A New Start in Beading

After a number of month's hiatus, I've returned to beading on a more or less regular basis.  I haven't been idle; I've worked on other art projects and developed a new bead technique of my own.  I also made a beaded cuff for my Aunt for Christmas.  I'll show you some of the work I did on that in a future post.


This is my newest project, a 1/2 inch bangle bracelet with a molded Czech glass button as the centerpiece.  This is a first for me, as I have never done a piece where the center cabochon stuck out from the edges of the bangle.  I'm a little nervous about it but I think it will turn out ok.

After a long hiatus, I also plan to put some pieces up on Etsy again, under my shop DancingHandDesigns.  I'll have some links there and some photos of pieces available next time around.  See you soon!

Haven't seen me in awhile, have you?

Sorry I've been gone so long.  I am an uncommitted blogger, much to my shame.  I thought I'd share something I came across some time ago and found delightful.  Check out this flickr pic from spider lily.  Great colors and composition.  Makes me want to go buy some beads!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Next Year I'll Do the Whole Tree

In December, I posted pics of the bracelet I made for my sister for Christmas. (She really seemed to like it, by the way).  Here is a photo of the leaf brooch I made for my mother for Christmas.  I traced a real oak leaf (it was tiny) onto ultrasuede, beaded the middle vein with back stitch, and then filled in along the vein with picot stitch in a variety of colors.  I then finished the lobes of the leaf with more backstitch, in a variety of colors.  The hardest part was finishing the piece, because I had to stitch the edging beads in some tight places between the lobes of the leaf.  I feel pretty good about the outcome, and Mom loves it.

Bead Journal Project - January's done!

This is my first year participating in the Bead Journal Project, a group challenge for beaders that consists of a few simple guidelines.  The basics are: make a piece for each month of the year; choose the same size and shape for each piece; each piece must have some beads on it.  Outside of those guidelines, anything goes.  This year, there are over 300 participants from around the world.

My first piece for the year is called January Melt.  It's a 4 inch square of batik cotton.  I used glass seed beads and some small flower beads (and a fish!).  The work went pretty smoothly and I enjoyed doing it.  I think this will be a good project for me.  I tend to lack discipline in my artwork, so this will impose a few easy rules that might help me in that regard.

A Treasure Hunt at the Trove

There's a wonderful fabric and bead store in Cincinnati, Ohio that is going out of business.  St. Theresa Textile Trove is a delightful nook that seems to have been around forever.  You can get some of the most unusual beads, buttons, and fabrics from around the world there.  It is about an hour's drive from my home, so a friend and I made a trip down there yesterday to say goodbye and take advantage of the deeply discounted treasures there.

I caught lots of fish (10, count 'em):

I found some really nice milagros:

And also four very nice buttons:

Of course, there had to be at least one silly over-sized charm and a whole mess of other beads, cabochons, and other trinkets:

 

It was a fun day.

Shh... Completed Christmas Gift

I've finished the bracelet/cuff that I've been working on for my sister's Christmas present, and I just couldn't wait to post the pictures.  You saw other photos of this earlier in my blog when I was in the early stages of making it.  I finally finished it after many, many hours of work and agonizing over it.  Honestly, there were times when I was afraid to approach it, as I feared making a mistake or not liking the final product.

Turns out that I'm pretty satisfied.  I don't think my sister reads this blog, so she's not likely to see it before Christmas.  Nobody better tell her... Dennis, that means you!

Dia de Los Muertos Final

Just a couple more skulls to end my Day of the Dead/Halloween count down.  Here is a handsome lampworked bead from Susan Lambert on Etsy:

I found this beautiful pillow by eklektick on flickr:

She is quite the artist.  Check out her other work at the flickr link above.

More Skulls - because you can never eat just one.

Here are some Day of the Dead Sugar(less) Skulls that I made from polymer clay and painted:

Happy Halloween!

Just in time for Halloween

Thought I'd post some delightful Day of the Dead skulls over the next few days, both mine and those of other artists.  Here's one from Etsy artist Ladybug9753:






And another by blogger Lampwork Diva:

That's all for now folks.  Some more in the next few days.

Works in Progress

I've been doing a lot of bead embroidery lately and have several works in progress.  At left is a doll I've been working on for about a month.  She will be a long term project, as I plan to cover the body entirely with beads.  So far about one-quarter finished.  She is symbolic of  the process of turning 50, rebirthing, and making a decision to change direction in my life.

 












Meanwhile, I'm working on a bracelet, shown below.  It's the second one I've done of this type.  The first didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, so hopefully I've learned from my errors on that one and this will be better.  It features an Olivene Swarovski Rivoli in the center, as well as other Swarovski crystals and Czech pressed glass beads.  I will eventually cut it out around the marked line and attach it to a metal cuff.

That's all for today, folks.  See you soon!

Hairy, Hairy Krishna

Here's another favorite doll from the cobwebs of my computer files.

His name is Hairy Krishna, based on the Hindu god.  He looks wise and compassionate, which is how I picture Krishna, and Krishna (among other Hindu gods) is often depicted with blue skin.  And of course the Hairy part is obvious.  He's one of my favorite creations.

Here's a close-up of his face and upper body:

The beading along his sides was a labor intensive project, as was his hair. His face is made as a mask, which fits over a head shaped out of polymer clay.  I drilled many, many holes in his head, took bundles of raffia and glued them into the holes, then laboriously combed through the raffia to make it finer in texture and make it stand out like it does.  It was a fun project and I'm really fond of this doll.

Favorite Bead of the Day (BOTD): This beauty on Etsy by Glass Addictions.  Too beautiful.  Feel free if you want to buy it for me. It's called Patterned Snakeskin Smooshed Focal Bead, but it looks like pure water to me.

Hidden Juiciness

Well, I was lamenting not having photos to share with you, dear reader, when I remembered a whole bunch of photos of work I've done that were just lurking around in the dustier corners of my computer.  Here's one of a doll I did last spring titled Our Lady of Slumber:

She has wet-felted and beaded hair, and her arms are rows of beads.  I found her a comforting doll to work with.  Her body is soft, but she is weighted at the base with shot so she can stand on her own.

















Here is a doll I call "Call to Yemanja".  She is a tribute to the Yoruban orisha Yemanja, who is a mother goddess and protector of women.  I originally had no name for this doll until a friend who saw her exclaimed "Yemanja, Yemanja!" upon seeing her.  Well, the name stuck.  Her button says "Sing", and that thing by her side, if you haven't figured it out, is a drum.  It's a bit heavy - she tends to tilt to the left.  Kinda like me.

See you soon, gentle reader.

For Starters...

Ok, it's a new blog and I have no pretty pictures yet to post.  I have been beading furiously on a doll and a bracelet, but haven't got my photo-studio-in-a-box set up to take decent pics.  And I dread to  post indecent pics ;).  So be patient - my next post will definitely include some photos of what I've been working on.  Meanwhile, thanks for visiting.

Oh, wait a minute - I have this big skull I did earlier this year with beads to look like a Day of the Dead sugar skull.  It's not my best work, but hopefully it will keep you amused. More Sugar Skulls to come (it is the season), but not like this.

Take care!