November! As I write this I have second Thanksgiving in the oven – the goal being turkey leftovers… and the first of my Holiday shows happening tomorrow! Its here! The holidaze is upon us… But as November draws to a close, let me share with you the phenomenal ceramic focals that Caroline Dewison of Blueberri Beads has created for the COM this month:
Crusty amd organic! Saturated color! Matte and glossy! And the texture… She calls them Lichen pendants and I totally see that. I confess – I have taken to calling mine barnacles. When you see the stunning colors I have you will understand – pewter, deep teal, smoky plum… The barnacles spoke to me of the sea, of sirens, and treasure and depth and age. So the barnacles were the inspiration – to create a nest of similar shapes…
I created a few small polymer barnacle shapes to embellish around my cab. ( Caroline made pendants and cabs… ) And I created 2 clusters/connectors – to transition from multi-strands in the front to silk in the back. They are painted and stained in smoky plum and dark grey/blue. I have added Diamond glaze on the inside only to echo the glazed areas on Caroline’s cab. Here they are together; I am content with the colors.
The small polymer barnacles are in place, and the peyoyte bezel portion is complete:
The beading was so much fun! I had set up a balanced/asymetrical composition with the additional polymer pieces and tried to keep going with that… I particulalry like the lentils standing up on the top right of the piece.
The plan is to do short strands of seed beads, three on each side – you can see the Beadalon in lace below. Sadly I had the larger size, and needed smaller in order to string 15’s! So the piece is on hold for now… The triple strands will be app 2.5″ long, loop into the barnacle connectors, and the piece will have silk from the connectors all the way around the back.
Sorry I can’t show you the finished piece I am in love with this cab and this palette. Thanks to Caroline for such an inspiration!
Please check out the diverse offerings from the team and our guests this month!
Guests
Jenny Davies-Reazor 
I’m in love with your interpretation of your cab Jenny. You’ve got my mind going for creating more now! Your design is wonderful, those little polymer pieces are gorgeous and I can’t wait to see the necklace finished. Thank you so much for joining me in the challenge!
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Beautiful Jenny – love the addition of the barnacles and this piece has a lovely seren feel to it…very calming.
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I love what you have done so far, the sea theme goes perfectly with the piece you got, the colours you have chosen and all the different beads are just amazing! I will really look forward to seeing this finished,it going to be a show stopper!
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I love your polymer additions and layout for this necklace, it will be beautiful when it’s completed. I hope you will post again once you’re done!
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Jenny this is amazing! I grew up on the Oregon coast, and it truly looks like one of the little tide pools my sister and I used to investigate along the water line. That you added additional ‘barnacles’ is spectacular – can’t wait to see this finished!
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Wow – that’s amazing. Can’t wait to see the finished piece. It’s going to be a piece of art!
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I love how you integrated the focal into a very organic setting. It’s perfectly fabulous!
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Your barnacle shapes are perfect. Your piece will be gorgeous when done. I think your design and color selection are perfect for your component and barnacle shapes.
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This is so lovely. I love the additional barnacles in the smaller size as accents and your color choices are wonderful. So earthy and organic.
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