Designing

I've been thinking about designing lately.  Probably because there is so much chatter out on the web what with the 2013 Battle of the Beadsmiths on Facebook.  It has been a pretty heated challenge with voting going fast and furious.  As of today, the judging is on the fourth round.  Fantastic pieces of jewelry from all over the globe.  Some of the pieces made me gasp with the beauty of the colorways and the designs.  Others just left me perplexed at how did the bead artist get all those small wee beads to cooperate into intricate designs.  I have my favorites which are still in the running, and I've seen so many disappointed people admitting defeat.  One blog post recently from Linda Roberts talked about her surprise at being pushed into the fourth round.  She was excited and a little surprised that her piece moved onto the next round of judging.  Could it be that her piece was better than all her opponents with color palette so pleasing?  Could it be that her piece had superior supplies?  Could it be that her piece was more intricately designed?  Or could it just be luck?  Makes you wonder about competitions and how one outstanding piece can be overlooked for another piece equally outstanding.  What makes one piece the winner?  I don't think we can really answer that one with some simple statement.  There is so much to consider when judging competition pieces that the mind is boggled.  But all this competition talking and viewing stunning pieces of jewelry has made me think about design.  I have to confess that I have never been a planner when making anything.  I've seen from other blog and Facebook postings that this is something that I'm going to have to learn to accept into my character if I wish to push my own art where it be jewelry making or doll making to the next level.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road redesigned with a more functional yoke that goes around the neck.  Also the yoke and clasp with this design is far more comfortable to wear for more than an hour.  It actually distributes the weight more evenly causing less irritation on the back of the neck.  Removing the fringe from the gives the piece a cleaner design and wears better around my own neck.

Original design with metal links as the yoke and clasp.  There was so much irritation around the back of the neck when worn for more than an hour and the weight of the main focal component with the piece being snug around the neck made the piece swing from side to side.  The fringe would then kink up and not lay flat. 

Warren Fields from Land of Odds has a Facebook discussion group about jewelry designing with has really opened my mind up with ideas on how just simple steps of preparation and understanding the concept of form and design can make a piece of jewelry a success or a big flop.  Then there was Jamie Cloud Eakin's blog post about designing which discusses again the concept of planning out design and function of a piece before actually sitting down and sew away.  All of these have really given me some things to think about.  I look at some of my earlier pieces which are nice, but now with a little understanding of design and form, I see how it could be made better.  Pieces that look good laying flat on a table don't necessarily look good on the torso form I use.  And pieces that look great hanging from the neck of my torso form doesn't necessarily mean it looks great hanging around my neck.  All this has made me think more about functional wear, and how planning how each component will fit together while looking attractive.  Plus, adding more is not necessarily better.  If the piece is designed poorly, adding a bunch of crystals won't necessarily make it look better. 

Looking at designs in Nature helps an artist look at form and function along with color pathways as a tool for jewelry.

Elaborate designs and color in Nature is a perfect tool for the budding designer.  Take a sketchbook and colored pencils out in your own back yard.  Looks at what has already been created to help you learn form and color in its perfection

Simple things

Isn't it just the simple things that sometimes will take you away from all the problems of life and thrill you to the core?  I'm talking about listening to a song, or smelling a delicious aroma, or just feeling the arms of your loved one around you.  This weekend for me it was just knowing that Chris was home, and I was not alone.  Things are improving, and he is on the road to a quick recovery.  We need to review our menu and add more vegetable and fruits to our diet.  Goodbye fried foods...you are killing us. 

When Chris was in the hospital, I took Sammy many walks through the neighborhood and along the park perimeter.  To feel the warm Sun embrace my face and the scent of the woods besides the Rec Center really made me feel alive.  I spent the evenings before work chatting with Chris in the hospital and then beading.  I worked on this necklace after one of my & Sammy's walks through the woods.  The filtered Sunlight gave the greens and browns a luscious color palette that I tried to copy.  Each day I also checked on our small garden.  The tomatoes are starting to grow, and my squash plants have blossoms.

Sammy was such a comfort for me each evening.  He would strut and constantly be aware.  He was a good boy too when I left him every night.  One night I thought I would leave the television on so he wouldn't be so lonely, but decided to just let be.  Each morning the sweet boy would be waiting for me at the bottom of the steps for his morning walk.  I'm so lucky to have him.  Still can't believe it hasn't even been 2 months. 

Thing are coming back to normal with Chris home.  Even though I awoke to rain beating on the roof, I was just so happy to listen to both of my boys calmly sleeping.  

Wishing upon a Star

Next month most of my friends are going to be traveling near and far to spend a wonderful time in Milwaukee at the Bead and Button show.  ME?  Can't go, but so wish I could as I would love to have been able to take the Master Class with Marcia DeCoster.  I think I've probably taken more bead classes with Marcia than anyone else, and since Liz is going to be her assistant there I just KNOW they are going to have a blast.  I don't have the vacation time since I've started my new job, and it is a little late to try to get into the second Master class with Marcia.  So instead of just pouting, I've been doing my own home version of Marcia's Master class using components. 

Early I had shown how using the totally unappreciated Czech seed beads, you could do some marvelous bead weaving.  So I've taken that one step farther.  First off, I've finished my version of Marcia's Pacific Morning Glories using Czech beads for a necklace.  Then I decided to take one of my own bead embroidery components and add it to several of the components from Pacific Morning Glories and another of Marcia's designs from her book Beaded Opulence.  Can I add one more thing?  I can't wait for her new book to come out in August.  It is all about Motion!

Pacific Morning Glories Necklace all completed using Czech Seed Beads

Experimentation using one of my components with three different component designs from Marcia DeCoster's class kit instructions

My component with two of the Pacific Morning Glories pinwhells

Asymmetrical chain using two different design components from Marcia DeCoster

Very clever closure from Marcia's Pacific Morning Glories

For my Fiona

It has been over a week now since Fiona passed away.  I still miss her every day & find myself listening for her or the other two.  I know that someday we'll have a new puppy to share our lives with us.

I had been working on this necklace while tending to Fiona when she was ill.  Originally, I was going to call this piece Moonglow.  My friend Cyndy up in Michigan sent me some glass she'd made for my jewelry making.   I glued it down onto a piece of blue Nicole's Bead Backing everything popped out.  Then I chose Rose Opal size 8 seed beads I'd gotten from Out on a Whim along with Topaz lined size 11 seed beads.  I did right angle weave cage technique I've taught myself, and then used some of the new Rizo beads from Out on a Whim.  The middle piece made me very happy, so when I decided to take crystals and make individual blooms using the same technique it was a challenge to puzzle all the pieces together to make a necklace.

Fiona Rose Blossom

Here I am wearing my new necklace

I didn't finish the necklace until last weekend.  Fiona had died by then, and I was going through intense mourning for her.  I put the necklace around my neck on Sunday and felt a sense of calm for the first time in days.  I stroked the blossoms of the necklace and could almost hear a sigh.  Then it dawned on me why I felt so comforted.  I don't know if many people know but Fiona's full registered name is Fiona Rose Blossom.  I realized then then that this necklace was for my Fi.  Whenever I see it or wear it, I'll always remember my gentle old girl who was blessed with an old soul out of the most beautiful canine eyes ever.  I'll never sell this necklace just as I'd never sell the one I made when my SkyeBlue died.  Both necklaces were made at a time when my grief was unbearable, but once completed I had a sense of absolute calm. 

Rizo bead from Out on a Whim

Right Angle Weave caging with embellishment

I still have tears for our three Scotties who've died withing the past month.  I made this necklace called Dorothy's Tear to remind me my love for all three.  We have three boxes of ash on our fireplace hearth.  Each morning when I wake up, I crease each box and say good morning to Fiona, to Frodo, and to Arwen.  Sometimes a tear will glide down my cheek, but more often I'll have a smile remembering my three terrier guardians.  I miss them always.

Dorothy's Tear

Scottie Angels

I've been a little out of commission these past two weeks & have neglected so many things.  I started my new job on the 7th at Nationwide Children's Hospital.  AND the very first day, my sinus infection got worse, and I wound up getting bronchitis.   My old employer canceled my medical insurance on my last day of work, and I haven't gotten my new cards yet.  So I wasn't able to go to the Urgent Care when I started to spike a fever. Plus, I don't have any leave time for 90 days, so had to keep going in for training.  It was very hard to concentrate, but I managed to make it in and checked off in at least one department.  I called my Doctor's office & because this is flu season, and I go in annually, they called me in a prescription for antibiotics. Thank goodness, as I really felt so foggy and was feeling myself spiraling down with the bronchitis.  The antibiotics kicked in Wednesday and what a difference.  I'm able to concentrate, not cough up a lung, and able to think more clearly. 

Ceramic heart sent to me by Marti Conrad

 Thursday after I got off work, I was petting Fiona and noticed a huge bump on her back.  At first I thought she had been bit by a spider or some other insect, but the bump kept getting bigger and bigger.  I looked and found a penetration point which looked like a large bird had attacked her.  Several years ago, she'd been attacked by Cardinals, but this was much bigger.  I talked to a couple people and realized that she was probably attacked by the hawks around here.  I cleaned her wound, put cold compresses on the lump, and gave her aspirin.  She seemed to be getting better, but this morning she was lethargic and wouldn't eat anything.  I took her outside and she was stumbling all over the place.  All I could think of was that I could not lose her like we did Frodo and Arwen this Summer.  So I rummaged through my dog medication box and found some antibiotics left over from Arwen.  I gave Fiona another aspirin and the antibiotic. She just lay in a stupor, so I thought it was time to take her to the Emergency Room.  I woke Chris up to help me get ready.  He was upset too.  I hate taking her the the ER as usually that has been a very bad outcome for us.  I kept thinking if I could keep her going until tomorrow when I could get her in to see Dr. Miller.  I poured some milk into a bowl, and thank goodness that she drank it. Then I spoon fed her some canned food which she ate.   Then Chris got out some roast beef which she ate.  I then gave her her insulin and put her back in her bed to watch her.  She slept for about 4 hours, and then woke up hungry and ready to roam around the house.  She's over the crisis, but we are still keeping an eye on her and I'm taking her in tomorrow so the Vet can look at her trauma area which is black and blue and still swollen.  I guess you never think about hawks attacking a 25 pound dog, but others assured me that it often happens. 

Arwen is on the lower left with FalaPink above.  Frodo is on the lower right with SkyeBlue above.

It has been too close to Frodo & Arwen's death to deal with Fiona getting ill.  What really made me think about them was when yesterday, I took Fiona out front to roam around.  There is a woman who has always walked her hound dog through our neighborhood and down the side walk between my & my neighbor's house.  That dog automatically knew when Frodo and Arwen were outside.  It would start barking two houses away, which naturally triggered Fro & Ar to jump up and start their packing up and down the fence waiting to bark back at that dog.  When Frodo took ill, I warned this woman to be aware of ticks as I always saw her letting her dog off leash to go down to the creek.  Well, yesterday, she stopped and asked me if my little dog survived.  I had to tell her that both of then died.  She told me how sorry she was and that she noticed it was so quiet anymore.  Oh yes, those two always made sure no one came near their house.  That got us both thinking about our two lost Scotties.  Maybe that was why I was so upset this morning when I realized Fiona was so ill.  But as I said before, I sometime think I hear them walking around or at times feel them cuddling up with me when I'm sleeping.  I know it is just me wanting them near again.

I have shown this necklace before, but I decided to take more pictures of it this week.  Chris had printed out pictures of Frodo, Arwen, SkyeBlue, and FalaPink.  I had some lenses that we'd gotten at an auction and used these to make cabochons of our four  Scottie angels.  Marti Conrad had sent me this ceramic heart with paw prints crossing it.  I decided to make myself a collar to wear so that I could have my angels with me all the time.  SkyeBlue is above Frodo, and FalaPink is above Arwen.  I know the images are a little small and hard to see, but I KNOW they are there. 

I have been making my way through I CAN Herringbone a little more.  I can't tell you enough what a marvelous book this is.  Click below to find the link to buy this book on Amazon for 1/2 price.  You will NOT regret it:

I Can Herringbone: From Basic Stitch to Advanced Techniques, a Comprehensive Workbook for Beaders

Mish Mash Delight using one of the fused glass pieces from Roxanne's class

One of the lesson's in Mellisa's book where you add to the herringbone chain.  In this experiment, I added a different colored seed bead and then a 4mm pearl giving the chain "bumps

The fused glass piece has a peyote bezel and the crystal has a RAW bevel embellished with glass drops.  I added a few pearls to pop out the color of the crystal and then added a bone rondelles.

 

 

In this project, I made another herringbone chain from Melissa's book and used the twisted version of it.  When Liz was visiting, I found a bag of taxidermy glass eyes so I decided it was time to use one of them on a project.  It was glued down on a piece of Nicole's Bead Backing which is my favorite.

The Eye of the Beholder:  To finish this up, I did a RAW bezel around the eye and embellished with a few glass drops.  To keep it simple, I only did one row of back stitch using seed beads and pearls.  I wore this the other night to work, and no one guessed it was a glass eye looking at them.

 

 

I (REALLY) CAN herringbone review

Can a book make you just jump up and down with joy with each and every turn of the page?  Well, I have to tell you that the answer to that question is a 100% YES! it CAN!  Lark Jewelry & Beading's second offering in the I CAN series is a big hit with me.  Melissa Grakowsky's I CAN herringbone is one of those books that you've always dreamed of when you are tackling learning herringbone bead weaving.  Each of the 26 projects will launch you onto the journey of successfully admitting that you LOVE Herringbone.  Wither 360 illustrations and word directions, you will find yourself wanting to make multiple samples of each project as you work your way from very beginner to advanced projects.

I actually took this book with me on vacation making sure it was tucked away in my carry on bag as I was afraid I would lose it.  As I sat by the pool working on herringbone chains, I would look out at the Gulf of Mexico as pelicans swooped and coasted over the waves thinking about the undulating patterns in Mellisa's final project Sinusoidal necklace.  I still have a few more weeks of practice before I can attempt this tantalizing project.

Now for the good new...I CAN herringbone by Melissa Grakowsy is 1/2 price at Barnes & Nobles!  What a fabulous gift and don't you think it would make the beader in your life extremely happy if they unwrapped with wonderful book on Christmas day?  Don't forget to add a little bag of beads with it.


These are a couple projects that got me all excited abouth Melissa's new book.  And I'm dreaming of even more before I tackle the Sinusoidal Necklace.

Vacation project

Herringbone meets Right Angle Weaving

Herringbone chain

Current Herringbone project

 

Experimenting with some ideas from I CAN herringbone

Disclosure...As a reviewer of  products from Lark Books, I receive the book above free of charge. I have been asked to review these products and give my honest opinion of the products...positive or negative. I am not being compensated by Lark Books for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received and reviewed.

WIP Ebony Elegance

Earlier this week, I showed you a necklace incorporating herringbone and right angle weave after being inspired by Marcia DeCoster's Beaded Opueance and Mabeline Gidez's I CAN Right Angle Weave.  I was very happy with the outcome and have worn it almost every single day since the creation.  It is light weight, and simple enough for work wear but jazzy enough to wear out for a night on the town. Monday, I decided to pull out another on of Lark Craft books and see what other things could give me an idea and inspire me to push my designing a little bit further.  This time, I was looking at Jill Wiseman's Beautiful Beaded Ropes and came across several very interesting concepts.  In several of her projects, she states that you could make all the pieces of a necklace individually and then put them together but why not find a way embellish one to incorporate another creating something more solid and unique.  Talk about making my brain buzz...

So I started out with a small bead embroidered pendent in all blacks and silver.  I decided to make the bail using right angle weave instead of peyote which is what is normally used.  Then I made a long peyote tube using size 11 black matt beads.  If you've followed me for awhile, you'll know that I'm not a big fan of peyote so this was a little bit of a challenge for me to keep the pattern going in all ONE COLOR!  But it worked, and I was pleased at how it looked.  I could at this point just add the pendent put on a clasp and call it done.  But nope, that would not make my Muse happy.  So I decided to once again call on Marcia's book to give me another idea but I came back to Amphora again as I love the look of the right angle weave beaded bead.  But as suggested in Jill's book, I wanted to make this a part of the peyote chain.  So added a row of size 11 seed beads between the "ditch" in the peyote tube securing it to the peyote chain and used this as the starting place for a RAW tube around the tube.  Then I did only one other layer with the same matt black beads for only one row.  Now I have movement in multiple directions with the roundness of the pendent, the even rows of the peyote and the added depth and complimentary direction of the RAW tube with the embellishments.  I like how it looks so far.

I'm going to add another RAW tube on the other side of the pendent and these two permanent RAW tubes will keep the pendent from sliding all over the place.  But am I done, nope.  My plan is to add at least two more of the RAW tubes farther up the peyote tube.  Stay tune to check out more progress post.

Combinating techniques for a unique flavor

When I was fifteen, I decided that I wanted to learn to bake.  For Christmas, my parents got me a cookbook which I dived right into.  Up until then, I'd been the "box" kind of baker...you know what I mean...Betty Crocker or those tubes of cookie dough was about all I knew how to do.  Then I took Home Economics along with my prized cookbook, and decided I could take what I'd been doing and "ADD" to it.  So then, I had my Mom add flavorings and food color to the shopping list.  I still did my box mixes as I wasn't ready to start from real scratch just yet.  My sister would help me, and we'd come up with the most amazing combinations.  We were very lucky that our brother would eat just about anything we made.  Our biggest undertaking for a Forth of July family party was to make a big flag sheet cake.  The actual cake was a regular chocolate cake mix where we added some cherry flavored pudding.  It was pretty tasty and reminded us of chocolate covered cherries, but we weren't finished.  There was the icing to consider.  Red, white and blue was easy to make with our food colorings, but we wanted to make it special so we (you guessed) got out the flavorings.  It was a sort of banana split type of cake with banana, pineapple, and cherry flavorings.  Hey, we thought it would not only be the hit of the party, but a cornucopia of flavor delights.  My Dad's eyes glazed over with all the scrumptious sugar.  He took a giant piece, bit into it and those glazed eyes turned into tiny pin pricks as they focused on me and these words came out of his mouth, "what did you girls do?".  Well, it was too confusing for the taste buds, so the cake sat uneaten and the guest had boring watermelon instead.  My brother did eat the whole cake in the next few days, but this experiment was a wake up call to me that yes, you can mix and match things but you need to focus on only a few surprises at a time.  No need to throw everything in the mix (literally) or you'll just confuse everyone and make a big noxious mess.

Same goes with designing beaded jewelry.  First off, before you get down to the nitty gritty, you have to take your time and really learn the techniques.  You don't have to become a Master at them, but learn them enough so that you don't struggle with the execution of each technique.  Use books such as Mabeline Gidez's I CAN Right Angle Weave to learn the basics.  Take some time to go through Lark's magnificent collection of Master Bead Weaver's books such as Marcia DeCoster's Beaded Opulence honing your skills and getting ideas.  The two words here and Practice and Experimenting.  Practice the skills and then take that experience you've worked on, and start adding two "ingredients" together to make something different, unique, but complimentary.  This is what I've started doing on my beaded jewelry design. 

I've called my newest piece "Delightful Brunch".  Brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch with all the delicious treats you find in both meals, but all put together for mouth watering temptations.  Delightful Brunch is my offering of two separate bead weaving techniques used together to create something simply delicious.  The rope is a basic tubular Herringbone using two different size seed beads.  With this piece, I used matt colored size 11 seed beads with size 11 Galvanized colored size 8 seed beads for that little bump.  This is one long tube which can be slipped over the head in a lariat type style.  Then the fastener is Right Angle Weave tube inspired from Marcia DeCoster's Beaded Opulence front cover.  For this I used a combination of her instructions with a few little changes.  The end dangles are also another offering of other techniques.  One dangle is a lampwork bead and the other dangle is a peyote caged Rivoli combining tear drop pearls.  Each piece is separately made and then combined and presented for your approval.  I've worn this two times already, and it is so light that I forget I'm wearing it, but it does draw attention.

So never be afraid to combine stitches.  Experiment and enjoy and try to remember that sometimes too much is not necessarily bad as there is always someone out there that will enjoy a big batch of everything thrown into the bowl.  And always have your groupies there cheering you on.