I really, really love orange!

Well, this is a first for me for this year's BJP. I'm finished with August and it isn't even half gone. Part of the reason has been a lack of work (not good), but also lots of time to bead and catch up around the house (good). I started this piece Sunday and finished it today. I couln't put it down, it kept calling me. I think the reason is that I really love orange, in all its tones and hues. Think of a bag of orange beads of all different kinds and see if you can resist!

The shells are from my fellow beader and bead maker Anne Sheppard. She gave me several but I chose to use the small ones, so I could have more variety. I beaded the spiral in the center first, and did it completely free hand. I'm surprised it turned out so well! I think this piece is my favorite of the 20 pieces I've done for BJP. Don't you think it would make a nice design for fabric?

I used size 8's, 11's, Delicas and some tiny size 14 triangles. Those worked well as the initial bead around the shells.

July, gone but not forgotten!

I've finally finished the July piece. I didn't actually have the 'found' object until July 28th...so I think that is pretty good. The round glass stopper is from a perfume bottle from my friend Hollie Archdale, who is also the teacher/leader of the Friday bead class/group at Findings in Ann Arbor. We've been together with more or less the same people for several years, and have explored many facets of beadwork together. The warmth and support in this group is extraordinary, which I attribute to all of us, but most of all Hollie.

The color this month was blue, just like a perfect July sky. I was able to use some blue vintage Roses Montees that I bought at Bead & Button a couple of years ago. I loved the idea of working with some very old beads, and these were made in Czechoslovakia some years ago. I also snuck some bugles,cubes, lentils and pressed glass beads. Quite the grab bag of blue. I discovered I don't have that many seed beads in the medium to light blue range. Not sure why, but it did force me to use some different shapes this month.

I created a 'cradle' of size 15 beads, and glued the stopper on with E6000. It seems pretty well attached, and I really don't want to cover it with beads. It reflects the colors of the beads all around it so nicely!

Work has been very scarce lately, so I've almost finished August as well. Color is orange, so grab your sunglasses!

June is busting out all over!

June's piece was fun. The charm in the upper right is from my friend and appraisal mentor Cindi Brunell. She and I were both born on Wednesday, and neither of us feels like we 'are full of woe' as the old rhyme goes. This charm says 'Friday's child is loving and giving', and we think we are actually Friday children who were only born on Wednesday by accident. Her husband David provided the bulldog charm, which turned out to be particuarly appropriate, since we have a new dog in our home, to take the place of our darling Lucky, who died April 30.
The new mutt is named Murphy and he is mostly black lab. We got him from our local Humane Society. He was surrendered by his owner becauser her mother lost their home to foreclosure. Since my work involves appraising mostly foreclosed homes, this seems both sad and ironic. But he is truly a treasure and we are happy to share our home with him. He is 5 years old and is very well behaved. He sits, sits pretty (paws up) and comes when called. He is a real gentleman and I find he is slowly filling up that hole in my heart that Lucky left when she died.
The piece is darker in real life, in a mostly dark blue/maroon palette. I used some pearls and bugles, in addtion to delicas and seed beads. Thanks for looking!

Merry Month of May

I have finally finished May...and am about to start on June, so things aren't completely out of control yet. This piece was inspired by a piece of drift wood from my friend and fellow glass bead maker, Denise Billups Walker. The colors are all blue, and it looks more sparkly in real life. The wood was sawed in half by my husband, who seems to have a hand in most of these pieces.

I think this is the piece so far this year that I like the most. I like the repitition of the curves and the flipped symmetry of the design. The driftwood naturaly suggested a wave design, and I think I captured that. I figure if I just keep working at back-stitch, someday I'll be good at it!

June will be maroon with a small charm from Cindi Brunell. Better get back to work!

I've always just posted pictures of my BJP pieces on this blog...why I have no idea. But since I enjoy many different media, I thought it might be fun to show some of my other work. This was a birthday present for my friend Karen, who is a real lover of interesting and wearable jewelry pieces. The vessel was made with PMC several years ago, just waiting for the right strap, which is made using a twisted herringbone technique. The picture was taken by my friend Sylvus, who is a WAY better photographer than I am!

I like working with PMC silver, but it has become way to expensive to play with. Thankfully we now have PMC bronze and copper, which are much more reasonable. I've been making buttons and will publish them after a I manage to photograph them.

April 2010

This piece is my favorite so far. It features a piece of coral my sister Teresa Honnold found years ago. My husband used a dremel tool to cut it in half, so it would have a flat back. It was not a pleasant smell and it took forever. But I ended up with 2 nice pieces of coral and will use the other one in some kind of project as a birthday present for my sister.

The shape of the coral inspired the flowing long green lines, like underwater sea weed. The color green is so appropriate for April and May in Michigan. All the grass and trees and bushes just burst with that life giving color. We've had a couple of days of rain, and when the sun comes out tomorrow the different shades and tones of green will be electric.

Since it almost mid-May, I better get started on it. I have a piece of drift wood from my friend Denise Billups-Walker, and blue will be the color.

March and April

March 2010

I was busy with work during March and April, and am just getting around to finishing and posting for those months. I actually had the March piece done some time ago, but just finished April today. I'm finding that I put less pressure on myself this year, which is a good thing to learn!

March's piece features a machined metal piece that comes from my friend and beady buddy Erin Hook, who found a big bin of them at her last place of work. The entire bin was being discarded as trash, and Erin thought they could make a great necklace, especially in the 'punk' style so popular now. They are actually pieces from a Ford transmission. How appropriate for a beader from Michigan! The color gray was interesting to work with and I consciously wanted the design to be angular and severe. The technical challenge was working around the space where the metal piece was going to be cradled. I added it last and secured it with beads.

I haven't actually looked at my first 4 pieces together, so I have no idea what overall impression they will send when all the pieces are done. It's all beads, so it is all good!