Flint Handmade on Facebook

Come join me and 60+ other local Michigan artists at the Flint Handmade show in downtown Flint, Michigan.  I'll be at the Loft and will have a clearance sale on my crystal spiral ropes.  This is the last show I'm offering these beauties, what doesn't sell will be repurposed.  I'll have my bottle cap pendants both metal and beaded including  a couple of new designs.  I look forward to seeing you

there.

 

http://www.flinthandmade.com/home.html
http://flinthandmade.blogspot.com/
http://christinesbeadworks.etsy.com/

The Beauty of Friendship Swaps

My online group, Etsy Beadweaver's Team, recently organized a swap and 21 of my teammates and I participated.  This lovely picture is of Susan Ivey, and I couldn't have asked for a better picture to illustrate the joy of doing a friendship swap.  The bracelet on the right is the piece that she created for fellow beadweaver, Aster Sadler and the one on the left is the one she received in turn from Jacquie Champion.  With this swap, each person was assigned someone on the list and provided with information about that person.  No one knew who had their name, so it was a surprise to both receive a piece and to find out the identity of the sender.  There were no real requirements on what to make, just something the other person would like and to do the big reveal today, April 15th.  I have the great honor of not only showing the piece I sent to, drum roll please, Naan Pocen, but to also show everyone's pieces.  We have a few pictures missing, so I will follow-up when they come in.

Naan was, I believe, the very first person to leave a comment on my blog.  Naan is a gifted writer, as well as a gifted bead artist and I highly encourage you to read her blogs (each mention of her name has a separate link to different blogs).  For any challenge and/or swap, I push myself to create something I haven't done before.  I knew I wanted to use a bottle cap in my design, and for something new to me, I decided to make it reversible (not everyone wants to advertise their favorite beer/soda all the time, lol).  My original thought was to put an image of Naan and her beautiful daughter on one side, but that attempt failed miserably.  I still have a lot to learn about creating collages that will look nice with beadwork and not look flat.  I was told that Naan likes the color red and didn't own a lariat.  Perfect, I've never done a true lariat and I adore these new Coke caps.  What's a "true" lariat, you might ask.  For me, a lariat is very long and something that can be worn multiple ways around the neck.  The picture on the left is the back of the caps, with the left side being the medallion beadwork I used to cover the failed picture and the right a collage of nail polish (makes a great paint) and stamped acetate.  Red with gold is one of my favorite pairings, it looks rich and elegant and it also avoided a color comination that Naan doesn't like (red/blue) and one that I don't like (red/green).  I used a herringbone weave for the strap; perhaps not the best choice.  It's a little stiffer than I wanted at the crystal intersections, but I love the overall look and versatility.  The embellishments for the herringbone were first introduced to me by Laura McCabe's designs and they work wonderfully here.

This collage illustrates the many possibilities of wearing this piece.  It's long enough to be drapped around the waist (correction, Naan's waist, not mine, lol). 

 

Readers, you've been very patient with me.  I know you want to see what others on the team sent and received.  Another drum roll please........

Make sure click on the picture to make it larger and you will be able to read the sender and the recipient names.  Check back later in the week, I'll continue to update the picture with others as I receive them.  Below is a list of all the participants in the swap.  Clicking on their names will take you to their blogs (if they have one) or to their shops (if they don't).  Many will be writing about their experiences with the swap so you can have a great time taking a journey with us.

Karina Houben to Ellen Shukis

Ellen Shukis to Hadas Ferber

Hadas Ferber to Carol Holmes

Carol Holmes to Laura Zeiner

Laura Zeiner to Charlene Abrams

Charlene Abrams to Jacquie Champion

Jacquie Champion to Susan Ivey

Susan Ivey to Aster Sadler
Aster Sadler to Ruthie Stickney

Ruthie Stickney to Christine Wilson

Christine Wilson to Naan Pocen

Naan Pocen to Olga Pettersson

Olga Pettersson to Patricia Vener

Patricia Vener to Lisa Savoy

Lisa Savoy to Marilyn Norman

Marilyn Norman to Nancy Dale

Nancy Dale to Esther Neijman

Esther Neijman to Louisa Meece

Louisa Meece to Marcy Abney

Marcy Abney to Deb Andersen

Deb Andersen to Karina Houben

Use the Muse IV Sneak Peek

Scarlett Lanson's  Use the Muse IV contest is currently underway and I'm excited to show you a few sneak peaks of my entry.   My daughter and I are huge Project Runway fans and as I worked on this piece, I couldn't help but compare the experience.  If you've watched the show, you'll know that contestants are constantly pushed to create couture and creative garments.  While that is not a requirement in this bead challenge, winning pieces definitely need to be creative as well as skillfully constructed.  My beading tends to be streamlined and matches my individual style.   Like project runway contestants, I find it challenging to create something that is both me, yet also elaborate enough to catch the judge's eye.  I attempt to incorporate techniques I haven't used before.  I also attempt to make the piece versatile and asymmetrical both of which usually push my creativity.

I totally sympathize with the time and material constraints placed on Project Runway contestants.  In comparison I had nearly unlimited materials (a base kit is provided by Artbeads and you can add whatever you want) and I might as well have had unlimited time (3 weeks).  This season's most recent "your out" was given to Jonathan after he redid his dress five times and finally ran out of both fabric and time.  Had he been given more of both, he would have achieved a better result.  I can't count the number of times I completely revamped my Use the Muse IV design.  I'm lucky that beads can be pulled apart and reused an unlimited amount of times or my result would have also failed on the runway.

My first inspiration was chainmaille and I envisioned draping chains of beadwork from the Muse (shhh, a big secret, I can't reveal the muse yet).  Unfortunately, neither herringbone nor spiral stitches created the delicacy I was looking for.  My daughter provided the next inspiration, dream catcher, and the resulting spiral dangles were quite lovely.  I then preceded to add a riveted element and was quite happy with the result and it was time to work on the neck pieces.

That's when I created the ropes you see in the picture above.  They started out as a simple weave around the provided leather cord that was going to go behind the neck.  However, they evolved in something much more elaborate using herringbone and right angle weaves in tubular form.  They were also the perfect size to make into a bracelet and I decided to make two straps, both bracelet length.

The second strap quickly formed in an embellished spiral weave.  Back to the drawing board....I decided the focal point needed to be redone completely.  Off went the spiral rope dangles (lovely though they were) and off went the riveted elements (never to be seen again).  Many things were tried and cut off until I was satisfied.  I won't spoil the surprise but look for updates after the Muse is revealed on Scarlett's website later this month.  I leave you with the picture of the mess left behind...I wonder how long before this is cleaned up?

For more information visit:

The Beader's Muse
Artbeads