Beadwork

Arabesque is an unusual piece for me, in that it is symmetrical. The glass floret in the center was the seed of the design. It takes practice to get the tension correct in bead embroidery. In a balanced motif such as this, there can be no errors or it will be painfully obvious. I prefer free-form peyote, because it is intuitive. This necklace required thinking!

Freda has been my muse several times. She dreamed out loud. Her image has become iconic. This necklace features a miniature collage of Freda Kahlo. Gold tulle makes a textural bed for the variety of glass beads and crystals. Turquoise and garnet chips add interest and the vibration of natural stone.

Talking to the Moon is special because it uses the last of some of my favorite beads - the turquoise lined tiny beads from Japan and the sparkling raspberry Delicas. Nestled within the mix are the most challenging beads of all - Maco's. I call them needle bugle beads, because that is a better description. I almost always break a needle when working with them, as the hole is so tiny. Notice the pyramid beads around the moon face - each one has an eye in gold.

Sadly, all the shots were taken on a pile of wood that was once our Redbud tree. Notice the raw jagged white meat of the limb on the Freda shot. That is what the wind did - snapped my favorite tree past redemption.

Beadwork: Citrus Florals

Citrus Floral Necklace, polymer clay, glass beads, nymo thread

Polymer clay leaves, blossoms, pods and coins in sunny citrus colors might seem an odd choice for the fall season. But what day wouldn't be brightened by this smash of candy hues?

Premo is the polymer clay used in this piece. It stays somewhat flexible, which gives it great endurance. And the brightness is obvious. The blossom in this detail shot shows the sparkling effect of the metallic clay tips. Notice how the metallic clay is not blended in - the design is rather chunky. The leaves are bold, but softly variegated using the Skinner Blend technique of shading. Two colors roll through a pasta machine over and over, until an Ombre effect is achieved. The Skinner Blend is named for Judith Skinner, a pioneer of polymer clay art. This technique is the backbone of many a polymer designer.

Again, I am thinking candy. I just want to eat this up. What flavors would it be? Mango, lime, kiwi, lemondrop and just enough cherry to be the prize.

I like the black tiger spots on the blossoms and inside of the pods. These are tiny pieces of clay. The pods are made of a slice of a kaleidoscope cane, cupped in my palm and rolled with a ball stylus. My version of this kind of cane is not very symmetrical, which is fine for this "organic" approach. Aren't the cane edges fun - the yellow and orange stripes?

The coins have a central hole with a slight recess. This is done with a very small ball stylus. A single bead can nestle down into the sew-on. The cane for this one is in a very loose style. The color seems splashed on.

Here are the "greasy" yellow beads, again. The tropical colors brighten them up. The greasy quality is suggestive of a juicy fruit. The mango colored accent beads are actually pearlized, which is not apparent in the photos.

Yummy.

Beadwork: Bella

Bella, miniature collage cabochon, polymer clay, Nymo, glass beads

Bella is a collar-length portrait necklace. I begin with a clear acrylic cabochon, which is transformed into a miniature collage by applying images to the back of the cab. I work backwards, because the first images glued on will be seen as the top layer. This one uses a rose motif as a frame for the portrait, (a tiny reproduction of an antique photo). After the portrait is applied, the background is accented with a couple of pieces of iridescent "snow" flakes and finished with variegated gold leaf. The cabochon magnifies the collage. The layering is noticeable, the depth is a pleasure to gaze.

The collage is adhered to a stiff felt backing. Glass beads and polymer clay pods are embroidered around the cabochon. The back is finished with a final layer of felt, stitched in place.

I use fine beading needles: John James, size 13. I will use other needles, but only in a pinch. They are strong, thin and bend, rather than break. Mine begin straight and end up completely curved. As long as a needle stays sharp, I will use it until it breaks. John James.

A palette for fall-rich purples of the tiny iris beads, deep red of the garnet chips, cranberry, mink, orange and touches of blue-gives abundant versatility for autumn moods.

Bella is is a unique flavor of ornate and simple. The scale of the focal piece is compact, but heavily beaded and embellished. The sparse fringing at the center of the piece reflects the structure of the necklace. The pods and berries on the necklace are minimal, but add volume visually.

Beadwork: Oil Slick Medicine Bag

Beaded Medicine Bag: glass seed beads, thread

The "oil slick" effect of this beaded medicine bag is achieved bead by bead. The color of these lovely glass seed beads are called matte iris. They come as a rainbow mix.

I choose a starting color, then use my needle to pick up the next closest color. I find it very relaxing. I focus my color vision and somewhat unfocus my natural vision so the color I desire pops out of the mix. It would be tedious if I didn't enjoy the challenge.

The bag itself is woven in a peyote weave, also called the gourd stitch because of how easily the weave conforms to an object. I begin with a circle of beads on my thread. Then I add two beads, skip two-so on and so forth. The next row fills in the two skipped beads. This simple process builds the bag. The resulting circular tube is stitched together at the bottom to complete the bag.

Fringe is stitched to the bottom of the bag. Each strand is knotted. Not only does this secure the fringe, it helps it to have flexibility.

The light-catching accent beads are vintage cut bronze Czech beads and are very old. The irregular cuts are a nice contrast to the matte seed beads.

What to put in a medicine bag? A coin, a crystal, a note, a lock of hair. Special tokens seem to find their way to a little pocket worn close to the heart.

Beadwork: Floral Earrings

These earrings feature seed beads in iris finishes and polymer clay flowers. The light orange color on the flowers actually glows in the dark or under a black light. I like the way the beads look crinkly all together. If you look closely, you can see that among the tiniest beads I have thrown in a few of a slightly larger size.

Reds and deep coral combine for an unusual palette against the purples of the seed beads and the iris beads. The tiny floral cups are polymer clay.

The term iris describes the multicolored metallic finish as seen above. It refers to Iris, Greek goddess of the rainbow.

Beadwork: Floral Necklace

This piece features polymer clay blossoms in red metallic, orange, yellow and green with little black speckles. I wrapped the petals around vintage floral stamens.

Beautiful matte seed beads are woven into a lace-like pattern with tiny gold-lined bead points for the necklace itself.

The floral pieces are then embellished on top. Coral lined transparent green seed beads make dewy leaf shapes in which to nestle the blossoms. A couple of cranberry colored beads make for ripe berries.

Floral Necklace: Glass seed beads, polymer clay, floral stamens

This necklace fits as a choker. It has a magnetic clasp, which makes it really easy to put on and off.

The focal beadwork hangs loose from the necklace for some movement in the piece. However, each strand is knotted for security. I singe the thread ends with a lighter so the knots don't unravel.