Artist Profile in Bead & Button Magazine

If you've seen the August 2015 issue of Bead & Button Magazine, you might have noticed a cameo appearance of a Magic O Ball beaded bead on the cover.

Well, that's because I'm featured in this issue's Artist Profile on pages 46-47. It's an honor and it was a pleasure to be interviewed about my work and my artistic and scientific journey. (Though, it's rather surreal to read about myself from a third person point of view!)

I'm doubly honored that the Bead & Button editors found my own photos of my work fit to print. Generally, I try to optimize my photos for web viewing, so I was pleased that they turned out well in print too. They chose several of my geometric designs, such as the above Fiberoptic Dodecahedron beaded beads, and several of my chemical designs too.

I've gotten a couple of questions about the beaded chemical structures featured in this article, so I'd like to do a quick summary of them here. The golden necklace shown below features the chemical structures of the Serotonin and Dopamine molecules, which are neurotransmitters (i.e. chemicals that work with neurons) that have a couple of functions in your brain. Serotonin contributes to feelings of happiness and dopamine contributes to feelings of pleasure and satisfaction.

This necklace uses seed beads, jump rings, and a simple clasp, and the technique used to create it is a variation on Gwen and Florence's Infinity Weave. The advantage of this technique is that it results in flat but supported beaded structures, which are perfect for serotonin and dopamine because these molecules are mostly flat in real life. The beading pattern and kits for this piece are available on my website.

The endorphins are also neurotransmitters, and they're also feel-good molecules. Unlike serotonin and dopamine, endorphins are a type of protein and they're significantly larger and have much more dimensionality, though they're still on the small side as far as proteins are concerned. There are a couple of different types of endorphins, and the specific structure shown in the magazine is the necklace-length alpha-endorphin.

I created this piece with crystals, bugle beads, and seed beads to accurately reflect not only the atoms in an alpha-endorphin molecule, but also the different types of bonds and its dimensionality as well. I entered this piece into the 2013 Bead Dreams competition (where it made the finals!)

The technique behind this piece uses a combination of specific, redundant thread paths and thread tension to mimic the 3D structure of the molecule. While I've applied this technique to other 3D molecular structures, I've yet to come up with the best way of explaining how to create the Endorphin Necklace. I like using a detailed, step-by-step writing approach for my beading patterns, however this isn't a feasible approach for a piece as complex as the Endorphin Necklace as such a pattern would be hundreds of pages long. A more streamlined method of explaining the technique may work, but it would be best-explained in the context of a collection of beaded molecules. Either way, it's something that I will have to carefully consider in the future.

In the meantime, if you'd like to learn more about this technique, I have written a pattern for the smaller ethanol molecule, which is the molecule of interest in alcoholic beverages. I paired them with a variety of fruit charms for a pair of earrings that can be made to match your favorite cocktail. The pattern and kits for the Cocktail Hour Earrings are available on my website.

Thanks for looking!

Beaded Bead Webinar - Join me on June 24!

I'm giving a live webinar presentation on June 24! What's it about? What else? Beaded beads!

In this presentation, I'll talk about how I design and create many of my geometric beaded beads. If you sign up for this webinar, you'll learn the different geometries that can make up beaded beads, and how one geometric structure can lead to a wide variety of designs. 

This webinar is appropriate for all levels; if you're a beginning beader, you'll learn the basic instructions on how to create a cube or dodecahedron beaded bead, such as this one made out of pearls:

From there, I'll talk about several of my more advanced designs based on this structure, such as the hollow Fiberoptic Dodecahedron:

And the not-hollow Tila Garden Pendants:

Have you ever wondered why you would use a round core bead in the middle of one design, but not another? I'll talk about that too, and how you can use these principles in your own beading designs.

The webinar will take place on June 24 at 1 PM EDT (10 AM PDT), and you can register for it at the Interweave Store. Attendees will have the chance to ask questions at the end of the presentation.

Can't make it on June 24? You can watch it later! Anyone who registers for the webinar will receive a downloadable video of it about a week after the webinar airs!

Balance in Earrings

If you haven't noticed, I've been making matching earrings for most of my recent beading patterns. The Cosmic Windows design is no exception. Here's the matching pair for the Antique Glass colorway:

What you may not have noticed is that I spend a lot of time engineering these earrings to make sure that they're balanced. Unlike pendants or bracelets, earrings do not have a surface to lean against when worn, so if too much of the weight of the earring is on the front, back, top, or bottom, the earring will not hang correctly. Unbalanced earrings can lean forward or backward from the viewer, taking the eye away from the focal point, and ultimately making the earring unattractive. Unbalanced earrings can also be downright uncomfortable to wear.

So, how do we solve this balance problem? Well, there are a couple of different strategies that I've learned to use to make well-balanced beaded earrings.

Design Symmetry

One way to get a balanced earring is to design it to be the same on the front as it is on the back. My Tila Droplet charms naturally make for well-balanced earrings for this reason. See how the bottom drop bead lines up with the top connecting seed bead? Since both sides of the earring have the same beads, its weight is naturally symmetrically balanced.

If you can't get the earring to be exactly the same on the front and the back, another option is to symmetrically balance the weight down the center of the earring. I do this in these Fiberoptic "Egg" earrings, a variation on the Fiberoptic Duo beaded bead design:

Even Weight Distribution

If it isn't possible to design the earring to look the same on both sides, you can still make a balanced earring by distributing its weight evenly between the front and the back. Here you can see how the Cosmic Windows earrings face the viewer without tilting forward:

The reason for this is that the bulk of the weight of the earring is sitting in the middle of the component; if you cut down the center of the earring so that the front is in one piece, and the back is in another, both sides will have about the same weight. You can see this more clearly in this side view:

In this case I've engineered the cosmic crystal to sit in the same plane as the bail, positioning the crystal slightly above the tila bead frame and not below it. This puts the bulk of the weight of the earring right in the middle, and naturally solves the balance issue.

Thoughtful Bail Engineering

Unfortunately, it isn't always easy to engineer a beaded earring to have symmetrical weight across the component. The Tropical Dahlia pendant is like this, as are its matching earrings. To solve this inherent balance dilemma, I turned my attention to the positioning of the bail.

Usually, it's easy to add a bail to a pair of earrings; you just make a little loop for the ear wire in the most convenient position in the beadwork. The problem with this approach is that this position doesn't always lead to a balanced earring. You can see what this looks like in the earring on the right; the natural bail position is too far backward, so the face of the flower points downward and away from the eye. The earring on the left shows a bail engineered with balance in mind; the bail is anchored to both the front and the back of the component, resulting in a much more pleasing look.

I used this same strategy for the earrings of the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Set. These earrings have five points of seed beads built into the star-shaped component, which mimics the stars on the matching beaded bead. At first, I tried weaving the bail up from one of these points, but when I added the ear wire, the earring would tilt forward, away from the eye of the viewer. So, I instead built the bail up from a middle set of seed beads, resulting in a more balanced design.

It makes for a much more tedious way of finishing the beaded earring, but in the end, it's an important detail that makes for much more solid design.

How do you achieve balance in beaded earrings? Do you create symmetrical components, or do you focus on the bail? Or do you use a different strategy?

New Kits: Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Set

New kits are now available for the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Set! These kits contain all the materials to make the complete pendant and earrings set - including the ear wires and a lovely silk ribbon on which to hang the pendant!

Colorway #1: Turquoise Geode

My current favorite colorway of the three is one I've named Turquoise Geode, which, with its purple AB2X crystals sparkling from the inside-out, looks the most geode-like of the three. I've taken to wearing this one a bunch lately.

Colorway #2: Bronze Lapis

The second colorway, Bronze Lapis, uses bronze and dark blue SuperDuo beads, and denim blue Swarovski bicone crystals for a very earthy feel.

Colorway #3: Red and Gold

The last colorway is red and gold all the way, for a completely blingin' starburst! I'm thinking that this pendant would also make a nice Christmas ornament (hey, you can never start planning for the holidays too early!)

All three kits are available at beadorigami.com, and include all the materials necessary to make the beaded bead, the pendant, and the matching earrings. The kits also include a gorgeous silk ribbon on which to string the pendant, a beading needle, plenty of thread, the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Set pattern (automatically delivered after checkout as a PDF download), and free shipping is included too!

Ways to Wear the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron

After designing the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Pendant, a lingering question on my mind was how to incorporate it into jewelry. I debated using it as a focal piece in a beaded necklace, but it's such an intricate design that it works very well just on its own. The question then is how exactly to string it...

Option 1: String on a Thin Cord

The holes of the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Pendant can easily accommodate a twisted nylon cord. This 3 mm cord will fit through two adjacent holes, but I needed to use a small crochet hook to get the cord through both of them without it getting lost in the middle of the pendant.

Option 2: String on a Chain

Another, slightly easier option is to use a simple chain. With a very thin gold chain, the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Pendant almost looks like it's floating in air.

Option 3: String or Knot on a Silk Ribbon

A third option is to string it through a silk ribbon. I needed to use a large-eye needle to get the ribbon through the pendant, but I experimented with a couple of different ways to string it. The first is through two adjacent holes as shown in the previous two options above:

The next method is through two opposite holes:

I also went back to the two-adjacent-hole stringing method, and I tied a loose knot between the pendant and the rest of the silk ribbon. I like how this knot makes the ribbon form more of a V-shape, but I'm not sure if it really complements the pendant...

Option 4: Combine With the Mini Beaded Bead

The last stringing option that I tried was to string it through adjacent holes with the silk ribbon, and then through the complementary mini beaded bead. I think I like this method better than the knotted method.

The pattern for the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Set, which includes instructions on how to weave the pendant, the mini beaded bead, and a matching pair of earrings, is available exclusively at beadorigami.com.

What's your favorite way to string a complex beaded pendant?

Designing Matching Earrings

Too often, I will make a fancy pendant or a necklace without a matching pair of earrings. I come to regret this decision every time I need to go out to a nice dinner or one of my husband's symphony concerts, as my jewelry box gradually fills with either fancy statement necklaces, or casual, everyday earrings. So, after I designed the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Pendant and its matching beaded bead, I took it upon myself to make a matching pair of earrings before calling this project finished.

Design Goal: Matching Earrings for the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Pendant

Before I started, I knew that I wanted the earrings to have a couple of characteristics:

• The earrings should match the style of the pendant
• They should contain SuperDuo beads
• They should be smaller than the pendant but still complement its form.

Option 1: Beaded Beads in a Smaller Symmetry

The first route that I could have taken was to make a pair of Fiberoptic Cube beaded bead earrings, or even a variation on this design. Indeed, I wove triangular prism versions of this design for an earring swap a while back, and for earrings I actually like this variation better than the original Fiberoptic Cubes.

The only problem with this approach is that the square faces of this design don't match the pentagon-shaped faces of the pendant, and I really like how the pendant looks like it is covered with little stars, so I wanted this reflected in the earrings.

Option 2: A Previous Design also with SuperDuos

Another option I could have taken was to match a previous earring design to that of the pendant. For example, I could have explored this idea with the Snowflake earrings:

I didn't take this route because the lacy style of the snowflakes doesn't really match the more clear-cut style of the pendant.

Option 3: A New Design, with a Star like the Pendant

I instead settled on making a new earring design, and I focused on creating just one of the twelve stars present on the original pendant. I first came up with these earrings, which retain the pentagon shape of one of the faces of the pendant, and also use the same types of beads.

The only problem with these earrings is that the stars aren't as pointed as those on the original pendant. This is because I used a slightly simpler thread path to add the 15° seed beads.

Option 4: An Improvement on the New Design

To improve on this earring design, I went back to the lace overlay thread path that is used in the original pendant, and this makes the stars on the earrings nice and pointed!

In this photo, you can really see how the final earring version matches up with the stars on the pendant:

Success!

Are you ready to make your very own pendant and earring set? Patterns for the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Set and the Fiberoptic Duo Beaded Beads are available exclusively at beadorigami.com!

New Pattern: Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Set

I finished the pattern for the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron, and it's now part of a set of designs available on my website at beadorigami.com.

Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Set

The cornerstone of this set, the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Pendant, came about as a variation of the Fiberoptic Duo Beaded Beads. However, the core of the pendant has such a complicated thread path compared to that of the beaded beads, so much so that I felt that it needed to be written out in its own pattern. In the course of designing this pendant, I also found that a matching beaded bead can be made from 11° and 8° seed beads, so I included the instructions for this beaded bead too.

The pendant is surprisingly sturdy, especially since it's completely hollow! Its holes are big too, at about 5 mm in diameter (you can drop a stream of 4 mm bicone crystals clear through it), so it can easily fit on beading wire, a chain, or a cord. But after a suggestion from Marcia DeCoster (her all-knowing bead wisdom truly knows no bounds), I've been experimenting with stringing them on silk ribbons:

Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Pendant

Finally, I liked the little stars on each face of the pendant so much that I figured out how to make them into matching earrings! The instructions for the earrings complete the trio of designs in this pattern.

Fiberoptic Star Earrings

The complete pattern is for advanced beaders, although I included a ton of illustrations, so anyone familiar with reading beading patterns should be able to follow it. If you're new to using SuperDuos or other two-hole beads, you might want to try the Fiberoptic Duo Beaded Beads first before attempting the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Pendant. Fortunately, this pattern does have something for everyone; the earrings are at the Advanced Beginning level!

Fiberoptic Dodecahedra

The pattern for the Fiberoptic Dodecahedron Set is available exclusively at beadorigami.com if you'd like to make your own!