Battle Reveals

The Battle of the Beadsmith  pairs are finally going up and I am so GLAD I was placed in group C as those have been the first to be revealed. My partnered beader was Patrick Duggan from the other side of the world. Patrick's piece is named Katerina referencing Catherine the Great of Russia, and is a very stylish necklace with medallions with military vibe:

I love the colour of the central red stones in particular, and it does seem as if it would be lovely to wear!

Another outstanding piece within group C is the Phoenix Collar of Helena Tang-Lim, based on Peranakan wedding costume:

I adore the way that the design elements have been used in a modern, fresh way. I'd like to include more ethnographic aspects in my own beadwork some day.

So you can see the incredibly high standard of beadwork in this contest! I shook in my shoes! For more examples pop over to the Facebook group page and go straight to 'Photos'

Anyway, without further ado I'd like to present my own piece. 'Oceanides Purse'

Photo: Andrew Davis, Model: Melissa Dokarry

The Blurb I wrote for the entry was as follows:

I am a 48 yr old beader from the UK, originally from London but now residing in Norwich. I have a full time job in plant science research, and my piece is loosely inspired by microscopic life forms of the sea (diatoms, phyto- and zooplankton, their geometry and diversity).  I like to combine the scientific with the artistic in my beading. I love organic, freeform and beadsoup. Beading is my therapy and relaxation.

1) Name of your piece: Oceanides Purse

2) Name of stitch, stitches used: Bead embroidery, Peyote, Right Angle Weave, Herringbone, Appliqué, Couching

3) Name of products used, size and material: Seed beads, Swarovski rivolis, dentelles, chatons, fancy stones and bicones, Swarovski and Preciosa cupchain, freshwater pearls, glass pearls, moonstone and labradorite, pressed glass and firepolished beads, Ultrasuede. vintage flatback glass cabochons and nailheads, heavyweight interfacing, upcycled satin purse.

4) overall size of piece: Worked area is 31.5cm x 19.5 cm. Finished purse dimensions: 20cm x 11cm x 5cm approx

5) time to complete 90+ hours

Here is a close up of one of the motifs, I bezelled a 27mm Swarovski stone using RAW and peyote and then applied it to the embroidery foundation, then embellished with the matte gold firepolished, and then couched down the 'rays' while making the first round of embroidery

Photo Andrew Davis

I think Helena and I had the same colour muse working with us, and possibly the Geometry muse was with both Patrick and myself.

Public may vote on the Group C battles within a limited time frame, and using a spreadsheet format downloadable under files on the BOTB '13 group page (click the logo at top right of this blog)