Pretty in Pink

More Burlesque Blend pieces as I prepare to teach these upcoming workshops (yes, I'm anal-retentive, obsessive-compulsive!) The interesting thing about this particular colour combination is how beautiful it looks on all types of skin. Pasty-white or deeply-tanned, this just glows.

The design in this piece works well for me. The asymmetry of the pattern in the focal piece keeps the necklace from becoming boringly symmetrical; the large amount of pink in the two pieces flanking either side of the focal element draw the eye away from the middle and up towards the face; the next two flanking pieces, with the diagonal patterning moving diagonally down and out stop the eye from leaving and pulls it back to the central elements.

The finishing details often get neglected because one gets so focused on the clay technique. In this case, although the pink is very cool, suggesting silver would be a good accompaniment, the metallic sparkle in the 3 central pieces is more muted and casts a bit of a gold tint, which knocks back the colour intensity in the polymer and also allows me to choose spacer crystals that are metallic gold-tone with a hint of pink interference. These crystals are flanked on each side by an oblong, faceted black crystal and this combination really enhances the sparkling feel of this piece.

To finish off the necklace, round black agates are used instead of crystals, keeping the focus in the main polymer area and providing a very comfortable feel on the neck. Notice, though, that it is not just a bland, monotonous strand of beads. These agates are broken up periodically with a pink/gold interference tube seed bead, again adding interest, but not detracting from the main attraction.





I'm working out more colour combinations for variety for the students. It's not logistically feasible to structure a workshop so every student can choose every element, but colour is very personal, and where possible, I like to provide that choice while maintaining limits on size, shape, pattern, etc., as seen here:

Silk Purse Necklace

Silk Purse Necklace

(click on image to make it larger)

I'm sure you've, like me, gone into the studio with the intention of cleaning it out, getting rid of "quap" as my 6 year old grandson says, throwing out old clay scraps, organizing, simplifying - in other words, being artistically adult. So I pull out this scrap that I've hung on to for several years because I wanted to remember the colors (why not just bake a sample disc, you ask?) I decide I'll use it to practice spiral lentil beads.

If you ever get the chance to pick up a book by Sean McNiff called "Trust the Process", you may find it fascinating. It deals with the fact that the creative process is independent of your deliberate intentions, and, that if you allow it to proceed and unfold, in other words, you trust it to be true in your case, things will happen that will amaze you. My right brain, in working to create beauty, even in practicing with lumps of scrap clay, made creative decisions, and "what if's" came to mind that caused me to handle the clay in new ways, exploring ways of manipulating this scrap to reveal it's beauty.

Here are some more close-ups:

 

 

Assembling the beads with black agate rounds and Czech crystal facetted ovals in dusty rose, picking up the hints of rose color in the lentil beads, silver spacers and a sterling toggle clasp definitely has turned a Sow's Ear into a Silk Purse!

Step by Step Assembly of Urban Urchin Beads

This is a slightly different way of wiring beads and assembling them into a pair of earrings. It goes along with my views on "the mark of the artist", i.e. not being perfect.

These beads are hollow and there is no "top" to them, so they can slide around a bit on the wire. I have pattern around the entire surface of some of them, but others are fairly plain in back and I would like them to sit relatively deliberately positioned. A little ingenuity is required to wire them. Follow me:

I'm using 20 gauge blackened steel and brass wires.

Shape the blackened steel wire as per the upper image and the following close-ups, making sure to put the curve into the shorter end as shown,

 Loosely wrap the brass wire around the neck of the blackened steel as shown below:

Carefully tuck the end into the wrapping:

Insert the wire assembly into the bead and slowly push it in. The curved piece should be fairly tight as it creates tension and holds the bead in place. If it is too big a curve, snip a bit off the end until it goes in without distorting the bead yet holding it in place. The loosely woven brass wire will sit slightly into the hollow top.

Add the brass spacer bead and coil up the wire from the bottom, as shown. Consider how the beads will hang at the end. If from a necklace, I place the coil at right angles to the bail end so the coil faces to the side. If from earrings, with no jump ring between, I place the coil on the same plane as the bail. Make sure the image you want facing forward is in the right position when you are pushing the tension wire down into the bead.

If you are concerned about the blackened steel rusting at all down the road you can put some Renaissance wax on the exposed wire.