Sue’s Scarabs: the July COM reveal

July 30, 2017July 30, 201714 Comments

I knew from the first it would be a bracelet.

Bead/cap by Marsha Neal Studio. Scarab bead by Sue.

Do I dare? Do I dare tackle my first ever freeform peyote stitch project? I am a Virgo to the fullest, a lover of order… I do well with freeform bead embroidery – but that is a structured stitching – so I can go wild with bead shapes and colors and textures and patterns. Freeform peyote is all that freedom AND learning the structure. Adapting, working in a sculptural way.

So I tried it! I was working “along the length” of the bracelet so the bead closure and loop were in place early on in the process. The first step is stringing beads – of different sizes and colors… then going back along the length to start the peyote stitch pattern. This is the beginning:

There was a lot of tangling. Some cursing…. I decided to use 4 lb Fireline. Thin enough for multiple passes through beads, but strong and forgiving. ( I really don’t like Nymo) There are mistakes, there are sections that “ruffled” up but in general… IT WORKED!

Here are the shots of the completed bracelet. It fits (me) perfectly! I will definitely take this further and experiment more with freeform peyote!

Please pour a coffee and take a look at what my AE team mates and our guests have created! I would love to hear your thoughts…

Guests

Deb Fortin

Lennis Carrier

Barb Fernald

AE Team

Diana

Lindsay

Claire

Lesley

Caroline

Laney

Cathy

Niky

Sue

(I apologize if the links are dead. I’ll fix ASAP. Waylaid by a stomach flu on vacation…. for now see all the links at Art Elements.

April Component of the Month Reveal!

May 2, 2017May 2, 201715 Comments

Its that time of the month. LOL

Time for the COM reveal at Art Elements blog! ( What did you think I meant?)

This month Jen Cameron of Glass Addictions sent the yummiest swirly cosmic galaxy beads. At least that is what I think when I see them:

18033973_10210574007204188_7789792205490185199_n

So my bead arrived the day I left for Rochester. And I missed it by a few hours. So I kept dreaming up things I wanted to do… and they aren’t even jewelry things… I tried to capture the ideas on my iPad – and I warn you… this is a NEW medium for me and these are rough sketches. ( But if I am going to learn I have to start somewhere…)

goddess ref

The first would be a stoneware/ceramic sculpture – sized so that the bead is a planet held in her upraised hands. ( It WAS just Earth Day.) Maybe 8″? But tapered to a point like the Cycladic figures I adore – and standing in a wrought iron stand.

My original idea: app 12″ tall. Stoneware clay

Then after the trip to Rochester – I had this really cool driftwood, perfect for a mermaid to sit on :

My second idea – small polymer mermaid on driftwood.

And sadly neither of those happened. I got back on the 25th! And the reveal is one week to the day. So I took a break from glazing on Sunday and this happened:

I am thinking this would be a wall hanging… it is rather long. But it was such a visual treat to pull gems to go with this glass! Simply gorgeous. And yes – its a moon hare motif that is so very “me”.

I love this bead – and the longer I look at it the more ideas I have – who knows? I may still start that stoneware goddess figure.

For now – take a look at my AE team mates and out guests this month!

Guest Designers:

Sarajo Wentling

Deb Stewart

Art Elements Team:

Dia de los Muertos – our Component of the Month reveal

October 30, 2016October 28, 201616 Comments

Time flies so fast in the Fall. Shows, nice crisp weather, classes to teach… and Halloween. This month at Art Elements blog (formerly Art Jewelry Elements) We have a super cool lamp work glass skull! These are the creations from Jen Cameron/Glass Addictions. And they are wicked cool.

Aqua to bring out his eyes…

I knew I wanted a necklace, something colorful and festive. I was actually trying NOT to do too many flowers – like a self imposed regulation to make it harder? Who knows. I have been beading skulls and flowers a lot of late and was trying to do something different.

Creating the wire wrapped bail gave me more color – and a hanging mechanism that created a strong statement to set the skull off.

I used recycled glass/bottle beads, carnelian, Czech glass: anything and everything in my primary color palette. The back section is three strands: cobalt glass, seed beads and braided sari silk handspun yarn! I know – there IS a lot going on, but the colors played well and it created a volume that balanced the focal.

I DO have a second skull, staring up at me from the work table. The primary colors are so out of my usually palette – but I think these links will be in there somehow… The hoplite was a maybe, but the scale was wrong. We shall see!

On deck. Rainbow eyes!

My Dia de los Muertos mantle.

I do hope you celebrate the holiday – and the blog hop with us! Have a pumpkin spice something and check out these great designs from the team and out guests. Until next time…

Guest Designers

Staci Louise Smith

Karin Grosset Grange

Solange Collin

Art Elements Team

Here be headpins ! The AJE Component of the Month reveal.

August 30, 2016August 30, 201625 Comments

Welcome to the reveal of the AJE headpin challenge!

This month we decided to highlight these small, delicate and super versatile elements. I have quite a collection from Jen ( Glass Addictions) Sue ( SueBeads) and Marsha (Marsha Neal Studio)

This collection sits just above my bead table…

I decided to try something I had never heard nor seen done. I wanted to bead embroider the head pins. WITH the wires intact. Could it be done? Hmm. Lets try.

First shapes looked too much like outline of USA, second version works!

So the short answer? IT WORKS!

The headpins sat rather tall on the Stiff Stuff, so I had free rein to bead with abandon and build up some height. As I wasn’t bezeling them, I wanted tall beads around to integrate them into the overall piece. Here is is before backing:

The abalone shell pulled all the colors together…

I stitched the wires down to hold them in place and secure them. the back is a mess, but Ill show you anyway… This isnt for the faint of heart. Nearly every third stitch got looped on a wire and snagged. See the far left int he bottom picture? Many stitched snagged. I didnt even know when that happened to pick them out. So I added a bit of glue there. Gee, guess I will have to keep this one since it has issues.

Beading around the wires proved problematic.

details of Jennifer’s headpins in the piece, and a SueBeads dangle!

Pearls! Pinch beads! Fire polish! Abalone! No rules seed beading ! And I had SO MUCH FUN.

Not sure what to do now? Silk? wire wrap gems? What do you think? Until next time – Ill be off creating with my new headpins created by Thornburg Studios and Bead Fairy!

New beauties from Thornburg Studios and Bead Fairy

Please join the AJE team and our guests on this blog hop! I am sure I speak for the whole team that we have so many guests this month. Enjoy!

Guests:

Alison Herrington

Renetha Stanziano

Karin Grosset Grange

Gloria Allen

Deb Fortin

Cate van Alphen

Mona Arnott

Shai Williams

Sarajo Wentling

Kathy Lindemer

Solange Collin

Brooke Bock

Melissa Meman

Patricia Handschuh

Tammy Adams

Melissa Trudinger

AJE Team Members:

Caroline Dewison

Lesley Watt

Cathy Mendola

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Susan Kennedy

Laney Mead

Diana Ptaszynski

Lindsay Starr

Niky Sayers

Jenny wren – the Art Jewelry Elements Component of the month reveal

July 30, 20159 Comments

If you are looking for the Beading back in time hop – click here!

This month new member Niky Sayers ( of Silver Niknats, now Niky Sayers Artisan Jewelry) sent us pieces made from the old British farthing coin. (A farthing was 1/4 of a penny. There were 240 pence in a LB Sterling. Taken out of circulation in 1960 – that leaves a lot of coins for creative purposes!) Niky sent me a hollow lentil bead made from 2 coins. Its stunning! I am particularly fond of the wren, often called Jenny Wren. Some nursery rhymes have the Queen of Fairy shape shifting into a wren…

I thought I wanted to do a bangle and have a message/mantra for myself as it is Jenny Wren… Here is the first attempt: stamped and engraved copper to frame the wren bead. I have a great little engraver that makes it so easy to do script…

COM version 1

I wasn’t happy with that. I had those shapes in mind to transition from the width of the bead down in proportion to the wire wrapped bangle section. They looked like the whites on either side of an eye, and they didn’t sit well on my wrist. And color. I think I want color…

AJE COM July

There! I am so pleased! Lampwork by Indian Creek art glass with aventurine and turquoise accents.

bracelet detail

If you are coming to Bead Fest stop by Artisans Alley #461- I’ll be sure to wear this and you can see it in person. Until then – please join my colleagues and out guests on this month’s hop!

Guest bloggers

Rebecca Anderson
Nan Smith

Jess Green

AJE Team
Niky Sayers – our hostess

Linda Landig
Rebekah Payne

Melissa Meman

AJE Component of the Month! May “flowers”

May 30, 201325 Comments

Welcome! Its that time of the month again! I seriously dont know where time has gone… The Art Jewelry Elements Component of the Month is an event I look forward to! … and yet always feel rushed…

Sue Kennedy of SueBeads provided a lovely ruffle edged lamp work bead this month. Seem like I have been thinking this over for ever – and suddenly its time! It has to be finished!

I was happily out of my comfort zone with the colors. Orange and olive. The shape of the bead was a bit floral to me, and I knew I wanted to place it “flat” so the whole bead would show… Here are my sketches:

May sketches

I try to use words more and more in my work – this is no exception. I found a quote by Marcel Proust that touched on the friends I have made in AJE and the floral associations I had formed with the bead.

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

Here is a close up of the bead and the copper washer I have framing it. The spiral wire will be the soft rivet to hold this into the polymer I am planning…

Sue beads CoM

The polymer: I wanted to use the orange and green again, and embrace a palette that isnt my usual. The polymer is 2 layers, textured, hand painted. There are copper tube rivets at the top, and two dangles at the bottom. (There was supposed to be one. I drilled off center. Now there are two. )

pendant detail

The necklace echoes the colors – yellow jade, a seed pod, carnelian, and mystery stones – agate? Jasper? (I hate when I dont label it all carefully after the rush of shopping at a show…Sigh.)

necklace finished

The back of the piece, stamped with the quote. It is upside down when worn – another adjustment I had to make. But if you are showing the piece to someone while wearing it – it is convenient to simple turn it over instead of flipping it up… ( Nice way to justify… )

necklace back

I love using Sue’s beads. Last year we were table neighbors at Beadfest Philadelphia in August. The time is coming soon… hope we are neighbors again!

Please share your thoughts! I am working from home lately and love to have some Internet time to chat… Stay tuned for next months AJE CoM – organic ceramic earring pairs by yours truly!

Beadfest bounty.

August 23, 201210 Comments

I wanted to share with you some of the treasures that I brought home from Beadfest. As I may have mentioned – I am thrilled to be a part of this creative community, and found the environment of Beadfest invigorating. I came home with materials, artist beads, and ideas to last me a good while. I do have a tendency to live with the new materials for a while before incorporating them into new pieces. The artist beads and focals are handcrafted by colleagues, fellow artists; I want to share their information here – we all support each other with marketing, blogging, social media… wherever we can. And although I have unplugged these last two days in an effort to feel restored before I dive back into the studio – I am inspired to create with:

S+S Shivam

Cabochons – S&S lapidary

Gems – Shivam imports. (Labradorite, citrine, garnet, labradorite, spiniel)

Dakota Stones

Dakota stones – onyx, ?, dragons blood jasper, moss agate, apatite,?, amazonite.

Carol DeeZigns

Gorgeous enameled components from Carol Myers of Carol DeeZigns. Carol is the FIRST certified “Painting with Fire” instructor!

glass clay booty1

Lampwork Strands ( top to bottom) SueBeads, HMB Studios, Gardanne beads.

Lampwork “stone” – Kerry Bogert of Kab’s Concepts.

Polymer Buddha – Barbara Bechtel of Second Surf

Matte finish lampwork beads – JoAnne Zekowski of Z Designs in Glass

Moon/ocean lampwork focal – Jan Onipenco of Molten Mayhem

clay metal booty

Left: Ceramic components by Mary Hubbard of White Clover Kiln

Bottom: Bronze pieces by Staci Smith of Staci Louise Originals.

Right: Ceramic and raku pieces by Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio

Green Girl treasures

Green Girl Studios!

Andrew Thornton originals

Andrew Thornton sculptural bronze components and focals. Andrew was one of my Bead Swap partners…

And – one of the highlights of Beadfest is the BEAD SWAP organized by Diana P. of Suburban Girls Studios. My lovely partner this year was Sandy Miller – and she showered me with goodness! Interesting that it was the ceramic artists I knew, and the lampwork artists that I am thrilled to be introduced to… I was tempted to unwrap one wee parcel each hour Saturday afternoon, but I quickly lost that will power and dove in:

Bead Swap goodies

From top left to bottom right: Studio by the Forest, Nancy Schindler at Round Rabbit, Chinook ceramics, Outwest glass, Lori Lochner, and Lava Lampwork

Thank you to all my artist friends for doing what you do, sharing it with the world, and pursuing the (not always easy) path or a self-supporting artist! Until next year…

You can never have too many earrings! Earring Swap reveal!

June 5, 20129 Comments

Earrings and a necklace. Daily wear! Whether I am in the studio, teaching, working from home – I am not dressed without them. So – when Diana of Suburban Girl Studio announced an earring swap – sounds good to me!

My first partner is Linda Younkman. Arent these lovely? The blue beads are very detailed. and I love a spiral motif!

earrings1

And then these came from Mary Shannon Hicks! They are a bit heavier, so not every day wear for me, but that owl! Thank you so much for all the work in that wire wrapping.

earrings2 earrings2.2

I know you may hop to other blogs, just wanted to post a picture or 2 of what I sent to my partners…

my swap pairs

I enameled these copper washers, and originally had them paired with enameled discs (seen below). They were so uniform in composition, and lacked movement. So – I had to swap them out for pearl and gem dangles. The vintage bells will add a bit of jingle as they dance around. The extra discs? Sent to my partners -a little bonus for them to make into something…

first version extra bonus