March was a busy month, and I kept getting distracted from beading by things like editorial work, writing, spring cleaning, digging up my garden beds, and so on. But I did return, again and again, to this piece, and I really enjoyed watching it grow. As I mentioned in an earlier diary, I haven’t rushed [...] [...]
Because this month’s Bead Journal Project is the most ornate I’ve tried yet, I spent a lot of time in the planning phase. This is the updated and now complete sketch for the project. The figure and font are both intended to have a Nouveau feel, but the palette is pure high desert. Robin Atkins [...] [...]
I admit to having been bitten by the bead embroidery bug, so I’m going to try an ambitious March project. This month’s doll will be embroidered on a yoke necklace, amidst beaded cabochons. I’m sticking to my desert colors, and merging them with my penchant for collage and assemblage. A while ago I created an [...] [...]
I really wrestled with this month’s bead journal, and I’m pleased with the outcome. It represents a major shift in my work, as I try to bring my love of the southwestern desert together with my love of beading. As I mentioned in previous posts, my goal was to work with a color palette based [...] [...]
I’ve been dying for an excuse to try beaded cabochons of the sort that Jamie Cloud Eakin features in her wonderful book, Beading with Cabochons. So February’s doll will feature my first serious attempt at the form.
I started with a square, thick glass bead, of the sort which Eakin warns beginners against. The problem is [...] [...]
6.5″ tall, polymer clay, Toho 11/o round beads, Toho bugles, ceramic hands, nickel face plate
I’ve finished my first month’s journey with Bead Journal 2010 and it’s been quite a learning experience. The January Doll took the whole month to design, build, and finish properly, though it was interspersed with other jewelry-making and marketing tasks. [...] [...]