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Showing posts from January, 2008

Artist Profile: Susan Shaw

Handmade Beaded Necklace Artist: Susan Shaw Business name: yellowplum beads Location: Belfast, Maine and Parrsboro, Nova Scotia Websites: yellowplum beads yellowplum etsy shop Susan, how do you describe your work? At the moment I’m focused on beadwork. I work primarily in peyote stitch which I love for its versatility. While I use very traditional techniques my work is very contemporary in style, with clean lines and fresh color combinations. Color is definitely the most important aspect of my work, at least as far as I’m concerned. It’s kind of funny that I’m a jewelry artisan, because I rarely actually wear any myself. I do really love jewelry though, and one of the main reasons is that it can be made out of anything. There’s a basic set of guidelines to consider–a piece has to be durable and wearable–but beyond that you can really get creative as far as materials are concerned, and that’s exciting. Lately I’ve been playing with paper clay a lot as well. I make molds

How to make a beaded assemblage

When you’re going to embroider a piece of fabric and then glue it onto a structure, use either ultra-suede or buckram as the foundation, depending upon how heavy the beads and bits are going to be. Here’s how I made this little piece: 1. Create a cabochon by pouring resin over an image inside a bottle cap. 2. Trace around a wood disc onto a piece of ultra-suede. 3. When the cabochon is set, glue it to ultra-suede and bead around it until you’ve reached the borderline. Clip the foundation close to the stitching and add an edging row or two. 4. Drill a hole the same size as your dowel into a print block. Make it about 3/4 inch deep. Drill a groove into the back of the disc on the flat side to cradle the dowel. 5. Use wood glue to glue all pieces together. Glue the beadwork onto the front (dome) side of the disc. FREE e-BOOK CHAPTER Copyright 2008 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed el

Artist Profile: Deborah Kwitney

Artist: Deborah Kwitney Business name: Art Is Me Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Website: Art is Me How do you describe your work, Deborah? For starters, my work is my life. A world without the ability to create art in its many forms is something I could never fathom. I’ve been creating as long as I can remember, actually beginning at a very young age and making mud pies! Presently I design and create jewelry in silver and gold using a cornucopia of materials. I also draw, paint, and sculpt in clay. I chose the name Art Is Me because I believe each human being, is in fact, a work of art! What is your creative process like? When I’m creating something, whether it be a piece of jewelry or something on canvas, I usually have an idea before I begin the process. However, many times, an idea comes simply from doodling! And I have hundreds, perhaps thousands of doodle drawings which I’ve kept through the years. If I’m creating a collage, wow, the possibilities are endless wh

Vintage bead suppliers

The Beadin’ Path My favorites: Estate Beads Unique stylish beads, in glass, Lucite, and even Bakelite! Talisman Associates Vintage German glass beads, arranged by color. BeadRoom.com A huge selection of vintage glass, arranged by color and size. The Beadin’ Path Lots of vintage glass and Lucite. Costume Jewelry Supplies Unique beads and pieces that you won’t find elsewhere. Splendor in the Glass Some of the most beautiful and unusual beads available anywhere. Vintage Beads from Europe Fabulous selection of vintage plastic beads Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Artist Profile: Rebecca Brown

Cormorant Artist: Rebecca Brown Website: RBrown Designs How do I describe my work…. Nature orientated, detailed, realistic and fun. I don’t like “serious” art, people should enjoy it not be depressed by it. With beads it is pretty hard to do something depressing anyway but I have seen it done. I picked my business name so that it could be used with both my painting and my beading work. Not terribly imaginative but when you are creating two diverse forms of art it is hard to find the right word and logo that will fit both. Teapot My creative process…. Well I don’t know that I have one. Since I basically work for myself I find the best way to go about making my next piece is to give myself an assignment and then find out ways to complete it. This gives me focus and keeps me from being overwhelmed with all the possible things I could paint or bead by just walking out the door and into the garden. It is the same thing I do with my botanicals. I generally focus on either plants th

Making Pink Bubble earrings

I used 22 gauge Artistic Wire to wire these up. Cut a piece that’s longer than you think you’ll need to wrap your first bead. I started with a 10 inch piece, and found that I only needed a bit over 8 inches. It’s better to have a bit too much than to end up short! The size of your bead will determine the length you need, so I really can’t tell you about this one. You’ll also need 2 sets of lightweight recycled beads from old necklaces (mine are recycled Lucite), two small round gold beads (mine are recycled plastic beads), and ear wires , whatever style you like. The tools you’ll need are the standards : wire cutters, flat nose pliers, and round nose pliers. 1. Create a wrapped loop with only one or two twists around the loop of your earwire. Thread the wire down through the larger of your two beads. 2. Create a small wrapped loop at the bottom of the large bead. Instead of cutting off the wire, wrap it upwards around the bead in several large loops. 3. At the top, wrap the en

Making leaf earrings

Ok, enough of a break already! It’s time to get those pliers and wire cutters back out and to MAKE SOMETHING!! We can start out easy if you want, sort of ease ourselves back into the groove. The important thing is simply to make something…anything. How about a really simple pair of earrings? All you need are two matching focal beads and a few smaller accent beads, a couple of crimps, two headpins, and some ear wires. How easy is that? I really like the large kidney wires like these, because you can add a few extra beads for some panache, but feel free to skip that part if you don’t have that style of wires handy. 1. Slip a pretty focal bead and a smaller round metal bead onto a headpin. Create a wrapped loop. See? You’re already half done! 2. Slip a crimp bead, a few accent beads, and another crimp bead onto the kidney wire. You might have to straighten out the bend in the end of the wire to do this. Just rebend it gently when you’re finished. 3. Flatten the crimps to hold the other be

Online color training and tools

Color is important to every artist, but as a bead or jewelry artist, you probably haven’t been classically trained like a painter would be. Not to fear! There are a plethora of wonderful online sources to help you learn the terminology on your own and to teach you how to train your eye. Here are some of the best: Informational Articles on Color: The Color Wheel and Itten’s Color Theory Brown University’s Color Theory Course Margie Deeb’s Color Articles Online Graphic Design Best Books on Color Color Scheme Tools: WellStyled Tool is designed primarily for web designers but useful for anyone.   ColorBlender A fun to use tool with sliders. Daily Color Scheme For a bit of serendipity! ColourLovers An entire community just for color lovers. Color Picker from Adobe Pick your own or examine what others have done. Color Schemer Online Picks a group of colors that compliment your original color choice. Pic2Color Creates a color palette from any image that you feed into i