Thursday, July 26, 2012

Forest through the Trees: part 6, woven "trees" panel

I know it may appear that I have been slacking in July, it's really been slacking on blogging.  July has been a busy month and I cannot believe we are at the end of it!

Since I've finished the first panel of "She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees" I've been trying to focus on the next two panels.  The middle panel is strips of St. Petersburg Chain stitch which represents the "trees" in this piece.  I am playing with various sized seed beads and beginning to mix colors for a more blended look on some of the "tree" strips.


This has led me to playing with various sizes and types of seed beads.  The above diagram is largest beads on the left (Size 6/0 are the biggest) and smallest on the right (Size 15/0, which is what I usually use for my lariat necklaces).  I prefer to work with Miyuki and Matsuno brand beads as they are a high quality and for the most part consistent in shape.  I did, however, purchase a cheaper brand called Ming Tree which is what is labeled "Irregular Seed Beads."  I wouldn't normally use these beads in my jewelry due to the fact that they are not at all consistent in shape and therefor is hard to make fit together properly.  I do like the different texture they are providing for the "tree" strips in this piece, so I will continue using them for that.


I am just starting to hang my strips to see what other sizes I will want on hand to work with.  I really love the feel of the larger seed beads so they are top on my list to order more.  The above image is the weaving behind the strips that I'm starting to weave together.  When I actually hang it, they will be spaced apart much more (this photo they are right up against each other).  As you can see, I have a lot more strips to make.  Hence my lack of keeping my blog up-to date.

This activity is made possible in part by a
grant from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing



1 comment:

Jane Reiter said...

WOWWWWWWEEEE!!! good going gurl!

Golden Boundary Bangle [nope.]

It's interesting, a couple weeks ago at the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild meeting I was asked if I was still making jewelry and the short an...