Friday, July 11, 2008


One bracelet finished, another begun. I guess I should consider myself lucky that I don't suffer from creative block. If anything, it's just the opposite. I have more ideas than I think I could possibly execute in a lifetime. At times that can be a bad thing, because I wind up with projects that aren't quite finished when I race off to start a new one. I'm trying to get better at that, more disciplined about finishing one thing before starting another, but it's just so difficult!

The idea for Black and Blue came to me as soon as I noticed that the Delica beads I had just ordered from Fire Mountain Gems were the perfect match to some turquoise and black "spatter" beads I've had for a few years. After just a few minutes of moving the beads around on my beading mat to see what I could do with them, I was off and running... er... beadweaving.


Almost all of the freeform cuffs and bracelets I had listed in my Etsy shop have been sold, and I've been wanting to do another one. I normally gravitate toward clean lines and geometric pieces, particularly for myself, but after I created a couple of freeform pieces I found I was having a great time with them. It's also a good way to use up those partial tubes of beads I have lying around, left over from other projects.

It was finally time to start one (even though I have to admit to having a few of those unfinished projects sitting here staring at me and trying to make me feel guilty). It's all purples and pinks, and there's absolutely no pattern for it. There is a lot of arm exercise, though, as I keep having to hold it at arm's length to see which beads I should pick up next. So far, so good. It'll probably receive a few more embellishments on top, but it all depends on what the bracelet says.


10 comments:

Melody Marie Murray said...

Gorgeous! I really, really love the black and blue one. It will be fun to see where the other one goes.

SarahKelley said...

Love the coin beads on your new project.

Julie said...

I am loving the fre form piece so far - it's wonderful! I haven't been brave enough to try any free form peyote yet - like you I kind of like knowing where I am going with a piece.

I really love the black and blue bracelet - very nice use of the turquoise beads you have. I love the idea.

Great work on both of these!

GrandmaMarilyn said...

I love the start of your new freeform. I bet I will love the end results too.

adina said...

I love both of those pieces! They're BOTH so creative for different reasons! :-)

Anna said...

I really, really like the new bracelet ML! The start of the new piece looks really gorgeous, too!

MyFairLadyVT4 said...

These are both just so beautiful in different ways.

Kim said...

lovely bracelets Marylou
the black and turquoise is a stunning colour combination...
I know exactly what you mean about not suffering from creative block...if only we had a clone to do all the tedious things :)

Bea said...

I love the Black and Blue -- that's stunning! Wow.

Freeform peyote is so liberating, isn't it? We can clear out all those partial containers and then all that empty space is just begging for more beads!

hee

Dave Robertson said...

Hi, Marylou,

These are just great pieces. I sure hope you'll think about entering the next Rings & Things design contest. (Around New Year's...but you can check our site beforehand: http://www.rings-things.com/contest/index.html)

Keep up the good work!

-=-Dave
at Rings and Things