COVID-19 update

Some of my friends - around the US and around the world - have probably wondered why I've stopped posting new work. Here's why:

I run a food pantry and a weekly dinner for the food insecure, lonely, and marginalized people in my community. With the covid-19 crisis, my work there has increased a higher percentage than I can even figure out. I've been eating, sleeping, and breathing Stone Soup Kitchen Ministries. It has left no vacant brain space for making new art right now.

As an introvert, I would have liked nothing better than to hunker down and just make things. But that wasn't in the cards.  I've been put in a uniquely privileged position to be able to do this, and I thank you all for understanding that it is the most important thing to me right now.

Some day in the not TOO distant future, I hope to be able to create art again.

A bead embroidered floral donut pendant

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Just last week I finished and posted a pendant using one of Yvonne Irvin-Faus's quirky fun pieces.  Seems I'm on a roll!  For this one, I decided to go more elaborate with the bail, stitching up a butterfly bail.  They are waaay easier to make than they look.  In fact, when I was on vacation last summer, I stitched up a whole bunch of these. 

Which leads me to an idea.

If you are stuck inside right now, especially if you can't get the exact materials you'd like in order to start/continue/finish a project, or if you are finding your creativity waning because of stress, try this.  Pick an easy small project like bails and make a bunch of them in various colors.  It doesn't have to be bails.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy.  It doesn't have to be something for a specific project.  JUST MAKE SOMETHING...ANYTHING!  The act of making, of moving your hands, will open your mind and unblock your creativity.  I promise.  I've seen it work hundreds of times. 
 
As always, if you are interested in getting started with bead embroidery, I invite you to download a free copy of my e-book's first chapter, Every Bead Has a Story.  If other forms of beading interest you, please check out the Tutorials tab at the top of the blog.  It's a good time to plan and try out a new art form!

Copyright 2020 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 

Eyes of March #2

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I love these bright fun pieces by Yvonne Irvin-Faus.  Yvonne has a site you can check out called MyElements by Yvonne.  In fact, I just realized when I went to post this piece that I had made a similar one almost exactly a year ago!  You can see it at the link...it's a bit more elaborate than this one.

As always, if you are interested in getting started with bead embroidery, I invite you to download a free copy of my e-book's first chapter, Every Bead Has a Story.  If other forms of beading interest you, please check out the Tutorials tab at the top of the blog.  Since we are all laying low right now, due to the virus, it's a good time to plan and try out a new art form!

Copyright 2020 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 

Peaceful fox: a bead embroidered pendant

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This pendant features a pyrography fox cabochon that I bought from House of the Green Lady on etsy.  I fell in love with him the moment I saw him.  He is only 1 1/2 inches tall and an inch wide, so I wanted to keep the embellishment pretty simple and straightforward.  He has a square stitched bail on the back.   

Copyright 2020 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 

Sun Moon + Stars: a bead embroidered pendant

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I fell in love with this pretty cabochon made by Susana Paredes!  When you have a super-colorful piece like this to work with, it's hard to narrow down to just a few colors for the beadwork, but if you don't, it can end up being really chaotic.  That's ok if that's what you're after.  As for me, I prefer to pick one or two main colors and fill in with neutrals.  At least most of the time!

When it came to the wrapped wire beads hanging from the crescent, I added a few more of the cabochon colors, and kept it asymmetrical but balanced.  If you need instruction on making a wrapped loop, there's a tutorial at the link using large gauge wire so you can really see what's being done.    

Copyright 2020 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 

Galaxies: a bead embroidered pendant

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I bought this set of polymer clay focals from my friend Mary Anne Williams Knapp of The Cat's Meow!  There's a bit of color-shift that you can't really see in the photos I took unless I show you two close-ups right next to each other.  Suffice it to say that I love this piece!  There were many color directions that I could have gone, but I'm very very satisfied with this one.  The smallest seed beads, size 15/0s, have a purplish cast to them, which is perfect, but funny enough, they are actually a luster cobalt!

Copyright 2020 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 

Ghost of the Forest: a bead embroidered owl pendant

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How cute is this guy?  He was made by talented artist Shari Smith McDermott, and I added a raku leaf by my friend Amy Mealey of Xaz Bead Company.  I wish you could see more of the detail on Shari's owl and more of the color flashes on Amy's leaf! 

I didn't want to lose any of the owl by bezeling over him, so I used epoxy to attach him to a deep felt backing: a thin piece of black felt over top of a cut out thick piece of felt so that he nestled in.  To do the beaded surround, I followed the same procedure as for this heavy piece, Davy Jones's Lock. 

Here are some links to other tutorials you may find helpful:
Square stitch bail Chapter 3 of Every Bead Has a Story

Butterfly bail

Open-center triangular bail

Further instruction on making bead embroidered pieces can be found in Every Bead Has a Story, where the first chapter is free to download.

Copyright 2020 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved.