Thursday, August 22, 2019

Diane R. Commission Leading into a new style Earring


I just finished my most recent jewelry commission (I know I said I was going to cut back on jewelry this year, but I still take commissions on a case by case basis), which made me get the little "make a new earring design" bug.  I've been looking at Pinterest a lot.  Like every other day, which is a lot for me since I'm trying to limit my social media. There are a lot of triangle-shaped earrings on my Pinterest feed, so I decided to graph out an easy design and knock a pair out while I still had the beads out from Diane's commission.


I wore them to work to see how I feel about them and got a number of compliments, my favorite is always that the viewer thinks its metal, not beads.  So I'm going to play with making a few more of these and maybe send one pair to each gallery/event I'm doing for the holidays.


I also snagged a few photos from Diane's commission.  This art deco set is a customer favorite.  Thanks Diane for the support!  (And to Mom for showing her my artwork).



Tuesday, August 13, 2019

There and Back Again, 2006


There and Back Again.  This weaving is my very first tapestry (aside from a tiny purple flames piece I didn't know was tapestry I wove in high school).  I had watched other students weave tapestry in college and decided it looked like it took too long.  I laugh now at that because everything I did and that I currently create takes a really really long time anyway.   


When I moved from Colorado to Wisconsin there was a feeling of homecoming.  Colorado wasn't quite for me and moving back to the Midwest was a breath of fresh air. One of the things I missed most living in Colorado was the fall. There was a lack of crispness to the air and little or no leaf color change in Colorado.  It was a really strange feeling when we jumped right from summer to snow in Colorado, so I enjoyed every second Fall in Wisconsin.  I needed to make a piece about my little jaunt to go chase the mountains, but then ending back in the Midwest.  


I worked on this piece in my tiny studio apartment in Madison.  It took me almost the whole year I was there to weave this.  I used as many different types and textures of yarn I saw fit and played with striping along the way. There and Back Again is one of my larger pieces measuring 45.5 inches long by 28 inches wide.


It is currently on display at the Haslett Library resale book shop, The Bookend, through the end of September 2019.


Vintage Rainbow Circlet Earrings and Bangle

This color combination started with just the earrings, but I couldn't help make a bangle to match. A few new seed bead colors always mak...