New posts

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


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

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

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.

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.