Category Archives: Necklaces

Earrings, Necklaces, Pendants, Wire Work

“. . . just a stringin”

. . . as the song says. I guess the word was really “swingin’” in the song, but that doesn’t fit with today’s entry. Stringin’ is what I’ve been doing all afternoon. Tomorrow I’m having a jewelry show at the nursing home where my Mom lives. While the women “inmates”, as Mother calls the residents, seem to really enjoy spending a lengthy span of time trying on and thinking about the pieces, most of the men simply roll (literally) right on past my display. I guess I really should have cookies for them! While only a few residents actually purchase anything, they do have a great time and some ask me to hold pieces until they have money. One 99 year old woman spent well over an hour selecting her jewels last time and then told me what she wanted. I asked if she had money for it in her room and she told me “No, Charge It.” “Do you have a credit card?” I asked. “No, Charge It!” she said again. Eventually, I was able to convince her to put it on layaway and she has never asked me about it again. Some of the pieces I’m taking are shown in the photos below. Perhaps the staff will also enjoy looking. space  Ralph   PICT0452purple pict0453  briolette  
Necklaces, Pendants, Wire Work

Start to Finish

I really enjoy starting projects. It may be a new design or just a simple change of beads or shapes that gets my juices flowing, but I hardly want to stop once I begin the work. Then, there’s finishing. Yuk! The expression on Grandson Gabriel’s face says it all. Gabrielattitude I DO NOT like to finish the pieces. If I had a factory, someone else would put the clasps, chains and earring findings on my work. Alas, that isn’t going to happen. But there does come a time when you just have to give in and get it done. That has happened twice this week. My client in Maine ordered a number of things several weeks ago and said, “no hurry; I won’t need them for about a month.” I happily began work on the pieces, laying each aside  before adding the final touches. Last week, I suddenly realized that the “month” was almost over and I’d better get moving. There they lay . . . all 17 pieces had to be finished. Now, as you can imagine, if one doesn’t enjoy finishing just one piece, finishing 17 is not very invigorating. You’d think I would learn, wouldn’t you? Wrong! Tonight I’ve just finished 9 pair of earrings, five necklaces and a bracelet for tomorrow. All of these were previously designed and made without clasps and earring findings. (The one shown here is my first attempt at wire work with sterling silver. My technique needs help, but I’m pushing ahead. silver wire) This reminds me of when my children wouldn’t finish their term papers until the night before they were due . . . or was it that they didn’t START their term papers until the night before they were due? At any rate, I must endeavor to correct the error of my ways. I actually think that finishing so many projects all at once is enough punishment that I may remember to do better in the future. Or . . . Not.

Color, Necklaces, Pendants, Wire Work

Medford is Coming

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I grew up in Medford, Oklahoma near the border of Kansas. When my family purchased our first home, my Daddy planted a redbud tree just outside my bedroom window. The winter was really cold in Medford, but the first harbinger of Spring was the blooming of my redbud tree. Upon moving into our current ranch house, my husband planted the redbud tree pictured at the left just outside our den window. Although I’ll take the South Texas winters hands down over the Northern Oklahoma winters, I’ll keep the redbud tree as my sign that Spring is coming. When that tree blooms it still says “Medford” to me.

In honor of the beautiful color of the tree, I made two necklaces. While neither can truly capture nature, they were a pleasure to make as I thought about days long past.

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Necklaces

Too Much Turquoise?

For years I’ve used considerable turquoise in my designs. At the end of each season, when I examine my seller’s case to see what is left, I usually find that all the turquoise pieces have gone to happy homes. Also, at the end of each season, I think, “well that was a good run for turquoise, but I’d better find the next best stone for this season.” That’s MISTAKE #1! Turquoise is always a preferred stone.  PICT0396c When working with customers, I often make MISTAKE #2. If a person says that he or she has plenty of turquoise, I believe it. WRONG. I don’t think you can have TOO MUCH turquoise. That person probably just needs turquoise from a different mine, in a different length or designed in a new style. Rather than taking it for granted that a person has, as stated, too much turquoise, the next time I’m going to ask for an opinion about a particular new design in turquoise that I’ve created. PICT0395c Maybe I’ll be surprised to see that new design go home with the person because there’s no such thing as . . .

 

TOO MUCH TURQUOISE!

Color, Creativity, Necklaces, Techniques

Inspired Color Bursts

I met The Doll Maker quite by chance at a church bazaar in December of 2008. Since then, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading her monthly newsletter complete with outstanding color photos of her adventures. The Doll Maker has given me permission to list a link to the newsletter found at http://weepeeple.com/news/february2009newsletter.htm . The February installment features pictures from her trip to Mexico and displays a wonderful array of bright colors. I think the artisans in Mexico use the “no fear” color method where almost anything works together and I especially I like the way vibrant colors paint the landscape. Inspired by the pictures from Mexico, I decided to “paint” a necklace using bead embroidery. PICT0379b The embroidered circles use electric blue and shades of orange seed beads stitched on Lacy’s Stiff Stuff and backed with Ultrasuede. I  jumped right into this project without a suitable answer regarding how to attach the embroidered pieces to the necklace. I believe that part of the creative process is continuing the work when no plausible answer to a problem is visible. It’s been hard to learn to trust that an answer will be conjured, however, I ’m learning to trust myself. After I completed all the pieces, they spent several days on the design table staring at me as if to say “now what?” Finally, it dawned on me that I could stitch a couple of small beads on the back of each circle and thread the necklace wire through these. PICT0386b I added a few extra beads in order that the wire would be hidden on the back of each piece. While I can’t attest to whether or not my customers will like this style, I can be assured that I learned from creating it.PICT0383b

Color, Necklaces, Pendants

Color Success

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The picture shows the pendants, mentioned in the last blog entry, for which I was making strands. I regret the picture cannot show the beauty of the pendants and the vivid colors. The strands from left to right are pearls, peridot chips, African opals and smoky quartz. Although you cannot see clearly, each pendant has some peridot in it and each is removable for placing on an alternative strand or silver chain. The extra peridot chip strand can be used with any of the pendants or various strands can be put together for a multistrand look. These pieces will be available at Dovetails of Wimberley.

Necklaces, Pendants, Techniques, Wire Work

Bead Embroidery Plus

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The plus in the title stands for leather and wire. As you can see in the photos, I’m experimenting with combinations. Initially, I constructed five wire hearts and connected them with finer gauge wire. I used seed embroidery to attach the hearts to leather backed with Lacy’s Stiff Stuff. PICT0368a

Then I sandwiched a shaped piece of metal between this top layer and a base layer of Ultrasuede before stitching on the edge to hold the pieces together. The pendant on the right is just over 2 inches in diameter with copper wire hearts. The one below is a bit smaller with brown artistic wire hearts.

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Color, Necklaces, Pendants

Matching Colors

Isn’t it great when you can get expert help with matching the right beads to purchased or handmade pendants? Yesterday, I took a handful of pendants to Szarka (http://www.magpiegemstones.com/home.html) and she and her family helped me get just the right combinations. They worked diligently as though they were the ones trying to create each piece. Then they charged me a fair price for the stones and off I went. I’ve been happily beading ever since (except for the time spent on ranch work). Dovetails of Wimberley purchased the Zuni bear pendant at market and requested a strand for it. You can find it along with the double strand Nacozari turquoise necklace I made for it at the store where you can also locate many of my other pieces. zuni2 I like the amber in the strand with the cabachon in the right picture and feel it helps bring out the matrix of the stone.  Although I used Amber from my stored accumulation of beads, it was Szarka’s suggestion that led me to this color. Hurray for excellent customer service!

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Creativity, Necklaces, Pendants, Wire Work

Oil

The sewing machine quit! I’ll admit that it has endured quit a workout making baby blankets, bibs, burp rags, etc. for Gabriel, our new grandchild. Yet, how could it fail me when I most need it? Yes, I realize that I haven’t oiled it in a year, but I needed it to work now! Of course, locating the sewing machine oil was another entire adventure in itself, but finally I secured it from the store (in the hundred years since I’ve purchased any, it now comes in a little tube rather than the trusty oil can) Following a thorough cleaning and oiling, that old girl hummed like a professional.

This episode made me wonder what “oil” a creative spirit might need. There certainly are times when I feel a bit “dried up” myself, but what makes me hum? While ideas usually abound, stress can certainly take its toil and there must be something that can be done to improve things. Occasionally, it is an hour of exploration in the magazine or book section at the local book store or library. Other times, the oil has been derived from a trip to Nordstroms to investigate color combinations in the clothing. A fabric store serves the same purpose.

What about using music? When I have pieces waiting for completion, clasps, buttons, etc. I use music by composer Pachebel and other baroque/classic composers which keep me working. It is sequential and repetitious in motif. But what about music for creativity? I’m still working on that one. I think that is less predictable than the aforementioned. At times creative oil comes from sheer silence while at other times, emotional vocals bring it. I’d be interested in knowing what works for other people.

Lastly, we deserve to be oiled from time to time! I used to and sometimes still do feel selfish to take the time to refuel. We’re all busy and since one of my ranch employees just resigned, things are unusually so here at Dreamcatcher. Yet, as I listen to Sugarland who is singing “. . . I promise I’m worth it . . . “, I realize, so am I!

The tree piece below is my symbol for oiling that creative spirit and letting it flourish and grow. tree

Color, Diversions, Necklaces, Pendants

Nature’s Color Challenge

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. PICT0351a 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!” PICT0348 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 . . . ?