Nature’s Color Challenge

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Reading about what inspires an artist often helps us understand the power of nature in its presentation of color, form and texture. Many artists comment that their ideas come from nature. I believe that particularly bead embroidery artists who focus on authentic replication through the medium draw upon nature. The piece shown today reflects the harsh colors of the current Texas drought which has produced our brown landscape. The green in the middle is akin to the few sprigs of healthy grass that sprout where the land has been watered through irrigation. (There are a mere few because the deer eat all of the rest!) 

Using your imagination, you may be able to see how the lower picture provides further description of the dry land. It also captures an unusual ranch event I want to share. We raise registered Black Angus cows and one of our important donors had a difficult labor requiring that the calf be pulled. While this is not so strange for a first calf heifer, what followed is highly unusual. After delivering the bull calf, it was apparent that something more was eminent. Fearing the worst, a prolapse, the men tried to stop the outward movement of the protrusion. Thankfully, the yet to be delivered little heifer twin wouldn’t be dismayed by this and wiggled her head as if to say “get me out of here!” Twins are extremely unusual and we’ve only had one other set in the past 10 years. Following a visit from the vet and stitches for the new mom, we’re hoping for progress. I’m only slightly embarrassed to say that while I held the cow’s tail and watched our skilled vet stitch her, I could only think about how great it would be to use his knotting technique with my beading. (Perhaps, I’ve fallen overboard!) By the way, the twins have been bottle fed and will be again every three hours while the Mom decides which calf she will take. 

Ideas and inspiration come from the most unusual circumstances and I believe that nature will speak to us if we’re prepared to listen. I wonder if nature is telling me to design in multiples of two for a bit . . . ?

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Anticipation

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Oh Spring, Oh Spring Where art thou Spring?

I found a bit of it amongst my seed beads. While the dark color in this necklace may not appear thus, it is a lovely purple that looks like the season I’m hunting. I like how the dark hues bring out these pastels for Spring. This freeform piece began as a small pendant, but as time wore on at the hospital with my daughter, referenced in my last blog entry, I just kept beading and looking for that inner calm that the work can bring. It went from small pendant, to bracelet and finally emerged as a necklace with the structural peyote extending in a narrow band completely around the neck to fasten. I don’t know when I’ve struggled so with a piece, but daughter Kim just kept coaxing me on and making suggestions until it was finalized. Perhaps the nature and emotions of the situation in which a beader creates adds that element of tension to make one think in different directions. Resistance to closure builds until we finally become fluent enough to think of a viable direction for the piece. While UFOs (unfinished) are reasonably common for beaders, there was just something about this piece that couldn’t or wouldn’t be put aside. If you read my last post about the Tiny Diversion, you will understand when I say the necklace reached a difficult point about the time we knew the premature baby would spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit. Perhaps this it my symbol for survival for the child. Determination . . . trust . . . and faith . . !

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A Tiny Diversion

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When I began this design blog, I promised myself that I would keep to the topic, always focusing upon creative aspects of design and learning. Yet, tonight, after returning from a 3 day trip to Atlanta that suddenly turned into 10 days, it seems my constitution is wavering and I need to write about this family’s “tiny diversion.” His name is Gabriel Alexander and he entered our world 6 weeks premature. My daughter’s first baby weighed a mere 4 lbs 5 ounces, but quickly won our hearts.  He has certainly put things in perspective for this new Nanaw who will be quite excited when he is able to leave the neonatal intensive care unit. The time with my brave daughter and caring son-in-law was good and my daughter reminded me to be calmer and take a deep breath once in a while. Isn’t it wonderful when parent and child reach a point of relationship balance and your own progeny can teach you? She certainly earned my respect through this life episode

My heart ached as I boarded a plane to return to Texas today without getting to see Gabriel go home; yet I know that plane can go both directions and I’ll soon find a way to get back to Atlanta! Family First.

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No Hammer Required

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It appears that most of my recent posts have shown products that required some hammering. Not wanting to seem in a rut, I used a needle and fishing line (Fireline) to secure the beads for the pendant I just completed. I enjoy doing bead embroidery, but haven’t found that the cuff bracelets commonly made with this technique sell as quickly as I would like; therefore, I’m using the technique to make more pendants than bracelets. A photo of a cross pendant completed with bead embroidery was in an earlier post. I tried to think Spring in choosing the colors for this pendant. Although it’s difficult to tell in this picture, the light colored beads are yellow which is supposed to be the “hot” color for Spring and Summer. I used cobalt blue seed beads around the turquoise cabs and a white pearl for the center. This piece is backed with green ultra suede and I put a piece of copper sheeting between the pendant layers so it wouldn’t bend. I may use dark blue and yellow in the neck strand before marketing this piece.

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Woven Window

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I’ve been gathering parts for the pendant shown for several weeks. After receiving a copy of Mary Hettmansperger’s Wrap, Stitch, Fold & Rivet from my son for Christmas, I’ve wanted to try a Dreamcatcher rendition of her woven windows pin. My pendant has significantly less weaving than what she shows,  however for a first attempt, I think it’s OK. The darkness of the photo negates some of my “gatherings” for the weaving. The basic loom for the window is made of copper mesh from Hobby Lobby. The turquoise colored yarn was secured in an excursion to the Alpaca farm, Old Oaks Ranch, outside of Wimberley, TX. I also used some 20 gauge copper wire for threading a few black onyx beads and one Swarovski crystal. The pieces are put together with dark brown artistic wire. When I first started this piece disappointment set right in as my initial weaving was a disaster. But, banking on my creativity training, I resisted closure until things improved. As you can see from the pictures of the parts of the pendant, separately, they weren’t very impressive, but I think perseverance paid off as I kept working and hoping for the best.( I’m thinking turquoise for stringing.)

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Problem Solved!

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For a couple of months, I’ve been struggling a bit with just how best to attach a fringe of beads to a copper envelope. My first few attempts crashed. After finishing a couple of pieces, I wore them around the house, as is my custom with a new design, and realized that, although the pieces looked great, they were not easy to keep in alignment while wearing. So I went back to the drawing table. Finally, just before the holidays, I was able to develop a double strand as pictured on the right. The two hole rectangular beads worked great for keeping the two strands separate and allowing me to attach the bead fringe to the lower strand. I’ve made a couple of similar pieces using this technique. Yet as I remained open to other possibilities, an “aha” presented itself the other day while working with 20 gauge wire. The technique on the triangular piece holds many options for further design. Before folding this piece, I drilled holes on the fold line where I wanted the bead wire to be placed. Then, I used copper wire to go inside the fold, forming a place to attach the fringe. The wire swirls on the top of the fold provided a spot to attach the beaded necklace.

Now I have two options for pursuing my metal pounding habit. I would like to try to minimize this design for a more feminine piece before moving on to more expensive metal.

I think it was Pasteur who indicated that chance favors the prepared mind. It seems that an “aha” that really works creeps into the mind after hours, days, weeks or even months of working to solve a problem. Thus the mind is prepared to recognize the “aha”. Perhaps prior to the struggle, the mind has not learned enough to be ready for the right idea. I must bear this in mind during the “struggling” period and not grow so impatient waiting for the “chance” to appear.

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Blue Blue

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At the close of this Fall/Winter design season, it’s sometimes difficult to get into new color combinations; yet. color ideas and combinations arise from the most unpredictable places. While I was stuffing things back into a closet, the yarn basket spilled producing an array of mixed up hues. Some of the side by side colors produced nice complements and I will remember them as I work at the design table this morning. Perhaps I should spill things on purpose once in a while!

Unfortunately, my cat, Blue, also noted the happening and wanted to play string. When I tired of this game before he did, I gave him his own short piece of yarn (about 8 inches) with which he could play. When Blue tired of his yarn, he ate it! (yes, it was a blue piece of yarn) Can we call him a Blue Blue?

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Copper Music

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Although it is well after Christmas, today I was able to give a gift (perhaps it’s Happy Valentine’s Day) to my musical friend. It was good that I had extra time since my wire work took a turn for the worst. As you can see from the finished product, I was making a treble clef sign as a pendant for her. I know to practice first with inexpensive wire and having made one treble clef from craft wire, I thought I was ready for sterling silver. Actually, the sterling silver clef turned out even better that the craft wire until . . . the hammering. The piece seemed to require a bit of flattening and I manage to strike some strategic blows that looked quite nice. Unfortunately, I hammered the piece so well that I weakened the points where the pieces of wire crossed and the bottom of the clef sign fell completely off. Rats! So, the final pendant was made of good strong copper wire, flattened a bit, but not completed smushed. Flat is not always better!

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