Since High School I've been following ska music. My love of it started with Reel Big Fish which was my first concert at Clutch Cargos back in 1997. I have gone to ska shows whenever I can for an upbeat live concert fix for the past 24 years. Last year it felt like there was a huge resurgence of ska music. Maybe it was just that I had the time to really explore more as musicians took to social media during lock-down. With the ska documentary "Pick It Up" coming out it just feels like the internet and Instagram has blown up with a 4th wave of ska. Two-tone checkers pattern represents the music, there's a whole background on it, watch "Pick It Up!" Clothing, record covers, you name it, it's the visual key that this is ska, especially wandering around a town before a ska show, you can point people out and say "I'll bet they're going to the show." Now checkers are back! I just saw a customer at work wearing a checkered dress...I don't think there's a concert going on near here this week.
Checkers are popping up everywhere, there's a bit of checker in Interior Design in THIS article.
I'm excited to see checkers back, it's how I pattern my larger weavings and they are my go-to when I don't know quite what to do with an idea. I just start to move it into checkers.
Speaking of not knowing what to do with things; I've been staring at these tiny bangles in my studio. I was making them for something "less expensive" to sell, but they're not fun to make, they don't keep their shape in the same way that my larger bangles do and I'm just not that happy with them as a product. Not selling or making much jewelry in the past year has really reminded me that I need to make what I love, not just "stuff" to sell. I have a day-job so that I don't have to do that!
The bright colors of this year's Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2021 collection has checker built into it and the images may have helped me realize what I needed to do with these bangles. The Tim Walker photographs in particular are really fun, (check those out HERE), so I started with the turquoise tiny bangle and just started to bead checks.
I wanted to keep going so the warmer colors were what I picked up next.
And of course some fun earrings:
So I'm taking those little bangles and putting in checkers between them until I think of something else to do with them. I love how they're turning out. I knew eventually something would come to me with what I needed to do! You'll be able to find the first bangles at The BLOCK: AID in downtown Lansing on June 10th, I'm doing a pop-up booth for this event. My first show in a long time.
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