Friday, June 10, 2011

"Lentil Soup"



I went back to working on "swirlies", those big, gorgeous polymer clay lentil beads that I fell in love with last year.



Since my last post, I've been struggling with a couple of issues. The biggest is a nagging pain in my wrist. My first thought was to do what Marble Man calls "rub some dirt on it and walk it off". I went and bought a carpal tunnel splint at the local drug store, which helped, but the pain was still hanging around a couple weeks later. My doctor told me it's not carpal tunnel syndrome (Whew - my worst fear!) but tendinitis. He said it's OK to use it, just not to the point of discomfort.



The small, twiddly work I like so much will have to wait. Enter: Swirlies. They are so much fun, that I may need an intervention!



Just like when making lentil soup to eat, you throw a little of this and a little of that into the pot. With these beads, a little bit of monarch butterfly wing, flower petal and leaf cane slices, etc, you wind up with an interesting and spicy result.
~~~

The other issue which is bothering me is that when I look through my Etsy shop, it seems a bit like a split personality is running it. There's intricate bead work,



modern-looking clay pieces,



vintage inspired work, etc.




It looks like I can't decide what I want to do, when in reality, I just have lots of styles for lots of moods.

When I look at other shops, there's a sense of cohesion, a mature style with variations. Do I need to set up different shops for each style of work I do? What would you suggest?

copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

20 comments:

Mª Reyes said...

Maravilloso!!!Besos

Gabriela Delworth - Instructional Designer said...

Hello Kate,

Wow! Awesome pieces...Well...I am going to save my opinion for later...he, he, he!


~ Gabriela ~

Snap said...

Beautiful work, Kate. Hope your wrist/hand is better soon. I wouldn't set up two shops. This shows your versatility ... nothing wrong with that!

EWA gyöngyös világa! / EWA's World of Beads! said...

They are fantastic nice!

Callie Mitchell said...

I love the new "swirlies" - they're just marvelous!

I agree you don't need to set up two shops - unless you just want to. I think your shop is a visual feast and buyers will be delighted by the versatility.

Unknown said...

Your work is so beautiful, and looks just fine all together!

ABeadedWorld said...

Hi,

I love your work, it's amazing. :D Sorry to hear about your hand, I hope it gets better soon!! Have you tried a deep heat cream? Or a hot pack? I have found that these have helped with my own tendonitis issue.

I also don't think you should split the shop. People looking for polymer clay beads, say, may then search your other items, and perhas get inspiration for what to do with them. And you could even make a few sales! By keeping them all in the one store you are basically promoting your other items when people look at one section in particular. Hope this helps!

Marsha Wiest-Hines said...

I think that your shop reflects many different items and feelings simply means that you have a greater emotional range as an artist than most. My advice, explore every avenue that opens to you. So sorry about your hand, I hope you heal fast!

Alice Stroppel said...

Your work is fabulous as always Kate. Beautiful, beautiful.

shibori girl said...

Thank you so much for your input everyone. And your VERY sweet comments!

Kate

Cynthia Blanton said...

Great work. I've been struggling with the same problem of not having a single, cohesive style, and even though I know I probably SHOULD, I DON'T WANT TO. Maybe you could have one store but separate things into Collections.

Unknown said...

I am so into making BIG totem beads...your colors inspire me to play with polymer in mind!

MegansBeadedDesigns said...

Gorgeous pieces! I love them all!

As to your question, I think all of these pieces go well together, and could perfectly well stay in the same shop. However, if you are looking to become more focus, then I would simply open up another shop for the polymer clay and lamp work beads. It's really not to much more work to open up another shop, and easy to shift between the two. As of right now I have 4 Etsy shops. I started out with just one, but felt I needed to separate my more simple jewelry from the intricate beadwork, and I also needed a different shop for my Steampunk style listing and yet another for my graphics work. I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I do plan on opening another shop for my paintings. It can be overwhelming at times, but I think having two is manageable if you feel the items don't go well together.

LW said...

Lovely work…
You have made me a fan of Polymer clay.
I adore your many styles of work, when I go to your etsy store I always become lost
in all the beauty of your pieces.

I do hope your hand is better real soon.

I have been dealing with hand
problems this last year and have done very little art work.
Sometimes I feel like I lost my bestfriend....
Louise

rochambeau said...

Hope your wrist will feel better quickly, Kate! I like that you have lots of talents and styles!!
I have an idea for you for while your wrist is healing, perhaps you could create some art work using your non dominate hand and see what happens. But you will be surprised and I'd love to see.

xox
Constance

Crimson Frog Designs by Kinga Nichols said...

I think your style is what connects all these things so wonderfully. To me this all goes together nicely, because You are the cohesive force behind it. I can tell by looking at all these that you made them all, and while they may reflect different sides of your creative powers, they all represent you ultimately.

somepinkflowers said...

dropped in
to feed the fish
and
to have some soup...


where were You?

:-)

{{ ok ok ok...
i will put the beads back,
i promise }}

somepinkflowers said...

oh
oh
oh
i Love them all
BUT

the 3rd from the bottom...
that necklace...

well it looks modern
AND
very very old
at the same time.
it is my favorite
{{ not to slight the others,
you understand... }}

Share said...

I love your Swirlies. I agree that Swirlies are addictive, I tend to end each session by using all of the left over bits and pieces over scrap clay as Swirlies. I keep a storage container going and bake them all at once when it's filled, then start again... Lol.

Unknown said...

Oh wow, love the beads - I am linking to them for my Monday Wish List. They are beautiful!

Bead Soup Mix