Having finished off a couple of large projects last week, I finally had time to go through some of my old projects that I’m not quite happy with. Sometimes you invest a lot of time and money in a piece, and then can’t quite work out why you
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I recently decided to make an Amber necklace in response to a request from the Beadworkers Guild to make a display for next year’s shows. When I first heard about this challenge it is fair to say that I wasn’t immediately inspired. I looked again and realized that ‘amber’ could mean ‘orange’
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Everyone knows what a beaded bead is, a discrete cluster of small beads stitched together to make one larger bead, which can be strung onto thread or cord, etc. I have been thinking about the idea of in-line beaded beads, that is, that a beaded bead can
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For a time now I have been struggling to work with those kinds of beads that are longer than they are wide, with a hole at one end. Yes, I mean drop beads and their variations. These are designed to work in a flexible, drapy design, under
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We all love to add shiny, reflective rivoli stones to our work for the added bling factor, using some kind of rivoli bezel. However, although it looks nice and neat, it is quite time consuming and precise to to make a peyote bezel. I have been
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This year I made an entry for the Beadworkers Guild Crystal Anniversary competition: The Swarovski Showstopper!. The brief was to make something stunning that featured mostly swarovski crystals. I used a combination of my ‘Windows and Arches’ design, with added ‘St Pete’s Pendant’ elements. For this design
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I have recently been making a series of pieces called Paisley Lace, which were initially inspired by a piece if pink appliqué. I applied this to a top, and then made a necklace to match. Whilst making the current batch I started to think about my colour choices.
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A often used technique in drawing is to look at the gaps between the objects in a picture, otherwise known as the negative spaces, often used by M.C. Escher. This technique can also be applied to open forms of beadwork. Double ‘O’ Trefoil Bracelet Obviously, not all
Read more →As I have been creating new designs, I have been thinking about the process. How do I actually come up with the ideas, and then how do I shape them into something beautiful and useful? I will talk about the overall process at a later date, but
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So I thought that I would put in an entry to the British Bead Awards 2014, how hard can it be? My inspiration came when I found a picture of some Moroccan tiles that reminded me of a quilt that I made a few years earlier. The
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