Beading Arts

I made a slashed rectangle for this month's Bead Journal Project piece.  I saw one of these once that was really long, and was hanging from one of its corners so that it sort of spiraled down with the center slashes gaping open.  I liked that one a lot.  My own attempt...not so much!  I didn't have time to do one that was long enough to get the full effect, so maybe I should have just saved it for another month. Here's what the felt looks like after you've slashed it.  You can see that all you have to do is alternate between slashing the middle and the sides.   January 2015: Wavy raised circle form February 2015: Crescent form March 2015: Orb form April 2015: Pyramid form May 2015: Slashed rectangle form Copyright 2015 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact. ...

A number of years ago, I made my first experimental felt pyramid .  Since I wrote up all the instructions at that time, I'm going to just send you there to see the details of how its done.  However, I've got a couple of tips to add... I decided not to use a stiff felt liner on all the faces of my current pyramid, only on the bottom.  Now I wish that I had taken the time to add them to each face.  See how it sort of sags?  Live and learn. On my original, I wish that I had added beadwork to the side faces before assembling.  This time I did.  At least that part turned out better, but it is partly the weight of these additions that caused the sagging! Here are my process shots.  Please visit the link above for the instructions, but remember to add the side decorations before assembling the sides! January 2015: Wavy raised circle form February 2015: Crescent form March 2015: Orb form April 2015: Pyramid form C...

Here is my third piece for the 2015  Bead Journal Project , combining beaded crazy quilting with 3D forms.  This month, my form is an orb. I've been fascinated with trying to create round shapes for a long time.  One of the best ways I've found is to create an orb...it won't be a perfect sphere, but then again, perfection is over-rated, don't you think? 1. My form uses a tennis ball style shape.  I've marked the middle of each "side", which you can easily do by folding your shape in half.  These marks will go on the inside, but are necessary in order to help you line up the forms when you stitch them together.  You need to cut out two of these. 2. I added a bead embroidered motif to each circle.  The motifs can be found in Bored By Back Stitch .  This one is a chevron stitch. 3. Looks like fancy breasts, doesn't it?  There...I said it, so you can all stop giggling :-) 4. To stitch together, line up one of th...

So now I've got my second piece for the 2015  Bead Journal Project   finished, combining beaded crazy quilting with 3D forms.  This month, my form is a simple crescent. 1. Draw two identical overlapped circles on some felt. 2. Cut the pieces apart, and cut a center piece out of a different color felt if desired. 3. Decorate the side pieces as you wish. 4. Stitch the curved edges of the side pieces together.  I used embroidery floss with seed beads to do the blanket stitch. 5. Decorate the top piece. 6. Stitch it into place, stuffing the crescent form lightly with batting. January 2015: Wavy raised circle form February 2015: Crescent form Copyright 2015 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact. Technorati Tags: bead embroidery ...

This year for the Bead Journal Project , I am going to be working on combining beaded crazy quilting with 3D forms.  I learned most of what I know about sculptural forms through C June Barnes's Exploring Dimensional Quilt Art .   Two weeks ago, I posted the first part of this tutorial, which focused on making the wavy raised circle form shown above.  The first line of beaded back stitch was added before the felt circles were stitched together with edging brick stitch around the middle.  The rest, shown below was added afterwards.   I used the bead embroidered forms of African helix and free-standing chevrons.  These stitches are taught in Bored By Back Stitch , chapter one.    After I finished the central beading, I used embroidery floss to add beaded blanket stitch around the outsides.  In a few spots, the black second layer of felt had to be trimmed a bit as there had been some slippage.   Be...

The first piece that I'm going to attempt for the Bead Journal Project this year is some wavy raised circles.  These probably have a more technical name, but I don't know what it is.  If you're a math-geometry person, will you please let me know? [ Note : my friend Paul Bishop tells me that the shape of this form is called a hyperbolic paraboloid !  Thank you, Paul.] The shape at the top of the post is my successful sample.  There were a few that weren't really successful until I figured out how exaggerated to make the shapes.  What I finally found that worked best for me was to cut the outsides as circles and both insides as long identical ovals.  The placement of the inner cut doesn't have to be precise, but the actual size must be exact. I know they don't look like circles in this shot, but that's just because I took it on an angle.  Trust me, the outsides are circles, the insides are identical ovals.  I used felt, and each piece was...

At the beginning of each new year, I feel the need to start something new, don't you?  It's a great time for reflection and for setting goals...educational, business, artistic, whatever.  This year, I have two specific things on the brain: crazy quilting and 3D forms.  Yeah, yeah.  I know they don't seem to be related, but actually they are! A couple of years ago, I got all excited about making a co uple of 3D forms that I learned about in  C June Barnes's  book  Exploring Dimensional Quilt Art  ( here's my review ).  At the top of this post is a pyramid form that I made at that time.  At the last link is a tutorial for it as well, because June's book is not really a project book, but instead mostly covers the theory of how to create different forms.  So anyway, take a look at that pyramid up there.  See how the flat planes are joined together?  I didn't decorate the planes, but if I had, wouldn't it remind you of...

Cultivation Organic, intricate, and interconnected are the three words that immediately spring to mind when I see Natasha St. Michael's amazing seed bead sculptures.  Visit her...they will knock your socks off! Progression Technorati Tags: bead embroidery , handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Eye Sea If you've ever felt you were stuck in a rut, just making pretty jewelry, you owe it to yourself to visit Gail Gorlitzz's   site and see the astonishing sculptures she's making with seed beads.  Not your average everyday beader, for sure! Detail of Eye Sea Technorati Tags: bead embroidery , handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

    BeBop Artist: Victoria Pearman Blog: Art N the Heart Victoria sent me updates on the marvelous mixed media beadwork that she is doing these days.  Visit her blog for more up to the minute works! BeBop (shown above). An anthropomorphic creature inspired by beader/artist Betsy Youngquist. BeBop was a stuffed bookworm that was transformed and now is bead embroidered and has a porcelain face made by a friend. Diaboli diceri et apperebit (Latin for Speak of the Devil) features the combined efforts of my bead embroidery and lampworker, Wayne Robbins for the devil's head. While the devil is a dark subject, I added whimsy with the sneakers. Baba . This is one of my 12 BJP (Robin Atkins') challenges. Baba was the result of a visit to the Tucson Rock and Gem show, African Village. We were trying to purchase some glass beads but could not locate the vendor. His friend kept screaming "Baba, Baba" which is Swahili for the word brother. Baba...

Here on Beading Arts , we first came across Ann Kruglak and her gorgeous work in 2010.  You can read about Ann's earlier work here.  Her vision for what she wants to accomplish with her art has not changed, but she is busy making some fabulous new things these days that she has been gracious to share with us! Ann writes: I believe that everyone is intrinsically creative, and the variety and amazing strangeness of our dreams proves. We all dream, which at core is, a creative act. Dreams and their origin in the deep psyche have been central to my life path, and to my art which connects me to my spiritual center, and the greater Mystery of the universe. I treasure beauty (in nature and art and all its forms) as a gift that infuses my life with meaning, joy, wonder and gratitude. By creating art, I work to bring more beauty into the world, in hopes of sharing a sense of wonder and wholeness with others. I created Mystic Dreamer: Art for the Earth , as a service proje...

  Versailles Blooms I: Dayle's series of flower brooches  inspired by gardens at Versailles, skinner blends and millefiore I am very happy to be able to bring you an update from Dayle, one of the most innovative polymer clay artists I know, again this year!  You can find features on her here on Beading Arts for both 2010 and 2011 . Artist: Dayle Doroshow Dayle Doroshow Dayle Doroshow blog Fruit Burst- Brooch and pendant using Millefiore and applique I'm very inspired by the time I spend in France in the summer teaching workshops there. The natural surroundings, the architecture, gardens, gorgeous food, colors,  light-  really get my creativity jump started.  I'm also still enjoying the exploration of fabric and polymer clay. I like to create a fabric wall collage and then design a piece of jewelry inspired by the collage. It's my sideways approach to designing polymer clay jewery. The collage might inspire the shape, the color pa...

Beaded Car Well, someone did!  Can you even imagine...? Technorati Tags: handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Artist: Jodie Atherton Website: White Water Ceramics Blog: Jodie Atherton I am an figurative and sculptural artist in Laramie WY. This sculpture (above) is entitled Emergence . The dimensions are approximately 5.5 x 2.5 x 3". The torso is made out of ceramics, stained with layers of ink and then the seed beads were glued in place one by one all over her torso. Emergence is a sculpture in a series about my healing journey after a car accident. I love water in all forms and I like to see this sculpture as myself rising up, out of the water, water wings open to the sky.... As an avid kayaker in the spring, the color of this sculpture reminds me of the frozen waters of winter and to remember that, even while frozen, I as well as water, have the ability to morph into a new shape as spring arrives...By definition, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Below is my newest piece, River Nymph , which has s...