Back to the bead challenges (part 2)

Following on from the 'Famous Painting' challenge, I thought I'd make an effort and complete a piece for the 'Read and Bead' challenge that the OTTBS spin off Facebook group had going. The deadline was 6th February, but the books were set way back in November to allow time for the reading as well as the beading!

I like to choose an unfamiliar book rather than one I have already read for these challenges, so I went for 'A Discovery of Witches' by Deborah Harkness. This is a paranormal romance with historical aspects, and was fun to read. The beading aspect was a little harder, partly because there were many different themes and settings.

In the end, I settled on making a pendant based on the hero Matthew's pilgrim's ampulla. Looking these up on the internet showed them to be variable in shape, but in general having 2 'handles' which could be used as hanging loops. In the book, Matthew's pendant is shaped like a coffin and has an embossed scene of Lazarus rising from the dead, but that level of detail was not going to be achievable without scaling the piece up too much to be wearable. Instead I used the coffin shape, and then embellished it with different aspects of the story. It is surprising how much you can fit into a small space!

Here is the finished piece:

The lampwork heart is for the love between the witch Diana and the vampire Matthew. The brown bugles represent Matthews distinctive spicy scent which I interpreted as cinnamon sticks, and the leaves are the contrasting herbal fragrance of Diana. A goblet (or possibly grail) holds a cross for Matthew's Crusader past. The contrast of matte and shiny metallic beads is to symbolise past and present. The pendant is embroidered on grey Nicole's Bead Backing, and backed with ultrasuede then strung on silver cord and ribbon for the scene in the book where Diana flies up from the oubliette.

Using non-pictorial inspiration has been a good exercise for me, as usually I'm very visually inspired. I recommend the process for a different take on beading...

Back to the bead challenges (part I)

Well it has been a while, again mostly because I have been beading more, I have been blogging less!
I decided to just go with the flow and not beat myself up about it!
I wanted to keep trying challenges and have made a few pieces already in 2014. The opening Monthly Challenge on Operation Tackle That Bead Stash was to make a piece inspired by a famous painting. I decided to use a button I had bought (not from a bead store or from an online specialist, but from the good old department store haberdashery selection.) It looked like a Poppy central part to me (with my botanist side coming through) so I chose the painting Oriental Poppies by the American artist Georgia O'Keeffe, which she produced in 1928, but which, like much of her work, looks remarkably undated.

I decided that rather than bead 'a' poppy inspired by the work I would use one of 'the' poppies in the picture, and (without photo-reproducing it) see if I could paint with beads to achieve something similar to the original.

Disclaimer: I am not trained in art past the age of 13 at school, and do not count actual painting amongst my skills! I drew a shape somewhat like the one in the painting on a piece of Nicole's Bead Backing in red.
Then I realised that I would need to somehow accommodate the integral glass shank of the button in the centre, but that in order to have it flush, it would end up protruding through the back. Hmmmm....OK I cut a donut shape in bead backing to backfill the button, and glued it in, this time I used black. I also cut a wiggly black shape and glued that to the centre of the red, being sparing with the glue as I wanted to be able to sew through it to secure it. Then I cut a small hole in the centre and glued down the button, With the double layer of bead backing I accommodated the shank pretty much completely. Then I let everything set overnight.

Because I wanted to 'paint' with beads I realised that most of the project would need to be executed in size 15s, and fortunately I had a good number of shades on hand due to an unfinished project involving poppy jasper. I spread out a little pile of each and began:

First I fringed round the button with matte black, just straight fringe, nothing too fancy. Then I began the petals and as I did I began blending the bead piles into mini soups, trying for a tone similar to the painting. Sometimes I beaded in a radial pattern, sometimes I let them flow in a circular manner, taking the cues from the painting which I had on my screen. Somewhat surprisingly I discovered I needed a lot more orange than I thought, for the highlights on petal edges, I did use some size 11s as I didn't have quite the right colour in 15s. you can see them below in the bottom petal. I used a mix of silverlined, transparent (since the foundation was coloured) semi-frosted silverlined, and matte finishes.

I trimmed off the foundation at the end, and waited a few days before finishing it as a brooch using black ultrasuede and a brickstitch edging in 11s to tidy it up. Although it is large, it is quite wearable, and I am very fond of it, and I'm glad I didn't let negative school art reports hold me back!

If you'd like to see what other participants in the challenge made, here is a link to the OTTBS January 2014 challenge reveal. A truly challenging challenge, but great inspiration, I shall be browsing galleries for more works to 'paint in beads'

BOTB '13 round 2

Well I was amazed to make it through the first round against Patrick's gorgeous necklace, but people seemed to like the Oceanides purse for its swirling patterns and restful blue colours. My second round battle is against Anneta Valious who recently published a book on her speciality 'Soutache'. Her piece is titled 'Skyfall' and is a great example of this style of beading. I haven't tried it myself, but as a 'round 2 treat', bought myself the book to have a go, and it does seem very comprehensive.

The theme of sky also chimes sympathetically with my 'ocean' based piece, so this time I think the votes will be based more on preference of the overall style
I was allowed to add more pictures to my album, and chose the base of my bag to show how I kept it level so that it would stand stably:

The corners have mother-of-pearl leaf beads representing some kind of planktonic form, and were carefully chosen from a strand to be of similar thickness. In addition each is surrounded by a row of size 8 beads so that the 'feet'  are a slightly larger area. The accent beads on this side of the work were restricted to 4mm or smaller to keep the work smooth.

Singin' the Blues

Last year I challenged myself to use more pink in my work as I had got a little stuck in my (green) rut. I managed to find a palette of pinks with which I was happy, generally mixing in some brown or cream to prevent things getting too saccharine. This year (you guessed it) it is the turn of the blues. I actually have a reasonable stash of blue beads, but rarely use them, so it shouldn't mean buying more beads...except, well when you start looking there are some VERY pretty blue things out there!

I also decided to move into 3D with the bead embroidery, now I feel I have served my apprenticeship with flat pieces, and am moderately competent! I asked Renetha Williams Stanziano to make me a fish shaped form and she made this for me:

And look, he is BLUE! He isn't that big but when I started I realised that working on a form is quite different to working 2D.

I raided the local fabric store for buttons for eyes, and looked through my books and the internet for some inspiration. At around the same time I ordered some spike beads from Beads of Bohemia, and when they arrived I had the idea of making a longhorn cowfish, so the first beads were added...

The placement of the mouth went a bit wrong so I had to reposition, but soon I was off with the actual embroidery. I also made some beadwoven fins in (of course) herringbone stitch, using some of the new Rizo beads between the ribs. The pectoral fins worked well, but in the dorsal fin the Rizos flopped sideways so had to be reinforced, the fireline I used is exposed a little but I think it is better than hiding the Rizos under a lot of other beads. Here is the current status of my fish whom I have named 'Finnegan' after all the 'begin agin' I have had to do!

The main colour of beads will be blue but with the orange and lime accents he will be quite exotic! I still don't know if I will completely cover the surface in beads

And finally, the OTTBS blog colour challenge for February 2013 happened to be 'Blue and Brown' so I decided to use some more spikes, this time in milky turquoise, and made a modified version of Sabine Lippert's Scheherezade, which I'm calling 'Dunyazade' (the name of Scheherezade's little sister, to whom she told the 1001 nights' tales)

So the 'Blue' year is well under way!

Proud as a Peacock

I am pleased to announce that this week I finally finished my embroidered purse. I have named the piece 'Juno Moneta'. Juno, consort of Jupiter in the Roman Pantheon, is famously associated with peacocks and since I have made stylized 'feather' motifs using the oval and round cabochons I thought at once of naming the purse for her. Also it transpired that she was responsible for finances (holding the heavenly housekeeping money perhaps?) and that her temple was the location of the Mint where coins were struck. All in all an auspicious connection!

The completed embroidery just before attaching to the bag.  The unembroidered edge was trimmed once I was sure it fitted

I have learnt a great deal from making this purse, and finally used some of my 'good stash' of crystals and beads. The main supplies are a mixture of Swarovski (Navette in Sahara, Comet d'Or flat backs, and various bicones, mini beads and cupchain); Dichroic glass cabochons by Helen Welch; Semi precious stones (Green Goldstone, African Green Opal, freshwater pearls); Czech firepolished beads (mostly 3mm and 4mm) and pressed glass leaves; and Japanese seed beads in sizes 6 to 15.

Front of bag

Reverse of bag

Initially I intended to use Miyuki 468 mid-green iris as the background colour for the filling in around the motifs, but finally decided on Miyuki 335, cranberry lined peridot AB. This looks less exciting in the tube, but picked up all the blues and purples as well as the greens of the other beads. Also, because of the outer colour being transparent, the textural patterns of the rows seemed accentuated. I am using more and more colour lined beads in my work, as they definitely add interest. I used the 468 in the feathers instead where it looks lovely alongside metallic bronze. A late arrival in my palette was Miyuki 1017, a silver lined emerald AB, which now replaces the Matsuno version which I loved for its colour, but which was a little larger than the Miyuki 11s. I was sparing with this as the silver lining tends to dominate.

Many of the beads used in this project have been the gift of other beaders from around the world and the whole project has a lot of emotional connection for me. I am truly grateful for the gifts even if they were only words of encouragement, which gave me confidence to persevere with my own creative urge! I am proud as one of Juno's peacocks that I managed to do it!

Thanks to all who made this possible, and in the spirit of beady co-operation, I would be happy to answer any questions from anyone thinking of embarking on a similar project...

Festina lente...

Or as it is sometimes translated 'Make haste slowly'!

I feel this year is running away with me a bit, with the clocks changing last night Winter seems to be here (ferocious hail yesterday to add to the feeling).

I have been steadily working on the bag but it is not growing very fast. I ordered a bulk of the green iris seed beads I need for the background, but the darn things havn't arrived so I need to tackle the company and or the postal service.

This is it in its entirety and considering how much I've done, there is still a way to go on it. BUT I still like it which is a plus! I have also got a couple of little things I can do for a rest when I need to, and these are needed by Christmas so I do have to get on with them...

If my BlogPosts die down a bit you know I'm busy beading instead though, I haven't given up on you all!

Just keep beading...

I've done a tiny bit more on the bag: this is the 'back' facing side with a lovely marquise shaped green goldstone cabochon from Designer Cabochons. I thought it was great in this position as 1) it is quite big, and therefore covers more space, and 2) it is a low profile cabochon so doesn't protrude too much. Having sewn a large Swarovski Navette to the front flap, I realised how dimensional parts of the embroidery will be, since the height of crystals can be significant (but compensated for by the depth of the facets and the reflections)

The bezel is backstitched rather than peyote, and I have used peel'n'stick for a firm connection to the foundation. I used light bronze size 8 beads (Miyuki 457L) and green iris 11s (Miyuki 468) for the securing rounds. A favourite 4mm Firepolish (copper lined olive) from Yashma looked good around this and then I found some green iris hex beads so used them for a bit of texture. The leaf beads have been in my stash a long time and are green metallic, and I broke out the good stash with some freshwater pearls from Raphael Beads, my local bead shop. I'm happy so far (but there is still a long way to go). I coloured the foundation with some marker pens as the painted colour still seemed too light and showed a lot. I think I'm trying to camouflage the area I still have to fill!

Anyway I will save the front flap of the bag for a later post, but it is also coming along, albeit slowly. 'Just keep beading...' is my mantra, hopefully I will get this completed within a year!

Working on it!

'I'm (still) working on it' is my usual response to anyone who asks about 'that project you began in January etc...' Shameful eh? The one good thing is that I do usually resurrect said project so I can be at least slightly truthful when I say that!

People have been kindly enquiring about the health of my parrot embroidery and so rather than endure any Monty Python references I thought I should finish off the little bit of sky still remaining so I can at least once say I finished the embroidery part! Here he is and I'd like opinions on how to finish him off properly (I promise to try and do this in a timely fashion). My thoughts were to make a loose cover for a standard hardback week-to view pocket diary (so it could be transferred annually) but I'm not sure he'd be that hard wearing. Maybe a little frame would be a better option?. He is about 10cm x 5.5cm at the widest points, to give some idea. Other suggestions more than welcome!

 



I'd also like to show that I have made a start on my bag, although I may be shopping for more beads before long, as I think I might run out. I also need to work out how to attach the more pointy backed stones such as the emerald dentelles and metallic gold chatons I'd like to use. So far I have the Sahara navette and a green goldstone cabochon placed but not at all sure where to go next. Still this is the fun of bead embroidery, it seems to evolve!

 

 

We'll see how much progress I manage by the next time someone asks 'How's the bag coming along?' (Hint: the answer is at the top!)

Happy Birthday Dear Blog!

Yes it has been a whole year since I began blogging, and I'd like to thank anyone who has been dropping by to read my ramblings! As with most newbie bloggers I worried that I would have nothing to blog about and set myself a target of 3 blogposts per month (because one per week was too frightening!) I see from my tally that I have passed the 40 posts mark, so for the next year I shall try for 50 (still not one per week though!) and see how that goes...

I had a lovely week off work with visits to friends and family. The weather was HOT which is unusual for England in August, but made everything even more enjoyable. Here is a pic from our day trip to Blenheim Palace:

 



I managed a little bead shopping in London, and returned home to find some Etsy purchases on the mat, including these gorgeous dragonfly buttons and cabochons from Ivka, and some of Nicole's Bead Backing so I think my bead embroidery adventures will be continuing soon!

The mother of pearl flowers will also be used in embroidery projects. The little acrylic jewellery box is from Muji, we don't have a store in Norwich and I always find something cool when I look there. This has a lift top and a drawer beneath.

I finished another couple of dichroic glass pendants for the stall I shall have at the canoe meet, Saturday has been forecast to be very windy with thunderstorms so I'll only go on the Sunday, but might sell a few things with any luck...

So suggestible...

I sometimes bead the bleeding obvious!

It had to be done, I'd just received a couple of new cabochons from the States, one of which was my favourite plume agate, the other a similar thin long oval of new-to-me parrot wing jasper. The colours on-line looked more turquoise and teal, in real life there were very pretty apple and lime greens in the stone as well as a streak of oxblood. I stuck it down straight away to a piece of foundation and began to bezel with frosted lime AB, thinking of making a simple pendant.

Then my friend and neighbour posted on facebook about parakeets in her Mother's garden (there are colonies of feral parakeets in Surrey and Southern England, believe it or not I also saw some one early morning in Amsterdam!). So my parrot sense was tingling and before I knew it, this happened:

The head was a solo druk from a mixed Czech/Indian bag and had a lime green to blue 2-tone effect which gives the bird its 'eye'. The beak is a 4mm firepolished bead with copper lining. The 2 beads just worked so well. Even my 14 year old son immediately said 'Parrot' when he saw it, and up to that point 'fish' would have been equally valid!

Because it was Sunday and gorgeous weather, I sat out on our bench and continued with the fun project (even though I have several more urgent projects on the go). I decided my bird needed a perch and some food...

I had only used a scrap piece of foundation so there isn't much scope for extending the scene and finding a friend, but he looks at home nibbling on some fruit. Maybe this piece will end up as a pendant (quite large though), maybe not..

Anyway, I feel refreshed and ready to resume the other projects for the upcoming reveals. I also rattled off a couple of quick pendants for a fund-raiser at my Husband's canoe club.

These use two mini dichroic glass cabochons I bought from a local artist at the bead fair in the Spring, unfortunately I lost her details, but will look out for her again. The pandants are strung on rat-tail cord and have sliding peyote tubes for adjustable length

Next!...

Another of my stone cabochons was shouting from the box: 'Use Me!' This time a lovely Plume Agate long oval. The colour scheme is unusual for me, soft pink and 'Antique' yellowy cream and beige, like parchment. As I looked at it I was also reminded of old Chinese painted scrolls, the stylised clouds and mountain outlines, the delicately tinted peonies and other flowers.

The agate was about the dimensions which would fit a broad cuff, and I have a number of blanks from Fantasy Beading on Etsy. I began by sorting through my bead stash for all the pinks, yellows and golds. This is (part of) the collection

But there were too many different pinks so I decided to slim the selection and this is the reduced palette:

The cab was fixed into place with double sided 'Peel'n'Stick' and I was ready to get beading!

The design is developing along slightly more formal lines than I first imagined, but I'm enjoying myself going with the flow. Nancy Dale offered some good advice on continuing the border around the cabochon and letting it overhang the edge of the cuff blank, so that is the current plan...

Cuff fun

Cuff style bracelets have long been a favourite project, as they give me plenty of space for design play. I managed to get some lightweight aluminium cuff blanks from Fantasybeading on Etsy, and decided to make a slightly different cuff.

I had a gorgeous patinated brass butterfly and thought it would make a lovely centrepiece, and some pressed glass leaves in a similar colour. Initially I thought I'd embroider around the butterfly, but it looked really nice against a scrap of old gold Ultrasuede, so decided to keep it simple. Because of the 3-D nature of the blank, I first 'filled' the body cavity with a rolled piece of Ultrasuede glued in position. I let that dry, then glued it down to the piece of Ultrasuede. I didn't want to rely on glue to hold everything in place, so I stitched strands of tiny size 15 seedbeads in several of the grooves on the butterfly to anchor it more securely. I then stitched  a few Czech rondelles and Swarovski sequins/lochrosen in a curve on either side of the centrepiece, and attached the leaf beads (as these had two holes I could keep them firmly in position with a couple of stitches). Finally I stitched the gold piece to the backing, with which I had covered the cuff inner surface. I held the stitched piece in position with small squares of 'PeelnStick' double sided tape from Thermoweb and finished the edges with brick stiched triangle beads, in aqua I/C gold.

Sometimes, less is more, and I am really pleased with this cuff prototype, it is light and would be nice to wear through Spring and Summer. What do you think? And what other stampings could I use for this kind of cuff?
Heres the side view, a few sequins go a long way!

Embroidery experiments

In my 'other life' I am a research scientist and sometimes the scientific side surfaces in my beading. This month I thought I'd experiment a little with bead embroidery foundations. I've previously always used heavy ('Pelmet'or 'Craft') weight sew-in interfacing as a substitute for the Lacey's Stiff Stuff which I'd seen recommended in books. I have been coming across alternative foundations recently, so I decided to try some different ways of beading...

The first thing I tried was beading directly onto Ultrasuede. This comes in many colours so by choosing a shade to match your background, you can make any gaps in the beadwork less obvious (eg in tight corners)

Work in progress

The drawback to this technique was that the ultrasuede is somewhat elastic so keeping the surface smooth is more difficult.

The second method I tried was to use fusible (iron-on) interfacing, applied to the back of a piece of lightweight cotton. The edges of the cotton fray a little, but could be edged with fray-check to limit this. Here is the beginning of a Purse. So far, bezeling the flat backed pearls has been very easy, but I haven't managed much background yet:

Trial on cotton fabric

The reason I began these experiments was that I'd like to make a bigger project than the cuffs and hair barrettes which have been my usual productions. I was also trying to source some larger pieces of Ultrasuede, as a purse or collar is likely to require a large piece for backing the embroidery. Luckily I came across a fabulous shop on Etsy run by Michiko Somerville: Suedeshop She also supplies Sensuede, marketed as a more environmentally friendly fabric since it is partially made from recycled polyester. I bought a sampler pack of 5 Sensuede pieces 9inches by 6 inches. Not only was this reasonably priced but arrived from California in 5 days! Michiko will also supply other cuts eg Fat Quarters from the bolt. As a bonus there was a little free gift of little scraps, ideal for pins or protecting the backs of  rivolis or buttons!

Needless to say I have immediately returned to the store to buy a bigger piece so hopefully you will see me producing a sparkling evening purse some time this year!