Feminist Bangle

In the past I suppose I'd considered myself on the outskirts of feminism. I never had a good grasp of it. I was raised being told the common misconceptions, like, feminism was trying to dismantle the "traditional" family structure and it was making it so women "had" to work instead of "finding a man to take care of you." These things never sat right with me first place, I didn't like the idea of trying to find a man to take care of me, nor was I impressed with the married-with-2.5-kids gig. I remember saying out loud for the first time on a family camping trip at 14 or 15 that I never wanted to have children. It's not that I didn't like kids, it only seemed like I had better things to do than raise a human that will likely be as angry and depressed as I was. Also, frankly, dating never felt like a long-term commitment. I struggled with maintaining any relationships, even friendships, I wasn't ever sure marriage was going to go well for me.

Fast forward to 28 years later, I have accidentally found myself on a feminist journey. It started with the book In Defense of Witches; The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet. I wasn't paying attention to the description in the book suggestions and thought I had stumbled upon another fantasy book and I needed a break from the self help books. What came through my ear buds via audio book was a description of how I have felt and been treated my whole life. When I've said I don't want to have kids (for as long as I can remember) I'm met with the response "you'll change your mind one day" or the assumption from men that I dated that obviously every woman wants [their] babies so I wasn't taken seriously. I too wanted to have the same rights as men and hated being treated like I I should want to be a mother/homemaker. 

So here I am, learning about 1970's feminism in my 40s, not the bullshit 1990's "girl power" I grew up with. Now I'm angry that these ideas have been around my whole life and I just didn't know about it or have access to it. This all would have made so much sense to 15-year-old-me and it would have been helpful to hear other women talking and writing about being independent and doing whatever they wanted or needed to do with their lives despite social expectations. I listened to In Defense of Witches a second time. Then Gloria Steinem's book My Life on the Road then the compilation book of 50 Years Of Ms. I subscribed to Ms. magazine and ordered 2 past magazines (Ms. has past prints available) that would have come out when I was in high school to help out teenage-me. I have found that I am definitely a feminist and I'm playing catch up. 

Feminism is the blanket I've been wrapping myself in lately, it's mixing in well with my angry-punk mode. I decided the next Statement Bangle once I finished Resist would be Feminist. I've rejected the color pink off and on throughout my life due to what it represented. Ms. magazine uses a bright pink and lot, I decided it was the best start as far as color choices. I matched it with gunmetal for pop but also to keep the statement bold along with an assertive font. 

I didn't know how much I'd be drawn to wearing it, the answer is, all the time. I'm wearing it as often as I wear my Golden Boundary bangle. The vibe is pretty interchangeable these days. 

Feminist Bangle with the 1990's Ms. magazines I ordered.

Full Feminist bangle video!

Black and Grey Wide Bracelet and Earring Variations

I've been working with the color black a lot lately.  Usually I'm super inspired by lots of bright colors and, for no specific reason, black feels very cozy right now.  I do feel like my jewelry stock is lacking in black options and I'm having a tendency to lean toward a black base for my personal style as of late.* It layers with all other colors easily, so, I'm just following my spirit and letting my hands make what they want. 

This is what has come of it. First, a black, gunmetal and grey wide pearl clasp bracelet. In the past I have simply striped the colors with one full row of color at time for this style bracelet. This time I striped the strips every other row by row. I like the busyness of the patterning and I think it turned out stunning. 

Wide St. Petersburg Striped Strips Bracelet

Next is a pair of "huggie" earrings. I really like this style for work, it's simple, clean, a little bit flashy but not dangly. I think I meant to make them a little tighter to the ear but I always end up worrying that it looks too short between the post and the backing so I did an extra row and it made it a little longer and it doesn't "hug" my earlobe. I also have to remind myself that one can't account for where holes are in ear lobes so it may be loose on me but snug on someone else. In any event, I love wearing this style so I made another pair.

Huggie Earrings

Last, I decided to make a new pair of beaded blob earrings. I haven't made any of these in a long time and they're just fun to make and to wear. I hadn't done a pair in this color range, I feel like they always end up having some blue in them so here's a nice change for this style. 

Beaded Blob Earrings

Lets face it, I created this colorway for something new to wear at tonight for Midnight Madness in Ann Arbor. I'll be set up at my friend's meadery, Bløm Meadworks 100 S 4th Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 from 5-11ish. This has been my one pop-up holiday show the past few years and even if I don't sell much I love the vibe, other makers and people that attend this event. A big thanks in advance to my friend Jenn for joining me as it's kind of a long day and it's nice to have company on the drive. 

*Sidenote, Bryan and I were laughing about this a fe days ago because when we first met, he basically only wore black and I barely had any in my wardrobe. I had never seen so many black tee shirts before! Now I'm wearing black a lot more often whereas he's been leaning toward more colorful outfits.

Metallic Pink and Black Jewelry

After I made myself some jewelry options with metallic pink, black and white checkers for NYE I couldn't seem to put away the extra shiny pink 15/0 seed beads. I wanted to use them in a gift for a friend, then I just kept going. I made a few pairs of earrings and then felt like the pink needed to be a "stripe" in a netting bracelet. Above is the base set that I feel goes together.

Lately I've been saying that jewelry just kind-of falls out of me and that's what happened with these.  My attraction to these metallic pink beads mixed with blacks just needed more attention. I keep saying that I'm trying to focus my time on my larger woven pieces but I always end up making some jewelry in between. I bead while winding down watching TV at night with Bryan  

I hadn't made a netting bracelet in a while and one of the cool things about this design is that it can be adjustable to whatever length I make it and smaller.  The loops for the design are also the loops for how it clasps.

My tiny pod earrings have been popular with both sales and I'm wearing them at work a lot.  They have a little bit of pop but don't get in the way of the masks, and they don't fight with patterns in outfits.  I love how these tiny beads allow for every stitch to look so delicate.  

I started thinking about stitches that I have used over the years...all the way back to the very first stitch I taught myself; the Daisy Chain. I recall grabbing a "how to" tear-off paper in the bead section at Frank's Nursery (remember that store chain?).  I was always attracted to beads and I was stuck on a thing I had stitched on a bead loom.  Not knowing how to get my first beaded piece off the loom I just kept playing with the beads I had.  I was in elementary school when I started teaching myself beads stitches.  I always recall the daisy chain to be simple because it was the first one I learned. I later tried to teach it to some girl scout groups and it wasn't as easy for them. Now that I really get into the stitch again, it's not that simple.  In this little stitch I learned a lot about the importance of bead and thread direction.  It turns out that stitching tons of daisy chains as a young person gave me this amazing base for my ongoing beadwork.  

So I decided to make a daisy chain from this bead combination and I'm in love all over again.  In the 15/0 seed beads it is much more delicate and will layer nicely with other bracelets and bangles.

Metallic pink earrings! These beads just look so wonderful stitched together.  I wanted some silver accent beads to go with them and the above and below pairs of came about.  I am always attracted to interesting-shaped polka-dot beads. In the above earrings I think the pink frames the center beads nicely.

Below I found these white and silver disc beads which I hadn't ever used. I started stitching around them thinking that the pink band of beads would hang vertically around the disc but it looked much better when I rotated it to have the pink band horizontal around the disc bead.  This was harder to bead then I thought it would be but I really like how they turned out.

I think I'm about ready to change up my evening beading to some other colors, but I have to say after taking the photos of this set today I may keep the pink out a bit longer and see what else comes about. 

Diane's Gunmetal Mask, Dressy Masks

Diane's Gunmetal Mask, photo credit Bryan Johnson

Mask making continues for me this year and this request was really fun to work on.  Diane has a wedding to go to in October and requested a dressy mask to go with the outfit she's wearing.  I sent her a few fabric and bead samples, she picked one, and then I ran with it. 

Diane's Gunmetal Mask, detail, photo credit Bryan Johnson

I initially had thought about keeping the design super simple and just beading the edging of the mask.  I've been wearing a mask for 40+ hours a week since March and realized that having glinting shiny beads right in front of the eyes was not going to be comfortable, plus the glasses she wears.  So I started sketching some other designs.  Diane's outfit has some uneven or angled hem lines so I decided to use that idea, still keeping the beadwork simple. 

Diane's Gunmetal Mask, photo credit Bryan Johnson

I am in love with how this mask turned out!  If I have someplace dressy to go, I'll be making myself one also.  We're really not going anywhere until all this calms down though, so I don't see me needing one for a while.  This may be a little much for working at Home Depot. Ha.

Diane's Gunmetal Mask, detail, photo credit Bryan Johnson

I had a difficult time narrowing down the photos that Bryan took so you get a few different angles.  Yes, I'm wearing a wig, it's so much easier than doing my hair and I wanted to add a fun twist on these photos anyway.  I got it together in the nick of time for the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild's online COVID Mask Exhibit too. 

Diane's Gunmetal Mask, detail, photo credit Bryan Johnson

This mask has a partner, Diane's husband requested a "vineyard theme" mask and I took to Spoonflower to find designs.  Even though I don't drink anymore I couldn't resist this print and her husband liked this best too: 

Paul's Satin Vineyard Mask

I purchased the vineyard fabric in satin and the fabric is just delicious. You can find this design and others in Bags29's shop on Spoonflower.  Check out the link HERE.

Paul's Satin Vineyard Mask and Diane's Gunmetal Mask

Two New Pairs of Cluster Earrings, Blizzard and Leaves

As much as I keep thinking and saying that I'm going to slow down on making jewelry, I have been making a few pieces that I personally love and have been wearing quite a bit.  Which is the jewelry that I want to be making, if making any at all.  The above snowflake Blizzard Cluster earrings are large, bold, super-sparkly and fun to wear.  They have 3 snowflakes each and swarovski crystals for extra shine.  

I keep selling my favorite style of earrings that I make, they are tedious to put together, but are great to wear, so I am going to focus on making more leaf cluster earrings in different colors. I'm choosing to work on these rather than making small earring to have a smaller price point that are hit or miss if I even like them not less if they're going to sell just because they're cheaper. 

These latest cluster leaf earrings have 4 tiny leaves each (rather than the usual 3).  They're a bit more bulked up and more like what I want to be doing with my jewelry. 

I'm also pleased to announce that after showing my work in "Woven Together: The Influence of Sherri Smith" the Crooked Tree Arts Center in Petoskey asked to carry my jewelry in their shop.  So my artwork can also be found there now.  Crooked Tree is a wonderful space and I encourage anyone up there to go check it out.

Pattern Play Bangle 3: Black, Grey, Gunmetal

Pattern Play Bangle 3 got set aside for quite a while since I ran out of a specific color on one of the peyotes stitch rounds that I was doing.  I didn't run into this specific color in any beads stores I had gone to, so I went in the "to be finished" bag.  I got my Fire Mountain Gems order in a few weeks ago and have been finishing up pieces.

Black and grey normally isn't a color range I stick to, but at the time I started this, I was feeling good about it.  I do agree, in general, that this maybe looks a little more elegant than Pattern Play 1 and a darker elegance than Pattern Play 2.

Maybe I was just hearing so much about the whole 50 Shades of Grey book/movie coming out that it was time to finish this also (no, I've not read or seen either, I'm too behind on the times).  Just so you are aware, there are far more than 50 shades of grey in beads, especially if you include different finishes.  But I digress.  I will leave this blog post with my favorite 50 Shades meme that a friend sent me this weekend.  Enjoy: 

Shannon's Wedding Bracelet

Every once in a while I get to do a wedding piece.  I have done veils, hair combs and the occasional bracelet.  This past weekend my brother in law got married and I was fortunate enough to get to make a bracelet for his bride, Shannon.  

(in the process of working on it)

Shannon's mom had handed over her own wedding dress for Shannon to use however she wanted to for her wedding.  I was pretty nervous to start cutting into someone else's wedding dress, but it got easier after we chopped an arm off.  

We decided that the best piece of lace for the bracelet was the point that came around the wrist and pointed down the hand.  In order to make it continue to lay flat, I brought a string of beads from the point and into a ring around her middle finger.  Shannon helped pick out seed bead accents that went along with her wedding dress.  This bracelet had a snap closure and we used one of the little fabric buttons from the back of her mom's dress as a detail over the closure.  All of the crystal and pearl accents came off of her mom's tiara veil.

I also had a chance to snap a picture of her shoes after she switched into flip flops at the wedding.  They're a little dirty from running around the yard taking photos and the ceremony, it reminds me of how trashed my shoes at my own wedding got!  I had mentioned that we were working on shoes together in this previous post.  The lace on her shoes is also from her mother's wedding dress.

Gypsy Leaf Bracelet and Earrings

Recently I had the unfortunate task of having to shop for a new car. I had hoped that the Blue Mongoose (my Ford Focus Wagon) would hold out another year or so, but we were going to the repair shop with more and more frequency.  So, car shopping I went and after much debate, I really fell for the Ford Explorer in the color Ginger ale Metallic.  I found one in our price range, and I now have a 2012 Ford Explorer named Gypsy.

  

I was really into this particular color once I found this car. I also happened to buy two tubes of beads in this color when we were in Naples Florida on our most recent road trip.  So I decided that the color scheme for the large leaf bracelet that I had been thinking of making would match Gypsy, the new ride.

I made a pair of earrings first, which have a black vintage bead as its accent and then went on to making leaves for the bracelet.

I had imagined this bracelet clasping together in a different manner, but I tend to let my pieces take their own shape.  As this bracelet came together I really loved how the leaves fanned out at one end.

Grey and Black Leaf Jewelry Set

After the last bracelet and earrings set, I really wanted to play with more of the grey beads that I have in my stash.  I think I've been inundated with visuals that grey as the new neutral color.  So here is a "set" with a necklace, bracelet, cluster leaf earrings and regular leaf earrings with a black pearl detail.

Leaf Bracelet $85

I've found that I enjoy these neutral base sets because they go with about everything.  I know a lot of people that wear black as their base color so the greys in this set gives it a pop. 

Daphne Necklace Variation $140

Leaf Earrings $55

 

The leaf earrings are made from a really beautiful seed bead that I picked up at the Bead Boutique in Naples, FL. I may be calling them to order more at some point.  I have had a really hard time finding these faceted seed beads. Probably because they're expensive to carry.  Photos don't do this bead justice as they have a wonderful sparkle.  It's very pleasing to work with them.

Cluster Leaf Earrings $75

I will definitely have this set at my next show at the U-Club (unless someone contacts me sooner that wants them, I have been mailing a number of items out lately). 

The U-Club show is Thursday, December 5th in the afternoon.  11:00am-2:30pm

You can find my calender on the new improved www.jennyschu.com too.  I'm getting much better at updating it.  Please bear with me as we get my photo galleries up on it too.

Sneak Peek: Holiday Jewelry for Lansing Art Gallery

Leafy Clasp Bracelet $85

 

I think I'm moving a million miles an hour this morning.  Laundry in, repaired shoes picked up, photos of all black/gunmetal jewelry taken, edited and uploaded to blog, pack things to work on at the Gallery today including, but not limited to: making invites, winding the next warp, blog update (check), make more leaves.... and it's only 12:30 in the afternoon.

 

I also had a lovely conversation on the phone with Liz who has been perusing my website for gifts and ideas.

Leafy Clasp Bracelet (closed)

 

The photos today are for a grouping that I have been working on for the Lansing Art Gallery for the upcoming holiday season.  I know we haven't hit Halloween yet (another thing on my to-do list, make my costume!), but I have a few shows coming up that I need to have stock for, on top of stock for both Grove and Lansing Art Gallery.

Three Leaf Hairclip $60

(back of hairclip)

 

I decided with Sara at LAG that my base for the Lansing Art Gallery will be black/gunmetal pieces.  I'm planning on accenting these with some blues and greens.  Currently, I'm about done looking at just the black gunmetal palette, so I need to switch gears and beads that I carry around with me.

Netting Bracelet with Glass Pear Accents $75.00

Cluster Earrings $75.00

 

Look for these pieces at the Lansing Art Gallery in late October/November!!

Daphne variation with dripping chandelier centerpiece $150.00

 

 

2 Leaf Pendant $45.00

 

2 Leaf Pendant (other side)