Let The Competition Begin!

It's taken me three intense weeks to complete my competition piece. During this time I've learned a tremendous amount about how to plan, and execute, a design. I've mentioned before that I don't like to start with a plan. I like the element of surprise at the end, where I look at the final results of my labors and say, "Well, I didn't see THAT coming!".

In this case, however, stakes are high, and I wanted to be sure of my results. The careful planning paid off, Big Time.

Even Marble Man looked at it and said it was amazing, and the best piece I've done to date. High praise, indeed.

With this project, I used up a significant portion of my bead stash - beads I liked but didn't have a plan to use when I bought them - I just liked them at the time. They've remained in their drawers, waiting to be counted each year at tax time. Those troublesome beads went together quite beautifully, and I'm so happy with the results.

I have so much time left until the entry deadline that I'm thinking now I'll make a presentation box for it, something lined with velvet for the potential owner to store the necklace. Now that my work is done with this project, it's up to the judges to decide if it's good enough for the auction. *crossing fingers*

BTW, if you are interested in what my inspiration for this piece was, I found some images online of Afghani kuchi tribal bellydancer jewelry:

It was great fun to translate the silver work into colorful beading.

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

Royalty Throughout Time Challenge

As promised, here is the link for voting on this month's Etsy Beadweavers Challenge: Royalty Throughout Time. There are SO MANY beautiful entries, I don't know how I'm going to choose one as my favorite.

I hope you'll go and vote for your favorite piece, too. Don't feel you have to vote for mine, just pick your fave. The poll will be open at the team blog until midnight, Feb 16th.

copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

Fancy, Schmancy

Marble Man talked me into entering a piece in the North Carolina Museum of Art's silent auction competition. This is a juried event with a Best in Show award which includes a VERY nice prize. The deadline for entries is March 15th; time to get my rear in gear!

The trick is designing a standout piece which won't be so over-the-top that it can't sell. The purpose of this event is fund-raising for the museum, after all. I decided to make a statement collar which is a little wilder than my usual - longer in the front with an added pendant and some sparkly fringe. I have a clear image in my head and, to make sure I stick to that image, I put it down on paper.

For the focal pieces, I'm using a couple of the polymer clay cabochons I made from push molds.

Now it's up to me to fill the space with seed beads, and some sparkly Swarovski crystals.

I think this piece will take me the full amount of time I have until the deadline!

copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

Meet Jennifer Maestre

"Seethe"

In her Artist Statement, Jennifer Maestre explains the origins of her work:

"My sculptures were originally inspired by the form and function of the sea urchin. The spines of the urchin, so dangerous yet beautiful, serve as an explicit warning against contact. The alluring texture of the spines draws the touch in spite of the possible consequences. The tension unveiled, we feel push and pull, desire and repulsion. The sections of pencils present aspects of sharp and smooth for two very different textural and aesthetic experiences. Paradox and surprise are integral in my choice of materials. Quantities of industrially manufactured objects are used to create flexible forms reminiscent of the organic shapes of animals and nature. Pencils are common objects, here, these anonymous objects become the structure. There is true a fragility to the sometimes brutal aspect of the sculptures, vulnerability that is belied by the fearsome texture."

"Urchins"

This amazing artist makes her own beads by cutting hundreds of colored pencils into short lengths.

She sharpens each piece, then drills a hole in the unsharpened end for stringing purposes. Finally, she weaves the little pencils together, painstakingly, to create her sculptures.

Jennifer at work

Her pieces are striking,

"Say Ah"

witty,

"Pencil Test"

and gorgeous.

"Ibentina"

Who says a bead has to be glass or plastic and have a hole in it when you buy it at the store? I'll be looking at items around me in a whole new way after seeing Jennifer's work!

Note: All images used in this post are the property of Jennifer Maestre and were used with her written permission. Please honor her copyright.

copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

New-Found Courage

I think Santa gave me an extra gift this past Christmas that wasn't wrapped in sparkly paper and a perky bow.

"Animal Dreams Pendant"

It wasn't anywhere under the tree where I could see it and open it. Instead, he gave it to me in dreams, where I could turn it and enjoy it from all angles, in any kind of light I chose to view it. Like the Cowardly Lion, I got the gift of Courage.

My latest jewelry designs are the proof. New materials, new color combinations, new techniques. I can't explain where this new-found courage came from, but I'm reveling in it.

"Sponge Coral Bracelet"

I might have mentioned in a past post that I've joined the Etsy Beadweavers Street Team. This is a group of like-minded beading artisans, who nurture and encourage their fellow members. Each month there is a design challenge, and to maintain membership, we must participate in one of these challenges a year. The thought of this requirement had me tied up in knots. My designs usually happen as I work, a very organic process where I let the piece tell me what it wants to be. Whenever I've started with a preset design, something happens halfway through the project and it veers off in a new direction.

The idea that I'd have to start with a plan, and a theme I didn't come up with on my own was a tiny bit scary. But I did it. The theme for February was titled "Royalty Throughout Time". In my research, I found some images of reproduction Tudor pieces, loaded with gold filigree and dripping with pearls. Lovely. During a road trip this past year, I'd picked up some fabu-liscious 1930's French brass stampings and at the time I had no idea how I'd use them. I just knew I needed to have them. The result was my very first challenge piece:

"Tudor Brooch"

Voting on these challenges is open to anyone - Usually between the 9th and 15th of the month. I'll post a link when the poll is open.

~~~

This past weekend I finished up a project that had been on my worktable for a while. I combined this polymer clay cabochon with some bead embroidery, added a profusion of branched fringe, and a beadwoven neck strap. Meet my Woodland Nymph in all her glory:

"Woodland Nymph Pendant"

I have no idea what's next on my work schedule, but I'm betting that it will knock my socks off! All of the pieces shown in this post are listed for sale in my Etsy shop.


copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

Professional Photography

Last November, my friend and mentor-supreme, Lorin Fields, assisted in my booth during our local annual Alternative Gift Market. She wished I had a display print showing a comely lass wearing one of my pieces. During lulls she also worked on me to consider entering high-end craft shows, specifically the Piedmont Craftsmen Guild show in November.

Both of these issues require better photography skills than I've achieved so far. Lorin, in her mentor capacity, arranged for me to tag onto a photo shoot she already had scheduled for last Saturday at her church. The photographer, Seth Tice-Lewis, is well-known in our area and came highly recommended by Lorin, who has worked with him several times in the past year, as well as by other artists. The model, Angie, is a friend of Lorin's from church.

Keep in mind, each piece entered in a portfolio only gets seen for a few seconds and needs to make an instant impact on the jury. Lorin came by my house a few days before the shoot to help pick out 10 of my strongest pieces, and to figure out what Angie needed to wear to show them off.

The day of the shoot, I arrived at the church and tried to stay out of the way as Seth and Lorin got to work.

This group has wonderful energy. Before her first shoot with Lorin, Angie went online to research modeling poses. Then she practiced in front of a mirror until it came naturally. In this picture, she's goofing a little bit:

Here, we've set up the pose for one of my bracelets:

The result:

Angie wanted to try a more natural hand position for the next bracelet:

Wonderful!

I think I've got my display print in this one:

When choosing a photographer, ask for recommendations, and look at samples of their work. Keep in mind fees are handled very differently amongst them: some charge by the roll of film, others charge a large set-up fee, others charge by the shot. Choose what works for you and get the best you can afford. The better your work looks, the more likely people will want to buy.

copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

Silver Threads and Broken Needles...

Beading is such a zen activity: stitch, add a bead, stitch, add a bead... SNAP! Dammit, there goes another needle. I love bead embroidery, but I do not love stitching through Ultrasuede. Beading needles are notoriously thin and the repeated passage through that tough fabric causes great stress on them. The eye gets smaller, the needles bend, and eventually they break.

Marble Man, super-tired of hearing me swear, googled beading needles and came across an article about Hari-kuyo, an annual quirky Japanese festival for seamstresses and embroiderers to bid farewell to broken needles. Sounds like I need to buy a ticket on that train.

"On the day of the memorial service – 8 February throughout most of Japan, but 8 December in much of the Kansai region and western Japan – seamstresses and embroiderers take a day of rest from their craft, and bring their used, bent and broken needles and pins to their temple or shrine. As they pay their respects, their needles and pins are stuck upright into blocks of tofu or konnyaku (a kind of edible jelly made from a plant-based flour). Tofu and konnyaku are used because of their soft texture; which is thought to soothe the needles after their labour, effectively wrapping them with tenderness and gratitude. A priest incants a sutra, marking the needles’ passage from use, and offers a blessing, which is thought to rub off on the person who has made the offering. The essence of hari-kuyo is to honour the needles for their hard work, give thanks for their service over the preceding year, and also to pray for improved needlework skills in the future. The used needles and pins are often sent to Awashima Shrine, where they are then laid to rest. In some regions, the blocks of tofu and konnyaku, with their pins sticking out, are farewelled by being floated down a river."

From The Japanese Foundation, Sydney

Instead of cursing my sorry luck at breaking a needle on a regular basis, I think I'll keep a block of tofu handy to place them in and thank them for their hard service. How's that for a new and unusual New Year's Resolution?


copyright 2011 Shibori Girl

Detail Oriented... Moi?!?

OK, maybe I am a Leetle Beet fussy about details - So much so that I forget to look at the bigger picture.

While I was working with my polymer clay this week, I decided to make a kaleidoscope cane. It started with inspiration from Carol Simmons magnificent cane. I really was just going to use a part of that cane design. I started on Sunday, using some elements I already had made. I also made some just for this project. I was completely focused on the individual parts. It grew, and it grew, and it grew... into a monster. I finally finished putting it together today:

"Holy Mother of God! How am I going to reduce this behemoth?" It took me three hours and a lot of muscle, but I got it done.

When Carol Simmons made her cane, she warmed it in the microwave a few times. I didn't want to do that in case the clay sent off fumes. As a result, the interior of the cane reduced at a slower rate as the outside. There was significant waste.

To give my brain, and body, a break, I used the trimmings from this amazing cane to make some mirror image natasha beads. These are tons of fun. Like eating cookies, one is never enough. So, I made A LOT of them. My little army of earrings-to-be:

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

"Oops I Did it Again..."

Too much of a good thing is always bad news for me. With my recent crazed approach to bead embroidery, I've hurt my dominant hand somehow (again?!?). My penalty: I have to lay off the beading while it settles down. The silver lining is that I've been in the studio having a GREAT time with my polymer clay for the past two days.

My enormous button collection rests on a shelf: some vintage, all with interesting details. I also have a great big bag of hideous elephant gray leftover scrap clay. Lets make some push molds! I've wanted to make them for months now, but haven't taken the time. I picked some of my favorite buttons and got started.

My first mold was from an oxidized, warped metal button with a busted shank. I kept this mess of a button because I love the texture.

All it took was this first mold. After that, I set about making molds from every button in the jar. All sorts of beauty was about to happen here.

I baked all those molds...

... and, quick like a bunny, put them to use.

Before baking the newly molded cabochons, I dabbed on some pearl ex powders for razzle and dazzle. I love this whole process. My beloved buttons are preserved in their jar, and I can reproduce the intricate designs in any color I choose.

After I fired these newest treasures, I dug out the face mold I bought last Christmas and made a couple of woodland nymphs for future beading projects.

Can't you see these little sweethearts surrounded by beaded leaves and branched fringe? Hurry and get better, Hand, so I can sally forth with the ideas racing though my brain!

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl

Today's Worktable

After last week's post, I knuckled down and made progress on a couple of the UFO's shown in the What's On My Worktable shot. I spent the weekend making serious headway on the clutch bag, and I'm delighted with it's progress. The blue and brown fringed foliage necklace is finished and listed for sale. The other items in that shot will have to wait for another day.

This week's shot includes two new pieces:

The mailman delivered a shipment of lovely Lucite cabochons and I've been busily putting them to work:

I like them all, but my favorites are the blue and gold cabs.

The first piece turned out to be a pretty, sparkly brooch and is now listed in my Etsy shop.

The other one, well, it's turning into one of those pieces that takes on a life of its own. The main bead embroidery is a fringed pendant.

I completed that phase last night, and all that's left is to weave a neck strap for it.

I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful Holiday season!

copyright 2010 Shibori Girl