New posts

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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


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Spiraling along

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!

Dragon's Vein Agate Necklace

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, spiral rope

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.

Rhodonite Necklace

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

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

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.