Cerulean Sunset

Colour...it is something I have obsessed about from an early age. And it is often where I draw inspiration when beading.

The dynamic and clashy combination of cobalt and orange has been haunting me for a few weeks now. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I started other projects, but my mind kept wandering back to cobalt and orange. I had to create something. And 'Cerulean Sunset' was it.

We are treated to the most beautiful sunsets here in Western Australia. I never tire of watching the sun set over the water, Mother Nature always puts on the most glorious show. I wanted to capture a little of that magic in this necklace...the last arc of tangerine sun gleaming on the horizon, and the cerulean sky above fading into twilight...

I knew that getting the colour proportions just right was the key to the success of this piece. I hope I've nailed it.

It is a weighty necklace...the large cobalt fire-polished beads are 10mm across. Almost a whole strand went into this necklace!

For me, this piece was also as much about the negative space as the positive. The space between, as they say...

This is a detail photo of the reverse side of the necklace...it can be worn either way, depending on whether you like your orange BRIGHT or BRIGHTER ;-)

The clasp, in my usual style, is a continuation of the rest of the design:

There is so much fun in colour. I admire beadweavers such as Margie Deeb, Marcia DeCoster and Rachel Nelson-Smith for their fearless approach to using colour. When I grow up, I want to be just like them ;-)

Inject a little colour into your own designs...be bold, be brave! And don't forget to have FUN :-)

Thanks for looking, and be well!

A new beginning...or two

Tomorrow is a new beginning.  

Well, the same can be said for every day.  

Each day is a new beginning, full of possibility, and chances to learn and grow and make your mark on the world at large...or even just your own immediate little world.

At the moment, my own mark on the world involves such serious issues as how to remove poo stains from baby clothes...or how to deal with a toddler going through every parents worst nightmare, the 'terrible twos'.  (And on that issue, I feel ripped off...India isn't even two yet! *doh*)

Welcoming our gorgeous little boy, Jett, into our world just under 10 weeks ago is about as major as any new beginning gets. Whilst our daughter, India, has always been abuzz with more energy than a Mexican jumping bean, Jett is very much the chilled out, sit-back-and-take-it-all-in-my-stride kinda dude. He is as cool as a cucumber :) The smiling and cooing has started, and it is just about the best thing in the world!

So a new baby is a BIG new beginning.  But tomorrow heralds yet another BIG new beginning for us.

We're moving interstate. And I don't just mean a hop-skip-and-jump across the state border. I mean we're moving across the country. Literally.  

Yikes.

Yes, our newly expanded family is moving from Sydney to Perth, east coast to west coast. A mere, oooh, 4300kms...give or take. No mean feat, let me tell you!

So while most of my time over the last few months has been preoccupied with looking after our two little darlings, I've also been packing up our belongings and organsing our big move. You can understand why my beading has, sadly, been pushed way down the list of priorities.  And oh, how I miss my beads!  Boo. Hoo.

Packing my beads away was a sad task. I dragged it out as long as possible. I couldn't bear to put them all away at once. Not that I've had time to bead lately, but it's nice to look at them, to touch them, to let them inspire more ideas to add to the many already swirling around in my sleep-deprived brain...

*sigh*

Alas, my beloved beads will have to wait. For now.

So our new life in Western Australia begins tomorrow. Exciting? Yes! Despite the chaos and stresses of the last few months, I am so very, very excited about our new life. New ideas, new inspirations, new opportunities, new beginnings...

My darling husband and sympathetic brother have spent the last four days driving across the country, towing the biggest U-Haul trailer you've ever seen, which contains all of our worldly belongings.  And I get to fly across with our most treasured possessions, India and Jett.  

So please spare a thought for me tomorrow as I board a plane for the six-hour plane trip across the country.  You did read that I have two kids under two, right?  God help me.