Leaves Between Bangle and a little Lucite

Normally, I hate using any sort of plastic beads or accents in my jewelry.  I don't really have anything against it (there are some amazing pieces out there using plastics), I have just had a preference for glass beads over the years and am slowly working into more use of gemstones and pearls.

Sometimes I purchase a bead with a "maybe I'll use it" or "just in case I run out of ideas" purpose.  The lucite flower in this new piece was purchased just in case it would look good as a necklace accent for my wedding.  I bought one in this off-white and one in lavender from the Bead Gallery in Ann Arbor.  It sat amongst lavender pearls and antique seed beads until after our wedding when it was then sorted back into my stash.

After my failure piece with the tan base I was determined to make something in lighter colors.  White generally isn't my thing, but I have been seeing so much white this year in summer fashion along with the wedding blogs I still like to follow for inspiration that I decided I needed to give it another go.  As I began picking pieces in whites this flower popped out at me and became a focal point for this piece.

I personally think it turned out stunning.  Rather bridal looking, but I would/will wear it casually too, it would look great with a little black dress and a pearl necklace.  "Leaves Between" in Bridal White is making it's debut today at the opening of the Ann Arbor Art Fair in the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild booth, so if you're down there, go check her out!

Pixel and Hank Inspiration for my Bangle Fix!

This is more of what I was going for with the failure-bangle that was in my last blog.  I had to find a better focus for color inspiration and what better way to find it then buying a new hair piece for myself!  I had been watching this pretty hair clip on Etsy.com for a while and decided that it would go with the dress I'm wearing to an event this month. 

I actually came across a hair clip in the usual round-about way of internet surfing.  I love keeping up with the Tell Tale Photography Blog (http://www.telltalephotograpy.com/).  Melissa's photos are always so amazing.  She did a photo shoot with Pixel and Hank, posted them on her blog, and the photos were so great I had to wander over to the Pixel and Hank Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/pixelandhank from there I found and fell in love with the Shirley Hairclip!  http://www.etsy.com/listing/49207816/shirley-fushia-hair-clip

I sat on this one for a while though, I didn't have the right outfit to wear it with, I just loved the colors.  Well, I found the perfect brown summery dress and within about a week my first Pixel and Hank hairclip was mine!  I normally don't like to bother doing my hair, but I have a feeling I may get a hankering for another one.  Also check out Pixel and Hank's Blog: http://pixelandhank.blogspot.com/  They do wonderful pieces for weddings among other events.

Anyway, purchasing the Shirley hair clip was the answer to my desire to use these wonderful fuschia (or magenta) beads that I have and I will be hanging on to this one for a minute so I can wear it with the outfit it is to go with.  Maybe I'll get around to getting a photo too.

Now, back to business as I prep for the Ann Arbor Art Fair with the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild (we're about at the corner of East Williams and State Street).  I made earring cards today!

Color Choice FAIL.

I picked up these dyed fuchsia stones while we were in Rome and have been dying to do something with them.  I need to make another "Leaves Between" Bangle after the green version sold at the Okemos Art Walk this past weekend and I figured, why not try it with this fuchsia stone with some tans?

As it was coming together I keep looking through my bead stash to find something that will work better for it.  Hrm.  This is what I started with:

As the project grew I was trying to stick to brown, tan, black, with fuchsia accents.  It continued to not work at all like I had planned.  My friend Abigail helped give me some suggestions: take out the black, add more brown, different sized/shaped beads....  I was determined to finish it while we were in the Upper Peninsula this weekend visiting friends.  But alas.  Sunday is when I decided it was best to stop beading on it.  I would put it on my wrist, crinkle my nose and pick something else to add.  Normally more is more to me (bigger, better, more bling, more visual excitement), but I guess sometimes more is worse.  Even the bead pile is unhealthy looking!

At the end of this exercise in "lets try something completely different than my norm," I decided that sticking to similar color tones is part of what is making these bangles work for me.  Maybe if I used a dark brown base, or a black base of the same tone as the fuchsia stone it would blend together and be less of an eyesore.  This will go into the "UFO" (UnFinished Objects) pile until I get the patience to take it apart to re-use it's pieces.  I'm moving on to a new piece that won't be so frustrating! 

Meet Danielle

I have discovered that not only is it nice to have a kitty companion around the house to talk to while I create, but I take for granted how wonderful she is about tip-toeing around my piles of creativity.  She never, spills, eats, poops, or moves my beads.  Yarn and shoes may be moved around at night but really she's just into laying next to me while I bead and being cute.  It's hard to stay angry around this very tall, snuggly, vocal kitty.  Especially when you hear her loping to the back door when you're turning the key to come and greet you.  Yes, my cat greets people.  Please give Danielle scrubs.

These beads? I'm keeping them warm.

I'm not so sure about your color choice.

I should put up her past Halloween costumes at some point, any ideas for her 2010 costume??  Meow.

Findings in Ann Arbor

I love to hit up bead and yarn stores.  Normally I do this when we travel so I have an assortment of fun supplies at hand.  I also try not to stress myself out about running out of a certain bead or yarn.  There's always more beads and yarn to replace that hole in my stash once it's gone.

Recently we had some down time in Ann Arbor and my friend Linda had suggested to me that I go to Findings and check out their seed bead selection.  If you love working with seed beads, then you have got to check out this store!  I thought I was in heaven, tubes and tubes of neatly organized beads by color, size, type of bead and a huge delica selection.  I'm so happy to have found a place that I can find the proper delica color in a pinch. 

Findings has been around for a while actually.  I remember it being over in the area where the Trader Joe's is now.  They had a smallish shop, and being a student I rarely made the drive out there, and there was the Bead Gallery right downtown near where I worked. Findings is now over off of Jackson Road, parking is abundant and the shop is not only huge, but well organized.

These two bead stores in Ann Arbor will give you a fantastic range of what you may be searching for to start or finish your next bead project.  I highly recommend Findings for you seed bead selection and threads.  They also teach classes in the back room so make sure to check out their website.  The Bead Gallery is great for it's location, right in downtown Ann Arbor and also has tons of fun beads.  I personally go there for their array of gemstones.  As always happy beading and happy bead shopping!

I keep seeing all of this wonderful yellow/tan/white mixes!  We'll see what comes of those colors!

Fresh Earrings

2010 has been a major shift for me in the style of my beadwork.  Somewhere between my workshop with Huib Petersen and our Europe trip I got the itch to really make a change.  I have fallen in love with dyed freshwater pearls and am jut having a great time playing with them in these little earring samples. 

This design though is definitely inspired from a very talented artist who I was close with in college.  Ellen has just gotten her first Etsy Shop up and I encourage you to check her work out: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ephadesign

University of Michigan Art School Alumni Show Piece

The theme is "INTERSTICES: The Space Between" 

I took this theme as an opportunity to develop an idea I had sketched out a while back.  I have become known for my certain style of beaded bangle, the shape of which holds its own through delica beads peyote stitched together very tightly.  I wanted to take that known-shape and give it less of a graphed-out look.

I have been playing a lot with the Russian Leaf design and angular peyote after my workshop with Huib Petersen who encouraged me to get into some sculptural beadwork and had been wanting to intergrate these into my bangles.  My first one I finished after our Europe Trip, I thought I would show off my new pride-and-joy at the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild "Fashion Feast."  Anne Flora bought it. (flattering!)  So then I created a second, similair one to have at the "Taste of Art and Life" with the Greater Lansing Arts Council, then it was at the grove Gallery Co-op for the East Lansing Art Fair and Co-op member Deb Cholewicki purchased that one. (Also flattering!)

This new one has a totally different color scheme since I fell in love with these blue delica seed beads and large smooth stones that I picked up in Rome (see bottom photo).  It looks like a jungle to me with greens and vibrant colors blues with some neutral tones. This one will go up for sale at the Alumni Show, so I just get to wear this little lovely for the next two weeks before it gets dropped off.  Enjoy!

As the University of Michigan School of Art and Design Website states: "The exhibition — encompassing both Slusser Gallery in the Art and Architecture building and Work • Ann Arbor on State Street in downtown Ann Arbor — runs from July 16 - August 9, with an opening reception on July 23 during the Ann Arbor Art Fair."

The Beginings of it. Finished on June 2, 2010!