Sunday, August 26, 2012

Experimental Methods


Cuff number nine: Continuum. It's good to listen to your mother sometimes. I worked with her most recent suggestion and tried a piece with cut-outs within the design. I learned a lot from doing this: for instance, next time try larger, easier shapes to cut out. It was exhausting for my poor right hand to get my Fiskars through two layers of felt to make these tiny, amorphous negative spaces. But I think it's a good start to something new.


This is my Anni Albers inspiration piece. I don't think I've ever seen a work by her that I didn't like. See for yourself at her online gallery here.

"C" by Anni Albers, 1969

"Design (Red and White)" by Anni Albers, 1955

You can see more views of Continuum Cuff on my Etsy page and on my website.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Recent Happenings

I've fallen a little slack with my beading momentum this past week, I must admit. I'm still working, yes, but there have been some understandable distractions.

My mom stopped through good ol' Virginny again! Can you tell who's who? She was on her way up to Sunbury, Pennsylvania for her class reunion and we made the most of our 24 hours together: shopping, eating, watching Netflix, and going on a woodland walk. Not much more you can ask of a day in the mountains with yo mama!

Except that the weather was PERFECT! And still is! Warm but not too warm during the day, open windows during the cool night...

 As for my other distractions, Phineas is always finding new ways to help out around the house. He was a huge boon to our reorganizing of our music library...

 And somehow he hears me putting clean sheets on the bed from miles away and just has to participate.



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Atomic


Whew! This is my most recently finished cuff, as of last night. Number eight. I think. It was the first piece since starting my new mission that I had trouble finishing. I kept losing interest, losing focus, motivation. Maybe I'm not all that crazy about this piece for some reason. Although now that I look at it in all its glory, I think it's pretty. I guess it's not what I would typically go for, but not everyone likes what I like, so I thought it would be a good exercise to branch out a little. But I can't really put my finger on what makes this piece different. The first time I made this cuff (in a different colorway) it was a present for my mom. Maybe I just feel feel weird about recreating pieces that were originally gifts. Is it considered some form of re-gifting? Taboo? I am really excited about the colors, though, which were inspired by an Andy Goldsworthy piece.

See more views and a description of Atomic Cuff on my Etsy page, as well as my website.

Andy Goldsworthy

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Some Everyday Things That Make My Life... Life.

 Felino keeps me company while I work.

 Phineas keeps me busy while I work.

The sky as I was leaving my real-world job last night.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Homage to Albers


Bauhaus painter and color theorist Josef Albers is one of my mom's heroes. Not your typical hero, I know, but something in the gene pool passed this reverence for both Josef and his wife Anni down to me.


This is the first new, original design I've created in a little over a year (and it's bracelet number seven if you're counting). I was inspired by the colors of a Josef Albers painting, and the design is loosely based on the architecture of a local church steeple. You can see more views of Looking Glass Cuff on my Etsy page, as well as my website. I can't wait to pay homage to Mrs. Albers soon...

Homage to the Square by Josef Albers, 1967 (photo courtesy of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth website)

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Shaded Path for a Shady Day


Bracelet number six! This is an older design I just completed, and it's always reminded me of a stone garden footpath. I've beaded this cuff in multiple colorways over the years, but for some reason never in the obvious choice of stone. Voila. You can view more angles of Shaded Path Cuff on my Etsy page, and the rainbow of colors it has been known to play dress-up in on my website.


Post Script: I've updated my official website to reflect my current, lower pricing as it appears on Etsy.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Pepe the Peacock...

... beaded.

Bracelet number five, completed, since the start of my self-motivating schedule at the beginning of July. When I initially set this time frame of completing one piece per week (or four per month, however it worked out), I was afraid that my hobby would become too routine; that my pleasure in it would be drowned out by the compulsion to keep up with the goals. This is not the case, I'm ecstatic to report! Rather than becoming routine, it is ritual. Rather than pressuring myself, I feel am deeply fulfilling myself. For me, beading is meditative, relaxing, creative, challenging, and yes, sometimes frustrating. It's really just the icing on the cake that I have something to show for it all in the end. But it has become one of my favorite parts of my day-- it's something I'm doing for myself, for my own reasons, and it forces me to uni-task, which I think we could all do a little more of these days.

You can see more views of King Pepe Cuff on my Etsy page.

The real Pepe.