I've just been going through some of the blogs of other participants, and I'm amazed by the variety of works I see there -- everything from bead embroidered journal pages, to pieces of jewelry, to spirit dolls, to ... well, visit the blog and check them out for yourself.
Since much of my time is spent beadweaving, it was only natural for me to choose to do something beadwoven for my journal project. And since I spent several hours last year sorting my beads (well, everything except my delicas, which require their own system) into bins by color, I've been inspired to create more freeform bracelets. I dug through my "red" container to locate all sorts of different beads in shades of garnet, maroon, burgundy, and RED to create this freeform cuff which is named January.
They are great fun to create. Freeing, really, because there's no design and no concept of how they're going to look when they're finished. I never have any idea of where they're going to go, and sometimes I don't even know how big they're going to be when they're finished. It's just a matter of adding some beads, holding the piece up to look at it, and then "listening" to the piece tell me which beads need to be added next.
This piece varies in width from just over an inch near the closure to two inches at the center. There are beads of all kinds in here - garnet rounds, delicas, metallic lined glass beads, painted glass beads, freshwater pearls, Czech glass beads in sizes ranging from tiny 15/0 to 5/0 triangle shaped beads. And it's all finished off with a peyote loop and a gorgeous garnet colored button with an intricate design that's visible when you hold the button in the light.
I'm quite happy with the way January turned out, but I have to tell you that I'm already dreading February... It's going to be lots of shades of purple, and I just HATE photographing purple!! Wish me luck. :-) And don't forget to check out the Bead Journal 2011 blog.
12 comments:
The cuff is gorgeous! Free hand pieces are so amazing! Have fun with the purple! ~Val
Fabulous cuff!!!
Wow, this is great. What a beautiful piece! I love, love, love freeform beading - the process as well as the actual piece. Congratulations.
Oh, this is just awesome. And great inspiration, since I just received a copy of Karen Williams book, Freeform Peyote Beading. Gonna try it for the newest Margie and Me challenge. Wish me luck!
What a gorgeous piece! I love all of the different shades of red and scale changes; quite an amazing textural piece!
Beautiful cuff! I admire your skill with freeform beading, certainly not my strong point, but clearly yours! Stunning! :)
Oh my goodness - its stunning! Freeform peyote is something I've always wanted to try. I love the results. Maybe I should make a not-quite-so-new year's resolution to learn it. Following your bracelets through the months just might give me the push to do it!
Amazingly cool! It's a stunner!
Marty S
Crackpot Beader
Freeform (or improvisational as I call it) work always appeals to me, and your January cuff is no exception. Oooooh, the only problem is that I can't physically TOUCH it... it's just rich in texture, yummy!
You said you joined the BJP because you wanted to challenge yourself. Was this one a challenge? If so, will you tell us about that?
This is beautiful, so much beading and work went into it. Like Robin, I feel a desire to touch it. Lovely!
That's just luscious! And not only because red is one of my more favorite colors ;- ) I love the texture it appears to have. What a treat to be able to make and wear something like that!
Such a stunning piece - it looks yummy! I can't wait to see your next creation... I love purple!:)
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