Brooch Du Jour:

Finally, I’ve caught up on lost sleep.  I’ve been commissioned to make a pin using these vivid colors (I call them Summer of Love colors -- Paging Peter Max!)  This one is for a commission, and I will make (at least) a second one, so my dear buyer can pick the one she wants. 

Art Book: A Winter Sky

I was very fortunate to learn the bookbinding techniques of DJ Pettitt, (who happens to be a high school classmate!) It was great to see DJ after too many years and see all she has accomplished in her art. In truth, learning to make books was the perfect synergy of all I have been doing lately, which is collage, beading, bead embroidery, collection of ephemera, calligraphy, abstract and representational drawings sewing, hoarding found objects, and mixing my media. What better way to stir the collected interests than a book? This book above is my second book, and it is quite small. It has beading detail so I'm counting it as my April Submission for the beaded art project 2010. I also have two more begun and I'll be completing these in the coming weeks. The most ambitious one will have my January winter piece as a cover focal point and will be a much larger book.

I've linked to DJ's web site and I can't endorse her artistry enough.

February's Beaded Project

And yes, you can clearly see that I am posting this in the month of May. I'll come right out and share that this is actually the completion of a beaded piece I started in the past and got hung up circling the airport while I forged ahead to do other projects. While it is a bit of a cheat, there was a lot left to be completed, and I did feel great revisiting this piece and getting the beaded part completed. A sun image in a field of darkness, for me it works fine for February.

The biggest difference between this piece and ones started more recently is the contents of my stash at the time this was designed was a lot more limited. Most notable is the lack of any beads smaller than size 11. Since I started this piece I have expanded my studio palette quite a bit (though I can never have enough) and have a nice cache of size 15 beads that I love to use for the more intricate detail.

The background cloth is simply the fabric I used to bead this on, I'm not sure what the background will be when I get this prepared for presentation.

Copper and Bead Bracelet

I made the above bracelet as a gift for someone very special. It was the first time I have created an entire bracelet with copper wire. Copper is pretty popular now as it is a less expensive alternative to sterling silver, which is off the charts expensive these days. I used three different gauges of copper wire, which I purchased at the hardware store. It was a dream to work with.

The beads are a collection taken from my stash of treasures and include carved antique ivory, pearls, turquoise, crystals, leaf and dagger drops, and a few other elements. It was very fun to create and I want to keep playing with the copper.

I've been asked to talk about my process, and it may be best if I talk about it piece by piece. I can't say that my inspiration and the actions that follow are always the same, though I often begin a session in the studio with feasting my eyes on inspirations from my library of books or looking at blogs and web sites of beautiful artwork. Sometimes I spend a little time cleaning up the area where I am going to work, or putting things away. You might say I putter around for a little while before I get right to it.

With this bracelet I knew I was going to work with copper. I knew I wanted a fall color scheme, so I shopped my stash and gathered the beads -- ivory and crystals and leaf drop beads. I pondered those while I made jump rings for the project, which I hammered flat. I also made a clasp with a large carved ivory bead on it, which I thought would look great with the other ivory beads. Next, I created the links and put them together with double hammered jump rings for best durability. The fun part came with making the various dangly elements, and for those I went back to the stash and found the dagger drops and some small AB crystals. The round turquoise beads were the last element to be added. A blue-green accent was not what I envisioned in the beginning, but with the encouragement of a friend I gave it a go and really liked the added depth and how it picked up the tiny blue notes in the AB crystals.

Finally - I tried it on and it was way too big! I removed the clasp and created a smaller plain one, it's just right now. The clasp I made at the very beginning will be part of a future project.

Sometimes I'll let something sit for a while, and later will find things to add or will want to take something away, but this one is finished I think. Just need to wrap it and make a card!