HAUTE ICE BEADWORK

Tweed Bracelet

2012-02-12T09:48:00.000-06:00

"When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me."

We all have things we gravitate towards as designers, and things we aver. I am not a silver girl. I wear a gold wedding ring, and the silver bin in my bead storage is the emptiest of all the bins.

Beadsmith's wonderful Steven Weiss sent me a clasp he chose for me, as a part of the Elegant Elements project. It's a lovely thing, a pretty shape, with a subtle and unusual color combination. But working with it really made me stretch my boundaries. And for this I am thankful. Every time we make safe choices, we close our lives off a little from possibilities. A silver, mauve and siam bracelet was a big reach for me. But I did it, and I have learned and stretched and grown.

And that is enough said. Except for one thing. In the corner of this private group forum, it says,

"A very intimidating group... You've been warned :o)"

But the support and kindness there is what makes it possible to reach outside your personal comfort zone and try something entirely different with which you do not have experience, technical expertise or the even the ability to be securely successful.

Now I am aching for emerald and gold. Off to clean my table, and follow my heart.

If Everyone Else Jumped Off a Bridge...

2012-01-22T11:03:00.003-06:00

...would you jump off too? I have asked my son this question a few times, and the right answer is "Of course not, Mom." But I just jumped. When I started work on my second piece for the Beadsmith Elegant Elements Clasp Project, I told myself it would be a bracelet. Why? Because it seemed to me that EVERYONE ELSE had made a fabulous bracelet and I really had to just DO IT.

I am really not a bracelet maker. Part of the reason maybe is, I don't wear bracelets because they get in the way when I work. And I seem to design jewelry I personally would want to own.
Another part is maybe because my wrist is teensy, and a bracelet that I might be able to enjoy would not proportionately (or size wise) fit anyone else on the planet. Well, ok, maybe a few people, but we are talking a tiny minority here.

So, in a pressure situation, where I am trying to design to feature a lovely clasp, and trying to keep up with the other amazing designers in this group, (mostly who do this for a living, while I am really a hobbyist) I decide I will do something I have minimal experience with. But really, what is life without a little challenge and bite, I ask you?

Given the floral aspect of the clasp, I thought there should be a flower quality to the design. And I really loved the structure of the flower. I thought it looked very tropical, and hibiscus-like. So first, I tried a hibiscus flower with peyote and netting. And while I really liked the first part of the structure and the over and under-lapping petals, I didn't love the netting, or the colors I chose, which were too sweet to be elegant. I might come back to this idea one day. But it also seemed kinda literal, and the clasp was stylized and more a flower symbol that an actual flower.

It also seemed flat. And while the clasp is flat, there is a depth to it and the beautiful use of negative space was compelling.

So, I thought I'd try to make a more 3D symbolic version of the petals, with inside and outside curves that represented the shapes in the clasp, which might be assembled in some interesting way.

These were kinda cool too, but TOO dimensional. And still not a color I thought was very elegant. And the clasp is elegant. For sure.

So then I thought I might try some wacky cut-out bead embroidery, using shapes from the clasp. After I selected my clasps, they got lost in the mail. So the sweet and concerned Steven Weiss sent them to me again. And of course, as soon as the replacements arrived, the original shipment appeared. I thought I had two of the little flower clasps and that this bracelet would be able to employ both. But then I opened the box and realized that what I had was not the flower clasp, but a different one in silver and purple, plus, I had filled in and ripped out a swirly motif on my bracelet in three different ways, and I didn't like any of them, so I set that idea aside as well.

I find I often need to simplify when I am stuck, so I tried a simple woven version of the golden flower, and also tried embellishing it, but this was back to too literal. Sheesh.

Finally I went to my personal favorite stitch, triangle weave, thinking if I had to travel in the foreign land of bracelets, I could at least speak a language I understood. And triangle weave is happy to organize itself into six petal flower forms, which was just what I wanted. Plus, I love olivene Swarovski. It was a reason to choose the clasp I did, so now I had a familiar traveling companion.

I did the bracelet first in just olivene, but wasn't seeing my flowers as powerfully as I wanted to, so I added in more color, light olivene and olivene 2XAB, plus a few Czech olive bicones as well, just a shade darker than the Swarovski, and of course some gold seeds and Aurum rounds, and finally, I had a bracelet I was pleased with. Then the task was to find a perfect attachment for the little clasp, that made it look like an inherent part of the design. I think I got it pretty right!

Just as a side note, I rarely weave with crystal, because I worry about durability, but I used doubled Power Pro (my favorite thread!) coated with microcrystaline wax, and I find the resulting work supple and sturdy, so maybe I'll do more work with crystals. They are certainly blingy!

This little bracelet looks like a B&B project to me. It's essentially very simple, but devilishly tricky to weave the second pass and get all the colors in the right places with the correct number of seeds in between. I wondered if I had failed to produce an appropriately complex and fabulous design. BUT, really the task here is to create a reason to want to buy the clasp. And maybe a simple design that integrates well is a good solution to that problem. Now to take the perfect photo!

Components as Inspiration

2011-12-28T14:27:00.000-06:00

I was super excited to be contacted by Steven Weiss at Beadsmith. They have a new line of clasps, Elegant Elements, and he asked if I might like to design using these clasps. Then, my work (and that of other designers) would be featured as a sales strategy for the new clasp line. The product line was GORGEOUS! And I said "Yes!" Although I quickly discovered many of the other participants are my beading heroes, and I hoped I would find myself adequate to the task.

I have only just met Steven Weiss "electronically," but I am going to go out on a limb here and say the guy is a public relations and advertising genius. This was a really brilliant way to collect great photos of the clasp line in action and I suspect most of us are really happy to be involved in the project. A win-win situation if ever there was one!

I chose two beauties from the wide range of Elegant Elements clasps. The first one I wanted to work with was a three-strand, golden nest box clasp, with snowy white pearl eggs. I thought this piece could serve double duty, since the February Etsy Beadweavers theme is "NEST." My first thought was to create a similar beaded nest for pearls to rest in, but after a couple samples, I found my work didn't really allow the clasp to shine. The clasp is a soft, pale gold and although it has beautiful leaf texture, it's very subtle and super organized. My samples were VERY textural, and one was a little disorganized, and neither suited the clasp.

I decided I needed to let the clasp lead the way for me, as I often do when I find other components I want to work with, so I analyzed it's basic design. It sits neatly flat, and the pearls sit up off the delicate, flat, highly organized nest to be featured in their little bezels. So I began a search for flat, golden, subtly-textured components that might allow me to provide contrast to big egg-shaped pearls. I bought some golden shadow rivolis, and those were lovely, but I really wanted something metallic to go with them. Then one night in a parking garage in South Minneapolis, the answer jingled out of the payment station in the form of a gold one dollar coin. I had just read an article about the reducing of production of these beauties, because they are not highly circulated, and considered to be an expense our government can eliminate. But I just loved it. And lo and behold, it was flat, pale gold, and delicately textured. Just what I had been looking for. But coins in jewelry? And then the idea of a "nest egg" occurred to me, and it seemed perfect design concept for the task at hand.

I bezeled the coin and dashed off to the bank for more. Turns out several different presidents are featured, as well as Sacajawea, but I liked the lady liberty backs, so I chose the ones with the best looking "tails" and got to work. With several coins and rivolis ready I played with placement, and found a way to organize a triad of each (half dozen packaging, just like the clasp) to allow for a place for some of my big freshwater pearl drops to sit, and joined them together. I played with several edge details, including tiny leaf shapes, but they still felt overwhelming and out of scale with the clasp, so I just netted in some bicones and found that to be appropriately scaled and detailed.

I broke the edge detail to allow some of the pearl eggs to drip out of the nest as fringe, and to allow for a soft three strand pearl neckstrap, which joined both the focal and the clasp with big pearls again, to help keep the clasp focused as a major player in the design.

Although I frequently let components speak to me in my design process, I had never before considered the possibility of allowing a clasp to dictate a design. This line is more than worthy of that kind of attention and I am really looking forward to working with my second clasp.

Serendipity for my Sister

2011-12-15T20:51:00.000-06:00

Two years ago, my sister gave me three cabochons for Christmas. She told me that my mother loved one of them, and she loved another. I made my mother's favorite into a necklace for her 87th birthday.

Last summer, my sister told me that what she most wanted for her December birthday and Christmas gift was "her" cabochon, transformed into a piece of jewelry. I got it out and was not particularly inspired, but decided I would make a start and see what happened as I went along.

It's a Payne's gray and creamy white stone, maybe something like Dalmation Jasper but the domed surface was pitted and I was having a hard time with that. I tightened the bezel on the front side and flipped it over to work the back. EUREKA! The back of the cabochon is a nearly perfect image of the mountain that my sister and I grew up on in Helena, Montana. Had she seen this? I had certainly not. It's the view from my parent's house front yard, on the North slope of Mount Helena.

It has the right shape and proportions, the tree line is nearly visible in the markings, and the color placement makes it look just like the real mountain does about this time of year, with a beautiful frosting of snow.

Flat side of the cabochon, the Mt. Helena image!

I decided that the piece could be reversible, in case it was the front of the cab Cara was loving, and so designed a woven bail that would allow for "reversability." Then I decided to add some branch fringe, again, in a reversible way, so that it might look as though you were viewing the mountain through frost or snow covered trees and shrubs.

As I worked the fringe, I have another EUREKA moment. The fringe looked like the branches I was hoping for, and it also resembled ROOTS. MY roots. My SISTER'S roots. Simply amazing to me how a duty can become beauty, and touch your heart with a little effort, confidence, and faith.

The "right" side of the cabochon, with the pendant on the twisted 8- strand neck strap.

I first strung an 8-strand necklace for the pendant to live on. Well, no. FIRST I tried to make a bead crocheted rope. For a couple of days, and many online tutorials, and many different sized and colored beads, and with tremendous frustration, I tried to make a bead crochet rope. Apparently, being able to crochet has little to do with bead crocheted rope. This is the first thing I have tried to do with beads at which I have achieved a complete and total FAIL. I will not allow this to remain something I cannot do, but with a deadline looming, I strung an 8-strand necklace for the pendant to live on.

Because of the breadth of the bail, the strands had to be twisted to look nice and I didn't love that. SO, I looked up Heather Collin's brilliant and easily comprehensible tutorial for cubic right angle weave, and made a second strap, which I liked much better!

On the CRAW rope, Mt. Helena side visible..

I'll send both necklaces, since either could be worn by itself, or with the pendant.

I know Cara does not read my blog, so I think it's safe to publish this post at this point, but please don't spoil the surprise. Don't share this post with Cara until December 24th!

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

What it Took...

2011-12-14T15:21:00.000-06:00

... to make my Arabesque Hearts and Flowers Necklace.

Some materials:

1 8.4 carat Rhodocrosite Teardrop Cabochon 12.00

1 pair Rhodocrosite Cabochons 20.00

1 piece Pink Bead Backing .65

1 piece Gold Ultrasuede for backing 4.00

2 2x2mm Gold Filled Crimps .30

2 3mm Gold Filled Jump Rings .40

22 4mm Swarovski Rose Champagne Bicones 5.50

1 tube 24k Rose Gold Plate Delicas 15.25

1 tube Nickel Plated Size 11 Seed beads 4.00

1 pkg Size 8 Green Iris Teardrop Seed Beads 2.00

6 tubes Size 15 Japanese Seed Beads 9.80

1 tube Size 15 24k Gold Czech Charlottes 17.00

1 tube Size 13 24k Gold Czech Charlottes 15.45

4 tubes Size 8 Seed Beads 17.00

1 Gold Filled Toggle Clasp 9.50

4 bobbins Nymo in 4 Colors 5.00

1 spool 10 lb test Red Power Pro 14.95

1 spool Crystal Fire Line 16.80

1 spool Fine Extreme Soft Flex 25.50

I didn't use up all of each of these items, but I had to have each one at hand to make the necklace.

Plus some tools:

Needle nose pliers, crimping pliers, beading needles in various sizes, tailors thimble, awl, card stock for making patterns, Lazer shears for cutting the fishing lines, beading mat and tray, bead scoop.

Plus some time:

Usually I keep meticulous track of time, but this time (because I started so late and worked so fast) I have to guess, about 12 hours, but I suspect that is a conservative estimate.

Plus some experience:

Which enabled me to know that what I designed originally could not be finished in time to make the deadline for completion, so I adapted and adjusted my design to allow me to complete it in the time I had available.

Plus the inspiration:

I got from watching my Etsy Beadweavers teammates post their entries for this challenge, and after deciding that I just didn't have time to do this, re-deciding that I simply REALLY wanted to make my own response to the challenge of "Arabesque Style."

Tomorrow is the last day of this challenge and if you have not already done so, please visit our Etsy Beadweavers Team blog, and choose your favorite entry of the many delightful interpretations on display and VOTE!

A Gift for a Friend

2011-11-29T16:55:00.002-06:00

For her birthday, I told my friend Donna I would design a piece of jewelry to go with any outfit of her choosing. She delivered a new top to me a couple weeks ago and I thought it was a great choice! It has a funky peacock-inspired print in shades of turquoise, purple, fuchsia, cobalt, and ruby red, on a black ground. The print is luminous and the colors really pop off the surface of the fabric in some places, and fade to neutral in others. The neckline was a deep V and I immediately wanted to fill that V with a Y shaped peacock tail image of my own. The top is lush and rich, but subtle, and could be a casual shirt, looking great with jeans. It could also dress up for a coctail party, so I wanted my piece to serve both purposes.

I found a dyed howlite torus in a nice turquoise-y color, and collected beads from my stash in all the colors in the shirt, choosing some Swarovski sparkle and lots of matte stone to serve my dual purpose. Then I began fringing the torus wrap to create my tail.

I got it SO wrong the first time! Bad proportions with too much length, and I mixed the color in horizontal bands and that was a mistake as well. When you lave lots of texture and color, I think you need to organize it well to keep it from being a messy pile of confusion, which my first effort was. I'll show you, because it's the only photo I have of Donna's wonderful top... But you can tell I wasn't pleased by the photo I took. Sigh. See how that color pops? What a great shirt!

I don't know why this should be, but frequently when I design my beadwork, I have to do it wrong to see what it should be. After staring at my chaos version for a while, I realized I had an opportunity to create a peacock eye image with the color selection, and that brought order to confusion and calmed the messy texture down to a reasonable level. BUT, Donna is a petite woman, and I was worried that I had still not gotten the scale right for her. So I dithered about maybe making something more simple, and couldn't quite put the beads away yet. But I did really like both the color arrangement and the depth and lushness of my second effort.

Fortunately, Donna stopped by yesterday with coconut macaroons from the Crossroads Deli, and while I made us tea, and she noticed the necklace on my stand and liked it! She tried it on, and I marked the length and finished the clasp while we drank our tea, and she will test drive it on Friday on a date she is looking forward to.

I'm so glad that worked out! And now all I need is a photo from that date...

Pearls from China

2011-11-27T08:02:00.002-06:00

My friend Doris Coghill spoke at the Upper Midwest Bead Society meeting a couple weeks ago, providing insight and information from her many years of beading, teaching beadwork, and selling beads. When asked about beading supplies from China, she used a very bad word. She explained that the Chinese government has recently forced the retirement of many skilled workers to provide jobs for younger people entering the workforce. When many of those experienced workers left, with them went skills and ethical work habits.

One of the results of this forced mass Chinese early retirement program is a flood of poorly drilled pearls on the market. Earlier this fall I bought piles of pearls at the local Gem and Lapidary Workers Show when it visited Minneapolis. I love to weave with pearls, but usually find I must buy them wholesale to afford them. Weaving eats up materials quickly, and the GLWS is a great place to shop.

So when the blitz of my fall costume work ended, I happily sorted through my goodies and got out my favorite 3 strands of golden bronzy 3mm-ish rice pearls and two pieces of Biggs Deschutes Jasper and set to work, with this result:

The jasper was pricey, especially the upper piece, but the pearls were very reasonable, so I had plenty to play with, and after configuring the focal section, I decided to drape the pearls on each side. I liked the exclaimation point image I had, but wanted to soften and disguise it a little, so it had subtlety and invited a closer look, since the details in the focals were so lovely. This is where my trouble began.

When you are draping strands of anything, uniformity is critical to success. And these pearls were far from uniform. I loved the differences in color, since they echoed the depth in the jasper.

But the differences in length were more problematic. For what I had paid for them, I didn't think the size differences were unreasonable, and the surfaces were smooth and lovely and with a deep glowing nacre. I sorted them by length, and realizing that I would not have enough of any one length to do the job entirely, tried to organize them in my draping to provide the best results. They were visually deceptive! Fatter ones looked shorter than they were, and vice versa. But all that was 100% acceptable to me and my purposes.

What I found disappointing was the funky drilling of many of the pearls. In my triangle weave section, it didn't matter, but in the draping, it did.

I did the left side first (ok, REALLY I did the right side first, hated it, and did the left side and got a better result, and then ripped the right side and re-wove it) and I was able to use mosly the pearls with the holes drilled straight through, but by the last strand at the bottom, I had to start encorporating the pearls with the angled holes. See the one in the center of the picture? There's one in two strands from it as well. Sigh.

And the right side has more of those badly drilled babies. I don't see this as a crisis. My piece is still pretty. But my friend was right. Less care and skill is going into the drilling of pearls from China.

Now, maybe the specific Chinese supplier makes a difference, because I ordered the pearls for my Victoria's Secret piece from China, and I was really pleased with their quality, price, and super fast service with reasonable shipping costs. Better than companies in this country that shall remain nameless.

So, for future reference, caveat emptor! When you buy a strand of pearls, hold them up and look at how they have been drilled and consider your purpose before plunking down your cash. If you want to drape them, you want the holes drilled straight. Thanks Doris, for opening my eyes.

Arts of the Holidays

2011-11-18T09:54:00.000-06:00

Last night I attended the "first" opening of a most beautifully curated show, and I am honored to be included in it. I really love how this gallery goes into Holiday Haven mode each year and manages to display the work of over 120 artists with equity and sensitivity.

I think most Etsy sellers go into wild preparations for Cyber Monday, but I do the opposite. I take my best work of the year out of my shop and off to the Minnetonka Center for the Arts.

Last year, the sales of my work were brisk and I was very pleased!

If last night's shoulder-to-shoulder crowd was any indication, it should be another great year.

Bob Bowman and his team really do a wonderful job of staging this event, and the opening included fantastic food...

...elegantly arranged tables and flowers...

... a fabulous tree...

...and lots of really wonderful work! I am dreadful at schmoozing and sales, so I did a little shopping myself. I love the work of this ceramic artist, Kristine Hites. Her shapes are so organic and appealing to me and the colors so unabashedly girly! What a great collection!

I am also very fond of this fused glass artist, Sally Goski of Wild Rose Glass Art.

Some of her things are "holiday specific, but not all.

I bought this tray, which I love! I looked at a similar piece last year, and when I went back to get it, it was GONE, so this year I snapped it up immediately.

I also loved these boot Gaiters, delightfully reminiscent of my dancing leg warmer days...

And this adorable little bag!

All of my other purchases are gifts, so I can't share further!

I mentioned that this was the first opening, because the Center for the Arts also has a location at Ridgedale Mall and that location will open on Thursday December 1st, 6-9pm. I will likely have to put on one of my favorite pieces and shop again, benefitting what The Best Man Ever refers to as "others of my kind," as well as those friends I will be shopping for. Happy holiday shopping to you, and I will hope to see you there!

It's Been Sooooooo Long!

2011-11-02T18:09:00.003-06:00

I had a super busy fall and neglected both of my blogs, while working 7 days a week for more than 6 weeks at my ballroom dance competition costume business, Made for Movement. But I didn't stop beading entirely...

First there was "In the Forest Primeval" a beautiful tabac navette, with matte green leaf fringe to herald the coming autumn. I made it a peyote neckstrap with dark gold delica edges, and a beaded buttonhole and toggle closure.

And of course, there had to be earrings...

There was a huge forest fire in the Minnesota Boundary Waters this fall, and that inspired this pendant.

And of course...

Then, there was a simple Picasso Jasper pendant piece for the Etsy beadweavers Team "Inspired by Picasso" Challenge. Love the vibrantly strung neckstrap and the coral bezel.

I am certain there were earrings that went with this, but I don't see the photo!!!

Then, I beaded up a Dutch Spiral for my Etsy Beadweavers challenge "TOTALLY TWISTED!" I really enjoyed using the metallic matte cubes in the mix, and the Vintaj Brass beadcaps. No earrings yet...

And then, I had some beautiful Lapis Lazuli ovals and a matched Azurite pair, so I tried a little bead embroidery, not my strong suit, but most enjoyable in my hands.

Since bead art is my second job, I find when I am stressed, it's a meditation that centers, focuses, and relaxes me, but I can't take on projects that are ambitious when my mind is still full of my day. I'm so glad now to be only normally scheduled for the rest of the year, and look forward to picking up some more substantial projects.

"Inspired by Picasso"

2011-10-09T07:27:00.000-06:00

Please visit the Etsy Beadweavers October Challenge, "Inspired by Picasso" to view all the wonderful entries! There are some especially unique pieces which I think really capture the feeling of Picasso's work. Take a look for yourself and then hop on over and vote for the one you love the most. On our blog, thanks to Lisa of Artsylis, you can click on each image to be taken to the Etsy listings, if you'd like a closer look or see something you need to own for yourself. Enjoy!

Another Look at Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

2011-09-04T16:23:00.007-06:00

Last winter I wrote two blog posts about copyright infringement as it applies to beadwork. At the time, I had experience only as an ignorant and unintentional infringer, and had not really given much thought to being infringed upon. It seemed to me that it would not be different from seeing copies of my ballroom dance costume designs, which happens to me fairly frequently. But I was very wrong about that, and I was shocked by my own reaction to the situation.

Last Thursday I got a convo from an Etsy Beadweavers Team member who pointed out to me that someone had copied my "Bollywood Beauty" necklace and was selling it on Etsy. I took a look and sure enough, there it was! It's not an exact copy, but it is certainly my design. It has all the same components in the same locations, and even is done in nearly the same color scheme. My fringe weights are different and my focal bead a different color, and the proportions, while close are not quite the same. But the beader did a pretty good job of figuring out what I had done and copying it.

Just as a reference point, here's my "Bollywood Beauty" necklace.

After my cursory glance I responded to my teammate

"Thank for showing me. I am not going to pursue any action against this beader. I am hugely amused, and mildly flattered, but I decided quite a while back that copyright would just never be an issue for me, unless someone copies my work and is making a fortune on it, which I do not think will happen in this case."

Then I explained that I work in an industry by day that copyright does not apply to, and consequently have experienced seeing copies of my designs before, and I finished the convo with:

"Do I think it's a copy? Sure. But it's not a perfect one, although substantially accurate in most details. Do I really care? Nah. But I am really glad to know it's out there. I'd love to do a blog post on it!!! I might just ask her if she'd mind my featuring her work on my blog. What do you think she'll say?"

Then I sent the beader who had copied my necklace a convo:

"How interesting. Would you object if I did a blog post on your Peacock Beaded Necklace? You can see my blog at ..."

Then I had a look around her shop and discovered ANOTHER copy of my necklace, this one in crystal. My devil-may-care attitude melted away as I noticed that this copy was priced at $1200, well above the $995 price tag on my original. I was shocked! Was she planning to make a career of knocking off my necklace with a few subtle variations and different color schemes?

Then I read her description. The description on the first copy had talked about being "inspired by nature" but it did say at the very bottom of the listing: "Inspired by hauteicebeadwork." Now given the detail she had managed to copy from my necklace, I was surprised she had missed the caps in my shop name. But this second description didn't mention my shop at all.

I felt my blood pressure rise a few notches. I went back to the first copy and noticed that the piece had 59 admirers and been in three Treasury Lists. This is a design I believe to be one of my better efforts, and I use it as my shop profile picture. It won the August 2011 Etsy Beadweavers challenge, and I am very proud of it. I began to feel angry, which really surprised me.

What I did next was a very bad idea. I am ashamed to tell you about it. Without waiting for permission, I wrote a blog post about these copies. I displayed the images you see here, but without permission, and I said almost exactly what I have said here, but my intent was malicious. I meant to expose her theft of my intellectual propery. I wanted my friends to know I had been ripped off, and I wanted them to console me. I also contacted a couple of my beady buddies whose work I thought was also represented in this Etsy shop, and suggested they take a look. I was having a deeply unsettling week, having dropped my only child off at college the day before, and while I thought I was doing pretty well, clearly, I had been walking on a emotional tightrope, and had fallen off. I'm usually more rational and at least a little compassionate. But whatever else might have been going on in my life, I know how quickly information can be spread online, and my behavior was inappropriate.

When a couple of my friends took it upon themselves to let this shop owner know just how wrong she was to have copied my work, I realized things had gotten out of control. I contacted everyone I thought was riding off to war on my behalf, thanked them for their support, and asked them to stop, and I deleted my own blog post. A gentle prompt from a friend (thanks Kate) reminded me how easily I had made a similar mistake as a baby bead artist.

Then I wrote to the shop owner and stated very clearly that she was using my design without giving me credit for it, and that she did not have my permission to do this. I told her to remove her listings from Etsy. I was 100% ready to hire myself a lawyer to enforce that if need be. I also suggested that she might not be aware that what she was doing was wrong, and I directed her to my blog posts "Give Credit..." and "...Redux" to read about my own similar mistake.

She was respectful, apologetic, and removed her listings. I thanked her and we convoed a little. And the next day, after a restoring night's sleep, I convoed again and told her she could relist her items if she credited me with the design and posted a link to my shop in her listing. She did so, and I am A-OK with it.

I am still shocked at how angry and threatened I felt, when something that defined me as an artist, and my "brand" on Etsy was copied without any design credit given. I'm glad I had this experience, because I now have great sympathy for other artists who want credit for their designs. I had no real idea how they felt, until I felt that way myself. And I am so sorry that it took me so long get a handle on my distress and find an appropriate way to handle the situation.

I share this, with permission from the other artist involved, who asked me to add this comment from her: "These last few days all I have been able to think about is how ashamed I am and how stupid I was to not research all this more. It has really been bothering me and eating at me and I would appreciate people realizing how sorry I am." But in her defense, it's an easy mistake to make. I know this from personal experience.

The lessons here are many and obvious. We both hope that telling our sorry tale helps others avoid our mistakes.

The Lion's Tale

2011-08-21T22:09:00.006-06:00

Actually, this is a tale about a dog. My dog is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, usually a beautiful animal that looks something like a small golden retriever. But after a summer of swimming, the fur on her thighs had become matted. She objects to these matts being combed out, because it hurts. So after trying creme rinse and various other grooming tools, I gave up and cut all the matts out. Poor thing, she looks ridiculous. Her thighs and legs are usually plumed with long waving hair, and she looks as though someone gave her a crew cut. But I must say she seems thrilled to be rid of the nasty matted fur. I was joking with my husband this evening about maybe using the clippers to neaten up the job I had done, and maybe trimming more of her sides, back, and some of her tail in what groomers call a "Lion Cut." You leave a "mane" of fur at the shoulder and neck, and then trim away all but a tassel of fur at the end of the tail and the resulting pet looks a bit like a lion. I've seen it on poodles and cats as well. You can see some "Lionized" kitties here if you need a reference point.

After dinner, I sat back down at my beading bench, where I have been making things for a holiday gallery show and sale at the MInnetonka Center for the Arts. I had good success at this sale last year, and am trying to assemble a body of new work to send in to the jury process by the end of September. It's a tough year for me, with my only child leaving for college this fall. Seems I am constantly distracted by various college-related stuff, and really, I WANT to be the best mom I can be for these last few weeks.

I thought I would have to forego the September Etsy Beadweavers Challenge, out of sheer lack of time. But the piece I had been working in the last few days really reminded me of the Yellow Brick Road, which would be great for this "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!" Challenge. Except that in addition to the Wizard of Oz theme, the challenge has to include an animal inspiration. I hadn't seen a way to work an animal reference into my necklace until I decided it needed a center focal point and began working on a design for a tassel.

Then, "POOF" like magic, the Lion Cut image merged in my mind with the tassel design and I had my challenge piece. OK. It was not really instant or very magical. I made tassels all night until I ended up with this one which finally pleased me and looked like the right shape.

"The Lion's Tale" is a delicate matte metallic collection of Czech fire polish beads in yellow golds and pinky bronzes with hints of green. Their texture felt very brick-like to me as I worked with them, and I loved the hints of green that seemed to represent the Emerald City and the pinks that reminded me of the poppy fields. I was also pleased by the delicate by spiky bud shapes in the edges of the necklace, which seemed to be about both the beauty and the danger of the poppies.

When the dog sees the necklace, I am certain she will run to her favorite hiding place in the deep basement, lest I should carry out my evil plan to give her a Lion Cut, but hopefully, I have worked out all my need to do that with my tassel, and managed a reasonably effective challenge entry in the bargain!

The Thumper Principle

2011-07-03T07:30:00.007-06:00

...which states, "Iffn you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all!" It's a principle I believe in and apply as often as possible. I am far from perfect, but I do make conscious effort.

But I am not sure how to apply this idea to my own work. My husband was a metalsmith and maker of art jewelry when I met him in 1977. He had a friend who was a potter, and they traveled to art fairs all over the US together. The potter was a very good ceramist, and a better salesman. All day, each day at the fair, he repeatedly sold his "best pot!" It was like watching performance art. I wonder if that is the best policy when it comes to art work, especially work you make to sell?

Not every creative effort results in the same success. I just scanned an article on Beading Daily about "What it Takes to be a Designer of the Year." Jean Campbell, editor of Beadwork magazine, talked about meeting deadlines and not achieving perfection each time, but ending up with many good pieces. I think that is reality. I have a big box of UFO's (Un Finished Objects) and usually, I have the good sense and taste to put things in the box that I find less than perfect. But not this time.

Not that there is anything badly wrong with my new piece. And I guess that is why I went ahead and posted it. But it's not meeting some of my usual criteria.

I looked at LOADS of images for the "Sizzling Sunshine and Soothing Water" challenge. And I kept loving the sunrises and sunsets on water. The colors were vibrant, and the images breathtaking. And the idea of creating a reflected image was pretty exciting. I decided to be literal with the imagery, and remembered a PBS program featuring a painter, Bob Ross, who painted a beautiful landscape as you watched, while talking about "happy little trees." It was so soothing! So I decided I would bead a "happy little sunrise."

I found the nearly perfect image in a book of photography by Chuck Haney and John Reddy, (who was my back door neighbor growing up in Helena, Montana) called "Montana, Wild and Beautiful II."

Mr. Ross (the PBS painter) frequently made his paintings in pretty shapes, so I chose a half circle, like a rising sun, and he also took liberties with his paintings, seeming to follow his heart as he chose what things to include in this paintings. So although I wanted to represent this particular photo, I had looked at MANY reflected dawn photos, and complied ideas from several of them as I worked.

I am not a frequent bead embroiderer, but I ended with a reasonable sunrise, and then fringed in the lake, using a scan of my embroidery, flipped and scaled, as a guide.

I struggled with the fringe. My original intent was to end up with a circle, half embroidery and half fringe, but the fringe didn't want to lay happily in the half circle. I used small glass drops as "fringe weights" but at the bottom, the drops crowded each other, and after posting the piece as it was, I de-activated it and re-created the fringe, trying to attenuate the bottom of the circle, as though the image perspective was warped in the expanse of lake stretchng toward me, to give the fringe a chance to hang straight.

The best things about this piece are the intense color and the mobility of the fringe. I really like the fact that the fringe behaves like water, rippling and disturbing the reflected image with movement.

But I don't know that I personally could ever wear the work. It's substantial, and I am a small person with a small face and small features. In terms of wearability, this piece is for a larger person than me. And the color is so vibrant and striking that it has a playful quality, which was not my original goal.

Not a loss, by any means, but not what I meant either. So, should I keep my yap shut, or tell the truth? At my son's elementary school, students are asked not to say anything that is not true, kind, and necessary. Well, it's certainly true. This piece is not a success on all fronts. And kind? Well, I don't mind the truth, so I am not hurt by it. IF someone chose to buy it, and found out how I felt, would that be unkind? Maybe. But if I reveal my thoughts before-hand, does that remove any unkindness? And necessary? Well, I am an honest person, and it might just be necessary for me to come clean.

So there you are. My best reflected sunrise effort, and a disclaimer of truth. Do you ever make things you are not fully happy with?

Thank you Etsy Beadweavers Team!

2011-05-20T07:02:00.004-06:00

My wonderful Etsy Beadweavers Team tried out a new voting system this month for our "Lord of the Rings" challenge. In addition to the Popular Favorite entry, chosen by viewers of our blog, we also hosted an in-house private team vote. I was extrememly honored to have my entry "Ash & Ember - The Balrog" chosen as the first Team Favorite. I wanted to offer a public thank you to my team members for choosing my work to represent our team for this month.

I also want to offer my congratulations to all of the very worthy runners up. I was particularly fond of the the second place winner, Amanda of ChrysanthememVeil, whose Nightingale Necklace also won the Popular Favorite vote on our blog. I am a big fan of labrodorite, and I was immediately drawn to the cleanliness and intricacy of her design. I thought the limited color scheme allowed the elegant textural beauty to shine, and I also really enjoyed her description and elven inspiration.

Nightingale Necklace by Amanda of ChrysanthemumVeil

I also loved the third place EDORAS Pectoral Necklace by my friend Rosita of CrownRoseGems. I think beautiful and manly sit together magnificently in her work, and I also really appreciate the multi-media use of the woven copper with the beadweaving. And the color pallette, while masculine, is also very sophisticated. Her inspiraton was from archways on the LoTR film set and a visit to her listing to see how that looks is strongly advised. Everything comes together in this piece so perfectly!

EDORAS Pectoral Necklace by Rosita of CrownRoseGems

The winner of the Team Vote is granted the opportunity to choose the next team theme, and mine will be presented in July. It will be "Sizzling Sunshine - Soothing Water." We will start our projects by finding an image that combines water and sunshine. We might look through books, magazines, postcards, travel brochures, or through the lens of our own camera. Then, inspired by some aspect of our image (colors, shapes, whatever we find most appealing) we will create a beadwoven work that represents the dichotomy that is the best summer has to offer. Our listing will include the image we have chosen, and an explanation of how it inspired our work. I hope to find time to participate.

I found an image I loved, via google images, and cited the blog Google credited with the image. BUT it is now a "forbidden image," so I must have done something I should not have. Best check into that right away. I know copyright regulation is stringent for photography. For example, a competitor of my other business, Made for Movement, also has a photography subsidiary. They go by the same name as the dressmaker, Dore'. They are using an image of a gown I made to advertise their photography services. They do not have to credit my design, and the implication is that the gown is a Dore' gown. Sigh. So before I get my team in trouble, I best do a little checking here about the use of images!

I hope if you are a team member you'll find this inspiring, and if you are a fan, that you will enjoy the work we present for your pleasure on the 9th of July on our Etsy Beadveavers Team blog.

Decisions To Be Made

2011-05-06T08:32:00.002-06:00

I belong to the Etsy Beadweavers Team, and once a month, we hold a challenge, where members can bead something on a specific theme, and enter a contest to choose the best entry. The winner of the contest gets to choose the theme of the next challenge, and is featured on the team blog and facebook page.

In the past, the winners have been determined by popular vote on our team blog. There will still be a popular vote and a Fan Favorite. But this month, we are trying out a new voting system whereby the team will choose a Team Favorite.

I personally feel that extra consideration is due to my selection this month. It is my hope that this new team vote will be a reflection of what our team values as a group. And I want to establish a list of criteria for myself to help me make my selection.

I cannot take credit for this idea. It came from the Bead Mavens. They have hosted two competitions and found that it was hard for the group to select a winning entry, with each person having their own criteria, likes and dislikes. Their solution was to develop a list of valuable characteristics. Then each member ranked each entry by each criteria, using a point system. Finally, they compiled this information to determine their winner.

As a big fan of spread sheets, I think my selection system will take that form. So now to establish my criteria.

I think I'll start with FIRST IMPRESSION. When I first look at it, is it fantastic, or do I like it, or do I not find it appealing? And since this competition has a theme, I think that had best be my second criteria. How well does the design encorporate the THEME? Perhaps I can eliminate some of the work from consideration at this level.

When I am ready to delve deeper into my favorites, as an artist with an MA in costume design, I think the basic elements of design deserve consideration, so onto my spread sheet will go, LINE, COLOR, TEXTURE, SHAPE & FORM, (which for me is about the use of both positive and negative space) and my personal favorite MOVEMENT. You could argue for the inclusion of other ideas here, but those are the big six for me as a designer. I use a lengthy cadre of other concepts, repetition, sequence, gradation, transition, rhythm, proportion, scale, contrast, balance, on and on, but they are lesser tools, like supporting characters and I don't consider them all each time I design, so I'll stick with my major players. And while I am considering, I'll keep the theme in mind here.

Next, there are some technical considertions. What is the construction of the work like? How is it finished? Is it beautifully made? I think I will call this TECHNIQUE.

Then, since this is a contest between Etsy sellers, I want to consider SELL-ABILITY. Would someone want to purchase this item? Would they want to wear it or display it in their home, or maybe in their gallery?

I think there are some things that I don't want to consider. I don't really care how long the work took to make, or how complex it is, or how much it costs. Price, especially, is so specific to the seller that it would reqire comparing apples to oranges. Some of our members sell only on Etsy. Others sell in galleries and at art fairs as well. There is a huge range of experinece among our members and their pricing reflects their own needs and costs. I don't think for me it's a consideration.

Then there is one final something a little more intangible to consider. I'll call it ARTISTRY. Does everything come together to create a cohesive whole that speaks from the artist's soul to mine? Do I feel something when I look at this piece? Does it change me, make me see in a new way, make me ache or smile or cry? This is a very deeply personal thing, and I would expect that my reaction is probably not the same as yours, but still important.

I think I like my list, and it's probably more than complete for my purposes. I'm ready to make my spreadsheet, in preparation for casting my one, important-to-me, vote. I don't know what criteria will matter to other members, and I surely do not mean to suggest that my system is the only, or the best way to choose a winner. It's just mine. And writing it down and sharing it seemed an important thing to me this morning. So, now, before my laptop battery dies completely, off to work!

One for My Son Zak

2011-04-28T19:57:00.003-06:00

When I announced the May theme for the Etsy Beadweavers May 2011 Challenge at the dinner table, my boys were thrilled. Both my husband Carl, (The Best Man Ever) and my son Zak (Most Excellent Teenager) are big Lord of the Rings fans, and Zak knew just what the inspiration for my challenge piece should be. He wanted to see what I would create, based on a character called a Balrog. I am so proud of my son, who will graduate from High School this spring, that I decided to do my best to honor him with this piece.

As I worked, I frequently asked Zak for description. I know that the artist who chose this challenge felt that only the book should serve as inspiration, and Zak has read them all. I also purposefully didn't seek out images until I was finished. Here's what I found today, with thanks to Google Images.

According to Zak, a Balrog is a tall creature of shadow and fire. It is epic and ancient, like a titan. Its presence is felt as much as seen, and it is an embodiment of evil. Zak mentioned shadowy wings and a fiery whip, and horns that curved down, all of which I see here, and very much as I envisioned them from his description. He also mentioned a sword. He said in anger, the creature flames. A flaming necklace!

I wanted the necklace to be tall, but not solid, as I wanted to try to create the insubstantial shadowy aspect. I used large Swarovski jewels, in Cathedral, Magma, Crystal Copper and Ultra Orange to represent the flames and matte black cylinder and seed beads to bezel the jewels, encasing my "embers" in ash and charcoal. Those matte black Czech Firepolish beads actually felt like coal in my fingers! I tried to imagine wings unfurled as I joined the bezeled jewels.

I wanted lines that drooped, as I imagined the horns did, and created those with the draped sections of coal black Czech firepolish beads. I tried to create the flame-like whip imagery with graded bicone tassles in flame colors.

Photographing black beadwork is REALLY a challenge. Realistically, I am not a very skilled photographer, so I find all photography challenging, but this is over the top for me. I believe I read somewhere that the bead magazines will not accept black work due to the difficulty of photographing it. So I am certainly struggling! I did finally find an angle that would let me see into the jewels without a ridiculous amount of reflected shine.

Now, a few words about my splendid son. Zak is a National Merit Scholarship Finalist. He has earned a full ride scholarship to the University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences, and a place in the Honors program as well. He is also an AP scholar. Can you see why I am so proud? This one is for you, Zak!

OH! I almost forgot to mention, once again, all the the Swarovski jewel components in this necklace came form my friend Doris Coghill. She's got a WONDERFUL selection of interesting and unusual things, at reasonable prices. Visit her rivolis and jewels at : http://www.beadsbydee.com/Catalog/Swarovski-Rivoli.html

Lemonade from Lemons

2011-04-06T19:33:00.007-06:00

I did start with a sketch. But not a very detailed one. This lilac necklace idea was so exciting I really didn't want to spend time in two dimensions with it. I wanted to get right to the 3D part I love! So although I thought about color, I didn't ever sketch in color. I think that would have changed my mind, but hindsight is always 20/20. If I had REALLY considered how busy this piece would be with 4 colors, TONS of texture, frenetic lines, and complex shapes, I'd have RE-considered. But I didn't.

I didn't enter Bead Dreams last year because I was involved in a complex and time consuming piece with Hannah Rosner for the ISGB exhibit Convergence II, Adorning the Past, Present and Pretend. So this year, I thought the time was ripe to collect a second rejection letter, and I planned to do that with the lilac piece I had envisioned. Somehow, my day job got really busy. So I worked in fits and bits and starts, assembling parts and making components, without ever laying them all out together to see how I was doing. That would have helped too.

I arrived at the end of March with 72 4-petaled lilac flowerettes in three colors, 9 lilac leaves in various sizes and two different neckstraps, neither of which I was in love with. The little flowerettes and leaves reminded me of my son's video game, Pikmin. They seemed to flock on my bench like the little "floral militia" commanded by Captain Olimar. If you have seen this game, I bet you know exactly what I mean.

Unfortunately, when I assembled the three colors of flowerettes into blossoms and laid them out together it was painfully obvious that that multi-colored blossoms were an unfortunate choice. There was way too much going on. (Note to self, next time, sketch in color!!!)

But all was not lost. There was the Etsy Beadweavers April challenge, with the serendipitous theme, "Spring Around the Corner" on the horizon, and I could take one of pretty awesome blossoms and make a simpler necklace. So I put one together, using the least disliked neckstrap, but drat, I just didn't like that strap, (see the little ripple on the left side where it does not want to lay flat?) plus the blossom was not proportionately long enough.

So I listed it, because I know I am obsessive-compulsive and fairly hard on myself, and it wasn't terrible. It had potential for greatness. :o) And then I began a race with the clock to make a new neckstrap I could like, and a longer blossom configuration, requiring several more flowerettes. And, pwhew, at 10:30 ish on the evening of the 5th of April, minutes before the entry deadline, I posted the new piece, and I am SO happy with it. And best of all, I can now make two more, a lovely pink one, and a pale lilac one. Lemonade from lemons!

Persephone's Return

2011-03-15T11:46:00.006-06:00

Persephone's Return was created for (and WON!) the Bead Mavens Vernal Visions Challenge. I like challenges because they provide inspiration and purpose for my evening's play with beads, and this particular challenge was especially appealing, because I live in the frozen north land of Minnesota. Here's the view out the door next to my beading bay. This is on track to be the snowiest winter on record where I live, and personally, although I find beauty in almost every landscape, I have had enough of this season!

Below is the inspirational image the Maven's posted for their contest. Is there any question about why I'd rather live in their world? I find myself anxiously awaiting a day when the walk with my dog does not entail long underwear, hooded parka, scarf and boots. I felt the Maven's imagery provided a content and a color scheme I was totally ready to embrace.

Well, OK, in all fairness, there were two images provided. March is the month of, "In like a lion, out like and lamb," and the other image is colder and wintery. But I am ready to move forward, and so it was an easy choice for me.

This work of mine is a sister piece to "Zephyr's Spring Flower Neck Lace," created last year, about this same time. It is based on a piece of hand painted lace from Etsy seller Jennie's Heirlooms. I find working from the lace is a labor intensive process. I think most bead embroidery allows the application of many beads at a time, backstitching 3, 4, and even 5 in one needle stroke. Given the softness and vulnerability of the lace, I find I can apply just one bead at a time, stabilizing the lace as I go, and placing the beads in different relationships to the edges of the lace, depending on the result I want. When you examine the work from the front, I did not want the lace visible, and from the back, I did not want stitches visible. I found I frequently had to reinforce the lace with a darning stitch to give it the stability to allow me to embroider on it, and I tried to disguise that as well, but if you know what you are looking for, you can see it.

As a sister piece to Zephyr, and to honor the Vernal Equinox and return of springtime, I named the work for Persephone, the Greek goddess of springtime. Persephone was the unwilling wife of Hades, king of the underworld. Mythology says when she was stolen from the earth to live under ground with her husband, the flora of the earth died, and slept below the ground through the winter. Her return brought the rapid growth of flowers and grain.

My piece, designed to honor the balance that is the equinox, has formal symmetry, yet is organic in character. The delicate loveliness of Persephone’s Return springs forth from the slumbering earth in full bloom almost overnight. I anxiously await the vision of the first crocus, peeking out of the snow. And in the meantime, I have captured that joy in beads.

After a Long Silence...

2011-03-07T17:07:00.008-06:00

Finally, a new post and a new piece. I spent all of January and most of February pursuing a project that I was simply unable to realize in the way I thought should be possible. I eventuallly set aside my fourth attempt, took the hundreds of dollars worth of pearls I had purchased for the "IP," ( impossible project) and decided I would enter the March Etsy Beadweavers Challenge, "Fashion Through the Ages." I purposefully used the biggest and best of the pearls, so I could not revisit "IP" without re-investing.

The March Challenge was to choose a historial fashion style and create a piece of jewelry in that style. I found this beautiful painting by Victorian artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter very inspiring. I loved the bare necks and beautiful soft shoulders and wanted to create a pearl choker with a three dimensional feeling that would embellish all that lovely bare skin from all angles.

I used triangle weave, one of my personal favorite stitches, to create the choker, and then added drops all the way around the base, so that there would be something beautiful to see from the sides and back, as well as the front. This is my second attempt, and I was glad to start again after nearly finishing the first time, because it allowed me a opportunity to perfect the design, which had potential, but needed cleaning up.

Then I visited my favorite local bead store, The Bead Monkey and found this splendid sterling silver clasp, shaped like a little heart. I was thinking my piece would be a great wedding necklace, and the clasp seemed perfect for that purpose, as well as continuing my "beautiful from all angles" idea. And then of course, it needed a little extender chain. I tend to design jewelry with my own skinny neck in mind, and like to make it possible for others to adjust the work to fit without alterations to the weaving.

On a side note, I just read about the tiara likely to be worn by Kate Middleton when she becomes a British Princess and, in the process, stumbled across this photo of a necklace worn by Queen Mary, with one of the tiaras under consideration. According to Wikipedia, the neckalce is from Garrards, Inc, "Crown Jeweller of the UK, charged with the upkeep of the British Crown Jewels, from 1843 to 2007." Very similar to my own attempt, but made of silver. Wonder if the stiff, cold metal would be uncomfortable? Too bad they didn't beadweave this piece! Take a look. The design inspiration must have been very similar to my own!

Fortunately, stepping away from the "IP" has been refreshing, and I am happily working on another new piece as well. Maybe someday, I will revisit "IP," and by that time, I will either have a more realistic expectation, or the techincal skill to reach my goal. Do you ever get stuck?

Let me add a note here: this is a contest entry, and you can choose your favorite piece and have your voice heard! Please visit http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/ by March 15th and vote for your favorite entry on the right hand side of the blog in the poll!!!

On Cloud Nine!

2011-01-05T19:07:00.008-06:00

I just returned from collecting the work I had taken to the Minnetonka Center for the Arts "Arts of the Holidays" show and sale. This is the first time I have entered this juried show, and I was pleased to get in. The Center is in a beautiful location, just steps away from Smith's Bay on Lake Minnetonka.

The opening night was elegant and very well attended, and I heard lots of great things about my work while I stood there and smiled, but in the two + hours I was there, none of my work sold. I thought, "Ah, well, maybe not the right clientele..." and I didn't have high hopes when I walked in today.

The outcome was beyond my wildest expectations. First, three of the four pieces I created for the show sold, so I must have had my finger on the right pulse after all!

Jasper Tear in Dark Gold Set created for the MCA Holiday Show - SOLD

Jasper Pendant and Earring Set created for the MCA Holiday Show - SOLD

Rocky Butte Jasper Pendant and Earring Set created for the MCA Holiday Show -SOLD

Then, some of my personal favorites sold! I find it's always the work I know to be my best that people buy. (I have a blog post begun about how to know when to stop working and rethink, when something is not making you drool as you finish it. Gotta finish that one day!) Anyhow, I said good-bye to these as well!

Amazon Jabot Necklace and Earrings Set - SOLD

Pepper Profusion Necklace and Earrings Set - SOLD

Aqua Frost Necklace - SOLD

Emerald Enigma Necklace and Earrings Set - SOLD

Bermuda Triangle Necklace and Earring Set - SOLD

And one of the best things is, this gallery takes a VERY artist-friendly percentage of the proceeds. I have to write a heartfelt thank you note to the wonderful Bob Bowman, who was kind enough to feature my work front and center in the gallery show. I feel as though I was treated very well! And maybe I will see about the possibility of having a few things in the gallery gift shop this year. Positive feedback feels great, and I am now inspired to pick up my needle. I can't wait until I can get back to my beads!

Give Credit ReDux

2011-01-02T20:33:00.003-06:00

In my last post, I showed a work I created as an entry to a juried exhibit called "Beads of Whimsy." This was among my very first beading projects and I was very proud of myself for making the effort, but sadly, I knew nothing at that time about copyright or appropriate beader's ethics. Everyone who voted in my poll either thought the necklace in question was my own design, or that I was crazy to have asked the question. I agree with that assessment. But the more deeply I explore the subject of copyright and ethics, the more confused I find myself.

In this post, I will first show you where I started with this second (and not so blameless) entry. One of the very first things I saw in a beading magazine was this gorgeous front page Bead & Button necklace by Linda Gettings. The project was called "Bead Around the Bend", and you can see the front cover of the magazine and purchase the tutorial at this link. I fell instantly in love and immediately tried to make the project with the result pictured here. The pretty curved center section is created by beading around a bendy straw.

Now to me, this was a copy of her necklace, indeed the most accurate copy I was capable of producing at that point in my beading career. Obviously, I didn't have the same piece of glass she had used. I found two focal beads instead of just her one, and the colors, while similar, are not the same. I strung my entire neck strap with bigger beads, because my peyote covering of the bendy straw from the dollar store was done with size 8 seed beads, and their size gave the piece a nicer flow and proportional agreement. I was new, and didn't yet realize the benefits of magnifying glasses, hence could not imagine using size 11 beads for ANYTHING!

This was the first magazine project I had attempted, and I was not very pleased with the directions. They suggested (I am paraphrasing here) that I should increase and decrease as needed to make my peyote fit around the curves in the straw. WHAT? So I blindly faked my way through that process, quickly discovering the difference between even and uneven count tubular peyote stitch. I developed a very clear understanding of when a step up is necessary and when it is not. But, as I worked along, I thought to myself, this is just not a very good solution to this technical problem. At this point, I had learned peyote and netting, and I thought the netting would be a much better solution to covering a curved surface. So I gave that a shot with this photo as the result.

I was pretty pleased with myself. The netting adapted easily to the shape of the glass without increases or decreases, and I thought that seeing bits of the glass straw through the netting was a nice thing as well. I gave this necklace a more casual feeling, using big ceramic beads and matte glass in the focal area and in the stringing. Here's a peek at the netting up close. As you can see, I was still not keen on size 11 beads, (didn't know what a delica was) and I liked the chunky effect the larger ones provided. Ms. Gettings had done several configurations with her straws and used several different color schemes in the article, and this is one of the possible configurations, but the technique and overall feeling of the end result are really quite different.

When it came time to start the second Beads of Whimsy necklace, I thought I would do a variation on this work, but I would use a configuration that Ms. Gettings had not used. Plus, since the theme of the show was "whimsy" I thought the beaded bendy straw might represent a really bad hair day for an insect; antennae gone completely out of control. I hunted around until I found a cloisonne ladybug and leaf bead, and set off on "Ladybug's Bad Hair Day" below.

I tried yet a different technique for the covering of the bendy straw, using Russian Spiral Weave, which is a netting variation, to get a denser look than what the netting had provided, and a nice texture I imagined might simulate a bug's feeler. I think my bug bead was pretty dwarfed by the necklace, and my intention was probably illegible, but I found it a whimsical idea, and had done my best. And remember, in my worlds of fashion and theater, both designs and ideas are freely copied, and I didn't yet own the cheaters required to read the copyright info in the magazine. So I entered my work. Thinking it was MY work.

Are you holding your breath? Do you think I was busted in some significantly horrible and public way? It didn't happen. I have no idea if my work was considered plagiarism or not by those who juried the exhibit, it may have been. I was not accepted to the show, which was OK with me. I was proud of my effort and looked forward to trying again.

At this point I should ask you if you think my entering this necklace in a juried show was unethical. Some of you would say "Yes, absolutlely!" Some of you might think this work, with its color scheme, whimsical intention, different technique, and double strand configuration is sufficiently different and vote me a thumbs up. But Ms. Gettings would disagree with you. Let me share her perspective with you.

A year later, I thought I might be ready to sell my second bendy straw effort. I loved the first (my "copy"), and I wanted to keep my Ladybug, but the one with the ceramic beads I could part with. I had my Etsy shop open, and I was a few months into my Etsy Beadweavers membership. By this time, I was aware of copyright law, and when I thought about posting the necklace for sale, I was not sure whether it was a violation of Ms. Gettings copyright or not. So I posted a picture of the piece for my Etsy Beadweavers Team members and asked what people thought. Some members suggested I contact Ms. Gettings and ask her, so I did. I found her response surprising. I don't know if there are ethical reasons I should not post her words, but it seems better to me than paraphrasing, so here they are:

"Marsha, You are quite correct. I have copyright's on all my designs. A few years ago I traveled to different bead societies and shops with a copyright lawyer explaining exactly what copyright means in the beading world. It is actually intellectual property belonging to a designer. In this case, the intellectual property is the use of the bendy straws as the unusual part of the design. Since I don't make duplicates of any of my designs nor do I sell them, and, you were kind enough to ask, as long as you give me design credit and list the following web site to see more of my patterns, I am happy to give you permission to sell your piece (nice job by the way!) at your Etsy store. http://www.bead-patterns.com/ Thanks for asking me first. You have no idea how many emails I get from people telling me where they have seen people selling my designs or teaching classes without my permission... Cheers! Linda G"

She was kind, pleasant, informative, and even supportive, but I was puzzled. My understanding of copyright law at that point included the idea that the use of a material could not be copyrighted. But here was an artist, who had an intellectual property law professor (I looked up the lawyer's credentials) backing her up, saying that anything I might do with a bendy straw would fall under her copyright.

I decided immediately that I did not want to sell her design, and I never posted the necklace to my shop. I began drawing ideas for designs with bendy straws. There had to be things that could be done with this material that were not a part of Ms. Gettings intellectual property! I came up with a couple I really loved. Here's my favorite:

But I never could actually bring myself to make this piece. I bezelled some rivolis, but I was too uncomfortable to net the straw and install them.

I began to understand Ms. Gettings position. The shape of those bendy straws is recognizable. And in Etsy's explanation of copyright , it suggests that if a work is recognizable, it's a copy and not usable by anyone for selling or even DISPLAY, except the original artist.  So potentially, my display of these images is illegal. But I'm going to take a chance on that, in the interest of making my point, and given that I have mentioned Linda Gettings name and credited her with the design involved repeatedly.

While I now understand the concepts involved a little better, and I respect Ms. Getting's right to her intellectual property as she has claimed it, I'm not convinced that this is in the best interest of the beading community or even the artists involved. Here's a wonderful article on why the absence of copyright in the fashion world is a good thing for the industry.  I stumbled across it when someone mentioned after my last post that clothing was exempt from copyright protection. It contains links to other equally interesting articles, so if you want to keep reading, have at it.
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/should-fashion-be-protected-by-copyright-laws-a-guest-post/

I've decided a second poll would be inappropriate.  I think what I did was wrong. And my ignorance was really no excuse.  I know what my own ethics are at this point in my beading career. I scan my beading magazines quickly and put them away. I have stopped buying beading books, although I have an impressive library because I was initially a voracious consumer. I consult my beading library for technique information. I take an occasional class, in the interest of technical advice and skills.   But I find my design inspiration outside my window, in books other than those which feature beaded articles, in the beauty of the beads and stones I work with, and inside my own head.  I am all done with making the designs of others. Life is too short, and my beading time too limited. I have plenty of my own ideas waiting to be made, and I don't want to wonder if I have achieved "de minimis," a tiny enough percentage of someone's design to be free of infringement. And I think when I am entering a design contest of any sort, there is even more reason to be sure my entry is my own design. For me, if it looks enough like a duck to be recognizable as one, then it's a copy of a duck.

I really enjoyed the the many perspectives, and range of ideas in the comments on my last post, and although I am not giving you a chance to vote, I welcome your words again, if you have something to add.

Give Credit Where Credit is Due

2010-12-25T15:19:00.006-06:00

I want to think and talk, for a couple posts, about plaigarism and copyright in the beading world. I recently read, in Beadwork Magazine, an article by Marlene Blessing, the editorial director, which includes the following:

"A BEADERS CODE OF ETHICS
- It is unethical to copy an artist's work without that artist's permission.
- It is unethical to copy any work that has appeared in a magazine, book or website and represent it in any venue as an original design.
- It is unethical to teach a beading project that has appeared in a magazine, book or website without that artist's and publisher's permission.
- It is unethical to teach a beading project learned in another teacher's class."

Since I have named my source and quoted directly, I sincerely hope that my using these words here is not illegal in any way. But I have to wonder, why is this information not front and center in the magazine? Why is it not on the page that tells me it is illegal to copy any part of the magazine in print so fine I need my magnifiers to read it? Maybe it should be obvious to all concerned?

I'm going to tell you a story about how easy it is, especially as a new beader, to run afoul of these ethics. And in another post, I am going to show you how I believe I did so myself. In this post, you get a chance to vote on whether or not I did in the case presented here. I don't think so, but your thinking may be different from my own. It all involves judgement.

I started beading in August of 2007. Almost immediately I stumbled upon a call for entry for a local bead art juried exhibit called "Beads of Whimsy." I decided, why not give that a try? Two entries could be submitted, so I decided I would create two pieces. In retrospect, that was both a bold and a foolish move for a spanking new beader.

The first piece began in a Right Angle Weave Workshop class. The class was two sessions, and we could make a necklace or a bracelet, creating the RAW base in the first class and then embellishing with bicones in the second. I got home after the first session, which was my first introduction to RAW, ripped out what I had done in class and decided I would use the technique and basic necklace shape taught to create a piece based on one I had seen in a book, and admired. I think most beaders begin because they love something they have seen and want to make something similar.

So there are my code violations. First, I tried to make something like an award winning necklace I admired, and second, my work began in a class. Although not specifically spelled out in the "Code," original work probably only rarely begins in a class. But in my defense, my finished piece is not remotely recognizable as a project from the class, which included bicones (or stone chips) and no fringe. I can't show you that though, because I'd have to copy the class material, which is protected by copyright. You would have to take my word on it. Or since a class was involved, I am condemned. Your judgement is called for.

My "DaVinci Code Book Club Necklace"

As my homework, I created the base for the necklace and in the second class session, I made a start on fringing the piece, and then worked on it for weeks. I have always loved gradation as a design element, so I thought I would gradually blend my colors. As I worked on the piece, I listened to The DaVinci Code on CD. The black and white became symbolic in my mind of the men and women in the ritual ceremonies in the book, and the apple focal, which I had made for me by lampwork artist Marcia Parker, was the perfect touch.

I think publishing a photo of the piece that was my inspiration here would be illegal, as I would have to scan it, and that act alone would constitute copyright infringement, but I was able to find a photo of it on the net (please click on this link) with a thank you to our friends at Fire Mountain Gems, who sponsor the Bead and Button Magazine Bead Dreams competition. This work won a second place award for finished jewelry in 2004. Copying this piece would have been in violation of the "Code of Ethics" for sure.

But did I know that? Now of course, at this point in my beading career, I had not read the fine print in the magazines and books I was looking at. And I also had not read copyright law. I had been costume designer for competitive ballroom dancers for twenty years, and in the fashion world, design trends come and go very quickly in the form of knock-offs. A professional dancer appears on the circuit with a great gown, and everyone wants to look just like her! I had personally designed a gown that was copied so frequently in the course of a few months that all 6 finalists for the national championships of the American Smooth style one year were wearing a knock-off of my design. The next year, it was all over Europe as well. And I have copied as much as I have been copied. But for me, it is business as usual. I am not saying it's right or wrong. It just is.

Test this for yourself. Watch a big awards show, the Ocars, the Tonys, Golden Globes; you pick. Observe how the ladies are dressed, especially the ones who look really fantastic. Then visit Macy's or Bloomies or even JC Penney in a couple weeks, and I guarantee knockoffs of the best looks with be on the racks for you to purchase for your prom.

So the idea that I might have done anything wrong here, especially given that my outcome is both structurally and visually different than the work that inspired it, did not even occur to me. But if you look closely, the basic design elements are the same.

In retrospect, I believe this piece is my own. I don't think it is a result the teacher of the class would ever have expected, and I do not think it is a copy of my initial source of inspiration, even a "derivative" one, for those of you who know copyright law. But as I said earlier, this all involves judgement. I show you both here, and invite you to vote in the poll. Is it a copy? Is it an original work? Should I be crediting the artist who made the original necklace with the design or inspiration? Should I have asked for her permission to sell the necklace on Etsy in my shop? It is for sale. I didn't ask for permission. Am I ethical? What do YOU think?

In my next post, look for the other "Beads of Whimsy" entry, which I think DID cross the line. Check back in a few weeks and vote again.

A New Skill Set

2010-12-11T18:55:00.002-06:00

I have this idea for a piece, but I don't think it can structurally be beadwoven. I think it will have to be embroidered in order to maintain its shape. I really want to make this piece, so, time to learn bead embroidery. I have bead embroidered on lace with reasonable success, but that was soft and flat. This will have to be done on a stiff backing and then have a layer of support inside as well as a lining. So I decided it was time to acquire a new skill set.

I chose a cabochon I really loved, so as to make sure I would give this my best effort and finish instead of giving up in frustration, which I wanted to do several times, even with the cabochon of azurite with malachite inclusions leading the way.

I had purchased some backing from Nicole Campenella at Beadwright on Etsy, and chose a beautiful turquoise piece. I ransacked my bead stash for likely suspects, guessed a layout, and glued on the cab. I had some unpolished malachite seed beads and used them as part of the bezel with pretty good results. OK, so far so good. But I didn't like the feel of the backing in my hands. It's wonderful backing, mind you, and is available in a multitude of colors. But I like the feeling of woven glass beadwork in my hands. Something to adjust to.

I felt OK about what I did as I went along, but realized there was a skill to the layout that I lack. I read the experts, Kummli, Seraphini and Eaton, and they all said "just play with the beads" so I played along. I discovered that it might be best to complete one phase and tie off my thread before starting something new, so if I change my mind, I can rip without worrying about what came before and after. I also realized that a color contrast in a bead used to secure another was a LOUD statement, and somewhat playful in effect. Good info as well.

When it came time to finish the edge I was dumbfounded. There HAS to be a better solution than brick stitch or picot with stitches visible on the back side! But no, that was the consistent recommendation. I could not do it, I did an invisible pick stitch on the back side. I will have to do some playing with that because I just don't think that visible stitch will ever feel good to me.

And then, time to add fringe. Had to be through the brick stitch edging. I like layers of fringe, but settled for one BIG layer. Another thing to figure out! I used an attachment directly from Jamie Cloud Eakin, which works well with the mega-fringe, and strung a neckband from the leftover beads.

I'm glad I kept going and didn't allow myself to give up. I like the result, but see TONS of room for improvement. I learned alot! Experience is so different from thinking you understand, from reading about it, how something is done. Best do it again and get a little more of that under my belt before the pearls arrive.

Serendipity For My Sister

2010-12-08T11:59:00.001-06:00

Two years ago, my sister Cara gave me three cabochons for Christmas. She told me that my mother loved one of them, and she loved another. I made up the one my mom had indicated she liked, as a gift for her 87th birthday. It's always good to know what might be wanted when trying to create a gift, even for someone you know well.

Last summer, my sister told me that what she most wanted for her December birthday and Christmas combined was the cabochon she had given me, transfomed into jewelry. I got it out and thought to myself, "OK, so you don't find instant inspiration here. Just make a start, and something will occur to you."

It was dark Payne's gray and creamy white, maybe a little like dalmatian jasper, but the domed surface was pitted and I was having a hard time getting past that. I tightened the bezel at the front and flipped it over to close the back, and EUREKA!!! On the back side was a nearly perfect image of Mount Helena, as seen from the front yard of the house my sister and I grew up in, located in Helena, Montana. I looked for a picture of this mountain to show you, but all the ones I found online are of the East slope, and our house is on the North slope. Sigh.

Mount Helena - The Flat Side of the Cabochon

The shape is just right, the tree line is almost visible, and the mountain looks like it usually looks about this time of year, with a dusting of snow. Had my sister seen this? I had not. Wow. I quietly proceeded to finish the bezel and then decided to apply some snowy branch fringe to the bottom, as though you might be viewing the mountain in winter through frost or snow covered trees and shrubs.

The domed side of the cabochon, with its pits, that I didn't love,
with the twisted 8-strand rope.

Then I had another EUREKA moment, as the fringe looked both a little like the branches I was aiming for, AND roots! MY roots. MY SISTER's roots. We grew up on that mountain. Amazing how things take on meaning and beauty. How a duty can become a delight, if you give it a chance.

Mount Helena side up , on the cubic right angle weave rope

I made a woven bail and strung a delicate 8 strand necklace I thought would be pretty with the pendant. This was after a lengthy struggle with the bead crochet rope I thought I would try for the first time. Turns out, knowing how to crochet is far from all that is required for this technique. FAIL! I liked the 8 strand, but the scale of the bail meant that it had to be twisted to hang nicely and I was still wishing for that bead crochet rope I could not do. So I looked at Heather Collin's brilliant and clear tutorial for cubic RAW (Thank you 'Mam! What a fun and fast technique!) and made a second, interchangeable neck strap for the piece that I like even better than the 8 strand. But I'll send her both, since either could be worn by itself as well.

The 8 strand rope and the CRAW rope, without the cabochon pendant.

My sister does not read my blog, so even though this is a Christmas gift, I think I am safe publishing premature pictures of it here. Don't spoil the surprise for her. Shhhhhh, do not share with Cara until Christmas!

With a Name Like Haute Ice...

2010-11-29T11:11:00.009-06:00

It seems obvious that I would love bling and icy sparkle. The fact that I grew up in Montana and live in Minnesota where winter lasts a long time and is filled with ice and snow probablly figures into the equation as well. I think it's beautiful here all year 'round, but I am especially fond of winter. (And fall! Oh wait, spring and summer are really great too...) I think most of my work is landscape or botanical in style and I am finishing a new piece for the December Etsy Beadweavers challenge that, once again, fits my norm. Or at least I am trying to finish it!

I have complained about shipping from Fire Mountain Gems in this blog in the past, and yet, I continue to order from them (they were the only place I found the 3mm Jet Nut bicones I needed) and I fail to upgrade my shipping because their least expensive option always sounds like it will serve my purposes. I need to reconsider that. Maybe I will write in big red letters on my FMG catalog SHIP VIA FASTEST METHOD!!!

In any case, having all the beads from the project sitting on my beading bench, (with no way to proceed without the missing bicones) encouraged me to make some supporting items for the necklace. I rarely make bracelets, but I had a fantastic time with this one, and I think I will maybe have to make some more of these kinds of "flat work" beadweavings. I can see loads of room for precision and improvement, but the scale and invention was just plain fun!

The challenge for this month, chosen by Olga is "Simon and Garfunkel - Songs of Inspiration" and the task is to pick a favorite song and capture it in beads. I chose A Hazy Shade of Winter. Although I love the poetry, the title and the musical tone of the piece was the primary inspiration for my work here.

The necklace features the essence of what I see outside my window today. Shimmering, pearly grey cloudy skies, through the lace of bare, dark branches. So much subtle color in those branches! Deep blues, browns, steely grays. Patches of snow and icicles dangling everywhere, because it warms up and then freezes again so often this time of year. A little wistful, and maybe a touch depressing, but beautiful.

The FedEx truck was at my house this afternoon, and I was thrilled!!! I am so glad to have my day job back under control and to find time to bead and blog again!

Fairy Tales DO Come True

2010-11-10T09:04:00.005-06:00

I am pleased to announce that my chickens have hatched. Cafesjian Gallery, international art dealer and gallery owner, has purchased "January Dawn." It was such an amazing thing to contemplate that I really couldn't bring myself to completely believe it until I sent the invoice off and spoke with agent Ben, who will visit my studio to pick up the piece. I have learned since my last post on the subject, "Don't Count Your Chickens..." that other beaded jewelry from the Minnesota State Fair Art Exhibit was also purchased for this collection, and I am thrilled for those artists as well.

I have already discussed the inspiration for this work in the post "Which One?" but I had process photos and wanted to preserve them, as well as my three months and about 70 hours of effort, here in my blog. Additionally, I will take this opportunity to share my final photographic efforts. I'll start with a quick inspiration recap.

On January 13th, 2010, the dawn's orchid glow revealed hoar frost covering the landscape with breathtaking, spikey crystals of ice. I took photos and resolved to create a necklace to honor the beauty of the morning. In May, it was announced that my Etsy Beadweavers Team June challenge would be themed "Phenomenon" and I had the perfect subject! I started work but quickly realized the overall project was too large and labor intensive to complete in less than a month, given my limited art time each day.

I wanted the piece to be soft and wearable. Combining the spiky branch idea with a technique that afforded comfort and flexibility to the wearer took a while to work out. I used tubular peyote stitch in size 11 glossy white delicas to cover soft, clear plastic tubing, increasing and creating branch joins as necessary. This required working out (with good advice from friends) a means to create a branch without pinching the join like this one. My original idea called for overlapping branches, but I gave that up to maintain a low profile and the soft drape, letting all my branches just lay next to each other.

I worked along on the piece until mid June, when my friend Hannah asked to see how it was going. I pinned all the components together and sent her a photo. This was great, because it forced me to see how far I had come and how far there was yet to go. I had all the branches begun, and about half of the Swarovski rivolis bezeled, and had just started the "frosting." Taking progress photos often tells me more about my work than the hyper-focusing I do while working on the components. At this point, I decided the drusy teardrop did not belong in the work. It felt heavy and earthbound to me, and although the necklace was substantial, I wanted it to be light and airy in feeling.

Finally, by the end of June, all the branches were finished, and all the rivolis I planned to use were bezeled and I was ready to assemble them. I concluded it would be most efficient to frost each rivoli separately, and then weave them into position, and then finally, frost the branches as a last step. It was an interesting challenge to keep my thread from catching and tangling on the completed frost, especially as I neared the end of the project. I found I could tell the thread where to go if I kept my intention clear all the way through each needle stroke. I visited my elderly mother at the end of July, and the last bit of frosting was completed in her Helena, Montana living room, using a familiar TV tray (circa 1960's) as my beading bench.

"January Dawn" has been on exhibit at the Textile Center of Minnesota library for the last two months, and I have had it with me for a week for photography, which is just incredibly difficult for me. I think white beadweaving poses unique challenges. Here are a few new photos, which I hope capture the the essence of the work. If you have suggestions, please let me know quick, while I can still have a new go at it!

I've added this last one to let you see how bad my struggle with black ground has been!

Broken Rhythm

2010-10-26T19:12:00.003-06:00

My day job has just changed my game plan! By day, I design and make costumes for competitive ballroom dancers. At night, I usually bead. Last weekend, I attended a local dance event, "Minnesota Madness," and so many people stopped by my vendor booth to request new projects that I could not keep track of them all in my head. My new life will be "all dancewear, all the time" until January 9th, the day after the next local ballroom competition.

I am NOT COMPLAINING. My day job is a good one. I've had my own business since 1987, and it's been wonderful. I work out of a really beautiful studio in my home, and have been able to juggle being a mom, costume designer, and most recently, a beadweaver, with ease for the most part.

Last year was not a good year for Made for Movement, (the dancewear business) with gross income down about 45% from the year before. I figured it was the economy, but this year, for some unknown reason, business has picked back up and I am well beyond my 2009 and 2008 sales thus far.

Thankfully, as you can see, there is jewelry, and "beading of a sort" involved in the dancewear, although most of it is done with glue instead of thread and wire.

And some of my gowns really are beaded, like this one with the fringed gauntlet and the beaded tassles on the skirt.

With all the new projects on the schedule, I am officially swamped. I rarely enter my studio in the evening, but here I am tonight, cleaning up after a 4:30 fitting and preparing for tomorrow.

I have gotten myself into a really nice rhythm of blogging nearly weekly, and I think there will now be a syncopation in that rhythm for a while. I'll miss it, and I'll miss beading. But one must "make hay while the sun shines" and my dancewear sun is blazing. I hope you, faithful readers, will keep me in mind, and look for a return in 2011.

In the mean time I'll be at the design desk, the cutting table, and the sewing machine. And the next time I load up my gowns in January, to attend the Snow Ball, I'll know I'm coming home afterward to my blog and my beading.

Deck the Halls

2010-10-17T18:17:00.000-06:00

Image from http://www.flowersociety.org/

"Deck the Halls" is the current working title for my November Etsy Beadweavers Challenge piece. I got to select the theme, as reward for winning the Bollywood challenge in September, and I chose "Holiday Treasure." The idea is to choose a November or December holiday, and create a beadweaving to be worn for, or used at, the event. I celebrate the Winter Solstice, (along with Christmas and Hanukkah) and see it as the genesis of most other December holiday traditions. The use of holly, and other evergreen plants, as indoor decoration at the time of long, dark, and cold winters has been symbolic of the eventual return of warmth and the growing season. Holly has the added mythic benefits of providing protection from evil spirits with its spiky leaves and serving as safe resting places for friendly forest fairies.

So... I intend to "deck the NECK" with boughs of holly.

I have been working on holly leaves and berry clusters and a pretty pleased with my results thus far.

I have begun stems as well, to assemble my leaves and berries on, and think there will also be a bow, to tie the cluster together and form a focal point, but it's all still a bit fuzzy in my head at this point. I am really having a great time with it though. Are you making a holiday piece? Tell me about it!

Tila Beads

2010-10-11T08:17:00.004-06:00

I took a class on Sunday, a rare event for me, being as paraniod as I am about copyright infringement. Usually, I avoid classes, (along with more than cursory glances at beading magazines) because it means having a door opened that I feel I dare not ever walk through for fear of being accused of "STEALING!!!" Sigh. But this class was designed by someone who teaches people how to teach classes, and whose work as a teacher I deeply admire, Diane Fitzgerald. And it seems to me that she is always presenting technique, as well as a design, which to my way of thinking is what a beading class should be: beautifully presented technique, with a possible take-home outcome, for those who do not design for themselves.

In this case, when I looked at the class material, the techniques were square stitch and herringbone. WOO HOO! I have never done square stitch and only rarely used herringbone. Something about the texture of the herringbone stitch seems rough to me, and although I sometimes think, "hmmm... herringbone is probably the right solution to this problem," I only rarely move past the sample stage with it. But maybe Diane would offer a new perspective or improve my technique with the stitch sufficiently to make it more usable for me. Plus, Diane's class focused on a new bead from Miyuki, the two-holed Tila. I signed up, thrilled at the idea of an introduction to a new bead, having a new stitch to play with, and a new piece of jewelry to wear by the end of the day. I so rarely make things just for me, it seemed almost decadent!

When class began, Diane demonstrated square stitch and showed us a lovely collection of possible Tila bead projects and a good selection of Tila beads to choose from. I loved a necklace project, made in the square stitch. It required increasing and decreasing, so I set out first to make a sample doing that in a regular way, to confirm that it would not overwhelm me. I realized after several increases and decreases (which I creatively improvised) that I was not really understanding the stitch, and at about the same time, Diane suggested we should perhaps all begin with a simple bracelet or straight sample. Yes, mam!

I started on a bracelet, and the comprehension of the stitch fell neatly into my mind and hands. Because I tend to keep my head down and bead, rather than chatting, and because I have the smallest wrist I have ever measured in my lifetime of measurement-taking as a dressmaker, I finished a bracelet. The Tila beads are BIG, compared to my usual 11's and 15's so the speed of visible progress is a really fun change. Diane had a selection of clasps from Claspgarten, a German company, and sold me a magically perfect slide clasp for my bracelet.

Later in the day, we worked with herringbone stitch and combined other beads with the Tilas. I have not yet finished my herringbone project. I am working on another piece that has been taking my full limited-beading-time-per-day at the moment, but I am feeling a little pull toward finishing the herringbone necklace today... so we'll see what happens when I pick up my needle tonight.

In the mean time, Diane, thank you for a lovely and fruitful day!

Time to VOTE!

2010-10-09T14:30:00.001-06:00

Well, Ok, elections are just around the corner, but I am talking about the Etsy Beadweavers October Challenge, "Autumn Falling of Leaves," another huge turnout for our team. Please check out all the entries, and vote for your favorite by the 15th, when the poll closes. You can see each piece up close and personal by using the links below the mosaic.

My own entry is #12, inspired by my neighbor's beautiful maple tree:

Organic Drusy Trinket

2010-10-05T21:48:00.003-06:00

I picked up a few small, vibrantly coated quartz drusy cabochons at the Gem and Lapidary Workers Show a couple weekends ago. Between humming "Deck the Halls" while I work on my solstice piece, and a frantic fall for my day job, Made for Movement, I played with one of them for a couple evenings evening last week. Finally tonight, I got it listed in my etsy shop.

I am apparently a sucker for metallic irridescence, since all the necessary beads for the piece were already in my stash. It's not an exactly calibrated shape, so I worked organically with the bezel, shaping it without precise geometric symmetry. A simple trinket, but sparkly and fun!

If At First You Don't Succeed...

2010-09-28T21:47:00.007-06:00

I have tried and tried again, believe me. I have five sets of photos for my challenge entry this month, and I think, I sincerely HOPE, I finally have the thing right.

I started my leaf just after the challenge was announced. I got it half finished, and set it aside for a while. I finally got back to it last weekend, and when it was finished I was really pleased with the result. BUT, what was it?

A brooch?

A pendant necklace?

I tried several things, and liked some coral I had. But the bead caps weren't quite the right thing, plus the configuration was too formal for the organic leaf form.

Sunday I went the the Minneapolis Gem and Lapidary Workers Show, with the leaf in hand. I found some more coral, and a new vendor for me, http://www.silkroadtreasures.com/ had some splendid findings I fell for instantly. They are naturally oxidized and fire torched copper! I think the colors are spectaular. I even did a little work with my pliers to make the bead caps fit my coral. And somehow, the mismatched nature of these findings suggested an assymetrical treatment for the stringing, just the organic feeling I needed!

I finally got it strung and adjusted my listing, and then spent today looking at the piece and deciding I had the leaf upside down. DUH.

It should have been a clue to me that all the photos I liked displayed the leaf point down, but I had strung it point up on the necklace.

In any case, I am FINALLY through editing and re-stringing... although, I am just not sure about those earrings...

New Daywear Pendants

2010-09-22T12:29:00.006-06:00

I have had several nice jasper cabochons for a while, and in preparation for a holiday show jury I have finished three of them and have two others begun. The jury closes Friday, so we'll see how many more I finish between now and then. The first is a Rocky Butte Jasper round, which suggests a lovely little landscape, looking a bit Asian to me. It has a delicate cluster of three bugle bead dangles, and an equally delicate bugle bead neckstrap and earrings.

The second is a long and beautiful teardrop shape. I don't know the name of this particular Jasper, I do love the teal in it, and that prompted me to string it with one of my favorite new Jaspers, Aqua Terra. I used rondelles in the neckstrap and some nice drilled rectangles in the larger pair of earrings. The browns and bronzy golds call to mind piles of fall leaves.

The third in the series is this Ocean Picture Jasper oval. I love the multitude of golds and the wonderful spotted texture. It reminds me of a Gustav Klimt painting. All three feature lots of 24k gold delicas and seeds and seem elegant and subdued to me, although my treatment of this oval is a little sparkly, thanks to some Chinese crystal in the neck strap. I've been making them all long, so they can be easily shortened to preferred lengths for buyers.

Thanks for taking a peek!

Don't Count Your Chickens...

2010-09-12T08:34:00.005-06:00

Image from the Cafesjian Carousel, St. Paul, Minnesota

Sometimes, things happen that are almost too wonderful to be believed. I have decided to take a "wait and see" approach on this one, but I am hoping that I will not have to pinch myself, and wake up shivering.

Last Wednesday morning, I got a phone call from a man who introduced himself as an "agent." I was immediately suspicious, because on Etsy, that usually indicates a scammer. Fortunately, I listened to what the guy had to say. He represented a gentleman who wanted to buy my "January Dawn" necklace from the recent State Fair exhibit, and asked if it was for sale. I had not planned to sell it immediately, but thought I would do so eventually. He mentioned his buyer had galleries worldwide, and that the piece would be shown in them as part of the man's collection. I said I would consider selling the piece, but that it would cost at least $1000, and asked whether this would be off-putting to the buyer. The agent said the price would not be a problem and that he would be in touch with me. I thought, "we'll see about that," but I did begin to think about a price.

Although I had not kept track as I went along as I usually do, I had timed certain operations, and felt I could reasonably extrapolate time and materials, which is how I price my work. I think many beadweavers just guess what they think a buyer might pay, but having made custom costumes for a living for 25 years, I take a more practical approach. I decided 60-70 hours was the right time range, and that over $150 worth of materials were involved. I got out my calculator and created a price, but I was not holding my breath.

That afternoon, about 30 minutes before the dentist appointment where work would begin on the new crown, (partially paid for my my state fair winnings) the agent called again, and this time he wanted me to talk to the buyer, "Gerry." I think the agent had mentioned the buyers last name, but I did not remember it, so I asked. Being a kind gentleman, the buyer spelled his name, very slowly and carefully, GERARD CAFESJIAN. The name rang a bell, but nothing specific popped into my head. I talked with him and discovered he did indeed own a breathtaking, state-of-the-art gallery, Cafesjian Center for the Arts, in Armenia. He is additionally responsible for the Gerard L. Cafesjina Pavilion at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. He also has another museum project in progress, the Armenian Genocide Museum of America in Washington DC.

He said he had seen "January Dawn" at the Minnesota State Fair, and had to own it for his collection, which contains glass by some of the foremost artists in the world. This was a puzzle for me. I could not imagine a world class art collector snacking on a corn dog and wandering into the Fine Arts building, but there is a connection (the bell that rang in my head) that explains how he came to be there. Mr. Carfesjian is an entrepreneur and philanthropist, and one of his first projects was the restoration and preservation of the historic carousel from the fairgrounds in St. Paul, which now bears his name.

By this point, I was feeling overwhelmed and rather speechless, but I tried to keep up with the conversation. He was pleased to find I did not make copies of my work, disappointed that I was not a full-time artist, and sad that many of the things he had seen in the gallery on my humble blog were already in other collections. He liked the "Daisy Buchanan : Innocence in Decay" work in the ISGB show, which he also expressed interest in purchasing.

I went off to the dentist in a state of dumb-struck awe, and it did occur to me that perhaps the rest of the crown would now be paid for. I am carefully not counting any chickens yet. "January Dawn" has moved to another exhibit at the Textile Center of Minnesota Library, and can't be released until November. But it was a most amazing day for me, and I am still a bit speechless. The world is a huge and dazzling carousel, and one never knows who or what will be on the next pony that comes around.

A VERY SUCCESSFUL CHALLENGE

2010-09-09T09:44:00.003-06:00

I cannot remember an Etsy Beadweavers Challenge with so much participation, and particularly with so many elaborate and beautiful entries. "Bollywood" seems to have been a very inspirational theme. Please visit our team blog, enjoy the wonderful beadwork, and vote for your favorite entry between the 9th and 15th of Spetember. This is my entry, #7, and I have made a pair of earrings to go with it as well. Take a peek!

Meet Gina Mars

2010-09-03T12:39:00.002-06:00

I recently sold a necklace to a buyer whose name seemed familiar to me. I googled her, and discovered to my delight that Gina Mars is a ceramic artist who specializes in gorgeous raku! I asked if she would allow me to feature her in my blog and she kindly agreed, and told me her Raku work will be featured in the new book 500 Raku Pieces, scheduled for publication in January of 2011. This really thrilled me, because three years ago, I got the Lark book, 500 Beaded Objects as a birthday gift, and it was what inspired me to start beading. That provided a logical first question.

How did you begin making ceramic art?
I became a ceramic artist in college while studying to be a history teacher. I had to take an elective and decided ceramics could be fun and easy. My professor thought I was very good on the potter’s wheel and offered me a full scholarship for undergraduate and graduate work in teaching and ceramics. Because I came from a poor family, I could not afford any more schooling anyway, and the scholarship was a blessing. After finishing college, I continued to teach at the college level and at the high school level until I decided to have a family. A few years later, I opened Mars Pottery and have been in business for 24 years. All my work is created in my Huntington Station, NY studio that is fully equipped with everything I need.

What drew you to raku?
I enjoy raku because of the brilliant colors and quick firing technique. You can fire a raku kiln in 20 minutes, as opposed to 12 hours for a regular kiln. Each raku piece is glazed and then placed in a raku kiln. It heats up to 2000 degrees and then you go into the kiln with gloves and remove the piece. It is then placed into a pit with combustibles such as straw to create a fire. Then the pit is covered with a can to smother the piece. The pit can no longer get oxygen so the glaze interacts with the smoke and creates the colors. Then the piece is taken out and sprayed with water.

What inspires your work?
My latest inspiration comes from middle eastern architecture. The pieces have minaret like tops on them and some are covered in gold or copper leaf. I also enjoy adding sculptural elements to my work.

Do you participate in any ceramics or raku-specific organizations?
Once a year I attend the NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) which is a major conference for ceramic artists all over the world. In 2011, it will be in Florida.

How and where do you market your work?
I conduct over 50 workshops all over the world each year and sell my work through my web site, galleries, and shows in the New York area. My work can be found as far away as New Zealand.

Have you ever seen a raku bead or cabochon? I imagine such things could not be thrown, but would you ever consider giving that a try?
Of course I can make a raku bead. It's easy, maybe you have me thinking now!

That thought has me practically drooling! Gina purchased the necklace below, and I think it fits nicely into her artistic aesthetic with both the color-shifting Aurora Borealis finish of the focal druzy, and contrasting rough and smooth textures. I am so pleased she visited my shop and provided me with the opportunity to learn more about her breathtakingly beautiful raku, and to feature her work here in my blog.

HALF A CROWN!

2010-08-25T06:41:00.006-06:00

Last night, I attended the preview of the Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition. As soon as I stepped in the door, I purchased an exhibit program, and flipped it randomly open. I glanced, slammed it shut, and then opened it again slowly, to page 24. There was a photograph of my piece, with the words, FIRST PLACE. I was astonished. I wordlessly showed the book to my wonderful husband, who has been referring to himself as my "possee."

I have attended this exhibition for over 30 years, and for the last two years, have felt I had something worthy of inclusion. Last year my piece was not accepted, but really, there was no category for it. I submitted in the "Textiles and Fibers" category, since it was a beadWEAVING, but the entry was made of pearls, Swarovski jewels, and thread that you could not see... so I didn't feel badly about not being included. And my goal for this year was just to get into the show, given the addition of a new category, Art Jewelry.

I think winning any competition always depends on who else shows up, what they bring with them, and who's judging. I think this is true of sporting events and spelling bees and garden shows and ballroom dancing competitions. So I got lucky this year. But I must say, it feels really nice. And winning a blue ribbon in any of the nine categories in this exhibition comes with a $500 prize. When I read that last night in the program, I was dumbfounded. I was not expecting to win, and I had not bothered to see what the prize was when I entered. I HAD been told that my local beading club, the Upper Midwest Bead Society, was sponsoring a $100 award of their own for the best beaded entry, and when I got to my piece, front and center as you walk straight in the door, it had both the blue ribbon and the chartreuse UMBS ribbon attached!

As a costume designer, I work with my clients to try to reveal their personality and character, feature their bodies in the best possible light, and stay within their budgets. It's a GREAT job, and satisfying, because nearly everyone leaves my studio really happy. But beading for me is self-expression. It's my soul getting a chance to make all the decisions, spend whatever money I can justify to myself, and create with my hands something I find beautiful. It is my art. I am so, SO pleased to be recognized for it, and to share my impression of the beauty of the Minnesota winter landscape with the residents of my state.

This morning I woke up and lay in my bed smiling. My husband, showered, shaved and dressed for work, caught that smile. He smiled back and said to me, "You know that crown the dentist said you needed last week? It's half paid for." Carl is an artist in his own right, and in the earliest stages of our relationship, we drove to a gallery in Ohio together where he won a $3000 prize. As I recall, that prize bought a new truck. Good thing he's a pragmatic guy. I wanted to buy beads.

Backwards in High Heels

2010-08-22T18:25:00.010-06:00

Ginger Rogers once said, in reference to Fred Astaire, "I do everything he does, but I do it backwards in high heels." That's not particularly pertinent to this story, except that what you are looking at is my latest necklace, but Ginger Rogers style; backwards. Fortunately, I didn't have to wear heels to do the beadweaving.

What I DID have to do was create bezels for some funky new shapes of Swarovski jewels that I got from my friend Doris Coghill at her wonderful website "Beads by Dee." The two shapes featured here are the #4227 Marque and the #4123 Vintage Faceted Ovals in both sizes offered. Those ovals are way down the page, but worth the hunt. While you are visiting her site, check out the other great offerings as well.

I had a great time making these bezels. For this, I must thank Diane Fitzgerald. When I was a shiny new baby beader with about 4 months of weaving under my belt, I took a Pointed Oval Links class from her, and learned the magic that can be made by combining peyote stitch with herringbone weave to create corners. She explains this magic in detail in her book "Shaped Beadwork." It is information I apply every time I need to make a bezel that is other than round. I think the backs of Swarovski jewels should always be encased, because those pretty anodized finishes are just not forever, and do succumb to perspiration and wear if left exposed. So, I also had a little fun along the way on the rounds with some occasional netting, and color changes. I don't have the patience to write instructions, but I love pictures, so here's a glance at one way to create unusual bezels for shapes that include angles and unusual curves.

If you want to see the necklace in the Fred Astaire (forward facing) mode, please visit my Etsy shop and take a look at "Bollywood Beauty," my entry for the Etsy Beadweavers September Challenge. I hope you'll visit our team blog at http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/ and vote for your favorite Bollywood-inspired work between September 9th and 15th. In the mean time, check out Glenda's (Dax Designs) article on what exactly it means to be a Bollywood beadweaver, also on our EBW blogsite.

Which One?

2010-08-02T13:11:00.015-06:00

On January 13th, I pulled out of my garage to drive my son to school and literally gasped when I was dazzled by an orchid sky. The world was aglow with the most amazing "sky-blue-pink" light I have ever seen. And then as I drove, I began to notice the trees were coated with fantastic spikey hoar frost. Hoar frost forms when the air is moist and just a little warmer than the frozen objects in the landscape. Trees, fences, and mailboxes grow fantastic ice crystals as the water in the air condenses, and the phenomonon lasts only until the sun is warm enough to wipe it all away.

I delivered my son and drove back home for my camera, but the pink light was gone, and the frost only lasted long enough for me to take a few shots. I vowed to make a necklace to celebrate all that beauty, and began collecting beads and jewels. When EBW Phenomenon Challenge was announced I started the project in earnest, but did not even come close to finishing in time to enter the challenge. But now, finally, it's all done and ready for the Minnesota State Fair Fine Art Exhibition jury.

I would just LOVE to get my piece into this show. Last year over 1,790,000 people attended this fair. It's one of the largest in the nation (I think only Texas has a bigger one) and the Fine Arts exhibit has it's own building. Last year 2566 entries to the juried art show were received and only 382 were accepted. Any living artist in the state may enter ONE piece only. This year for the first time, there is an Art Jewelry category. And there are great prizes, although of course, winning any competition always depends on who else shows up with what.

So I ask you. WHICH ONE? Click any image to see it larger, if you like.

On the white form, I really see the little drop beads at the ends of each branch, and the color from the Swarovski Crystal Vitral Light jewels is dazzling, but the texture is really only visible thanks to chiaroscuro, the patterns of light and shadow. On the black, (and yes, I better buy a bigger one quick!) the shapes and negative spaces are featured, and the texture pops, but I am losing the drops completely. The beige form color seems to compete with the delicate and subtle pinks and blues, although the shapes and details are visible. I do not have a perfect solution and need to stop wishing for one to magically appear. Please help me! Which do you think displays the piece in its best light? Please leave me a comment or vote at the upper right. THANK YOU for your time and input!

Postscript: After 21 votes in the poll, with more than 50% going to the white display form, I concur. The strength of this piece is the color and texture, not as much the lines and spatial relationships. The cream velvet form I purchased was even a little better than the white I photographed for your votes, in that it offered a little contrast to the stark white of the beads, and really let the delicate color in the Swarovski crystals shine through. And you all gave me good advice, because January Dawn has been accepted. Again, thank you all so much for your support and thoughtful responses!

The Alpha and the Omega

2010-04-26T08:51:00.005-06:00

I said goodbye to two of my pieces over the weekend and sent them off to their new home with a wonderful patron of beadwoven art. She has purchased my work before and I have enjoyed working with her on a custom project as well. Her new purchases include one of the first beadwoven necklaces I designed and created, starting about 3 months after I discovered beading, and stretching over a several month period to completion.

The first (my "alpha") piece is called "Mom's African Violets." It was based on my mother's collection of leafy beauties. I researched on http://www.africanviolet.com/ and was astonished by the amazing number of varieties and colors. At that point, I knew peyote stitch and had just learned right angle weave. When I showed it to another beader for the first time they said, "Oh, so the leaves are brick stitch..." and I had to say I didn't know what that was. They were my first experiment with sculpting in peyote. Both the leaves and violets were my own design, and I have since seen many similar leaves, but never quite this violet configuration, which still pleases me. The components are stitched onto a terra cotta colored, v-shaped, right angle weave base, representing the little clay pots my mom's violets call home.

I found the amazingly vast array of textures, finishes, and colors of beads very exciting, and decided to do a value study to see how the beautiful little bits of glass worked together.

At the center front of the necklace, I used the lightest possible value, white, and a deep dark green, and as I worked my way back, I darkened the value of the figure (violets) and lightened the ground (leaves) until they were equal. By the back, I had dark figures sitting on light ground. I learned SO much about how bead texture and finish affects value doing this. It didn't work exactly the way I thought it would, and I discovered that my favorite value grouping was the one featuring the darkest figure on the lightest ground, but I have always loved yellow greens and that may have had something to do with my love of this particular group. Someday,it will be another project, I think.

Happily, the result of my study is this great little spring necklace, like wearing your own garden of violets. It is 18 inches long and closes with a base metal toggle clasp. My client asked for matching earrings, and I was happy to oblige with this pair. I structured the two pieces independently, stitched each to a jumpring, and hung them from a French hook finding, so they had lovely movement, as well as just being so darn cute.

The second piece purchased was the my most recent, created for the April 2010 Etsy Beadweavers "Light as a Breeze" Challenge. It's my temporary omega piece, but certainly will not be my last for long. I started with a beautiful piece of hand-painted lace from Etsy seller Jennie's Heirlooms in Australia at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenniesheirlooms, and bead embroidered it densely, trying to keep it as light and airy as I possibly could. Below, you can see the first piece of lace embroidered (on the left), and the second, (right side) as it looked when I started.

I cut away the second large flower, joined the lace together and beaded the second half of the lace, and then added a delicate pearly neckstrap with a beautiful gold filigree box clasp.

Light, airy, and a springtime garden of literal neck lace. I also made simple earrings for this piece at the buyers request. On Saturday the boxes were packed and headed south to their new owner. I hope she will enjoy owning and displaying them as much as I loved making them!

My Favorite Christmas Gift!

2010-04-23T08:43:00.006-06:00

For Christmas, my mom gives each of her children $50 to spend on something we would not otherwise buy for ourselves. When my check arrived, I carefully vowed to use it for it's intended purpose, and started thinking about what I might like.

When my Etsy Beadweavers teammate Arlene of Artful Ar on Esty listed this little gem, I loved it immediately, and it flashed into my mind as the perfect "gift-to-self." It's not really a January piece, and I knew it would be a while before I would wear it. Also, I had to ask Arlene to make me a small version, as my wrist is teensy, (measuring only 5 5/8" around) which she did beautifully. Finally yesterday, with pansies popping up around my neighborhood, I wore it out to lunch with my girlfriends. They ooh-ed and aah-ed appropriately and I was SO pleased. Thank you Arlene. Your bracelets are wonderful. She makes this one both in my warm and bright colorway, and in the cool colorway in her favorites. Check out her work today!

Disaster

2010-04-07T19:56:00.013-06:00

This is a long and tragic story. Not the sort of thing that makes a good blog post. Although this story took place over a month ago, I find I am still in mourning for what I lost. It will be a hard story to tell, but I feel the need to do so. So here goes. If you can hang in there, I will tell you, there is something to celebrate at the end.

The story begins with Hannah Rosner (beadweaver and glass maker extraordinaire), who was very kind to me when I joined Etsy Beadweavers. She talked to me at length about her work, and what she did to generate the constant flow of sales in her shop which I found astonishing. She was really encouraging about my work. We have similar educational backgrounds (both in theatrical design), and over time, we have become friends. After I won a competition "Carpe Beadum" which featured her lampwork beads, she asked me if I would consider partnering with her for the International Society of Glass Beadmakers event called Convergence II. This is a juried show that will feature functional, wearable jewelry, showcasing the use of handmade glass beads, and designed for a real or imaginary or historic figure. Hannah wanted me to create a hat, similar to my "Chapeau De Peche" for a character of my choice. I thought about it long and hard, because I had other plans for that hat idea. In the end, I really wanted to work with Hannah, so I said YES! We decided to use Daisy from the F. Scott Fitzgerald book, The Great Gatsby as our character, and I moved ahead with preliminary design work. Hannah would make a glass flower, or flowers to decorate the finished cloche.

I did not remember what a tragic, complex and depressing story Gatsby is until I began trying to read it. Poor Daisy is a total mess! She's married to an abusive, philandering alcoholic, and as the story progresses she discovers the first love of her life, Jay Gatsby, is still very much in love with her and wants her to leave her marriage for him. She is ultimately unable to do this, and Gastby is murdered by her husband (through a circuitous path), after she kills her husband's mistress in a hit and run accident. She finds herself trapped hopelessly in the decadent and irresponsible life she is living, without much consideration for the lives she has ended. As my thinking developed, I decided the hat needed to represent Daisy's youthful innocence in decay. The book includes lots of color references, with yellow symbolically representing decay, so I decided the hat would be innocent, pearly white, with golden decay, growing on it like mold and decorating its edges. For me, it was a powerful image to work with.

I laid out the hat in a large diamond pattern, hoping to evolke both daisy petals and Art Deco shapes, and did a couple samples. I wanted my hat to fit lower (more cloche and less mob cap) on the head than my original, so I added to the netting on both the top and bottom of the crown as I charted, and was pleased with my new length. I was concerned about the cost of the 24k dark gold and light matte gold delicas I wanted to use and finally ordered them in quantity at a discount from Fire Mountain Gems. The time that had seemed so ample was rapidly growing shorter, but FINALLY the beads arrived. I beaded the crown I had designed and stitched it together to find that the addition I had done to the top of the crown meant too many beads to fit neatly and allow the hat to drape easily on a head. I could tap and pat them all into place, but it was not what I thought it should be. Plus, I felt pretty strongly that this was a glass beadmakers event, and the glass bead should be the FOCAL point of the piece, and my big diamond pattern looked pretty busy to me. I stewed about this for days, trying to move ahead with the hat band, which alone takes 22+ hours. But my heart and soul knew I needed to rip apart the crown and redesign, regraph and reweave it. Somehow, I kept hurting my fingers so I could not bead. I burned them on the stove, I cut them with a knife in the dishwater, I cut the base of my thumb opening a box, something new every day, until I gave up, cut the crown apart and started again.

Now you might think that all those little injuries were the disaster, or maybe how long it took for the FMG beads to arrive, or my poor decisions about how to lengthen my pattern, but you would be wrong.

When Hannah asked what kind of flower I wanted, I said, without giving it much thought, "A daisy, of course." And I imagined a big shasta daisy, or group of same, like the ones in my garden. But Hannah's idea was much smaller, and on a very thick glass bead which provided stability for the delicate petals. When her beads arrived I looked at them and thought,"Uh oh." I didn't think they were a good representation of the fantastic work that Hannah does, and I was afraid that the scale was wrong. When I made the first hat, I did a grouping of small fabric passimentary flowers and they never looked right As I researched period cloche hats, It became clear to me that there was almost always just one large embellishment, if any. So now I had flowers on the wrong scale, with a thick back for stability which I thought was going to be unpleasantly visible if I was going to stick to the kind of simplicity of design that characterized hats from the 1920's. And worse yet, now I had read and thought about the book, the daisy seemed wrong itself; too cute, to young, and too sweetly carefree to represent such a complicated life.

I decided I would have to fess up. I would have to tell Hannah, "I didn't think this through and your pretty little daisy is not the right thing. Not only is it not the right size and too thick at the back, I think it's maybe the wrong kind of flower." I decided I would beg for an orchid. There is lots of orchid imagery in the book. And I knew for a fact Hannah creates orchids so beautiful they make my heart ache. But, how would she take this. Would I hurt her feelings? Would she resent having to re-do this project she had already put time and energy and thought into? Would I lose my friend? I decided to say what I thought. If she thought I had made the wrong hat, I would want to know. And I didn't think her pretty little flowers were the right thing for the purpose at hand.

She was amazingly good about it, and she made me an orchid TO DIE FOR! I finished the new crown, printed out an image of her orchid, stuck it on with a pin and I was ECSTATIC. This was good. It was worth the risk and the redoing. But the band and brim still needed to be done and the due date was racing up. I told her, "I'll do my best but I am doubting my ability to finish." I work full time, so my beading hours are limited. She told me how to do "Fast Peyote" She should sell this as a tutorial, I think. Using normal peyote, I can do just under an inch of my hat band in an hour. Using fast peyote technique, I can do almost an inch and a half, so when added to a lengthened entry deadline, I was again hopeful. Hannah then told me serious entries needed to have more than one glass bead. Again, DRAT, because I was pretty convinced the hat should just have just the one orchid, but I said, "Maybe a necklace?" The hat display form has a neck and shoulders. And Hannah said, "Yes," and sent me a picture of some cute little flowers she was making and I said, "Sure, make me those in those 'rotting from the inside out' colors please," and she said "I'm on it."

So I finished the hat. And the entry was due in a few days, and I was going to a bead camp for the weekend, but Hannah's little flowers did not arrive before I left. Tons of beading time, and no parts. Same song, verse two. So I thought, "OK, at least there will be a pretty good hat." I took a few sample photos, but white beadwork on black velvet? Oh momma. It looked great in person, but my camera was freaking out. I tried one shot in natural light, and it was a little better. So I planned to do my photography at sunset in my studio, when the light is really lovely.

OK. We have still not arrived at the disaster, all that was just process. Here it comes. Sit down.

I lay a piece of black velvet on my high cutting table. I get the hat perfectly situated on the form. I use a black folding display board as a backdrop. I juggle all these things and my camera on its tripod until the light looks amazing, and then, for no knowable reason, in what seems like slow motion, the display board drifts toward the hat form, knocking it off the edge of the table onto the concrete floor.

I am screaming. Most excellent teenager runs into my studio to see if I am dying. The fantastic glass orchid has shattered.

Disaster. Real, full-blown, meaningful, inescapable disaster. I e-mail Hannah the news, as I remember it, and then we text. I am SO sorry and SO sad, but I can do nothing to change this. Hannah is kind and understanding, but I am sure equally sorry and sad, if not more so, and I'd have been angry as well in her shoes. But once again, she is really big about it. I manage to pull off a necklace in the next two days when Hannah's beads arrive and then...

Here's the GOOD NEWS. The silver lining. The jury process is done, and tonight the announcement is posted. "Daisy Buchanan : Innocence in Decay" has been accepted! Hannah has to make a new orchid, but I am so pleased that her beautiful work will be there with my humble beaded hat. Partnership is challenging (probably Hannah would second this resoundingly!), but it pays off really well. I'll post a couple sneak peeks in the next few days!

May 11, 2010 - And here it is, in it's final glory! Please note the anti-tip base I applied (with the help of The Best Man Ever) to the bottom of the display form to avert further disaster and breakage. Doesn't Hannah's new orchid look fantastic? The first judges comment was "gorgeous orchid" and I concur!

Eighty Seventh Birthday Necklace

2010-03-25T20:15:00.002-06:00

My mother will be 87 on April 4th, Easter Sunday. She's in good shape. No serious illness, very few medications, lives in her own home, (although my sister lives in the basement) and is generally cheerful when I talk to her. I live over 1000 miles away from her, so don't see her more than once a year, and I never know what to get her on gift giving occasions. She claims there is nothing she needs, which I can understand. But she does seem to like the beadweavings I have done for her in the past. And my sister gave me a couple cabochons for Christmas, and mentioned that Mom was especially partial to one of them. So, I spent this week making her an eighty seventh birthday necklace.

I have no idea what this stone might be. It's not something I would have chosen, but I was happy to know she liked it, and bezeled it in cylinders, and then added a second layer of seed beads. Then I fringed it, modeling it after a piece in my Etsy shop called "Marigold Glade." She is not one to go out much anymore, except to church on Sunday morning, Church Circle and Bible Study groups, and to visit her 90 year old sister, but I hope she will find at least a few opportunities to wear it. She is not technologically savvy, so I am quite sure she will not see this post, but if you do, Mom, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. You are a wonderful parent, and beautiful of soul and spirit. I love you. And a huge thank you to my brother Jeff, who provided this photo of my mom in her 87th Birthday Necklace!

Four Webbings and a Focal

2010-01-13T15:52:00.005-06:00

I was feeling pretty smug as I finished the focal for my Etsy Beadweavers February Challenge piece at the beginning of January. I was nearly done a month early! I would not be the last one to post my work. I would not be struggling to finish on the last day as I sometimes am. And in light of my day job schedule thus far for 2010, this is a wonderful thing, as I am ridiculously, wonderfully busy! But I digress.

My son and husband are fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and watched all three on consecutive nights over the holidays, while I was working on my challenge piece focal, made from a beautiful split ammonite. Although I don't watch movies while I bead, I do listen, and I became enamored of the Calypso legend woven through the trilogy. Calypso is the Goddess of the Sea, captured in human form as Tia Dalma by the pirates. She is an exotic and amazing character, and I found her very inspiring. I decided that my piece would be "Calypso's Valentine" to honor both the ocean challenge theme and Valentine's Day, which falls during the voting. I wanted my ammonites to represent Davy Jones' heart, which he "carves out" in sorrow because he cannot have his love, Calypso. Tia Dalma also touches a necklace in one scene, which has a face, which led me to wanting the focal to very subtly echo the bearded face of Davy Jones. So the pearl fringe I added to my ammonite pair creates both a heart shape, and subtle nose, mouth, and beard, with the swirls of the ammonites representing eyes and brows.
I also added a barnacle texture to the edges of the piece. I wanted it to look ancient, and as though it might have been in the ocean for hundreds or thousands of years. With the focal finished, it was time to think about the neckstrap.

And this is where my trouble began. I initially thought the strap should be netting, as though the heart were captured in a fisherman's net, another oceanic image. So I made a little net sample. But it was stripey, and I although I love the 24k matte gold cylinders I used in the bezel, they felt wrong to me in the strap. A little too light in color, and lacking in substance, but the net idea was still promising.

So, I tried again, with darker beads and made a big effort to get it to look more like fisherman's netting, while still belonging visually to the focal. And I liked this one better, but I thought maybe it ought to have pearls, to tie it more effectively to pearl fringe.
I made a third sample, using pearls at the junction points in the net, but I didn't like it at all, ripped it apart, and did it again with large beads on both sides of the pearls, to separate the netting after it left the pearls. But somehow, it got busy. Maybe the big beads next to the pearls were too much texture. By this time, netting was beginning to annoy me.

I still liked the pearls, but maybe not in netting, so I tried a quick sample of simple pearl spiral stitch, and that was pleasing, but I missed the darn netting. So here I am, nearly two weeks later, sweating the small stuff. It's what obsessive-compulsives like me do. We are passionate about details, but sometimes we can get a little crazy, and I think that's where I am just now. I didn't bead at all last night, which is pretty rare for me. It's usually my evening's entertainment. But I think after having taken pictures, and written all this down, I might just be able to get back to the bench and make some decisions about how to finish. If you have ideas, feel free to make me a sample or two!!!

I WON!

2009-12-31T11:01:00.000-06:00

Yippee! Not only did I really enjoy the process of creating this necklace, for the "Carpe Beadum" contest, I won $100 worth of semi-precious beads, a $25 gift certificate to the 1 Stop Bead Shop in Ohio, and a $50 gift certificate at Good River Gallery. I can't wait to play with my goodies!

I loved the focal bead (lampwork by Hannah Rosner) when I saw its photo, and even more in person when the kit arrived. The supporting beads were top quality (1 Stop Bead Shop) and a great color selection. I decided the shiny finish on the focal bead demanded other shiny beads, so set aside the Toho Copper Gold Iris Metallic Matte for future use. I think I used everything else in the kit as I worked.

I thought the shape of the focal bead and its depth would require weight and dimension in the necklace, so imagined a group of netted ropes. The color in the focal transitioned from a deep indigo, through lavender, gold and hints of green, to ivory, and reminded me on ink spilled on parchment. I decided to make three ropes to re-create the ombre color shift.

To organize the ropes, and create an accent place for the Swarovski crystal and the remaining lampwork spacers, I stitched peyote spacer bars with three thru-holes to organize the ropes, and then began the ropes themselves, making many samples before finding the perfect blends of color to emulate the focal bead ombre. I also realized I wanted a more delicate rope at the center of the piece and a more substantial one at the sides and back, so changed the sizes of beads from 11 and 8 to 15 and 11, hence MORE samples were needed.

When I finished the 24k rose gold spacer bars, I fringed them, and thought the result looked like squid in movement. This reinforced the name I had in mind for the piece, "INK."

The weaving of each rope was done from back to center front with a Russian spiral weave, and the fewest changes of thread possible. The accent section has seven thread passes, from the step down to three beads at the end of the rope, through the bar and accent beads to three loose beads that were the basis of the smaller central rope, and back. This required much sampling and planning to place the "squid" with the spacing and angles I had in mind.

The center tassel was created by fringing circular flat peyote, and the vermiel bead caps added a final elegance. Simple earrings finished the project.

And those matte metallic beads? They have found homes in two other pieces, this one in my etsy shop, Purple Majesty:

and also here on one of my work-in-progress trays, with these gorgeous Swarovski Arctic Ice rectangles, waiting for a bit more time and idea maturation to be completed:

Maybe those lovely beady winnings will work their way into the finished product!

Sewing Club Revisited

2009-12-08T15:49:00.000-06:00

When I was a young child, my mother belonged to a Sewing Club. The group met one evening a month, in each others homes, to spend time sewing and talking and having dessert. Mom always brought home some edible tidbit for me for the morning after. I thought it must be SO wonderful to be a grownup and participate in such delights!

Now, I am a mother, and instead of a Sewing Club I find my self part of several delightful groups of beaders. I belong to the Upper Midwest Bead Society , Etsy Beadweavers , and am occasionally invited to bead with a group of friends who all worked (at various times) at my favorite bead store, The Bead Monkey in Minneapolis. And my impression as a child of the wonder of comraderie and friendship that grows around shared interest was correct. It is indeed wonderful to have people who share your joys and concerns to talk to, and from whom to seek advice.

Kerrie Slade wrote a lovely blog post about the joys of being part of a "big crafty circle" of online artisans. As a part of that post, she passed on to my humble blog the "Superior Scribbler" award. I am so pleased! :o) Membership does have its privileges, although I am not in the same class, scribbler skill wise! I had to learn a whole new link skill to create this post. Thank you for the gentle shove Kerrie. Part of the recipient's duty is to pass on the award to five worthy recipients, so these are my choices:

Inspirational Beading by Mortira

Good River Gallery by Hannah

All Things Bead and Beautiful by Linda

Dax Designs by Glenda

Mamma Foxan by Olga

If you want to play along, the rules are as follows;

* Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 bloggy friends.

* Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & name of the blog from whom he/she has received the award.

* Each Superior Scribbler must display the award on his/her blog and link to this post which explains the award.

*Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List - that way, we'll be able to keep up to date on everyone who receives the award.

* Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

OK. I have done my part. Now if you want to play along, it's your turn!

When Worlds Collide

2009-12-02T10:35:00.000-06:00

This is a beadweaver's blog, but my day job requires the making of jewelry too. It's an entirely different process and product. Beadweaving for me is about detail and delicacy. About things that are deeply complex and require tremendous time, patience and intense observation to design, create, and even to fully appreciate as an observer.

But in my day job, I am a costume designer, creating competition clothing for ballroom dancers. Their jewelry must have an exceptionally "blingy" first impression, as the primary purpose of ballroom dance wear is to get the wearer seen, and to emphasize and and extend the dancer's movement. I have just finished a gown for a client that relies entirely on its jewelry for visual impact, which is unusual, and most often, the gown istself has a minimum of 30 - 50 gross of rhinestones on its surface. I thought it would be fun to share it with you, and compare the two worlds. This is my lovely client Randee, in her new Latin gown, with necklace, bracelet, earrings and a small brooch at the hip.

Here's a closeup of the necklace, taken on my dressform. I find that the crystals I use for ballroom purposes must be mirror backed in the interest of maximum dazzle for dollar. I've done a couple necklaces for my dancewear clients with huge Swarovski rounds and bicones, but even with AB finishes, they simply do not compare to the mirror backed pieces from even a short distance. You'd think rivolis would be a perfect solution, and I do use rivolis, but the flat backed, sew-on version. And yet I rarely actually sew them on. The sew holes provide great additional grab for my adhesive, which seeps into the hole and makes the application very secure.

Another reason not to sew is time and cost. When a dancer spends a few thousand dollars on a gown, the jewelry cannot also cost a few thousand dollars, so I am always working to keep time to a minimum and result at a maximum. The money needs to go into the materials, and labor needs to be efficient.

Part of the labor cost is in the design and fitting of the ultrasuede base to which the jewels are glued. It must fit perfectly, allow the dancer to move without moving much itself, maintain it's shape through intense exercise, and be immune to perspirtaion. It must be supple, and protect the dancer from the sharp edges of the crystals, but must not stretch out or change shape in use. Sometimes, the necklaces, armbands, and earrings are glued to the body with eyelash adhesive or toupee tape, so the back of the jewelry must provide for that option as well. I start the process in craft paper, cutting in ultrasuede after I am sure I have a perfect fit, and then I check it for movement, before permanently applying the crystals.

I love what I do, and especially the realtionships with my wonderful clients. A huge thank you to Randee, dancing here in another of the Latin gowns I have created for her, for letting me use her photos in my blog.

My Beautiful Friend Cathy

2009-09-24T18:35:00.000-06:00

On my birthday, my friend Cathy called me in the morning to wish me a happy day. I told her I was going to a bead sale, and since she too is a beader, I asked if she'd like to come along. She agreed to meet me and have a bite to eat in celebration. It was the day I bought the beads for "Chapeau De Peche," so she was in on the project from the beginning.

When I finished the hat, a couple of my wonderful Etsy Beadweaver friends mentioned wanting to see the hat on a person, and I could think of no one better than Cathy. She has beautifully shiny, sleek ebony hair, which I thought would contrast nicely with the pale beads of the hat, and lovely balanced features, fantastic skin and teeth... the perfect model. So, here's Cathy, in the final product!

Then, yesterday, she brought her charming husband Bill to my costume studio to begin the process of creating a new ballroom suit for him. Cathy has wonderful taste and a great sense of style, and I really enjoy her input, both on the costumes I make for her and on Bill's behalf. While my tailor Michele was measuring Bill, I pointed out my newest finished necklace to Cathy. I always have my most recent piece on display in my studio, and as a fellow beader, Cathy is a great audience, and always has a useful comment. This time, she fell in love. I had not even priced the piece, but she knew she wanted it, and today, it is hers. I do have to make her a shorter neckstrap, as she's a slim girl, so while it's still in my posession, she agreed to let me show it off. Most Excellent Teenager had tentatively named the piece "Mold." My tailor Michele suggested "Lichen," but I'll let Cathy give it it's final name. I love knowing she'll own it. I am very fond of it, and am so glad it's going to a good home. Here it is!

I think it's gonna look even better on her than the hat did! Aren't friends wonderful?

It IS!

2009-09-14T07:42:00.001-06:00

Chapeau de Peche??

Well, my mystery project has finally agreed to come into being and not one second too soon, as I need to take it to the Upper Midwest Bead Society twentieth anniversary tea this weekend, Sunday, September 20th. Diane Fitzgerald is our Founding Mother, and we have been encouraged to "wear our Sunday Best embellished bonnet" with a prize for "Best in Show."

Now, I am NOT a hat girl. I do not have a hat face, and I have Obama ears. No hat has ever looked nice on me. SO I decided right off not to participate in this portion of the event. Then I changed my mind. Why not make a beaded hat? One might not necessarily be required to wear such a thing, and it would still be a means to participate. At first I thought it would be a beaded straw boater, but once I finished what I thought would be the hat band, I decided the weight of the beads would make this idea structurally nearly impossible with out using a stiffening agent, and I didn't want to "cheat" in that way.

All those Costume History classes took me to medieval chapel cap images, and chain maille helmets, but I wanted a more recent reference, so turned to the 1920's when beading and bead embellishment were commonplace. A beaded cloche, a bell-shaped, closely fitting, flapper style hat seemed a great solution and had a wonderful shaping challenge. I wanted the hat to be soft and adaptable to varied head shapes, so netting seemed an appropriate technique. Cloche hats frequently have a button at their top most point and I referenced that with a bit of circular peyote and then charged into the mathematics of creating a bell shaped piece of work that would connect to a 314 bead row band on one end and a 48 bead row circle on the other.

And as I worked on the band, the phrase "peau de peche" popped into my head. Ridiculous for a dressmaker not to have taken French, but I have not, and so I THINK it means "skin of peach," which the hat band resembles. Once it was a cloche, (cloche being yet another French word) then "chapeau" floated into my brain as well. So I think the piece is "Chapeau de Peche."

I am really pleased with the structure and the final product, but less so with the surface embellishment I have done. I may or may not change it for the event, as time is short. But I think I may come back to it one day. My initial thought was passimentary style fabric embellishment, and I made two flowers in that style, but found I could not do the sort of freestyle scrollwork to go with them that is usually passimentary, due to the density of the band and limited choices about where my needle could enter and exit, so I made a couple fabric flowers, bead embellished them and stitched them on. Sadly, this too was not a process I was comfortable with. Usually I pin components on and re-arrange and adjust until I like the results, but pinning on beadwork is not so easy to do, so I finally just started and added, but the result for me is a bit lumpy and undefined... DRAT. I also meant to keep the project monochromatic, but now have stitched and laid on a quick sample leaf in pale green beads and maybe that will be a good solution to my less-than-perfect arrangement. Anybody have any thoughts? Shall I ditch the fabric and use all beads? Introduce more color?

Habaneros Hideway

2009-09-02T19:24:00.000-06:00

The Best Man Ever and Most Excellent Teenager are very fond of spicy food, and take it upon themselves each year to plant a few peppers. When the growing season is over they dry their harvest and ask me to string their crops (I am a jewelry maker, after all, weaving things together with a needle and thread is one of my skills) which then decorate the kitchen. This insures they will have plenty of heat to torture me with over the icy Minnesota winter. This year, I have jumped the harvest a bit, and done my weaving a little early, in honor of the Etsy Beadweavers September Challenge theme, Indian Summer Dreams.

This weaving replaces my original idea, "Fuschia Profusion." Gardens here seem to be alive with fuschia flowers in late summer, and my own personal one is somewhat overgrown; less well-tended due to the time I am spending at the beading counter. I thought to capture that sense of lush excess with a necklace, and was pleased with the result pictured here. This necklace was purchased in my costume studio by a lovely woman who came in to try on ballroom gowns. I was thrilled to sell the piece to someone I could plainly see loved it, but sad to lose my challenge piece!

But then, in my favorite local bead shop, The Bead Monkey, I discovered some funky carved coral peppers. They were wonderful, some neatly symmetrical and perfect and others scarred and twisted, just like the ones in my garden. Hence, the birth of my second September challenge piece, "Pepper Profusion." Same lush leafyness, and obviously bountiful harvest as the original, and but, for me, a bit more autumnal in feeling. I guess it's the difference between early and late Indian Summer Dreams! Compare for yourself. And be sure to check out our EBW team blog on the 9th when voting opens. It's a great theme and there are many wonderful entries to examine and consider. I'll remind you when it's time!

Will It Be?

2009-08-23T07:57:00.000-06:00

I was going to call this post, "What Will it Be" but that's not the right question. Here's a peek, from about a week ago. As you can see, based on the number of empty delica tubes, it's a fairly ambitious project, and I would say this is a representation of maybe 1/4th of completion. Fortunately, my favorite bead store decided to eliminate some of their delica stock,
and so were selling their discontinued colors for $1 a tube. This was fantastic for me! I bought all the tubes of this color they had, and am hoping it will be sufficient. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what this is trying to be?

I'll provide a hint. It's for a contest. So it is for a purpose, other than making something I think might sell in my Etsy shop. Actually, I think only a collector of beadwoven art might purchase this item, so selling is really not a motivation for this piece.

So here's another quick snapshot, from a few days ago. Does it focus your estimating? I'm not convinced that this will stay as is, but this new section is behaving at least somewhat as I hoped it would, unlike the bit I did last night, which will need to be ripped out for sure. Hence, no photo of that section, although it might be descriptive...

Place your bets ladies. The project needs to be done by September 22nd, so I have a month to fool around with it. I'll keep you posted. I am hoping my energy stays focused on finising this little number, and I thought maybe telling you about it would encourage a bit of responsibility. Thanks for taking a peek, and helping me hold myself accountable. Feel free to post a guess, if you have one!

Into the Gallery and Beyond

2009-08-09T10:37:00.001-06:00

Monday, August 3rd, I loaded my beadwork into my Saturn Vue for delivery to Your Art's Desire Gallery in Minnetonka. When I started my car, the William Tell Overture on Minnesota Public Radio underscored my feelings perfectly. I felt like I was charging joyfully headfirst into uncharted territory.

I began this journey in April with a visit to the gallery. I had visited previously, but saw it from a different perspective as a potential consignee. They specialize in local artists, and demonstrate a respect for the work, while creating a very accessible and unpretentious atmosphere. The jewelry artist (usually only one at a time) has an open display area, as opposed to being behind glass, which I thought was important for beadweaving, due to its tactile nature. And right above the jewelry display, there is a BIG mirror, another of the things I value. A personalized and private approach to buying art is possible in this gallery, and I think the process of choosing adornment to wear around your neck is a very personal one. On my visit, a client was picking up a painting she had purchased from, and had framed by, the gallery. She was very pleased with the results, and I liked how she was treated. The place felt good to me.

I then sent an e-mail, including some images of my work, suggesting I would like to meet to explore the possibility of the gallery showing my beadweaving. I didn't hear back. A couple weeks passed. I was really busy with my day job at the time, and not thinking all that clearly, but eventually, I decided, "I will not be so easily put off. I will make a phone call to see if they got my e-mail." They had indeed. Foolish me. I mentioned in the e-mail that I would phone in a few days to discuss a possbile interview, but I had forgotten this entirely. They were very kind about my inability to understand what I had written, and offered to view my work, but they were not particularly encouraging. Melissa, co-owner of the gallery with husband Ken, said they had shown beadweaving in the past, but had not had good success with selling the work.

I arrived for our interview, nervous and excited to show what I had brought, and found Melissa to be kind, knowledgeable, encouraging, and best of all, excited by my work. She enthusiastically agreed to show it beginning in August. I feared I would burst into tears at one point (I was so completely overwhelmed and filled with joy!) near the end of the interview, but managed to keep my head, which was swelling. I had to turn it sideways to get it out the door, and work really hard to keep my feet on the pavement on the way to my car.

So, here it is, August, and I am a

featured artist at the Your Art's Desire Gallery. Please visit when you are in the neighborhood. Have a coffee at the shop next door, buy an art card or two, and try on my jewelry if you like. Or visit online at : http://www.yourartsdesiremtka.com/

You can read about me and the other featured artists at the News and Events tab, under Current Exhibition. I hope you'll enjoy your visit as much as I am enjoying the experience.

First Art Fair

2009-06-28T20:31:00.000-06:00

I sold a pair of earrings that went with a necklace set. Just the earrings. I was SO not expecting anything like that, I didn't even have one of my little earring boxes for them. But going to this art fair was an excellent experience.

Let me set the stage for you. At 7:30am, it was literally POURING rain. If you have never visited Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes, you have maybe never seen rain like this. It let up at 8am for registration, and stayed dry just long enough to make it possible to find my spot and get my tent up, (this with the help of The Best Man Ever and Most Excellent Teenager) and then it poured again. This was actually helpful, as I knew my tent was indeed watertight, and also exactly where my tables should be to stay dry.

This particular art fair is still in it's youth. It is a one day affair, and part of a City of Minnetonka Summer Festival. It takes place on the grounds of a beautifully restored turn of the century historical homesite, the Burwell House. Originally the Burwell House portion of the festival was an old fashioned Ice Cream Social with bands and entertainers and house tours and an open air antique market. Three years ago, the city decided to add an art fair.

The majority of the people attending are there for the ice cream and entertainment, not to buy art. But many were happy to look, and most were enthusiastic and complimentary. No one was rude, or questioned either aesthetic or price . The value in this experience, although obviously not monetary, was immense, and I really want to write it down while it's fresh in my mind.

I learned a great deal about selling my work. I learned that my beadwork is TACTILE, and looking at it is not the same as TOUCHING it. It needs to be turned over and EXPLAINED. Materials that are amazing need to be pointed out. What makes for good beadwork, like no visible threads or stitches on the front or back of the work, needs to be demonstrated. And most important of all, people need to TRY IT ON, and see themselves wearing it in a BIG MIRROR. It makes a difference how I am dressed, and I think this will vary from fair to fair. And, spending next to no money on my display, other than the cost of the tent, does not really create a fantastic environment. It was functional, but could be so very much more. Thank God for my Fairy Bead Mother's (Hannah Rosner, Good River Gallery) great advice about the bed risers under my table legs, because that was pure genius and kept my stuff up high enough to be seen without a backache for me or my browsers.

At about the half way point in the fair, my friend Donna joined me. Donna is a petite, delicate woman, but you musn't let her seemingly small aspect mislead you. Donna is a dynamo. She is a tiger. And when she gets her teeth on an idea, she does not let go. I learned alot from her about persistence and positive thinking. I also learned the difference between an ATTRIBUTE and a BENEFIT. The attributes are the things I like to talk about; how the work is done, why I chose the materials, what inspired the piece, and how it might best be worn. But it hadn't occurred to me to discuss benefits. Like, when I wear something I have made, people stop me to ask about it. Check out girls and dental hygienists and Most Excellent Teenager's teachers all want to know about my personal, portable art. That's a benefit of buying art for your neck instead of for your wall. And the fact that those lovely beaded toggles are so easy to use, as well as gorgeous. Benefits. Donna was so helpful!

Then, when the wind came up, Most Excellent Teenager and friend Jayd and The Best Man Ever appeared with bags of water softener salt, (which he informed me we needed anyway) and bungee cords, and secured the EZ-UP, so Donna and I didn't have to worry about taking a trip somewhere over the rainbow. Heroes! I love my boys.

Another art fair? You bet. There are wonderful fairs here, most of which need to be applied for by March, and I was not ready in March 2009. March 2010? Haute Ice Beadwork is fair ready!

Me, Blog???

2009-06-20T20:16:00.000-06:00

Gosh, I would just never have thought so. But I guess for everything there is a season, and this appears to be my time to try the blog thing. Partly, this was prompted by my new love affair. This is one of those life changing relationships I am embarking on, and I am SO taken with my new amore. I wonder if any of you know him?

Let me introduce you to Power Pro! It says right on the fabulous green (my favorite green, mind you) spool that this is ULTRA SENSITIVE and SUPER STRONG. What more could any girl ask for?

I have tried several beading threads. As a classically trained tailor, when I discovered that silamide was a beading thread, I was ecstatic. I love silamide for pad stitching, rolling collars, all kinds of finishing and even basting, but somehow, it never felt right to me for beading. Just didn't seem to be strong enough for my purposes. So that was a brief affair.

Then I discovered fireline. Lots of strength there, and for a gal with a pretty tight hand, it does a great job with structure and bezels. Sadly, there were limitations. I love beadwork that moves with the wearer, and fringe is a favored technique. Fireline is just lousy in fringe! Too crispy and crinkly. Fringe should be supple. So although I still use fireline, it just wasn't the answer to all my needs.

In a class with Diane Fitzgerald, I was introduced to nymo. And not just nymo! Doubled nymo, with a shop tag knot, coated with (what seemed to me like tons of) microcrystaline wax. Now I don't like double thread for anything in my dressmaking and tailoring world. I'd rather sew twice any day. But after the six hours of class, it was growing on me. Sadly, the stuff has no twist, and for a silamide fan, that just feels wrong. Plus, it's so easy to split when you pass back through. Thankfully, it does make nice fringe. Both fireline and nymo had a place in my life, but neither was the whole package I was looking for.

Enter Power Pro! What a dashing hero. Soft, supple, strong, and nicely braided. I have been working on my Etsy Beadweavers "Here Comes the Bride" project all week and as is my usual style, I have moved ahead and then "de-beaded" to try a different idea multiple times. I am used to having to start a new thread after ripping back, because fireline kinks and nymo splits, but honey, let me tell you, Power Pro is all a girl could want in a beading thread. I fringed and re-fringed multiple times with NO sign of wear of any sort. It's got staying power I have never experienced! I am feeling like I've met my beading partner for life.