53:00.000-03:00

This piece grew itself into something like a formal garden: leaves, vines, buds. I kept thinking this is not serious jewelry, but then gave up on "serious" and just had fun. It's done in right angle weave, one of my favorite stitches. RAW stitch gives you so many inviting spaces to embellish - and heaven knows, I can't leave anything well enough alone without embellishing it half to death.
The base is 4 mm cobalt fire polished beads with size 11 seed beads. The embellishment and ends are primarily done in square stitch - which is stronger than any other stitch I know of...
You can, as usual, click to enlarge.
I'm getting so cuff and bracelet crazy that I'm thinking of doing a book proposal just for those!

Bead journal page 2

2007-06-24T13:49:00.000-03:00

"Navigator."

This page didn't quite live up to my original vision - but I decided that being too precious, too much a perfectionist, was the best formula for eventually discouraging myself enough to give up. So, I'm letting the page stand as it is - some qualities I like, some things I'd do differently next time.

This piece comes at the end of my second (and likely last) Saturn return. As a friend of mine put it, it's like emerging from a long dark tunnel. And I have a sense of things shifting in my life, lining up differently, beginning...

And so I watch and navigate...

One new cat. Several new bracelets.

2007-06-17T19:46:00.000-03:00

I've been teaching "kitchen table classes" at my home just lately and it's been great fun to work with the same students on more than one project. These women are particularly ambitious - even as beginners, when I wondered if they'd cope with homework, they kept showing up with not one cuff done to the stage we were working - but two.

I find it easier to teach a project if I do one myself for demonstration purposes - and then, of course, like my students, I get hooked and just have to try a design in different colors. This is my excuse for the series of RAW stitch and diamond stitch bracelets going on forever!

The cat (Smoke) and me, have been working very hard on the second bead journal page, as well. He especially likes that there are fringes to chew. His job is to pilfer spools of thread and to make sure that he packs the beads down into my beading cloth by walking back and forth across them. The other day, I stopped him in the midst of trying to pull beading needles out of my beading station with his teeth. His eyes light up every time I sit down in the studio because to him, that's quality time. If he stands on my work, he's nearly at eye-level, and he enjoys being face to face with the house-monkey so that he can assert his position as the boss of me.

I'm waiting now for a shipment from joggles. Still (after a lot of hours) not sure of what I've done with page two...but I'm hopeful. We'll see when my fabric background comes - and I'll post if it's not a disaster.

Cheers. (Note: I've updated the photos so that one series is shown in one shot.)

Bead Journal - First Page

2007-06-12T15:12:00.000-03:00

It looks like my version of the bead journal will be a visual representation of my internal weather. In May and June, going through a relationship crash and burn, I picked up my needle and beads. The image on the left is "wingless," at the top, a pen and ink drawing, "Purdah," and bottom right, "Shattered." Not light images - but as much of my beading time is spent making (I hope) beautiful things, adornments, the journal is giving me a chance to push myself in a deeper direction. I find that I'm constantly thinking of odd ways I can use old techniques in a new way and I may be incorporating found objects or photographs, as well. I think my pages will be mounted on matting board & boxed. In every way, I feel pushed to expand with this project and I'm absolutely thrilled to have 11 more pages to go.
And now...back to bracelets and teaching, while I plot the next image!

Heart of Glass

2007-04-25T16:57:00.000-03:00

This cuff measures 7.25 inches x 3 inches (at center). Size 11 & 15 beads, with one of Leslie Dana's gorgeous dichroic glass cabs at the center. I'd debated using a vermeil clasp but in the end, there was already so much color and pattern that I decided on a largely invisible closure. As with all my embroidered cuffs, it's backed with ultrasuede.

I'm excitedly waiting for three more of Leslie's cabs to arrive, so I hope to have new work to post again soon. Hope you're all having a wonderful spring!

Click to enlarge, as usual!

Big Phat Cellini Bracelet

2007-01-08T09:22:00.000-04:00

The Sun is in Sagittarius, I'm scattered all over the map but I finally finished this bracelet! Onward!

All Ears

2007-01-07T11:59:00.000-04:00

The new shipment of Toho rakus and mattes - or at least some of them. Self-supporting beads with tassels, a pair of layered square stitch earrings - and my favorites of all-time, the god's eye earrings. Click to enlarge.

Color pattern for God's Eye Earrings

2006-12-29T20:00:00.000-04:00

Thought I'd share this - for square stitch or loom. Done in size 11 beads, the length is 4" & the width at the points of the diamonds is 1.25" The pattern appears short & wider than the actual beads will look. This pattern uses black plus 10 colors. Click to enlarge and copy. Cheers!

Everybody knows greens are good for you.

2006-09-24T14:38:00.001-03:00

Above: Some fun jewelry. Copper chain, beaded beads, fire-polished crystals and some funky press-glass leaves.
The earrings were an experiment. I was trying to figure out a way to hang a woven bead with fringes "spokes," wrong way around, so that you could see the bead flat-on.

And continuing the Victorian theme, Diamond stitch, using varying sizes of crystals in jet and a color that resembles malachite. And then a little netting and some fringe drops.

"Refuge"

2006-08-29T18:13:00.000-03:00

Before I was invited to produce work for an exhibition in January at the Mary Black Gallery and got sidetracked with the gauntlet, *I had been working on the piece above. The central figure is polymer clay, fired with a brushed on bronze powder pigment and stamped with spirals (clearly visible if you click to enlarge).

The figure, and Radiant, the piece at the top of the blog, suggest trance-states to me...which is not out of keeping with the process of doing beadwork, which is precise, repetitious and at the same time, meditative. The fingers move and the patterns emerge so slowly that my original vision of how something will look changes as the piece speaks for itself.

*"Refuge" was completed October 22/06. The background is navy ultrasuede, stretched over canvas and a frame. Just the final finish framing to do now, and many more attempts to get the lighting right for a photograph. The shot above is quite color-accurate, but the refracted light is a problem. The size of the backing is 9 x 7"which should give a good idea of size of the beading and figure. Click to enlarge.

The gauntlet

2006-08-26T12:20:00.000-03:00

The Nova Scotia Designer Craft Council asked me to make something a little over the top for an exhibition in January - Haute Couture: Avante Garde and I made this piece: Saturn Return
Gauntlet. The center stone is honey calcite.

Collage and clip

2006-08-26T09:41:00.000-03:00

1. Collage of embroidered cuffs. Seed seeds, crystals, semi-precious stones, pressed glass.

2. A detail shot of a woven bead necklace in ambers, purples, eggplant shades, with copper beads.

Passion for purple

2006-08-23T19:07:00.000-03:00

A new bracelet done in diamond stitch (no variation in the diamond sizes). The clasp is a sterling silver slide. It's interwoven with quartz crystal beads, and pressed glass droplets - it's attached to the clasp with seed beads worked in square stitch. Click to enlarge.

Suppliers (or How to spend next month's pay in ten easy minutes)

2006-07-17T06:33:00.000-03:00

Suppliers:

Bead backing: Sova Enterprises sells a bead backing indistinguishable (to me) from Lacy's Stiff Stuff and at a much better price. Purchase by the yard and it's a real bargain. This material holds its shape, won't pill or fray, can be dyed or coloured and you can bead right up to the edge. US supplier - ships by economy surface mail so you'll wait about 4 weeks for the order.

Thread: Buy Nymo in a rainbow of colours. Sold mostly in B (the average beading weight) to D (slightly heavier) or in 00 or 0 for the tiniest beads. Superlon is the brand in your kits - AA is very fine and D is heavier. Carried in black and white - or packages of colour groups, it is more expensive than Nymo but the folks at BeadFX say it's as strong as PowerPro. BeadFX carries both, and they carry upholstery thread for working with heavier stones, knitting or beaded crochet.
C-Lon is also an excellent beading thread. Very sturdy and very little stretch. It's the personal choice of That Bead Lady and it's what she carries, in size D, in a good range of colours. Both are Canadian suppliers.

Helpful odds and ends: It's a good idea to pick up Thread Heaven, a silicon thread conditioner. It's tiny but lasts nearly forever. It reduces static & tangling and strengthens thread. Thread Cutter Pendants are handy too. Both at BeadFX (link above).

Bracelet Blanks: Bracelet blanks come in brass and aluminium, in 1" to 2&7/8 inch widths. Fantasy Beading also carries necklace bases & other blanks that can be used to mount beadwork on backing. All are very inexpensive. Check "supplies" on their site. U.S. supplier, and the order will take a few weeks to arrive.

Ultrasuede: I use Linda's Ultrasuede. She sells Ultrasuede, Ultrasuede light (what we're using for our cuffs in class) and UltraLeather. A metre costs $99.99, but she sells in pieces, too: 6 x9 and 9 x12, 6 x 45, 6x 48, 6 x58 inches. She offers scraps - and lists the average size. She's a Canadian supplier and shipping time seems to vary - but it gets there. Look at her swatch sets for a very nice range of colours.

Denver Fabrics carries a HUGE range of fabrics online, and a big selection of Ultrasuede. Ultrasuede sells as low as $47.00 a yard (US dollars), but you must buy a full yard. On the site, go to "apparel" fabric, then "ultrasuede" (links on the left), to actually GET to the shopping area next, click on the word "ultrasuede light" on the top center banner. It's on the brown strip underneath the words "Ultrasuede Fabric." (Who designed this page??!) There is no minimum order (other than the fact they won't sell less than a yard of fabric.) Their shipping charges for Canada are not listed and you might want to inquire. Sometimes shipping can nearly equal the order price.

Beads, crystals, firepolished beads, shapes (flowers, leaves, drops etc.) findings and all the stuff we love to run our fingers through: See the links at the right for BeadFX (CA), Harlequin (US), WhimBeads (US), That Bead Lady (CA) and Fire Mountain Gems (US).

Math is a four letter word. Supply list for Spiral class

2006-07-16T09:33:00.000-03:00

above

2nd from left (in purple) - Bead size 6 core with two 11s & one 6 for each spiral stitch.
(as in 2a, below)

far right - Size 8 medium core with two 11s & one 4-4.5 mm (as in 1b, below)

Necklace sizes:

Short – 18 inches (collarbone)
Medium – 24 inches
Very long – 36 inches

Supplies:

You need the beads (amounts below), thread to match in size D (or use what you have doubled), your needles, a beading cloth, scissors and an S-hook, lobster catch, or any single strand catch or clasp you fancy. Buying Thread Heaven is a good idea, too.

Colours ladies!
You can make the necklaces in two or three colours. The purple above uses the same colour for the core and the middle bead of the outside spiral, with copper size 11s for accent.

Or - You can choose three colors: one for the core, one for the small accent beads, one for the center bead of the outside spiral. If you are doing this, take the number of size 6 or 8 beads listed in the "a" projects, divide the amount in half. For example: if your necklace calls for 7 grams of size 6, you need 3.5 grams of each of the colours. (And of course, you'll end up buying two twenty gram packages because no one is going to sell you 3.5 grams!)

KIM! Email if you want to make the padded spiral design and I'll work that out for you.

1a - Necklaces made with Size 8 (medium) core beads, spiral strands size 11s and 8s (using the size 8 beads will make a more delicate necklace, smaller in circumference)

18” - 13 grams size 8 beads & 5 grams size 10, 11 or Delicas

24” - 17 grams size 6 beads & 6 grams size 10, 11 or Delicas

36” – 26 grams size 8 beads & 10 grams size 10, 11 or Delicas

1b - **Fancier? Size 8 cores with 4mm beads, drops (BeadFX calls them “Tiny Tims”) as the center of the spiral:

18” – 7 grams size 8 beads, 234 4mm beads or drops, 5 grams size 10, 11 or Delicas

24” – 9 grams size 8 beads, 312 4mm beads or drops, 5 grams size 10, 11 or Delicas

36” – 14 grams size 8 beads, 468 4mm beads or drops, 5 grams size 10, 11 or Delicas

2a - Necklaces with Size 6 (large) core beads, spiral strands size 10, 11, delica & 6s

18” – 24 grams size 6 beads, 4 grams size 10, 11 of Delicas

24” – 32 grams size 6 beads, 9 grams size 10, 11 or Delicas

36” – 48 grams size 6 beads, 18 grams size 10, 11 or Delicas

2b -**Fancier? Size 6 cores with 4mm beads, drops (BeadFX calls them “Tiny Tims”) as the center of the spiral:

18” – 12 grams size 6 beads, 180 4mm beads or drops, 4 grams size 10, 11 or delicas

24” – 16 grams size 6 beads, 240 4mm beads or drops, 5 grams size 10, 11 or delicas

36” – 24 grams size 6 beads, 360 4mm beads or drops, 8 grams size 10, 11 or delicas

**The 4mm bead can be: Firepolish, Swarovski crystal, 4-5mm pearl, glass pearl, druk (round bead), cat’s eye, or semi-precious stone. Tiny Tim drops are a standard 4mm x 6mm size.

Note that if anything is sold per 16 inch strand, that equals 100 4mm beads (give or take one).

You can choose one or more accent beads if you like – Bali Silver, or a larger bead, pearl, crystal or handmade glass focal – up to 10 or 12 mm. All these can be found at the various suppliers listed on the right of the blog.

Last word. Never estimate down. Always buy a little more than you need. The monitor-impaired should print this out!

Spiral stitch

2006-07-15T20:52:00.000-03:00

Folks: This is just to try to give you some idea of how a spiral builds. Think of it as a winding staircase, wrapped around a central pole. The variations are nearly endless and by changing the number of beads in the spiral grouping, or the size & type of beads, you can alter the whole look of the rope. Click to enlarge.
Please contact me via email with an questions you have about supplies. I'm doing the math tomorrow (Laurie) and will try to come up with a ballpark figure for what you want.
Tomorrow also - a big fat page of notes and suppliers for your reading pleasure. You'll wish you never asked!

Beaming with pride!

2006-07-14T17:35:00.000-03:00

The most surprising thing about teaching bead embroidery and spiral classes was not that everyone actually did their homework (although that was close to the top) - it was the level of creativity and innovation. I was thrilled to work with the group - from the student who claimed she couldn't sew a button on to the student who could teach me a trick or two, everyone was a delight. One student, finding her spiral work not turning out exactly as she wanted, came up with a new variation on the stitch. The women used colors I might never have dreamed would compliment each other, but ended up looking spectacular. Thank you Laurie, Kim, Susan, Robin, Sarah, Mary and Claudine for teaching me what a joy teaching can be - (and Susan? I am stealing your variation on the stitch!) And congratulations on your wonderful work.

The pictures aren't perfect, but they should give you some idea of why I'm so tickled. I'm posting these on the small side - but you can click to enlarge. Color is adjusted as close as I could get, but still not quite true - and apologies for the light refraction on some!

First formal class

2006-07-13T11:44:00.001-03:00

It’s just bead embroidery. Backing, needles, thread, beads. Nothing to it. But before I leave to teach my first class for the Centre for Craft & Design, I have a packed a large flight back to the top.

Working in my studio with everything close at hand, I hadn’t realized how many more tools and materials I use. Paper to scribble design ideas on, marking pens to color the bead backing, scissors, rulers, pencils, glue, double-sided tape, measuring tape, white cotton cloth to spread the beads on and masking tape to keep the cloth from slipping, a measuring tape to take wrist measurements.

The day before the class, I oil every pair of scissors I own and cut tinfoil with them to sharpen the edges. I notice that my measuring tape, plastic and old enough to be almost vintage, is filthy. I wash it down with pine cleaner. These are the necessary items.

I proceed stuffing the bag with items I hope will be inspirational. Slides of various artists’ work, my slide viewer (in case something goes wrong with the projector), my own work, to use as examples, a Fire Mountain Gems catalogue, vials of beads in different sizes and finishes. These are Delicas, matte finish and these are color-lined Czech beads, size 11, these are size 8 and 6 and…

I have four students today, with a fifth joining us by the second class. Two women are in the ballpark of my age, two appear to be in their twenties and are already seated when I come back from smoking my last nervous cigarette before we start.

I begin to spew information like a gun firing buckshot. I hop from talking about the work I’ve set out on the table, to the items in the Jewelry supply catalogue, to showing slides, to God knows what…my late mother’s fondness for Zinnias, for all I know. My brain is cranking out information rapid-fire and in no particular order, while a part of myself stands aside waving aloft a placard that spells out,

“S-L-O-W…D-O-W-N…N-O-W!”

I manage to read the sign, and reduce speed slightly. I ask everyone’s names and experience level. “If you can sew on a button, you can do this,” I tell them. One of the younger women grins shakily, “I could if my life depended on it, I think.” One student makes jewelry, another is an experienced quilter, and my fourth works in the craft world and is a curator, so I assume a relevant background.

The thing is, I think of bead embroidery as “easy.” I am reminded, during the class, that when you’ve done a thing for hundreds of hours, embroidered tens of thousands of beads, it’s bound to feel as natural as breathing. But when you are new to it, you don’t know certain things: That you put the needle point on the side of a bead and tip it onto the needle, rather than picking the bead up with your fingers.

One student is pressing newly threaded beads down with her fingers, vanquishing them, apparently, as they struggle to rest anywhere but where she wants them. Her shoulders are tensed and I’d bet she’s holding her breath as she leans in close. The beads are buckling and spacing.

Teaching teaches you. I tell her to pull the thread in the direction she wants the beads to go and use the needle tip to push them into place, then to push the needle down into the backing, right where they stop. Up until that moment, I wasn’t even aware that I do that when I work. The “obvious,” I realize, is not obvious the first time you do a thing. If you feel a knot, don’t pull. If you make a mistake, unthread the needle and pick it out, if your shape narrows or widens, think first about what stitch direction will fill it because your beads will not narrow or widen. A too-short length of thread pulls out of the needle and when you’re working with long thread, hold the work upside down so that it doesn’t catch on the backing as you pull the stitch through.

At two hours, it’s break time. At two hours and fifteen minutes, they are working like a group of nuns doing penance. I insist on break because their eyes and hands need a little rest. I suggest we go to the nearby brewery and have a beer break so everyone can relax and remember that it isn’t a life or death struggle we’re engaged in and that draws a little laughter.

At the end of class, they ask anxiously about homework. Exactly how much do I expect them to have done by next week? “About a third of the surface.” If they panic, they don’t let it show.

The Bead Babe warned me. “They’ll be much slower than you are” and she was right.

Next time, I’ll be slower too. And I’ll remember what it’s like to try something for the very first time. And that even though it eats an entire day of my time and makes me terminally nervous, it’s a genuine thrill to share what you love with people who are just starting to learn.

Calling for Spring

2005-01-09T15:53:00.000-04:00

I've been doing a few smaller projects lately. Pendants and this bracelet born of a heartsick longing for new leaves, spring flowers and green grass. Tonight, they (the weather predicting sadists) say that we're getting 20 cm of snow. I'll have to keep beading in green.

Talisman necklace

2005-01-08T18:39:00.000-04:00

I started this morning...staring at the four ammonite fossils I'd bought some weeks ago. I had no idea what I was going to make and just attached one of the stones to backing and began embroidering. When I finished the pendent, I started to sift through my cabinet drawers and found a whack of nearly-forgotten Picasso Jasper beads and voila! The pendent is a whopper - about two and a half inches long and nearly that wide. Size 6, 10,11 & 15 seed beads, fossil stone,
sterling silver hook. PS - I have these labeled as "Picasso" jasper. Is that correct?

Jet up and Glow

2005-01-07T12:30:00.000-04:00

Frustration, not necessity, is the mother of invention. The center of this piece was so tightly packed with beads that I could barely see what I was doing, let alone get the needle inserted in the correct place for each stitch. Finally, I let go of the original idea and just improvised!

Jet

2005-01-06T18:30:00.000-04:00

I seem to be on a roll with diamond stitch. Never one to let well enough alone, I've gone mad with embellishing - in size 15 charlottes, if you please. My rule? Never make something quickly if you can add hours and hours to the task!

This one was prompted by the suggestion of a coworker, who thought the bracelet style would look terrific all in black - very Victorian.

3 & 4 mm crystals, onyx beads, size 11 & 15 sead beads, pressed glass drops and (not showing) a sterling silver magnet-slide closure.

African and Brand New Box of Crayons

2005-01-05T06:34:00.000-04:00

One of the first stitches I learned was tubular peyote and it's still my all-purpose favorite. Both the outer neckpiece and the inside necklace Big Beads are worked over vinyl tubing purchased from my local hardware store. At the time I made these, I was on a binge of using bright, opaque beads.

Midnight Amethyst

2005-01-04T17:39:00.000-04:00

I've had these fantastic fire polished beads, unimaginatively labeled "crystal grey," with flashes of red, gold and blue and the other day, thinking about teaching what I call "padded spiral stitch" I started matching the fire polished beads to seed beads. Rediscovered some midnight purple matte Delicas...and off I went. These will enlarge considerably if you click on the images.
Delicas, czech beads, 4, 6 & 14 mm crystals, with woven beads, center rondelle and a sterling silver catch.

Sunfire Necklace

2005-01-02T14:54:00.000-04:00

Points of interest (to those of us who pick up one bead at a time and so are clinically insane) -
There are over 2,000 red beads in this necklace & over 200 fire polished beads. Not that I counted.

This is close in design to "Jet Up & Glow" which I made for the Fashion Forward exhibition and I love the color and stitch change. The red beads are actually ruby lined amber and the camera doesn't quite capture the color except for the top shot. For punctuation, at the end of the fat spiral center, are self-supporting netted beads & a couple of whacking copper Swarovskis. This was fun to make and kept me out of trouble while I wait for a new order of Leslie Dana's Dichroic glass cabochons.

The hornet's nest: pricing fine crafts

2005-01-01T18:41:00.000-04:00

Lately, I've been perusing the Etsy.com site. For those of you who aren't familiar with it - Etsy provides (for a very reasonable fee) a lovely storefront for handmade items. Each craft artist has their own virtual "shop" and a link to show each item in detail, along with the option to pay, mark it as a favorite etc. The quality of work varies a little but is largely very good. It's tasteful, easy to navigate and the Etsy folks charge such reasonable prices per listing and sale that it's almost irresistible.

Almost.

Until you see the prices. Now, in fairness, there are some knock-you-dead designers who sell at what their work is actually worth. But it seems to me that the majority of sellers are underpricing to the point where you have to wonder if they cover costs. And a further perusal of forum discussion reveals that many people are only recovering their material costs and don't (and I'm quoting here) "charge for my time."

I'm familiar with this point of view. I've been there myself. Back when craft was a hobby, I was thrilled just to fund my addiction and recover enough to buy new materials. I understand the viewpoint.

But here's the thing: It's a similar mindset, I think, to someone not being willing to join a union because, really, they're just working because they like to be busy or they're just working to have a little extra money. They don't actually need the job. This leaves their coworkers (who may love their jobs) a person shy of the power to make the employer understand that their labor is worth anything at all. That they deserve to earn, say, at least minimum wage. Why should the employer (who is the buyer in this story) pay fair remuneration if he/she can get people to work for spare change?

Me? I'm not working for spare change. I can't afford to do that anymore than I can afford to volunteer 25-30 hours a week. I pay to register my business name. I pay to have my taxes done. I pay income tax on what I earn and extra rent to have a studio space. I deal with wholesalers whose minimum order ranges from $150 - $500 U.S. I pay for shipping, supplies,
an Internet domain, business cards, and the extra expense of a business bank account. Just for starters.

But just as important, I spend hours thinking, sketching, trying different ideas. A cuff can take anywhere from 15-40 hours to produce. My designs are original. Imagine, just imagine what we would pay for a pair of handmade shoes that were one-of-a-kind.

What do we pay for shoes, come to think of it? Not the kick arounds we get in the bargain basement - but the juicy ones we fall in love with and just have to have - in spite of the price?
What do we pay to have highlights put in our hair - a job that takes the hairdresser maybe one hour of actual working time? I don't know about you, but I go to a mid range salon and it costs $100. One of my cuffs might be priced at that - and I've labored a day and a half. The hair color will fade in a couple months, the cuff is so well made that it could be passed on to the purchaser's great grandchild.

There's nothing wrong with being a hobbyist and covering your costs. But I wish there was a site similar whose clients were all professional artisans. A juried site. If anyone knows of such a mecca, please tell me!

And! I would love to hear the opinions of other beaders and glass makers. Thanks!